22 Jul

Paying etiquette needs a double check

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NO: 15157- Friday, July 22, 2011

NASA space shuttle era ends See Page 14

CAPE CANAVERAL: Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. yesterday. (Inset) NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, speaks as the crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis stand near Space Shuttle Atlantis. — AP

Local FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Milking health for all its worth

By Hussain Al-Qatari

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he bottles boil in a pot, the formula powder is carefully measured with a spoon and placed in little plastic containers.

The water is boiled and cooled down to the right temperature and then poured into the bottles, mixed with the powder until it has completely dissolved. This may sound like an experiment in a lab, but it is what happens at home when a mother is bottle-feeding her baby. Dr Mona Al-Sumaie, Head of the Breastfeeding Awareness Committee in the Ministry of Health says that breastfeeding is not only more beneficial for the child, but it is even easier for the mother. Sadly, in Kuwait, the majority of women do not breastfeed.

“The efforts to raise awareness on that issue are very humble. We have a committee but the doctors on board work on various other projects throughout the year,” she says. The committee educates young mothers about breastfeeding, gives out pamphlets and brochures that explains the difference between breastfeeding and formula milk.

The pediatrician says that breastfeeding is the way a mother naturally nurtures her baby, “It is a trend globally to breastfeed instead of using baby formula. Compared to the mother’s milk, baby formula lacks a lot of nutrients and active ingredients that science cannot imitate yet. When a mother resorts to feeding her child formula, she is depriving the child from many benefits that have a long-lasting effect on the child’s well-being,” she says.

It is recommended that a mother breastfeeds for two years or more. Al-Sumaie noted that breastfeeding makes the child’s immune system stronger, and it prevents obesity and many long-term diseases. It also promotes healthier and faster growth, “Breastfeeding is more importantly a way for a mother to bond with her baby. When an infant is born, it doesn’t comprehend or speak, but it is very receptive. The act of breastfeeding is nurturing to the child physically and emotionally, and it is the natural way our bodies are supposed to behave,” she says.

Lack of education Ignorance and lack of education are the main two reasons behind the small number of women who breastfeed. In Kuwait, a majority of women refuse to breastfeed. Some women, especially young mothers, worry about the way their bodies look after giving birth. So, instead of breastfeeding they feed the baby formula milk and get on the treadmill and follow strict diets to lose all the fat that was stored in their body during the nine months of pregnancy. “The body stores this fat for a reason: because it is going to consume it later in the act of breastfeeding the child. Many women complain that their bodies and breasts are saggy after delivering the baby, which is only natural because the body has been storing fat and expanding in size for the period of nine months. It takes approximately six months of breastfeeding for the body to lose this fat,” Al-Sumaie explained. She noted that the body produces milk and nutrients that it has stored, and when a mother decides to not let the body work the way it wants, it will not reshape itself immediately.

Al-Sumaie explained that hospitals in Kuwait do not support breastfeeding as they should. When a mother delivers a baby, she is supposed to start breastfeeding within an hour from birth. However, what goes on in the

hospitals is a different story. The staff leave the baby with the nurses where it is fed baby formula, and the mother is given sedatives to rest. “This is wrong, and the government maternity hospitals now do not feed baby formula. The baby is given to the mother to feed when it is hungry. If the mother insists, or if her condition doesn’t allow for breastfeeding which is very rare - the baby is given formula milk by prescription as long as it remains in the hospital, which is three days at the most,” she says. Before the baby and mother are sent home, experienced staff try to educate the mother, but only a few respond positively to these attempts, she said.

effort trying to convince her to breastfeed. If she doesn’t want it because it bothers her and she’s not willing to learn, the staff usually apologize and leave her alone. At the end of the day she’s paying them for her stay,” she says.

However, the trend towards breastfeeding is slowly reaching esteemed private clinics.

Three clinics to date are getting accredited with the Ministry of Health to promote breastfeeding to mothers. Al-Sumaie said, “Our bodies store nutrients and fat assuming we will breastfeed for two years or more. It is how our bodies were designed.”

Client vs patient Many mothers nowadays care more about the setting of the hospital and the possibility of holding a reception there rather than the medical services they are offered. This is the main reason behind a big growth in the private hospital sector.

The problem with private hospitals, says the pediatrician, is that there is always the question of whether they deal with clients or patients. “If they look at the delivering mother as a client, they will not exert a lot of

‘In Kuwait, a majority of women refuse to breastfeed. Some women, especially young mothers, worry about the way their bodies look after giving birth. So, instead of breastfeeding they feed the baby formula milk and get on the treadmill and on strict diets to lose all the fat that was stored in their body during the nine months of pregnancy.’

Local FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

In my View

SOS: Save dying Somalis, instead of arming rebels

In my View

The end of the ‘World’ as we know it

By Chidi Emmanuel

By Velina Nacheva

chidi@kuwaittimes.net

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desperate situation requires urgent and desperate action. “Please help us. Where are our Western, Muslims, Christians and African brothers?” one Somali nursing mother cried out on the Al-Jazeera TV channel as she clutched her malnourished baby. It is very pathetic to watch the flood of exhausted, rail-thin hungry, pale looking men, women and children on the TV, limping into refugee camps in Kenya with dead babies and bleeding feet, having left their weaker family members behind along the way in their quest for survival. The Horn of Africa is suffering a devastating drought compounded by war and neglect.

It is more humane to arm these drought-ravaged, climate-change victims (Somalis) with modern agricultural technology to fight this disaster, instead of arming the rebels with weapons. UN on Wednesday officially declared Somalia’s food crisis a famine - with millions of people on the brink of starvation. Thousands of people are feared dead and about 500,000 children are malnourished — facing death without rapid intervention — yet the world’s response so far can best be described as ‘cautiously concerned.’

Whereas it took the West (the major polluters and cause of global warming) less than a month to invade and arm the rebels in Libya, it is taking the world more than a decade to resolve this Somali crisis. According to various reports, Somalis are starving - not because of their laziness but because of drought -caused by the global warming. In this case, they are paying for the sins they didn’t actually commit. Combined with drought, corruption and incompetent governance, Somalia seems to have been constantly on the verge of big disaster.

It will be better and cheaper to arm these people with the training and modern technology to fight off this menace than to arm rebels with sophisticated weapons.

This is the time to act. These hungry people don’t need summits, stimulus package, bailout, polices, G8 and G20 meetings right now. In his words, the United Nations’ Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Mark Bowden has said it all, “Every day of delay in assistance is literally a matter of life or death.” Somalia is a bitter lesson for all including the Al-Shabab militants who have exacerbated the crisis - complicating the aids deliveries over the years. If nothing else, the Somali famine should force the world to focus its attention once again on the problems of Africa, which is beset with troubles ranging from brutal dictatorships, disease and climate change to terrorism and armed conflict.

Thanks to some NGOs and some countries that have already started to ante up the money that will be needed to save thousands of lives in this world-forsaken nation.

But let this not be the Haiti earthquake pledges, and donations that ended up on the lips of the donors while the victims of the earthquakes still remain on the streets of Port-au-Prince. The G8 - the world’s richest nations three years ago pledged 15 billion pounds towards building up Africa’s agriculture. Sadly, only one fifth of that money has reportedly gone into Africa.

There seems to be no shortage of money for the wars - but for aid, it will remain a pledge - just a pledge. It is inhuman and obscene to be spending billions on wars when there are people starving to death. Thanks to Kenya. It has been bearing the brunt of this — with its own problems. ‘He who gives promptly gives twice.’

In my View

The self-proclaimed genius

By Hussain Al-Qatari hussain@kuwaittimes.net

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ow can anyone call themselves a ‘blogger’ and expect to be taken seriously? I’m seriously puzzled by this. Blogging is an activity you do when you are bored, or when you want to share information with others, and the latter is a euphemism for ‘talkative.’ I don’t deny that I secretly keep a blog, but then again I’m not denying the fact that I’m easily bored, or that I have a lot of information to share with my imaginary nonexistent readers.

However, calling yourself a blogger is not cool. I can’t put it any other way.

Blogging was cool, it was the inthing years ago when only a handful of people had a wealth of ideas and opinions to share. The blogosphere was small, unique, and interesting. It was very genuine. Nowadays, the blogosphere is running in a vicious circle of blog entries sponsored by telecommunication companies, restaurants and

boutiques. If you say you’re a blogger now, you’re basically saying that you get paid to review products for businesses in Kuwait.

Blogging in Kuwait has died. I am sure a secret funeral was held in memorial of this great social networking activity, but it is dead, and every time someone claims to be a blogger, blogging rolls in its grave. I’ve been noticing a lot lately that people throw in the word ‘blogger’ a lot when describing themselves. Are they aware that blogging basically means being computer literate? It is like going around claiming to be an ‘emailsender’.

I’m all for the self-proclaimed genius; it is good to give yourself a selfesteem boost, but for the love of whatever is dear to you, stop calling yourself a blogger. Choose ‘writer’ or ‘activist’ or even ‘polymath’ instead.

‘I am sure a secret funeral was held in memorial of this great social networking activity, but it is dead, and every time someone claims to be a blogger, blogging rolls in its grave.’

velina@kuwaittimes.net

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ith the demise of the ‘News of the World’ we can celebrate the end of the media-savvy era of scandals.

Stagnant newspaper circulations, glutted press market, the spider-web of online communication and the hostile takeover of the social media were not, however, the reason for last week’s fold of Britain’s best-selling Sunday tabloid. Instead, the culprit has been the marriage of business practices with social goals of the media that have gradually mutated journalism.

The tempestuous scandal about illegal and unethical phonehacking in the UK, and probably globally within the borders of Murdoch’s global media empire, has reached a crescendo. The newspaper which broke the cardinal rule of journalism, namely to obtain information by open and honest means, turned watchdogs, thinkers and truth-seekers into a bunch of news-hounds chasing sensationalism that inflate copy sales and kowtow to readership-obsessed news-speak.

The simmering controversy ignited by the unexpected folding of the 168-year-old tabloid in the country ranked one of the top 20 for its press freedoms, further crippled the creed role of journalism and sent ripples across the news-folk on various continents. Known as the Fourth Estate in journalistic parlance, Murdoch’s media conglomerate, the scandal revealed, was caught entangled in “cozy relations” with law-enforcers and politicians by virtue of adopting corrupt practices. So, in an odd twist, the whistleblower studded with gossip and scandals has tasted a bit of its own medicine - attracting a crop of headlines tied to misdeeds involving politicians, police and people with power. Is the Fourth Estate then part of the other three it is supposed to oversee?

More disturbingly, revelations and reported news accounts about the byline counts, the fear factor of the newspaper’s editorial team and the bullying nature in the newsroom have forced a redefinition of the profession’s ethical standards and news values worldwide. The quest for circulation and the spiraling demand to bring in any news at any cost demonstrate how journalists embraced practices sapped by corruption. The writers of fact in Murdoch’s establishment were producing puff pieces that managed to wow readership but failed to perform their main duty - to inform the masses on matters that are of public interest.

In such a distorted public domain, two questions remain unanswered: Would those revelations help conventional media when facing turf wars for media territories with social communication online? Or, on a more ominous note, would the ‘World’ scandal lead to a trust deficiency in the media and trigger greater interest in civic-minded journalism online?

For us in Kuwait, the news from the United Kingdom has opened up an opportunity to reminisce on the good old journalism that ferrets problems and protects the sanctity of the public interest by instigating social justice. Second, Kuwait’s media law does not allow for a global entrant of the likes of Murdoch that slaves to commercial trafficking of information to make an appearance and reshape the status quo. Third, the Murdoch saga has also opened up an avenue of inquiry as to what an extent press freedom surveys and ethical journalism championed by the West are a force to reckon with? It could be argued that the media in societies undergoing a transition in the Arab World or others committed to the functioning of media watchdogs (such as Kuwait), is more liberal than in some old democracies with well-established traditions, like UK for example.

However, would the Western media or its eastern counterpart be crowned the leader in the next global media report will partly help solve that puzzle. Until then, all we can do is sit and feast on a juicy slew of news reports coming from the Western hemisphere, further unveiling snowballing acts of wrongdoing and celebrate the ethical approaches of our truly independent press.

Local FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Why cell phones human cells don’t like

By Ben Garcia

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here is a possibility that cell phones may be classified as gadgets that injure human health in a decade’s time, says a medical expert. Just like how cigarettes were eventually identified as being carcinogenic, cell phones could face the same fate. Carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that is an agent directly involved in causing cancer. Audiology Specialist, Dr Hossam Sanyelbahaa Talaat believes cigarettes were just identified as a potential carcinogen. During the first 100 years of its existence, their popularity was not tarnished. “Just like the cigarettes, cell phones, could eventually be classified as carcinogenic and harmful to humans. I would say maybe in less than 10 years, a relatively shorter duration compared to the ‘harmless’ time frame enjoyed by cigarettes. Cell phones will be classified as being harmful to humans,” asserted Dr Hossam, a wellknown ENT professor at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt.

He added that while the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned users against the dangers of using mobile phones, as of now, the gadget is safe and has no short-term effects on human beings. According to Dr Hossam, the organization (WHO) was uncertain of what the real number is. It recently announced the possible risk of cancer among mobile phone users, after finding significant evidence of increase in glioma and acoustic neuroma brain cancer. About half of all primary brain tumors are gliomas, while acoustic neuromas grow in the nerve that runs from the ears to the brain that controls hearing and balance.

“WHO is not sure yet whether the radiation emitted from the mobile phones are harmful or causes no harm to humans, maybe yes or maybe no.

But for me, prevention is better,” he pointed out. He compared cell phone usage to the widespread popularity enjoyed by cigarettes a 100 years ago, “People at that time were unaware of cigarettes’ carcinogen hazards. So, nobody bothered to talk about it. The cell phone now is at the same position.

Nobody knows the future consequences involved. Maybe, we’ll finally see the real number, but this time, we will not have to wait for so long,” he said.

He was quick to highlight that cell phones do not pose any immediate short term effects, “But we don’t know

Electromagnetic radiation can cause male fertility issues, claim experts the long-term effects. This is because cell phones ‘invaded’ our world just about 15 years ago,” he elaborated.

“What effect does it have on human beings after using cell phones over 30 to 50 years. We do not know yet. That is about to be discovered.

Kids, stay away!

Electromagnetic radiation is dangerous, according to Dr Hossam. “We are living in a world that is surrounded by electromagnetic radiation waves. Say for example, a transmission antenna; has a powerful radiation. It is more dangerous than the cell phone unit itself, but nevertheless it has a radiation level that is tolerable to humans,” he added.

Dr Hossam warned that electromagnetic radiation from cell phones, antennas are not only dangerous, but also have an adverse effect on children. “We are grateful to schools that have imposed a ban on cell phone usage.

You know, children’s skulls are not firm as the adults; their skin is thinner, so if you allow them usage of a mobile, it

can affect them negatively. Take them [cell phones] away from children to avoid electromagnetic radiation,” he added.

In love with phones On the question of whether to stop selling and buying mobile phones, “No. We are not there as yet in that stage,” he said, advising mobile users, to keep the cell phone away from the delicate parts of the body, such as a man’s private parts as it could adversely affect sperm count. “It causes abnormalities in sperm counts. Women are not too affected because the ovaries are securely hidden,” he jested. “Don’t sleep close to your mobile phones, keep them away and if possible switch them off. Limit your talking time on cell phones, one hour limit per day is a safe margin, not more than that, and it should not be continuous,” he said.

When asked whether insomnia or headaches can be linked to too much cell phone exposure he answered, “It could be, but there are lots of possible

reasons; so I do not want you to buy the suggestion that headaches and insomnia are connected to cell phone exposures. It probably triggers the headache, since you accumulate so much heat from the cell phones.”

“Do not condition your mind to state that cell phones are dangerous; they are fine as I said because there is no immediate or short-term effect. So please use mobile phones, but be cautious,” he reiterated. He also advised cell phone users to avoid loud volume as it could possibly affect hearing abilities which could be permanently damaged.

The Kuwait Ministry of Health, according to Dr Hossam, has not studied the health effects of cell phones on the local population. “As far as I know, no research has taken place yet when it comes to this issue. However they are aware of the studies conducted outside Kuwait. The Kuwait Ministry is keen to be part of the solution,” he claimed.

Drive Now. Talk Later.

Mobile COMP FRI new.indd 3

11/3/10 4:52 PM

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Looking like a sausage in a casing two sizes too small, I know deep down that I do not fit in this item. I should just let go and not buy it, but I convince myself that I might fit one day.

By Sawsan Kazak

chance to wear them.

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Too cheap to leave Sometimes some items are priced so cheap that it would almost seem like a crime to leave them behind. When shoes are available at 90 percent off their original price, I can’t seem to walk away. Kuwait has some spectacular sales that make shopping a real steal. Knowing that these clothes are not my style or I

hopping is definitely a major Kuwait pastime, up there with dining out and parliamentary grillings. Throughout my life, I had never considered myself to be a real shopper. I used to go to the mall when I actually needed something, buy it and leave. Having spent a few years in Kuwait now, I can proudly say that shopping has become one of my personal pastimes. Having spent much time honing my skills, I have developed a system and technique for all my shopping needs. I am not a shopaholic, but I have acquired a taste for the shopping process. But with all my skills, I still am victim to some shopping mistakes.

It might fit some day Sometimes I fall so head-over-heels with an item that I buy it on the spot without even taking into consideration the fact that it doesn’t fit. I get into the changing room and try to squeeze myself into that great looking summer dress or those awesome jeans that I just have to have. After a few minutes of trying I finally get the zipper closed. Looking like a sausage in a casing two sizes too small, I know deep down that I do not fit in this item. I should just let go and not buy it, but I convince myself that I might fit one day. I was planning on losing weight eventually and when I do, I can rock these jeans and show off my new body.

After having convinced myself numerous times to purchase the barely fitting clothing item, I realize that I never end up losing enough weight for it to fit. The clothes end up going out of style before I have a

items. I know have two sock drawers and a whole section for tank-tops and t-shirts. Yes, they come in handy, but I don’t really need 35 of each to complete my wardrobe.

Too lazy to try it Sometimes I am just not in the mood to try on the clothes I want to buy. I just can’t be bothered to take the stuff into the changing room and see if they actu-

Assuming I am very knowledgeable about my size, I confidently buy the clothes and take them home. Every time I have done that, the clothes have always been too tight; apparently I think I’m smaller than I actually am. Now when I do that I make sure to ask about the store’s return and exchange policy. will never leave the house in them doesn’t seem to deter me. I buy the clothes and get the rush of having snatched up an amazing bargain. Of course, I then end up never wearing the clothes and could save a lot more money if I would stop buying pieces simply for the astonishing discount.

Can’t have enough There are some items I always assume I can’t have enough of. Plain t-shirts, tank-tops and socks are things I can never seem to get enough of. Every time I am at the mall I pick up some of the aforementioned

ally fit. Assuming I am very knowledgeable about my size, I confidently buy the clothes and take them home. Every time I have done that the clothes have always been too tight; apparently I think I’m smaller than I actually am. Now when I do that I make sure to ask about the store’s return and exchange policy.

I have been trying hard to work on these shopping problems but they seem hard to overcome.

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Local

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Paying etiquette needs a double check

By Lisa Conrad

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hether you are an expatriate or a Kuwaiti, it’s very likely that at some point you have come across the cheque tug-of-war at the end of meals with friends or colleagues. The scenario is the same every time: the waiter comes closer to your table, you (possibly) eye the cheque and work out how you can grab it before your companion does. Even when it arrives, there’s usually an argument about who pays and the occasional “You’re being ridiculous” or “I’m getting really insulted now” is thrown in by the person losing the cheque tug-of-war.

‘Reciprocation is an important aspect of paying etiquette in the Middle East: although offers will be made by friends nearly every time, they should never be accepted always.’

This insistence is not something exclusive to Kuwait, but spans across the Middle East. Layla, a Lebanese student, said: “I think it’s a nice tradition. It’s all about generosity and hospitality, and Arabs love to feed their friends and loved ones. So I guess that’s why it transfers to restaurants and paying for food since you’re trying to feed that person.” Anthropologist, Aida Kanafani, said in her book ‘Rites of hospitality and aesthetics’ that the

hospitality and generosity that Arabs are so well known for stems from when bedoons would guide passing travelers or visitors through the harsh terrain and provide them with food and shelter.

Talal, a marketing manager in Kuwait, loves the hospitable offers, saying: “I think it’s a great thing, but only if you genuinely mean it. I always try and pay when I’m with my friends because I want to, not because I’m obliged to, and they do the same. It usually ends up being quite balanced, because if you manage to get the cheque on time, there’s no way your friends will allow you to do the same the next time.”

When to pay?

Reciprocation is an important aspect of paying etiquette in the Middle East: although offers will be made by friends nearly every time, they should never be accepted always. In her book “Understanding Arabs”, Arabic Professor Margaret Nydell specifically notes that Arabs will usually insist on paying the bill. But, she adds, it is necessary to reciprocate at some point. Even though the offers are genuine, it’s, firstly, unfair to accept them every time. Secondly, it’s not great for your reputation if you’re the one person in the group who disappears to the bathroom when it’s time to pay.

Seriously.

However, being overly generous can go wrong.

Omar, who is Jordanian, said: “When I started making a lot of money, I wanted to enjoy it with my friends, so I’d pick expensive places and insist on paying. I didn’t

mind at all, I wanted to enjoy my new financial freedom with my friends. But after a while, I noticed that they stopped offering whatsoever, even at casual, cheaper places. I’d become the designated cheque-payer. After that I really felt disappointed in them, the principle of the matter is really wrong. Even at the cinema they would disappear when it came to paying.

While the Middle East takes cheque-paying to the extreme, it seemed alien in the United States, says Mohammad, a Kuwaiti studying in the US: “When I went out for dinner with other Kuwaiti or Arab friends and we all started scrambling for the cheque, the waiters seemed to find it quite odd. They tend to split the cheque more in the States. It definitely makes things way easier without all of the arguing and grabbing for the cheque at the end of a meal. But it went too far sometimes, with people pointing out that they owed a dollar less or something. I found that very strange.”

In Kuwait, and the Middle East as a whole, there is no specific rule regarding paying. But, balance should always be regarded as a guideline if you’re unsure.

Insisting to pay when you’re in the company of someone considerably older or an older relative is not common in the Middle East and can be seen as offensive.

Similarly, if you’re with someone much younger in age than you, it is courtesy to pay the cheque. Happy spending!

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

By Sunil Cherian group of women emulate the rowing of a boat, some forty-somethings belt out popular folk songs, children enact a classic poem and teenagers sport clothing made from recycled items ala Lady Gaga style. These are typical scenes that unfold on the stage during programs organized by Indian expat associations.

Previously, a function would be presided over by a chief speaker who addressed a handful of loyal members, a few cultural items would be staged and the customary vote of thanks would be read.

These shows have now metamorphosed into mega cultural

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Jai Ho soldie rs jubilee cele ! : ICSK students in full brations. swing durin g a pre

sentation to

events that are held in large multipurpose halls (rented at the rate of KD1,000). It accommodates several hundreds of people who are active spectators.

Even a small-scale event is choreographed and well-planned adding decor, color, props and speakers to enthuse both the participants and the audience. Even the shows are conceptualized innovatively, owing to intense competition faced from several expat associations. Perhaps, this form of creativity is a reflection of our times: fast-paced, demanding, more voyeuristic.

celebrate Ku

wait’s golden

bers rend er folk Folk to folks : Futur e Eye Thea tre, Kuwa it mem between theater filler gap a songs. Originally thought of as being s performance seriou a d gaine n ntatio prese song groups, the folk on its own status.

Revival of the past: A well-known Indi an poem was turned into a musical during Kozhikode District Association’s function held last week at Integrated Indian Scho ol, Jleeb. Creative works like these not only shed light on histo ry but also offer a fresh perspective to many youngsters.

Ooh la la: R enji and Nit h fo rm a sa ls a n u m b e ya perr a t A IS , Maidan Haw ally. Now B o style dance numbers are llywood extremely popular.

— Photos by Sunil Cherian

A fa sh io n p a ra d e w it h a d iff e re n ce packets are : u staged as p sed to adorn casual cl M il k , ju ic e a n d ch ip s art of St Th o omas Day ce thing. The show was Syro Malabar lebra Cultural Ass ociation (SM tions conducted by CA) recently.

en men, wom o rm e d b y ld as part of rf e p y ll a e io n sh n ’: T ra d it ctice. The show wa s ‘b o a tm e W o m e n a t to this age-old pra is added a tw Voice, Kuwait. y an event b

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Kuwaiti FM praises Oxford Center OXFORD: Kuwait’s Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah took part in the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of Oxford Center for Islamic Studies here Wednesday night said the establishment plays a key role in bolstering dialogue among religions. Sheikh

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) members are seen after they offered 20 tons of aid to Somalia as a humanitarian gesture to alleviate suffering. — KUNA

Kuwaiti planes carry 20 tons of aid to Somalia KUWAIT: In a swift response to the UN appeal for urgent humanitarian aid to the drought-stricken Somalia, two Kuwaiti planes loaded with humanitarian aid took off Abdullah Al-Mubarak Military Airbase yesterday for the impoverished Horn of African nation.

The aid planes, sent by the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS), are carrying 20 tons of food, medicine and tents. “This is part of the Kuwaiti contribution to the international efforts to alleviate the suffering of the famine-hit Somali people,” said Head of KRCS mission to Somalia Mesaad Rasheed Al-Anzi. “We are coordinating with Somalia Red Crescent and other relief organizations operative in Somalia to help distribute the aid to those in need of it,” Al-Anzi noted. “This move is meant to show solidarity with the Somali people and help alleviate their suffering,” he concluded.

Somali Ambassador in Kuwait Abdul-Kader Ameen Sheikh expressed gratitude to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and all Kuwaiti people for their generosity and support to Somali people. The Amir has pledged $10 million in aid for the Somali people, who are suffering from malnutrition and famine as a result of the worst drought to hit the nation in 10 years. The Somali Ambassador also applauded KRCS’s swift response to the Somali appeal for aid and its role in organizing aid missions and distributing aid to beneficiaries in the poor Horn of Africa nation. The United Nations on Wednesday declared famine in two regions of southern Somalia, and warned that this could spread further within two months in the war-ravaged Horn of Africa country unless donors step in. — KUNA

KUWAIT: The Somali Ambassador to Kuwait Abdul-Kader Ameen Sheikh speaks with the media.

Mohammad was named member of the board in 2009, one of a host of prominent Muslim and other figures. Sheikh Mohammad noted he was pleased to attend the meeting for the third time, as the attending politicians, intellectuals, and academicians seek to find means to bolster interaction and understanding

between the Muslim World and the West. The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies is a recognized independent centre of the University of Oxford. It was established in 1985 to encourage the scholarly study of Islam and the Islamic world. The Prince of Wales, Charles, is the patron of the centre. — KUNA

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

KUWAIT: Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Dr Fadhel Safar said that Kuwait and Iran had strong bonds and that they were commercial, economic and cultural partners. Speaking on receiving the Iranian Ambassador to Kuwait Rouhallah Qahramani Jabak, Safar said HH the PM Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed has urged boosting both friendly countries’ relations through all forms of cooperation and exchanged visits. — KUNA

No more work permits from visit visas KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor will no longer transfer visit visas to work permits, and measures have been adopted to implement this decision. Jamal AlDoussari Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor made the announcement. Al-Doussari justified the new move in accordance with latest statistics which showed that allowing such transfers had resulted in the local job market being flooded with a large pool of unwanted workers. He noted that this step would help keep a check on demographic imbalance between expatriates and citizens. “This rule will not apply to sectors that have been exempted and companies contracted with civil bodies,” he remarked. He explained that the rule would be used to organize the labor market by employing only skilled workers needed in Kuwait, Al-Watan reported. Commenting on formulating a policy to limit the number and stay of expatriate workers in Kuwait, Al-Doussari said that it was under discussion.

Kuwaiti child dies in tragic accident

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A three-year-old Kuwaiti child was killed after falling into an open manhole in Khairan.

Lovers arrested A citizen and an expatriate woman were recently arrested after being caught in a compromising position in a car in Hawally. The lovers were referred to relevant authorities.

Vehicle accidents A 23-year-old citizen died and another 26-year-old sustained severe injuries after they lost control of the motorbike they were riding in Mubarak Al-Kabeer. A 40-year-old citizen suffered from a shoulder injury when his vehicle collided into another along Fahaheel Expressway. The man was admitted to Mubarak hospital for treatment.

Hit-and-run-case A 10-year-old Lebanese boy fractured his right knee after being run over by a car in Farwaniya. The boy was admitted to the nearest hospital.

Fire doused A 43-year-old Egyptian sustained first degree facial burns while trying to douse a fire that broke out among a pile of garbage in a Maidan Hawally yard.

Street fight An Egyptian suffered facial injuries during a fight that took place in Jleeb. His opponent attacked him using a sharp metal object. The man was admitted to Farwaniya hospital for treatment.

‘Iraq is sitting duck for Kuwait over divisions’ Mezyad calls for solving KU applicants problem

By A Saleh KUWAIT: A Member of the Al-Iraqiya Coalition headed by former Iraqi PM Eyad Allawi, MP Hasan Al-Jabbour said yesterday that Iraq has “become a sitting duck for regional countries because of its divisions and disagreements within political blocs.” He added that Iraqi political blocs and their leaders had never agreed on any views or ideas since the government was formed. “This gives great opportunity for interference in Iraq’s domestic and foreign affairs,” he said pointing out that Kuwait decided to take advantage of such weakness and division by building Mubarak port and violating Iraqi borders. Furthermore, Al-Jabbour urged both the Iraqi government and political blocs to file a complaint with the UN to put an end to Kuwait’s violations.

Meanwhile, MP Hussein Mezyad urged Ahmed Al-Mulaifi Education and Higher Education Minister to solve admission problem at Kuwait University (KU) immediately. “The government has been myopic and has failed to assess the total outcome of high schools to provide enough university vacancies for them. Furthermore, Mezyad hailed the initiative launched by a number of KU professors who declared their willingness to work overtime to meet the growing number of applicants.

In another development, MP Musallam Al-Barrak asserted that the Kuwait University had admitted the children of diplomats and some expatriates but excluded Kuwaitis. He was speaking at a press conference held at the National Assembly in the presence of the eight female medical students who were deprived the right to resume studies. “We need doctors who are citi-

zens,” he said, urging the acting PM to not let the faculty decide on students’ fate and complicate situations.” “I dare the government to solve this problem,” he challenged. Furthermore, Al-Barrak wondered how a ‘poor’ country like Jordan, whose budget depends mainly on GCC states, had 17 universities while Kuwait did not.

On a different note, the speaker of the Arab Parliament, Kuwaiti MP Ali AlDiqbasi hailed the initiative taken by HH the Amir to assist Somalia by sending immediate aid relief. He also commended the Arab League’s Secretary General, Dr Nabil Al-Arabi’s decision to help.

“Various Arab NGOs, Arab Red Crescent Societies, the EU and various international relief organizations are working jointly to help Somalia overcome the current famine,” he said urging various Somali tribes and citizens to stop clashing with each other.

Burnt to death: Suspect confesses to murder KUWAIT: In a follow-up to the recent murder case of an Asian who was burned alive by his friend, the suspect told police that he committed the crime as an act of revenge.

He discovered that the man had an affair with his wife back in their home country.

The suspect, who was escorted to the crime scene, told police that he usually spent the night with the victim drinking. One day, he confessed to having an affair with his wife.

“One of my three children actually took after him,” said the suspect noting that having determined to kill him, he went to his room and found him asleep. He doused his body with a flammable liquid and set him alight with his lighter and waited outside the room. Paramedical staff who were informed of the incident arrived on the scene and pronounced him dead. “I felt a lot of relief and was happy to learn that he died,” the suspect said.

Teen girl missing An Arab mother filed a complaint with police stating that her 17-year-old daughter was missing. She added that she had not returned home and her whereabouts could not be traced.

Boy leaves home A citizen filed a complaint with police stating that his 15-year-old son stormed out of the house two days ago after he refused to buy him an iPad. The father explained that he had already bought him one as a reward for doing well in school and that it was stolen from him. “He kept insisting that I buy him another one and I was furious,” he added noting that his son left home.

Theft at supermarket An Indian supermarket owner in Salhiya

lodged a complaint with the police stating that four thieves threatened his son using knives while alone at the supermarket. They made away with KD300 and six mobile phones. The owner provided police with footage from the store’s closed circuit surveillance cameras that captured the circumstances leading to the robbery.

Investigations are in progress to indentify and arrest the assailants.

Gambling partner assaulted Five Asian men were recently arrested for assaulting and stabbing their gambling partner who won all the money.

After stabbing the man, the suspects gathered the money and left him bleeding profusely. The severely injured man arrived at the hospital. He reported the assault and received a medical report of his injuries.

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

British premier under new pressure over Murdoch links

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Atlantis landed, ends NASA’s shuttle era

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Japanese man jailed for killing Briton Lindsay

16 CAIRO: An Egyptian boy walks past a picture decorating a road in Cairo’s landmark Tahrir Square yesterday, where activists continue camping out to demand political change as anger grows with the military rulers over the slow pace of reform. — AFP

Egypt swears in new cabinet Several controversial ministers keep their posts CAIRO: New ministers in a sweeping reshuffle of Egypt’s cabinet took their oaths in front of the country’s military ruler yesterday, as the prime minister sought to appease protests over the pace of reform. “The new ministers in the government of (Prime Minister) Essam Sharaf took their oaths today (Thursday) in front of the commander of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi,” the official MENA news agency reported.

Roughly half of the ministers in the reshuffled cabinet are new. The changed line-up was meant to take office on Monday but the ceremony was delayed amid wrangling that

led to Sharaf’s brief hospitalisation with exhaustion. Sharaf had hoped the new cabinet would mollify activists who have been camped out in Cairo’s Tahrir Square since July 8, but they have rejected the new line-up, which retains several ministers they want sacked.

According to a list published on MENA, several controversial ministers kept their posts, including two appointed under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, Electricity Minister Hassan Yunis and International Cooperation Minister Fayza Abul Naga.

But Mubarak’s environment minister, Maged George, the only remaining Coptic

Christian in the cabinet, has been replaced by Maged Ilyas Ghattas, another Copt, according to MENA. The protesters wanted Sharaf to replace Justice Minister Abdel Aziz al-Gindi, whom they accused of delaying trials of former regime officials, including Mubarak himself. Mansur Essawy, the interior minister protesters wanted fired, also kept his post. No minister for antiquities was named. Sharaf’s first choice, Islamic relics expert Abdel Fatah al-Banna, came under fire shortly after his appointment was announced on Monday.

State media reported that the ministry itself, which was created only in Mubarak’s final year, was being abolished.

Activists have called for a mass demonstration today, dubbing it the “Decisive Friday”, while hardline Islamist groups say they are organising a counter-demonstration for “stability.” It will be the second cabinet to take office in the face of protests since a nationwide revolt overthrew Mubarak in February.

He is now under arrest on murder and corruption charges in a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, undergoing treatment for a heart condition. Sharaf’s cabinet was sworn in weeks after the strongman’s resignation on February 11, after mass protests persuaded the ruling military to sack Mubarak’s last cabinet. —AFP

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Libya rebels seek arms for pre-Ramadan offensive BENGHAZI: Libya’s rebels asked France for extra arms to help them overrun Tripoli within “days”, as they ramped up a pre-Ramadan offensive that has Moamer Kadhafi’s troops on the run in the east.

The request was made in Paris on Wednesday to French President Nicolas Sarkozy by military leaders from the rebel-held city of Misrata, a member of their delegation said.

Rebel leader Mahmud Jibril meanwhile was expected to seek additional aid for their military campaign from Spain during talks in Madrid yesterday with Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez. Sarkozy held talks at his Elysee presidential palace with rebel General Ramadan Zarmuh, Colonel Ahmed Hashem and Colonel Brahim Betal Mal, as well as Suleiman Fortia, a local representative of the rebel leadership in Misrata.

“With a little bit of help, we will be in Tripoli very soon. Very soon means days,” Fortia told reporters after the meeting. “We are here in France to discuss how we can do the job.” France is taking part in NATO-coordinated strikes against Kadhafi’s military assets and was the first outside state to formally recognise the rebels’ Transitional National Council.

It has already dropped arms to the rebels in the Nafusa Mountains, southwest of Tripoli, to help them defend themselves against Kadhafi’s forces.

A rebel source said they were looking for similar deliveries of arms and munitions to Misrata.

“Insurgent commanders came to explain to the head of state that the keys to Tripoli are in Misrata,” said a supporter of the rebels, French writer Bernard-Henri Levy, who attended the talks.

GUALISH: Libyan rebels cautiously remove the fuses of an anti-personnel mines near the front line in the western desert hamlet of Gualish yesterday. — AFP “Misrata’s fighters are disciplined, battle hardened and they have a key asset: a military victory already won” against loyalist forces, Levy told AFP after the meeting. Misrata, around 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of Tripoli, has been controlled by rebels since mid-May, after a two-month siege by Kadhafi forces. French Defence Minister Gerard

Longuet said Kadhafi is losing control of crucial energy supplies as the rebels advance in the key eastern oil town of Brega, in Misrata and in the Nafusa mountains. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the Libyan strongman was “cut off from fuel and cash.” Rebels claim to have chased the bulk of Kadhafi’s eastern army from Brega

Yemen Qaeda chief, ten troops killed in fighting US provided logistical support to 25th Mechanised Brigade ADEN: A Yemeni Al-Qaeda leader and 10 soldiers have been killed in a south Yemen battle, a military source and medics said yesterday, as a top official said the US had aided a unit besieged in the south. Ayad alShabwani, a leader of the Yemen-based AlQaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), was killed on Tuesday by artillery fire during heavy fighting that continued into Wednesday between the army and suspected Al-Qaeda militants near Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, the military source said.

He was killed about four kilometres (2.5 miles) east of Zinjibar, the source added.

Medical sources said that 10 soldiers had been killed and 33 wounded in the fighting near Zinjibar. One medic at a military hospital said that it had received nine dead soldiers and 15 wounded on Wednesday night. And a medic at another hospital in Aden, the south’s main city that lies to the west of Zinjibar, said it received 19 wounded soldiers from the 31st Armoured Brigade, and that one had died of his wounds. Deputy Information Minister Abdo al-Janadi told a news conference in the capital Sanaa that the United States provided logistical support to the 25th Mechanised Brigade, which was besieged by militants in Zinjibar from late May. “The American forces are helping Yemen in its fight against Al-Qaeda” with material support, Janadi said. “They helped the army by bringing in food supplies when they were besieged by Al-Qaeda members,” he said, responding to a question about alleged American involvement in Zinjibar.

An official in Abyan said that ships and boats believed to be American were seen in the area of Zinjibar. He also said that there had been killings by snipers in the city during the night, which would require night-

vision equipment. A security source in the 25th Mechanised Brigade in Zinjibar said: “Our forces were able to lift the siege and kill a large number of terrorists who had besieged us since the end of last May. “Now, some of the soldiers were able to leave the brigade headquarters and engage in direct clashes with Al-Qaeda,” he said. “Today, we attack Al-Qaeda, unlike the situation a week ago,” he added. The military source meanwhile said that Yemeni troops had been attacked by militants south of Zinjibar, “resulting in the death and wounding of a number of soldiers,” but the attack was repulsed and the soldiers were able to progress towards Zinjibar.

Additionally, “units from the 31st Armoured Brigade and the 119th Armoured Brigade launched a number of

Katyusha rockets at hideouts of Al-Qaeda gunmen in Al-Koud area,” south of Zinjibar, “killing and wounding dozens of terrorists,” the source added. A wounded soldier in the hospital in Aden said: “We were in direct fighting with Al-Qaeda partisans in Al-Koud area, and we killed a large number of them.

“Our forces headed toward the bridge to Zinjibar and when we arrived there ... armed terrorists opened fire with automatic weapons, killing and wounding a number of us,” he said. “When I recover, I will return to Zinjibar to fight these evil terrorists,” he added. The official Saba news agency had said earlier that “two prominent members of the Al-Qaeda leadership were killed ... in Abyan province,” naming them as Ayad alShabwani and Awad Mohammed Saleh alShabwani.—AFP

SANAA: Protestors hold signs during a demonstration calling for the resignation of Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh, outside Sanaa University in Sanaa, Yemen, yesterday. For five months protesters have been calling for the end of Saleh’s 3year rule. — AP

while encircling loyalists holed up among oil installations in the northwest of the town. As part of what now appears to be a countrywide effort to tighten the noose on Kadhafi before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan begins around August 1, insurgents in the west said they were awaiting orders to start a fresh offensive from the Nafusa Mountains southwest of the capital.

During Ramadan, the endurance of even the hardiest volunteers will be tested by desert battle without food and water during the daytime fast observed by the faithful. But at Brega, rebel gains were stymied by vast quantities of anti-personnel mines planted by retreating loyalists and the difficulties in attacking an estimated 200 Kadhafi troops fighting from positions near vital petrochemical facilities. That difficulty was laid bare late on Tuesday, when 24 rebel fighters died. It was by far the rebels’ bloodiest day since the battle for Brega began almost a week ago.

A rebel military source said many of the casualties came when troops closing on isolated Kadhafi forces were hit by a line-guided rocket attack. Outside the town, rebel troops cleared minefields holding up their advance, while trying to dislodge Kadhafi’s artillery to the west. Libya’s government has denied the rebels retook Brega.

The rebels said Kadhafi troops inside the town were largely conscripts and volunteers who were surrounded. On the front line of the western desert hamlet Gualish, the rebels waited patiently in the shade until the next battle as Ramadan approaches and the searing summer sun grows more intense.— Reuters

Arrests as Syrian troops tighten screws on Homs NICOSIA: Syria’s security forces yesterday pressed a clampdown against dissidents in the central city of Homs, where shots were heard, arrests were made and many streets were deserted, rights activists said. “(Security forces) entered houses and made arrests,” said Rami Abdel Rahman of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reached by telephone.

“Shots were heard in Homs from dawn,” he added. “Most streets were deserted because of the military operations. Tanks were seen around the fortress and entrances to many neighbourhoods were closed.” Activists say pro-regime gunmen have killed at least 20 people in Homs since Monday, including seven mourners at a funeral.

Fierce fighting rocked the city at the weekend, with activists reporting more than 30 people killed in clashes among Christians, Sunni Muslims and President Bashar al-Assad’s minority Alawite community. Syria’s third-largest city, Homs has spearheaded demonstrations against Assad and his regime since protests erupted on March 15.

The army had already entered the city in May in a bid to stop rallies calling for the fall of the regime. Activists meanwhile called for more protests countrywide after the main weekly Muslim prayers on Friday, following a pattern that has become standard in many parts of the Arab world since popular uprisings toppled the veteran rulers of Tunisia and Egypt earlier this year.

Using the Facebook site Syrian Revolution 2011, one of the motors of the revolt against Assad’s autocratic rule, the activists said today’s protests will be in support of the residents of Homs.

It appealed for a mass turnout to honour “the grandsons of Khalid and for national unity.”

Khalid ibn al-Walid, a companion of the Prophet Mohammed known for his courage and military prowess, is buried in Homs.

Last Friday, more than one million people turned out across Syria-mainly in the cities of Hama and Deir Ezzor-to protest against Assad’s regime and to demand the release of hundreds of detainees seized at earlier pro-democracy rallies. Human rights activists said at least 28 civilians were killed, including 16 in the capital Damascus and a child, when security forces opened fire to quell last week’s protests. The activists say the government’s crackdown has left more than 1,400 civilians dead since midMarch. Thousands more have been jailed. — AFP

International FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Serbia seeks to turn page with Hadzic arrest BELGRADE: Serbia sought to turn the page on its troubled past as it prepared yesterday to hand over former Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic, the last remaining fugitive of a UN court in The Hague.

Hadzic’s lawyer said it was “realistic” to expect that his client would be on a plane to The Hague by Friday afternoon after he refused his right to appeal a Serbian court’s decision to transfer him.

Hadzic will spend his last two days in Serbia meeting with his family, the lawyer, Toma Fila, added.

Hadzic’s wife, son and sister visited him earlier on Thursday in a detention cell situated in the court building in Belgrade. They refused to talk to reporters after the two-hour visit.

Serbia’s deputy war crimes prosecutor Bruno Vekaric said the necessary documentation for his transfer had been sent to Justice Minister Snezana Malovic, who will sign the final order. But Vekaric said the exact moment of the transfer would not be made public in advance, citing security reasons.

With the arrest of Hadzic Wednesday after seven years on the run, Serbia has finally fulfilled its obligation to hand over all suspects wanted by the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. Full cooperation with the court was a key demand of the European Union as Belgrade hopes to get candidacy status and a date to start accession talks later this year.

“After 20 years, Serbia has broke free from the prison cell that held the country and its people,” Interior Minister Ivica Dacic told Beta news agency after the arrest. “The European Union should not blackmail Serbia, there are no reasons to impose (new) conditions on Serbia on the road to European integration,” he said.

Serbian President Boris Tadic was cautious about linking Hadzic’s arrest to EU membership, apparently disappointed at the response from Brussels after Belgrade captured Bosnian Serb ex-army chief Ratko Mladic less than two months ago. But Brussels hailed the arrest, saying it would boost Serbia’s chances of joining the 27-nation bloc.

“This is a further important step for Serbia in realising its European perspective and equally crucial for international justice,” EU president Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission chief Jose Manuel

Barroso said in a joint statement. However the head of the EU mission in Belgrade, Vincent Degert, warned that while “the fundamental obligations were met” much more remained to be done.

He highlighted the need for “internal reforms” and the need for Serbia to conform its legislation to European laws and “regional reconciliation and cooperation”. Serbia refuses to recognise the 2008 declaration of independence of its breakaway province Kosovo which was recognised by a majority of EU members.

Hadzic, who had been on the run since 2004, was arrested in the idyllic mountain region of Fruska Gora near the northern city of Novi Sad. He was wanted for the massacre by Croatian Serb troops under his command of 250 Croats and other non-Serbs taken from a hospital in Vukovar after the city fell to Serbian troops following a three-month siege in November 1991. The 52-year-old faces 14 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes for the murder of hundreds of civilians and the deportation of tens of thousands of Croats by troops under his command during the 199195 Croatian war. — AFP

British premier under new pressure over Murdoch links Cameron’s discussions on BSkyB deal were ‘irrelevant’

LONDON: This file picture taken on June 24, 2009 shows (from L to R) Kenyans Ndiku Mutwiwa Mutua, Paulo Muoka Nzili, Jane Muthoni Mara, spokesman of the Mau Mau War Veterans Association Gitu Was Kahengeri and Wambugu Wa Nyingi standing in Downing Street in central London, handing in a letter to then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. — AFP

Kenyans get go-ahead to sue Britain over torture LONDON: Four elderly Kenyans who claim they were tortured during an anti-colonial rebellion in the 1950s can sue the British government, a judge ruled yesterday. The Kenyans say they were beaten and sexually assaulted by officers acting for the British administration who were trying to suppress the “Mau Mau” rebellion, in which groups of Kenyans attacked British officials and white farmers who had settled in some of Kenya’s most fertile lands.

They say British administrators were aware they were being mistreated, and want an apology and compensation.

The British government tried to have the case thrown out, saying it could not be held legally responsible for the longago abuses.

But High Court judge Richard McCombe ruled that the claimants “have arguable cases in law,” and the suit can go ahead. In 1952, then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared a state of emergency in the country and sent British soldiers to help colonial administrators capture the fighters and send them to detention camps. African soldiers under the King’s African Rifles regiment also took part in the assault on the Mau Mau and their supporters.

President Barack Obama’s grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama, was one of thousands of Kenyans detained. The four Kenyan claimants, who are in their 70s and 80s, case say they were abused by European and African soldiers, officers and prison guards in the detention camps. —AP

LONDON: Prime Minister David Cameron was under renewed pressure yesterday from Britain’s phone-hacking scandal after it emerged he discussed Rupert Murdoch’s failed bid for BSkyB with the mogul’s executives.

A day after admitting to lawmakers that he regretted hiring an ex-editor of a Murdoch paper as his media chief, the Conservative leader faced new damaging questions about his links to the tycoon’s empire. Murdoch, who flew out of Britain Wednesday after a turbulent 11-day visit, was forced to abandon his bid to take full control of British pay-TV giant BSkyB earlier this month as the phone-hacking scandal escalated.

The scandal forced the closure of his News of the World tabloid and a string of arrests and resignations. After Cameron admitted in a stormy session of parliament that he did talk to Murdoch executives over the BSkyB deal, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was forced to defend him yesterday.

“He has been very categorical that no inappropriate discussions took place,” Clegg told reporters at a London press conference. “And more importantly still... he played no role, could play no role, didn’t play (a) role in the actual formal decision making process itself.”

Culture Minister Jeremy Hunt, who was responsible for making the final decision on whether the deal would go through, had also insisted Wednesday that Cameron’s discussions on the BSkyB deal were “irrelevant.” “They were irrelevant because the person who had the responsibility... the person who was making this decision was myself,” he said.

But opposition Labour party culture spokesman Ivan Lewis seized on the disclosure, saying that Cameron had “far more questions to answer.” “The whole point about this (bid) process is that it is

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron (L) meets a staff member of the Big Issue newspaper as he edits this week’s paper in south London, yesterday. — AFP meant to be entirely independent and transparent,” he told the BBC. “It is meant to be entirely in the hands of Jeremy Hunt, free of any influence whatsoever of David Cameron.”

The revelation ramped up pressure on the prime minister following the arrest on July 8 of his ex-communications director Andy Coulson on suspicion of involvement in phone hacking and bribing police.

Coulson was News of the World editor but resigned in 2007 after the paper’s royal editor and a private investigator were jailed for hacking phones, although he denied knowing the practice was taking place on his watch.

He quit Downing Street in January as new evidence of hacking emerged.

Addressing lawmakers Wednesday, Cameron conceded that “with 20-20 hindsight and all that has followed, I would not have offered him (Coulson)

the job and I expect that he wouldn’t have taken it”.

He added: “You live and you learn and believe you me, I have learned.” He admitted that another arrested former executive of the paper, Neil Wallis, may have advised Coulson before last year’s general election but said his Conservative party had not paid him, and he did not know about it at the time. The phone-hacking scandal dogged the Murdoch empire for years but exploded into a full-blown crisis this month when claims emerged the News of the World hacked the phones of a murdered teenager and relatives of dead British soldiers. The crisis led to Murdoch and his son James, deputy chief operating officer of News Corp., being dragged before a committee of British lawmakers Tuesday who grilled them for almost three hours over the scandal. —AFP

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Humala picks two moderates for Peru Cabinet LIMA: Leftist Peruvian Presidentelect Ollanta Humala picked more moderates for his Cabinet yesterday as he tries to reassure investors he will govern as a centrist in one of the world’s fastestgrowing economies.

The appointments burnish the pragmatic image Humala sought to project during the campaign, in which he convinced many voters he had shed his radical past and strident opposition to foreign investment, private capital and free trade.

“We are building a government of national unity,” Humala

said. The former army officer, who takes office July 28, has vowed to do more to quell vexing social conflicts over natural resources that pit big mining and oil firms against poor rural towns left behind by a decade-long economic boom.

Humala, whose core base of support is in remote provinces, says a weak state, which only takes in tax revenues of about 15 percent of gross domestic product, must become more muscular and focus more funding on social programs to lift up the one-third of Peruvians mired in poverty. He

says that would help avert social conflicts that often turn violent and marred departing President Alan Garcia’s tenure.

In an interview on local television that aired early on Thursday, Huamala said he had named as foreign minister Rafael Roncagliolo, an academic and journalist who has worked on governance and media issues in international forums.

He chose Carlos Herrera, an engineer, to serve a second stint as Peru’s mines and energy minister. Those picks come followed an announcement late on

Wednesday that Salomon Lerner, a wealthy businessman who ran his campaign, would lead the Cabinet as prime minister and orthodox economist Luis Miguel Castilla would be finance minister. Castilla was deputy finance minister in President Alan Garcia’s government and is associated with the country’s freemarket economic model. Castilla rounds out Humala’s economic team after he said on Sunday he would reappoint conservative central bank chief Julio Velarde, who is praised by Wall Street, to another five-year term.

Peru is one of the world’s top minerals exporters. Foreign companies have pledged $50 billion in mining and oil investments for the next decade in Peru, but investors are increasingly worried about social conflicts over pollution, water and local revenues from natural resource projects.

While Humala’s picks could please investors, he risks alienating his core supporters and he has yet to say how he will persuade the conservatives he picked to head economic policy to increase spending on social programs. — Reuters

Atlantis landed, ends NASA’s shuttle era Atlantis will go on display at Kennedy Space Center

AGADEZ: Nigerois Prime Minister Brifi Rafini (2nd R) checks in the northern city of Agadez a stock of anti-tank mines that was voluntarily handed over in mid-July by some 200 Tuareg rebels, who decided to make peace with the Nigerien government. - AFP

US presses Turkey on religious freedom WASHINGTON: A US congressional committee on Wednesday urged Turkey to ensure religious freedom and return church properties to their “rightful owners” in a vote opposed by the Ankara government. After a spirited debate, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a text that says Turkey should “end all forms of religious discrimination” and “return to their rightful owners” all churches and other Christian historic sites.

“Religious minorities are under grave threat in today’s Turkey,” said Representative Ed Royce, a Republican from California. “Rather than enjoying protection, very vulnerable religious minority groups including the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox Church are denied full legal status,” he said.

Turkey in 1971 closed a major seminary of the Orthodox Church, which has been seated in Istanbul since Byzantine times, as the secular state tried to bring universities under its control. Turkey does not recognize Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I’s title as head of Orthodox Christians and considers him only the spiritual head of Turkey’s tiny Greek Orthodox minority.

Turkey had voiced opposition to the amendment-which was included in a spending bill-and noted that the country has historically been home to large numbers of Christians and Jews. “Turkey opposes the language in the measure because it presents a biased, one-sided perspective and wholly disregards the constructive steps Turkey has taken to safeguard and expand religious freedom and tolerance and to preserve places of worship belonging to Jews and Christians,” Namik Tan, Turkey’s ambassador to Washington, said in a statement. The measure enjoyed support from both major US parties. But Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from California who eventually voted for the text, questioned why the House zeroed in on Turkey. —AFP

CAPE CANAVERAL: The space shuttle Atlantis glided home through a clear moonlit sky yesterday to complete a 13-day cargo run to the International Space Station and a 30-year odyssey for NASA’s shuttle program. Commander Chris Ferguson gently steered the 100-tonne spaceship high overhead, then nose-dived toward the swamp-surrounded landing strip at the Kennedy Space Center, a few miles (kilometres) from where Atlantis will go on display as a museum piece.

Double sonic booms shattered the predawn silence around the space center, the last time residents will hear the distinctive sound of a shuttle coming home.

Ferguson eased Atlantis onto the runway at 5:57 a.m. EDT (0957 GMT), ending a 5.2 million-mile (8.4 million-km) journey and closing a key chapter in human space flight history. “Mission complete, Houston,” Ferguson radioed to Mission Control.

Astronaut Barry Wilmore from Mission Control answered back, “We’ll take this opportunity to congratulate you Atlantis, as well as the thousands of passionate individuals across this great space-faring nation who truly empowered this incredible spacecraft, which for three decades has inspired millions around the globe.”

Atlantis’ return from the 135th shuttle mission capped a 30-year program that made spaceflight appear routine, despite two fatal accidents that killed 14 astronauts and destroyed two of NASA’s five spaceships.

The last accident investigation board recommended the shuttles be retired after construction was finished on the space station, a $100 billion project of 16 nations.

That milestone was reached this year, leaving the orbiting research station as the shuttle program’s crowning legacy.

Details of a follow-on program are still pending, but the objective is to build new spaceships that can travel beyond the station’s 250-mile (400-km) orbit and send astronauts to the moon, asteroids and other destinations in deep space. The final shuttle crew included just four astronautsFerguson, pilot Doug Hurley, flight engineer Rex Walheim and mission specialist Sandy Magnus-rather than the typical six or seven astronauts, a precaution in case Atlantis was too damaged to safely attempt

the return to Earth. With no more shuttles available for a rescue, NASA’s backup plan was to rely on the smaller Russian Soyuz capsules.

At Cape Canaveral, 2,000 workers, journalists and VIPs waited by the runway to cheer the shuttle landing and greet the “final four” astronauts as they emerged from their ship. “The things that you’ve

facility. As the shuttle touched down, a cheer arose through the crowd that gathered outside the center’s headquarters building.

But now that Atlantis is home, 3,200 of the shuttle program’s 5,500 contract workers will lose their jobs on Friday. Within about a month, the contract workforce that totaled about 16,000 five years ago will tail

CAPE CANAVERAL: Commander Chris Ferguson, right, shakes hands with pilot Doug Hurley after landing Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. yesterday. — AP done will set us up for exploration of the future,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told them.

Ferguson thanked the thousands of workers involved in the program over the years and said he hoped “this fantastic vehicle” would inspire a new generation of space explorers. “Although we got to take the ride, we sure hope that everybody who has ever worked or touched or looked at or envied or admired a space shuttle was able to take just a little part of the journey with us,” Ferguson said.

Thousands more employees gathered with their families to watch the landing on a giant television at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, home of Mission Control and NASA’s main astronaut training

off to about 1,000 who will oversee the transfer of Atlantis and sister ships Discovery and Endeavour to museums.

The shuttles’ retirement opens the door for a new commercial space transportation industry, with NASA relying on US firms to deliver cargo to the station starting next year and to fly its astronauts there by about 2015. Until space taxis are available, Russia will take on the job of flying crews to the station, at a cost of more than $50 million per person. The primary goal of Atlantis’ flight was to deliver a year’s worth of supplies to the station in case NASA’s newly hired cargo suppliers, Space Exploration Technologies and Orbital Sciences Corp, encounter delays preparing their new vehicles for flight. — Reuters

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US panel rejects bid to end all Pakistan aid Pakistan has shown itself not to be US ally

MANNASSAS: Civil War re-enactors from A Company 4th Infantry of the Confederacy hand out muskets as they prepare to participate in the First Battle of Manassas 150th Anniversary Commemorative ceremony at the Manassas National Battlefield Park in Mannassas, yesterday. — AP

Post-9/11 hate killer executed in Texas WASHINGTON: Authorities in Texas executed a racist killer who went on an anti-Muslim shooting rampage following the 9/11 attacks after pleas by one of his victims for his life to be spared were rejected. Mark Stroman, 41, was pronounced dead late Wednesday from a lethal injection administered at a jail in Huntsville, Texas, a decade on from a shooting spree which left two people dead and seriously wounded a third victim, Rais Bhuiyan.

“I am at peace,” said Stroman in his final statement. “Hate is going on in this world and it has to stop. Hate causes a lifetime of pain. Even though I lay here I am still at peace.” The execution was carried out at at 8:53 pm (0153 GMT Thursday) after a request by Bhuiyan for a stay of execution was denied by a judge.

Stroman’s attorney, Lydia Brandt, told the final court appeal that Stroman became “emotionally overwhelmed” after the Al-Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001, fed by a pain that was quickly replaced by “rage.” “He became obsessed with ‘fighting back’ against the Muslims who attacked America,” said Brandt.

But according to Brandt, Stroman “would not know the difference between a Sikh and a Muslim, or between Arabic and Urdu.” Four days after the attacks, Stroman killed his first victim in Dallas: Waqar Hasan was a Pakistani Muslim, and Stroman shot him without asking any questions. Hasan died instantly. On September 21, Stroman pulled up at a gas station where Bhuiyan was working in the Dallas area and shot him in the face. Bhuiyan survived but only after losing the use of one eye.

The third and final victim of Stroman’s rampage was Vasudev Patel, a Hindu. It is for Patel’s death that Stroman was sentenced to capital punishment in April 2002. During his sentencing, according to images shown on CBS, Stroman brandished an American flag and claimed his affiliation with the Aryan Brotherhood, a group of white supremacists.

Nearly 10 years later and days before his scheduled execution, The New York Times interviewed a transformed Stroman.

“The hate has to stop, we are all in this world together,” he told the paper in its Tuesday edition. “We need more forgiveness and understanding and less hate.”

According to a report in the Texas-based American Statesman newspaper, Bhuiyan had been telling a district judge that he wanted Stroman to explain to him why he had shot him when another court issued an order prohibiting him from continuing.

“He’s gone,” he said after the execution. “Who’s going to give me my answers?” Stroman had previously spoken of how he had been touched by Bhuiyan’s efforts to save his life. “Mr. Rais Bhuiyan, what an inspiring soul,” Stroman told the Times.

Bhuiyan, a practicing Muslim, campaigned to stop the execution and commute Stroman’s sentence to life in prison.

In the Times, Bhuiyan attributed his views to his upbringing. “My parents raised me with good morals and strong faith.

They taught me to put yourself in others’ shoes. “Even if they hurt you, don’t take revenge,” he said. “Forgive them. Move on. It will bring something good to you and them.” —AFP

WASHINGTON: A US Congress panel yesterday rejected a proposal to cut off all aid to Pakistan due to concerns over the country’s relationship with Islamic militants after the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. The House Foreign Affairs Committee easily rejected the measure, with five lawmakers voting yes and 39 voting no. But the bill in its current form would still impose tighter controls over aid, making it contingent on measurable progress by Pakistan.

Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from California, had offered the amendment to a spending bill for the fiscal year starting in October that would have barred any US funds to provide assistance to Pakistan. Rohrabacher raised questions about how Pakistan was using assistance from the United States at a time that Washington is seeking to curb spending to tame a ballooning debt.

“We can no longer afford this foolishness,” Rohrabacher said as he introduced a defunding measure in May. “The time has come for us to stop subsidizing those who actively oppose us.

Pakistan has shown itself not to be America’s ally,” he said. President Barack Obama’s administration recently sus-

pended about one-third of its $2.7 billion annual defense aid to Pakistan. But it has assured Islamabad it is committed to a five-year, $7.5 billion civilian package approved in 2009 that aims to build schools, infrastructure and democratic institutions.

The rival Republican Party controls the House and has drafted a measure, which remains in the spending bill, that would also cut off civilian aid unless Pakistan is certified to be fighting Islamic militants.

But even if the full passes through the committee, the measure’s prospects are uncertain. Obama’s Democratic Party controls the Senate, where Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry is a staunch advocate of civilian support to Pakistan.

Democratic lawmakers argue that civilian aid is crucial in the long-run to strengthen democratic institutions and raise educational levels in Pakistan in hopes of reducing the appeal of Islamic extremists. Representative Howard Berman, the top Democrat on the committee and a main author of the 2009 bill, said that changes in Pakistan will come by “strengthening its civilian institutions-not weakening them.”

The House Foreign Affairs Committee is pursuing a range of Republican priorities through its spending package, in which it aims to cut $6.4 billion from Obama’s budget requests. The committee worked well past midnight after an all-day session on Wednesday in which lawmakers voted to end all US assistance for five Latin American nations with leftist leaders.

In one controversial measure, the bill would ban funding to any foreign nongovernmental group that “promotes or performs abortion” except in cases of rape, incest or health risks to the expectant mother.

Representative Chris Smith, a Republican and staunch foe of abortion, said that the measure was needed to combat a “culture of death” which he said that the Obama administration has promoted.

Several Democrats denounced the measure, saying that the US government already banned funding to perform abortions and that the measure amounted to a “gag rule” against any group that mentioned abortion. The Republican-led committee defeated an attempt to remove the measure on a 2517 vote. — AFP

Australia to sue ex-Gitmo inmate over book

ARKANSAS: Abdulhakim Muhammad, second from left, is escorted to the Pulaski County Courthouse in Little Rock, Ark., where his trial for the shooting death of an Army recruiter and wounding of another continues yesterday. — AP

SYDNEY: Australia yesterday said it was preparing to sue exGuantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks for the royalties from his tell-all book, claiming they should be considered proceeds of crime. Hicks was captured in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks and spent fiveand-a-half years in the US-run prison at Guantanamo Bay before being convicted by a military commission of providing material support for terrorism. He returned to Australia in April 2007 and spent nine months in prison completing the commission’s sentence before finally being freed, on strict conditions that he report to police and not give interviews for a year. Now 35 and living in Sydney, Hicks broke his silence last year with an autobiography detailing his time in Guantanamo and the events that led up to his capture. It has reportedly sold 30,000 copies. “The Director of Public Prosecutions has applied for a restraining order and a literary proceeds order,” a government spokeswoman told AFP, adding the case would be heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales state on August 3.

Formerly an outback cattleman and once dubbed the “Aussie Taliban”, Hicks is not permitted to profit from his book under amendments to Australian proceeds of crime law made specifically to recognise his case. The lawsuit has surprised some legal watchers, who say it will be a test of his conviction by the US Military Commission and could challenge the controversial quasi-judicial system’s authority in Australia. “It may well be that this takes twists and turns, and may even up possibilities for David Hicks to gain recognition that his offence was not one that should be recognised under Australian law,” said constitutional lawyer George Williams.

“He may well (raise) issues going to the nature of his plea, whether duress was involved, whether it was a plea that should be recognised under the Australian legal system, and that could go to quite fundamental questions about the rule of law and the types of proceedings that can be properly recognised under Australian law,” Williams told ABC radio.

He added he would not be surprised if the case ended up in the nation’s top court, the High Court, to decide “some quite important matters of principle.” Hicks’s memoir “Guantanamo: My Journey” describes “six years of hell” in the prison in Cuba, where he endured deprivation and witnessed acts of brutality. —AFP

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Fresh riots at Australian immigration centre SYDNEY: Australia’s troubled Christmas Island detention centre was rocked by a second night of unrest, officials said yesterday, with police firing tear gas and non-lethal rounds at rioting inmates. Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said between 20 and 40 immigration detainees “engaged again in vandalism and violence” on Wednesday night, with a building set alight at the remote Indian Ocean centre.

“The federal police again took action and they used, I’m advised, gas and bean bag rounds,” Bowen told reporters. Tear gas, flash and acoustic weapons and “bean bag” or fabric rounds filled with lead shot were fired on about 50 detainees during riots Tuesday night, the second time in as many months Christmas Island has erupted in

protest.

Australia has a mandatory detention policy for asylum seekers arriving by boat, most on leaky vessels through a popular people smuggling corridor from Indonesia.

Christmas Island is the main facility, and home to 600 inmates. A record influx of boatpeople-almost 7,000 in 2010 — has stretched facilities to capacity, prompting the government to release women and children into the community and open new centres on Australia’s mainland.

The large numbers have resulted in lengthy processing delays, leaving some detainees locked up for 18 months or more and tensions running high. Canberra strengthened the character test for asylum visas so anyone convicted of crimes, includ-

ing rioting, in detention could be shipped back home following wild riots on Christmas Island and in Sydney earlier this year. Bowen warned detainees they faced the “full force of the law” if the violence continued. “This sort of activity is completely inappropriate, it is way out of line with the expectations of the Australian people,” the minister said.

“Undertaking this sort of activity is achieving nothing except potentially their release from detention and transfer into a prison.”

At least 30 detainees have already been charged over riots on Christmas Island last month and in March and violent protests at Sydney’s Villawood in April in which nine buildings were torched. The latest unrest came as human rights advocates warned that the mandatory and prolonged deten-

tion of asylum seekers was a serious breach of Australia’s international human rights obligations. Australia’s Human Rights Commission said the mandatory detention system was fundamentally flawed because it set no limit on how long people could be locked up and the detention cannot be challenged in court. “People in detention often express disbelief and a sense of injustice that in a country like Australia, they could be detained indefinitely without the ability to challenge their detention before a judge,” said Commissioner Catherine Branson.

“We know from bitter experience that prolonged detention causes serious mental harm.” Branson said there were about 4,000 people currently in immigration detention in Australia, including children. — AFP

Japanese man jailed for killing Briton Lindsay Victim’s family welcome verdict

MANILA: A student applies paint to an effigy of Philippine President Benigno Aquino at the Bayan political party headquarters in Manila yesterday that will be used at a protest during his second state of the nation address on July 25. — AFP

Malaysian panel rules harsh interrogation caused suicide KUALA LUMPUR: A high-level investigative panel believes that a Malaysian opposition aide committed suicide after anti-graft officers subjected him to harsh interrogation, the government said yesterday. The mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock in 2009 triggered a public outcry that pressured Prime Minister Najib Razak to address allegations that law enforcement officers frequently resort to violence and heavy-handed interrogation tactics.

However, the finding of a royal commission set up by the government to probe Teoh’s death is unlikely to appease many opposition supporters who suspect that Teoh was killed by officers in the government’s Anti-Corruption Commission. Teoh was found dead in a roof corridor beside the commission’s office in Malaysia’s central Selangor state in July 2009, several hours after being questioned over alleged misuse of funds by his boss. Teoh, 30, had been the aide of an opposition state legislator who was later cleared of any corruption offense. Nazri Abdul Aziz, the Cabinet minister responsible for parliamentary affairs, said the royal commission established that Teoh killed himself because of stress sparked by hours of “aggressive” interrogation tactics by three officers who violated protocol and deprived Teoh of sleep. The panel, which heard testimony from dozens of people earlier this year, believed the officers sought to force a statement by Teoh but had no intention of seeing him dead, Nazri said.

The minister said police will investigate the officers to determine whether they should be prosecuted, adding that they acted in a way that was “unprofessional and unacceptable.” “The government deeply regrets the death of Teoh Beng Hock,” Nazri said in a statement. “It was a human tragedy and nothing like this can be allowed to happen again.” Senior opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang said the officers should nevertheless be charged with homicide. The investigative panel also recommended that the anti-corruption agency improve training procedures for officers. An earlier inquest into Teoh’s death left it unresolved, with the coroner saying there was inadequate proof of suicide or murder. —Reuters

CHIBA: A Japanese man was sentenced to life imprisonment yesterday for raping and killing Briton Lindsay Hawker and burying her naked body in a sandfilled bathtub, in a case that horrified Japan and sparked a media frenzy.

Tatsuya Ichihashi, 32, who was living in the apartment where the 22-year-old English teacher’s body was found in 2007, eluded a massive manhunt for nearly three years after fleeing when police arrived at his apartment to question him. He mutilated his face to change his appearance.

“We can assume that the defendant had an intention to murder the victim when he put pressure on her neck,” said presiding judge Masaya Hotta of Chiba District Court, near Tokyo. “It is impossible to measure the victim’s regret, having to end in such a devastating situation her 22-year-old life that was filled with many possibilities,” Hotta said.

Ichihashi said in earlier sessions of the trial he did not assault Hawker and denied he intended to kill her, saying he was unaware he was suffocating her and tried to revive her.

Prosecutors had sought a life sentence, saying Ichihashi had raped and assaulted Hawker after tying her wrists and ankles together. They said he later suffocated her, fearing police would find out what he had done.

They rejected his argument that he tried to revive her and said he failed to call an ambulance. Ichihashi, dressed in a black shirt and grey pants and with a mop of curly hair, showed little reaction as the sentence was passed. He appeared to be trying to bow to Hawker’s parents as he was led out of the courtroom, but was stopped from doing so by guards.

Hawker’s mother, Julia, wiped away tears and nodded several times as she listened to the verdict, while her father, William, occasionally stared at Ichihashi.

They had called for the death sentence, but said after the trial they were satisfied with the verdict.

“We’ve waited four and a half years to get justice for Lindsay and we have achieved that today, and we are very pleased,” William told reporters and thanked Japanese and British authorities for their work and support.

“Lindsay loved Japan, and you have not let her down. Thank you.” After Ichihashi’s escape, police launched a nationwide search and offered a reward of 10 million yen ($127,000) for information leading to his arrest. A visit to a

the run, including living on a remote island and spending his days fishing.

The book, published this year, was a bestseller and Ichihashi wanted earnings from it go to Hawker’s family or charity.

About 950 people lined up for about 60 seats in the court to hear the verdict, and the courthouse was filled with Japanese and British media. “What can we do to clear the sorrow of the victim’s family?” said Megumi Ishikawa, a 48-

TOKYO: Bill Hawker (2nd L), father of slain 22-year-old British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, accompanied by Lindsay’s mother Julia (2nd R) and their two daughters Lisa (R) and Louise (L), speaks to reporters at a public prosecutor’s office in Chiba, suburban Tokyo yesterday, following the announcement that 32-year-old Japanese man Tatsuya Ichihashi was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping and killing Lindsay in 2007. — AFP plastic surgeon ultimately led to his arrest in 2009 after the doctor contacted police. He was caught at a port in western Japan while waiting for a ferry to the southern island of Okinawa.

A former student of horticulture, Ichihashi wrote a book about his life on

year-old housewife who was at the courthouse.

“As a Japanese, I feel sorry for the victim, who had good feelings for Japan.”

Ichihashi must serve a minimum of 10 years in prison, after which he could be eligible for parole. — Reuters

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Muslim charged in whipping attack in Australia SYDNEY: A second Muslim man has been charged in connection with an attack on a recent convert to Islam who was allegedly whipped 40 times as a religious punishment for drinking alcohol.

Wassim Fayad, 43, was freed on bail after being charged Wednesday with aggravated breaking and entering with intent to commit an indictable offense. The same charges were laid against Tolga Cifci, 20, on Tuesday. Neither man has entered a plea.

In granting bail, Magistrate Tim Kebby ordered Fayad to stay away from the alleged victim, saying the attack was “quite particular, arising from religious motivation.” The incident has created a furor in the Australian media, reflecting the friction caused by the expanding Islamic migrant community in a country

whose citizens are predominantly of Christian European background.

Australia relaxed its immigration policies in 1973 when it opened its doors to nonwhites, attracting a flood of immigrants from Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Prime Minister Julia Gillard weighed into the debate Wednesday, telling reporters there is no place for religious punishments in Australia.

“There is only one law in this country the law of Australia. That’s what binds us together and everybody has got to abide by that law,” she said. Fayad and Cifci are among four people who are accused of breaking into Christian Martinez’s house on Sunday, holding him down on his bed and whipping him 40 times with an electric cord. The court was told that Martinez, a recent convert to

Islam, was targeted for “religious reasons.”

Islamic Sharia laws, which prohibit alcohol, recommend whipping as a punishment for several offenses. No trial date has been set pending investigations. If convicted, the two could face up to 20 years in prison. Martinez, 31, was allegedly whipped for 30 minutes but did not need hospitalization. Local media have reported that the alleged attackers attended the same mosque as Martinez, and administered the lashing as a punishment for going to a pub.

Cifci, a Muslim, was born and raised in Australia. Fayad’s background is not immediately known, except that he is married and has six children. In an interview with community forum MuslimVillage.com published

Wednesday, Martinez said he had a drinking problem that he has been trying to overcome. He said he was drinking on the day of the alleged attack, which he said was “about some individuals, not religion.”

He said one of the attackers was a friend. “I will never forgive him but I guess Allah will judge him ... and Allah can forgive him,” said Martinez, who converted to Islam about three years ago. He described Islam as a “a beautiful religion,” which helped him get through his past. “I mean, I’m not perfect ... and now I believe I’m a better person because of Islam,” he said. He also said the “mainstream media” had been hounding him and had offered him money to tell his story, which he rejected. “I feel like a victim twice over,” he said. —Reuters

China tries to ease tensions with South Asia NUSA DUA: China yesterday sought to reassure Southeast Asian countries that it was a friendly neighbour, as all sides worked to ease tensions that spiked over a maritime territorial dispute.

Chinese diplomats told their counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a summit in Bali that China was intent on improving ties that had soured recently over the South China Sea row.

“We are determined to increase our co-operation with ASEAN countries. We’re looking to the future, we have a broad, bright future,” Chinese vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin told reporters on the sidelines of the talks. “We want to be a good friend, good partner, good neighbour with ASEAN countries.”

Liu made his comments shortly after Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his 10 ASEAN counterparts formally endorsed a set of guidelines to lay the framework for a potential code of conduct in the South China Sea. ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia, along with China and Taiwan, have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, an area believed to hold vast oil and gas resources.

The guidelines approved yesterday were seen as a small but important circuit breaker after the Philippines and Vietnam had accused China of becoming increasingly aggressive in staking its claims to the South China Sea. “Naturally we are delighted that this has been achieved. It is the product of hard work on the part of many,” Indonesian Foreign Minister and summit chair Marty Natalegawa said.

“But I am not complacent, a lot of nurturing and confidencebuilding needs to be done.” And while Vietnam had voiced cautious optimism Wednesday over the guidelines, the Philippines maintained that China had not gone far enough this week and that it still intended to take its case to a United Nations-backed tribunal.

The Philippines has accused Chinese forces of acts such as shooting at Filipino fishermen in the South China Sea and harassing an oil exploration vessel. Vietnam said in one incident, Chinese sailors had boarded a Vietnamese fishing boat and beaten its captain before stealing the crew’s catch.

The foreign ministers are in Nusa Dua as part of a week of diplomacy that will finish on Saturday with the region’s biggest annual security summit, which includes the United States and Russia. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Bali on Thursday night after a visit to India, where she called on the South Asian nation to take a more assertive leadership role in the region.

Clinton’s comments were widely seen as reflecting a US desire for India to emerge as a counter-weight to China’s fast-expanding power. Ahead of her arrival, Chinese vice foreign minister Liu spoke in detail about the economic benefits for Southeast Asia of closer ties with China. “China is becoming the largest trading partner of ASEAN and ASEAN is becoming the third-largest trade partner of China,” Liu said. “So cooperation with China is increasing dramatically, developing very fast.” Earlier Thursday, the 10 ASEAN foreign ministers met the Chinese, Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers.— AFP

BALI: US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, second left, walks from her airplane upon arrival at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, yesterday. — AP

Two Britons detained in Afghanistan: London Britain asked for our help to arrest individuals LONDON: British forces have detained two British nationals in Afghanistan, authorities in London said yesterday, amid reports they were suspected of plotting against Britain or fighting with the Taleban.

“We can confirm that British forces have detained two individuals in Afghanistan who claim to be British nationals,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement. A Foreign Office spokeswoman added: “We can confirm that two British nationals have been detained in Afghanistan.”

Neither ministry would say what they were suspected of doing, amid differing reports in the British media. The Times reported that the two men, who have dual nationality, were arrested at a hotel near the Iranian border as part of a counter-terrorism raid to thwart a possible attack against British interests.

After the dramatic swoop at the International Trade Centre hotel in the city of Herat, helped by members of the National Directorate of Security (NDS),

the Afghan intelligence service, they were taken into custody in Helmand, it said. A senior Afghan official, who declined to be named, told the paper: “The British asked for our help to arrest these two individuals. The NDS was providing logistical support.” The official said the individuals were “not Afghans”, adding: “It was terrorism-related. It was a UK-led operation.”

Questioned about the report, a spokesman for the NDS, Lutfullah Mashal, told AFP: “We are not aware, we are not involved.” The Interior Ministry also denied knowledge of the case and said it was not holding the men. The Sun newspaper and the BBC reported that the Britons held were suspected of fighting for the Taleban.

The Sun said two men wearing Afghan dress were arrested in Helmand, and were being held at a military base. A source told the newspaper: “Helmand is not a holiday destination. The authorities will be very concerned they were wandering about. The first thing they

will want to know is what they were doing here.”

NATO forces in Afghanistan normally hold suspects for a maximum of four days before releasing them or handing them over to the Afghan authorities, but a Foreign Office spokeswoman said this could be extended. “The UK has a national policy of detaining beyond 96 hours in exceptional circumstances, in particular where it could provide information that could help protect our forces or the local population,” she said.

Britain has about 9,500 troops in Afghanistan as part of international forces fighting the Taleban insurgency.

Prime Minister David Cameron announced earlier this month that Britain would withdraw 500 troops by the end of next year, but would keep soldiers there in a training role until at least 2023.

His announcement came a fortnight after President Barack Obama announced a big drawdown of US forces in the war-torn country. —AFP

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20 years on, Indians recall life before the boom NEW DELHI: When economic reforms were launched 20 years ago this week, India was a country where you couldn’t buy a Coca-Cola, a telephone line would take a year to install and there was only one TV network. For New Delhi garage owner Promod Bhasin, 56, life before the financial revolution that began with the budget of July 24, 1991 was so different that now he shakes his head in disbelief. “You had to book a telephone call if it was to out-of-town, and keep ringing up the switchboard to see if it had ‘matured’,” he said. “Applying to get a new line at home was an endless bureaucratic battle.” In the decades before 1991, India resisted almost all foreign investment, and international brands were scarce as the country tried to be self-sufficient following socialist and nationalist ideals.

But the country was brought to the brink of collapse by stagnant growth under the “Licence Raj”-the planned economy in which

the government controlled every aspect of business from labour to production. “All goods and services were so limited,” said Bhasin, now the father of two fashion-conscious daughters aged 23 and 18. “People would beg relatives travelling abroad to bring back Levi jeans and electronics.

“I had lived in America in the 1970s and knew what the outside world looked like.

Here 95 percent of everything in the shops was Indian-origin and only a few very select places sold foreign products.” Bhasin tells how Indians making rare trips abroad had to apply for a daily amount of rupees in foreign currency, with any leftover sum being carefully returned to the bank afterwards when the balance was checked.

“Now we have holidays to Malaysia and Thailand without worrying,” he said. “I think the government at last realised they just had to get India going again.” The reforms lifted many restrictions on foreign direct invest-

ment and opened the path to deregulation, privatisation and tax reform. For Promod’s wife Minoo, 46, recalling India in the 1980s reveals the consumerist attitudes that dominate in today’s cities and towns. “I used to make baby clothes because what was sold was such poor quality,” she said. “Not many toys were available. People now buy stuff from around the world. It didn’t change overnight, it was slow, but everything is different now.” Some icons from India’s more insular age survive, such as Thums Up, a fizzy cola drink introduced in 1977 that thrived in the absence of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Bought out by the Coca-Cola Company in 1993 as the markets were opened up, Thums Up remains a fixture at every roadside stall and is the biggest-selling soft drink brand in India, according to its makers.

“We drank Thums Up and there were only a few types of car, like the Ambassador which is still around,” said Naresh Kambiri, 78, who

has owned a bookstall in Connaught Place in New Delhi since 1966.

“There was (state-run) Doordarshan television but no private channels. What we wanted friends to bring back from abroad was chocolate, an electronic calculator or even a colour television.” Like many, Kambiri has mixed feelings about India’s headlong rush to modernity begun in 1991 by Manmohan Singh, then the finance minister and now the prime minister.

“The choice is better but we worry about the system now. Where the money and power are is wrong and getting worse. Corruption is bad,” he said. “And now people are obsessed with foreign goods just to show them off, before we wanted foreign goods for use.” Gurcharan Das, a successful businessman who wrote the bestselling book “India Unbound” about the nation’s transformation, told AFP that Indians should not be too nostalgic. —AFP

India police widen probe into cash-for-votes scandal Hindustani accused of a go-between to facilitate bribes

TRIVANDRUM: In this Tuesday, July 5, 2011 file photo, devotees leave the 16th-century Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, in Trivandrum, India.

The Supreme Court said yesterday, the trove of gold and silver treasures found in the Hindu temple in southern Kerala state will be unearthed and catalogued by a team of antiquities experts. — AP

Kashmir separatists defend US suspect SRINAGAR: Separatist leaders in Indian Kashmir condemned yesterday the arrest of a man accused of acting as a Pakistani government agent in the United States. Ghulam Nabi Fai, 62, a US citizen, is suspected of links to a decades-long effort that allegedly funnelled millions of dollars to Washington to lobby US politicians on behalf of Kashmiri causes.

The US Justice Department said that Fai and Zaheer Ahmad, 63, a US citizen and resident of Pakistan, faced five years in prison if found guilty. Muslim-majority Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan, with the Indian-administered sector hit by a violent 20-year insurgency against rule from New Delhi. “It is unfortunate that a leader like Fai is being dubbed an agent. He has been representing Kashmiris at various forums to make the world hear our views,” said Shabir Shah, a senior separatist in Kashmir. “We strongly condemn his arrest. It is aimed at suppressing the voices who call for Kashmir’s freedom from India,” Shah told AFP. The allegations, which come amid increasingly strained ties between the United States and Pakistan, centre on the Kashmiri American Council (KAC), a Washington-based group founded in 1990. The KAC is suspected of being run by Pakistan’s powerful military intelligence service, the InterServices Intelligence Agency (ISI). Shah said the centre worked to “highlight Indian oppression in Kashmir”, where more than 110 protesters were shot dead by police last year to quell independence rallies.

Hardline Kashmiri separatist Syed Ali Geelani said Fai’s arrest was unjustified. —AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian police widened their probe into charges some opposition lawmakers were bribed in 2008 to vote for the Congress party-led government in a confidence vote, as prosecutors prepared yesterday to oppose the bail plea of one of those accused.

Sohail Hindustani on Wednesday became the second person to be arrested after the Supreme Court pulled up police for tardy progress in the case, which could prove a fresh embarrassment for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s scandal-hit government.

The 2008 confidence vote, which nearly brought down the coalition government, was sparked by opposition to a civil nuclear agreement between the United States and India, which ended New Delhi’s isolation in the global nuclear market. “He (Hindustani) will be presented in court at 2 pm (0830 GMT),” Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said, affirming the police would seek to continue holding him in custody. Indian law permits accused to be held for up to 90 days without filing charges.

Police have not yet drawn any link between the two arrested suspects and the Congress party, and Singh’s government is unlikely to fall on the scandal as it has a slim majority in parliament. “I don’t think it will cause any serious damage,” political analyst Amulya Ganguli said. “It’s a three-year-old incident.”

Singh was returned to power in a national election in 2009, but his second term has been dogged by a series of graft scandals that have paralysed his government and prevented him from forcefully pushing forward reforms to further open up the $1.6 trillion economy. Allegations of graft emerged in the middle of the 2008 confidence vote, which was forced on Singh after four communist parties withdrew support from the government over the civilian nuclear deal with the United States.

As parliament debated the 2008 vote, three opposition members stood up waving bundles of cash they said was given to

them to vote for the government. In the pandemonium that followed, Singh won the vote by a narrow margin. Hindustani is accused of acting as a go-between to facilitate the bribes. Once an associate of the youth wing of the main opposition Bharaiya Janata Party (BJP), he has said that he was only acting as a whistle-blower to expose corruption.

A US diplomatic cable made public by

lawmaker is in jail in a case of graft in issuing contracts for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. These instances of corruption in high places have eroded public support for Singh’s government, evidenced by the large crowds that gathered across the country to back a hunger strike of antigraft activist Anna Hazare in April.

Police had earlier arrested in the case a former aide to Amar Singh, who in 2008

KOLKATA: India’s West Bengal state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addresses supporters during a mass rally organised by the Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) at the Brigade Parade ground in Kolkata yesterday. — AFP WikiLeaks quoted a political aide as saying Congress leaders had paid lawmakers from a small party $2.2 million each to back Singh. Singh has denied that any member of his party or government was involved in the cash-for-votes scandal, but the BJP has raised the issue as another instance of the government turning a blind eye to corruption within its ranks.

The former telecoms minister and a coalition lawmaker are in jail pending trial in a case over graft and illegal favours during a 2007/08 grant of lucrative telecoms licences. Another prominent Congress

was a top leader of the regional Samajwadi Party which had switched positions to vote in favour of the nuclear deal and the government.

The three opposition members, all from the BJP, told a parliamentary inquiry that Amar Singh had offered them the bribes, after speaking to Ahmed Patel, the powerful political secretary to Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi. The inquiry had concluded that there was “no case” against Patel and “no clinching evidence” against Amar Singh. Amar Singh is not related to Manmohan Singh. — Reuters

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Nokia posts $523m loss

Gulf states eye food subsidy outsourcing PAGE 21

PAGE 22

ATHENS: A woman passes next to a tourist bus covered with a picture of the ancient Parthenon temple in central Athens yesterday. Despite last year’s 110 billion euros ($156 billion) bailout deal from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund, Greece is looking for another debt relief program, which EU leaders are meeting to discuss in Brussels yesterday. — AP (See Page 24)

Intel trims PC market outlook Results look cloudy, shares drop SAN FRANCISCO: Intel Corp trimmed its forecast for 2011 personal computer unit sales, warning of softness in mature markets and sending its shares down more than 1 percent even as its revenue outlook beat estimates.

The top maker of microprocessors for PCs now expects 8 to 10 percent growth in unit shipments of computers this year, down from the low double-digits it had stuck to earlier in defiance of fears that market momentum was decelerating.

Intel’s processors are used in 80 percent of the world’s PCs, but mobile devices from Apple Inc’s iPad to Google Inc Android smartphones are eating into laptop sales and Intel is struggling to gain a foothold in the fast-expanding mobile market. Its Atom division, which caters to a mobile computing market, saw revenue slide 15 percent to $352 million.

“The mature market consumer segment is still soft, but the emerging-market consumer segment is healthy and growing,” CEO Paul Otellini told analysts on a conference call.

Intel’s tepid PC forecast and concerns about the economy overshadowed a solid quarter for

the chip giant, with quarterly results and revenue forecast both trumping Wall Street’s expectations.

The Santa Clara, California expects average selling prices for its chips to increase as families in China and other emerging markets that buying their first ever-computers choose fairly highquality PCs that are built to last. Intel’s upbeat results followed positive quarterly earnings from Apple and International Business Machines Corp earlier this week.

But doubts about high US unemployment, the risk of a European financial crisis, climbing inventories and sluggish PC sales weighed on sentiment-and share prices-of Intel and other chip makers. Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm raised its quarterly outlook on Wednesday but investors jumpy about the economy sent its shares 3 percent lower after hours. Also, Xilinx and Freescale saw their shares fall despite beating estimates.

“It does happen that semiconductor companies are further back in the supply chain and they don’t see the end-user demand. They just see the orders coming from their customers and

sometimes they can be surprised,” said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Kevin Cassidy.

Intel’s gains in the second quarter were driven by the PC group, its largest segment, and the data center group, which has been expanding quickly in part because of cloud computing.

Chief Executive Paul Otellini said he is confident tablets will not replace small laptop computers, even after Apple’s blockbuster iPad sales in the second quarter.

He said Intel, which has failed so far to gain traction in mobile gadgets, will be “hyper competitive” winning space for its processors in tablets using an upcoming version of Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

The company foresaw current-quarter revenue of about $14 billion, give or take $500 million, versus the $13.5 billion analysts expect on average. “When we look across the broader worldwide supply chain for PCs and servers, what we see are inventory levels that are lean out there. People are managing things lean, they’re prudent,” Intel Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith told Reuters.

Investors eyeing slow economies and red-hot

sales of the iPad in recent months have insisted Intel’s outlook for PC growth is overly optimistic.

Analysts had warned that Intel at some point may be forced to trim its estimate.

“Take a look at the headlines over the past couple of months, in terms of the global economic malaise. It’s hard to have any confidence in how they are going to deliver 7 percent growth sequentially,” said Evercore Partners analyst Patrick Wang.

Analysts on average had expected Intel’s revenue to rise to $13.5 billion in the current quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, less than normal growth for this time of year.

Revenue in the June quarter was $13.1 billion, up 22 percent over the year-ago period and above the $12.8 billion expected by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Non-GAAP net income in the quarter was $3.2 billion, up 10 percent. Non-GAAP earnings per share were 59 cents and GAAP EPS were 54 cents, beating expectations for 51 cents. Shares of Intel dipped 1.78 percent to $22.58 in extended trade after closing down 0.3 percent.— Reuters

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China factory sector drops, inflation fears rise: Survey IMF says China’s partners worry about hard landing BEIJING: China’s factory sector shrank for the first time in a year in July, a survey showed yesterday, feeding worries among the country’s main trading partners that its growth is unsustainable and could lead to a slump.

The HSBC flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 48.9 in July, suggesting the manufacturing sector contracted at its fastest pace since March 2009, as monetary policy tightening and slack global demand weighed on the sector.

The PMI is the earliest available indicator of industrial activity in the world’s second-biggest economy.

It also showed that factory prices rebounded quite sharply in July, accentuating the tough battle China’s authorities have on their hands as they try to

keep inflation in check with minimal fallout on demand and growth.

Chinese authorities have made clear that fighting inflation is their priority and that stance won backing from the International Monetary Fund, which said on Thursday Beijing should persist with tightening policy, including allowing the yuan to rise in value.

In its annual report on China, the IMF emphasized the economy was doing well. Yet, in a separate IMF report on spillovers from Chinese policy, China’s trading partners said their biggest concern is that China’s economic growth, which has average more than 10 percent in the last decade, was unsustainable and could lead to a hard landing.

“We are slowing, clearly,” said

TOKYO: Cabin attendants for Asia’s largest budget carrier AirAsia smile as they join a press conference to announce that AirAsia and Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) will form a joint venture to establish a low-cost airline ‘AirAsia Japan’ in Tokyo yesterday. — AFP

ANA to form low-cost carrier with AirAsia TOKYO: Japan’s All Nippon Airways and Southeast Asia’s largest budget carrier AirAsia yesterday said they will form a joint venture to establish a low-cost airline that will be based in Tokyo.

AirAsia Japan will be the first lowcost carrier out of the capital’s Narita International Airport when it begins domestic and international operations in August 2012, the companies said. ANA will hold a 67 percent stake in the AirAsia Japan venture in terms of voting rights, with AirAsia holding the remainder. They cited Japan’s aviation market as “undergoing rapid transformation with developments including the expansion of Open Skies agreements and increased domestic competition from road and rail-based travel.” AirAsia Japan will serve the Japanese domestic market from Narita airport as well as South Korea and Taiwan.

At a press conference, ANA president Shinichiro Ito said that ticket prices could be up to half those of

the Japanese carrier’s regular fares.

“The key to the success of this airline is actually the airfares: can we make the airfares low enough to stimulate people to travel more often,” said flamboyant AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes. “AirAsia Japan will not only boost economic growth between ASEAN and East Asia by providing better access to markets around the region, but also enhance links within travel, trade and tourism.”

Narita, a major international hub, is also seeking to increase capacity with the introduction of a new terminal and is expected to attract many low-cost carriers and foreign airlines, amid expectations of increasing competition in Japanese airspace.

Japan’s existing cheaper domestic carriers such as Skymark and Air Do have been unable to offer the kind of heavily discounted fares associated with budget airlines in the United States and Europe due to higher operating costs. —AFP

Stephen Green, China economist at Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong, who felt monetary policy would be less stringent by the fourth quarter.

The HSBC flash PMI of 48.9 for July was the lowest reading in 28 months and fell from the final reading in June of 50.1.

The index was last below 50, which demarcates expansion from contraction, in July 2010. The vast manufacturing sector, accounting for about 40 percent of GDP, has led the slowdown in China’s economic growth this year. The flash PMI showed a new-orders sub-index fell below 50 to its lowest level in 12 months, reflecting the weaker global demand.

The slowdown has weighed on global investors, already worried by the risk of Europe’s sovereign debt crisis and weakening growth in the United States.

The Australian dollar and crude oil prices, both leveraged to China’s growth and appetite for resources, dipped after the PMI was released. “With the central bank flagging no sign of an end to policy tightening, economic growth will continue to lose steam in the second half,” said Wang Jin, an analyst at Guotai Junan Securities in Shanghai. “But we don’t see any risks of a hard landing and the slowdown is in the comfort zone.”

The IMF’s annual report was reasonably sanguine, citing as risks the possibility of a property bubble and unpredictable upside shocks to inflation and calling for more monetary tightening, including allowing the yuan to rise. “We definitely support the idea of reducing some of the fiscal stimulus that was put in place over the past couple of years,” Nigel Chalk, IMF mission chief to China, told reporters.

The IMF said a higher yuan-a demand of many Western governments-would have limited impact on rebalancing the global economy. But it was vital to financial reforms and rebalancing demand within China. It said the yuan was somewhere between 3 percent and 23 percent undervalued.

Private economists expect the central bank to be less aggressive in tightening monetary policy after ramping up bank reserve ratios nine times and interest rates five times since October. But they see no risk of the economy crash landing. “The slowdown at the moment is policy induced. There is an awful lot of easy growth to come,” said Standard Chartered’s Green. — Reuters

HANOI: A street bicycle repairman sits waiting for clients in downtown Hanoi yesterday. Vietnam’s inflation rate was almost 21 percent in June 2011 compared with the same month a year earlier making much harder poor people’s daily life. — AFP

BP shares down as Russia row hurts LONDON: Shares in British oil major BP traded down yesterday after a spat with partners in its Russian joint venture TNKBP flared up again. BP’s oligarch co-owners in TNK-BP have restarted tribunal proceedings aimed at securing a ruling that BP broke their shareholders’ agreement-a ruling that could make BP liable for billions of dollars in damages-sources close to both sides said.

AAR, the consortium representing the Russian billionaires, is arguing a planned share swap and Arctic exploration venture between BP and Kremlin-controlled Rosneft broke the TNK-BP shareholder agreement which obliges BP to use TNKBP as its primary vehicle for investment in Russia.

The planned tie-up collapsed in May, in the face of AAR’s opposition. AAR is now arguing BP’s actions cost TNK-BP $510 billion in lost opportunities, by not executing the deal through TNK-BP, and because the collapse poisoned TNK-BP’s relationship with Rosneft, something which could cost it future deals.

The Russian side believes one way out could be for BP to sell AAR its stake in TNK-BP. “The offer to buy them out is still on the table,” said a source close to the Russian side who said BP had rejected an offer earlier this year, of $25 billion for its half-share in TNK-BP. A BP spokesman declined to comment on the arbitration but said the company had no plans to sell out of TNK-BP. “We are committed to the joint venture which continues to perform well,” the spokesman said.

Company insiders are dismissive of the AAR claims, arguing that TNK-BP has not suffered any losses. AAR wrote to the tribunal asking for a September hearing to rule on whether BP broke the shareholder agreement, the source close to the group said. On Wednesday, a lawyer for a little-known minority shareholder, a TNK-BP subsidiary, said it had won a Russian court ruling that could open the way for TNK-BP to seek $5$10 billion in damages over BP’s failed bid to partner with Rosneft. BP shares traded down 0.8 percent at 0901 GMT, against a 0.4 percent drop in the STOXX Europe 600 Oil and Gas index . — Reuters

Whirlpool loses money in Q2 due to settlement BENTON HARBOR, Michigan: Whirlpool reported a second-quarter loss yesterday, largely due to the settlement of a Brazilian collection dispute, but adjusted results topped Wall Street’s expectations.

Shares dipped 3 percent in premarket trading, however, after the world’s biggest appliance company said that it now expects full-year earnings to come in at the low end of its previously reported guidance. Quarterly revenue climbed 4 percent to $4.73 billion thanks to favorable currency trends, but that is still just shy of Wall Street expectations.

Sales rose in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East

and Africa, but declined in Asia due to slowing demand in India. The sluggish economic recovery in the US and a terrible housing market have taken a toll. Sales fell in North America, with US unit shipments of major appliances declining about 10 percent. Whirlpool lost $161 million, or $2.10 per share for the three months ended June 30. That compares with a profit of $205 million, or $2.64 per share, a year ago. Whirlpool announced in June that its Brazilian subsidiary would pay $603 million to Brazilian bank Banco Safra SA to settle a legal dispute that had spanned two decades. —AP

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Iran’s lower fuel oil exports create tighter market GULF PRODUCTS DUBAI: A drop in Iran’s fuel oil exports have tightened up the fuel oil market in the Gulf Middle East, boosting premiums for both bunkers and cargoes, traders said yesterday.

Disruptions in Iran’s domestic natural gas supplies have prompted the Islamic Republic to keep its fuel oil exports at home, slashing its exports to East Asia around 150,000 to 200,000 tons in August from an all-time high of more than a million tons in June.

“This Iran situation is tightening the market. If you see the numbers (premiums) on bunker and on cargoes are going higher,” one Gulf-based fuel oil trader said.

He quoted premiums for 180 centistoke (cst) cargoes at $7 to $8 a tonne over Middle East spot quotes from $4 to 5 a ton previously.

The tighter Middle East market is keeping cargoes in the region, rather than allowing them to be shipped East. “I don’t know what’s behind Iran’s move,” another fuel oil trader said. “It could be a strategy. They came to the market asking for double-digit premiums when the market was trading around $2 or $3 a ton because supplies were limited,” he said.

He pegged cargo premiums for 180 cst at around $8 to $9 per ton, adding that he expected the market to stay tight for another while. “New cargoes could land in Fujairah, from Aramco for example,” the first fuel oil trader said. Aramco sold three cargoes from Rabigh on the back of an outage in a gasoline-making unit.

A third trader said he did not expect more cargoes from Rabigh in August, after the three that were sold to Vitol and Bakri in July. With the regional market looking tighter again, players there have begun to compete for cargoes.

Two tenders for up to 170,000 tons of first-half August loading barrels, offered by ExxonMobil and India’s Essar Oil, were won by Middle East-based players.

This was on the back of three 90,000-tonne lots of lowdensity, low-viscosity fuel oil, for second-half July to early August lifting, sold by Saudi Aramco also to Middle Eastbased players, which have the freight advantage.

Gasoline demand in the region is fairly balanced, traders said. One trader quoted premiums for 95 RON gasoline at $110-120 per tonne, unchanged from last week.

But another trader said recent naphtha weakness widened the spread between naphtha and gasoline and has been driving the premiums higher, pegging it at $150 to $160 per tonne over benchmark Middle East naphtha quotes. Naphtha prices in the region and in Asia had been depressed following Taiwan’s Formosa, Asia’s top naphtha buyer, shutting a cracker in May.— Reuters

KARACHI: A Pakistani porter carries goods inside a textile shopping mall in Karachi yesterday. In its budget for the new fiscal year 2011-2012, the Pakistan government last month raised defense spending by 11 percent and government employees’ pensions by 20 percent, leading to a deficit of four percent of GDP. — AFP

Gulf states eye food subsidy outsourcing Kraft, Carrefour among brands forced to share burden DUBAI: Gulf countries are taking up food subsidy outsourcing. US food giant Kraft Foods, consumer goods producer Unilever and French retailer Carrefour are just some of the international brands forced to share the financial burden of the kings’ club through price caps. But in a region that imports nearly everything it eats, such meddling is a poor answer to rising global commodity prices.

The UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are living up to their frontier market status by ordering commercial retailers and manufacturers to cap prices in an effort to offset inflation and minimise political risks. Even Saudi’s Almarai, the region’s dairy supplier with a near $6 billion market capitalisation, was recently ordered by the kingdom to undo a recent rise in milk prices following a consumer backlash.

Consumption typically rises around the holy month of Ramadan. But price controls are becoming an increasingly common feature in the Gulf since inflation soared into the high double-digits in 2008, the last time oil prices spiked. Headline inflation has come down and average consumer food price inflation for the region has more than halved to around 6 percent year-on-year in May, according to Barclays Capital. But the Arab unrest has increased political sensitivity to the issue.

Unilever and Kraft don’t break down their margins for the region but Saudi’s Alamari has an EBIT margin of around 20 percent, according to Reuters estimates.

With prices for some basic goods in the UAE set at around 2004 levels, entities are seeking greater supply chain efficiencies

French retailer Carrefour is just one of the international brands forced to share the financial burden of the kings’ club through price caps. to offset losses. Smaller retailers are also compensating by eating into funds normally set aside for charitable projects.

The pain isn’t bad enough yet to scare international brands away from these small but high-spending, low-tax markets, where plenty of goods can still be sold without price caps. But the International Monetary Fund forecasts that high agricultural commodity prices are here to stay. For publicly-listed companies like Almarai, this will be a market distortion until governments decide they should bear the full cost of keeping the peace.

Consumer giant Unilever criticized food price controls within the United Arab Emirates earlier this month calling them “unsustainable” in a free market economy.

Khartoum approves law imposing oil transit fees KHARTOUM: Sudan yesterday approved a law imposing fees on the south’s use of its oil infrastructure, in an effort to offset the loss of oil revenues following southern secession on July 9, the finance minister said. “We are imposing these fees to get back what we lost from oil revenues, and we will reach the figure with the south through negotiations,” Ali Mahmud told reporters shortly after the law was passed by parliament alongside a new, post-secession budget. “They have no way to export their oil, except through the north,” he added. On Wednesday, Mahmud said he expected Khartoum to receive around $2.6 billion from the oil-producing south in annual transit fees. But negotiations on this, and other key outstanding issues that north and south have failed to resolve such as debt and borders, have yet to resume since they were suspended at the beginning of the month.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir said on Tuesday that his government accepted the proposal of renting the north’s oil infrastructure, but he hinted that Khartoum would have to make an acceptable offer or they would pursue other export options.

“We have agreed on one thing, that the oil issue should not be disrupted. They (north Sudan) need oil. But we fought for 21 years without oil, and we can still go for three years until we build our own oil infrastructure,” Kiir told the independent Sudan Radio Service. The secession of the south, where three-quarters of Sudan’s 470,000 barrels per day of oil is produced, has aggravated the mounting economic difficulties facing Khartoum, by cutting an estimated 36.5 percent off its total revenues, according to the finance ministry. Sudan’s revised budget for 2011, which was ratified by parliament on Thursday, envisages an income of 23.3 billion Sudanese pounds ($6.5 billion), against government expenditure of 26.7 billion Sudanese pounds ($7.5 billion) and 18 percent inflation.—AFP

“When the fuel oil prices goes up...distribution costs go up, the wages go up and food commodity cost pressure is also coming up,” said Sanjiv Mehta, Unilever’s chairman for North Africa and the Middle East.

It echoed a call in May by US food rival Kraft Foods for the UAE government to start open dialogue with manufacturers and retailers on how to deal with rising commodity prices.

Saudi Arabia’s Almarai announced on 11 July it would undo a recent price rise on two litres of milk after discussions with the kingdom but said that it believed the rationale for the price rise remained valid.

The UAE government has asked food chains to subsidise the cost of around 400 products sold to consumers at 70 outlets until the end of the year. — Reuters

Ireland rules out private sector haircuts: Report DUBLIN: Ireland ruled out asking private investors to swallow losses on its debt yesterday but expects to pay less interest on its EU-IMF rescue package and possibly extend its bailout loans as part of efforts to end the eurozone debt crisis. The head of Ireland’s debt management agency told Reuters that even suggesting private investors should shoulder part of the country’s debt burden was extremely risky.

“Ireland doesn’t need and is not suggesting that there be any private sector involvement in the Irish solution,” John Corrigan, the chief executive of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), said in an interview in his offices.

“Any such suggestion would result in a permanent elevation in our borrowing costs.” Euro-zone leaders are expected to agree a common position later yesterday on a second bailout for Greece that seeks a contribution from private bondholders. Concern over how investors will fare in the Greek crisis has overshadowed Irish success at overhauling its public finances and bust banks. Corrigan said he expected a resolution to the Greek crisis would enable Dublin to return to debt markets in late 2012.

“No doubt there will be positive spin offs for Ireland, not least the markets being restored to some sort of normality.”

But he rejected the idea that markets would view the Greek deal as a blueprint for Ireland.

“The market accepts that Ireland is in a different situation than Greece.” Greece’s debt is expected to peak at around 157 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013 compared with 118 percent for Ireland but on the markets such differences are being ignored. — Reuters

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Iran halts oil supply to Indian refiners in Aug

HELSINKI: Picture shows Nokia’s flagship store in Helsinki. The world’s top mobile phone maker Nokia reported yesterday a sharp quarterly switch into loss yesterday, only the second quarterly loss since the company become world leader in 1998. (Inset) Nokia N8 smartphone on display. —AFP

Nokia posts $523m loss iPhone takes over in smartphone shipments

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obile phone maker Nokia Corp yesterday posted a loss of 368 million euros ($523 million) in the second quarter and for the first time was overtaken by Apple’s iPhone in smartphone shipments.

Nokia, which posted a profit of ?227 million in the same period in 2010, said revenue fell 7 percent to 9.3 billion euros from 10.0 billion euros last year. It shipped 88.5 million mobile devices in April through June, down from 111 million a year ago and 108.5 million in the previous quarter. Its smartphone volumes fell to 16.7 million units, which means Nokia is no longer No 1 in the smartphone sector.

Apple Inc. sold more than 20 million iPhones in the same quarter, lifting its net income to a stronger-than-expected $7.31 billion. “The challenges we are facing dur-

ing our strategic transformation manifested in a greater than expected way” during the quarter, CEO Stephen Elop said.

“However, even within the quarter, I believe our actions to mitigate the impact of these challenges have started to have a positive impact on the underlying health of our business.”

Nokia’s share rose 4 percent to ?4.23 on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Nokia said it was accelerating its cost-cutting plan to exceed the previously targeted savings of ?1 billion in 2013. The reductions would be achieved through cuts in staff and outsourced professionals, facility costs “and various improvements in efficiencies,” the company said.

While that could improve the company’s finances, Nokia needs to take quick action to develop new products or it will

HYDERABAD: An Indian worker arranges a display of bangles at a shop in Lad Bazaar in Hyderabad yesterday. Lad Bazaar once known only as a tourist destination is now offering career choices to young individuals. The escalating demand for bangles has the industry providing employment to many in various areas such as design, retail selling in shops and export opportunities. —AFP

continue to lose ground to its rivals, said Neil Mawston of London-based Strategy Analytics. “Pretty much everything is heading in the wrong direction,” Mawston said. “Nokia has to move with lightning speed to upgrade their portfolio.” He said he expects Samsung of South Korea to also surpass Nokia in smartphones when it releases its second-quarter earnings next week. Nokia rose to the top position in the cell phone business in the late 1990s when it overtook Motorola. Although it struggled in the US, it dominated almost everywhere else, primarily through mass sales of low- and mid-priced mobile phones.

Now, Nokia is being squeezed in the low end market by Asian manufacturers like ZTE and in the high end by the makers of smartphones like the iPhone and Blackberry devices. Its global market share dropped below 30 percent earlier this year for the first time in more than a decade.

Nokia’s share price has nearly halved this year, falling below euro4 this month.

The Espoo, Finland-based company hopes to regain momentum through a linkup with Microsoft, whose Windows Phone operating system will replace Nokia’s Symbian software. Symbian has been losing ground to Google’s popular Android platform. Nokia expects to launch its first Windows phones later this year.

“While the tie-up with Microsoft is likely to yield results from 2012 onwards, Nokia is clearly in survival mode as it pushes ahead with a painful cost-cutting exercise,” said Manoj Ladwa, a senior trader at ETX Capital in London.

Analyst Mikko Ervasti at Evli Bank in Helsinki found some positive news, in that the average selling price of a Nokia handset fell to euro62, down from euro65 in the first quarter. Elop earlier this year hinted that the company would start lowering its prices to compete with low-end rivals, particularly in China. —AP

NEW DELHI: Iran has upped the ante in an oil payments row with India and halted crude supplies in August, company sources said yesterday, forcing Indian refiners to seek shipments from alternative suppliers including top exporter Saudi Arabia.

Since December, India and Iran have struggled to find ways for New Delhi to pay for 400,000 barrels per day or 12 percent of its oil demand after the Reserve Bank of India halted a clearing mechanism under US pressure.

That move won praise from Washington, which is using sanctions in a bid to get Tehran to halt its nuclear program.

Indian firms Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd , Iran’s biggest Indian client, BPCL, IOC, HPCL and Essar buy crude from the Islamic Republic and their collective debt to Iran since the crisis broke out has risen to more than $5 billion.

None of the five refiners have received a crude supply plan from Iran for August loading cargoes, officials and executives at the companies said on condition of anonymity.

Iran has told BPCL, HPCL and Essar that they will receive no supply in August, said a source at Saudi Aramco, which has been approached by these companies for extra volumes. IOC and MRPL have so far not asked for additional Saudi oil. MRPL is still hopeful it will get a late allocation from Iran, a company source said.

“BPCL, HPCL and Essar have told us that they have not received allocation (from Iran for August). They did not get a response from Iran and they want to secure supplies,” an executive with Saudi Aramco, who declined to be named, said. Iran sent refiners a letter on June 27 threatening to halt supplies and has followed through on its threat. Iran refused to sell crude to India’s second-largest refiner BPCL in August because it could not pay, a BPCL source said. BPCL has secured oil from Saudi Arabia instead, the source added.

“So there will be no supplies from Iran in August but we have arranged volumes from Saudi Arabia,” the source said.

Iran is India’s second-biggest supplier and refiners had already turned to the world’s top exporter Saudi Arabia and other Middle East producers the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq for extra barrels to replace those at stake. Saudi Arabia said it would boost supply unilaterally to meet rising global demand after an OPEC meeting in June failed to agree to raise output, with opposition led by Iran. —Reuters

IEA says no request for further oil release TOKYO: The United States and other industrialized nations have not requested a second release of emergency oil supplies, the head of the International Energy Agency said yesterday, hours before a decision is due to be made. IEA members agreed to release 60 million barrels in emergency stockpiles last month, only the third release in the agency’s history, as concern grew in consumer countries that high oil prices were hurting a fragile global economy.

Oil prices fell after the release but have since moved higher, raising the possibility the IEA would boost world supplies of oil once again. “No country asked me to release additional barrels,” the IEA’s executive director, Nobuo Tanaka, told Reuters in an interview. “We will decide probably in a matter of hours.”

A decision to release stocks has to be backed by a unanimous decision of the IEA’s 28 members, who include the United States, Germany, France, Britain and Japan. Oil prices fell more than 10 percent in the days after the IEA shocked world markets by announcing the emergency release of supplies on June 23.

The day before that decision Brent crude was trading around $114 a barrel. On Thursday it was changing hands at $117.58. Tanaka said oil market fundamentals were tightening despite the release of the stockpiles, which he said were moving to market at the rate of about 600,000 barrels per day (bpd). “We have to monitor the situation very carefully,” Tanaka said. “We know the market has been tightening as we had predicted.” The agency would be flexible and would be ready to act and release more oil if necessary, Tanaka said. —Reuters

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Bahrain price drop worsens to 2.1% DUBAI: Consumer prices in Bahrain fell by 2.1 percent year-on-year in June, the fourth consecutive month of falls, due to a sharp drop in transport costs and a slight decrease in food prices, data showed yesterday. Consumer prices in the small non-OPEC oil exporter have been falling since March as the worst public unrest since the 1990s hits tourism and domestic demand.

On an annual basis, prices in Bahrain declined by 2.1 percent after a 1.7 percent fall in the previous month, data from the Central Informatics Organization showed. The Gulf Arab country last saw a slump in prices on a similar scale in 1986, when average inflation came in at -2.5 percent for the full year, according to the International

Monetary Fund.

Bahrain’s largest Shiite opposition group Wefaq said on Sunday it planned to pull out of a national dialogue, which was aimed at reforms after mass prodemocracy protests rocked the Sunniruled kingdom earlier this year.

Analysts have said the slump in prices is linked to the unrest-inspired by popular protests that toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia-which has hit economic activity and brought tourism to a virtual standstill. “It’s a reflection of the Arab Spring.

The economy came to a standstill,” said Turker Hamzaoglu, MENA economist at Merrill Lynch. “We know from the financial accounts as well that there has been some outflow.”

“It (inflation) is likely to be there, but probably with the second half of the year there is going to be some recovery because the situation has normalized,” he said. On the month, living costs in the island kingdom fell by 0.3 percent after they were unchanged in May. Transport prices, which account for 12 percent of the CPI basket, plunged by 1.9 percent after a sharp rise of 4.1 percent in the previous month.

“Let’s not look at just transport costs coming down but some of the measures the government is trying to do, giving some handouts to the population,” Hamzaoglu said.

Social spending of at least $700 million, or around 3.6 percent of Bahrain’s economic output, has been promised to

help calm the protests.

Food prices, which make up 16 percent of the basket, declined slightly-by 0.1 percent month-on-month, after a 2.6 percent drop in the previous month.

Housing costs, the largest consumer expense at 24 percent of the basket, remained flat in June for the third month in a row.

Standard & Poor’s said on Wednesday it had removed Bahrain’s ratings from credit watch negative as political tensions have eased, and on expectations that increased public spending will lift economic growth next year. Analysts polled by Reuters in June forecast average inflation of 3.0 percent this year - suggesting prices should begin to rise at some stage. — Reuters

GFH lifts Kuwait, other Gulf markets muted MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS

TOKYO: Containers are loaded onto a cargo ship at the port in Tokyo yesterday. Japan posted its first trade surplus in three months in June, indicating that the world’s third largest economy is recovering more quickly than expected from the March 11 disasters. — AFP

Japan export slump moderates in June TOKYO: The slump in Japan’s exports moderated in June in a sign the world’s third-largest economy is beginning to mend after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The finance ministry said yesterday that exports fell 1.6 percent from a year earlier after suffering double-digit declines in April and May. Imports rose 9.8 percent. The trade balance returned to a surplus - of 70.7 billion yen ($898 million) - for the first time in three months.

Exports are a vital component of Japan’s economy, which was staging a nascent recovery when the disaster struck. The earthquake and tsunami damaged or destroyed many factories in Japan’s northeast that provided critical parts for manufacturers.

Mainstay sectors like autos and auto parts improved as companies worked to restore production. The value of motor vehicle exports, for example, fell 12.5 percent during the month. That compares to a 39 percent decline in May and a 67 percent plunge in April.

The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, which was crippled by the tsunami, has triggered worries about power shortages this summer as well. The government has ordered heavy users like factories and office buildings to cut power usage by 15 percent on weekdays until Sept. 22.

Amid concerns about the restriction’s impact on the economy, the auto industry responded by shifting factory production to Saturday and Sunday, and taking off Thursday and Friday.

“Electric power restrictions are not a major constraint in practice because firms are circumventing them with measures such as weekend production,” said Goldman Sachs economist Chiwoong Lee in a report. “We therefore expect export normalization to be fueled by rapid improvements on the supply side.”

The International Monetary Fund says Japan’s economy is set to expand later this year after contracting sharply in the first half.

“Recent data on household spending and production suggest a recovery in activity is underway, and supply chains are being restored faster than expected, limiting spillovers to other countries,” it said in a report earlier this week. —AP

DUBAI: Kuwait-listed Gulf Finance House soared yesterday after its chairman sold a $1.4 million stake in the firm, helping the country’s index gain for a third straight day.

The investment company’s stock jumped 8.2 percent. Its major shareholder sold 7 million shares to Al Ahlia Bahrain brokerage, according to a bourse statement on Wednesday. The index ended 0.7 percent higher, up for a third day since Monday’s seven-year low. Large-caps also rose, with National Bank of Kuwait up 1.9 percent, Zain climbing 3 percent and Kuwait Finance House rising 2.2 percent.Elsewhere, UAE markets ended mixed, with Abu Dhabi’s benchmark gaining 0.2 percent and Dubai’s index easing 0.2 percent.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi , UAE’s largest lender by market value, gained 1.8 percent after reporting a 2.5 per-

cent increase in quarterly net profit.

But UAE markets were little-moved by positive results.

“Generally, Gulf markets will probably remain sideways for the next two months,” said Shakeel Sarwar, head of asset management at Securities and Investment Co in Bahrain. “Most of the major companies reported good results without having much impact. I don’t think any positive (earnings) surprise will have an impact from now on.

The market is more worried about the global economic issues.”

Dubai logistics firm Aramex ended flat after posting a 3 percent rise in second-quarter net profit.

The euro fell broadly and world stocks slipped from a 1-1/2 week high on Thursday after European officials said a selective default for Greece was a live possibility, raising concerns about impact on the banking sector.

In Qatar, the index ended little changed with Qatar Islamic Bank weighing on the bourse after its quarterly results failed to impress investors.

The lender slipped 0.3 percent after posting a 26.9 percent rise in secondquarter net profit of 382 million riyals ($105 million). “QIB’s profitability results are somewhat in line with our expectations, deviating 6 percent from our expectation of 361 million riyals on account of provisioning reversal of 7 million riyals during 2Q11,” Digvijay Tanwar, senior financial analyst at Gulf Investment House, said in a research note. The benchmark inched up 0.06 percent, up just 0.4 percent in July.

Large-caps were mixed, with Qatar National Bank easing 0.2 percent, while Industries Qatar gained 0.2 percent. Oman’s market was closed yesterday for a public holiday. — Reuters

YANGON: People walk on the platform as circular trains are parked at Yangon station yesterday. The main commuter rail service, circular train, providing cheap transport in Myanmar’s biggest city of Yangon is to be privatized, according to a notice in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper published yesterday.—AP

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Euro-zone set for Greek deal Greece to be first euro state to default on debt BRUSSELS: European leaders were poised to sign off on a second bailout for Greece yesterday, even at the cost of making the country the first euro state to partially default on its debt.

With the new rescue program for Greece, leaders want to “address the problems really at the root,” by lightening the country’s debt burden and restoring its economic competitiveness, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said as she arrived at an emergency summit in Brussels.

That will include getting private creditors to contribute to new aid, a move that would put Greece in socalled “selective default,” a partial renege on its debt deals. Economists worry that a default, even if only temporary, could rock markets if not accompanied by substantial new financial support from the euro-zone and a significant decrease in Greece’s debt burden.

Dutch finance minister Jan Kees de Jager said objections “to avoid a selective default ... have been swept from the table.” Speaking to lawmakers in The Hague, de Jager said the plan for Greece would “do something for the debt duration and also lower the debt burden.”

After being granted ?110 billion ($156 billion) in rescue loans last year, Greece needs tens of billions more as its economy continues to struggle and it can’t raise money on international markets. Few economists believe that even with more support, Greece will be able to repay its debt - some ?340 billion without some kind of cut to the overall value.

However, so far the euro-zone has

ruled out forced haircuts on Greece’s debt, fearing that it would heighten panic on financial markets and draw in large economies like Italy or Spain.

Instead, the 17-country currency union has been working on an alternative support plan that will see banks and other private investors give Greece more time to repay its bonds, while the euro-zone and the IMF will continue to prop up the country with rescue loans.

Those loans should come under conditions that bailed out countries can actually afford, said Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, implying that public loans will likely get lower interest rates and longer maturities.

But rating agencies have warned for weeks that any form of private sector involvement in a bailout, even if voluntary and without a haircut, would be seen as a “selective default” - a rating that has never been held by a country while in the euro-zone. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said yesterday that he could not exclude that a Greek deal will trigger such a rating, although everything should be done to avoid it.

A “selective default” rating implies that terms of a bond, such as the repayment deadline or interest rate, have been altered. It falls short off an outright “default” rating, which is usually triggered when the borrowing country or company doesn’t pay back the whole amount it owes.

However, even a temporary “selective default” rating complicates the eurozone’s efforts to save Greece, because the European Central Bank has threatened to no longer accept bonds

Euro soars above $1.43 on draft euro-zone deal LONDON: The euro topped $1.43 yesterday after a draft summit deal revealed that the euro-zone will provide loans on easier terms to debt-ridden nations such as Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

In early afternoon deals, the European single currency surged as high as $1.4333, which compared with $1.4212 late in New York on Wednesday. Europe’s main stock markets reversed earlier losses and edged into positive territory, with London up 0.36 percent, Frankfurt gaining 0.52 percent and Paris winning 1.35 percent in value.

The euro-zone will provide loans with lower interest rates and longer maturities to countries in financial trouble, according to a draft agreement from Thursday’s emergency summit in Brussels.

The loans will be extended from 7.5 years to 15 years while the rates would be lowered from 4.5 percent to 3.5 percent, according to the draft being considered by eurozone leaders.

The measures, cited to AFP by diplomats who have seen the draft, had already been agreed by euro-zone finance ministers on July 11 but the details had yet to be worked out. Greece and Ireland have long advocated easier loan conditions from the euro-zone’s crisis fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), arguing that the terms were too strict for them to clean up their finances. The European Union and the IMF offered Greece a three-year, 110-billion-euro rescue package in May 2010. But the bailout has proved insufficient, forcing euro-zone leaders to negotiate a second emergency plan for Greece. —AFP

A cricket spectator reads the business section of a newspaper before the beginning of the first test match between England and India at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London yesterday. Germany and France broke their deadlock over a new bailout for Greece ahead of an emergency eurozone summit yesterday aimed at saving the euro from the worst crisis in its 12-year history. —AFP with such a rating as collateral for its liquidity support. That would freeze out Greek banks, which rely on the ECB for their survival, and will likely require the euro-zone to come up with alternative solutions to prop up the country. For a few days this week, the euro-zone had hoped that it could stay clear of a “selective default” rating by instead recouping some of they money they spend on new loans for Greece through a tax on financial institutions. Yet that plan, strongly opposed by banks that don’t hold Greek bonds, and did not

survive a last-ditch between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday night. “I have the impression that there is no agreement on a banking tax,” said Juncker, who as the chairman of the Eurogroup is also one of the main spokesmen for the currency union.

Juncker’s comments on the possibility of a “selective default” caused a selloff of the euro, which by early afternoon was down 0.8 percent at $1.4150, having traded above $1.42 before his comments. —AP

Leading indicators rise, signal slow US growth NEW YORK: A private research group forecast that the US economy will grow slowly as summer turns into fall. The Conference Board said yesterday that its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.3 percent in June. The index had rebounded 0.8 percent in May after dropping 0.3 percent in April. The April

decline was the first since June 2010.

The economy expanded at a 1.9 percent pace from January through March.

Most economists believe growth was similarly weak from April through the end of June. Economists blame temporary factors, including a supply chain disruption resulting from the Japanese

BOSTON: Baggage is unloaded from a US Airways jet at Logan International Airport in Boston. US Airways Group Inc said yesterday, its second-quarter profit fell 67 percent as fuel prices jumped. —AP

earthquake and tsunami and a spike in gas prices, for the sharply slower growth compared to the end of 2010.

The June rise in leading indicators suggests that the recent slowdown in growth won’t worsen into a recession over the next few months, even with high unemployment and a weak housing market.

Many economists expect a moderate pick-up in the second half of the year.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said he believes growth will recover over the next six months. A pullback in gas prices and relief from the supply chain problems should help the economy, he has said. But he has also said high joblessness and a weak housing market are hurdles to a full recovery. The employment situation has grown worse. Just 18,000 jobs were created in June, the smallest amount in nine months, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent. Yesterday, the government said the number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 418,000 last week. —AP

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

US in the throes of debt crisis Lots of pain if borrowing ceiling isn’t raised

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igher interest rates on credit cards and mortgages, another spike in gasoline prices and loss of retirement savings are among the possible consequences on Main Street if Washington doesn’t agree on raising the US borrowing limit.

The federal government routinely spends more money than it takes in and therefore must borrow to pay all of its bills. However, Uncle Sam can no longer issue more bonds without President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans first agreeing to raise the $14.3-trillion debt ceiling.

Unlike in the past, hiking the borrowing limit this time around has become a political standoff over larger issues of taxation and spending. Economists said Obama and congressional leaders risk throwing the economy back into recession if agreement isn’t reached by Friday, the deadline needed to get legislation through Congress by Aug 2.

The United States has never before failed to honor its obligations. So, inaction by the negotiators would shock the global financial system-even if the government manages to repay loans by cutting expenses elsewhere.

A failure to agree on the debt limit would produce a cascade of effects that are immediate and widespread, experts said. “It would be like the financial crisis all over again . . . There would be another recession,” said Gus Faucher, macroeconomics director at the forecasting service Moody’s Analytics. “Many would be impacted, from consumers and federal workers to investors and small-business owners.”

If the borrowing limit is not raised, economists predict the first-ever downgrading of the nation’s superior AAA credit rating, which could alarm foreign investors and cause many to demand far higher interest payments on US bonds. This in turn would raise interest rates for consumers and businesses using credit.

Prices for gasoline, cars and other imported goods would likely rise because the value of the dollar would fall. There also could be a big sell-off on Wall Street, where many have invested their 401(k) retirement plans.

Still, Kevin Logan, chief US economist at HSBC Securities, said, “the debt ceiling will be raised in time . . . Agreement on deficit reduction could be postponed while the debt ceiling is raised temporarily, say for a few months, giving Congress more

time to negotiate.”

Predictions of the ramifications for consumers and businesses if there is no deal vary widely because the country hasn’t been here in modern times. These are the best guesses of several fiscal experts.

failure to raise the debt ceiling only confirms their fears,” said Patrick J. Socci, dean of Hofstra University’s business school.

Health care, one of the few sectors adding jobs, would be hit hard by reduced payments for Medicaid and Medicare, federal

ment in a mix of currencies once their faith in the US dollar has been so shaken.

Richard L. Kaplan, an expert on taxation and retirement benefits at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, said, “It’s going to cost more to fill up your

US President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in the White House in Washington, DC. — MCT JOBS Unemployment, still high two years into an economic recovery, would likely edge up as Uncle Sam lays off workers whose wages it could no longer pay. In turn, businesses could postpone hiring, and those with government contracts, such as aerospace and software companies, may idle work-

programs serving the poor and elderly, respectively.

CONSUMERS Shoppers make fewer trips to the mall if they’ve lost a job or their neighbor has. And higher prices stemming from a decline in the US dollar would make even people with secure employment

tank or buy anything made with petroleum products. And that means you will spend less on a vacation and other nonessential items or forgo them altogether.”

CREDIT A failure to raise the debt limit would hike interest rates on credit cards and make them much more

Prices for gasoline, cars and other imported goods would likely rise because the value of the dollar would fall. There also could be a big sell-off on Wall Street, where many have invested their 401(k) retirement plans. ers.

The private sector also would probably not hire if loans became costly. And credit already is very difficult to come by for small business, which create most of the jobs.

“The biggest problem we have is confidence... businesses and consumers aren’t convinced the worst is over for the economy and

reluctant to spend.

This pullback could cause a recession and shedding of jobs because consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity, Socci said.

The dollar would lose value, which always makes crude oil more expensive. In fact, oil prices would likely hit record highs as foreign producers demanded pay-

difficult to get. First, the rating agencies could downgrade Washington’s credit, forcing it to give higher rates to investors to entice them to buy Treasury bonds, said Esmeralda Lyn, vice dean of Hofstra’s business school.

Banks then would probably see their cost of borrowing go up and in turn pass along the expense to customers in the form of higher

credit-card rates.

“Interest rates would go up across the board because of the devaluation of the American dollar and essentially the loss of confidence by the world in the American dollar,” said Anthony Sabino, a St. John’s University law and business professor and Mineola attorney.” It will hit so many Americans in their wallet and that’s one of the reasons when we get down to the 11th hour and the 59th minute they will do a deal.”

STOCKS The specter of the United States not being able to meet its financial obligations, no matter how unlikely, would drive down stocks. The sell-off could be far worse than the jitters seen in recent days over Europe’s fiscal crisis.

Stocks could plunge between 20 percent and 30 percent, according to some economists.

Such a slide would wipe out the gains made by 401(k) plans, which only recently recouped their losses from the 2008 financial meltdown. “There would be a big plunge in the stock market... It would be a disaster,” Faucher said.

Nearly 60 percent of 401(k) money is invested in equities, so any sell-off would likely postpone the retirements of many, particularly Baby Boomers who, unlike their parents, generally lack traditional, fixed pensions.

Faucher said: “Their plans would have to change. They couldn’t afford to stop working.”

MORTGAGES House hunters shopping for mortgages and some borrowers with adjustable rate loans could be hit with rising interest rates.

Usually, bad news, such as high unemployment, drives borrowing costs down-but not this time.

Warren Goldberg, a Woodburybased mortgage broker with GuardHill Financial Corp, predicted mortgage shoppers would see higher rates right away. However, if the federal government misses paying its bills only for a couple of weeks or a month, borrowers with adjustable rates probably wouldn’t be affected unless their rates are scheduled to change next month or in September, he said. Rates have been going up or down by a fraction of a percent per week, but economist Lawrence White, of New York University’s Stern School of Business, said they could jump 1 percentage point the week the nation doesn’t honor all its obligations. — MCT

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Iran reshaping Gulf politics

By Reva Bhalla

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omething extraordinary, albeit not unexpected, is happening in the Arabian Gulf region. The United States, lacking a coherent strategy to deal with Iran and too distracted to develop one, is struggling to navigate Iraq’s fractious political landscape in search of a deal that would allow Washington to keep a meaningful military presence in the country beyond the end-of-2011 deadline stipulated by the current Status of Forces Agreement. At the same time, Saudi Arabia, dubious of US capabilities and intentions toward Iran, appears to be inching reluctantly toward an accommodation with its Persian adversary.

Iran clearly stands to gain from this dynamic in the short term as it seeks to reshape the balance of power in the world’s most active energy arteries. But Iranian power is neither deep nor absolute.

Instead, Tehran finds itself racing against a timetable that hinges not only on the US ability to shift its attention from its ongoing wars in the Middle East but also on Turkey’s ability to grow into its historic regional role.

The Iranian Position Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said something that caught our attention.

Speaking at Iran’s first Strategic Naval Conference in Tehran on July 13, Vahidi said the United States is “making endeavors to drive a wedge between regional countries with the aim of preventing the establishment of an indigenized security arrangement in the region, but those attempts are rooted in misanalyses and will not succeed.” The effect Vahidi spoke of refers to the Iranian redefinition of Gulf power dynamics, one that in Iran’s ideal world ultimately would transform the local political, business, military and religious affairs of the Gulf states to favor the Shiites and their patrons in Iran.

From Iran’s point of view, this is a natural evolution, and one worth waiting centuries for. It would see power concentrated among the Shiites in Mesopotamia, eastern Arabia and the Levant at the expense of the Sunnis who have dominated this land since the 16th century, when the Safavid Empire lost Iraq to the Ottomans.

Ironically, Iran owes its thanks for this historic opportunity to its two main adversaries - the Wahhabi Sunnis of Al-Qaeda who carried out the 9/11 attacks and the “Great Satan” that brought down Saddam Hussein. Should Iran succeed in filling a major power void in Iraq, a country that touches six Middle Eastern powers and demographically favors the Shiites, Iran would theoretically have its western flank secured as well as an oil-rich outlet with which to further project its influence.

So far, Iran’s plan is on track. Unless the United States permanently can station substantial military forces in the region, Iran replaces the United States as the most powerful military force in the Arabian Gulf region. In particular, Iran has the military ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz and has a clandestine network of operatives spread across the region. Through its deep penetration of the Iraqi government, Iran is also in the best position to influence Iraqi decision-making. Washington’s obvious struggle in trying to negotiate an extension of the US deployment in Iraq is perhaps one of the clearest illustrations of Iranian resolve to secure its western flank.

The Iranian nuclear issue, as we have

long argued, is largely a sideshow; a nuclear deterrent, if actually achieved, would certainly enhance Iranian security, but the most immediate imperative for Iran is to consolidate its position in Iraq.

And as last weekend’s Iranian incursion into northern Iraq - ostensibly to fight Kurdish militants - shows, Iran is willing to make measured, periodic shows of force to convey that message.

While Iran already is well on its way to accomplishing its goals in Iraq, it needs two other key pieces to complete Tehran’s picture of a regional “indigenized security arrangement” that Vahidi spoke of. The first is an understanding with its main military challenger in the region, the United States. Such an understanding would entail everything from ensuring Iraqi Sunni military impotence to expanding Iranian energy

guaranteed. That said, a number of signals have surfaced in recent weeks leading us to examine the potential for a Saudi-Iranian accommodation, however brief that may be.

The Saudi Position Not surprisingly, Saudi Arabia is greatly unnerved by the political evolution in Iraq.

The Saudis increasingly will rely on regional powers such as Turkey in trying to maintain a Sunni bulwark against Iran in Iraq, but Riyadh has largely resigned itself to the idea that Iraq, for now, is in Tehran’s hands.

This is an uncomfortable reality for the Saudi royals to cope with, but what is amplifying Saudi Arabia’s concerns in the region right now - and apparently nudging Riyadh toward the negotiating table with Tehran - is the current situation in Bahrain.

When Shiite-led protests erupted in

local press on an almost daily basis regarding negotiations with Riyadh, we discovered through our sources that the pieces were beginning to fall into place for Saudi-Iranian negotiations. To understand why, we have to examine the Saudi perception of the current US position in the region.

The Saudis cannot fully trust US intentions at this point. The US position in Iraq is tenuous at best, and Riyadh cannot rule out the possibility of Washington entering its own accommodation with Iran and thus leaving Saudi Arabia in the lurch. The United States has three basic interests: to maintain the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, to reduce drastically the number of forces it has devoted to fighting wars with Sunni Islamist militants (who are also by definition at war with Iran), and to try to reconstruct a balance of power in

While an Iranian helicopter flies, Iranians scatter flowers into the Arabian Gulf waters on July 3, 2011. Iranians mourning a 23-year-old airline tragedy tossed flowers in the Gulf at the site where an Iranian passenger plane was downed by a US warship, killing all 290 aboard in an incident Washington describes as a mistake but many in Iran consider a deliberate attack. — AP rights beyond its borders to placing limits on US military activity in the region, all in return for the guaranteed flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz and an Iranian pledge to stay clear of Saudi oil fields. The second piece is an understanding with its main regional adversary, Saudi Arabia. Iran’s reshaping of Gulf politics entails convincing its Sunni neighbors that resisting Iran is not worth the cost, especially when the United States does not seem to have the time or the resources to come to their aid at present. No matter how much money the Saudis throw at Western defense contractors, any military threat by the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council states against Iran will be hollow without an active US military commitment. Iran’s goal, therefore, is to coerce the major Sunni powers into recognizing an expanded Iranian sphere of influence at a time when US security guarantees in the region are starting to erode.

Of course, there is always a gap between intent and capability, especially in the Iranian case. Both negotiating tracks are charged with distrust, and meaningful progress is by no means

Bahrain in the spring, we did not view the demonstrations simply as a natural outgrowth of the so-called Arab Spring. There were certainly overlapping factors, but there was little hiding the fact that Iran had seized an opportunity to pose a nightmare scenario for the Saudi royals: an Iranian-backed Shiite uprising spreading from the isles of Bahrain to the Shiiteconcentrated, oil-rich Eastern Province of the Saudi kingdom. This explains Saudi Arabia’s hasty response to the Bahraini unrest, during which it led a rare military intervention of GCC forces in Bahrain at the invitation of Manama to stymie a broader Iranian destabilization campaign.

The demonstrations in Bahrain are far calmer now than they were in mid-March at the peak of the crisis, but the concerns of the GCC states have not subsided, and for good reason. Halfhearted attempts at national dialogues aside, Shiite dissent in this part of the region is likely to endure, and this is a reality that Iran can exploit in the long term through its developing covert capabilities.

When we saw in late June that Saudi Arabia was willingly drawing down its military presence in Bahrain at the same time the Iranians were putting out feelers in the

the region that ultimately prevents any one state - whether Arab or Persian - from controlling all the oil in the Gulf. The US position in this regard is flexible, and while developing an understanding with Iran is a trying process, nothing fundamentally binds the United States to Saudi Arabia. If the United States comes to the conclusion that it does not have any good options in the near term for dealing with Iran, a USIranian accommodation - however jarring on the surface - is not out of the question.

More immediately, the main point of negotiation between the United States and Iran is the status of US forces in Iraq.

Iran would prefer to see US troops completely removed from its western flank, but it has already seen dramatic reductions. The question for both sides moving forward concerns not only the size but also the disposition and orientation of those remaining forces and the question of how rapidly they can be reoriented from a more vulnerable residual advisory and assistance role to a blocking force against Iran. It also must take into account how inherently vulnerable a US military presence in Iraq (not to mention the remaining diplomatic presence) is to Iranian conventional and unconventional

means.The United States may be willing to recognize Iranian demands when it comes to Iran’s designs for the Iraqi government or oil concessions in the Shiite south, but it also wants to ensure that Iran does not try to overstep its bounds and threaten Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth. To reinforce a potential accommodation with Iran, the United States needs to maintain a blocking force against Iran, and this is where the USIranian negotiation appears to be deadlocked. The threat of a double-cross is a real one for all sides to this conflict. Iran cannot trust that the United States, once freed up, will not engage in military action against Iran down the line. The Americans cannot trust that the Iranians will not make a bid for Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth (though the military logistics required for such a move are likely beyond Iran’s capabilities at this point). Finally, the Saudis can’t trust that the United States will defend it in a time of need, especially if the United States is preoccupied with other matters and/or has developed a relationship with Iran that it feels the need to maintain.

When all this is taken together - the threat illustrated by Shiite unrest in Bahrain, the tenuous US position in Iraq and the potential for Washington to strike its own deal with Tehran - Riyadh may be seeing little choice but to search out a truce with Iran, at least until it can get a clearer sense of US intentions. This does not mean that the Saudis would place more trust in a relationship with their historical rivals, the Persians, than they would in a relationship with the United States.

Saudi-Iranian animosity is embedded in a deep history of political, religious and economic competition between the two main powerhouses of the Gulf, and it is not going to vanish with the scratch of a pen and a handshake. Instead, this would be a truce driven by short-term, tactical constraints. Such a truce would primarily aim to arrest Iranian covert activity linked to Shiite dissidents in the GCC states, giving the Sunni monarchist regimes a temporary sense of relief while they continue their efforts in trying to build up an Arab resistance to Iran.

But Iran would view such a preliminary understanding as the path toward a broader accommodation, one that would bestow recognition on Iran as the pre-eminent power of the Gulf. Iran can thus be expected to make a variety of demands, all revolving around the idea of Sunni recognition of an expanded Iranian sphere of influence - a very difficult idea for Saudi Arabia to swallow. This is where things get especially complicated. The United States theoretically might strike an accommodation with Iran, but it would do so only with the knowledge that it could rely on the traditional Sunni heavyweights in the region eventually to rebuild a relative balance of power. If the major Sunni powers reach their own accommodation with Iran, independent of the United States, the US position in the region becomes all the more questionable.

What would be the limits of a SaudiIranian negotiation? Could the United States ensure, for example, that Saudi Arabia would not bargain away US military installations in a negotiation with Iran? The Iranian defense minister broached this very idea during his speech last week when he said, “the United States has failed to establish a sustainable security system in the Gulf region, and it is not possible that many vessels will maintain a permanent presence in the region.” —Stratfor

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011 www.kuwaittimes.net

A silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia) sits on a blossom at the Botanical Garden in Munich, southern Germany, yesterday. The European species of butterfly prefers sunny, deciduous woodland as habitat. — AFP

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

FEAR 3

Shades of gray and Greenland J apanese horror films; eternal ice; battlefields; futuristic dictators: this is the stuff of which PC games are made. PC gamers will have to be ready to jump into the role of soldier, biologist, field commander, pilot or dissident this summer as they prepare for scenarios ranging from eerie to dark to frosty to action-packed.

There’s FEAR 3, determined to make you break out in a sweat, while Alpha Polaris, a discovery adventure in Greenland, will make you break out in goose bumps. Battle is at the centre of the wide-ranging military simulator Arma 2: Free, as well as the flight simulator Air Conflicts: Secret Wars.

Meanwhile, Alternativa brings players into a distant future.

If you like frights and chills, FEAR 3 should be right up your alley. Inspired

by Japanese horror films, the game takes players to dark and threatening settings as they slip into the role of soldier Point Man, chasing the mysterious Alma Wade, possessor of paranormal powers. Dark settings and intricate light effects create an intensely morbid mood. The fighting segments in this third installment of the game include a new time-loop mode, allowing Hollywood-style moments.

There are also changes to the multiplayer mode. The developers have decided to skip the everyone-againsteveryone mode, instead adding four new fighting styles developed especially for the game. Those include a mode in which players have no choice but to run from the Wall of Death. The game, released by Warner Interactive,

costs about 50 euros (73 dollars). There are also console versions for the XBox 360 and the Playstation 3. It is recommended for players aged 18 and up.

Horror can chill your blood, but so can absolute cold. Alpha Polaris takes players on a frosty adventure where they take on the role of biologist Rune Knudsen as he travels to Greenland to examine mysterious events at a research station. Characters and their backgrounds are laid out in great detail and there is plenty of audio dialogue. Like most adventures, the controls are fairly simple and intuitive. Of special note are the switches from day into night, which truly enrich the atmosphere. The game costs about 26 euros.

Arma 2: Free takes players to modern battlefields. This free version of Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead can be downloaded at www.arma2.com/free.

It differs from the paid version in that it has no high-definition images, solo missions or expansions. But the version of the tactical game still has a missions editor, solo missions and all the weapons, planes and vehicles of the main game. A key characteristic of the game is the seemingly never-ending landscape in which to fight.

Developer Bohemia Interactive has allowed itself some freedom in planning the multi-player mode. Along with all-against-all and cooperative modes, it also allows players to develop their own multi-player scenarios.

The game is recommended for players 18 and older. Players who want to follow in the footsteps of fighter pilots

from the two world wars can look to Air Conflicts: Secret Wars from dtp Entertainment and BitComposer. The game offers 16 different airplane models for the aerial fights over 20 historically appropriate landscapes. There is an arcade version as well as a simulation mode, which should appeal to simulation fans since the controls mimic real flight physics. The game costs 26 euros for the PC version and 36 euros for XBox and PS3 versions.

Alternativa from Peter Games takes players into the dark future of 2045, where the hero, Richard Rocek, is leading the opposition to a dictator when he is accused of a murder. Rocek also has outstanding problems with his former employer, the mighty Endora company. Players have 120 scenes through which they can steer four different characters.

But there is no real story holding it all together: The main focus is on mastering internally linked episodes. The graphics aren’t quite up to snuff with other titles from the genre, although the lovingly crafted backgrounds make up for some of that and create an authentic atmosphere. Alternativa has been available since 2010 as a download, but now comes in a box version for around 29 euros. — dpa

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Pe t s

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Zoya Girard wipes away a tear as she views her dog Poncho in his casket at the East Lawn Pet Loss Center in Sacramento, California. —MCT photos

More pet owners choosing services for their animal companions

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oya Girard treated her beloved dachshund, Poncho, like a member of the family all his life. She’s giving him the same kind of attention in death. She wanted her 11-year-old dog to be buried in his favorite blanket, a prayer read at his graveside service and a viewing before he was laid to rest. Girard leaned over his casket last week, looking at her beloved pet one last time in a visitation room at the East Lawn Pet Loss Center in Sacramento.

“He was like a grumpy old man, always barking,” Girard said, weeping.

She leaned over and kissed him. “But he was always there for me. This is the least I could do for him.” More often, man’s or woman’s best friends are getting final send-offs similar to those for their owners. Pet funerals with viewings or visitations, prayers, blessings and religious readings are becoming more common, say industry experts.

The cost? About $800 and up.

Pet cemeteries have been around for decades, but the number of funerals - 10- to 15-minute graveside services - has increased dramatically in recent years, according to the International Association of Pet Cemeteries and Crematories in Georgia. In the past, owners may not have shown up for their pets’ burial.

That has changed.

“They want them just like funerals for people,” said Doyle Shugart, who serves on the board of directors and

Some of them have worked together it more and people have responded,” runs a pet cemetery in Atlanta. “I’ve for years,” said Linda Matthews, an offishe said. “There’s a real need to say seen some where people show up all cer in the Sacramento Police dressed in black because they are really goodbye to their pets this way.” Dogs Department’s canine unit. The cemeand cats - but also birds, rabbits, grieving. These pets are their family tery donates the property and funeralguinea pigs, reptiles, and even a horse and they want to treat them like that. related costs for the police dogs. Other They don’t mind spending the money.” - have been buried at the Sacramento costs - the casket Despite a shaky and headstones economy, owners are are covered by expected to spend the Sacramento almost $51 billion on Police Canine their pets in 2011, up Association, a from about $48 billion nonprofit that in 2010. Sixty-two percollects donacent of US households, tions for the anior 72.9 million homes, mals’ care. own a pet according Funerals for pets to a survey by the are not cheap.

America Pet Products Most run from Association. Numbers under $1,000 to are not available on several thousand how much owners dollars, accordspend on pet burial ing to Shugart. services, but those in At the East the industry say they Lawn Pet Loss have seen a jump.

Center, owners “Our phone is can choose a always ringing and the number of burials and Zoya Girard places flowers on the grave of her dog fiberglass casket for $80 for a 10cremations we have Poncho at the East Lawn Pet Loss Center. pound dog or been doing has shot cat, up to $495 for a 52-inch casket cemetery. up,” said Lisa West, pet loss counselor that can hold a mastiff. Poncho had a The cemetery is also the final restin Sacramento. The site has had a pet fiberglass casket, but more deluxe ing place for 43 police dogs, the most cemetery since 1991, and recently ones are available. A mahogany casket recent buried in April. All 12 of the updated and renamed it. An official with a plush interior costs $6,000. One canine units showed up for the funeral grand opening was held last week. local owner recently ordered an $8,000 service. “There is a strong bond “We know people really connect with mausoleum for his dog. Pet owners, or between the handler and the dog. their pets so we decided to emphasize

“parents” as West calls them, who choose cremation - most owners do can order personalized urns, which typically have a place for a photo of the pet.

Some pet parents have purchased multiple plots. Mariaelena and John Lovell rescue abused and abandoned dogs. They have buried four dogs. Last month, they said farewell to B.B., their beloved Maltese, in a ceremony that included a reading from Psalm 23 and a prayer to Saint Francis, patron saint of animals.

“They should have dignity in death,” said Mariaelena Lovell. “It’s a wonderful way to say goodbye. It just seems more complete.” Last month, a New York state agency ordered pet cemeteries to stop burying the remains of humans with their pets. Several states, including California, have similar laws. The Lovells have purchased a plot for themselves close to their dogs. “We want to be as close to them as possible in the hereafter,” said Lovell, 63.

Girard listened as West read aloud from “Poncho’s Prayer.” “Lord, we are here today to express our love for our faithful friend and companion,” West said. Girard watched tearfully as the small casket was lowered into the ground and covered with dirt. Her friend Linda Kilgore made the sign of the cross. “He was worth it,” said Girard of the $860 cost. “I hope he rests in peace.” —MCT

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Fo o d

Cream Cheese

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Everyday cooking

By Sawsan Kazak

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ontrary to popular belief, cream cheese is not just meant to be spread on bagels or baked in cheese cakes. This smooth and tangy spread can be used in a variety of recipes. The great thing about this ingredient is its versatility. You can use cream cheese for breakfast, lunch or dinner and to make great party snacks. The following recipes give cream cheese the chance to shine without a bagel or crust underneath it.

Send your suggestions to: sawsank@kuwaittimes.net

Cream cheese 101 C

ream cheese is a soft cheese that is made from a combination of milk and heavy cream. Cream cheese tends toward sweetness and is white. It is called ‘white cheese’ in some parts of Europe. Developed in New York in 1872, it was intended as an alternative to other soft cheeses, such as Neufchatel Cheese and Brie.

1 Cream cheese is often used as an ingredient in appetiz-

ers, snacks and dips, as well as spreading on bagels or toast.

As a spread on bagels, crackers and raw vegetables it is used as a savory snack with the addition of spices. 2 Some recipes also call for it to be used in a sweet food item such as cheesecake, desserts and frosting. 3 Cream cheese is also used to give foods a creamy texture such as when it is used in mashed potatoes and sauces.

Cream Cheese History Ancient Romans and Greeks ate soft cheese and Europe produced some of the first creamy soft cheese. 4 The first American cream cheese was made

by William Lawrence in 1872. By 1880, Al Reynolds began distributing the cream cheese in tin foil wrappers and called it Philadelphia Brand cream cheese. 5 Kraft later acquired this company. (www.mahalo.com)

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Fo o d FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Fruit pizza • 1 (18-ounce) package refrigerated cookie dough • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature • 1/3 cup sugar • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or other flavoring (almond, orange, or lemon) • Fresh blueberries, banana slices, mandarin orange sections, seedless grapes, strawberry halves, kiwifruit (or any other • 1/2 cup orange, peach, or apricot preserves • 1 Tablespoon water

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reheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line an ungreased 14-inch pizza pan with cookie dough cut in 1/8-inch slices, overlapping slightly. Bake 12 minutes or until light brown; remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract or other flavoring; spread over cookie crust. Arrange fruit over cream cheese layer in any design you want (use your imagination). In a small saucepan over very low heat, make a glaze by heating preserves and water. Brush glaze over fruit, making sure to cover the fruit that will turn dark.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mini shrimp quiches

Creamy zucchini pate

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed but unfolded • 8 ounces frozen baby shrimp, thawed and patted dry (if using canned, rinse and drain) • 4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 large block), at room temperature • 1/8 tsp dry mustard powder • 1/4 tsp dill weed • 1/4 tsp garlic powder • 1/4 tsp onion powder • 1/2 tsp salt • 1/2 tsp soy sauce • 2 eggs • 1/8 cup chopped chives • Shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese • 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar • 1 teaspoon sugar • 1 teaspoon salt, divided use • 1 medium zucchini (about 1/4 pound), unpeeled and coarsely grated • 1/4 cup minced sweet onion • 1/4 cup packed fresh parsley sprigs • 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives • 1 (3 ounces) package cream cheese, at room temperature • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper • 1/4 cup roasted red pepper, coarsely chopped

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lace wine vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a zip-top bag. Seal and squish to combine. Add grated zucchini and minced sweet onion. Seal and toss to coat. Re-open, squeeze out all the air, and seal again. Let sit for 1 hour to release excess water. Line a colander or bowl with cheesecloth. Pour zucchini into colander, bring up the corners of the cheesecloth, and twist to squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Transfer zucchini and onions to a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add parsley and chives. Process until smooth.

Add cream cheese, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and white pepper. Process until combined. Add roasted red peppers and pulse just until the peppers are reduced to small flecks. Scrape zucchini pate into a small mold lined with plastic wrap or a small bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap pressed to the surface and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. To unmold, remove top plastic wrap. Invert mold or bowl over a decorative plate. Remove the bottom layer of plastic wrap.

Serve zucchini pate with assorted herb crackers, carrot sticks, and celery logs.

P

reheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease mini-muffin pans. On a lightly floured board, place unfolded thawed puff pastry sheet and roll out into a rectangle about 12 x 14 inches and 1/8-inch thick.

Using a 2-1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut 24 rounds. Fit rounds into mini-muffin cups. Place 1 or 2 baby shrimp into each cup. Blend cream cheese, dry mustard, dill weed, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and soy sauce

until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, just until incorporated. Fold in chopped chives. Spoon egg and cheese mixture over shrimp in each cup. Top with a sprinkling of Gruyere or Swiss cheese. Bake 10 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve warm.

Low-carb brownies

• 10 ounces (285 g) cream cheese, at room temperature • 16 Tbsp (240 ml) unsalted butter, at room temperature (2 sticks) • 4 ounces (112 g) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled • 1/4 cup (60 ml) each Splenda and Canadian Sugar Twin or 1 cup (240 ml) Splenda • 4 large eggs • 2 tsp (10 ml) instant coffee granules • 1-1/2 tsp (7.5 ml) pure vanilla extract • 1-1/2 tsp (7.5 ml) pure chocolate extract (optional) • 1-1/2 cups (360 ml) almond meal (finely ground almonds) • 6 Tbsp (90 ml) Dutch-processed cocoa powder • 1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) sea salt • 1-1/2 tsp (7.5 ml) baking powder

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reheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Butter a 13 x 9-inch (32.5 x 22.5-cm) baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the chocolate and sweetener. Beat in the

eggs, 1 at a time, scraping the bowl well after each addition. Add the coffee and vanilla and chocolate extracts.

Beat until combined. In a medium bowl, mix the almond meal, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Add to the chocolate mixture and beat well. Scrape into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is firm. Cool on a wire rack before cutting. Store brownies covered, in the refrigerator.

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Tr a v e l

FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2011

Best things to do at

Disneyworld

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As a roller coaster, Expedition Everest is just OK. And as a themed dark ride, the attraction would be just OK without the coaster elements. But the combination of the coaster, which is integral to the ride’s story, and the attraction’s lavish, immersive environment, creates another Disney E-ticket must-ride.

Here is what did make the list of Best Things to Do at Disney World:

s the Theme Parks Guide for About.com, you’d expect that I’d have Disney World tips to share.

And you’d be right. If you’re making a pilgrimage to Florida, I’ve got ten things to do at Disney World that I just wouldn’t want you to miss.

And I’m not just talking about the best rides (although rides and attractions figure heavily on the top-10 Disney countdown). Disney World is a massive vacation resort with many hotels, an astonishing number of restaurants, shopping and entertainment districts, and a wealth of other features to explore.

There’s so much to see and do, it would be easy to dole out way more than ten Disney World tips. Among the intriguing options that didn’t make the list, for example, are the mesmerizing Cirque du Soleil show, “La Nouba,” Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and the Battle for Buccaneer Gold attraction at the “virtual theme park,” DisneyQuest (located in Downtown Disney).

Dine Out at a Fancy Restaurant-at Least Once Many Disney World visitors chow down on the same nondescript fast food typically found at traditional amusement parks. And that’s a shame.

They are missing out on some extraordinary restaurants at the Florida resort and an opportunity to make their vacations more memorable.

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Glide Over to Soarin’ A captivating Disney E-ticket ride that incorporates technology in a new and exciting way, Soarin’ is a charming and giddy adventure up, over, and through the sights of California. It will engage your senses and figuratively, if not damn near literally, send you soarin’.

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Stay at One of the Disney Hotels Being a guest at a Disney World hotel will have you right in the middle of all the magic. When you leave the theme parks, you’ll return to your own little themed Disney world: your room.

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Spring for Typhoon Lagoon Both Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon are among the most spectacular, thrilling, and downright fun water parks anywhere on the planet.

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Get Thrilled Known more for its charm, whimsy, and cuddly characters than for white-knuckle, thrill rides, Disney World nonetheless offers some exciting thrills. Here are the best and most thrilling.

—About

Try Some Great Casual Restaurants Of course, not every meal during your Disney World visit will be at a high-end table-service restaurant. You’d go broke and be too jumbo to enjoy Dumbo. But that doesn’t mean that you’ll have to subject yourself to a steady diet of burgers and fries. There are are some wonderful buffets and counter-service restaurants throughout the resort, and, lucky for you, I’ve compiled a rundown of the Top 10 Best Walt Disney World Casual Restaurants.

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•

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Yo Ho with Pirates of the Caribbean Dead men may tell no tales, but Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean have entertained millions with their salty tales. A landmark achievement in theme park storytelling when it debuted at Disneyland in 1967, Pirates remains one of Disney’s-and all of parkdom’s-most beloved attractions.

•

Drop In on the Tower of Terror The Tower of Terror is a modern-day classic Disney theme park attraction. Combining a thrilling freefall ride, dazzling effects, and an inspired and fiendishly clever storyline based on the seminal “The Twilight Zone” television series, Disney Imagineers have created a ride that, like a select few E-ticket attractions, is so much greater than the sum of its parts.

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Head for the Mountains on Expedition Everest

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FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2011

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ooking to do Rome on the cheap? Sure, you can walk around aimlessly. It’s more fun in Rome than maybe anywhere else on the planet. But here are the ten best attractions in Rome that won’t cost you a lira or rather a Euro cent.

1. Take a foray into the Foro - The Roman Forum was the main marketplace and business center in ancient times, where you did your banking, trading, and shopping. Entering the forum is free, now as then. You won’t want to do banking with anyone in the Forum now, however. (Note: As of 2008, the Roman Forum is no longer free. The current Colosseum and Palatine Hill combination ticket will also include admission to the Roman Forum and will be valid for two days.)

Rome for Free - The top things to do in Rome for frugal travelers

2. Wander the Appia Antica - Walk the old road out of Rome on Sunday, when no cars are allowed. There are lots of ancient things to see on the peaceful walk, and the park has detailed routes and maps of the best walking and biking routes.

3. Don’t Liars just Grate on You? The Bocca della Verita was really an ancient sewer grate, but don’t let that stop you. Place your hand in the mouth and legend has it that your hands will be bitten off if you’ve lied. Be careful. Located in Piazza Bocca della Verita.

4. Free up your wanderlust: Pitch Three Coins into the Trevi Fountain - Gawk at Nicola Salvi’s late Baroque waterworks influenced by an earlier try by Bernini, then follow the Roman tradition of throwing a coin into the fountain to guarantee a return to the Eternal City. (News Flash: “Italian courts have recently ruled that Roberto Cercelletta, who has been scooping out coins tossed into the Trevi fountain for about 20 years, is not stealing public money. He made an estimated 180,000 USD a year from his labors. Charity organization Caritas, which retrieves the money on Sundays when Cercelletta takes a day off, tried to get a court order to stop him” - Story thanks to zoomata.)

5. Scale the Spanish Steps - The Scalinata di Spagna, steps extending from Piazza di Spagna to Trinita dei Monti, were originally named after the Spanish Embassy adjacent. Ascend further from the top of the steps to get good views of Rome. The steps had a major restoration in 1995-6, and the once popular art of lunching on the steps is frowned upon, and fines can be levied. At the foot of the steps is the Keats-Shelley Memorial House (9 am to 1 pm and 2.30 to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday, admission charge). The area around the steps offers designer shops, restaurants and bars.

6. Vatican on Vacation - While the Vatican Museums usually exchange filthy lucre for entrance peeks, you can visit free on the last Sunday of the month (see “Free Days in Rome” on page 2). Also free is an interesting visit under the Vatican to see the excavations or a Wednesday audience with the Pope. See our Vatican Directory for instructions on getting the required reservations.

7. Partake of the Pantheon - Originally a pagan temple, converted into a church in 608AD, which saved the whole deal from being ravaged for building materials. You’ll find it in Piazza della Rotonda, a favorite hang-out for young folks in the evening.

It’s the best-preserved monument of imperial Rome, entirely rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian around AD 120 on the site of an earlier pantheon erected in 27 BC by Augustus’s general Agrippa.

Mon-Sat 8:30-7:30; Sun. 9-6.

8. Piazza Crawl - Piazza Navona and Piazza Campo dei Fiori are the two most famous piazze in Rome. Piazza Navona, which follows the plan of an ancient circus and contains two famous fountains

by Bernini, comes alive in the evenings, while the Campo dei Fiori (the field of flowers) is best experienced during the market hours. You’ll eat much cheaper around the Campo dei Fiori, where there are take-out stands and delis everywhere.

9. Strolling the neighborhoods: Trestevere “Believe it or not, this is the “Italian quarter” of Rome. The streets are narrow and sometimes winding, although more often than not they will eventually lead back to the Piazza Santa Maria, home to one of the oldest churches in Rome. This piazza is the undisputed heart of trastevere, full of every kind of person imaginable-both stylish and unsavory. (A firm “no” and a stern look will shake off any unwanted attentions.) The church is famous for a Byzantine mosaic behind the altar, so drop a few coins in the light box (it will illuminate the mosaic for 60 seconds) and spend a few minutes there. It is well worth it.” - posted by cynar to our travel forum 10. Strolling the neighborhoods II: Testaccio Testaccio is an old neighborhood built around a hill of Amphora fragments discarded by Roman era merchants who docked nearby at the ancient Tiber port . Recently, car repair shops and trendy clubs have been carved out of the base of this hill.

Testaccio is rapidly becoming popular with the young, clubby crowd. You can eat organ meats here, the real Roman cooking. See our Testaccio directory for suggestions. — About

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Books

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

GRAB A BOOK AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE Excuses Begone! How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits

By Wayne W. Dyer

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oss Out Those Tired Old Excuses...Once and for All! Within the pages of this transformational book, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer reveals how to change the self-defeating thinking patterns that have prevented you from living at the highest levels of success, happiness, and health. Even though you may know what to think, actually changing those thinking habits that have been with you since childhood might be somewhat challenging. If I changed, it would create family dramas ... I’m too old or too young ... I’m far too busy and tired ... I can’t afford the things I truly want ...

It would be very difficult for me to do anything differently ... and I’ve always been this way ... may all seem to be true, but they’re in fact just excuses. So the business of modifying habituated thinking patterns really comes down to tossing out the same tired old excuses and examining your beliefs in a new and truthful light.

In this groundbreaking work, Wayne presents a compendium of conscious and subconscious crutches

employed by virtually everyone, along with ways to cast them aside once and for all. You’ll learn to apply specific questions to any excuse, and then proceed through the steps of a new paradigm. The old, habituated ways of thinking will melt away as you experience the absurdity of hanging on to them. You’ll ultimately realize that there are no excuses worth defending, ever, even if they’ve always been part of your life-and the joy of releasing them will resonate throughout your very being. When you eliminate the need to explain your shortcomings or failures, you’ll awaken to the life of your dreams. Excuses ... Begone!. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer is an internationally renowned author and speaker in the field of self-development. He is the author of more than 30 books, has created numerous audio programs and videos, and has appeared on thousands of television and radio shows. Wayne holds a doctorate in educational counseling from Wayne State University and was an associate professor at St. John’s University in New York.

Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life Is Your Hidden Strength

The Art of Non-Conformity

By Chris Guillebeau

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f you’ve ever thought, “There must be more to life than this,” The Art of Non-Conformity is for you.

Based on Chris Guillebeau’s popular online manifesto “A Brief Guide to World Domination,” The Art of Non-Conformity defies common assumptions about life and work while arming you with the tools to live differently. You’ll discover how to live on your own terms by exploring creative self-employment, radical goal-setting, contrarian travel, and embracing life as a constant adventure.

Inspired and guided by Chris’s own story and those of others who have pursued unconventional lives, you can devise your own plan for world domination-and make the world a better place at the same time.

By Laurie Helgoe

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re you an introvert? Psychologist and introvert Laurie Helgoe reveals that more than half of all Americans are. Introverts gain energy and power through reflection and solitude. Our culture, however, is geared toward the extrovert. The pressure to enjoy parties, chatter, and interactions can lead people to think that an inward orientation is a problem instead of an opportunity.

Helgoe shows that the exact opposite is true: Introverts can capitalize on this inner source of power. Introvert Power is a groundbreaking call for an introvert renaissance, a blueprint for how introverts can take full advantage of this hidden strength in daily life. Supplemented by the voices of several introverts, Helgoe presents a startling look at introvert numbers, influence, and economic might.

Revolutionary and invaluable, INTROVERT POWER includes ideas for how introverts can learn to: • Claim private space • Carve out time to think • Bring a slower tempo into daily life • Create breaks in conversation and relationships • Deal effectively with parties, interruptions, and crowds

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Books

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot

By Richard Wiseman

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rofessor Richard Wiseman offers many quick and practical ways to improve your life gleaned from today’s cutting edge-science, and in the process gives a psychologist’s mythbusting response to the self-help movement.

Whether you’re looking to be more decisive in your life, to find a new job, or simply to be happier, the chances are that this book has the answers you need. For years, the self-help industry has failed the public, often promoting exercises that destroy motivation, ruin relationships, increase anxiety and reduce creativity. Here, psychologist Richard Wiseman exposes these modern-day mind myths and presents a fresh approach to change that helps people achieve their aims and ambitions in minutes not months. From mood to memory, persuasion to procrastination, resilience to relationships, Wiseman outlines the research supporting this new

science of rapid change and describes how these quirky techniques can be incorporated into everyday life.

- Find out why putting a pencil between your teeth instantly makes you feel happier - Discover why even thinking about going to the gym can help you keep in shape - Learn how putting just one thing in your wallet will improve the chance of it being returned if lost - Discover why writing down your goals is more effective than visualizing them - Find out why retail therapy doesn’t work to improve mood and what does

Positive Energy

The Power of Eye Contact: Your Secret for Success in Business, Love and Life

By Judith Orloff

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re you forever rushing through your day, fending off chronic exhaustion?

Are you desperately overcommitted, afraid to say no? Do you want to feel well rested and ready to conquer each day with enthusiasm, but fall short time and time again? If so, you’re the victim of a hidden energy crisis. Here, at last, is the complete prescription that will stop you from feeling constantly drained and enable you to live a more vibrant life.

The Positive Energy Program will help you: ïGenerate positive emotional energy to counter negativity -Design an energy-aware approach to diet, exercise, and health-and teach you how to avoid the “energetic overeating” that sabotages attempts to lose weight -Awaken your intuition and rejuvenate yourself-and learn the cure for technodespair: overload from e-mails, computers, and phones -Protect yourself from energy vampires with specific shielding techniques Filled with clear instructions for the simple, powerful exercises Dr. Orloff practices herself and shares with her patients, Positive Energy is your tool kit for transforming fatigue, stress, and fear into an abundance of vibrance, strength, and love.

— bn.com

By Michael Ellsberg

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ye contact can land you a job. It can get you a date. It can deepen your connections with the people you love. It can make or break business relationships. It can help win a fight. It can win over an audience.

Simply put, eye contact is one of the most powerful tools in human face-to-face interaction. The Power of Eye Contact is your concise guide to harnessing the potent force of eye contact.

Master this force and you will notice three things: • You meet more people.

• Your connections deepen with family, friends, and business prospects.

• You look, feel, and act more confident.

The Power of Eye Contact is your invaluable tool to enhance your relationships in every part of your life.

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Beauty

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Things your

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f skin were merely a sausage casing for the rest of you, it wouldn’t be nearly so useful.

An organ itself (your body’s largest in terms of both weight and surface area), skin protects against invasive bacteria, regulates body temperature, and picks up information from the stimulation of touch, pressure, pain, heat, and cold. Little wonder, then, that when there’s something wrong with you on the inside, your skin sometimes sends up the first warning flare.

“Diabetes, for example, is generally a silent disease, but it can lead to distinct changes to the skin. So the skin may in fact be the first indicator of what’s happening,” notes dermatologist Amy Newburger, MD, of Scarsdale, New York, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Dermatology.

Here’s the skinny on ten dermatologic oddities worth watching for in yourself or someone you love.

1. Red flag: Yellowish skin, orange palms and soles What it means: The cartoonish skin hues of carotenemia can be the unfunny result of an underactive thyroid gland - hypothyroidism which causes increased levels of beta-carotene in the blood. Beta-carotene is an antioxidant, found in fruits and vegetables, that normally gets processed by the thyroid. When there’s a thyroid problem, the gland doesn’t metabolize the vitamins as quickly, so beta-carotene accumulates. You can also get Technicolor skin due to beta-carotene buildup thanks to a diet heavy on carrots, carrot juice, sweet potatoes, and squash.

More clues: The skin of someone with hypothyroidism also tends to be dry and cold, and sometimes more pale than yellowed.

Feeling tired, sluggish, weak, or achy are the main symptoms, along with possible unexplained weight gain. Women over 50 most often develop hypothyroidism.

What to do: Carotenemia caused by a skewed diet isn’t serious and resolves itself when a broader range of foods is consumed.

Hypothyroidism, however, is a medical condition that can lead to such complications as heart problems, so a combination of skin changes plus fatigue warrants attention from a doctor.

2. Red flag: Breaking out in hives in the sun What it means: Being truly allergic to the sun is pretty rare (although this kind of immune system response can happen in some people). A more likely explanation for going outside on a sunny day and coming back with an itchy rash that looks like hives or eczema is having taken a photosensitizing drug. A chemical in the medication causes changes that increase the person’s sensitivity to light.

“It’s common in the Northeast to have no problem all winter long, and as soon as the weather gets nice and folks are outside less bundled up, the rash appears,” says Newburger.

More clues: The rash is limited to sunexposed areas, including the forearms, the neck, and, less commonly, the face. It can feel worse and last longer than a sunburn. It doesn’t matter whether you’re fair-skinned or dark-skinned; anyone can have a photoreaction. One of the most common drug culprits: thiazide diuretics (Hydrodiuril, Dyazide), which are a first-line treatment for hypertension.

Other meds that can produce this effect include antihistamines, tetracycline, the antiaging and antiacne drug tretinoin, and tricyclic antidepressants. Two different people can

skin says about your health react quite differently to the same drug. Or you may have no reaction one time but a severe reaction later.

What to do: Check the labels of your prescription medications. Look for phrases such as “May cause chemical photosensitivity.” Use a high-SPF sunscreen or sunblock but know that this may not prevent the rash; the best advice is to wear sunglasses and a broad-rimmed hat, cover the skin, and limit sun exposure. Tell your doctor, too; a switch in medicines may prevent further rashes.

3. Red flag: Long dark lines in the palm What it means: A palm-reading mystic might have her own interpretation, but to a

physician, a deepening of the pigment in the creases of the palms or soles is a symptom of adrenal insufficiency, an endocrine disorder.

Also known as Addison’s disease, the name comes from its discoverer, physician Thomas Addison, a rather its two most famous victims, President John F. Kennedy and - it’s thought the writer Jane Austen.

More clues: Hyperpigmentation may also be visible around other skin folds, scars, lips, and pressure points (knees, knuckles).

Addison’s sufferers have low blood pressure, which falls further when the person stands.

Salt loss can lead to a craving for salty food. The disease affects men and women equally but is found most commonly between ages 30 and 50.

What to do: It’s important to mention this visible symptom to a doctor, as skin changes may be the first symptoms seen before an acute attack (pain, vomiting, dehydration, and loss of consciousness, a cascade known as an Addisonian crisis).

Lab tests to measure cortisol (which is produced by the adrenal gland) provide a diagnosis.

4. Red flag: Large, dusky blue leg veins What it means: Some of your veins are no

longer working properly when you spy ropy, blue-to-purple lines snaking up your legs.

Venous disease - a.k.a. varicose veins - can be a mere cosmetic annoyance or can cause pain, cramping, and difficulty walking. Veins rely on one-way valves, like shutters, to keep blood circulating; when they stop working, blood leaks back into the vein and pools there.

More clues: Varicose veins are sometimes mistaken for spider veins, a weblike network of smaller blue or red veins closer to the skin’s surface. Varicose veins tend to be larger, darker, and sometimes raised, with a twisted appearance. (The name comes from the Latin varix, or “twisted.”) Half of all people over age 50 have varicose veins, especially women. They

often first appear in pregnancy.

What to do: Exercise, compression stockings, and avoiding constricting postures (like crossing your legs when seated) can help ease discomfort, but they won’t make varicose veins disappear. Not all faulty veins cause problems.

However, if the veins cause pain or become warm and tender to the touch, tell your doctor.

Severe venous insufficiency can lead to dangerous blood clots. Treatments with good success rates include sclerotherapy (injecting a solution to shut the vein) and surgery also options if you just can’t bear how your legs look at the beach.

5. Red flag: Brownish spots on the shins What it means: The fronts of the legs along the shins tend to bang and bump into things a lot. For someone with diabetes, the damage to the capillaries and small blood vessels that are characteristic of the disease will cause them to leak when traumatized, leading to brown discoloration known as diabetic dermopathy.

More clues: The brownish patches may also be rough, almost scaly (although they don’t open up), and tend to form ovals or circles.

They don’t hurt. Another common skin change of diabetes to look for: An open, unhealed sore on the foot. Diabetics lose the perception of pain, temperature, and touch on their feet, making them unlikely to notice common foot blisters - which then go untreated and may become infected.

What to do: There’s no health danger from diabetic dermopathy, and no need for treatment. But if someone who hasn’t been diagnosed with diabetes shows these signs, it’s worth checking for other signs of diabetes, such as thirst, excessive urination, tiredness, or blurry vision.

6. Red flag: Persistent rash that you want to scratch raw What it means: Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) - clusters of small, ferociously itchy blisters that show up repeatedly in the forearms near the elbows, the knees, the buttocks, the back, or the face or scalp - are a hallmark of celiac disease, or an allergy to gluten. As many as one in four people with celiac disease have DH. More clues: The rash appears on both sides of the body. Itching and burning are so intense you can hardly quit scratching. People with DH don’t usually have the digestive symptoms of celiac disease, but they’re intolerant of gluten just the same. DH often shows up between ages 30 and 40, and most often in people of northern European heritage.

What to do: Report the rashes to your regular doctor or a doctor who specializes in skin disorders to evaluate and rule out other causes. Blood tests and a biopsy of tissue from the small intestine are used to diagnose DH. A gluten-free diet for life is usually advised to keep symptoms at bay; this includes banishing foods, beverages, and medications that contain wheat, barley, rye, and sometimes oats.

Drugs may help control the rashes.

7. Red flag: Purple stains or splotches What it means: What looks a bit like a bruise, is often mistaken for a bruise, but tends to hang around longer because it’s not exactly a bruise? Purpura (from the Latin for “purple”), or leaking blood vessels under the skin. It has several possible causes, ranging from a bleeding disorder to scurvy (vitamin C deficiency). But in adults over age 65, in whom it’s common, the main explanation is thin skin, often made even more fragile by years of sun damage and weakened blood vessels. Then the condition is known by the unfortunate name of senile purpura.

“A substantial excessive intake of aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, vitamin E, or ginkgo biloba, which older adults often take to boost memory, can worsen the condition,” says dermatoligst Newburger. So can blood thinners, such as coumadin, alcohol, and steroids.

More clues: A classic bruise tends to turn black and blue following an injury. With purpura, in contrast, there doesn’t need to be any trauma; the discoloration starts as red and turns purple, persisting longer than a bruise before fading or remaining brownish. The purple skin doesn’t blanch (fade or lose color) when you press it. Purpura can cover large patches of skin or show up as small purple speckles called petechiae. No matter what the size, the purple areas are most common on the forearms, legs, and backs of the hands.

What to do: Extensive or persistent bruises should always be evaluated by a doctor, as should someone who seems to bruise easily.

It’s important to rule out underlying causes such as a bleeding disorder. (www.care2.com)

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Beauty

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Hair-Care Myths Debunked T

hey say a woman’s hair is her crowning glory, and boy, do we take that to heart. Women spend inordinate amounts of time and energy washing, styling, and caring for their hair (and let’s be honest-men do, too), all for the sake of keeping it shiny, healthy, and manageable. Like many areas of modern life, there’s plenty of advice and chatter on how to handle your hair better, faster, and more easily. There’s bound to be some folklore out there, like these points of hair-care “wisdom” sprinkled in with the facts.

Myth 1: Brushing one hundred strokes per night makes hair healthy and shiny.

At one point in hair-care history, someone thought that excessive brushing stimulated blood circulation, prompting lazy hair follicles to work extra hard. The truth is that although individual strands of hair are fairly strong, brushing more than necessary is much more likely to cause excessive breakage and damage than to leave you with thicker, shinier hair. This is especially true if you use a brush with plastic bristles, which can catch and snag. Natural-bristle brushes (like those with boar bristles) can distribute beneficial oils from the root to the ends of the hair shaft. But no matter what kind of combing implement you use, you should leave your hair alone once the snarls and tangles are gone. Want an all-natural, vegan hairbrush? Read Easy Greening: Hair Brushes.

Myth 2: Prenatal vitamins help hair grow longer.

Although some women swear by them, there’s no evidence to suggest prenatal vitamins are particularly helpful for hair growth. Hair does grow longer and thicker during pregnancy, but that’s because of higher hormone levels, not because of the vitamins themselves. Vitamins can be helpful for people experiencing poor hair growth due to a vitamin deficiency, but in those instances, a regular multivitamin or an iron supplement will perform just as well as the prenatal variety.

Myth 3: Male-pattern baldness is passed down by the mother.

Baldness isn’t just mom’s fault. Conventional wisdom holds that a man’s baldness is determined by his maternal grandfather, but it’s actually much more complicated than that. The gene for androgenic alopecia, as it’s formally called, can be inherited from either parent. It is true, however, that the X chromosome, passed down by the mother, is the most important determining factor as to whether or not baldness will actually develop. Both men and women can inherit the gene for baldness, but men are more likely to express it, in the same way that they’re more likely to express legitimate X-linked disorders like hemophilia and color blindness. Since they don’t

have another copy of the X chromosome to cancel out abnormalities, they’re stuck with whatever gene is on their single X. Read about how to combat hair loss naturally.

Myth 4: You can restore damaged hair back to health.

All hair is dead, and unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about it. Once hair emerges from its follicle, it has no biochemical activity, no nervous tissue, and no pain receptors. There is no way to magically heal or restore hair that’s been damaged by chemicals or rough handling. The only solutions are to use products that artificially add moisture and mask the damaged texture or to cut if off completely.

Myth 5: A cold rinse keeps hair shiny and frizz-free.

Contrary to popular belief, giving freshly washed hair a final rinse with cool water does not seal the cuticle, keep it shiny, or prevent frizziness. Cold water can temporarily help the hair’s

cuticle to lay flatter, but the effect instantly wears off after towel-drying, blow-drying, or intense styling. The only thing a cold-water rinse is good for is a morning pick-me-up.

Myth 6: Shaving hair makes it grow back thicker.

Some misguided moms even resort to shaving their infants’ heads in the hope that the hair that grows back will be thicker and fuller. In reality, shaving doesn’t affect the quality or texture of the hair, according to dermatologists at the Mayo Clinic. Shaving acts on the hair shaft (which, of course, is dead to begin with), not the follicle. Whether it’s on the head or the legs, hair that’s growing back may seem coarser, thicker, or more noticeable, but it’s not.

Myth 7: You can train your hair.

Unfortunately, if you’re the owner of a noticeable cowlick or natural part, you’re stuck with it. No amount of styling, fixing, or cementing hair into a different orientation will ever make it grow that way. Hair follicles lay in different orientations all over the scalp, and whatever pattern you’re born with is what you’ll have to live with.

Nowadays, anyone with a computer and the software to build a Web site can market him- or herself as an expert and dispense advice to the masses, but a healthy dose of skepticism is still the antidote for misinformation. A dermatologist or trichologist (hair doctor) can help you understand your hair and determine the best way to treat it. Their first piece of advice? Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet. (www.care2.com)

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Health

Years

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Foods that boost immunity A

dequately feeding your immune system boosts its fighting power.

Immune boosters work in many ways. They increase the number of white cells in the immune system army, train them to fight better, and help them form an overall better battle plan. Boosters also help to eliminate the deadwood in the army, substances that drag the body down.

Here are the top eight nutrients to add to your family’s diet to cut down on days missed from work and school because of illness.

Vitamin C Vitamin C tops the list of immune boosters for many reasons. There has been more research about the immune-boosting effects of Vitamin C than perhaps any other nutrient. Vitamin C supplements are inexpensive to produce, and it’s available naturally in many fruits and vegetables. Also, you can buy a vitamin-C-fortified version of just about anything. Here’s what the research shows about how this mighty vitamin protects your body.

Vitamin C increases the production of infection-fighting white blood cells and antibodies and increases levels of interferon, the antibody that coats cell surfaces, preventing the entry of viruses. Vitamin C reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by raising levels of HDL (good) cholesterol while lowering blood pressure and interfering with the process by which fat is converted to plaque in the arteries. As an added perk, persons whose diets are higher

in vitamin C have lower rates of colon, prostate, and breast cancer.

You don’t have to take in massive amounts of vitamin C to boost your immune system. Around 200 milligrams a day seems to be a generally agreed-upon amount and one that can be automatically obtained by eating at least six servings of fruits and vegetables a day. See Top Seven Vitamin C-Containing Fruits. If you take vitamin C supplements, it’s best to space them throughout the day rather than take one large dose, most of which may end up being excreted in the urine.

Vitamin E This important antioxidant and immune booster doesn’t get as much press as vitamin C, yet it’s important to a healthy immune system.

Vitamin E stimulates the production of natural killer cells, those that seek out and destroy germs and cancer cells. Vitamin E enhances the production of B-cells, the immune cells that produce antibodies that destroy bacteria. Vitamin E supplementation may also reverse some of the decline in immune response commonly seen in aging.

Vitamin E has been implicated in lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. In the Harvard School of Public Health study of 87,000 nurses, Vitamin E supplementation was shown to cut the risk of heart attacks by fifty percent.

It’s not difficult to get 30 to 60 milligrams every day of Vitamin E from a diet rich in seeds, vegetable oils, and grains, but it’s difficult for most people to consume more than 60 milligrams a day consistently through diet alone. Supplements may be necessary to get enough vitamin E to boost your immune system.

You need 100-400 milligrams per day, depending on your general lifestyle. People who don’t exercise, who smoke, and who consume high amounts of alcoholic beverages will need the higher dosage. Those with a more moderate lifestyle can get by with lower levels of supplementation.

Carotenoids Beta carotene increases the number of infection-fighting cells, natural killer cells, and helper T-cells, as well as being a powerful antioxidant that mops up excess free radicals that accelerate aging. Like the other “big three” antioxidants, vitamins C and

E, it reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by interfering with how the fats and cholesterol in the bloodstream oxidize to form arterial plaques. Studies have shown that beta carotene can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, especially strokes and heart attacks, giving scientific credence to the belief that a carrot a day can keep the heart surgeon away. Beta carotene also protects against cancer by stimulating the immune cells called macrophages to produce tumor necrosis factor, which kills cancer cells. It has also been shown that beta carotene supplements can increase the production of T-cell lymphocytes and natural killer cells and can enhance the ability of the natural killer cells to attack cancer cells.

Beta carotene is the most familiar carotenoid, but it is only one member of a large family. Researchers believe that it is

not just beta carotene that produces all these good effects, but all the carotenoids working together. This is why getting carotenoids in food may be more cancerprotective than taking beta carotene supplements.

The body converts beta carotene to vitamin A, which itself has anticancer properties and immune-boosting functions. But too much vitamin A can be toxic to the body, so it’s better to get extra beta carotene from foods and let the body naturally regulate how much of this precursor is converted to the immune-fighting vitamin A. It’s highly unlikely that a person could take in enough beta carotene to produce a toxic amount of vitamin A, because when the body has enough vitamin A, it stops making it.

Bioflavenoids A group of phytonutrients called bioflavenoids aids the immune system by protecting the cells of the body against environmental pollutants. Bioflavenoids protect the cell membranes against the pollutants trying to attach to them. Along the membrane of each cell there are microscopic parking spaces, called receptor sites.

Pollutants, toxins, or germs can park here and gradually eat their way into the membrane of the cell, but when bioflavenoids fill up these parking spots there is no room for toxins to park. Bioflavenoids also reduce the cholesterol’s ability to form plaques in arteries and lessen the formation of microscopic clots inside arteries, which can lead to heart attack and stroke. Studies have shown that people who eat the most bioflavenoids have less cardiovascular disease. A diet that contains a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, at least six servings per day, will help you get the bioflavenoids needed to help your immune system work in top form.

Zinc. This valuable mineral increases the production of white blood cells that fight infection and helps them fight more aggressively. It also increases killer cells that fight against cancer and helps white cells release more antibodies. Zinc supplements have been shown to slow the growth of cancer.

Zinc increases the number of infection-

Here are the top eight nutrients to add to your family’s diet to cut down on days missed from work and school because of illness. fighting T-cells, especially in elderly people who are often deficient in zinc, and whose immune system often weakens with age.

The anti-infection hype around zinc is controversial. While some studies claim that zinc supplements in the form of lozenges can lower the incidence and severity of infections, other studies have failed to show this correlation. A word of caution: too much zinc in the form of supplements (more than 75 milligrams a day) can inhibit immune function. It’s safest to stick to getting zinc from your diet and aim for 15 to 25 milligrams a day.

For infants and children, there is some evidence that dietary zinc supplements may reduce the incidence of acute respiratory infections, but this is controversial. The best source of zinc for infants and young children is zinc-fortified cereals.

RICH SOURCES OF ZINC * Food Source of Zinc Serving Size Zinc (in milligrams) * Oysters 6 medium 76 * Zinc-fortified cereals 1 ounce 0-15

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Years

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

* Crab 3 ounces 7 * Beef 3 ounces 6 * Turkey, dark meat 3 ounces 3.8 * Beans 1/2 cup 1.2-1.8 Garlic This flavorful member of the onion family is a powerful immune booster that stimulates the multiplication of infection-fighting white cells, boosts natural killer cell activity, and increases the efficiency of antibody production.

The immune-boosting properties of garlic seem to be due to its sulfur-containing compounds, such as allicin and sulfides.

Garlic can also act as an antioxidant that reduces the build-up of free radicals in the bloodstream. Garlic may protect against cancer, though the evidence is controversial. Cultures with a garlic-rich diet have a lower incidence of intestinal cancer. Garlic may also play a part in getting rid of potential carcinogens and other toxic substances.

It is also a heart-friendly food since it keeps platelets from sticking together and clogging tiny blood vessels.

B

Selenium. This mineral increases natural killer cells and mobilizes cancer-fighting cells. Best food sources of selenium are tuna, red snapper, lobster, shrimp, whole grains, vegetables (depending on the selenium content of the soil they’re grown in), brown rice, egg yolks, cottage cheese, chicken (white meat), sunflower seeds, garlic, Brazil nuts, and lamb chops.

Omega-3 fatty acids A study found that children taking a half teaspoon of flax oil a day experienced fewer and less severe respiratory infections and fewer days of being absent from school.

The omega 3 fatty acids in flax oil and fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel) act as immune boosters by increasing the activity of phagocytes, the white blood cells that eat up bacteria. (Perhaps this is why grandmothers used to insist on a daily dose of unpalatable cod liver oil.) Essential fatty acids also protect the body against damage from over-reactions to infection.

When taking essential fatty acid supplements, such as flax or fish oils, take addi-

oth research and experience are proving without a doubt that there is a connection between how we eat and how we think and act. The biochemical basis of this food-mood relationship lies in the neurotransmitters, those chemical messengers which relay thoughts and actions along the trillions of neural pathways in the brain. It seems logical that since food affects neurotransmitter action and changes in neurotransmitters are responsible for changes in moods, that food does affect mood. It also seems that food affects some people’s moods more than others. Some children - we call them “vulnerable kids” — are exquisitely sensitive to junk foods in their diets, while others seem to breeze through fast-food joints without any mood change. While it’s easy to spot these vulnerable kids, I wonder how much “normal” behavior we attribute to “just being a kid” is really the result of poor nutrition. While the nature of the foodmood connection varies from person to person, here are the usual effects of various foods.

Carbs that calm. Complex carbohydrates and foods that have a low glycemic index (legumes, unrefined grains, and fruits) are likely to have a relaxing effect because they cause fewer blood sugar disturbances, with less release of stress hormones.

tional vitamin E, which acts together with essential fatty acids to boost the immune system. One way to get more omega-3 fatty

Carbs that rev. Sugars, such as those found in frostings and soft drinks, tend to cause more fluctuations in moods that run parallel with fluctuations in blood sugar. First, there’s a high, then a low, and eventually the person becomes irritable as the mood fluctuations parallel the ups and downs of blood sugar. Junk sugars cause fewer mood fluctuations when eaten along with a fat or fiber that slows down their absorption into the bloodstream.

Happy foods. Some feel that chocolate is calming because it triggers the release of endorphins . Other happy foods, such as milk, chicken, bananas, and leafy green vegetables may produce pleasant feelings because they stimulate the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Sad foods. Some people feel sad after a highfat or sugar meal. Each person has unique foodmood connections, but if you pay attention, after a while you will begin to eat more of the foods that make you happy and skip the foods that bring you down.

Parents need to become the food-mood detective for their child. Follow these steps to figure out your child’s unique fingerprints for foodmood connection: 1. Make a daily chart to record what your child eats and when he eats it. Fill in one of these

acids in your diet is to add one to three teaspoons of flax oil to a fruit and yogurt smoothie. (www.askdrsears.com)

forms every day for a week.

2. Record when behavior problems, bad moods, or irritability occur.

3. After a week, examine the charts and look for connections. Then decide what improvements you can make in your child’s diet to improve his moods.

4. Continue keeping food-mood records to help you decide whether dietary changes have improved the behaviors.

Mood foods vary from person to person. Try to figure out your personal food-mood connectionwhich foods perk you up and which ones let you down. Being able to determine how foods affect your moods will help you make wise food choices. (www.askdrsears.com)

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Years

Arts

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Cy Twombly and Nicolas Poussin: The odd couple T

he curator Nicholas Cullinan has had the bold and lovely idea of interspersing paintings, drawings and sculptures by Cy Twombly with paintings and drawings by Nicolas Poussin, in a compact exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Arcadian Painters, he bills the pairing, his working premise being that the veteran American artist (who died on 5 July 2011) shares with the 17th-century Frenchman a devotion to classical antiquity. Whether or not you feel that such an affinity comes through visually, the experiment in juxtaposition gives you much to reflect on. Above all, it refreshes your eyes. We expect Poussins to inhabit a zone of studious murmuring and fusty hauteur. (We know they are in their element in the Dulwich, the country’s most venerable public picture gallery.) And we suppose that the Twomblys will be hanging out across town in the no less snooty cool of the modernist White Cube. But thrust them together and you’re forced to think anew about how things made for looking at actually work.

Twentieth-century paint juts outward and 17th-century paint draws in: that’s the first impression you receive, from the placing of a Poussin between a pair of Twomblys that meets you as you enter. The latter are big quasi-octagonal panels that might have been carpentered for some hieratic medieval interior. Each is cream above and green-black below, colours which meet along a ragged descending border that disrupts the panel’s symmetry; and loose white paint has been slathered and sprayed across that border, here being worked with fingers, there left to dribble. This act and the physical fact of it are what the pictures principally announce, even if the caption claims that they are impressions of the countryside around Rome and that this is what connects them to the Poussin canvas.

Into that picture, by contrast, you plunge, seeking spatial footholds in its deep-sunk browns. You close in on a tree, a couple of resting travellers, a swan in a pond, the towers of a small town. Gradually adjusting to a summer evening’s long shadows, you register that all those elements are held in place by a single, dead straight Roman road, hurtling away from the canvas’s foreground to far-off mountains. To pick out its converging lines is to peel the picture back to its structure - which is almost comic in its simplicity. One symmetrical form, a triangle, has been inscribed on the base of another, a rectangle. The latter doubles up as a canvas of the Roman Campagna and the former as a perspective recession of Roman civilisation’s most famous token.

Poussin draws you inwards only to get you looking on, or at, the structures that comprise his canvas. Twombly for his part thrusts handfuls of paint in your face only to invite you into a mist, a dissolve, a trackless indeterminacy. If there’s any notion of landscape informing those panels of his, it’s more Chinese than Italian: its spaces come about as the soft aftershocks of gestures, rather than through geometries of objects and light. In fact, each of these operators has an eccentric take on the standards supplied by his forebears - in Poussin’s case, the transparent pictorial window of Renaissance art, in Twombly’s the in-your-face vehemence of the Abstract Expressionists. For that reason they won’t be reduced to period representatives, the Grand Old Master versus the Good Old Modernist.

Arcadian Painters turns out to be a study in twinned forms of vivid awkwardness.

Twombly more or less set out cussed. Arguably it was the shrewdest strategy for a young American in the 1950s to adopt. He had the luck to study at Black Mountain College, the North Carolina forcing-house for aesthetic

Pharaoh’s Daughter Finds Baby Moses by Nicolas Poussin.

A new exhibition juxtaposes the work of Cy Twombly with paintings by Poussin.

A Good Old Modernist meets a Grand Old Master - a bold pairing that works brilliantly innovation, alongside Robert Rauschenberg, with whom he then went on to tour Italy. Rauschenberg soon achieved stardom with an art that was a whole bend more urban, abrupt and grungy than anything Pollock and De Kooning had come up with. But Twombly was drawn to the dreaminess of those big boys - their debts to surrealism, their Jungian notions of “myth”. He set his hand to run loose, by literally drawing in the dark. Pencil loops and nicks cover two 1956 sheets on show at Dulwich. Their intent, it seems, is to hold back intent, to not yet mean anything in particular - at the same time, to walk that tightrope with pace and panache.

Suchlike scribbling formed a seedbed for the art Twombly developed after he returned to Italy in 1957 and married an heiress. He unpacked a whole puppet-show of about-to-be-significant manoeuvres, spreading them out over big cream-primed canvases: the child’s impulse to smear some intrusion on the clean expanse; the romantic’s impulse to mouth some antique name or choice line of verse; quick coarse grunts of lust; then the impulse to stock-take, to reason, embodied in numbers and diagrams, and the impulse to round on yourself, to erase. It was the manner of the spread that was charming and chancy, the

way Twombly’s blurts coexisted with a broad, bright spaciousness.

With all those romantic cues, he became something of a writer’s painter. John Berger cherished Twombly’s slurred quotes as pointers to that great hinterland of unknown texts that lies beyond each individual reader. Roland Barthes wrote an arch meditation on the “indolence” of his scrawls, which for him bore the erotic redolence of some crumpled pair of pants discarded by a rent-boy. Living it up in a dream of Italian aristocratic languor, the Twombly of the 60s was, in a sense, pursuing a classic American lifeplan - but by the same token, he was quite out of step with the American avant-garde. Donald Judd, its toughest spokesman, a foe to all things European, dismissed his work as goofy whimsy in 1964, and for years to come Rauschenberg’s former buddy had no more than a toehold in curators’ schemes of contemporary American art.

With the advent of postmodernist criticism in the 80s, “marginal” began to mean “central”, and “bad” - the way Twombly aped Pollock’s messiness, rather than his swagger - to mean “good”. For its part, Twombly’s studio practice got more old-fashioned-painterly. He turned from scribbling to lading his canvases with lush oils. Dulwich

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Arts

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Painting by Nicolas Poussin. exhibits Hero and Leandro, painted like those landscape panels in 1985 - their dribbles and fingerworking here orchestrated into a deliquescent collapse of mist-greys and cerise. And it shows four lofty canvases from the early 90s, Twombly’s Quattro Stagioni, in which the root muscular impulses of his art - to blurt, to scratch, to dangle, to let go - get upgraded to a monumental dignity. They demand to be admitted into the hall of fame, and its doors are thrust wide. Inside, curators stand waiting, eager to take the grand old man at his word when he claims: “I would’ve liked to have been Poussin, if I’d had a choice, in another time.”

In another time, a pushy, brainy young Norman made his way to Europe’s art metropolis: Poussin would make Rome his base until his death 41 years later in 1665. His production there started out along familiar Italian guidelines. At Dulwich there’s an assiduous School-of-Raphaelstyle battle drawing from 1625 and more attractively, a 1628 canvas, The Arcadian Shepherds, echoing Titian at his most sensuous and poetic. Yet it’s not their flocks that Poussin’s Arcadians attend to, but an inscription on a tomb.

By now, he was a draughtsman participating in an early scientific project to codify the diversity of nature: henceforward, text would always be a behind-the-scenes presence in his work. The question for him became how to deliver a self-contained analogue to verbal thinking by means of his own “mute art”.

The distinctiveness of Poussin’s aesthetic becomes clear if you consider the customary way he came to conduct his business. Every couple of months or so Bertholin the courier would call at his house on the Monte Pincio and collect

Art by Cy Twombly

The Judgment of Solomon by Nicolas Poussin. from its straitlaced and thrifty proprietor - a one-man operation, with hardly an assistant to hand - a sealed case containing a rolled up canvas. A few weeks later this would get unfurled and restretched in the mansion of some Parisian patron. In such a way, Poussin compressed his consummate knowledge of Rome’s buildings, artworks and landscapes, and his deep, careful reading of scripture, epics, histories and science, into forms that would pass permanently out of his sight - since after 1642, he made no move to visit his native land again.

Courier-packet painting became a highly self-conscious procedure. You wanted to ensure that whatever thoughts went into the picture would come out the other end, but you also got singularly caught up with the canvas as a confined rectangular object. You arrived at your image by partitioning that rectangle. Hence Poussin’s insistent structuring (which becomes strikingly experimental in a series of canvases sent to Cardinal Richelieu, the Seven Sacraments: the Dulwich has managed to borrow five of them to display alongside Cullinan’s exhibition). It’s matched by his finetuning of colour - there’s a gorgeous interplay of blues and oranges in many of the canvases included in the show. But all this was intended to assist the painting’s meaning, which on a certain level became political. Poussin was exiling himself from France the better to serve her.

Dispatching his distillations of history and religion to men of discernment, he hoped to open up a new, virtuous cultural space opposed to the corruption epitomised by Mazarin, Richelieu’s successor as chief minister.

The scriptures, histories and legends of the ancient world provided an exemplary model against which the present could be held to account. Classical antiquity provided Poussin with a form of critique. What does classical antiquity provide Cy Twombly with? Mystique. Twombly adores its lostness. He goes after its baffling, mellifluous names - Smintheus, Agyieus, Platanistius, Theoxenius - his pencil languidly scratches, in a whimsical mock-invocation of Apollo from 1975. The letterings trail and expire, and that sighing of the hand reflects Twombly’s self-declared romanticism (“I would’ve liked to have been Poussin”) and the overall psychophysical drift towards release and collapse that is the level on which meaning actually comes through in his art.

For these reasons, it seems to me misleading to pair up, say, a 1635 The Triumph of Pan and a 1975 collage labelled Pan as if they were ancient and modern treatments of the same theme. (The exhibition captioning and catalogue toy with this tactic extensively, if irresolutely, mythologically annotating every scribble and grunt: quite frankly, they’re best ignored.) Twombly may feel his way around classical

subjects and his adopted terrain of Italy, but his mental activities are remote from the moral and intellectual focusing of Poussin.

Despite this, the two artists’ paintings actually hang together brilliantly. You might consider Twombly’s a lightweight schmoozing up to one of the great heavyweights of western painting. But a truly stylish gatecrasher makes the party swing better. Twombly’s nimble hops about the canvas, his instinct to surprise himself, the pizzazz of his rudeness, all pep up his companion: the near-manic idiosyncrasy of that doughty loner starts to shine through. (The bizarre knot of branches top left in that Triumph of Pan and the foreboding chunk of pediment signing off The Triumph of David feel like Poussin’s attempts at repartee.)

To better appreciate the duo’s fundamental good neighbourliness, step outside the Dulwich’s exhibition galleries to watch Edwin Parker, a recently made short film in which Tacita Dean trains her camera on the octagenarian Twombly. He’s seen sitting about in a studio and a canteen in his hometown of Lexington, Virginia: he’s seen muttering to assistants, taking a letter from an envelope and slowly rolling his wry brown eyes. Beyond the studio blinds there are bright leaves, then there are bare branches. Time does a ferocious amount of passing in the course of the film’s 10 minutes, and Twombly does a ferocious amount of being. He “be”s so intensely that I had to rush out, gasping for breath, back to the exhibits of canvas and paper.

Give me those singing blues and oranges, those swooning creams and cerises. I’ll opt for those weird and stubborn wall-hangings to take on Time, that grim inspector. I get the feeling they might just win. —Guardian

Painting by Cy Twombly.

Comic

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

To Yester

Word Sleuth Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

ACROSS

1. An early form of modern jazz (originating around 1940).

4. The craniometric point at the bridge of the nose where the frontal and nasal bones of the skull meet.

10. A gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number).

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

14. Situated away from an area's coast or border.

15. Seed of a pea plant.

16. A family of birds coextensive with the order Rheiformes.

19. The lowest molding of an architectural base or of a baseboard.

20. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism.

21. To make a mistake or be incorrect.

22. A genus of Ploceidae.

25. One of the dwelling units in a condominium.

27. Not only so, but.

31. Someone who is morally reprehensible.

32. A metallic element having four allotropic forms.

34. Lower in esteem.

36. A radioactive transuranic element.

38. A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal.

41. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

43. New Zealand runner who in 1975 became the first person to run a mile in less that 3 minutes and 50 seconds (born in 1952).

44. Essential oil or perfume obtained from flowers.

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

49. An official language of the Republic of South Africa.

55. (informal) Informed about the latest trends.

58. An implement used to propel or steer a boat.

59. A unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters.

60. A port city in southwestern Iran.

61. Blood cells that engulf and digest bacteria and fungi.

62. A unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material.

63. A member of an agricultural people of southern India.

64. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

DOWN 1. Gymnastic apparatus consisting of two parallel wooden bars supported on uprights.

2. An island of central Hawaii (between Molokai and Kauai).

3. The stipend assigned by a cathedral to a canon.

4. A port in central Norway on Trondheim Fjord.

5. Type genus of the Anatidae.

6. Ready to fall asleep.

7. A state in midwestern United States.

8. A member of the Iroquoian people formerly living east of Lake Ontario.

9. A yellow trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

10. An ancient Hebrew unit of dry measure equal to about a bushel.

11. A signal transmitted along a narrow path.

12. A small cake leavened with yeast.

17. A United Nations agency created to assist developing nations by loans guaranteed by member governments.

18. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

23. A former agency (from 1946 to 1974) that was responsible for research into atomic energy and its peacetime uses in the United States.

24. An Indian tree of the family Combretaceae that is a source of timber and gum.

26. An awkward stupid person.

28. Related to or located at the back.

29. United States tennis player who was the first Black to win United States and English singles championships (1943-1993).

30. Dearly loved.

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

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

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

39. The father of your father or mother.

40. A group of African language in the Niger-Congo group spoken from the Ivory Coast east to Nigeria.

42. A nonmetallic largely pentavalent heavy volatile corrosive dark brown liquid element belonging to the halogens.

45. Long-tailed arboreal mustelid of Central and South America.

46. Secured or held in place by tape.

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

50. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

51. An inactive volcano in Sicily.

52. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in Iowa and Minnesota and Missouri.

53. Open-heart surgery in which the rib cage is opened and a section of a blood vessel is grafted from the aorta to the coronary artery to bypass the blocked section of the coronary artery and improve the blood supply to the heart.

54. Type genus of the family Arcidae.

56. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

57. Someone (especially a woman) who annoys people by constantly finding fault.

Yesterday’s Solution

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Chopra hopes to connect minds, bodies with ‘Leela’ A t the end of a long day, many gamers zone out by competing in online death matches, or they check out by escaping to virtual realms. Spiritual leader Deepak Chopra is hoping gamers will instead choose to chill out with “Leela,” his ambitious new effort to combine gaming and meditation.

“I personally believe that you can accelerate neural development and biological evolution through video games,” said Chopra.

“Unfortunately, that’s not what we’re doing right now. What we’re doing is creating addictions to violence, adrenaline and mindlessness, rather than mindfulness. That was my personal motivation to get involved in this medium.”“Deepak Chopra’s Leela” from THQ Inc. will use the Xbox 360 console’s controllerfree, camera-based Kinect system to detect users’ bodies, then guide them through meditation exercises. (An edition for Nintendo’s Wii requires players to hold a controller.) “Leela,” which translates to “play” in Sanskrit, less of a game and more of an experience, though there are a few gameplay elements.

Seven different interactive exercises based on the seven “chakras,” the points along the body that Chopra says serve as energy centers, task players with moving their bodies to control graphics onscreen set to a soothing soundtrack.

The minigames increase in difficulty, but “Leela” places no importance on a final score or even finishing the exercises. The root chakra exercise, for example, directs players to tilt their hips to seed a virtual planet, while the heart chakra exercise uses players’ hands to harness fireballs that release gems imbedded in descending rocks. Peter Armstrong, director of product development at THQ, said transforming Chopra’s teachings into game play was a difficult endeavor.

“We wanted to make sure each of the movements was fun and replayable,” said Armstrong.

“That’s why we did more than 500 prototypes.

We took the teachings and tried to boil them down. We would show those to Deepak and some of his experts, but there were several instances where they just didn’t work. They just didn’t quite fit the meaning of that chakra.”

Armstrong said the developers had the toughest time wrapping their heads around the throat chakra. At first, the game makers wanted to craft a mini-game that would take advantage of Kinect’s vocal recognition capabilities, but Chopra instead steered the game makers toward creating a fluid experience that would be more about communicating than screeching.

One of the guided meditative modes uses Kinect’s depth sensor to measure seated players’ breathing patterns. The result is displayed onscreen as three undulating bars. As players move their chest, the soothing voice of yoga instructor Elena Brower provides instruction on how to control breathing. It’s the first such use of the technology in a Kinect game.

“It’s not foolproof,” said Armstrong. “We’re not selling it as a solution for measuring breath.

It’s just a tool for people to use. It may not work for certain people, but we’ve done so much testing on it that we think it will help most people visualize breathing in a new way. You may think you’re taking a deep breath until you see it in front of you.”

Most titles created for Kinect, which was released last year by Microsoft Corp. for the Xbox 360, have employed the motion-detection technology for fitness, choreography, sports and rhythm games. Armstrong said the goal of “Leela” is to appeal to both stressed-out gamers and longtime Chopra devotees who desire a new way to unwind in their living rooms. Using gaming devices for relaxation techniques stretches back to the 1980s when Amiga computer operating system developers reportedly created an in-house game called “Guru Meditation” that required users to sit completely still on a Joyboard, a balance board controller for the Atari 2600 console that worked much like Nintendo’s Wii Balance Board.

In recent years, a few mainstream game makers have toyed with stress-killing gadgets.

Nintendo Co unveiled the Wii Vitality Sensor at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2009, and Ubisoft Inc demonstrated the Innergy Sensor at E3 the next year. Both doodads hugged users’ fingers and measured body signals. However,

(Above and below) These video game images provided by THQ Inc show scenes from the meditation game “Deepak Chopra’s Leela”. — AP photos

neither has yet launched the devices. “The Journey to the Wild Divine,” a niche game released in 2004 for the PC that also featured Chopra, used a similar controller attached to players’ fingers that detected and transmitted

such biofeedback as heart rate and perspiration. The folksy game required players to complete such feats as breathing evenly and synchronizing their heart rate to progress forward.—AP

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Paris Hilton

a has-been? Question

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on’t try asking Paris Hilton if she is a hasbeen. Hilton, 30, walked out of a television interview, portions of which aired on Wednesday, after being asked whether other reality TV stars have grabbed the celebutante limelight from her after 15 years of being famous for being famous. The question by an ABC network reporter was prompted by dismal audiences for Hilton’s latest TV reality show “The World According to Paris”, which debuted to just 400,000 US viewers on cable channel Oxygen in early June. “Do you worry at times that the people who have followed in your footsteps, like Kim Kardashian, have overshadowed you,” ABC News journalist Dan Harris asked Hilton. “No, not at all,” she replied, adding tersely that she was not upset about the low ratings for her TV show. “Ever worry about your moment having passed?” pressed Harris. Hilton gave a derisive “Huh” and walked off for what Harris described as a long and heated talk with her publicist. She later resumed the interview and said; “I’ve been doing this for 15 years now, so it’s been a long time. So just like any other business person or someone in the industry, it’s always important to reinvent yourself and

come up with new projects.” Excerpts were shown on ABC chat show “Good Morning America” on Wednesday, with the full interview to run on ABC’s “Nightline” later in the day. Hilton, the great-granddaughter of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton, has built a multi-million dollar business of fashion, perfume and other products based on her celebrity and lavish Los Angeles lifestyle. In the mid-2000s, Hilton and her friend Nicole Richie, daughter of singer Lionel Richie, starred in reality TV show “The Simple Life,” in which the two of them traveled through the United States living and working with ordinary Americans. Kim Kardashian, 30, and her socialite sisters however have caught up fast since 2007 on the back of reality show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and multiple spinoff TV series. The latest series of that show debuted in June to 2.5 million viewers, while the raucous Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi of “Jersey Shore” fame helped attract more than eight million US viewers to that reality show’s third season earlier this year.

Kardashian sues Old Navy over lookalike in ads

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im Kardashian wants Old Navy to stop using a lookalike to sell its clothing.

The reality show starlet and model on Wednesday sued the clothing store and its parent company, The Gap Inc, in a Los Angeles federal court alleging their ads violated Kardashian’s publicity rights. The advertisements that aired earlier this year featured a young dark-haired woman who bears a resemblance to the real Kardashian. Gap spokeswoman Louise Callagy says the com-

pany has not yet seen the case and had no comment. Kardashian’s lawsuit claims consumers may be confused by the ads and the model’s actual endorsements, which include her own clothing store and shoe line. It seeks unspecified damages and an order preventing Old Navy from using a Kardashian- lookalike model in ads again.

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ttorneys for Michael Jackson’s doctor on Wednesday asked a judge to consider sequestering the jury that will hear the involuntary manslaughter case against the physician. But the judge overseeing the trial, which is expected to last about two months, said he didn’t think it would be necessary and said the Los Angeles court system would likely be unable to afford it. The trial of Dr Conrad Murray is scheduled to start in September, more than two years after Jackson’s death from an overdose of a powerful anesthetic used as a sleep aid. Murray’s attorneys said that massive expected media coverage could influence the jury. Their comments followed recent extensive US media commentary on the trial and acquittal in Florida of Casey Anthony on charges of killing her two year-old daughter. Jurors are routinely instructed not to watch news coverage of any case they are hearing, but even in media-saturated Los Angeles they are rarely sequestered.

Judge Michael Pastor also said on Wednesday that he would review 12 to 16 hours of raw footage of Jackson’s final rehearsals to decide if it should be shown to jurors. Prosecutors want the

footage to be included because it shows Jackson was energetic before his death and eager to begin a planned London concert series. Some of it was used in the posthumous 2009 film “This Is It”. Murray has pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter of Jackson. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted. The trial is scheduled to begin on Sept 8.

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Longoria

learning to pole dance for Housewives

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va Longoria is learning to pole dance for a storyline on ‘Desperate Housewives’. The actress has been practicing for her character, Gabrielle Solis’, sexy scenes in the forthcoming eighth series of the show at the S Factor gym in Los Angeles. A friend told HollywoodLife.com: “Eva has been taking oneon-one sessions at S Factor. “She’s getting busy because her character has some pole dancing, striptease scenes on ‘Desperate Housewives’ this season.” The gym, run by Sheila Kelly, specializes in pole dancing workout classes and has long been a favorite of Eva’s co-star Teri Hatcher. Eva, 36, is no stranger to stripper poles however, and said in 2009 she had been gifted one by her former ‘Baywatch’ star friend Carmen Electra, although she admitted she was out of practice. She explained: “Carmen Electra has these stripper poles that she sells. “She sent me one for Valentine’s Day and told me to have fun. “So I set it up myself and it is supposed to fit any ceiling. “I got on it to swing and, ‘Whack!’

I fell on the floor so I never really got good at it.” ‘Desperate Housewives’ returns to screens on September 25 in the US.

Scherzinger Johansson spotted flirting with Bartha

cries over Hamilton praise

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icole Scherzinger cries when Lewis Hamilton hears her music. The former Pussycat Dolls singer says her Formula 1 ace boyfriend has a “great ear” for recognizing a good song so she always feels proud when he praises her work. She said: “He’s great. It’s satisfying to play him stuff and for him to say, ‘It’s really good babe,’ and it makes me teary-eyed because he has such a great ear.” While he is a fan of her music, Lewis does not enjoy being a passenger when Nicole is driving. She added: “I think Lewis would rather be behind the wheel than me. “I have kind of a heavy foot because I’m always late for everything so I’m always rushing around.” Nicole also admitted her relationship can be “challenging” because of their respective work commitments, but she likes that they are able to keep it interesting.

Seacrest paranoid BlackBerry will give him wrinkles

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carlett Johansson has been spotted “flirting up a storm” with Justin Bartha. The ‘Avengers’ star - whose divorce from Ryan Reynolds was finalized earlier this month attended the opening of Justin’s play ‘All New People’ in New York City last Saturday before joining him for a cast dinner at Cafe Un Deux Trois where they apparently only had eyes for each other. A witness told the New York Post newspaper: “There were about 15 people at the table, but Scarlett and Justin sat next to each other and talked all night. “They seemed pretty fascinated with each other and only talked to each other. It looked sometimes flirty, but also they seemed to be involved in a deep discussion. They were completely engrossed in each other.” Justin, 33, has been single since splitting from designer Ashley Olsen in March after a two-year relationship, while Scarlett’s brief three-month romance with Sean Penn recently ended Meanwhile, Scarlett’s ex-husband Ryan is reportedly dating Charlize Theron.

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he ‘American Idol’ presenter is reportedly terrified he is going to fall victim to unsightly lines on his neck from bending over to write text messages on his communications device. A source said: “Ryan’s a perfect candidate for dreaded BlackBerry Neck - he’s texting all day long and worried he’ll get ugly wrinkles. “He keeps showing everybody his neck and asking if they can see anything.” Ryan - who is in a relationship with Julianne Hough - is now trying to adopt a different stance when composing his messages in order to minimize the chance of getting wrinkles. The source

added to National Enquirer magazine: “Now he’s trying to train himself to text without bending.”

Ryan, 36, may find it hard to minimize his BlackBerry use as he has previously admitted he is happy to work seven days a week - even though it gives him recurring dreams about time. He said: “I’m tired, but I’m used to it. You know when you watch video screenings and there’s a time code in the corner. I have dreams about time codes.” things interesting.”—Bang Showbiz

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

S Korea singer wins fans worldwide after talent show

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young South Korean construction worker has become an international singing star after more than 10 million YouTube users watched his powerful performance on a local TV talent show. Nobody expected such a deep and strong baritone voice from a nervous 21-year-old Choi Sung-Bong when he first appeared dressed in jeans and trainers on “Korea’s Got Talent” in early June. After telling the audience that he doesn’t sing well, Choi performed a sensational “Nella Fantasia” that reduced the audience and the judges to tears. Choi’s success-compared by some to Britain’s Susan Boyle-is all the more remarkable given his tough early life.

“I was left in an orphanage when I was three...I ran away when I was five due to abuse,” he said in comments during a total of three TV appearances. Choi said he supported himself selling chewing gum or energy drinks in the street and slept on stairways or in public bathrooms for about 10 years. After skipping elementary and middle school, he entered an arts high school at the age of 16 and graduated in 2009. Choi had to work during his high school years given his lack of financial support, said a spokeswoman for CJ E&M, the channel that airs the talent show.

The singing sensation said his desire to perform was kindled when he watched a night club vocalist. “I was fascinated by the singer who sang on stage so sincerely.”

After the video clip telling his story and featuring his performance was aired, a Facebook fan page was set up and

YouTube’s video page was flooded with encouragement.

“Music itself is the reason for me to live...I’m thankful that now I have the reason,” Choi said. He will learn after the competition’s finals on August 20 whether his dream has come true.—AFP

This TV screen grab taken yesterday shows Choi Sung-Bong singing on the television show ‘Korea’s Got Talent’ broadcast on July 16, 2011. — AFP photos

Katy Perry crushes Gaga in MTV music video nominations

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ndonesian Harry Potter fans will finally be able to see the last adventure of the boy wizard on the big screen after the country resolved a boycott by US film studios over a drawn-out tax dispute. Movie-goers have so far missed out on “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” and several other blockbusters during the fivemonth boycott.

“Harry Potter and Kung Fu Panda will finally be screened. We hope we can screen them later this month,” Indonesian Cinema Companies Union head Djonny Sjafruddin said yesterday of the latest installments of the films. The Potter movies have a devoted following in Indonesia, where thousands of fans play the wizard sport of Quidditch on Twitter. Last month, a new

tax regime for foreign films was agreed in response to protests by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) over an attempt to charge studios more to screen films in Indonesian cinemas.

“We hope that there will be no more boycotts like this,” he added. Sjafruddin said local cinemas would also screen several Hollywood hits that they had missed during the five-month boycott. Since the studios began boycotting the country, Indonesian movie lovers have missed out on “Black Swan”, “True Grit” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”. The MPA represents US studios including Warner Bros, Universal Studios and Twentieth Century Fox.—AFP

Chris Brown will ‘Think Like a Man’ in film project Chris Brown

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hris Brown is attached to co-star in the upcoming romantic comedy “Think Like a Man,” an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap. An adaptation of the 2009 nonfiction book “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man”

by Steve Harvey-who’ll be co-executive producingthe movie will center on a relationship expert whose own personal life is in shambles.

With Brown’s casting, that won’t be the only ironic element of the romantic comedy-the 22-yearold “I Can Transform Ya” singer’s personal life famously hit a bumpy road in 2009 when he was charged with felony assault for beating his thengirlfriend, singer Rihanna, following a pre-Grammys party. Brown was sentenced to five years’ probation, a year of domestic violence counseling, and six months of community service for the beating.

Though primarily known for his music, Brown has had several notable acting roles, including in the 2010 film “Takers” and in 2007’s “Stomp the Yard.”

“Think Like a Man,” starring Gabrielle Union and produced by Rainforest Films, is slated for a 2012 release. — Reuters

Katy Perry

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op singer Katy won a leading nine nominations for the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday, reducing eccentric superstar Lady Gaga to also-ran status with just three nods. Sultry British singer Adele, whose second album “21” is the world’s top-selling record this year, earned seven nominations — all of them for her hit single “Rolling in the Deep”.

Rapper Kanye West was the top male nominee, with seven nods for his futuristic “ET” collaboration with Perry as well as his own music videos for “All of the Lights” and “Power”. Soulful “Grenade”

singer Bruno Mars earned four nominations while Beyonce, Eminem, rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars and female rapper Nicki Minaj racked up three nods apiece. The awards will be handed out during a televised live show in Los Angeles on Aug. 28. Winners are picked by public voting.

The nine nods for Perry, 26, were the climax of an extraordinary 12 months that has seen the once struggling gospel singer reinvent herself as a pop sex kitten with a string of hits like “California Gurls”, “Teenage Dream” and “Firework”.

“Firework” was nominated for both video of the year and best female video, while “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)” got a best pop video mention.

Perry will compete with Adele (“Rolling in the Deep”), first time VMA nominee Tyler the Creator (“Yonkers”), Bruno Mars (“Grenade”) and the Beastie Boys (“Make Some Noise”) for video of the year-the top MTV video music prize.

Lady Gaga was the big winner at last year’s MTV music awards, taking home eight prizes, including video of the year for “Bad Romance”.

But after months of hype for her new album “Born This Way” the flamboyant New York singer was sidelined in the 2011 nominations. Her three nods came for best female video for “Born This Way”, while “Judas” will compete for art direction and choreography. Rappers Wiz Khalifa, Tyler the Creator, and Big Sean will face off in the best new artist category against American indie band Foster the People and hip-hop singer Kreayshawn. —Reuters

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

REVIEW

‘Captain America:’ A red, white and blown opportunity

Chris Evans, star of “Captain America: The First Avenger,” waves to photographers at the premiere of the film. —AP

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orry to say so, but it’s the Summer of Sucky Superhero Movies. On the heels of the so-so “X-Men: First Class” and the downright dopey “Thor” and “Green Lantern,” now comes “Captain America: The First Avenger,” another labored effort to bring a popular comic book icon to the big screen. Stop me if you’ve heard this one: It’s about an average guy who gains superpowers, uses them for the good of humanity, and faces off with a seemingly unvanquishable foe while the fate of Earth itself hangs in the balance.

Stop yawning, this is very important stuff. If you won’t sit still and watch the boring prequels, there can’t be an awesome “Avengers” movie full of these same dullards. Yes, obviously, there are only seven basic stories to be told, and superhero movies generally focus on just one of those seven, but “Captain America: The First Avenger” only sporadically stands out as something specialwhen deja vu strikes, linger at the soda refill station, maybe look at a lobby poster or two-while mostly wallowing in the been-there-done-that.

The good stuff first: director Joe Johnston uses so-good-they’re-invisible special effects to turn our hero, short and scrawny (but brave and good-hearted) Steve Rogers into buff, handsome Captain America. The transformation occurs thanks to Rogers’ participation in the army’s top-secret Super Soldier program in the early days of World War II, and Johnston digitally files down the body of buff, handsome movie star Chris Evans into a slighter version of himself.

It’s a close cousin to how David Fincher turned actor Armie Hammer into two Winkelvosses in “The Social Network,” and Johnston’s use of this snazzy effect, like Fincher’s, feels like a smart way to establish character and not, like so much digital trickery these days, merely showing off. Also entertaining is how Captain America, before becoming a combat hero, gets shipped around by the government as a war bonds pitchman, pretend-punching a Hitler impersonator in front of a row of chorus girls in city after city. Director Johnston previously made “The Rocketeer,” a movie in love with the gloss and shimmer of the 1940s, and the

USO dance numbers call to mind that earlier film’s nostalgia for the shinier side of the war years. And then there’s Hugo Weaving and Toby Jones as the Nazi villains; Weaving’s Red Skull creeps us out both visually (“Red Skull” isn’t just a nickname, he’s got a giant, excellently gross red skull) and aurally (his accent makes him sound like an even more diabolical Werner Herzog) while Jones shows that “Third Reich flunky” was second behind “Truman Capote” on the list of roles he was born to play.

The details in “Captain America” deliver, but the big moments fall flat-you can tell that we’re intended to cheer here, to weep there, but the scenes that try hardest to elicit emotions just feel deflated, like when your windbag uncle screws up the punch line of the joke he’s spent the last five minutes telling you.

The movie’s attempt at a heart-tugging climax fails doubly if you’ve seen Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1946 film “Stairway to Heaven,” a.k.a. “A Matter of Life and Death”-that classic’s opening scene is lifted and repurposed for this movie’s big finish.

Part of the problem is Captain America himself-yes, he’s been one of the archetypal figures of the Marvel Comics universe for some seven decades, but he tends to be kind of a stiff if he’s not being handled by talented writers.

He’s a character almost completely lacking in irony, or self-doubt, or even selfanalysis-they don’t come more squarejawed, four-square, or all-around-square than Cap. And screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely don’t know how to make this boy scout into an interesting character. Evans certainly isn’t actor enough to give us anything beneath the surface of this red, white, and blue icon. We don’t need a demonplagued Batman here, just a human being with something in addition to patriotism and organic whole milk running through his veins. —AP

Hat-wearing

Jackson says

no ‘Hobbit’ at Comic-Con

Costumed characters wait in front of the San Diego Convention center during Preview Night at the Comic-Con 2011 convention Wednesday. —AP

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ilm director Peter Jackson on Wednesday threw some cold water on the hopes of ‘Hobbit’ fans heading to Comic-Con International in San Diego this week when he said there will be no surprise presentation of his films at the pop culture gathering. In a posting on his Facebook page, Jackson said it was too early to show any film clips of the widely-anticipated movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” at Comic-Con, as had been speculated.

“Bad news is that we won’t be doing any ‘Hobbit’ presentation,” Jackson wrote. Movie studios “New Line and Warner Bros. were very happy to support a presentation, but I declined, simply because I felt it was too early. There’s so much more of the films still to shoot.”

Jackson, of course, directed the three “Lord of the Rings” movies and in the process won an Academy Award for “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” He also built a huge fan base who would do just about anything for an early glimpse of “The Hobbit” movies, which are currently being filmed. There will be two films based on the Tolkien novel. —Reuters

Woody Allen

films ‘Bop Decameron’ in Rome

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US film director Woody Allen chats with his team on the set of his new film The Bop Decameron at Romeís Termini train station on July 14, 2011. —AFP

earing a floppy fisherman’s hat and his famous thick-framed glasses, Woody Allen has been cropping up in some of Rome’s most famous tourist sites in recent days as he works on his latest production. The crew for “Bop Decameron” has been spotted everywhere from the Spanish Steps to the Colosseum to Rome’s main shopping avenue, Via del Corso, and paparazzi have been kept busy chasing stars Alec Baldwin and Penelope Cruz. Yesterday there was some filming in a frescoed gallery of the French embassy, the famous Renaissance-era Palazzo Farnese in central Rome. In Via del Corso and Piazza del Popolo on Wednesday, Allen could be seen instructing an actress on dropping her mobile phone in a street

drain. Cars streamed past and crew members instructed passers-by in the busy shopping area to keep walking and continue about their business as normal. The cult US director has made a series of films in recent years shot in picturesque European cities including Barcelona, London and Paris.

“Bop Decameron” is a romantic comedy based on Italian poet Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron-a famous 14th-century collection of bawdy tales. The film features four intertwining Italian stories including one that will star Allen himself, and it is expected to come out next year. In homage to Italian film master Federico Fellini, Allen has also been filming on Via Veneto-the main location of his classic La Dolce Vita. —AFP

Lifestyle FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Big Sur, California a haven for writers, musicians

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he road to Big Sur is a narrow, winding one, with the Pacific Ocean on one side, spread out like blue glass, and a mountainside of redwood trees on the other. The area spans 90 miles (145 kilometers) of the Central Coast, along Highway 1. Los Angeles is 300 miles (480 kilometers) south. San Francisco is 150 miles (240 kilometers) north. There are no train stations or airports nearby. Cell phone reception is limited. Gas and lodging are pricey.

When you’re there, though, Big Sur’s isolated beauty is staggering. Fog settles into the steep flank of the Santa Lucia Mountains, above beaches lined with tide pools and massive rock formations.

Guest houses are surrounded by thick walls of green foliage, and not much else.

Venerated in books by late authors Henry Miller and Jack Kerouac, it’s no wonder then that Big Sur continues to be a haven for writers, artists and musicians such as Alanis Morissette and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, all inspired by a hybrid landscape of mountains, beaches, birds and sea, plus bohemian inns and ultra-private homes. While Big Sur’s influence on the arts has been turning up in poems, books and songs in American popular culture for nearly a century, its human history goes back

much farther than that. Earliest inhabitants included the Native American Esselen tribe, followed by pioneers who settled the area in the late 19th century.

In the 1920s, American poet Robinson Jeffers meditated about Big Sur’s “wine-hearted solitude, our mother the wilderness” in poems like “Bixby’s Landing,” about a stretch of land that became part of Highway 1 and the towering Bixby Bridge 13 miles south of Carmel. (Part of the highway near that bridge collapsed due to heavy rains this past spring, followed by a landslide nearby; the roadway reopened recently.)

Another poem by Jeffers, “The Beaks of Eagles,” later inspired a Beach Boys’ song on their 1970s album “Holland.” In the early ‘70s, Beach Boys co-founder Al Jardine even built a recording studio, Red Barn, a 10-minute walk from Pfeiffer Beach, a picturesque oceanside expanse in the middle of Big Sur covered in lavender-tinted sand.

Among literary figures, Miller probably has the strongest association with the area. “Big Sur has a climate all its own and a character all its own,” he wrote in his 1957 autobiographical book “Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch.” “It is a region where extremes meet, a region where one is always conscious of weather, of space, of grandeur,

File photo shows waves as they crash against the cliffs, off of Highway 1, south of Big Sur. —AP photos and of eloquent silence.” Miller, famed for his explicit novel “Tropic of Cancer,” lived and worked in Big Sur between 1944 and 1962, drawn to the stretch of coast’s idyllic setting and a revolving cadre of creative, kind, hard-working residents. Persuaded to move there by Greek artist Jean Varda, Miller initially stayed as a house guest of novelist Lynda Sargent at a log cabin built by Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth in the mid ‘40s with a grand coastal view of southern Monterey County. Later owners Lolly and Bill Fassett founded the open air Nepenthe restaurant on the site

in 1949. Writers, hippies and celebrities, from Clint Eastwood and Kim Novak to Man Ray and Dylan Thomas, flocked there.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton shot a dancing scene for their film “The Sandpiper” at the restaurant in 1963.

Nepenthe remains a popular tourist spot. Miller’s longtime Partington Ridge property 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) south of the Big Sur post office still exists, overlooking the ocean. Miller painted and wrote there, entertaining visitors ranging from young misfit fans of his work to established artists. —AP

Beatles’

1st US concert photos fetch $360K in NYC

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A one-year-old squirrel monkey named Charles Darwin rests on its minder’s head during the filming of a TV movie in Berlin yesterday. — AFP

n 1964, an enterprising 18-year-old snapped pictures of the Beatles’ momentous first US concert in Washington, DC. On Wednesday, Christie’s auction house said it sold 50 silver gelatin prints that the photographer, Mike Mitchell, made from the negatives for $361,938. The images, plus photos from another Beatles concert, had been estimated to fetch a total of $100,000.

The Beatles played their first U.S. concert at the Washington Coliseum on Feb 11, 1964, two days after their debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Mike Mitchell was there, shooting photos from just feet away and even jumping onto the stage for the group’s pre-concert press call.

Among the highlights is a backlit shot of the band that he took while standing directly behind them. It sold on Wednesday for $68,500; its pre-sale estimate was $2,000 to $3,000. An image of an animated Ringo Starr on the drums sold for $8,125. It was estimated to bring $3,000 to $5,000. Christie’s said the shot depicts a rare moment where Starr was both drummer and lead singer on a song written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, but made famous by The Rolling Stones: “I Wanna Be Your Man.” Cathy Elkies, Christie’s director of iconic collections, said she expected the bids to exceed the pre-sale estimates.

“Beatles fans are fierce. To uncover this trove of images that’s never been published will really excite people,” she said. Also included in the sale are photos of the band’s Sept. 13, 1964, performance at the Baltimore Civic Center. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Mitchell described the rollicking scene at the Washington indoor arena - not only of screaming fans but also of his unrestricted access.

File photo shows Ringo Starr during the group’s first US concert, at the Washington Coliseum in Washington. — AP “It was a long time ago. Things weren’t that way then,” said the 65-year-old, who now works as an art photographer in Washington. “It was as low-tech as the concert itself. The concert was in a sports venue and the sound system was the sound system of a sports venue.” Equally astonishing is how few other photographs from that first concert exist. —AP

Stars

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Aries (March 21-April 19) An authority figure could present some negative issues at work. This is a great opportunity for you to insert your positive ideas. Your mind is quick and sharp and you have insight into how to outline important issues in which you have strong feelings. Gathering information for presentations is an exciting part of reaching a positive end result. You can be quite successful today, especially if you think before you speak. You are able to draw on your accumulated knowledge when necessary. If you want to entertain this evening, you will find plenty of help in getting things ready.

You are never funnier or more at your mental best than when in a group or lost in deep conversation with a partner. Be sure to have a camera ready.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Today is a heavy-duty workday and much will be accomplished. Take your time when making important decisions and recognize that what was right for the past may not be appropriate for the future. Your ability to work efficiently with others enables you to achieve bigger goals than usual. Take advantage of being with friends and or loved ones this afternoon. Invent new ways to play together. You are in love with mystery, secrets and intrigue—anything but that which is superficial. You have a great deal of personal magnetism. Like a fish in water when in the limelight or in a group, you also have an innate social charm. This evening could be a time in which you and a loved one will be able to make vacation plans, if you have not already done so.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) The clarity with which you speak will aid you in an important meeting this day. This is a time that forecasts the learning of great lessons and achieving major accomplishments. You will have the patience and the persistence to see difficult tasks all the way through to completion. Refinement and relationships are the keys to emotional satisfaction.

This is the day to be with loved ones. Whether you are celebrating, working or creating, most of your day will be spent in productive interaction with others. Healing and bonding where close personal ties to other people are concerned will also be successful today. Marriage and other partnerships could be a key arena for this. There could be social activities surrounding a backyard pool this evening.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Taking care of business is a major theme where your goals are concerned this morning. You crave those good organization skills and will do well for yourself to remain determined and involved in seeing projects through to their end result. Set aside some time in ridding yourself of the unnecessary clutter—letters, call notes, files, folders, paperclips, etc. Corners, boxes, shelves and little nooks can be dusted and looking neat for the new things that will be coming to your attention. The only way to do this is to begin a new habit by putting things back where you got them when you are finished using them, at work or home. You are a born charmer with an innate love and appreciation for other people, especially children; tonight is for laughter.

Leo (July 23-August 22) This day will be an easy one. You may find yourself training a new person in the office who just may become one of your best friends. For now, you have found a fairly good balance between the extroverted and introverted facets of your personality. You are looking at the long-term aspects of your life and your goals and preparing to make whatever changes are necessary for the success in these goals. You love a peaceful atmosphere and are able to create this for yourself at work or at home. This evening you enjoy being on the go, perhaps running errands. The encircling network of friends and relationships is crucial to your happiness and success.

Your imagination could play tricks on you this evening—do not believe everything you think you see.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) You are concerned with communications of all kinds today— letters, wires, telephones, voice, thoughts, writing and mental processes in general. Gossiping, interaction with others, coordinating events and keeping in contact by new technology belongs here too. You have great understanding and sensitivity to the needs of others and are in a good position to communicate concerning groups and society. Refinement and relationships are the keys to emotional satisfaction this afternoon. Harmony and beauty are deeply satisfying. This evening is a good time for surrounding yourself with family or friends and for having a good time. You may find yourself looking for a little romance this evening. A very good day!

COUNTRY CODES Libra (September 23-October 22) Today and tomorrow are positive for obtaining a loan or obtaining financial backing. A professional meeting will put you in a positive position with your work relationships. This may mean an idea of yours has been accepted or you are called on to teach a new computer software package, etc. You may see some relief now on the financial front.

Manners are important to you and when you notice that your children or your friend’s children need better manners, you are not afraid to teach them manners in your very own special way. Harmony and beauty are deeply satisfying and you seek to maintain harmony. Close personal ties to other people are a focal point for your feelings—marriage and other partnerships are a key arenas for this.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) It is important for you to have some power in the work environment. You enjoy coming up with solutions and methods that help people work efficiently. You may decide to work a little later this afternoon and have some quiet time in the office to work out a plan or path to accomplishing tomorrow’s goal. You will find your ideas easy to put onto paper—you complete your task rather quickly. Your inner resources and emotions are accented this evening and there will be opportunities to be with those you love. You are most original when concentrating on areas of work and family where you feel secure. Even if tonight is not your turn to cook, you may enjoy treating others to a little take home pie or favorite ice cream tonight.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You do a lot to fulfill the popular stereotype of the genius—so obviously brilliant with some of the things you think and say. However, instead of having others understand you today, there is a chance to understand those around you and to have productive conversations when it comes to meetings and relaying information to others. General good feelings and a sense of support and harmony make this a happy time. Refinement and relationships are the keys to emotional satisfaction. Beauty is deeply satisfying and you go about considering new ways to beautify your home or your property. Poetry and art may be possible this evening. Movies, books or celebrations of some sort may prove to be quite enjoyable.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) This is a time when projects or ventures that are going nowhere are likely to show themselves—your attention to detail is most important. You can find new ways to relate to others and may be innovative in marriage and social conventions. You have good insight into social values. You enjoy planning celebrations and get-togethers and that is what occupies your mind and energy much of this afternoon and evening.

Running errands and putting the finishing touch to some planned event works to everyone’s benefit. You like to have everything done ahead of time so that you can visit with guests or be of assistance when you are needed. It would be a good idea to put your feet up and clear your mind for a bit this evening—perhaps some music would help.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) With the emotional energy that is present today, you could speak or communicate very well. You can demonstrate great understanding to the needs of others and are in a good position to guide others. You could be making a speech, introducing a speaker or leading a group at this time. Perhaps you will be in some sort of volunteer service as well. There is a lot of energy behind what you say and think. You are always out front and manage to spend a lot of time in the spotlight in social situations. Others find it easy to watch and learn from you since you are a born teacher. You are very animated and it is easy for you to convey your ideas to others. Have you ever thought of becoming a published writer? Consider starting with short stories or poetry.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) This is a very nice day, perhaps filled with some renewed appreciation for all the new technical advances on the market. You value education and hard work and may find yourself encouraging others to further their education or refine their special talent. Close personal ties to other people are a focal point for your feelings. Careful—depend upon yourself for your own happiness without expecting others to fill that need. You will enjoy getting away from your routine this afternoon and may call a friend or family member to meet you for an early dinner at a nearby park. You have great personal magnetism and loyalty. Politics is never far from your mind and now may be the time to consider serving through politics.

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African Republic 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands)0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062 Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686

Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland)0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK)0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677 Somalia 00252 South Africa 0027 South Korea 0082 Spain 0034 Sri Lanka 0094 Sudan 00249 Suriname 00597 Swaziland 00268 Sweden 0046 Switzerland 0041 Syria 00963 Taiwan 00886 Tanzania 00255 Thailand 0066 Toga 00228 Tonga 00676 Tokelau 00690 Trinidad 001868 Tunisia 00216 Turkey 0090 Tuvalu 00688 Uganda 00256 Ukraine 00380 United Arab Emirates00976

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Leisure activities Kuwait Zoo The Kuwait Zoo is located in Omariya on the Airport Road. It is open everyday except on Saturdays. The timings during winter are 8am to 8pm. For more information contact: 24733389.

Announcements

is open from Saturdays to Thursdays from 9am to 10.30pm and on Fridays from 2pm to 10.30pm. For more information contact: 22240025 or visit their website at: www.tsck.org.kw.

Art galleries and artifacts

Amusements Parks Aqua Park Aqua Park will be open from 1st April 2011 from 10am10pm everyday. For information contact: 22431960/1/3 or visit: www.aquaparkkuwait.com.

Entertainment City Entertainment City is open from Sunday to Wednesday from 3pm to 11pm during winter. It is also open on Thursdays and Fridays from 10am to 10pm. For more information contact: 24879455.

The Scientific Centre Scientific Centre is located on the Gulf road in Salmiya. It

a)Sultan Art Gallery The Sultan art gallery is located on Street no: 105, building no: 168, Subhan, Kuwait city. b)Boshehri Gallery Boshehri Gallery is located on the Al-Mobarak street, Salmiya, Kuwait. For more information on their collection please contact: 25714883/25724883. c)Tariq Rajab Museum This museum is open from Saturdays to Thursdays at 9am to 12pm and 4pm to 7pm. On Fridays it is open from 9am to 12pm. For more information on their location etc contact: 25317358 or visit their website: www.trmkt.com.

Family conference Home land family conference of KTMCC (Kuwait Town Malalyali Christian Congregation) will be conducted on July 23 at Kumbanadu, Kerala including its ex-members and the present members who are on vacation at that time. Meantime it decided to honor those who completed age of 70 and above. For the registration of conference to visit www.ktmcc.com or to contact HFC (Home land family conference) Kerala Chapter Convener T. John Mathew Mob: - (+91) 94463-68878 or Secretary Roy. K.Yohannan 66570486.

Art salon Bouhshari Art Gallery Exhibition runs through 15 September. Daily working hours: 10am - 1pm and 5 9pm, except on Friday and on Thursday evening.

Indian bowling league Indian Bowling League Season 2 would like to invite you and your families to participate in an Indian bowling event where all nationalities, the young and the old can have fun playing an enjoyable game while meeting new people in a healthy competition from July 12th August 15th For more details contact: Uly 99503348, Amaldo 66052062, and Nasha 99516960. If anyone is looking to assist them in this event with sponsors, they will be really obliged to have your help to make this event a success. Registrations are open.

Bodybuilding competition The Philippine Body Building & Fitness Association in Kuwait will be holding its first Bodybuilding competition for all Filipino Instructors and enthusiasts tomorrow at Al-Zumareida Hall, Salwa along the Gulf Road from 5pm - 9pm. The competition will be one of a kind in Kuwait. It will highlight the participation of highly skilled Filipino fitness and aerobics trainers and showcase remarkable presentations during the competition.

Three categories for the Bodybuilding competition: Small, Medium, Tall, all of which are based on required height measurements. There will be three winners from each height category and one overall winner. The competition will be covered by Al Watan Daily News, TFC (The Filipino Channel) and GMA 7 from the Philippines.

KuwaitBodyBuilding.com will be one of the sponsors for this event and PBBFAK are actively looking for other organizations that may also be interested in becoming a sponsor.

Rink soccer Don Bosco Oratory is pleased to announce its Major 4A-Side “Rink Soccer Fiesta” in Kuwait! This event is for the soccer lovers in Kuwait and will be played on a League (round robin) cum knock out basis from August 2nd at the IEAS Quadrangle in Salmiya. Last date to register for participation is on July 28th. Draws will be announced on the July 30th. For details contact Chris: 6651-9627, Alex: 66069282 from 6-9pm.

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

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Embassy encourages all Australians to register their presence in Kuwait through Smartraveller Online (see link below).

Australians who are registered are asked to update their details. The information provided will assist us in contacting you in an emergency. www.smartraveller.gov.au Kuwait citizens can apply for and receive visit visas to Australia online at www.immi.gov.au. This usually takes two working days. All others visa applications are handled by the Australian Visa Application Centre Tel. 22971110.

Witnessing and certifying documents are by appointment only, please contact the Embassy on 2232 2422. The Australian Embassy is open from 8.00am to 4.00pm, Sunday to Thursday. nnnnnnn

IFRA elects new managing committee

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he Indian Football Referees Association-Kuwait (IFRA) recently conducted their annual general body meeting at Royal Terrace Restaurant (Salmiya). Former India international and ex-Salgaocar player Sarto Baptista was reelected for the 7th consecutive term as Hon President. The other office-bearers elected were: Junifer Rodrigues (Vice

President), Francis Fernandes (Gen Secretary), Jose Afonso (Treasurer), Alvaro Dias, A. Mubarak Yusuf, Christopher Fernandes, Dayanand Sharma, Julio Cardoso, Milagris Crasto, Philip Ferrao, Tiago Fernandes (members) and Amaldo Fernandes (auditor).

Standing (left to right): Milagris Crasto, Julio Cardoso, Alvaro Dias, A Mubarak

Yusuf, Christopher Fernandes, Amaldo Fernandes, Tiago Fernandes.

Sitting (left to right): Dayanand Sharma, Francis Fernandes, Sarto Baptista, Junifer Rodrigues and Jose Afonso. (Not in pic): Philip Ferrao.

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Summer Activities KAYAKING Kuwait Surf-Ski Kayak Club 99706742 Sea kayaking is one of the fastest growing water sports in the world today.

Call if you are interested in purchasing a kayak, getting involved in the sport.

MOTOR SPORTS Kuwait Motor Bike League / The Amateur Car & Motorbike Association Motorbike track (for trail/dirt bikes) and rally car-racing centre located behind the Science Club on the northern side of the 6th Ring Road (between roads 401 and 50). Car and bike races held on Fridays. Use of facilities and participation in competitions limited to members only. office on 3td Ring Road, near Road 50.

NETBALL Kuwait Netball Meet Monday for mixed games 6:30 -7:30 and Tuesday for Woman only check the website for more info. www.kuwaitnetball.com

on the grassed pitch at the Yarmouk stadium. The men’s and ladies teams have the pleasure of training and playing on the KOC sand pitch in Ahmadi, the home of the Kuwait Nomads.

Training nights are Sundays and Tuesdays from 7pm-9pm. Inter-Gulf matches are played on Thursdays or Fridays. www.p8nompds.com

RUGBY Kuwait Nomads The rugby season in Kuwait runs from September to May. Mens, ladies and minis rugby are played and the teams frequently travel to participate in AGRFU tournaments. Any interested child between the ages of 5-17 can participate in the Minis rugby. Training is held every Friday between 9am-llam

RUNNING For anyone who likes walking, jogging or cycling in Kuwait there is a very good track around the area of Mishref.

The track is 4.9km long and is marked out in distances of 100m. There are also a number of outdoor exercise machines located near the start and the end of the track. Please note, however, that the track is more of a horse-

EMBASSY OF BRITAIN The Visa Application Centre (VAC) will be closed on the same dates above. The opening hours of the Visa Application Centre are 0930 - 1630 Application forms remain available online from the UKBAs’ website: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk or from the Visa Application Centre’s website: www.vfs-uk-kw.com.

And also, from the UK Visa Application Centre located at: 4B, First Floor, Al Banwan Building (Burgan Bank Branch Office Building), Al Qibla area, opposite Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City. For any further inquiries, please contact the Visa Application Centre: Website: www.vfs-uk-kw.com E-mail:info@vfs-uk-kw.com Telephone:22971170.

The Consular Section will also be closed on the same dates. For information on the British Embassy services, visit the British Embassy website: www.ukinkuwait.fco.gov.uk

shoe shape rather than a complete circuit as there is a gap of at least a mile between the start and finish. Decide how far you want to walk, walk half the distance and then turn back. There are roads to cross so take care if you have young children with you. Despite all of this, it’s still very worthwhile going along and trying it out.

HASH HARRIERS 23982219 Social jogging on Thursday and Saturday evenings. Hash Harriers has been operating around the world since 1938. Hash is for a mixture of abilities from walkers to experienced runners. It is social rather than athletic. Length of course depends on time of year. Contact Gerry Burton on the above number or on 99764028. www.hasher.net

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca.

Canada offers a registration service for all Canadians travelling or living abroad. This service is provided so that Consular Officials can contact and assist Canadians in an emergency in a foreign country, such as a natural disaster or civil unrest, or inform Canadians of a family emergency at home.

The Embassy of Canada encourages all Canadian Citizens to register online through the Government of Canada Travel Website at www.voyage.gc.ca. The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait.

Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca.

Effective January 15, 2011, the only Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) application form that will be accepted by CIC is the Application for Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside of Canada [IMM 5257] form. All previous Temporary Resident Visa application forms will no longer be accepted by CIC and instead will be returned to applicants. Should old applications be submitted prior to January 15, 2011 they will continue to be processed.

To ensure that the most recent version of the Temporary Resident Visa application form is being utilized, applicants should refer to the CIC website.

As of January 15, 2011, forms are to be filled in electronically. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday.

Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday.

The forms are available on the internet at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM52 57E.PDF. A guide explaining the process can be found here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/5256E. PDF.

TV Listings FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

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

Dogs 101 Untamed & Uncut Escape to Chimp Eden Chris Humfrey’s Wildlife The Beauty of Snakes Animal Cops Houston America’s Cutest...

Lemur Street The Really Wild Show Crocodile Hunter Breed All About It Must Love Cats Dogs 101 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip Meerkat Manor Wildlife SOS Clinically Wild: Alaska Animal Cops Houston Animal Precinct SSPCA: On the Wildside The Really Wild Show Farm Life Farm Life Dogs vs. Cats Breed All About It Orangutan Island Crocodile Hunter Dogs 101 Last Chance Highway Whale Wars Up Close and Dangerous Wildest Africa

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

2 Point 4 Children The Weakest Link Casualty Born And Bred Eastenders Doctors 2 Point 4 Children Tweenies Balamory Tikkabilla Charlie And Lola Tweenies Balamory Tikkabilla Tweenies Balamory Tikkabilla Charlie And Lola Tweenies Balamory Tikkabilla Charlie And Lola 2 Point 4 Children The Weakest Link Ray Mears Goes Walkabout Doctors Eastenders Casualty 2 Point 4 Children Ray Mears Goes Walkabout The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Casualty Ray Mears Goes Walkabout The Weakest Link Doctors BBC Electric Proms 2007 Survivors The Cup Ideal

00:20 Come Dine With Me 01:10 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 01:35 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 02:00 Masterchef Australia 02:50 The Naked Chef 03:20 Fantasy Homes Down Under 04:05 Daily Cooks Challenge 07:00 Ching’s Kitchen 07:20 Daily Cooks Challenge 07:50 Ching’s Kitchen 08:15 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 08:45 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 09:05 Antiques Roadshow 10:00 The Naked Chef 11:40 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 12:30 Antiques Roadshow 13:20 Cash In The Attic 14:05 Bargain Hunt 14:50 Come Dine With Me 15:40 The Naked Chef 17:30 Rhodes Across China

FROM PARIS WITH LOVE ON OSN CINEMA 18:15 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 18:40 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 19:05 Antiques Roadshow 19:55 Cash In The Attic 20:40 Bargain Hunt 21:25 Come Dine With Me 22:15 Fantasy Homes Down Under 23:00 Masterchef Australia 23:50 The Naked Chef

00:00 00:30 00:45 01:00 01:30 01:45 02:00 02:30 02:45 03:00 03:30 03:45 04:00 04:30 04:45 05:00 05:30 05:45 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 07:45 08:30 08:45 09:30 09:45 10:00

BBC World News World Business Report Sport Today BBC World News America Asia Business Report Sport Today BBC World News Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Peschardt’s People BBC World News World Business Report BBC World News World Business Report BBC World News World Business Report Sport Today BBC World News

10:30 World Business Report 10:45 Sport Today 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 Peschardt’s People 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 World Business Report 12:45 Sport Today 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 World Business Report 13:45 Sport Today 14:00 GMT With George Alagiah 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 World Business Report 15:45 Sport Today 16:00 Impact 16:30 Our World 17:00 Impact 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 World Have Your Say 19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 19:30 BBC World News 19:40 Weekend World 20:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:30 World Business Report 20:45 Sport Today 21:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 21:30 World Have Your Say Extra 21:40 Weekend World 22:00 BBC World News 22:30 Middle East Business Report 23:00 BBC World News America 23:30 Peschardt’s People

00:05 00:30 00:55 Mandy 01:20 01:45

Cow And Chicken Cramp Twins The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Courage The Cowardly Dog Eliot Kid

02:10 Ed, Edd n Eddy 02:35 Ben 10: Alien Force 03:00 The Powerpuff Girls 03:15 Chowder 03:40 The Secret Saturdays 04:05 Samurai Jack 04:30 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 04:55 Best Ed 05:20 Skunk Fu! 05:45 Cramp Twins 06:10 Eliot Kid 06:35 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 07:00 Codename: Kids Next Door 07:25 Cow And Chicken 07:50 Angelo Rules 08:05 Cartoon Network Dance Club 08:15 Adventure Time 08:40 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 10:00 Ben 10: Alien Force 10:55 Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders 11:45 Skunk Fu! 12:35 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 13:25 Ben 10 14:15 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 15:05 Samurai Jack 15:50 Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes 16:35 Robotboy 17:15 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 18:05 Hero 108 18:30 Cartoon Network Dance Club 18:45 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 18:55 Chowder 19:20 Adventure Time 19:45 The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy 20:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 20:35 Cow And Chicken 21:00 Best Ed 21:25 Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends 21:50 Robotboy

22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:40

Adventure Time Hero 108 Ben 10 Bakugan Battle Brawlers Chowder

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

Backstory World Sport The Situation Room World Report World Business Today Piers Morgan Tonight Anderson Cooper 360 World Sport Ireport For CNN World Report Backstory World Report World Sport The Best Of Backstory World Business Today CNN Marketplace Middle East World One World Sport The Best Of Backstory Piers Morgan Tonight News Stream World Business Today International Desk The Brief World Sport World Report CNN Marketplace Middle East International Desk Talk Asia Quest Means Business CNN Marketplace Africa Piers Morgan Tonight Connect The World

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

Dirty Jobs Miami Ink Ultimate Survival Twist The Throttle Mythbusters How It’s Made How Stuff Works Dirty Jobs Twist The Throttle Street Customs 2008 How It’s Made Mythbusters Cake Boss Border Security Auction Kings Surviving The Cut Sons Of Guns Sons Of Guns Ultimate Survival Miami Ink Dirty Jobs Twist The Throttle Mythbusters Survivorman Cake Boss Border Security Auction Kings How Stuff Works How It’s Made American Chopper: Senior vs

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

Weird Or What?

Mega Builders Prototype This Bang Goes The Theory Bang Goes The Theory Catch It Keep It How Does That Work?

Mega Builders One Step Beyond Eco-Tech Catch It Keep It How The Universe Works The Gadget Show Weird Connections Brainiac Cosmic Collisions Sci-Fi Science The Gadget Show The Tech Show The Tech Show Bad Universe Catch It Keep It The Gadget Show The Gadget Show The Tech Show The Tech Show Bad Universe The Gadget Show

Sea City: Building The Impossible Ultimate Car Build-Off Survivorman

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

Kim Possible Fairly Odd Parents Stitch Replacements Emperors New School Stitch Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Emperors New School The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Phineas & Ferb Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Good Luck Charlie Fish Hooks Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Jungle Junction Handy Manny Jake & The Neverland Pirates Sonny With A Chance Yr 2 Hannah Montana Phineas And Ferb Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Phineas & Ferb The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Fish Hooks Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Suite Life On Deck Fish Hooks Shake It Up Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Fish Hooks Jonas Wizards Of Waverly Place Good Luck Charlie Twitches Too Sonny With A Chance Yr 2 Good Luck Charlie Shake It Up Hannah Montana Sonny With A Chance Yr 2 Wizards Of Waverly Place Jonas

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

Kid Vs Kat Kick Buttowski Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League

00:25 00:55 01:25 03:15 04:10 05:05 06:00 07:50 08:20 09:15 10:15 12:05 13:05 14:05 14:35 16:25 16:55

Kendra Extreme Close-Up Beauty Queens Gone Wrong 25 Most Stylish Sexiest Extreme Hollywood THS Behind The Scenes E! News The Dance Scene THS E! News Kendra Keeping Up With The Kardashians THS Behind The Scenes Khloe And Lamar

Phineas & Ferb Kick Buttowski American Dragon Zeke & Luther I’m In The Band The Super Hero Squad Show Suite Life On Deck Pair Of Kings Phineas & Ferb Kid Vs Kat The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody Zeke & Luther Kick Buttowski Pokemon Dp: Sinnoh League I’m In The Band Suite Life On Deck Zeke & Luther Phineas & Ferb Escape From Scorpion Island Kick Buttowski American Dragon Aaron Stone Kid Vs Kat I’m In The Band The Avengers: Earths Mightiest Zeke & Luther The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Super Hero Squad Show

TV Listings FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

17:25 17:55 18:55 19:55 20:55 21:25 22:25 23:25 23:55

Khloe And Lamar E! News THS Kourtney And Kim Take New York Chelsea Lately Kendra E! News Chelsea Lately Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami

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

Ghost Lab A Haunting True Crime With Aphrodite Jones Deadly Women Dr G: Medical Examiner Black Museum Ghost Lab Mystery Diagnosis Murder Shift Forensic Detectives Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Mystery Diagnosis Undercover FBI Files On The Case With Paula Zahn I Was Murdered Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Undercover FBI Files Forensic Detectives Murder Shift Real Emergency Calls Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol On The Case With Paula Zahn I Was Murdered Serial Killers True Crime With Aphrodite Jones Dr G: Medical Examiner

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

I, Predator Project Manta Wild Amazon Caught In The Act Hooked Secrets Of The King Cobra Dangerous Encounters With Brady

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

Bad Guys-18 Orphan-18 Saw VI-R Dick Tracy-PG15 The Marine 2-PG15 12 Rounds-PG15 King Arthur-PG15 The Marine 2-PG15 Against The Ropes-PG15 King Arthur-PG15 Deadly Impact-18 The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations-18

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:15 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Slipstream-PG15 The Cake Eaters-PG15 The Last Word-PG15 Three Investigators-PG15 The Last Word-PG15 Adam-PG15 The A-Team-PG15 The Good Girl-PG15 Easy Virtue-PG15 Motherhood-PG15 From Paris With Love-18 The Devil’s Teardrop-PG15

00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Boondocks The Ricky Gervais Show Party Down

03:00 Rita Rocks 03:00 The Ricky Gervais Show 03:30 Party Down 03:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 04:00 Boondocks 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Will And Grace 06:00 According To Jim 06:30 Family Biz 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Happy Endings 08:30 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 09:00 Rita Rocks 09:30 Will And Grace 10:00 According To Jim 10:30 Happy Endings 11:00 Family Biz 11:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:30 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 13:00 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 13:30 Will And Grace 14:00 According To Jim 14:30 Community 15:00 Happy Endings 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Family Biz 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Til Death 18:30 The Office 19:00 Outsourced 19:30 Modern Family 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Family Guy 22:30 Eastbound And Down 23:00 Boondocks 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00

White Collar Burn Notice The Good Guys Bones Strong Medicine Good Morning America Glee

08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Emmerdale Look-A-Like The Good Guys The Martha Stewart Show The View White Collar Bones Live Good Morning America Strong Medicine The Ellen DeGeneres Show One Tree Hill Drop Dead Diva Off The Map Big Love The Good Guys Psych

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Alias The Good Guys White Collar Burn Notice Bones Surface Alias Sons Of Tucson Look-A-Like No Ordinary Family The Good Guys White Collar Burn Notice Sons Of Tucson Look-A-Like No Ordinary Family Alias Sons Of Tucson Look-A-Like Persons Unknown Drop Dead Diva Off The Map Big Love The Good Guys Surface

01:00 Knife Edge-18 03:00 Tears Of The Sun-18

05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:30 15:30 17:30 19:45 21:30 23:15

Sugarhouse-18 Heaven’s Fall-PG15 Timeline-PG15 Independence Day-PG15 G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra-PG15 Timeline-PG15 The Manchurian Candidate-18 The Gene Generation-18 Two: Thirteen-R Splinter-18

00:00 The Prince And Me 3: A Royal Honeymoon-PG15 02:00 Mafia!-PG15 04:00 Can’t Buy Me Love-PG15 06:00 Love Happens-PG15 08:00 Nine Months-PG15 10:00 Leave It To Beaver-PG 12:00 Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The DinosaursFAM 14:00 A Lot Like Love-PG15 16:00 The Prince And Me 3: A Royal Honeymoon-PG15 18:00 Say It Isn’t So-18 20:00 Year One-18 22:00 Black Dynamite-18

01:00 03:15 05:15 07:30 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:15 16:45 18:45 21:00 23:00

The Locusts-PG15 Thunderheart-18 Moulin Rouge!-PG15 When We Were Kings-PG15 The Knot-PG15 Simon Birch-PG Awakenings-PG Enid-PG15 Romeo + Juliet-PG15 Synecdoche, New York-18 Mona Lisa Smile-PG Rumble Fish-18

01:00 One Fine Day-PG15 03:00 Catch That Kid-PG15 05:00 Fantastic Mr. Fox-FAM

Catching Giants The Living Edens Africa’s Lost Eden Wild Amazon Caught In The Act Hooked World’s Deadliest How Big Can It Get The Living Edens California’s Wild Coast World’s Deadliest Animals Caught In The Act Hooked How Big Can It Get The Living Edens California’s Wild Coast World’s Deadliest Animals Caught In The Act

07:00 Under The Tuscan Sun-PG15 09:00 Rugrats Go Wild-FAM 11:00 12 Men Of Christmas-PG15 12:45 Harry Potter And The Half- Blood Prince-PG15 15:30 The Perfect Score-PG15 17:15 Rugrats Go Wild-FAM 19:00 Cinema Verite: The Saga Of An American Family-PG15 21:00 Marmaduke-PG 23:00 Shutter Island-18

00:00 Homeward Bound II: Lost In San Francisco-FAM 02:00 Free Willy 3: The Rescue-FAM 04:00 Barbie: A Fairy Secret-FAM 06:00 Homeward Bound II: Lost In San Francisco-FAM 08:00 The Enchanted Mountain-PG 10:00 Planet 51-PG 12:00 Rugrats In Paris: The Movie-FAM 14:00 Time Kid-FAM 16:00 Catch That Kid-PG15 18:00 Rugrats In Paris: The Movie-FAM 20:00 Winx: Secret Of The Lost KingdomPG 22:00 Time Kid-FAM

00:00 Somewhere-PG15 02:00 Toy Story 3-FAM 03:45 Glorious 39-PG15 06:00 Gasland-PG15 08:00 Freestyle-PG15 09:30 Toy Story 3-FAM 11:30 Inside Job-PG15 14:00 How To Go Out On A Date In Queens-PG15 15:30 Hardwired-PG15 17:30 Valentine’s Day-PG15 20:00 Marmaduke-PG 22:00 Legion-18

02:00 03:00 04:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 10:30 12:30 13:00 20:00 21:00

UFC The Ultimate Fighter WWE NXT Rugby Union International Trans World Sport WWE NXT WWE Vintage Collection Le Mans Highlights Total Rugby Live Rugby Union International Futbol Mundial Live Test Cricket Trans World Sport Live Darts World Matchplay

02:00 04:00 04:30 05:30 06:30 07:00 08:00 10:00 10:30 12:30 14:30 15:00 15:30 19:30 20:00 22:00

RFL Championship Total Rugby AFL Highlights Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial Golfing World RFL Championship Total Rugby Live Rugby Union ITM Cup Live NRL Premiership ICC Cricket World European Tour Weekly Live The Evian Masters Total Rugby Live Currie Cup Rugby Union International

00:00 PGA European Tour 04:30 Super Rugby Highlights 05:30 Total Rugby 06:00 NRL Full Time 06:30 Mobil 1 The Grid 07:00 Live Snooker 10:30 Live AFL Premiership 13:30 Golfing World 14:30 Live PGA European Tour 18:30 Live The Seniors Championship 21:30 ICC Criket World 22:00 NRL Premiership

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE ON OSN MOVIES ACTION

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 11:30

Open

WWE NXT UFC The Ultimate Fighter WWE Vintage Collection WWE NXT UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC Unleashed UFC Unleashed WWE NXT WWE Vintage Collection Intercontinental Le Mans Cup Speedway Powerboats WWE NXT

12:30 14:30 15:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 22:00 23:00

Live NRL Premiership Powerboats Live Darts World Matchplay V8 Supercars Extra Powerboats WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line UFC The Ultimate Fighter

00:00 Julian And Camilla’s World Odyssey 01:00 Rivers Of The World 02:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 03:00 Glutton For Punishment 03:30 Chef Abroad 04:00 Globe Trekker 05:00 Julian And Camilla’s World Odyssey 06:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 07:00 Globe Trekker 08:00 Exotic Lives 09:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 10:00 Africa Trek 10:30 Four Men And A Lady 11:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 12:00 Globe Trekker 13:00 Flavours Of Mexico 13:30 Flavours Of Mexico 14:00 Africa Trek 16:00 Globe Trekker 17:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 18:00 Flavours Of Mexico 18:30 Flavours Of Mexico 19:00 Globe Trekker 20:00 Globe Trekker Special 21:00 Rajasthan - A Colourful Legacy 22:00 Indian Times 23:00 Globe Trekker

00:00 Jerseylicious 01:00 Fashion Avenue 01:30 Fashion Avenue 01:55 Big Boutique 02:25 How Do I Look?

03:20 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

04:15 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

05:10 Homes With Style 05:35 Area 06:05 Clean House 07:00 Big Boutique 08:00 Homes With Style 08:30 Homes With Style 09:00 Fashion Avenue 09:25 Fashion Avenue 09:55 How Do I Look?

10:50 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

11:50 Clean House: Search For The Messiest...

12:50 Clean House 13:45 Mel B: It’s A Scary World 14:45 Jerseylicious 15:40 Ruby 16:35 Giuliana And Bill 17:30 Top 10 17:55 Top 10 18:25 Giuliana And Bill 19:25 Big Boutique 19:50 Fashion Avenue 20:20 Clean House Comes Clean 20:45 Clean House Comes Clean 21:15 My Celebrity Wedding With The Knot 22:10 Clean House 23:05 How Do I Look?

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

World War II: Lost Films Ice Road Truckers Declassified Sliced Sliced Modern Marvels World War II: Lost Films World War II: Lost Films Ice Road Truckers Declassified Sliced Sliced Modern Marvels Battle Stations Battle Stations Ice Road Truckers Declassified Sliced Sliced Modern Marvels Battle Stations Battle Stations Ice Road Truckers Declassified Russia: Land Of The Tsars

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Information

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 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 RJA JZR JZR THY ETH UAE DHX ETD MSR FDB GFA QTR JZR THY KAC JZR JZR BAW KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE QTR ABY IRA ETD GFA MEA JZR JZR MEA IYE MSR JZR RBG KAC KAC MSR UAL RJA FDB OMA QTR KAC BBC KAC JZR QTR JZR JZR MLR ETD UAE GFA SVA JZR ABY ALK JZR

Arrival Flights on Friday 22/7/2011 Flt Route 642 AMMAN 179 DUBAI 267 BEIRUT 772 ISTANBUL 620 ADDIS ABABA 853 DUBAI 370 BAHRAIN 305 ABU DHABI 614 CAIRO 67 DUBAI 211 BAHRAIN 138 DOHA 207 DAMASCUS 770 ISTANBUL 544 CAIRO 503 LUXOR 555 ALEXANDRIA 157 LONDON 416 JAKARTA / KUALA LUMPUR 541 CAIRO 206 ISLAMABAD 284 DHAKA 302 MUMBAI 332 TRIVANDRUM 53 DUBAI 678 MUSCAT / DUBAI 352 COCHIN 362 COLOMBO 855 DUBAI 132 DOHA 125 SHARJAH 619 LAR 301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 404 BEIRUT 165 DUBAI 121 BAHRAIN 406 BEIRUT 825 SANAA 623 SOHAG 509 LUXOR 3553 ALEXANDRIA / SOHAG 618 DOHA 672 DUBAI 610 CAIRO 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 460 AMMAN 57 DUBAI 645 MUSCAT 140 DOHA 546 ALEXANDRIA 43 DHAKA 788 JEDDAH 257 BEIRUT 134 DOHA 201 DAMASCUS 535 CAIRO 403 COLOMBO / DUBAI 303 ABU DHABI 857 DUBAI 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH 239 AMMAN 127 SHARJAH 227 COLOMBO / DUBAI 177 DUBAI

Time 0:05 0:10 0:35 1:15 1:45 2:25 2:55 2:55 3:05 3:10 3:15 3:20 3:55 4:10 4:40 5:15 6:10 6:30 6:35 7:10 7:15 7:40 7:50 7:55 7:55 8:00 8:05 8:20 8:25 9:00 9:10 9:20 9:30 9:35 10:55 11:10 11:15 11:35 12:05 12:10 12:30 12:55 12:55 13:15 13:20 13:30 13:35 13:50 14:00 14:15 14:30 14:40 15:00 15:10 15:15 15:45 15:50 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:20 17:35 17:40 18:00 18:00

KAC KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC AIC JAI KAC JZR FDB OMA VOS MEA KAC SVA DHX GFA FCX QTR UAL UAE JZR JZR MSR DLH SAI JZR KLM JZR

166 502 542 213 744 614 102 674 774 575 572 562 787 61 647 81 402 786 506 372 217 304 136 981 859 135 185 612 636 441 539 447 481

PARIS / ROME BEIRUT CAIRO DEIREZZOR / ALEPPO DAMMAM BAHRAIN NEW YORK / LONDON DUBAI RIYADH CHENNAI / GOA MUMBAI AMMAN RIYADH DUBAI MUSCAT BAGHDAD BEIRUT JEDDAH JEDDAH BAHRAIN BAHRAIN RIYADH DOHA BAHRAIN DUBAI BAHRAIN DUBAI CAIRO FRANKFURT LAHORE / KARACHI CAIRO AMSTERDAM / BAHRAIN SABIHA

Airlines LZB MEA JZR AXB DLH AIC PIA THY ETH UAE FDB DHX ETD MSR QTR THY JZR JZR RJA GFA KAC VOS JZR BAW FDB JZR KAC KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC

Departure Flights on Friday 22/7/2011 Flt Route 7788 VARNA / SOFIA 409 BEIRUT 540 CAIRO 390 MANGALORE / KOZHIKODE 637 FRANKFURT 982 AHMEDABAD / CHENNAI 206 LAHORE 773 ISTANBUL 620 BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 371 BAHRAIN 306 ABU DHABI 615 CAIRO 139 DOHA 771 ISTANBUL 508 LUXOR 164 DUBAI 643 AMMAN 212 BAHRAIN 545 ALEXANDRIA 94 DUBAI / KANDAHAR 120 BAHRAIN 156 LONDON 54 DUBAI 534 CAIRO 177 FRANKFURT / GENEVA 671 DUBAI 117 NEW YORK 256 BEIRUT 787 JEDDAH 617 DOHA

18:40 18:45 18:50 19:05 19:15 19:20 19:25 19:25 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:50 20:00 20:00 20:10 20:15 20:15 20:20 20:35 21:00 21:25 21:30 21:35 22:00 22:00 22:10 22:35 22:50 23:00 23:05 23:30 23:35 23:50

Time 0:05 0:05 0:20 0:25 0:40 1:05 1:10 2:15 2:30 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:05 4:05 5:00 5:10 5:55 6:55 7:00 7:10 7:40 8:00 8:20 8:25 8:40 8:50 8:55 9:00 9:05 9:10 9:25 9:35

UAE ABY QTR ETD GFA IRA JZR MEA KAC JZR JZR KAC MEA KAC IYE MSR RBG JZR MSR RJA FDB UAL KAC OMA KAC KAC BBC JZR KAC QTR KAC KAC JZR JZR ETD MLR QTR UAE GFA ABY JZR SVA ALK JZR KAC KAC JAI FDB JZR KAC KAC OMA MEA SVA DHX GFA KAC QTR KAC KAC FCX JZR JZR UAE JZR KAC UAL MSR SAI

856 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 133 DOHA 302 ABU DHABI 214 BAHRAIN 618 LAR 200 DAMASCUS 405 BEIRUT 541 CAIRO 212 DEIREZZOR / ALEPPO 238 AMMAN 103 LONDON 407 BEIRUT 501 BEIRUT 825 DOHA / SANAA 624 SOHAG 3554 ALEXANDRIA 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 641 AMMAN 58 DUBAI 982 BAHRAIN 561 AMMAN 646 MUSCAT 785 JEDDAH 673 DUBAI 44 DHAKA 480 SABIHA 773 RIYADH 141 DOHA 613 BAHRAIN 743 DAMMAM 786 RIYADH 538 CAIRO 304 ABU DHABI 404 DUBAI / COLOMBO 135 DOHA 858 DUBAI 216 BAHRAIN 128 SHARJAH 184 DUBAI 511 RIYADH 228 DUBAI / COLOMBO 134 BAHRAIN 283 DHAKA 361 COLOMBO 571 MUMBAI 62 DUBAI 528 ASSIUT 343 CHENNAI 351 COCHIN 648 MUSCAT 403 BEIRUT 507 JEDDAH 373 BAHRAIN 218 BAHRAIN 381 DELHI 137 DOHA 301 MUMBAI 205 ISLAMABAD 102 DUBAI 502 LUXOR 554 ALEXANDRIA 860 DUBAI 240 AMMAN 411 BANGKOK / MANILA 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 613 CAIRO 442 LAHORE

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

9:40 9:50 10:00 10:15 10:20 10:20 10:20 11:55 12:00 12:05 12:10 12:30 12:35 13:00 13:05 13:10 13:35 13:40 14:20 14:30 14:35 14:45 14:45 15:00 15:05 15:10 15:55 16:00 16:05 16:15 16:20 16:25 16:35 16:40 17:35 17:40 17:45 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:25 18:35 19:10 19:10 20:00 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:50 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:55 22:00 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:55 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:10 23:30 23:40 23:40 23:50 23:59

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

! In the “Harry Potter” series, both Harry’s and Voldemort’s wands contain feathers from the tail of Dumbledore’s pet phoenix, Fawkes. ! The crimson and gold phoenix is a magical bird about the size of a swan, whose tears have healing powers and tail can carry great weight.

“We do not need magic to change the world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: We have the power to imagine better.”

— “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling

— Nancy Pate, Orlando Sentinel

Conjure up some spellbinding sweets

2. In the Triwizard Tournament, what magical plant does Harry use to breathe underwater?

A. Daisy roots B. Gillyweed C. Knotgrass 3. What do the Dursleys send Harry for Christmas?

A. A pair of used socks B. A toothpick C. One of Dudley’s old belts

The end of an era is upon us with the final film about the beloved boy wizard, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.” Test your wizarding smarts with this quiz from TimeForKids on all things Harry Potter.

4. How many players are on a Quidditch team?

A. Nine B. Seven C. Six 5. The Weasley family has a portrait published in The Daily Prophet while vacationing in which country?

A. Egypt B. Romania C. Australia 6. Where does Harry’s secret defense class hold

1. C — On the Hogwarts Express, Harry buys chocolate frogs with collector’s cards that feature famous witches and wizards. Harry gets Dumbledore’s card, which explains that Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel used to work together.

Later, Harry figures out that Flamel is the only wizard to have successfully created the sorcerer’s stone.

2. B — During the Triwizard Tournament, Harry has to swim to the bottom of the Hogwarts Lake. Dobby the house elf gives Harry a ball of Gillyweed before the competition. When Harry eats the plant, he grows gills and can breathe underwater.

3. B — Harry’s owl, Hedwig, delivers the gift from the Dursleys on Christmas morning. Harry is not surprised by the measly toothpick, but is happy with the gifts from Ron and Hermione — a Quidditch book and writing quill.

its meetings?

A. The Room of Requirement B. The Forbidden Corridor C. The Leaky Cauldron 7. Which character was killed by a basilisk in the girl’s bathroom 50 years ago?

A. Amelia Bones B. The Grey Lady C. Moaning Myrtle 8. What is Harry’s father, James Potter, called

4. B — There are seven players, consisting of three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper and one Seeker.

5. A — The Weasleys take their summer holiday in Egypt to visit Bill, the oldest Weasley boy, who works for Gringotts as a curse-breaker.

Charlie, the second oldest Weasley son, works with dragons in Romania.

6. A — Harry teaches his first lesson of dark arts in The Room of Requirement. The secret room in Hogwarts appears only when needed. During the meetings, the room is lined with helpful books and other things needed at that time.

7. C — Moaning Myrtle was killed

by Voldemort’s basilisk and lingers on to haunt the girl’s bathroom at Hogwarts. While the ghost can be rather annoying, she manages to be of great help to Harry,

by his animagi friends?

A. Trotter B. Liger C. Prongs 9. What antidote does Harry give to Ron after Ron accidentally drinks poisoned mead during a visit to Professor Slughorn’s office?

A. Chocolate Cauldrons B. A bezoar C. Polyjuice Potion 10. Who does Harry ask to follow Draco Malfoy, whom Harry suspects has joined the Death Eaters?

A. Dobby and Kreacher B. Crabbe and Goyle C. Ron and Hermione

Ron and Hermione.

8. C — James Potter’s nickname was Prongs because of his animagus form. (An animagus is a witch or wizard that can change into an animal.) When Harry summons his patronus to ward off the Dementors, he sees a white stag — the same animal that his father used to become.

9. B — Realizing Ron has been poisoned, Harry feeds him a bezoar. The stone, which is taken from the stomach of a goat, will protect wizards from most poisons.

10. A — When Malfoy keeps disappearing, Harry asks Dobby and Kreacher to trail him. Harry learns from the two house elves that Malfoy has been sneaking off to the Room of Requirement.

— Heather McPherson, Orlando Sentinel

P H OTO S C O U RT E S Y O F D I S N E Y FA M I LY F U N

1. How does Harry learn about the famous alchemist Nicolas Flamel?

A. During a conversation with Hermione B. In a restricted library book C. On a collector’s card

Potter mania continues with “The Unofficial Harry Potter Sweet Shoppe Kit: From Peppermint Humbugs to Sugar Mice — Conjure Up Your Own Magical Confections” (Adams Media, $24.95). It’s a follow up to Dinah Bucholz’s “Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook.” The new kit includes: ! 35 easy-to-make recipes: Recipes for treats such as Butterscotch Brew, Treacle Fudge, Strawberry and Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cones and Coconut Ice. ! Chocolate lollipop molds: A tray of 9 different molds in fun shapes like frogs, brooms, flies and owls. ! Broom-shaped lollipop sticks: To make your sweets extra special. ! Bags with ties: For when you want to share your treats.

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Owl aglow

WA R N E R B R O S . E N T.

Harry has Hedwig, a Snowy Owl, and the Weasley family has the clumsy Errol, played in the movie by a Great Gray Owl. Now you can have your own. He may not present you with correspondence, but he’ll be a nice companion for your room.

Assembled from a paper globe lantern and scrapbooking paper, our wise owl friend will have visitors asking, “Whooo made him?”

YOU WILL NEED ! Paper globe lantern (available at party stores) ! Paper ! Scrapbooking paper ! Glue dots ! Jute twine 1. For the ear tufts, fan-fold an 8 1/2- by 6-inch piece of paper and insert it under the center bar of the lantern.

2. Cut facial features and wings from scrapbooking paper, then secure them with glue dots.

3. Cut talons from paper, and secure them to the lantern with jute twine tied to the center bar.

4. Hang the lantern from an appropriate light fixture with a low-wattage bulb.

T

act as a Dumbledore’s Army for our world,” Slack said.

“It is a great way to blend people’s desire to make the world a better place ... with Harry Potter fandom,” said Katie Twyman, a Richfield, Minn., college student who works for the national HPA and heads a Minnesota chapter.

“A lot of people read the books and they’re left wanting to do some-

thing more.”

The Boston-based alliance gives those fans direction for pointing their wands.

This year, for example, it encouraged its roughly 80 national chapters to join its “Deathly Hallows Campaign” tackling global warming, illiteracy, bullying, depression and more.

The campaign includes efforts to convince Warner Bros. studio — which

What would Dumbledore do?

WA R N E R B R O S . E N T.

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Put recycling in one bin ...

Techniques for separating trash for recycling have advanced to the point that in many cities, citizens can put all their recycling in one or two bins.

1

Single-stream recycling Paper, metals glass and plastic

Heavy plastics and paper

2 3

Easiest separations first Air sorter picks up small objects; magnets pick up steel cans NOTE: Separation plants vary; this one is typical

1

— Amy Kaldor-Bull, Disney FamilyFun magazine

owns the rights to the Harry Potter films — that all Harry Potter-themed chocolate should be fair trade certified, meaning cocoa farmers were paid fair wages and no child labor was used.

Their activism has caught the attention of Potter author J.K. Rowling.

Last year she donated several autographed books for the alliance’s Haiti fundraiser — which raised $123,000 and had cargo planes named after the book’s characters.

Her thank-you note, posted on the alliance’s website, says: “You cannot imagine how awed, moved and humbled I am to know that planes named Harry, Ron and Hermione are going to be flying off to help.”

Learn more at thehpalliance.org.

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Science Matters

© 2011 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved. TIME FOR KIDS and Timeforkids.com are registered trademarks of Time Inc.

hey call themselves “Dumbledore’s Army,” in reference to Harry Potter and his friends who battle the “Dark Arts.”

Their mission: Translate the moral lessons of the Potter novels into realworld action. But instead of using wands and witchcraft to combat sinister forces, they channel online social networks to fight earthly evils such as poverty, illiteracy and human rights abuses.

As Potter fans enjoy the final installment of the blockbuster movie series, members of the nonprofit Harry Potter Alliance (HPA) predict a trail of good deeds and charity will linger far after the last spell is cast.

The HPA was founded in 2005 by Andrew Slack and Paul DeGeorge. “I thought we needed an organization to

FOR SALE

ACCOMMODATION

Coarse pieces next Workers manually remove boxes; rollers kick out aluminum; screen removes some containers Hammer mill Fine pieces last Broken glass, plastic; magnet removes bottle caps; blower removes paper shreds

First screen

2

3

Second screen

... or two

Citizens put paper in one bin and glass, cans and plastic in another; they are sorted further at a transfer station and sent on for recycling

Double-stream recycling

— Jean Hopfensperger, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) Source: “Energy and Raw Materials in the Future” by Robbin Kerrod, Healing Web Community, MCT Photo Service Graphic: Helen Lee McComas

© 2011 MCT

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Wallabies out for redemption in soggy Sydney

PINEROLO: The pack climbs Izoard pass during the 18th stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 200.5 kilometers starting in Pinerolo, Italy, and finishing on Galibier pass, Alps region yesterday. — AP

Mountain tests give Contador a chance to make up ground PINEROLO: Three-times champion Alberto Contador, with ground to make up on his rivals, needs to draw on his fine climbing skills yesterday in the first of two breath-sapping stages that could go a long way to deciding this year’s Tour de France winner. Stage 18, a punishing 200.5-km trek, ends at 2,645 metres above ground level on top of the Col du Galibier, after going to the summit of the Col d’Agnel (2,744m) and the Col d’Izoard (2,360m). Contador, arguably the best climber in the race, lies sixth overall 3:15 behind France’s Thomas Voeckler, who is expecting to lose his yellow jersey yesterday.

The Spaniard, however, needs to claw back a near twominute deficit on second-placed Cadel Evans and although the Australian does not fare as well as Contador in the high mountains, he will be a tough nut to crack. The Schleck

brothers, Frank and Andy, are third and fourth, 1:22 and 2:36 adrift of Voeckler respectively, with Spain’s Samuel Sanchez in fifth place 16 seconds ahead of Contador. “It’s the ‘Queen stage’ but the last part of the Galibier is very open and what will happen is going to depend on the wind,” said Contador. Andy Schleck said it could be make or break for the leading contenders yesterday. “It’s the decisive stage. Over 200 km, we will climb three times above 2,000 meters. It’s going to be the stage of the Tour,” he said.

Voeckler, who has hung onto his yellow jersey for nine days, was pessimistic about his chances of retaining his overall lead. “I could not follow them (the overall favorites) in the descent (into Pinerolo on Wednesday), I will probably not be able to follow them in the climb tomorrow,” the Frenchman. — Reuters Rugby

NZ embark on season of high expectations WELLINGTON: New Zealand are determined to avoid an upset like that suffered by Australia last week when they get their season underway in a test against Fiji in Dunedin today. Embarking on a campaign they hope will end up with a World Cup triumph in October, the All Blacks should have little problem seeing off the Fijians in their only warmup before they open their Tri-Nations title defense next week.

Skipper Richie McCaw, however, has warned his team mates that a lack of attention to the basics could expose them to a shock reverse like that the Samoa inflicted on the Wallabies last week. “We’ve got to make sure we get the physicality right, get the little things right at the breakdown. They’ve got the ability if we loosen up to put the pressure on,” the openside flanker said in the captain’s run yesterday. “You’ve only got to look at last Sunday’s result to see if you don’t get things right and things start going against you, you can be in trouble.” McCaw leads a largely experienced side at Carisbrook with just one new cap, lock Jarrad Hoeata, and an unfamiliar face at flyhalf, Colin Slade.

Dan Carter, who starts on the bench, unquestionably remains the first choice in that slot but Slade will be out to secure the position as his back-up in his first start for the All Blacks. Coach Graham Henry has made it quite clear what he wants from the 23-year-old, who has moved above Aaron Cruden and a string of other contenders to deputize for Carter. “I think he needs to play with a wee bit more sharpness and physicality than he’s played in the games leading up,” Henry told local media. “I’m not being critical.

He’s just trying to get some football under his belt. I think he understands the game and he’s got a good feel and can call the shots. But as an individual, I just think he needs to step up what he’s doing.”

Unlike the Samoans, who were at near full strength in Sydney last Sunday, Fiji coach Samu Domoni reckons he has been forced to do without 20 members of his squad. The Fijians, who lost their last test against New Zealand 91-0 in 2005, will be highly motivated though. “Playing the All Blacks is like playing in the World Cup- it only comes around every four years,” Domoni said. —Reuters

SYDNEY: Australia know they will have to win the battle of the breakdown if they are to beat South Africa in the Tri-Nations opener tomorrow and redeem themselves after being upset by Samoa last week. Badly beaten around the fringes by the Samoans in a performance that coach Robbie Deans described as “inadequate” for test rugby, the Wallabies are determined to get their World Cup season back on track against a weakened Springbok side.

Three days of rain in Sydney with more forecast could make winning the tight game even more important but the good news for Australia is that Will Genia and David Pocock are among a string of first choice players back in the starting line-up. A master of the dark arts of the tackle area, Pocock has recovered from a foot injury and is anticipating a huge physical challenge from the Springbok forwards, however inexperienced some of them might be.

“The first aspect we have to match them is the physicality, especially round the breakdown with their big runners coming around the corners,” the openside flanker told reporters yesterday. “It’s a big mindset thing, everybody knows when you play South Africa it’s going to be a hard day at the office and we’re just looking forward to getting out there and turning it around from last weekend.” The Springboks, who left 21 frontline players behind in South Africa, will hand debuts to props Dean Greyling and Werner Kruger as well as number eight Ashley Johnson in a pack led by skipper John Smit, who will win his 103rd cap.

Smit said his team were wary of a Wallabies backlash at the Olympic Stadium after the Samoa debacle, especially with eight players from the Super rugby champion Queensland Reds now in the 22 after several were rested last week. “There’s no chance of us catching them unmotivated now,” Smit said. “They’ll be pretty motivated to turn things around. In my mind, the Reds winning Super 15 is a massive boost for them. When their game’s flying they can beat any team on any day. I’m sure we’ll have our work cut out tomorrow.”

‘NO SECOND STRING SIDE’ South Africa coach Peter de Villiers has said his side will aim to disrupt the fulcrum of scrumhalf Genia, the outstanding player of the Super rugby season, and his halfback partner Quade Cooper. “They can say what they’re going to do but they have to execute it,” said a matter-of-fact Genia. “We feel we can exert pressure on them, not just through our attack but our defense as well. “Hopefully we can stifle their attack and we’re confident that with the players we have, when we have the ball in hand we can score points.”

Hulking World Cup winner Danie Rossouw will be one player out to put Genia on the backfoot, having been handed the number seven shirt for the tourists.

Roussow, a menacing presence at the best of times, said the world champions were drawing motivation from being labeled a “second string” outfit.

“This second string stuff, I’m not listening to that stuff. It’s a Springbok team and if you get picked for a Springbok team, you give your best,” he said yesterday. “We’ve got the best 22 for this game and that’s how it is.”

Genia, who complained he had lost the feeling in his fingers in yesterday’s training session, said the Wallabies might to have to rein in their normally expansive game if the weather was wet. The 23-yearold might prefer a dry evening as he looks to marshal his forwards and get quick ball out to Cooper but at least one Wallaby was looking forward to the prospect of splashing around tomorrow. “I love it,” said Pocock. “It’s always good sliding onto the ball.

It’s good fun — Reuters

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Top golfers make Canadian Open field deepest in decades VANCOUVER: For the first time in decades the buzz surrounding this week’s Canadian Open is more about the players teeing it up at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club rather than those who skipped the tournament. Slotted into the schedule directly after the British Open, the date has made it easy for the game’s top players to ignore a tournament that was once rated among the most prestigious on the golf calendar. British Open champion Darren Clarke will not attend and neither will golf’s two biggest draws-Rory McIlroy or Tiger Woods-but a field headlined by world number one Luke Donald is one of the deepest in recent Canadian Open memory.

Donald, the first world number one to play here since Vijay Singh in 2004, will be joined by young guns Rickie Fowler, Rickie Barnes and a crowd-pleasing mix of veterans including Ernie Els, John Daly, two-time winner Jim Furyk and Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal, who will make his Canadian Open debut. Adding a bit more international flair to the 107-year-old national championship are Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, South African compatriot and 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, Australian Geoff Ogilvy, Briton Paul Casey and Colombian Camilo Villegas. The event’s title sponsor, Royal Bank of Canada, has been a big reason for luring some of the

sport’s top names.

While PGA Tour events cannot hand out appearance fees, fulfilling sponsorship obligations are a top priority. As well as being title sponsor of the Canadian Open, the bank put together Team RBC, a stable of golfers that includes, Donald, Furyk, Els, Anthony Kim and Matt Kuchar - all who will tee it up at Shaughnessy. “Obviously, I have a sponsorship with RBC and it’s part of the reason why I’m here,” Donald told reporters on Wednesday. “But as a player, you’re always trying to play against the best players in the world and challenge yourself, I think that’s part of the reason why I travel around the world.”

For Team RBC and other players

there are plenty of perks on offer, including a luxury charter jet that transported players to Vancouver from Sandwich, England, site of this year’s British Open. The stunning tree-lined Shaughnessy layout, celebrating its 100th anniversary, was also a big drawing card as it is nestled up against the Strait of Georgia and provides a stern test. The last time the Canadian open was staged on the par-70 layout in 2005 it played as the most difficult nonmajor event on the PGA Tour schedule that year. “It’s set up like a US Open, major-style golf course, very demanding off the tee, the rough is up, the greens are small,” said defending champion Carl Pettersson. “I wish we played more

golf courses like this on Tour.

The tournament will also include plenty of Canadian content, something that was lacking at last week’s British Open where, for the first time in over a decade, there were no Canadians among the field at a major. No Canadian has claimed their national championship since Pat Fletcher in 1954 and there is little confidence that drought will end this weekend.

Mike Weir has long been the great Canadian hope but the 2003 Masters champion’s game has been in shambles, losing his PGA Tour privileges this year while missing the cut in 12 of 14 events adding a paltry $23,312 to his career earnings. — Reuters

Yao proud to have survived NBA, Shaq SHANGHAI: Standing seven-foot, six inches tall and weighing 140 kilograms it is hard to imagine Yao Ming being afraid of anything, but the Chinese basketball icon, who retired on Wednesday, told Reuters he was “scared” after being taken first in the 2002 NBA draft. The former Houston Rockets centre, who opened up the world’s most populous country to the NBA and became an Asian sporting icon, ended his professional basketball career at a packed media conference in his hometown of Shanghai.

The 30-year-old told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that the prospect of plunging into the most competitive basketball league in the world had shaken him. “Sometimes you can use the word scared to represent my emotional state at the beginning,” Yao said at the offices of the Shanghai Sharks-the Chinese Basketball League team he now owns. “The NBA is a place full of talent and before playing there you don’t know how small you are, even though I am seven foot six,” he added with a wide grin.

“The NBA is the highest level of basketball in the world.

Everyone dreams to be part of it and to compete with the best players in the world and to show people what you can do. “I was very fortunate to have that opportunity and have some success in there, and that’s enough.” One of the tallest players to have played in the NBA, Yao was plagued by foot and ankle injuries towards the end of his eight seasons in the NBA. He played just five games in the final two seasons but said he was happy to have walked away from the game while he still could.

“I survived it. That’s what I’m proud of,” he added when asked if he was frustrated that the injuries may have robbed him of a career that was entering its prime. “When I (had) my surgery (in 2009) I had already been told there was no guarantee that I would be totally healthy to play basketball again. There was a case that I could re-injure it but I thought I wanted to give it a try. “Not just me but also my trainer and my coach, and my team helped me and (we) worked very hard to get back to playing basketball.

“I did, and I played for five games and (got re-injured) and decided ‘okay, that’s it. I would like to walk off the court myself’. I think I just did not want to end my career in a wheelchair.” Yao, who finished his career as an eight-times All Star and averaged 19 points and 9.2 rebounds in 486 games, did have some regrets and felt there had been missed opportunities during his career with the Rockets, who did not advance past the first round of the playoffs in four of the seasons he was fit.

“If you are looking back detail by details, yes there are a lot of regrets, but if you look at the big picture a lot of people dream to have the same career that I had. “Man, I just accept it, appreciate what I had and move on.” Yao said the toughest opponent he faced in the NBA was Shaquille O’Neal, the former LA Lakers center who was one of the most successful and recognizable players in the sport. “He was not only big from outside, he’s big from the inside.

Mentally he just wants to try and eat you on court. “That’s another reason I’m proud I survived.”— Reuters

VANCOUVER: Luke Donald, of England, tees off on the seventh hole during a pro-am event for the Canadian Open golf tournament, at the Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, British Columbia. — AP

Donald shaking off Open disappointment VANCOUVER: World number one Luke Donald says his British Open disappointment is behind him, but he’ll face a tough challenge as he tries to regroup at the Canadian Open this week. “I was disappointed,” the Englishman said of his failure to make the cut at Royal St George’s last week in the third major championship of the season. “Obviously I’d come off a great week at the Scottish Open and felt very prepared. I just didn’t short game it well enough. “Yeah, certainly (I’m) over the disappointment. You can’t really control the past but you learn from it and move on, and I’m excited to be here.” The Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club, where the rough is deep and dense, won’t offer much respite for Donald. “Probably the thickest we played all year,” Donald said. “I’d say it’s even thicker than the US

Open.” The thick rough was on display when Shaughnessy first hosted the Canadian Open in 2005. Marc Calcavecchia won that year with a five-under total.

Despite the difficulty, players were full of praise for the course, and the Canadian Open’s return here has drawn a quality field. “I’ve heard a lot of good things from other PGA players,” said Rickie Fowler, who tied for fifth at the British Open alongside Anthony Kim and Chad Campbell. “Ben Crane was the first one to tell me about it.

He said it’s probably one of his favorite places, definitely his favorite place to play in Canada. So I was excited to come.”

The field also includes Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa and veteran compatriot Ernie Els. Sweden’s Carl Pettersen, who won the Canadian Open title at St. George’s Golf and Country Club

in Toronto last year, said he was looking forward to a stiff test. “I wish we played more golf courses like this on Tour,” said Pettersen, who certainly isn’t expecting a repeat of the tournament record 60 he shot on the Saturday of last year. “It’s set up like a US Open, major-style golf course, very demanding off the tee, the rough is up, the greens are small. It’s a great golf course.” Mike Weir, whose 2003 Masters victory made him the first Canadian to win one of golf’s major titles, has a modest goal at his national open. “I was injured and developed some bad habits,” said Weir, who has fallen to 475th in the world rankings. “I’m fighting my way out of that. I’m trying to work my way back into form and gain some momentum, just string some solid shots together and hopefully it’ll lead to some good rounds.”— AFP

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Chandhok replaces Trulli in Germany Indian takes Team Lotus seat

NUERBURG: McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain arrives for the F1 Grand Prix at the Nuerburgring circuit in Nuerburg yesterday. The F1 race will be held on Sunday.— AP

Hamilton wary of F1 forecasts NURBURGRING: Lewis Hamilton was wary of saying too much about his immediate and long-term futures yesterday as he looked ahead to this weekend’s German Grand Prix and his future career with the McLaren team. On the eve of his third racing visit to the Nurburgring as a Formula One driver, he had more to say about his previous visits to the circuit in the Eifel mountains that he did about his plans for 2012 and beyond.

Hamilton said: “Well, the last time we were here it was such a mixed weekend - we had been struggling with the car in the early races of the season and the guys back at the factory had been working around the clock to find a solution. “From my very first lap I could feel the difference in the car. It had been transformed.

I qualified well, got a really good start thanks to the KERS (powerboost system) and I was just about in front at the first corner when I was hit from behind and picked up a puncture, which damaged the car.

“In 2007, we had that crazy race with a huge downpour after just a few laps. I’d pitted for rain tyres after again getting a puncture, but even with those it was too slippery. “I just hit some standing water and went straight off, along with several other drivers, in the same place. Race control made the right call to stop the race and the marshals did an amazing job in hazardous conditions to lift me out of the gravel with the crane. “Since I’d kept the engine running I was able to get back and take the restart. I was a lap down, but I really enjoyed myself in the race, even though I finished just out of the points.”

In those two races, he finished ninth - in 2007 - and 18th and last two years ago, when the race was last held at the Nurburgring. The ‘ring hosts the race every two years, sharing it with the Hockenheimring in alternate seasons. Hamilton’s luck at the latter has been far better, winning there in 2008 on his way to the title and finishing fourth last year. Hamilton was also the victim of his first major crash in Formula One at the Nurburgring in 2007 when he went off at more than 245 kph in qualifying, but escaped unhurt. He passed medical tests on Sunday before taking part in the race.

Once again, this weekend, heavy rain has been forecast and that has left Hamilton wary of making forecasts as he and McLaren team-mate fellow-Briton Jenson Button bid to put their title bid back on track with a strong performance. He said: “The lesson to draw from all my experience is never to make predictions when you come to the Nurburgring! “The current circuit may be less epic than the original 14-mile layout, and certainly a lot safer, but it can still bite you.— AFP

NUERBURGRING: India’s Karun Chandhok will replace Jarno Trulli for Team Lotus at this weekend’s German Grand Prix as the outfit continue their bid for a first ever Formula One point.

Chandhok raced for fellow strugglers Hispania for the first half of last season and was named Team Lotus reserve for this campaign behind Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen. He gets his chance with the team deciding to offer “a step ladder to the top of world motorsport for talent from all over the world”, a statement read.

India is due to host its first Formula One race in October and commercial possibilities there are huge for teams.

“As a young Asian driver Karun faces even more obstacles to achieving his goals than his counterparts from the established motorsport homelands in the West, both from inside and outside F1, and I am very proud to be able to give him this chance on merit,” team boss Tony Fernandes said. The 27-year-old Chandhok was cock-ahoop. “I am approaching the weekend in a very realistic frame of mind. I will be doing my best to push and to make sure I learn as much as possible all weekend, take each session as it comes and work as closely as I can with the engineers and the whole team to do the best job I can,” he said.

“Whatever happens, I am very excited about lining up on the grid on Sunday and I know there will be millions of Indian fans, and Team Lotus fans around the world, who will be behind me and the whole team, so I will do the best I can to give them something to cheer for.” There was no

NURBURG: Team Lotus’ Indian driver Karun Chandhok (right) and Team Lotus’ Italian driver Jarno Trulli (not seen)chat during a press point at the Nuerburgring racetrack yesterday ahead of the German Formula One Grand Prix. — AFP

word on whether the change halfway through the year was just for one race and if Chadhok will have the chance of racing in his home grand prix.

Despite the setback, Trulli need not be too downbeat with a new deal on the way. “I also want to take this chance to thank Jarno for helping make Karun’s opportunity this weekend possible,” Fernandes added. “He has been extremely accommodating

in stepping to the side for this race and our commitment to him is unwavering.

I am delighted to confirm that we are in the process of negotiating an extension to his contract with us.” Force India owner Vijay Mallya told Reuters this month he was upset by home fans bemoaning his lack of an Indian driver.

India’s Narain Karthikeyan races for Hispania.— Reuters

Vettel bets on home victory NUERBURGRING: World champion Sebastian Vettel believes this weekend’s German Grand Prix could be more wide open than other recent Formula One races but compatriot Michael Schumacher is sure his Mercedes will not win.

The duo are among six German drivers who will take to the Nuerburgring for first practice today with rain pouring down yesterday and more bad weather expected in the coming days which could shake up the usual order.

Runaway leader Vettel has won six out of nine races this term but lost out to Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso at the British Grand Prix and was involved in a team orders row with Red Bull team mate Mark Webber to make for an intriguing battle here. “It’s difficult to say who will be the strongest,” Vettel told a news conference before refusing to rule out doing the same as Webber at Silverstone and trying to

overtake his team mate despite being told not to by bosses.

“It depends on the situation of the race,” he said with a wry smile. Being on home soil and at a track where second-placed Webber 80 points behind the German-won his first F1 race two years ago, Vettel said he felt more relaxed than usual.

“People are talking about extra pressure and things slowing you down but in reality I think it’s a positive,” he said. A sell-out crowd is possible at the isolated track in the Eifel Mountains in the west of Germany but unconfirmed reports have said the Nuerburgring, which alternates each year with Hockenheim, could be hosting its last F1 race.

SPECIAL MEMORIES “That would be a shame,” seventimes champion Schumacher said given his special memories of the track.

Mercedes would like to count them-

selves as the German national team and Schumacher is looking forward to upgrades boosting his car’s performance but not enough for a man who has failed to shine since coming back from retirement in March 2010. “I don’t think we are yet in a position to talk about winning races. We are on the way,” said the 42-year-old, 10th overall.

Most of the German drivers tried out the famous Nordschleife circuit next to the Nuerburgring which was deemed too dangerous to host F1 races in 1976 but “one of the best in the world” according to Vettel. Nico Rosberg was thrilled to have the opportunity yesterday to drive the Mercedes with which. “It feels like a go-kart.

The only thing was Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1954 German Grand Prix on the Nordschleifethe driving position which was very strange,” the Mercedes driver laughed. — Reuters

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

SHANGHAI: Ukraine’s synchronized swimming team compete in the final of the free combination synchronized swimming competition in the FINA World Championships at the indoor stadium of the Oriental Sports Centre in Shanghai yesterday. — AFP

China’s Chen wins 2nd diving gold at worlds Hu blows advantage with poor fourth dive SHANGHAI: China’s Chen Ruolin won the women’s 10 meters platform diving title at the world championships yesterday after compatriot and close rival Hu Yudan’s nerves got the better of her. Chen, who combined with Wang Hao to win the 10 meters platform synchro gold earlier, scored 405.30 points, while Hu finished on 394.00 after scoring just 42.90 points in the fourth round of dives. Mexico’s Paolo Espinosa, who won

the title in Rome in 2009, took bronze (377.15). “I was defeated by Hu Yadan at the World Cup (last year), and it harmed my confidence,” Chen, the Beijing Olympic champion in the event told reporters.

“The key to my victory is consistency. Hu is still young, she needs to take part in more competition to mature.” “Next, I will focus on the London Olympics.” Chen had never won the individual platform title at the worlds

Phelps looking for the spirit of 2008 LOS ANGELES: Michael Phelps set new standards in Olympic swimming with his eight gold medals in Beijing, and now faces the tricky task of re-setting his goals in the wake of that dazzling display. Phelps has already achieved his stated aim of putting swimming-at least temporarily-at the forefront of America’s crowded sports consciousness with his record-breaking run at the 2008 Games. Once a restless kid from Baltimore who found an outlet for his energy in the water, Phelps now boasts all the trappings of modern sports celebrity-from a video game modeled on him to a tabloid photo fracas.

The triumphant pictures of Phelps with his eight Beijing gold medals draped around his neck were eventually supplanted by pictures of Phelps at play, and plenty of Internet gossip about his love life.

After a British newspaper ran a photo of Phelps nuzzling a marijuana pipe in early 2009, the outcry even had Phelps reconsidering his plans to continue swimming through the 2012 Olympics. Not long after that incident he admitted he had lacked direction in the wake of his Beijing feats. “At that time I was really lost at what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go,” he said. “I needed to sort of sit down and think about if I don’t swim what am I going to do? And if I swim, what do I want to do?”

Although Phelps is famous for following through once he has set his mind on something, he hasn’t found it smooth sailing in the water since then. He tried and finally rejected a new freestyle stroke designed to help him become a player in the 100m free. His personal uncertainties in 2009 played out against the backdrop of the hi-tech swimsuits controversy that roiled the sport. —AFP

before, finishing with silver at Melbourne in 2007 and behind Espinosa in Rome two years ago. It looked like she would have to settle for second again as Hu opened up a lead of almost 10 points after three rounds and seemed set to win the title.

But Hu said nerves had got to her during the final and she blew her lead over Chen in the fourth round.

“I felt so nervous that I floundered on dive

two and four,” she said. “I did not think too much before the last dive, just hoped I could dive at normal level. “It’s a pity that I did not win the gold.”

The host country has now won all seven diving titles on offer so far at the outdoor pool at the Oriental Sports Centre, with just three more-the men’s and women’s threemeter springboard and men’s 10-metre platform-up for grabs. — Reuters

Cielo escapes ban; doping cloud lifts SHANGHAI: Brazilian swim star Cesar Cielo escaped a drugs ban yesterday after a high-profile case that left him clear to defend his 50m and 100m titles and lifted a doping cloud from the world championships. The Olympic champion was let off with a warning after testing positive for a banned diuretic, despite calls for a three-month suspension which would have sent him home from Shanghai and interrupted his build-up to London 2012.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed appeals by world body FINA to ban Cielo and team-mates Nicholas dos Santos and Henrique Barbosa, who also failed a test for furosemide in May. But CAS, which held a six-hour special tribunal in Shanghai Wednesday, slapped a one-year ban on another Brazilian, Vinicius Waked, because it was his second drugs violation.

“The CAS panel... decided to dismiss the appeals filed by FINA against Cesar Cielo, Henrique Barbosa and Nicolas dos Santos and to confirm the (Brazilian federation’s) decision concerning them,” the body said.

Cielo, who is also the world recordholder in both freestyle sprints, had denied wrongdoing and appeared relaxed and upbeat at the CAS tribunal,

where he was represented by specialist sports doping lawyer Howard Jacobs.

“What I can tell you is that the bottom line is that they did not act with fault or negligence in the case,” said Brazilbased lawyer Marcelo Franklin, who was also part of the legal team. “They always believed they would have a good award so it never passed through their mind they would have any period of suspension so of course they are relieved right now,” he said.

The case had threatened to become one of swimming’s most high-profile scandals since the dark days of the 1980s, when East German swimmers dominated, only to be caught cheating by using drugs. The swimmers blamed a contaminated caffeine supplement for their failed tests for furosemide, which can be used to mask performance-enhancing drugs. “The Brazilian swimming federation and all the athletes and the coaches are very happy with this result,” a spokeswoman for the Brazilian team said. “They are very happy with the fact that the Brazilian position was maintained.” Attention will now swing decisively back to the action at the Oriental Sports Centre, where hosts China took a giant stride towards a historic sweep of all 10 diving medals.

Chen Ruolin and Hu Yatan led a onetwo in the women’s 10m platform event, relegating Mexico’s defending champion Paola Espinosa to the bronze position and handing China seven titles out of seven so far. And six days after competition started, the USA finally bagged their first medal of the championships with victory in the 5km team swim, an event not raced at the worlds since 1998.

Andrew Gemmell, Sean Ryan and Ashley Twichell completed the Jinshan City Beach course in 57min 0.6sec, more than a second ahead of the Australian team with Germany taking bronze. The win places the United States equal fourth on the medals table alongside Britain and behind hosts China, Russia and Greece. Most of the 15 golds handed out so far have been for diving and synchronized swimming.

But America will be expected to dominate the second week of competition when their swim stars led by 14-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps take to the newly built Sea Crown indoor pool.

Phelps, returning to China after his record-breaking eight-title haul at the Beijing Olympics, touched down in Shanghai on Wednesday after a training camp in eastern Australia. —AFP

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Bulgaria criminalizes match-fixing Match-fixers face up to 6 years in jail SOFIA: Bulgaria’s parliament has approved legal amendments under which anyone convicted of attempting to fix sports events will face up to six years in jail. Media reports of widespread match-fixing and corruption have been rife in Bulgaria for years but no one has been brought to trial and the European Commission has criticized the authorities for doing little to fight the problem.

“I hope these provisions will help for the termination of these vicious acts,” parliamentary commission chief for education and sport Ognyan Stoichkov told reporters yesterday.

“Sports people should respect the fans who pay for their tickets and want to see fair play and not fixed results.” Those convicted of attempting to fix matches or giving bribes will also face fines of up to 15,000 levs ($10,890). “No doubt we’ll continue to work to root out match-fixing in this country,” added Stoichkov. Bulgarian authorities have investigated claims of possible match-fixing in eight soccer matches over the past year with champions Litex Lovech, Levski Sofia and CSKA Sofia also involved in matches under suspicion.

Earlier this month, second division Etar Veliko Tarnovo asked the prosecutor to investigate their 3-1 loss to Svetkavitsa Targovishte in a promotion playoff in June. In 2007, European soccer’s governing body UEFA investigated Bulgarian team Cherno More’s 4-0 win over Macedonia’s Makedonija in the Intertoto Cup. Cherno More denied any wrongdoing. The first documented manipulated game in the Balkan country took place in 1949 when Levski and city neighbors Akademik drew 1-1 to “help” CSKA be relegated to the second division. — Reuters

Ronaldo hat-trick propels Real win

SEATTLE: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (second from left) takes a shot as Seattle Sounders FC’s Taylor Graham (left), Mrisho Alfani Ngassa (35), and David Estrada (right) look on in the second half of a friendly soccer match on Wednesday, July 20, 2011. — AP

Man Utd rout Sounders 7-0 SEATTLE: Wayne Rooney scored a second-half hat trick as Manchester United overwhelmed the Seattle Sounders 7-0 in a friendly on Wednesday.

After an even first half in which the English side took a 1-0 lead through Michael Owen, United dominated in the second period against a second-string Sounders outfit. Owen slid a header past Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller in the 15th minute after the hosts had controlled the opening moments of the match. It remained 1-0 at the break thanks largely to a brilliant save by Keller on an Owen shot late in the half. Rooney came on as a second-half substitute and scored in the 51st, 69th and 72nd minutes, while United got further goals from Park Ji-sung, Mame Biram Diouf and Gabriel Obertan.

The match in Seattle was the second stop on United’s preseason tour of the United States. They’ll go to Chicago for a match with the Fire on Saturday, then face the MLS All-Stars in New York next Wednesday before closing out its tour with a Champions League final reprise against Barcelona.

This was Seattle’s only friendly of the season, and for a half the Sounders - on a nine-game unbeaten streak in Major League Soccer - were right in the contest, creating but missing a number of good

chances. But a combination of substitutes and fatigued starters were no match for the Red Devils in the second half.

Rooney roamed the field and enjoyed a degree of marker-free license he is rarely afforded in England. He scored his first goal by blasting a shot into the roof of the net after receiving a pass from Nani. He again was left alone in the 69th minute, collecting a pass from Park, turning and beating Sounders reserve keeper Terry Boss with a shot off the post. Rooney returned the favor to Park moments later when he let a pass from Obertan slide through to the Korean, and Rooney completed his hat trick by getting the last touch after a scramble in front of the net. Owen’s finish in the 15th minute was as stunning as the cross that came off the foot of defender Patrice Evra. Making an overlapping run on the wing, Evra received a pass from Ashley Young and raced toward the byline. While getting a shove from a Seattle defender, Evra managed to get in a cross to a waiting Owen, who headed past a stunned Keller. While Keller was beaten on that occasion, the 41-year-old showed his quality when he denied Owen in a one-on-one situation after the United forward beat the offside trap. — AP

SAN DIEGO: Cristiano Ronaldo scored three goals in a devastating nine minute second-half spell on Wednesday to propel Spanish giants Real Madrid to a 3-0 victory over Mexico’s Chivas Guadalajara. Ronaldo, a former world footballer of the year, was thwarted by Chivas keeper Luis Michel in the first half of the friendly. Michel stopped one of the Portuguese star’s signature free kicks in the 6th minute and shortly afterwards denied a Ronaldo headed attempt off a corner. Then as half-time approached Ronaldo fought off a defender to reach a through ball from Mezut Ozil, only to find Michel had rushed out to close the angle.

Ronaldo finally broke through in the 73rd minute, splitting two Chivas defenders as he raced into the penalty area to meet a cross from French international Karim Benzema and fire beyond Michel with his right foot. Three min-

utes later Ronaldo converted a penalty after team-mate and Portuguese compatriot Pepe was brought down in the box by Chivas’ Omar Arellano. Ronaldo completed his hat-trick with a blast to the lower right corner in the 82nd minute.

The match at Qualcomm Stadium was the second on Real Madrid’s North American tour, which they opened with a 4-1 victory over Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. They play Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union in Philadelphia on Saturday. The Spanish club is one of several European sides warming up for the season in North America. Spanish rivals Barcelona, English Premier League clubs Manchester United and Manchester City and Italian club Juventus all have friendlies scheduled in the coming weeks.— AFP

SAN DIEGO: Real Madrid’s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (left) vies for the ball with Omar Esperanza of CD Guadalajara during action at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. — AFP

McCoist backs Rangers to retain Scottish crown GLASGOW: The Scottish Premier League kicks off this weekend with new Rangers manager Ally McCoist insisting that the champions are ready to defend their title despite a summer of upheavals. The former Rangers striker took over at the helm when veteran manager Walter Smith retired after seeing off the challenge of Neil Lennon’s Celtic to lead the club to their third title in a row. That has not been the only

change at Ibrox, though. Businessman Craig Whyte took control of Rangers from Sir David Murray in May and quickly made several boardroom changes as well as appointing former Scottish Football Association chief executive, Gordon Smith, as director of football.

After working under severe cost-cutting measures for several years McCoist has been promised financial backing in the transfer mar-

ket from the new owner. But the rookie manager has found that having funds in place to bring in players doesn’t necessarily guarantee the arrival of new faces. Free agents Craig Conway, Neil Danns and Tomer Hemed all turned down the chance to sign on at Ibrox while bids for Lee Wallace, David Goodwillie and former player Kenny Miller have been rejected.

It leaves Almeria winger Juan Manuel Ortiz

as the only new addition to the Rangers squad.

McCoist is desperate to boost his squad before the deadline for next week’s Champions League qualifier against Swedish side Malmo in their bid to get to the group stages of the competition. But while insisting he will get more players in, McCoist says the club will not be held to ransom. “We are working very hard to get new players in. —AFP

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

Tevez unfazed by transfer collapse LONDON: Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez is unfazed by the collapse of his transfer to Brazilian side Corinthians and is expecting fresh bids from further clubs, his representative said yesterday. Argentinean international Tevez is seeking to engineer a move away from City, with the player reportedly desperate to join a club in South America in order to be closer to his family. The 27-year-old appeared to be close to having his prayers answered in the form of a £40 million transfer to Corinthians before the Brazilian club pulled out this week saying they did not have enough time to wrap up the deal.

However Tevez’s representative Kia Joorabchian told the BBC yesterday the player was not “overly worried” by the setback, believing that it was only a matter of time before other clubs entered the frame. “This is Carlos Tevez we are talking about, one of the best players in the world.

We are not overly worried,” Joorabchian told BBC Sport.

“He wants to leave but is still a City player at the moment and we will of course respect that. “We’ve just got to wait and see who comes in next for him.” According to reports in British media, Tevez’s Corinthians move faltered after City failed to receive bank guarantees for the transfer fee discussed.

However Joorabchian insisted the deal broke down because Corinthians were unable to process it before the closure of the Brazilian transfer window. “This deal was always going to be difficult because of the timing,” he added. “In the end, this came down to small details, to haggling over a relatively small amount of money, and it couldn’t be done in time. “To say Corinthians could not provide guarantees for the money is nonsense. “Firstly, they are the biggest club in Brazil. Secondly, any club that makes an offer and cannot pay will get suspended by FIFA and have points deducted,” he said.— AFP

FIFA under scrutiny BERNE: Mohamed Bin Hammam will learn his fate tomorrow when FIFA completes its probe into alleged bribery by the former presidential candidate although world soccer’s governing body will be just as much under scrutiny. The investigation against the suspended 62-year-old Qatari head of the Asian Football Confederation will be seen as a test of FIFA chief Sepp Blatter’s claim that his corruption-plagued organization can police itself without outside help. Blatter, starting what he has promised will be his fourth and final term as president, has promised to take a zero tolerance approach to corruption.

However, his suggestions that former Dutch football great Johan Cruyff, ex-US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Spanish tenor Placido Domingo could sit on a new watchdog committee have baffled many observers. The 75-year-old Blatter will be thousands of kilometers away in Argentina when the verdict is announced tomorrow following a two-day hearing behind closed doors at FIFA’s futuristic headquarters in the hills above Zurich. The investigation, led by Namibian judge Petrus Damaseb, has already suffered leaks of confidential information to the media, prompting Bin Hammam to claim that a campaign has been waged against him by unnamed enemies within FIFA. “With just a few days to go before my hearing, there can be no doubt there has been a campaign waged within certain quarters to ensure that I am seen to be guilty and eliminated from football in the court of public opinion, even before my hearing has started,” Bin Hammam wrote on his personal website yesterday. “Does it not surprise anyone that, although I have been suspended for the last seven weeks from involvement in all football-related activities... for allegedly bribing individuals, none of those who it is claimed received those alleged inducements, have faced similar action?” he asked.

The investigations centre around a meeting of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in Port of Spain, Trinidad on May 10-11 where Bin Hammam was accused of offering cash in exchange for votes in the June 1 presidential election.

Former CONCACAF president Jack Warner was also suspended for his part in the alleged bribery and both men were provisionally suspended three days before the vote for the FIFA presidency.— Reuters

MENDOZA: Paraguay’s players celebrate the victory over Venezuela at the end of the Copa America semifinal soccer match in Mendoza, Argentina. After the match ended 0-0 in extra time, Paraguay won 5-3 on penalties. — AP

Paraguay ride their luck to Copa final Paraguay edge unlucky Venezuela in shootout MENDOZA: Paraguay beat Venezuela 5-3 in a penalty shootout to reach the final of the Copa America for the first time since 1979 after a fortunate goalless draw on Wednesday.

Paraguay defender Dario Veron scored the winning spot kick, blasting the ball past Renny Vega, to send his side into Sunday’s final against Uruguay in Buenos Aires, but celebrations were marred by an ugly fight that broke out amongst the teams as they left the field. The result was harsh on Venezuela, who will feel desperately unlucky they did not win the match before the shootout. They hit the woodwork three times and dominated the later stages against Paraguay, who had midfielder Jonathan Santana sent off in the first period of extra time.

The Paraguayans then took advantage of their good fortune to convert all five of their penalties in the shootout with their goalkeeper Justo Villar saving Franklin Lucena’s weak effort to set up the win. “We’ve had some luck in these past few days and we had it again tomorrow. Clearly we have to improve,” Villar told reporters afterwards. “We’ve got five or six injured players, another player suspended and we can’t go into the final and do the same as we’ve done in the last few days. Playing for another goalless draw and waiting for the penalties would be too much.”

POST-MATCH FIGHT The post-match fight, involving players and coaching staff from both teams, lasted for several minutes and could lead to further suspensions for Paraguay. Police then had to escort the players and coaches from the field to protect them from objects thrown from the crowd. The result meant that Paraguay reached the final of South America’s most prestigious tournament without winning a single match in open play having drawn three group matches before beating Brazil on penalties after a goalless draw. It also brought a halt to Venezuela’s remarkable Copa America. Long regarded as the weakest side on the continent, they had never before reached the semi-finals.

They will now face Peru in La Plata tomorrowin the third-place playoff.

“Now the whole world knows that in South America there’s another team that’s got quality,” Venezuela coach Cesar Farias told reporters. “Maybe we can make up for the prize we’d hoped to win here by qualifying for the World Cup in 2014.”

SAVED BY THE WOODWORK The Paraguayans enjoyed the majority of possession in the first half but it was Venezuela who created the best chances. Towering defender Oswaldo Vizcarrondo looked to have put Venezuela ahead with a 35th

minute header but his effort was ruled out for offside, and then Alejandro Moreno crashed a header against the Paraguayan crossbar just before the break.

Paraguay’s best effort also came from a header with Vega palming an effort from Veron to safety. Neither side created a single clear cut chance in a pedestrian second half so Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino threw on his most prolific striker Roque Santa Cruz in a bid to break the deadlock. However, Santa Cruz lasted just seven minutes before limping off injured and, almost inevitably, the match drifted into extra time.

Venezuela then suddenly came alive and hit the woodwork twice in three minutes. Giancarlo Maldonado’s shot struck his team mate Nicolas Fedor and bounced back off the inside of Villar’s right hand post and then Juan Arango’s left-foot freekick hit the same post before being cleared from danger. Paraguay looked rattled and in the 103rd minute Santana was sent off for a second bookable offence. Martino was also dismissed to the stands for remonstrating with the Mexican referee. Paraguay somehow hung on to prevail in the shootout but they will be anxious to see if their plans for Sunday’s final will be disrupted by disciplinary action. — Reuters

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MENDOZA: Venezuela’s Jose Manuel Rey (right) and Paraguay’s Lucas Barrios go for a header during a Copa America semifinal soccer match in Mendoza, Argentina on Wednesday, July 20, 2011.—AP