28 Mar

Spreading positivity, joy in Kuwait

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Madrid beaten again as Barca, Atletico shine

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NO: 16118- Friday, March 28, 2014

Saudi Prince named deputy crown prince SEE PAGE 12

Local FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Conspiracy Theories

Kuwaiti fistfight in the Berkshire

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

I

t is not funny. Actually, it was rather ironic what happened with our engineers from Kuwait National Petroleum Company who went to discuss the clean fuels project - which has been awarded to three consortia, one of them led by a British company. The other two contracts were awarded to a US-led and a Japan-led consortia. The clean fuels project is a pretty good project. It is designed to upgrade Mina Al-Ahmadi, Mina Abdulla 1 and Mina Abdulla 2 refineries to produce clean fuel and to boost the daily oil capacity. It has to decrease the carbon dioxide during the production of oil.

If Kuwait is 11th in the world in terms of oil producers and we lay on a sixth oil reserves, I was wondering, why wasn’t

this project initiated much earlier. Why were we let to breathe polluted air filled with carbon dioxide for 60 years?

Is that why we have high rates of people with asthma or what is locally called “tank”? Past is past. It was our bad luck.

We can throw it behind our backs. Let’s look forward. It is a good move that the government finally decided to clear the air we breathe.

Back to the team of Kuwaiti engineers who went to the Reading City in Berkshire, the United Kingdom. The senior engineers went to sign contracts related to the British company. Imagine guys that the dispute between them reached England and they fought in front of representatives of a foreign company. According to sources, the fight escalated into

Local Spotlight

Phantom appointments a felony

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

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hantom appointments of citizens in the private sector is illegal, but some local companies have been actively involved in such irregularities regardless of official orders. Recently, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor decided it was time to take stronger action to stop these companies.

Manipulators will be questioned by the public prosecutor on felony charges and their cases will no longer be treated as misdemeanors.

Legally, a misdemeanor is considered a minor crime with a small fine, but a felony is more serious and means many years in prison, so people have to think twice before committing such crimes. I believe local company owners and the people who accept to keep their names on paper as real workers while they are not are thieves and liars.

They not only have agreed to make false statements to official departments, but they are also enjoying some privileges and benefits with no right. The government usually

grants Kuwaitis who work in the private sector an allowance plus their salaries. The reason for this is to bring the salaries closer in range with their peers in the government sector. The company owners are rewarded for this act by helping them win bids, making more business and gaining more money out of lies!

That is why I believe it is good step by the ministry of social affairs to no longer accept this kind of theft and treat these crimes as felonies. In order to prevent the occurrence of such crimes, the first step will be to ensure the presence of the company on the ground, then issue work permits for employment files recorded for this company.

I think it is important to observe and follow up all company activities and any claims of abuse and delay of salaries. We should not wait until the harm is done, and therefore it is a must for the ministry to carry out their duties towards workers - nationals or expats.

KUWAIT: The view of Shamiya in Kuwait City. — Photo by Sherif Ismail

a fist fight over a trivial matter. The participants in the fist fight were senior engineers and not entry level employees who had just graduated.

We would like to hear from KNPC what action was taken regarding this group of engineers? Or maybe due to their high posts we might never find out. Is this how Kuwait is represented in the global arena of corporate business? Is this the reputation we are giving of our country? And to hear silence on behalf of KNPC makes it worse. Have a good night! @BadryaD

Local FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

#HappyQ8 - Spreading positivity, joy in Kuwait An interview with Filmmaker & Editor Mohammad Al Saeed

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EORITU (pronounced Where To?) recently released a video #HappyQ8 aimed at spreading positivity and happiness in Kuwait. The video, filmed with an all local crew, shows various locations around Kuwait and people of all backgrounds (locals, expatriates, young, old, women and men) dancing and having fun to Happy, the Pharrell Williams song from Despicable Me 2. We spoke with Mohammad Al Saeed, the writer and editor of the film about its creation. You can watch the video #HappyQ8 on Youtube.

KT: Can you tell us first a bit about yourself?

Mohammad: I’m an MA Filmmaking graduate from Goldsmiths College, University of London. My first memory of falling in love with filmmaking was when I used to curl up on my dad’s couch and watch his favorite movies as a kid.

Watching movies exhilarated me and that little fire inside of me grew exponentially as I grew older. I borrowed my first camera from my parents and created random “TV show specials” that my cousins and I came up with. I’m 29 now and that same passion still strongly exists. I mostly work on music videos, fashion films and short films. My ultimate dream is to make feature films. My favorite genres are romantic comedies, thrillers, and musicals!

KT: Where did the idea for the HappyQ8 video come from? What got you started?

Mohammad: The idea belongs to Taiba al Qatami, owner of WEORITU, an international organization that aims to spread positivity through the arts. Taiba approached me two months ago and pitched the idea. I agreed instantly and couldn’t wait to start filming and editing the #HappyQ8 project.

KT: How many people were involved, how long did it take to film, what were some of the technical aspects/challenges you faced?

Mohammad: Taiba teamed us up and started the #HappyQ8 team that consists of the following people: Dana al Jouder, Faisal al Humaid, Ahmad al Qabandi, Omar Afuni, Haya al Essa, Nasser al Qatami, Shaikha al Qatami, Athba al Essa, Noor Behbehani, Fatema Behbehani, Abdullah Abdulrahman. We were like a big family and had so much fun on and off set. We all believed in the cause and with Taiba’s guidance we worked efficiently and felt at ease even though what we were doing was challenging. It took us five days to

Local FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

film and we made sure we included all of Kuwait’s landmarks and the beautifully-diverse people that live in Kuwait (locals and expats) from various backgrounds and nationalities.

KT: Did you have any problems legally (isn’t dancing in public and mixed dancing illegal in Kuwait)? What has been the response from people? From authorities?

Mohammad: We did not face any problems during the filming of the #HappyQ8 video. On the contrary, people who saw us filming were intrigued and wanted to take part in the video. They were happy to see us do something positive like this for Kuwait. Besides, the people in the video were just being themselves, having fun and acting goofy; they weren’t really dancing. We would never want to do anything illegal or

that disrespects our country. One of the WEORITU (pronounced Where To) goals was to change people’s idea of Kuwait and that change can happen if we work towards it, together.

KT: What are you hoping to achieve with this video?

And what project are you working on next?

Mohammad: We are hoping that this video spreads positivity, happiness, and joy. Even if it’s just a smile at the end of the video. I would love to work with WEORITU in the future and spread more positivity to the world. In the mean time, I’m working on a few of different projects; two documentaries, a family-oriented short film, and a music video.

— www.kuwaitmomsguide.com

Local FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Are you packing?

Where to find a shotgun holster in Kuwait

By Ben Garcia

I

f you are looking for a shotgun holster or a hunting gun holster, you can order online or go to the only shop that makes them from leather at Souq Mubarakiya. Nestled between small tailoring shops, the holster shop in Mubarakiya sells various types of leather holsters that are made from ordinary or special materials. Sunil, a holster maker and shop assistant said most of his customers who buy holsters are gun club members and are mostly expatriates.

The two men who make holsters in the outdoor shop right on the edge of the market have an eye for detail and a liking for guns. “You do not need to have a gun in order to make one of these,” said Sunil, holding one of his grey holsters. He knows how to make the holster the right size. Holsters can be custom-made as per a customer’s requirements.

“Customers who are less demanding buy readymade holsters from our collection,” said one of the tailors.

Sunil admitted that some of the products on display at the shop are imported. Syria is a major supplier. “We have several shops around town, but not all of these products are made here,” said Sunil,

pointing at a brown holster hanging in front of the shop. “Some of them are imported from Pakistan and Syria,” he added.

According to him, their shop sells in both wholesale and retail, aside from orders from government contracts and some individuals or groups. “There are people looking and buying holsters every day,” said Sunil. “Some of our customers buy holsters to take them to their home countries,” he said, explaining that he has sold holsters to Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Filipino customers. “Most of them told me that they are taking them home.”

According to Sunil, the shop has many walk-in customers. “When they see our products, they examine them and when they like them, they buy,” he added. Sunil’s family has been in the tailoring business for generations. His brothers and uncles are also helping out. “I like the job - it is easy and enjoyable. But it takes skill and perhaps perseverance to do this kind of job,” said Sunil. Regardless of the time and effort, Sunil has a dream to set up a business of his own. “If I get the chance, I will have my own business,” he vowed. The shop also repairs and restores all kinds of bags, suitcases, jackets and shoes.

Local FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

5 finger discount common in Kuwait

By Nawara Fattahova

A

young woman wearing an abbaya and a full face-veil enters a small shop in a mall in Salmiya and takes a ring from the shelf. While the shop assistant is busy with a customer who followed her into the shop, the young woman hides the ring in her purse. She leaves the store shamelessly returning minutes later to look at the rest of the merchandise. When the shop assistant the young woman threatens to accuse him of harassment if he tries to involve the police.

This is Fadi’s summary of the events that lead to regular losses in his shop. Witnessing a theft and being unable to stop it is very hard so is getting a deduction from your paycheque because of it. Shoplifting is on an upward trend in Kuwait, and many small shops are suffering from this scourge. Most if not all stores in big, popular shopping malls have antitheft devices or barcodes on their goods, so a shoplifter will be caught by sensors at the exit. But many small stores are not equipped with such technology and as a result suffer from shoplifting that causes them financial losses.

At a small mall in Salmiya, most shops were targeted repeatedly by a gang of women that stole expensive items. “A gang of four or five women repeatedly stole from my store and left with bags, watches and accessories while I was busy with other customers.

They were insolent, as after leaving with the stolen goods and stashing them in their cars, they came back shamelessly to the mall, and even to my store. When I threatened them that I will call the police, one of them told me she was not afraid, and if I called the police, she will tell them I harassed her.

Plus I don’t have proof,” lamented Fadi, the owner of the shop.

After the increased number of thefts, he installed a security camera at the shop. “I installed the camera, which is useful, but will not help in all cases. For this gang for instance, the camera is useless as their faces are completely covered with niqabs, so I can’t prove the shoplifter appearing on video is the same person. But I recognize them from the kids accompanying them. I plan to install an alarm system too, as this may stop these shoplifters,” he added.

Sami, a salesman in a 100-fils shop in the same mall complained of the same women who also bring their children to steal.

“Several times, especially when the place is crowded, I notice that some kids enter the shop, steal some items and run. When I am alone in the shop, it is hard to follow them,” he said adding that he was shocked that their mothers witnessed the act and did not

tell them a word. “With time I learnt to recognize them. Once they stole something and I ran after them. I got my goods back, he fumed adding that the security guards of this mall are “completely useless.”

Lack of trust Marcel, a saleslady at an accessory shop in a nearby small mall, has also undergone similar experiences. “These days you cannot trust anyone. Once a customer left the shop with a ring without paying and never came back again. This happened when another customer entered and I was showing her a scarf. When I turned to attend on the earlier customer, she was not there. The ring was not very expensive - only KD 5 - but I had to pay it from my salary,” she recounted.

After this incident the owner installed cameras which helped her prevent more shoplifting. Sometimes a customer tries an accessory, then simply puts it in her bag and tries to leave. When I ask her to pay, she claims she already paid. But now with the cameras, I am able to prove that she didn’t, so she has to pay and makes excuses about forgetting whether she paid or not,” Marcel explained. “Once I caught a customer stealing something, and told her to return it. But she started shouting that she is not a thief, and was threatening me as I’m an Asian. In such cases, I prefer to let it go and pay from my salary because the amount is small,” Marcel added.

Most shops in this mall admitted to having been victims of shoplifting, especially by women.

Shop assistants also agreed that when the stolen item is inexpensive, they don’t bother reporting it at the police station. The salespersons also notice shoplifting increases during special occasions and seasons, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.

Baqalas are another target for shoplifters.

“I have been robbed many times, especially by customers ordering items from their cars.

Guys in new, luxury vehicles stop in front of the baqala and ask for recharge cards and cigarettes, and when I bring the items, they said they forgot to order a lighter. When I go back to the baqala, they drive away without paying,” said Hasan, a partner of a bakala in Salmiya. Explaining that the amount is usually less than KD 10 he said once a thief tried to flee with stuff worth around KD 40 including phone cards and cigarettes in his car without paying. He said, “I jumped in the car and turned the steering wheel so it hit a lamppost and damaged his vehicle. When I called the police and told them the story, they approved my actions. Now the policy is that I don’t give any goods to any customer unless he pays first.”

Local FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

The Hidden Light of Objects

By Nada Faris

M

ai Al-Nakib, Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Kuwait University, will be presenting her debut collection of short stories ‘The Hidden Light of Objects’ on Wednesday. Though they are sometimes set against the backdrop of tense socio-political moments in the Middle East, they focus primarily on the personal lives of ordinary people and their preoccupations. For example, Al-Nakib writes about adolescent love, yearnings for independence, the fragility of marriage, and everyday pain. The Hidden Light of Objects investigates the ability of everyday objects to create and sustain extraordinary memories. I was fortunate enough to read the book a few days earlier in preparation for a brief Q-and-A session with the author.

Q: Can you share a little about your creative journey thus far?

A: I’ve been an academic in the field of literature for many years, and yet I’ve come to writing fiction relatively late. Focusing on critical writing and academic research about literature pulled me away from considering writing literature myself, though writing fiction is something I always thought I would do. My short stories have appeared in The First Line and Ninth Letter. “The Echo Twins” (one of the stories in The Hidden Light of Objects) earned Honorable Mention in Glimmer Train’s August 2011 Short Story Award for New Writers.

Q: That’s amazing! I read the book a few days ago and I find myself still thinking about some of the characters and their “objects.” What I particularly loved about the collection is the way it weaves history, memory and fiction together. How would you describe your stories?

A: I think of my stories as experiments with memory. Why do we remember what we do? How do the things we remember-those sparks Virginia Woof calls “moments of being”-inform our lives? As a writer, I am particularly interested in how such moments motivate writing but, beyond that, how they motivate people (and characters) to narrate their lives in highly specific and singular ways. My concern is not with the past as such but, rather, with the process of remembering the past and how that impinges on the present.

Mai Al-Nakib’s book launch is this Wednesday (April 2) at the Contemporary Art Platform (CAP), 7pm.

Q: This brings me to another wonderful amalgam. You seem to blend the personal with the political. Would you say your work highlights one above the other? Or do you not perceive a division between the two categories?

A: In most of my stories, we see characters grappling with specific aspects of their pasts, the pivotal, seemingly private moments that end up defining them, that turn out to structure their particular trajectories. As it turns out, the personal is always overwritten by much broader historical and political conditions. The intimate obsessions of the characters, the accidents of their individual lives, are linked, inevitably, to a wider geography-both temporal and spatial-which they cannot, despite their best efforts, outrun. My stories attempt to explore some of these paradoxes of the personal and the nonpersonal, the intimate and the public, toward a consideration of what such overlaps can do.

Q: In some of the stories, and especially some of the vignettes, I couldn’t help but picture you as the young characters you write about. How and why did you apply fiction to unravel some of your personal memories and some of the broader historical moments that affected the public’s memory such as, for example, the liberation of Kuwait or the transformation of its economy?

A: This is not an autobiographical collection, although aspects of my life and my experiences inevitably find their way into my writing. On the one hand, it’s impossible to escape the historical traces that make us who and what we are and that shape our perspectives on the world. On the other hand, fiction allows us to flee the confines of these determining factors. Fiction makes things up, it invents worlds, experiments with settings and characters and episodes as far away from ourselves as could be. Fiction creates bridges between far-flung people and places and times. It allows us to connect in ways that might never be possible otherwise (as a result of geographical or temporal or linguistic limits). I hope this is something my stories will do for readers.

Q: What’s next for Mai Al-Nakib?

A: I am currently working on a novel.

Local FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

News

in brief

Probe panel seeks MPs accounts, properties Senior oil executives fight in UK

By B Izzak KUWAIT: A parliamentary panel investigating allegations that former MPs had accepted millions in political bribes plans to ask the National Assembly’s constitutional experts on whether it can contact the central bank and other ministries, an MP said yesterday.

The committee has decided to ask constitutional experts if it can ask the central bank about the names of MPs whose bank accounts were inflated in the national assemblies elected between 20062009. The committee also wants to ask the central bank about inflated accounts which were not referred to the Public Prosecution in accordance with the law.

The panel also wants to ask the ministries of Interior, Commerce and Justice about real estate and stocks registered in the names of former MPs between 2006-2009. A similar panel was formed about two years ago to probe allegations that around 13 MPs in the 2009 Assembly had received around KD 100 million in political bribes.

The committee did not complete the investigation because the court nullified the Assembly elected in February 2012. At the start of the current Assembly, a number of MPs demanded a revival of the investigation in that particular scandal but the Assembly

Stolen guns found, corporal detained KUWAIT: Three pistols and a number of bullets, which were stolen from the special security forces’ camp last Monday have been found according to the media security department at the Ministry of Interior. Officials from the Public Department of Criminal Investigations arrested the burglar who was in possession of the pistols and bullets with the aim of selling them, said the media security department in a statement. The robber is a lance corporal who works at the public department of special security forces. Meanwhile, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad AlSabah has set up a commission to investigate the theft.

Kuwait, Mexico to boost bilateral ties NEW YORK: Kuwait Ambassador to Mexico Samih Hayat met with Head of Kuwaiti-Mexican Friendship Society Carlos Peralta on Wednesday night to discuss cooperation in all fields. Hayat told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the meeting also tackled the results of the visit of Mexican Foreign Secretary Jose Antonio Meade to Kuwait early March. The visit aimed at developing cooperation in politics, economy, investment, and commerce, said Hayat, adding that it had also prompted the two countries’ private and public sectors to plan execution of joint projects.

Peralta on his side, praised the positive results of Meade’s visit and the ever developing bilateral relations between the two countries, noting that Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto is planning a visit to Kuwait in the near future. Moreover, Peralta congratulated His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for the successful 25th Arab Summit held in Kuwait.

Qatari Amir sends cable of gratitude KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah has received a cable of gratitude from Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani for the warm hospitality accorded to him and his delegation during the 25th Arab Summit. The Qatari Amir, in his cable, expressed deep gratitude to His Highness the Amir, praising his efforts that ensured success of this summit which concluded with positive outcomes. He wished Sheikh Sabah ever-lasting well-being and hoped Kuwait would witness further progress and prosperity under His Highness’ sagacious leadership. Sheikh Tamim said in his cable, “I am pleased, while departing along with my delegation my second country, Kuwait, to express to Your Highness my deepest appreciation for the good reception and hospitality accorded to us during our participation in the 25th session of the Arab Summit Conference. I am also pleased to laud your valuable and appreciated effort for ensuring success of the summit for the sake of reaching positive and constructive results that will (by Allah’s will) contribute to bolstering Arab solidarity and realize aspirations and hopes of our brotherly peoples.”

accepted a recommendation to expand the probe to include members of the three assemblies elected between 2006-2009.

In another development, MP Abdullah Al-Tameemi sent a series of questions to Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair about allegations that senior oil executives were involved in an altercation during a meeting in London regarding the contracts of the clean fuel project.

Tameemi asked the minister if the altercation was true and why the meeting was held in London and for what reason. He demanded documents to prove the answers. He asked for the names of the executives involved in the meeting and the altercation.

In a related development, MP Safa Al-Hashem yesterday alleged that the Oil Ministry was providing contradictory information. She said that the Oil Minister has said in a statement that Kuwait’s average daily oil production was 3.0 million barrels daily while the figures in the budget refers to just 2.7 million barrels a day. She wondered which figure should be adopted. And, MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan said he has submitted his resignation from the Assembly’s Legal and Legislative Committee because one of its members has legalized dealings with Israel. Duwaisan did not mention the name but a few months ago he made the allegations against Islamist MP Abdulrahman Al-Jeeran who later denied the allegations.

Abu Ghaith’s terror case a win for US civil courts NEW YORK: A jury’s conviction of the Al-Qaeda spokesman who warned Americans that the “storm of airplanes” would not stop after the Sept 11 attacks prompted Attorney General Eric Holder to claim victory for the civil court system, signaling terror suspects arrested in the future in the US or abroad will routinely face justice in civil courts rather than military tribunals. “This verdict has proven that proceedings such as these can safely occur in the city I am proud to call home, as in other locations across our great nation,” Holder said in a statement after a Manhattan jury Wednesday convicted 48-year-old Sulaiman Abu Ghaith of conspiring to kill Americans and aiding Al-Qaeda.

“It was appropriate that this defendant, who publicly rejoiced over the attacks on the World Trade Center, faced trial in the shadow of where those buildings once stood,” Holder said. Abu Ghaith, a Kuwaiti-born imam who married Bin Laden’s eldest daughter about five years ago, is the highest-ranking Al-Qaeda figure brought to trial on US soil since the Sept 11, 2001, attacks.

Prosecutors said he played a leading role in the terror organization’s post-9/11 propaganda videos, in which he and others gloated over the destruction.

He could get life in prison at sentencing Sept 8. Holder said the Obama administration never doubted the court system could administer swift justice. “It would be a good thing for the country if this case has the result of putting that political debate to rest,” he said. David Kelley, an attorney in private practice who served as US attorney in Manhattan under President George W Bush after successfully prosecuting 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind Ramzi Yousef, said the administration’s approach was somewhat vindicated by a trial that showed “it can and should be, in appropriate circumstances, done in civil courts.”

He said the trial should dispel the fears of big tribunal advocates, showing them they are “blowing a lot of hot air.” The conviction after six hours of deliberations came barely a year after Abu Ghaith was captured in Jordan and brought to New York, a transfer that drew some criticism that he was going to a civilian court. In November 2009, Holder announced that the attacks’ selfdescribed creator - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - would be tried in Manhattan courts, a decision he reversed in April 2011 against rising political opposition, saying families of victims of the attacks deserved swift justice.

Now, Mohammed and four Guantanamo detainees are unlikely to be tried in military tribunals before next year. US Attorney Preet Bharara said he hopes the verdict brings some comfort to the families of Al-Qaeda victims. “He was more than just Osama Bin Laden’s propaganda minister,” Bharara said. “Within hours after the devastating 9/11 attacks, Abu Ghaith was using his position in Al-Qaeda’s homicidal hierarchy to persuade others to pledge themselves to Al-Qaeda in the cause of murdering more

Americans.” Abu Ghaith’s lawyers had argued he was being prosecuted for his words and associations - not his deeds - and that there was no evidence tying him to terror plots that prosecutors suggested he knew about ahead of time.

After the verdict was read, Abu Ghaith smiled at a friend from Kuwait in the courtroom as he was led away. His attorney, Stanley Cohen, vowed to appeal, complaining that the judge had pressured the jury for a verdict and had barred the defense from calling Mohammed as a witness. In a written statement, Mohammed had said Abu Ghaith had no military role in Al-Qaeda. Cohen said prosecutors played to the worst fears of Americans with hundreds of mentions of Al-Qaeda and Sept 11. “For most New Yorkers and most people in this country, it is impossible to get beyond 9/11. It is impossible to get beyond the rhetoric and ignorance about the Middle East,” he said.

In the trial’s most dramatic testimony, Abu Ghaith described being summoned to a dark Afghanistan cave within hours of the destruction of the World Trade Center to confer with bin Laden, who told him: “We are the ones who did it.” Abu Ghaith testified that a worried bin Laden asked him how America would respond and he told him the US would set out “to kill you and topple the state of the Taleban.” Abu Ghaith said it was during that meeting that he agreed to a request from bin Laden to speak on the widely circulated videos that were used to recruit new followers willing to go on suicide missions like 9/11, in which 19 men hijacked four airliners. “The storm of airplanes will not stop,” Abu Ghaith warned in an October 2001 video played for the jury. — AP

Suleiman Abu Ghaith

Available at The Sultan Centre & Carrefour

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Philippines, Muslim rebels seal historic peace deal

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Saudi Prince named deputy crown prince

Pope, Obama find common ground, sharp divisions

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World execution toll rose in 2013

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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, a former intelligence chief in the conservative Islamic kingdom, has been appointed deputy crown prince, Saudi state television reported yesterday, making it more likely he will one day become king. The appointment makes Muqrin, the youngest son of the kingdom’s founder King Abdulaziz al-Saud, next in line to succeed in the world’s top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam after his half-brothers King Abdullah and Crown Prince Salman. “King Abdullah appoints Prince Muqrin as king in case the positions of king and crown prince become vacant,” al-Arabiya television said, quoting a statement from the royal court. The announcement gives more assurance to the kingdom’s long-term sucession Prince Muqrin process at a moment when sees bin Abdulaziz itself as being a lone island of stability amid conflict and political turmoil across the Middle East. King Abdullah turned 90 last year and Crown Prince Salman is 78. Muqrin was 70 last year.

Muqrin already holds the position of second deputy prime minister, a role to which he was appointed a year ago and was traditionally but informally seen as being equivalent to crown prince in waiting. — Reuters

CAIRO: Egyptian interim President Adly Mansour (right) shakes hands with Gen Sedki Sobhi as he swears in Sobhi as the new defense minister yesterday. The appointment of Sobhi came one day after Egyptian strongman Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi announced his much-anticipated presidential bid. — AP

Egypt army extends power by taking charge of Gulf aid CAIRO: Egypt’s army is taking charge of billions of dollars of development aid from the United Arab Emirates, an army official said, raising further doubts over the narrow separation of powers with the military backed administration in place since July. One of several Gulf states to shower Egypt with cash and petroleum products after the army ousted elected Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Mursi, the UAE also looked ahead, seeking to bolster a system that could keep Islamists it sees as an existential threat from running the most populous Arab state.

Alongside money to build clinics, schools and housing units, it offered to fund a project in Egypt’s strategic wheat sector-the construction of 25 wheat silos that could help the world’s biggest importer of the commodity lower its huge food bill.

Bread is a politically-explosive issue in Egypt-failure to deliver it at an affordable price has triggered major riots in the past and the government wants to boost its storage capacity to reduce its reliance on international markets. When army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi toppled Mursi after large demonstrations against what protesters said was inept government, he put in place an interim civilian cabinet meant to be at arm’s length from the military.

But Major General Taher Abdullah, who heads the

Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces, said when UAE officials discussed projects shortly after Morsi’s ouster, it was with the army. “They said, ‘we will support the Egyptian people but through the army-if the people want a hospital, the armed forces will build it,’” the 58-year-old career officer and engineer told Reuters in an interview. The army’s role in building construction became public earlier this month when UAE government-linked Dubai firm Arabtec’s announced it had inked a $40 billion deal with the military to build one million homes in Egypt. In the silos project, it has been acting behind the scenes.

Weekly meetings The army was not mentioned when a $4.9 billion UAE aid package for development and infrastructure schemes was announced in October. It included funds for the new silos, which the government says should help prevent the loss of 1.6 million tons - around half a billion dollars worth - of wheat a year. An official at Egypt’s state-run silos and storage company with knowledge of the wheat project told Reuters the interim government’s Investment Ministry launched a tender in January to choose a company to build four of the silos.

The estimated per-silo construction cost in the tender speci-

fications was nearly three times the cost projected by the UAE, according to the silos company source. The UAE told the Egyptian ministry to withdraw the tender, making clear that they would not release money until they saw more “suitable” prices in it, the source said. He said the UAE held a meeting at a Cairo hotel in early March, convening representatives from the three Egyptian ministries and the state silo company along with army officials. A trader with knowledge of the Egyptian wheat sector also said the UAE had rejected the January tender.

Sherif Oteifa, an adviser to the Investment Minister on “mega projects”, confirmed a tender was issued in January but said it had not been rejected. He said he hoped next week to have final clearance from the Emirates government to award contracts for construction of two of the silos. Officials estimate they will take about 18 months to build. Oteifa said the army had monitored the tendering process on a weekly basis. “We are happy with this, it makes the process go quicker. But the army will not be involved in construction: the bidders are public and private companies.” The UAE’s Egypt aid point man said recently Abu Dhabi had excellent cooperation with the interim government, which was reshuffled unexpectedly last month. — Reuters

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International FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Qatar jails Americans over daughter’s death Qatari sentenced to death DOHA: A Qatari court yesterday sentenced a US couple from Los Angeles to three years in prison for causing the death of their adopted eight-year-old daughter. Matthew and Grace Huang were arrested in January 2013 after their daughter Gloria from an orphanage in Ghana died. They were accused of causing her death in order to sell her organs. The court also ordered the couple to pay a fine of 15,000 riyals (4,100 dollars) each and to be deported after serving their sentence.

But reading the verdict, the judge did not specify the exact charges for which the Huangs were convicted. The couple who say the child had an eating disorder called on US President Barack Obama, who visits neighboring Saudi Arabia today, to intervene in the case. They have two weeks to appeal. “We have just been wrongfully convicted and we feel as if we are being kidnapped by the Qatar judicial system,” Matthew Huang said in a statement read to reporters outside the court.

“This verdict is wrong and appears to be nothing more than an effort to save face,” he said. “We are calling on United States President Obama to call the head of state in Qatar and explain to him why American families adopt high-needs children,” said Huang.

He said the ruling must be “overturned immediately and we should be allowed to go home.” Defense lawyer Eric Volz said the case was left in confusion and the charge unclear.

“The judge literally read a couple of sentences. There wasn’t much explanation given.

There’s still a lot of confusion as to how this is happening,” he said, adding that “the judge did not specify for what crime he was sentencing them.”

“We are asking how can someone be sentenced without being convicted?” “As far as we know they’ve not been ordered to go

and Matt” website said police accuse the couple of having adopted the children “in order to harvest their organs, or perhaps to perform medical experiments on them.” Gloria, their daughter, had “an eating disorder, a legacy of her impoverished childhood in Ghana, in which she would sometimes fast, binge-eat or steal food,” the website says.

The Huangs moved to Qatar in 2012 for Matthew, an engineer, to work on infrastructure projects linked to the 2022 football World Cup. Their supporters describe them as a loving family and say they have collected supporting testimony from people who knew them in Qatar, which authorities declined to accept.

DOHA: Matthew, left, and Grace Huang, an American couple charged with starving to death their 8-year-old adopted daughter, speak to the press outside the courthouse before their trial in Doha, Qatar, yesterday. —AP back to prison but we also were not told that they are not going back to prison,” said Volz, adding that the couple were very scared and awaiting clarification from the court.

The lawyer said the couple “came to the court thinking that they would be declared innocent. Matt and Grace even had plane tickets already paid for. “They thought they were gonna go home and be with their sons.”

The couple of Asian origin were released in November pending trial, but the court had

denied their request to leave the country to join their other two adopted children in the United States. The public prosecutor had pushed for the death penalty for the Huangs.

Huangs ‘misunderstood’ Both adoption and multiracial families are rare in Qatar, a conservative Gulf Arab emirate. The family’s supporters maintain Qatari authorities misunderstood the Huangs’ situation and found it suspicious. The “Free Grace

Death sentence In another development, a Doha court yesterday sentenced a Qatari national to death for the murder last year of 24-year-old British teacher Lauren Patterson, a judicial source said. A second Qatari, Mohammed Hasan Abdulaziz, was given three years in prison for aiding the first convict, Badr Khamis Abdullah Hashim in “burning the body of Lauren Patterson and erasing evidence” of the murder, the source said. The men were arrested after the teacher’s charred remains were found by campers near Doha.

Patterson, who taught at a primary school in Doha, was last seen leaving the night club of a luxury hotel with two men, British media had reported. Her body was found soon afterwards. In October, the interior ministry announced that Qatari security forces had made arrests over the murder, without giving details on the circumstances surrounding her death. According to rights group Death Penalty Worldwide, the last judicial killing in Qatar was in 2003 when a murderer was executed by firing squad. —Agencies

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International FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Turkey and Israel to mend fences KONYA: Turkey hopes to soon close a difficult chapter with Israel sparked by a deadly commando raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla of aid ships in 2010, Turkish foreign minister said. Nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists were killed in the Israeli assault, sparking a major crisis between the long-time regional allies and compensation claims from the victims’ families. In the diplomatic tussle since, “the gap between the expectations of the two sides is closing,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told AFP in an interview on Wednesday. “Progress has been made to a great extent, but the two sides need to meet again for a final agreement,” he said. Sticking points have been the amount of compensation and the legal status of the deal, but Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said earlier this week that an agreement would soon be signed.

He said that after Turkish local elections Sunday-seen as a major electoral test for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan-”our first job will be making sure the compensation is bound by a legal document”. Davutoglu also said that “an answer is expected from the Israeli side” to Turkey’s demands. “It is our preference, whether it will be before or after

the elections... We do whatever is right at the right time.” Turkish senior diplomat Feridun Sinirlioglu was in Israel in

February to discuss the terms of an agreement, aimed to normalise relations between the Jewish state and its once

ISTANBUL: Mustafa Sarigul (R), the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) candidate for the Istanbul city hall, and Aylin Kotil (L), Beyoglu district candidate, attend a campaign rally at Istiklal avenue in Istanbul yesterday.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, dogged by months of street protests and corruption claims, faces a key ballot box test when his Islamic-rooted party contests local elections on March 30, 2014. —AFP

closest Muslim ally.

The May 2010 Israeli assault on the Turkish ship the Mavi Marmara in international waters en route to Gaza sparked widespread condemnation and provoked a major diplomatic crisis between the two countries. Ankara expelled the Israeli ambassador, demanded a formal apology and compensation, and an end to the blockade on the Gaza Strip-which is ruled by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group. Talks on compensation began a year ago after Israel extended a formal apology to Turkey in a breakthrough brokered by US President Barack Obama.

In February, Erdogan said there would be no agreement without a written commitment by Israel to lift its restrictions on the Gaza Strip, a comment that led Israel to accuse him of blocking a compensation deal. Turkey’s foreign minister declined to comment on whether new ambassadors would likely be appointed as soon as an agreement is signed.

“What’s important is to reach an agreement,” Davutoglu said, speaking in his central home province of Konya. “The steps to be taken will be discussed when the agreement is made. “I can say there’s a positive momentum and a process in a positive direction.” —AFP

Pope, Obama find common ground, sharp divisions

Differences over abortion, birth control surface VATICAN CITY: Sharp differences over abortion and birth control surfaced as President Barack Obama held his first meeting yesterday with Pope Francis, even as the president sought to emphasize common ground issues like economic inequality during a muchanticipated Vatican visit. After Obama’s hourlong audience with the pope, the Vatican said discussions centered on questions of “particular relevance for the church in that country, such as the exercise of the rights to religious freedom, life and conscientious objection” - issues that have fueled divisions between Obama and Catholics in the US. But the Vatican statement also said the leaders discussed immigration reform, touching on an issue where Obama has largely enjoyed the support of America’s many Hispanic Catholics. The Vatican didn’t say whether those issues came up directly with Francis or in a subsequent meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Obama, for his part, emerged visibly energized from his audience with the pope, during which he expressed his great admiration and invited him to visit the White House.

“It is a great honor. I’m a great admirer,” Obama said after greeting the pope with a slight bow as they shook hands.

“Thank you so much for receiving me.”

Although Obama and the church remain deeply split over social issues, Obama considers the pontiff a kindred spirit on issues of inequality, and their private meeting in the Papal Library ran longer than scheduled.

After they emerged to cameras, Francis presented Obama with a copy of his papal mission statement decrying a global economic system that excludes the poor. Obama said he will keep it in the Oval Office. “You know, I

actually will probably read this when I’m in the Oval Office, when I am deeply frustrated and I am sure it will give me strength and will calm me down,” Obama said. “I hope,” the pope responded.

The president and pope both appeared tense at the start of the audience, when they initially greeted one another, but then were all smiles by the end of the meeting and seemed to have found a rapport, though they spoke through interpreters. Obama arrived at the Vatican amid all the pomp and tradition of the Catholic Church, making his way in a long, slow procession through the hallways of the Apostolic Palace led by colorful Swiss Guards and accompanied by ceremonial attendants. The president bowed as he shook hands with the pontiff in the Small Throne Room, before the two sat down at the pope’s desk, as is custom for a papal audience.

Open invitation Obama presented the pope with a seed chest with fruit and vegetable seeds used in the White House Garden, mentioning that he understands the pope is opening the gardens at the papal summer residence to the public. The chest was inscribed with the date of their meeting and custom-made of leather and reclaimed wood from the Baltimore Basilica - one of the oldest Catholic cathedrals in the US. “If you have a chance to come to the White House, we can show you our garden as well,” Obama said. “Why not?” the pope responded in his native Spanish.

Although the Vatican has not yet confirmed the trip, it is likely that Francis will travel to the US in September 2015 for the church’s World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

Popes have attended these family celebrations five of the past seven times they have been held, and Francis has put family issues at the forefront of his agenda.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has extended a formal and open invitation to the pope to address Congress when he visits the United States. As Obama departed, he said to the pope, “Muchas gracias.” Then in English he added: “Please pray for me and my family.” It was an echo of how Francis usually ends his meetings, asking for people to pray for him. As they met, the six-year president, with his sinking poll numbers, wouldn’t have been blamed for seeking some reflected glory from a pope who, one year into his pontificate, is viewed as an agent of change in the Roman Catholic Church. In Francis, the White House sees the popular pope and his emphasis on economic disparity as a form of moral validation of the president’s own economic agenda.

Obama meets Renzi “Given his great moral authority, when the pope speaks it carries enormous weight,” Obama said in an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera published ahead of his papal visit. “He can cause people around to the world to stop and perhaps rethink old attitudes and begin treating one another with more decency and compassion.” After leaving the Vatican midday, Obama made his way to Rome’s Quirinal Palace for a series of meetings with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

Later, Obama and Renzi were to take questions from the press together at Rome’s Villa Madama, a Renaissance-era villa said to be designed by Raphael. —AP

VATICAN CITY: This handout picture released by the Vatican press office shows Pope Francis (center) and US President Barack Obama exchanging gifts during a private audience at the Vatican. —AFP

Obama in Saudi as changes test decades-long alliance ROME: US President Barack Obama will aim today to reassure his Saudi hosts on the strength of their alliance, frayed by Washington’s diplomatic opening towards Iran and reluctance to use force in Syria.

Obama is expected late today in oil-rich Saudi Arabia, the fourth and final stop of a tour this week after the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy.

The White House was late to announce Obama’s stop in Riyadh, following his European tour, fuelling speculation on the motives of the US president’s second visit since his election in 2009 to Washington’s decades-old ally in the Middle East. Dating back to the end of World War II, the relationship was founded on an agreement for Washington to defend the Gulf state in exchange for oil contracts. OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia is the world’s top producer and exporter of oil. In 2012, it was still the second largest exporter to the United States, after Canada.

But relations have soured, with Riyadh openly criticizing US policy on regional issues, which are to be discussed at a meeting followed by dinner between King Abdullah and Obama. At the Arab League summit in Kuwait on Tuesday, Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz accused the international community of “betraying” Syrian rebels, outgunned in their war against President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. According to the Syrian opposition, Washington has imposed a veto on its allies against arming rebels with anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons, over fears they could fall into the hands of Islamist extremists. —AFP

International FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Ex-gang leader was praised as role model SAN FRANCISCO: A former gang leader with ties to San Francisco’s Chinatown who was praised for cleaning up his public image after serving more than a decade in prison now faces up to 95 years behind bars on moneylaundering and other charges.

The allegations against Raymond Chow - nicknamed Shrimp Boy - were outlined in an FBI criminal complaint that names 25 other defendants, including California Sen. Leland Yee and Keith Jackson, Yee’s campaign aide.

Recently, Chow, the leader of the San Franciscobased Ghee Kung Tong fraternal organization, had been held up as an example of successful rehabilitation.

The Sacramento Bee reported that Chow was commended by US Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in 2012 as a former offender who had become a community asset. He was also lauded by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee for his “willingness to give back to the community.”

But he is now accused of money laundering, con-

Home demolitions turning Detroit into blank canvas DETROIT: The families of Detroit’s Brightmoor area are delighted that the day is finally approaching when bulldozers will arrive to level more of their neighborhood. After that, their community’s future will be like the cleared landscape - a blank canvas. For years, Brightmoor residents pleaded with the city to demolish vacant homes that scavengers had stripped of wiring and plumbing and anything of value. Some structures are already gone, and now officials aim to do much more, possibly tearing down as many as 450 empty houses each week across more than 20 square miles (50 sq. kilometers) of this bankrupt city - a vast patchwork of rotting homes comparable to the size of Manhattan.

The huge demolition project holds the potential to transform large parts of Detroit into an urban-redevelopment laboratory like the nation has never seen. But community leaders here and in cities that have attempted similar transformations say Detroit’s best efforts could still wither from lack of money, lack of commitment or harsh economic realities. “What’s the plan for lots to keep them from becoming a different type of blight?” asked Tom Goddeeris, executive director of Grandmont Rosedale Development Corp., a nonprofit community improvement group representing a cluster of five Detroit neighborhoods. The ambitious demolition schedule was formally presented last month as part of the city’s plans to emerge from bankruptcy.

The changes could be far-reaching: Unlike other cities where building space is almost always limited, Detroit will offer urban planners a rare chance to experiment with wide-open land.

Neighborhood advocates are talking excitedly about creating urban gardens, farms, forests and other types of “green space.”

Brightmoor already has the Lyndon Greenway, which connects two large parks with smaller parks and bike paths. No other American city has as many abandoned properties as Detroit. But smaller-scale successes with similar green initiatives have been engineered in places such as Philadelphia and Cleveland.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philly Green program has converted roughly 10,000 vacant lots over the last two decades, making it the “gold standard,” said Joe Schilling, who directs the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech. Having a nongovernmental organization manage and design the effort, is a huge advantage, Schilling said. “To use a military metaphor, if you go in with your demolition forces and you’re trying to get a stronghold in a particular strategic place, you have to be able to stabilize it before you keep moving on in your campaign,” he said. “Otherwise, you’re going to go back in ... five years and removing all the trash.” An overall “urban greening” effort for Detroit would be costly, probably requiring money from both public and private sources. Philadelphia benefited from a $250 million bond issue that included about $12 million for greening efforts. Detroit isn’t in a financial position to issue bonds while in bankruptcy, Schilling said, but it could find other ways to offer an “infusion of resources.” The city proposes to tear down as many homes every week as were demolished in all of 2012 in Youngstown, Ohio, another city marred by abandoned buildings because of dwindling population and industry.—AP

spiracy to receive and transport stolen property, and conspiracy to traffic contraband cigarettes. In 1992, he was among more than two dozen people indicted on racketeering charges for their alleged involvement in crimes ranging from teenage prostitution to an international drug trade mostly involving heroin.

He also acknowledged in an unpublished autobiography that he ran prostitution rings in the 1980s, smuggled drugs and extorted thousands from business owners as a Chinatown gang member, KGO-TV reported two years ago.

He was later convicted of gun charges and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He spent 11 years in prison and was released in 2003 after he cut a deal with the government to testify against another high-ranking associate.

In federal court Wednesday, Chow appeared in handcuffs and civilian clothing, shackled at the waist along with 20 other defendants. He sat upright and

spoke with his public defender, Elizabeth Falk.

He was denied bail because he was deemed a flight risk and a danger to the public. The Department of Homeland Security has been trying to deport Chow, who is not a US citizen, since he was released from prison in 2005.

Chow and Yee were arrested Wednesday during a series of raids in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. The criminal complaint accuses Yee, a state politician who has authored gun control legislation, of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in cash and campaign contributions in exchange for providing official favors, influencing legislation and helping to broker an arms deal with an undercover FBI agent.

He or members of his campaign staff accepted at least $42,800 in cash or campaign contributions from undercover FBI agents in exchange for carrying out the agents’ specific requests, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday.—AP

World execution toll rose in 2013 Outside China, 80% of executions in Mideast LONDON: The number of known executions worldwide rose to at least 778 last year following a surge in Iraq and Iran, Amnesty International said yesterday, but China remains the world’s biggest state executioner by far. Beijing is thought to have killed thousands of its own citizens, more than the rest of the world put together, the London-based human rights organization said. But the charity’s annual report on death sentences and executions worldwide said the Chinese authorities “continue to treat the figures on death sentences and executions as a state secret”. “We need really to spotlight China’s secrecy around the death penalty,” Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty’s director of global issues said.

“The authorities in China said that since 2007 they have reduced the use of the death penalty. So our challenge to them is if you have, publish the data and show us,” she said. Although Beijing said in November it would reduce the number of crimes eligible for the death penalty from the current 55, it still led the top five countries using the death penalty in 2013, followed by Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United States. The rise in the known judicial uses of the death penalty-from at least 682 in 2012 — was chiefly due to Iraq and Iran, the report said.

Iran put at least 369 people to death in 2013, up from at least 314 in 2012, and Amnesty said there was credible evidence from sources in the country that at least 335 further executions were carried out in secret. Iraq executed at least 169 people in 2013, a sharp rise on the 40 given the death penalty in 2011 and 101 put to death in 2010, with death sentences there often passed after “grossly unfair trials”, the report said. “The virtual killing sprees we saw in countries like Iran and Iraq were shameful,” said Amnesty secretary general Salil Shetty. “But those states who cling to the death penalty are on the wrong side of history and are, in fact, growing more and more isolated. “Only a small number of

countries carried out the vast majority of these senseless state-sponsored killings.

They can’t undo the overall progress already made towards abolition.”

‘Enmity against God’ People were executed in 22 countries in 2013, one more than the previous year, although Indonesia, Kuwait, Nigeria and Vietnam all resumed use of the death penalty. But Shetty said that despite this, “the long-term trend is clear-the death penalty is becoming a thing of the past”.

Outside China, almost 80 percent of executions worldwide were carried out by Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Only five other countries have executed in each of the past five years: Bangladesh, North Korea, Sudan, the United States and Yemen. In the US last year, Maryland became the 18th abolitionist state, with Texas now accounting for 41 percent of all executions in the Americas.

In a separate list, of death sentences passed last year, Egypt was eighth, with at

least 109, but that figure may swell in next year’s report after an Egyptian court Monday sentenced 529 supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi to death-the largest mass sentencing in modern Egyptian history. Worldwide, people were executed for murder, drugrelated offences, adultery, blasphemy, economic crimes, rape, “aggravated” robbery, treason, collaboration with foreign entities, acts against national security, and, in Iran, enmity against God. The report said people were executed in Saudi Arabia for crimes committed while they were under 18, and possibly in Iran and Yemen too. Methods of execution included hanging, beheading, electrocution, shooting and lethal injection. Five Yemeni men were beheaded in Saudi Arabia before their corpses were hung from a pole between two cranes. “We urge all governments who still kill in the name of justice to impose a moratorium on the death penalty immediately, with a view to abolishing it,” Shetty said. — AFP

TEXAS: This May 27, 2008, file photo, shows the gurney in Huntsville, Texas, where Texas’ condemned are strapped down to receive a lethal dose of drugs.

A new report says the number of reported executions around the world rose almost 15 percent in 2013, and the United States was among the five countries putting the most people to death. — AP

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International FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Kim Dotcom launches New Zealand political party WELLINGTON: Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom, who is battling extradition to the United States, launched his own political party in New Zealand yesterday campaigning for a “free and fair” society.

The flamboyant German-born founder of the Megaupload file-sharing site claimed his Internet Party would “play an important role” in the general election scheduled for September. “This is a movement for the freedom of the Internet and technology, for privacy and political reform,” said the 40year-old, who is wanted in the United States to face online piracy charges.

US prosecutors say his now-defunct Megaupload sites netted more than

US$175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright-owners more than US$500 million by offering pirated copies of movies, TV shows and other content.

The entrepreneur, who denies any wrongdoing and is free on bail, said his party was for “people who haven’t voted before, who have been disappointed by voting, or who don’t like the political choices on offer”.

But the party launch had to compete with news coverage of revelations that Dotcom, who changed his name from Kim Schmitz, owned a signed copy of Adolf Hitler’s autobiography “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle). Dotcom denied claims it made

him a Nazi sympathiser and said he owned other World War II memorabilia including a cigar holder that once belonged to Britain’s Winston Churchill and a pen that belonged to Soviet leader Josef Stalin.

He linked publicity about the book to a “disgusting smear campaign” by New Zealand’s ruling National Party. Dotcom is a former computer hacker with a reputation for a colourful lifestyle. Police seized artworks and luxury cars, including a pink Cadillac, from his sprawling Auckland mansion when he was arrested in 2012.

Dotcom said his party was “a breath of fresh air, and a dose of common sense, for a tired and adversarial political system that

has lost touch with modern New Zealand and the Internet generation”.

The party’s guiding principles include “the delivery of faster, cheaper Internet to all New Zealanders, the creation of hightech jobs, the protection of privacy and the safeguarding of New Zealand’s independence,” Dotcom said.

But doubts have arisen over his initial plans to seek a way into parliament by aligning with an existing party, under New Zealand’s proportional voting system.

His most likely ally, the one-seat Mana Party, issued a statement this week listing several reasons why a campaign arrangement was not likely. —AFP

World’s ‘longest-serving’ death row inmate freed Sixth person since the end of WWII

TOKYO: A man believed to be the world’s longest-serving death row inmate walked free from jail yesterday after decades in solitary confinement, in a rare about-face for Japan’s rigid justice system.

A slightly unsteady-looking Iwao Hakamada, 78, emerged from the Tokyo prison with his campaigning sister after Shizuoka District Court in central Japan ordered a fresh trial over the grisly 1966 murder of his boss and the man’s family.

Presiding judge Hiroaki Murayama said he was concerned that investigators

is heavily skewed in prosecutors’ favour.

Hakamada is the sixth person since the end of World War II to receive a retrial after having a death sentence confirmed, and his case will bolster opponents of capital punishment.

Of the past five former death-row inmates who received retrials in Japan, four were subsequently cleared. Higher courts threw out a retrial motion for the fifth prisoner, although his lawyers have submitted a fresh request for a retrial with new evidence.

After his arrest, Hakamada initially

TOKYO: Hideko Hakamada (front centre R), sister of former boxer Iwao Hakamada who has been on death row in Japan for 48 years, speaks to supporters of Iwao outside the Sizuoka District Court in Shizuoka, western Tokyo yesterday. —AFP could have planted evidence to win a conviction almost half a century ago as they sought to bring closure to a crime that had shocked the country.

“There is a possibility that (key pieces of) evidence have been fabricated by investigative bodies,” Murayama said in his ruling. Shizuoka prosecutors, who have three days to appeal the decision, told Japanese media that the court’s decision was “unexpected”.

Apart from the United States, Japan is the only major industrialised democracy to carry out capital punishment, a practice that has led to repeated protests from European governments and human rights groups, who say the justice system

denied accusations that he robbed and killed his boss, the man’s wife and their two children before setting their house ablaze. But the former boxer, who worked for a bean-paste maker, later confessed following what he subsequently claimed was a brutal police interrogation that included beatings.

He retracted his confession, but to no avail, and the supreme court confirmed his death sentence in 1980.

Doubts over evidence Prosecutors and courts had used blood-stained clothes, which only emerged a year after the crime and his arrest, as key evidence to convict

Hakamada. The clothes did not fit him, his supporters said. The blood stains appeared too vivid for evidence that was discovered so long after the crime. Later DNA tests found no link between Hakamada, the clothes and the blood stains, his supporters said.

But the now-frail Hakamada remained in solitary confinement on death row, regardless. His supporters and some lawyers, including the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, have loudly voiced their doubts about the evidence, the police investigations and the judicial logic that led to the conviction.

Even one of the judges who originally sentenced Hakamada to death in 1968 has said he was never convinced of the man’s guilt, but could not sway his judicial colleagues who out-voted him.

Japan has a conviction rate of around 99 percent and claims of heavy-handed police interrogations persist under a long-held belief that a confession is the gold standard of guilt.

The decision to grant Hakamada a retrial came as Amnesty International issued its annual review of reported executions worldwide, which showed Japan killed eight inmates in 2013, the ninthlargest national tally in the world.

Hakamada’s sister Hideko, 81, who has passionately campaigned for a retrial for decades, thanked dozens of supporters who gathered in front of the court house. “Everyone, really, really thank you,” she said through a loud speaker in front of hordes of journalists and supporters. “This happened thanks to all of you who helped us. I am just so happy.”

Hakamada seems to have developed psychological illnesses after decades in solitary confinement, Hideko told AFP in an interview last year. “What I am worried about most is Iwao’s health. If you put someone in jail for 47 years, it’s too much to expect them to stay sane,” Hideko said in the interview.

Amnesty, which has championed Hakamada’s cause and says he is the world’s longest-serving death row detainee, called on prosecutors to respect the court’s decision.

“It would be most callous and unfair of prosecutors to appeal the court’s decision,” said Roseann Rife, the organisation’s East Asia research director. —AFP

BANGKOK: Anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban (C) waves to supporters during a rally in downtown Bangkok yesterday. Anti-government protesters have resumed daily marches through Bangkok to build up support after a general election held last month was declared invalid. —AFP

Thai PM loses bid to delay hearing BANGKOK: Thailand’s anti-corruption authorities rejected a request yesterday by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to extend a deadline to defend herself against negligence charges that could see her banned from politics.

Yingluck has been summoned to appear before the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) by Monday. Her legal team asked the panel for 45 more days to prepare its case, according to one of her lawyers, Norrawit Larlaeng.

“They did not allow it because they said our reasons were not logical and we have had enough time already,” he told AFP. Yingluck has been charged in connection with a rice subsidy scheme, and could face an impeachment vote in the upper house of parliament within weeks.

The NACC says that Yingluck was warned of corruption allegations and financial losses linked to the flagship policy but failed to take action.

Norrawit said the defence team had been denied the chance to review the evidence against her.

“The prime minister feels the investigation against her has been rushed and it is unfair as we cannot see the evidence,” he said.

The kingdom has been deeply divided since a military coup in 2006 that ousted Yingluck’s brother Thaksin Shinawatra, a tycoon-turned-politician who lives in Dubai to avoid prison for a corruption conviction.

Supporters of the Shinawatra family, known as the “Red Shirts”, have warned they will not accept the removal of another democratically elected government.

The Red Shirts’ street rallies against the previous government in 2010 resulted in bloody street clashes and a military crackdown that left dozens dead.

Yingluck has faced nearly five months of street demonstrations by rival protesters backed by the anti-Thaksin royalist establishment.

The opposition demonstrators want to remove the premier from office and install an unelected “people’s council” to oversee political reforms.—AFP

International FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Australia set to return ancient statues to India SYDNEY: Australia is preparing to return two centuries-old statues to India, officials said yesterday, following allegations they were stolen from ancient sites and sold as part of an audacious art fraud.

The National Gallery of Australia’s bronze sculpture of a dancing Shiva, purchased in 2008 from New York art and antiquities dealer Subhash Kapoor, was pulled from display in Canberra on Monday.

A lesser work also linked to Kapoor, the Ardhanariswara idol held by the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, has also been removed, the Attorney-General’s Department said in a statement.

India requested the works’ return on Friday and Australia, as a signatory to a UNESCO convention on the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property, will implement its obligations under its Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act, it said.

“The Indian government’s request is being actioned in accordance with that Act,” the statement said.

The request from India follows a decision by the National Gallery of Australia to sue Kapoor, his firm Art of the Past, and former manager Aaron Freedman in New York’s Supreme Court over the purchase.

The NGA has claimed that Kapoor and his company “fraudulently induced” the Canberra-based gallery to buy the statue for US$5 million through forged certifications about its provenance and history.

Kapoor, who is in prison in India where he also faces charges, claimed the statue had been sold to him by the wife of a diplomat, the gallery said. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

In a statement published on its website this week, the NGA said it researched the work for a year before acquiring it and followed measures consistent with

international best practice for museums.

“If the allegations regarding Mr Kapoor are proven to be true, then our gallery, along with leading museums around the world, will have been the victim of a most audacious act of fraud,” it said.

“If proven, this fraud has involved the elaborate falsification of documents by a long-established New York art dealer who had been dealing with leading international museums for almost 40 years.”

The gallery said the Shiva was a superb example of Indian Chola-period bronze casting which originated in the Tamil Nadu region of south India and is dated to the 11th-12th century. The statue is one of 21 items Australia’s premier art gallery purchased from Kapoorcomprising a third of all the India works on its books.

The NGA said it was reconsidering its acquisition procedures in light of the case. — AFP

Philippines, Muslim rebels seal historic peace deal

YANGON: International staffs of non-governmental organizations “Save the Children” get in to a taxi upon arriving in domestic airport in Yangon from Sittwe, yesterday following Buddhist-led mobs tore through streets hurling stones at the offices and residences of international aid workers in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state yesterday, prompting the evacuation of staff members. — AP

Myanmar Buddhist mobs attack aid workers’ homes YANGON: Buddhist-led mobs tore through streets hurling stones at the offices and residences of international aid workers in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state yesterday, prompting the evacuation of some staff members, residents and officials said.

There were no immediate indications anyone was hurt in the violence, which started in the state capital, Sittwe, late Wednesday and picked up again early yesterday, with angry crowds swelling in size from several hundred to more than 1,000.

At least one building was looted and three cars damaged, officials said on condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation. Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million, emerged from a half-century of military rule in 2011. But newfound freedoms of expression that accompanied its transition to democracy have given voice to religious hatred, causing violence that has left up to 280 people dead and sent another 140,000 fleeing their homes.

Most of the victims have been members of the long-persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, many of whom have lived in the country for generations but are denied citizenship by national law.

Aid groups that have been providing care for the displaced have faced threats and intimidation. Last month, Doctors Without Borders, one of the biggest lifelines for the displaced, was expelled from Rakhine state in part because its staff included Rohingya.

Tensions in Rakhine have been soaring ahead of a national census - the first in 30 years - with many Buddhist ethnic Rakhine saying members of the religious minority should not be allowed to identify themselves as Rohingya on the survey.—AP

MANILA: The biggest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines signed an historic pact yesterday to end one of Asia’s longest and deadliest conflicts, promising to give up their arms for an autonomous homeland.

Following four decades of fighting that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed the peace deal with President Benigno Aquino’s government at a highprofile ceremony in Manila.

“The comprehensive agreement on Bangsamoro is the crowning glory of our struggle,” MILF chairman Murad Ebrahim said at the signing ceremony, using a local term that refers to a Muslim homeland.

“With this agreement the legitimate aspirations of the Bangsamoro and the commitment of the government of the Philippines to recognise those aspirations are now sealed.” The pact makes the MILF and the government partners in a plan to create a southern autonomous region for the Philippines’ Muslim minority with locally elected leaders by mid-2016.

“What is being presented before us now is a path that can lead to a permanent change in Muslim Mindanao,” Aquino said at the ceremony, attended by more than 1,000 people. The Bangsamoro region would cover about 10 percent of territory in the mainly Catholic Philippines. The planned region has a majority of Muslims, but there are clusters of Catholic-dominated communities.

Muslim rebels have been battling since the 1970s for independence or autonomy in the southern islands of the Philippines, which they regard as their ancestral homeland dating back to when Arabic traders arrived there in the 13th Century.

The conflict has condemned millions of people across large parts of the resourcerich Mindanao region to brutal poverty, plagued by Muslim and Christian warlords as well as outbreaks of fighting that has led to mass displacements.

The conflict also created fertile conditions for Islamic extremism, with the AlQaeda linked Abu Sayyaf group and other hardline militants making remote regions of Mindanao their strongholds.

The MILF, which the military estimates has 10,000 fighters, is easily the biggest Muslim rebel group in Mindanao, and the political settlement was greeted with relief and optimism in the south.

“I am really happy. In the face of all the hardship of our parents, we the next generation hope and pray that Christians and Muslims will have peace,” Mona Rakman, 42, a mother of four who lives close to the MILF headquarters, told AFP. The autonomous region would have its own police force, a regional parliament and power to levy taxes, while revenues from the region’s vast deposits of natural resources would be split with the national government.

It would have a secular government, rather than being an Islamic state. The national government would retain control over defence, foreign policy, currency and citizenship. There are about 10 million Muslims in the Philippines, roughly 10 percent of the population, according to government statistics. Most live in the south of the country.

Fragile peace However there are no guarantees the peace deal will be implemented by the middle of 2016, a crucial deadline as that is when Aquino is required by the constitution to end his six-year term.

Aquino needs to convince Congress to pass a “basic law” to create the Bangsamoro autonomous region, ideally by the end of this year to allow time for other steps such as a local plebiscite.

But even though Aquino enjoys record-

high popularity ratings, there are concerns politicians could reject or water down the proposed law. Powerful Christian politicians in Mindanao are regarded as potential deal breakers, while others elsewhere may see political advantage in opposing the deal to appeal to some Catholics ahead of the 2016 national elections.

The deal is also likely to be challenged in the Supreme Court, which in 2008 struck down a planned peace deal the MILF had negotiated with Aquino’s predecessor, Gloria Arroyo.

Islamic militants opposed to the peace deal are another threat, and could continue to create enduring violence in Mindanao. Among the potential spoilers is the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), an MILF splinter group of a few hundred militants that has carried out deadly attacks in the south in recent years.

“We will continue to fight against the government of the Republic of the Philippines because we are for independence and nothing else,” BIFF spokesman Abu Missry Mama told AFP by phone from his southern hideout.

The MILF leadership has committed to working with the government to neutralise the threat of the BIFF. However the MILF will not give up its arms or the identities of its fighters until the basic law has been passed, highlighting the fragility of Thursday’s peace deal.—AFP

MANILA: Philippine President Benigno Aquino, center right, welcomes Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, left, during a courtesy call at Malacanang palace in Manila, yesterday, before the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro at the Malacanan Palace in Manila yesterday. — AP

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International FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Negotiator ‘confident’ over Pakistan Taleban ceasefire ISLAMABAD: A negotiator for the Pakistani Taleban said Thursday he was “confident” the militants would extend their month-long ceasefire, following a first round of direct talks with the government.

The government began negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP) through intermediaries last month to try to end the Islamists’ bloody seven-year insurgency.

On Wednesday a four-member government committee comprising three civil servants and a former diplomat held their first meeting with members of the TTP’s political council in North Waziristan tribal district.

Few details have emerged from Wednesday’s talks but extending a Taleban ceasefire-declared to help the peace process but due to expire next week-was seen as a top priority.

Professor Muhammad Ibrahim, a member of the Taleban’s original negotiating committee who attended Wednesday’s session said he was hopeful this would be achieved.

“We are confident that the ceasefire will be extended,” he told AFP. “Our efforts will be to ensure that there is a permanent ceasefire.” Ibrahim said the two sides were trying to build confidence in one another and would meet for more talks in “the next few days”.

The TTP has also asked the government to release around 300 people including women and children it says are being held despite being “non-combatants”.

There have been suggestions that highprofile figures held by the militants, including the son of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, could be freed in return.

‘Dancing around the issues’ The peace talks were a key campaign pledge for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif before he was elected to office for a third time last year.

But some analysts have voiced scepticism about their chances for success, given the Taleban’s demands for nation wide sharia law and a withdrawal of troops from the lawless tribal zones.

Hasan Askari, a leading security and political analyst, said that even after stepping up talks to the “direct” level, the discussions were still stuck on procedural matters and “dancing around the critical issues”.

Regional deals struck in the past between the military and the Taleban have failed and some have accused the militants of using them as a means to regroup and rearm.

Askari said he expected the TTP to extend

their ceasefire to avoid the army launching a ground offensive against its strongholds in North Waziristan-an operation many had been predicting earlier in the year.

“But the question is how will they address the key issue-peace on what terms, and secondly will the Taleban agree to give up violent activities and work within the framework of constitution?” Askari said.

“This they are not likely to accept because it will mean losing their identity, and they will have to work as a political party.”

Attacks claimed by splinter factions have continued during talks and despite the Taleban ceasefire, further undermining the process. Two separate bomb attacks on March 14 killed 19 people, while a major gun and suicide bomb attack on an Islamabad court complex left 11 dead just two days after the TTP announced its ceasefire. —AFP

UN rights council launches Sri Lanka war crimes probe ‘This resolution hurts our reconciliation efforts’ GENEVA: The UN Human Rights Council yesterday launched an inquiry into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, despite Colombo’s fierce efforts to block an investigation.

In a 23-12 vote, the council backed a Western-sponsored resolution which said it was time for a “comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka”.

Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ravinatha Aryasinha, slammed the resolution as a “serious breach of international law”, telling the council it constituted “an infringement of state sovereignty and pre-judgement of the outcome of domestic processes.”

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse also condemned the vote. “We reject this,” Rajapakse told AFP in Sri Lanka. “This resolution only hurts our reconciliation efforts. It does not help.

“But I am not discouraged. We will continue with the reconciliation process I have started,” he said.

Rajapakse, who has tightened his grip on power after crushing the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, has argued that he is being unfairly targeted by Western nations.

But they question the credibility of his efforts to come clean on the past and to stem what they say are ongoing rights violations.

“The human rights situation in Sri Lanka continues to deteriorate, despite some areas of limited progress,” US envoy Paula Schriefer told the council as she presented the resolution.

She highlighted concern over sexual violence, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture, violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, and threats to judicial independence and the rule of law.

Allegations She also cited intimidation of and reprisals against human rights campaigners, lawyers and journalists, and attacks

on minority groups, including Muslims, Christians, and Hindus.

Sri Lankan ambassador Aryasinha countered that such allegations were biased, and being driven by pro-Tiger activists around the world.

“Such biases and extreme ideologies ignore the ground realities, the legitimate aspirations of the Sri Lankan people, and trivialise the price paid by all Sri Lankans to defeat a 30-year brutal terrorist conflict

country’s own truth and reconciliation process.

UN monitors say that thousands of ethnic Tamils died in the army’s final offensive that ended the Tigers’ fight for an independent state.

Pillay had told the council on Wednesday that it was crucial to recall the “magnitude and gravity” of the violations allegedly committed by both the government and the rebels, who were

GUMLA: Chief Minister of the western Indian state of Gujarat and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi (C) waves to supporters alongside former chief minister Arjun Munda (2L) and Jamshedpur Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Raghuwar Das (R) during an election rally in Gumla in India’s Jharkhand state yesterday. — AFP

Rural heartland turns to Modi

COLOMBO: In this March 26, 2014 file photo Sri Lankan government supporters shout slogans against the US and UN during a demonstration in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The UN’s top human rights body has approved yesterday, an international criminal investigation into alleged abuses in Sri Lanka’s civil war, which ended in 2009. —AP and consolidate peace,” he said.

The resolution noted that UN rights chief Navi Pillay had herself demanded an “international inquiry mechanism in the absence of a credible national process with tangible results”.

Pillay’s office will now be tasked with investigating events between 2002 and 2009 — a time-frame criticised by Sri Lanka as being too short, but which its critics note is the period covered by the

known for their trademark suicide bombings.

The 1972-2009 conflict claimed 100,000 lives, according to a UN estimate. Sri Lanka has locked horns with Pillay in the past. When she visited the country last year, she hit out at Sri Lankan officials who spotlighted the fact that while she is a South African, she hails from that country’s Indian Tamil community. —AFP

ALWAR: Jitendra Saini stares at the gleaming solar panels on his farm in Rajasthan, paid in large part by the ruling Congress party, as he considers who will get his vote in India’s election.

“We will be voting for Modi... because Modi knows what real development is,” said Saini, 30, as he sat on the porch of his new two-storey home with his family.

Saini’s income has increased five-fold in the last three years thanks to the heavily subsidised panels which power a drip irrigation system that waters rows of lush vegetables in giant hothouses.

Extra income from the vegetables enabled Saini to build the house, send his children to good schools and buy new machinery for the farm that lies around 160 kilometres (100 miles) outside Delhi.

But Saini’s declaration of support for the main opposition candidate Narendra Modi is an indicator of how popularity for Congress is ebbing away even in its rural heartland, despite its raft of pro-farmer policies during a decade in power.

On Wednesday, Congress released its manifesto for the national election that starts on April 7, pledging to pull millions more out of poverty, in a last ditch bid to win over voters.

“The future of India is the poor people of India... they are sitting in the villages, they are sitting in the small towns and these are the people that the Congress party works for,” Congress frontman Rahul Gandhi said.

Saini’s 20-hectare (49-acre) farm, which also grows wheat and mustard seeds, has been in the family for generations. But as he looks to the future, Saini said his family needs opportunities, not welfare programme. —AFP

Business FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Baselworld ticks with watchmakers

IMF okays $14-18bn bailout for Ukraine PAGE 22

PAGE 21

FRANKFURT: A terminal is almost empty as public employees of the Frankfurt airport went on a warning strike for higher wages yesterday. — AP

Strike grounds hundreds of flights in Germany Germany’s Air Berlin in recapitalization talks FRANKFURT: Air passengers in Germany faced delays, disruption and hundreds of flight cancellations across the country yesterday as ground staff, baggage handlers and maintenance workers walked out over pay. But Fraport, the company which operates Germany’s biggest airport in Frankfurt, insisted that the situation for passengers was far from chaotic because passengers had been warned in advance and were able to make alternative travel arrangements.

Lufthansa, Germany’s biggest airline and hardest hit by the strike, on Wednesday announced that it would cancel around 600 of its European and domestic flights until 2:00 pm (1300 GMT).

In Frankfurt alone-Lufthansa’s hubFraport said some 550 flights had been cancelled out of a total of 1,300 scheduled morning arrivals and departures. The strikes are being organized by the giant services sector union Verdi and follows a series of walkouts in a number of public service sectors, such as local transport networks, in recent weeks. “Workers are sending a clear signal to employers,” a union

spokeswoman told AFP. Verdi is seeking pay increases of 100 euros ($137) a month for 2.1 million employees in regional and municipal public service sectors, plus an additional pay hike of 3.5 percent.

According to employers’ calculations, this amounts to an overall pay increase of 7.0 percent.

Public transport hit Strikes have brought public transport networks to a standstill for two days in row in regional states such as Berlin, Hamburg, Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg. Other services, such as kindergartens, have also been affected. Despite yesterday’s walkouts at airports, however, the situation appears to be calm and airlines insist that the impact so far has remained limited. Air Berlin, Germany’s second biggest airline, listed only a small number of six cancellations of flights from the major airports on its website.

Air France also said it would not be greatly affected with just a single flight to Cologne-Bonn airport cancelled so far. And

Italy’s Alitalia said it did not expect any disruptions. “It’s all very calm. The airport and the airlines have mobilized additional staff to help passengers,” a Fraport spokesman said.

The pay of more than 9,000 Fraport employees is aligned to public service sector agreements. A spokesman for Munich airport, the country’s second-biggest, said 130 flights had been cancelled so far, mostly by Lufthansa. In order to limit the anticipated chaos, airlines have been advising passengers to check online before travelling. And Fraport has advised passengers booked on the cancelled flights not to bother turning up at all. National rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, is mobilizing additional staff to cope with the expected increase in rail traffic as air passengers take the train instead.

Under an agreement between the rail operator and the airlines, passengers holding valid tickets for domestic flights on Lufthansa, Germanwings or Air Berlin can swap them for train tickets. While Verdi is planning further action today, “the biggest

walkouts are over and airports will not be affected” tomorrow, a union spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, German airline Air Berlin said it was in talks for a recapitalization to strengthen its finances, as it announced it was again postponing publication of its annual results. “The company is continuing its discussions on those measures with certain shareholders and finance providers,” Germany’s second largest airline after Lufthansa said in a statement late on Wednesday. Air Berlin, which built up debt after expanding too rapidly, had said last week it was in advanced talks over options that would have a substantial impact, sparking speculation over a possible move

by Etihad to gain bigger control over the carrier. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad owns 29.2 percent of Air Berlin while Turkey’s Sabanci family own a 12 percent stake. The German airline had already last week pushed back to March 27 publication of its annual results, which analysts on average expect to show a 2013 operating loss of 120 million euros ($165 million). — Agencies

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Business FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Iran fuel price hikes big test for Rouhani Serious unrest unlikely but hardliners may gain ANKARA: Looming fuel price rises in Iran will be the first major test of President Hassan Rouhani’s ability to retain public support in the face of attacks from his hardline rivals. Since he was elected in August, Rouhani has pleased many Iranians by reaching an interim agreement with the United States and the European Union on his country’s nuclear program, and pursuing a deal that would end economic sanctions against Iran.

He has promised more social freedoms and repaired some of the economic damage of the sanctions; the rial currency has stabilized and sky-high inflation has started to come down. But this could be threatened if Rouhani’s government mishandles planned cuts in the massive state subsidies which keep domestic prices of gasoline and other fuels far below global levels.

The cuts are a key part of Rouhani’s efforts to reform the economy after years of erratic management under his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

But they will be painful for many Iranians and therefore eat into Rouhani’s political capital, which he needs to overcome domestic resistance to a nuclear deal. “People voted for Rouhani in the hope that he would decrease their living costs, not increase them,” said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the United States.

A senior western diplomat in Tehran said the announcement of Rouhani’s plan to cut subsidies had already caused concern across Iranian society, from government employees to businessmen and even some clerics. Some people have begun stockpiling food. “Cutting subsidies will put more pressure on those who voted for Rouhani. It will have a negative impact on the alreadyhigh inflation and price of goods,” the diplomat said. “It will be a litmus test of Rouhani’s political strength and also his popularity since his election.”

Budget Iranian motorists now pay only around 7,000 rials for gasoline, equivalent to $0.28 a liter at the central bank’s official exchange rate, or $1.27 a gallon.

Rouhani’s cash-strapped government wants to slash the subsidies to free up

money for investment in Iran’s dilapidated infrastructure, reduce government borrowing from banks so they can lend to the private sector, and encourage energy efficiency.

Ahmadinejad first cut fuel subsidies in 2010 but this sent inflation soaring, and parliament blocked the second stage of his reform in 2012, complaining that the first stage had tripled prices of electricity and cooking gas. In the afterglow of his election, Rouhani commands much greater support in parliament, which in February he was able to persuade to back subsidy reform in principle.

But the response of the public, which has struggled through a recession triggered by the sanctions, may not be as calm, since the benefits of subsidy reform may take months or years to emerge while the pain will be felt immediately. “I have economic problems already. I try to go home late at night to avoid seeing my children, because as a father I cannot even meet their very basic demands,” said teacher Ahmad Hashemi.

“If the government increases the fuel price, everything will become more expensive. Don’t they see that?” the father of three said from the northern city of Sari. The official inflation rate rose above 40 percent under Ahmadinejad; Rouhani has said bringing it down is a priority, and the rate has dropped below 35 percent as his administration has introduced more conservative monetary and fiscal policies. Temporarily at least, subsidy reform could undo that progress.

“We are buying cooking oil and rice because as soon as they start to cut fuel subsidies, the prices will go higher,” said government employee Ali Alami in the holy Shiite city of Qom. Over 15 percent of the country’s workforce is unemployed and many jobs pay a pittance. “I like Mr Rouhani and I believe in him. But that is not the issue. I cannot practically and financially support my family with my 8.8 million rials (about $350) monthly,” said retired government employee Asghar Abdolhoseini in Isfahan.

Serious unrest in response to fuel price hikes looks unlikely, partly because of the power of the security forces. But public discontent could weaken Rouhani in his struggle with hardline

politicians who opposed his election, and who may want to block any nuclear deal. These politicians include some members of parliament, commanders in the Revolutionary Guards and conservative clerics. The support of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has so far shielded Rouhani from their opposition, but that could change if the subsidy reforms arouse public anger.

Timetable Because of the risks, Rouhani’s administration has been cagey about the extent and timing of the fuel price hikes. Iranian media reports, based on vague and sometimes contradictory statements by government officials, have suggested the price of gasoline will double to 14,000 rials a liter. The Tehran-e Emrouz daily predicted last month that the average price hike for gasoline, diesel and other fuels might be around 87 percent, saving the government $9.9 billion annually.

Iran does not release comprehensive numbers for its state budgets, so calculating the impact of that saving is difficult. But Rouhani’s budget for the fiscal year that began on March 21 envisages spending on government operations excluding items such as the activities of state enterprises - of $77.1 billion. Media reports suggest the fuel price hikes could occur in June or July, though the government might wait until after late July, when it hopes to reach a nuclear deal with the West.

Implementing the hikes would be easier if sanctions were being eased as part of a nuclear agreement, which would trigger fresh private sector investment in the country. Some reports suggest the government may initially choose to soften the impact on the poor by keeping the smart cards which allow lower-income Iranians to buy a ration of 60 liters of subsidized gasoline each month at just $0.16 per liter. Some believe Rouhani’s subsidy reforms have already begun by stealth; prices of electricity and other utilities have risen in some areas over recent months. “He has no other option,” said Saeed Ghazian, a private economist in Tehran. “This much-needed economic surgery will be painful, but it will save the patient’s life.” —Reuters

SYNDEY: A file photo shows Colin Pitchfork, a consultant at Noble Numismatics, holding the only known specimen of the first official banknote issued in Australia in 1817. —AFP

Australia’s first banknote fetches $334,000 SYDNEY: The only surviving example of Australia’s first official banknote exceeded expectations when it was auctioned for Aus$334,000 ($310,000), officials said yesterday.

The 10 shilling note-one of 100 issued in 1817 by the Bank of New South Wales (now called Westpac) on the day it opened-attracted bids from around the world, said Jim Noble of Noble Numismatics, which handled the sale.

“It’s a record for a colonial banknote,” he told AFP. “It will stay in Australia (but) I’ve no idea what the gentleman who bought it plans to do, he’s a high up executive in a big organization. “It would be exciting to see it on public display, it’s a great thing.” The auction price easily exceeded its Aus$250,000 estimate, with Noble attributing the interest to its unique historical value.

“It’s the only one of its kind, even Westpac does not have one.” Noble said the note was discovered in a private collection in Scotland in 2005, with Scots-born former New South Wales governor Lachlan Macquarie or one of his staff thought to have taken it there. It was later bought by a private collector who sold it at Wednesday night’s auction. Macquarie arrived in Sydney at the end of 1809 to be confronted by a colony in crisis with no stable monetary system since the First Fleet landed in 1788.

As the new governor, he was given extensive powers to reshape the colony, but despite this his first request to London to establish a bank was rejected. In 1812, to alleviate the shortage of currency, he imported £10,000 in Spanish coins from India and in 1813 manufactured and issued the “Holey Dollar” one of which sold at auction for a world-record Aus$495,000 last year. But it was not sufficient and in 1816 he revived his plan for a bank, this time getting London’s approval, and on April 8, 1817 the Bank of New South Wales opened for business. —AFP

ME funds ready to buy equities on dips

PAMPLONA: A riot police officer arrests a student during the second day of protests, in Pamplona northern Spain, yesterday. Hundreds of Spanish students took part in a general strike to protest government education reform and cutbacks plan. —AP

DUBAI: Middle East fund managers are willing to buy most of the region’s main equity markets on dips, believing corporate earnings and balance sheets will continue improving this year, a monthly Reuters survey shows. Markets retreated early this month as retail investors rushed to take profits during the worst of the geopolitical uncertainty over Ukraine. Dubai’s bourse fell 6.7 percent from its peak close to its trough. Qatar’s bourse dropped 3.8 percent.

But many fund managers said they did not view the pull-back as a sign of long-term vulnerability in the markets, but as an opportunity created by natural volatility.

“We welcomed the panic selling in Qatari and UAE equities during March,” said Akber

Khan, director of asset management at Qatar’s Al-Rayan Investment. “It offered attractive entry points for a number of companies with strong market positions, solid balance sheets and impressive cash flows.” The survey of 15 leading investment managers, conducted over the past 10 days, found 47 percent of them expected to raise their equity allocations to the Middle East over the next three months, while only 13 percent expected to reduce them.

That was down slightly from the results of last month’s survey, when 53 percent - a fourmonth high - expected to raise their equity allocations and none expected to reduce them. “I expect markets to do well as local economic catalysts are solid and corporate

performance remains strong,” said John Sfakianakis, chief investment strategist at Saudi Arabian investment firm MASIC. The survey showed a significant shift in fund managers’ view of fixed income, however, after US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen made comments last week which were interpreted to mean interest rate hikes could come in about a year’s time, sooner than anticipated. Only 7 percent of managers expect to increase their allocations to Middle East fixed income in the next three months, while 20 percent expect to cut them. That compares with a positive ratio of 20 percent and a negative one of 13 percent in last month’s survey. —Reuters

Business FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Baselworld show ticks with

watchmakers BASEL: Baselworld, the showcase for watchmakers, opened on a bright note yesterday, with industry leaders seeing a rise in global demand despite a sharp slowdown for expensive watches in China. “We are confident for 2014,” Jean-Daniel Pasche, head of the Swiss Watch Industry Federation, told AFP a day before the world’s largest watch fair opened to the public. Francois Thiebaud, who heads the Swiss Exhibitors Committee, agreed. “The year has gotten off to a good start,” he told reporters, pointing out that Swiss watch exports swelled 5.6 percent in January and a full 7.0 percent last month.

In 2013, Swiss watch exports edged up 1.9 percent to a record 21.8 billion Swiss francs ($24.1 billion, 17.8 billion euros). That marked a record high, but also a significant slowdown in growth, after exports a year earlier surged by nearly 11 percent. Swiss watchmakers, especially in the high-end segment, have been hard-hit by a drop in demand in China, one of their biggest markets which has driven breathtaking growth for several years.

But the bonanza suddenly lost its spring last year as Beijing attempted to rein in corruption, including bans on extravagant gifts in business settings, sending Swiss watch exports to the country down 12.5 percent. Pasche said that the Chinese market appeared to be “stabilizing”, stressing that the country, with its ballooning purchasing power and appetite for luxury goods, could once again prove a boon for Swiss watchmakers.

“But this Chinese example also shows us that it is important for brands to be present around the world and not to focus too much on a single market. Markets can go up or down, and you have to be able to compensate for the drops in other regions,” he said. Jean-Claude Biver, head of niche watchmaker Hublot, told AFP that this diversification strategy was already in place and had been the industry’s salvation.

Japanese market speeds up “Other markets compensated what we lost in China,” said industry veteran Biver, who recently took the reins of the brands owned by French luxury group LVMH. He expressed confidence that China would

BASEL: A “Cat’s Eye” by Swiss watchmaker Girard-Perregaux with 646 diamonds is displayed. — AP/AFP

roar back in the long term: “Just because there’s been a consolidation doesn’t mean that China will disappear.”

Meanwhile, the long-dwindling Japanese market was on the mend, South America was booming and the United States had returned to growth, he said, adding that he expected Swiss watch exports overall to grow by three to five percent this year. Last month, exports to Japan alone soared 44 percent, according to the Swiss Watch Industry Federation.

“There is a renaissance and a strong recovery in this market which long was a very big luxury market but that for the past five years showed signs of weakness,” Luc Parramon, head of Hermes’s watch division, told AFP. There are also signs that Europe, where tourists are credited for keeping the watch-purchasing market afloat in recent crisis-wracked years, is finally seeing an uptick in domestic demand.

“The growth that we have seen in our industry comes thanks to Europe, which has done relatively well overall.

We expect Europe to continue to be a very important market for our industry in 2014 and to continue turning out positive numbers,” Pasche said. Baselworld chief Sylvie Ritter agreed. “Europe is doing better and better, and we expect more European buyers here than in recent years,” she told AFP. More than 100,000 visitors from around the world are expected to descend on the week-long show to view the offerings of about 1,500 exhibitors, and many retailers will place the bulk of their annual orders here. But while the year seems to be getting off to a promising start, Swiss watchmakers are grappling with an unexpected, potentially crippling challenge.

Last month, Switzerland, which is not a member of the European Union, voted in a referendum significantly to curb immigration from the bloc. “We are very worried,” Jacques Duchene, head of the Exhibitors Committee, told reporters, stressing that “if we have to limit our foreign workforce, I think that for some groups this will cause enormous problems.” According to Pasche, about half of workers in the Swiss watch industry are foreigners who either reside in Switzerland or commute across its borders. — AFP

MasterGraff Skeleton Tourbillon

Breitling Navitimer

Dior

Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra

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Business FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

IMF okays $14-18bn bailout for Ukraine Plan to stabilize country after months of turmoil KIEV: The International Monetary Fund has agreed a $14-18 billion two-year bailout for Ukraine, a deal to help it recover from months of turmoil that will also unlock further credits making a total of $27 billion. The agreement, announced yesterday, is intended to help the heavily-indebted ex-Soviet republic stabilize its economy after anti-government protests which resulted in the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovich and a standoff with Moscow in which Russia annexed the Crimea region.

But the program of reforms that accompanies the support and which the IMF says is necessary to get economy back on track and avoid a debt default may be painful for the population and the new government at a time of crisis and uncertainty. “The mission has reached a staff-level agreement with the authorities of Ukraine on an economic reform program,” the IMF said in a statement.

“The financial support from the broader international community that the program will unlock amounts to $27 billion over the next two years. Of this, assistance from the IMF will range between $14-18 billion, with the precise amount to be determined once all bilateral and multilateral support is accounted for.”

Ukraine’s debt insurance costs fell sharply after the deal was announced, hitting twomonth lows in the five-year credit default swap market. The Ukrainian parliament has to sign off on the conditions in the package. It is

expected to vote on it later yesterday. The agreement is also subject to approval by IMF Management and the Executive Board, which will consider it in April.

Conditions sought by the Fund include allowing the national currency, the hryvnia, to float more freely against the dollar, increasing the price of gas for the domestic consumer, overhauling finances in the energy sector and following a more stringent fiscal policy. IMF mission chief Nikolay Gueorguiev outlining the proposed package said another important step was to pass a law on public procurement aimed at restraining corruption in the state sector and reducing state budget expenditure.

Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, who has dubbed his government a ‘suicide’ government because of the unpopular measures it will have to take to right the corruption-ridden economy after years of mismanagement, urged parliament to approve the measures outlined in the package. “Ukraine is on the edge of economic and financial bankruptcy,” he said, warning that the price Ukraine will pay for Russian gas supplies was expected to rise by nearly 80 percent from April to $480 per 1,000 cubic meters. He said inflation in 2014 would be between 12 and 14 percent and unless laws were passed to support the austerity measures proposed by the IMF to stabilize the economy, GDP could fall 10 percent during the year and Ukraine could default.

Staving off bankruptcy The previous, ousted government said the country of 46 million needed around $35 billion over two years to stave off bankruptcy. It faces about $10 billion in repayments on its foreign currency debt this year, excluding the several billion dollars it will require for gas imports from Russia. In June, it will have to pay out on a $1 billion eurobond that matures.

In a move on Wednesday, seen as a gesture by Kiev to secure the IMF package, the government said it had agreed to raise the price of gas to the domestic consumer - a long-standing demand by the Fund - by more than 50 per cent from May 1. This was an unpopular condition for IMF aid that Yanukovich had refused before he was ousted last month.

“Following the intense economic and political turbulence of recent months, Ukraine has achieved some stability, but faces difficult challenges,” the IMF statement said. Announcing the agreement in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, Gueorguiev declined to say how big the initial tranche of aid would be. Kiev has said it desperately needs cash to cover expenses and avert a possible debt default. The country’s finance minister has predicted the economy will contract 3 percent this year. The bailout from the IMF will clear the way for several billion dollars in aid from the United States, European Union, Japan and other nations. —Reuters

$270m chocolate plant proves US has undeniable sweet tooth TOPEKA: Americans aren’t losing their taste for chocolate. Need proof? Look to Kansas, where candy giant Mars Inc is opening its first new plant in 35 years to churn out millions of chocolate bars and other sweets every day.

Company officials are throwing a grand opening Thursday for the sprawling, $270 million chocolate plant - which they say exists mostly to meet US demand for its M&M’s- and Snickers-brand candy. The plant, built south of Topeka, will be able to produce 14 million bitesized Snickers each day, as well as 39 million M&M’s, enough to fill 1.5 million fun-sized packs.

“It’s just unbelievable, the production,” said Topeka Mayor Larry Wolgast, who keeps a dispenser of peanut M&M’s on his desk at City Hall. It’s a sweet deal for state and local officials, too. The 500,000-square-foot facility is bringing about 200 jobs to the Topeka area, and the company plans to open a store downtown for several weeks.

Local officials, who will join the company at the grand opening, also are earning the right to brag that Topeka’s work force, central location and accessible site enabled the region to win the plant over several dozen other communities. Kansas Gov Sam Brownback, who

TOPEKA: This photo shows the entrance of the new Mars Inc production facility near Topeka, Kan. —AP

favors almond M&M’s, sees it as fitting that many Americans will get their favorite snacks from the Heartland. Matt Hudak, who follows the US market for “impulse” foods as an analyst for market researcher Euromonitor International, said candy makers can expect to see annual growth in chocolate sales stay above 3 percent, making chocolate “a continual bright spot.” He also said Mars has been good at introducing new products, such as pretzel M&Ms and bite-sized Snickers to keep consumers interested.

Even in uncertain economic times, he said, chocolate remains an “affordable luxury.”

“There is little reason to suggest that, all of a sudden in the US, people will start to dislike chocolate,” he said. The new chocolate factory is a sign that Mars officials are well aware of the trend and are bullish about future sales. “We have been growing, and we see future growth,” Debra Sandler, president of Mars Chocolate North America, said in an interview ahead of the opening. “We need the capacity.”

The company’s New Jersey-based chocolate unit, Mars Chocolate, has 16,000 employees in 21 countries. It produces 29 brands that include M&Ms and Snickers, which it says are billion-dollar brands, but also Milky Way, Twix and 3 Musketeers. The family-owned Mars Inc also has its Wrigley division, which produces gum, hard candies and chewy candies. It also has non-candy food products, produces pet foods and runs pet hospitals. Before the Kansas facility was built, the company’s last new plant in North America was in Cleveland, Tenn. —AP

NEW YORK: In this file photo, an H&M store is shown in New York. —AP

H&M misses profit forecast as fashion battle heats up STOCKHOLM: Hennes & Mauritz, the world’s No. 2 fashion retailer, missed first-quarter profit forecasts as it invested to catch up with rivals online in an increasingly competitive budget clothing market. The weaker-than-expected performance contrasts with solid results last week from bigger rival Inditex, which is benefiting from rapid growth in Internet sales as well as its stronger presence than H&M in emerging markets.

H&M and Inditex weathered the recent economic downturn in Europe better than many clothing firms, thanks to their focus on fast-changing fashions at affordable prices.

But competition has picked up, with discount rivals such as Britain’s Primark and US group Forever 21 expanding across Europe and online firms such as ASOS grabbing market share.

H&M said yesterday pretax profit rose 8 percent to 3.5 billion Swedish crowns ($542 million) in the three months ended Feb 28, below even the lowest estimate in a Reuters poll of analysts. The Swedish group said this was partly due to investments in IT and online - where it went live in France this month - as it tries to recover from a slow start in growing Internet sales.

But some analysts were disappointed by the 12 percent rise in quarterly sales at local currencies, which continued at that level in March, and were concerned higher-thanexpected stock levels could lead the firm to cut prices in the months ahead. “While part of this miss can be attributed to long-term investments, we believe it is also indicative of weak like-for-like sales performance and price investment, as the company tries to compete in the fastgrowing and increasingly populous value apparel world,” Bernstein analysts said of the results.

“Sales performance does not seem to have improved in March, and the comps (comparative figures from last year) only get more difficult in April and May. Furthermore, the high inventory levels suggest H&M may see further margin pressure from increased levels of markdown.” At 0920 GMT, H&M shares were down 4.4 percent at 277.1 Swedish crowns, one of the biggest falls by a European blue-chip stock.

Margin pressure H&M Chief Executive Karl-Johan Persson said the fashion market was “still characterized by a challenging macroeconomic situation”, as much of Europe battles to emerge from recession. H&M’s gross profit margin came in at 54.9 percent in the first quarter, below a forecast of 55.3 percent and down from 55.2 percent a year ago.

Inditex, which owns the Zara brand, managed to keep gross margin flat in the three months to end January at 57.9 percent. H&M, which has almost 3,200 stores, about half that of Inditex, is targeting Australia, the Philippines and India as new markets this year and plans to roll out online services in Spain, Italy and China.

It is also responding to competition by broadening its product offering and rolling out new mid-market brands such as COS and & Other Stories, which it said will open stores in several new countries this year, including the United States. The group also said it would roll out its well-received new sports line to more stores and countries. —Reuters

LIVE AND LOUD WITH THE INFINITI RED BULL RACING SHOW RUN Friday 28th March in front of the Kuwait Towers at 2 pm The Infiniti Red Bull Racing team held a press conference in the Babtain Infiniti showroom to announce that the World Championship winning RB7 will take part in a live Formula One demonstration on Friday at 2:00 pm on the Arabian Gulf Street near the Kuwait Towers. During the media event the Spanish Red Bull Junior Driver Carlos Sainz Jr. and the Support Team Manager Tony Burrows were on-site to answer questions on the Show Run and also the performance and technical side of the Formula One car.

Carlos Sainz, Jr. said: “This is my first visit to Kuwait, so I’m excited to see its distinctive landmarks and I wait impatiently to perform in front of a big audience. Driving race cars is my passion. I began practicing this sport when I was a child and I promise to show a spectacular event on the streets of Kuwait. “ Held under the patronage of Sheikh Salman Hamoud Al-Sabah, Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs and

organized by KMRC, the event will take place next to Kuwait Towers on March 28th at 2pm. The event is sponsored by Infiniti, Renault, Pirelli, Babtain Group, Sirbb Track, Rauch, Al Anba and Kuwait Times.

In addition to the Infiniti Red Bull Racing Formula One Show Run, Kuwait will get a glimpse of Chris Pfeiffer, a four-time World Stunt Riding Champion and one of the best Stunt Riders in the world who will be pushing the limits with his new tricks.

Abdo Feghali, Middle East Hill Climb Champion and Holder of the Guinness World Record for the longest drift will also entertain the spectators with his unique drifting show.

The Infiniti Red Bull Racing Show Run gives the opportunity to showcase the speed and noise of a World Championship winning V8 Formula One car on the streets of downtown Kuwait. Usually open wheel racing cars like this are only seen on TV, but seeing the car live, hearing the sound and smelling the burning rubber will definitely excite the thousands of fans.

Opinion FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Sisi faces formidable task Rights activists fear return to authoritarian rule

By Michael Georgy

rank in the biggest Arab army.

A

Perils of Power Born on Nov 19, 1954, he was the youngest member of the military council that ruled for 18 turbulent months after Mubarak resigned on Feb 11, 2011.

Western diplomats say Sisi only recently took what they described as the risky decision to run for office. “The army may act if things go wrong and its image is tarnished. His fall could be sudden and sharp,” said a senior European diplomat. A few months before he unseated Morsi in 2013, Sisi had suggested he would never stage a military takeover, let alone run for president, despite his suspicions of the Brotherhood. “With all respect for those who say to the army: ‘go into the street’, if this happened, we wouldn’t be able to speak of Egypt moving forward for 30 or 40 years,” Sisi had said.

Cracks have appeared in his support base. Secular activists who backed the army takeover have joined Islamists in criticising what appears to be a systematic stifling of dissent. Under Sisi, protesting without permission has become a crime which can be punished by a life sentence.

Sisi’s election would signal a return to the oppression of the past, opponents say.

“There are real fears and there are reasons for them,” said lawyer and human rights activist Gamal Eid. “The current human rights abuses raise a lot of worries over Sisi ruling.”

Yet amid widespread disillusion with politicians and protesters, Sisi enjoys the backing of the powerful armed forces and the Interior Ministry, as well as that of many politicians and former Mubarak officials now making a comeback. Some of Sisi’s admirers liken him to former President Gamal Abdul Nasser, a nationalist hero despite leading Egypt to catastrophic defeat against Israel in the 1967 war.

bdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who announced on Wednesday he would run for president in a vote he is expected to win easily, has gained cult-like adulation since he toppled Egypt’s first freely elected leader in July. Supporters see Sisi as a saviour who can end the political turmoil dogging Egypt since a popular uprising ended Hosni Mubarak’s three decades of one-man rule in 2011. If he becomes president he will become the latest in a line of Egyptian rulers drawn from the military that was only briefly broken during Islamist President Mohamed Morsi’s year in office.

Sisi resigned from his posts of army chief and defence minister on Wednesday so that he could run for president. Critics fear Sisi will become yet another authoritarian leader who will preserve the interests of the military and the Mubarak-era establishment, crushing the hopes of democracy, reform and social justice aroused by the youthful protests that swept away Mubarak - but not the system that had sustained him.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which had propelled Morsi to power at the ballot box, accuses the army of staging a coup against a legitimately chosen president and destroying democracy. Sisi has generated sky-high expectations, but has outlined no detailed solutions for the poverty, energy shortages and unemployment that afflict many of Egypt’s 85 million people. Nor has he quelled an Islamist insurgency based in the Sinai peninsula that has intensified since Morsi’s overthrow. That sets up the 59-year-old for a possible fall from grace in a nation where street protests on a scale never seen in Mubarak’s day have helped oust two presidents in three years.

In a pre-recorded speech to the nation announcing he would contest the election, Sisi said he would take on challenges but warned Egyptians he could not perform miracles. The world knew little of Sisi before he appeared on television on July 3 to announce the removal of Morsi after vast crowds demanded he resign, and to promise new elections. Sisi had kept a low profile as Mubarak’s head of military intelligence. It was Morsi who appointed him army chief and defence minister in August 2012, in a mistaken calculation that the military would let the Brotherhood pursue its Islamist agenda as long as its own entrenched privileges were kept safe.

Military Takeover Morsi may have been swayed by Sisi’s reputation as a pious Muslim. Some Brotherhood leaders have said he used to join them for prayers and wept while reciting verses from the Holy Quran. But Morsi appeared deaf to discontent on the streets which rose to a crescendo after he grabbed sweeping powers to ram through an Islamist-tinted constitution.

The Brotherhood’s perceived mismanagement of the economy only fuelled unrest.

Egyptians walk under a giant billboard supporting Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi in Cairo in this March 21, 2014 photo. — AP

When a carefully orchestrated anti-Morsi campaign gathered steam, Sisi picked his moment and gave the man who appointed him a 48-hour ultimatum to resign or face military action. He then deposed a defiant Morsi and carted him off to jail, eventually to face charges that could carry the death penalty.

Egyptians weary of endless upheaval hailed Sisi, even when the new armybacked government began a fierce campaign to crush the Brotherhood, which as the country’s best-organised political force, had won every national vote held after Mubarak’s fall. Security forces killed hundreds of Morsi supporters in the streets in August in the bloodiest civil unrest in Egypt’s modern history. They jailed the leaders of the Brotherhood,

which the government then denounced as a terrorist organisation, despite its renunciation of violence decades earlier.

But the Sisi bandwagon has rolled on, with images of him in sunglasses and beret adorning posters, t-shirts, chocolates and even women’s underwear in this conservative, mainly Muslim land. Sisi has never publicly resisted the relentless praise. In an unpublished segment of an interview with Al-Masry al-Youm daily that was leaked in an audio online, he spoke of a vision that suggested he was destined to be a great leader. “In a dream I had 35 years ago, I was raising a sword with the phrase ‘There is no God but God’ written on it in red,” said Sisi, who rose from a childhood in the dirt lanes of Cairo’s Gamaliya district to the highest

Religious Background In his early childhood, Sisi showed signs of unusual discipline, people in his old neighbourhood say. While other boys played football or smoked, Sisi and his friends lifted barbells made of metal pipes and rocks. “Abdel Fattah always seemed to have a goal. He had willpower,” said Aatif Al-Zaabalawi, a dye factory worker who used to see Sisi in Gamaliya.

Neighbours say he came from a tightlyknit religious family. A cousin, Fathi AlSisi, who runs a handicraft shop, said the future field marshal had memorised the Holy Quran. Sisi’s father encouraged him to work in his shop every day after school.

He lived in a small apartment on the rooftop of a run-down building owned by his extended family.

Aware of the scale of Egypt’s problems, Sisi may ask his compatriots for patience, said retired general Sameh Seif Elyazal, who has met the presidential favourite several times. “He hasn’t got an immediate solution for everything,” Elyazal said. “I think he will tell the people ... you have to bear with me. We will suffer a little bit.” — Reuters

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014 www.kuwaittimes.net

This photo taken on March 26, 2014 shows a young model parading a creation from the "CRZ Collection" by designer Peng Che during the bi-annual China Fashion Week in Beijing. — AFP (See Pages 36 & 37)

28 Chromotherapy in all its color HEALTH

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

How each color’s wavelength and energy helps the human body

I

t has been known for eons of time that color plays a major role in setting up a particular mood or state of mind.

Color does affect one’s feelings, moods, and emotions.

Colors are certain wavelengths of electro-magnetic energy seen through our eyes. The color we see is the part of the visible spectrum that is reflected back by a certain object. We know that when all colors join the result is white light.

Therefore working with white light brings about completeness, oneness, union of all complementary parts.

How colors affect us Color is one of the languages of the soul, just look at inspired or meditative paintings. They influence our mood and emotions. They have their impact on our sense of wellbeing or uneasiness. Using and avoiding certain colors is a way of self-expression; it sheds light on our personality.

Colors affect our way of perception (light colors make a space look big, a high ceiling looks less high when painted in a dark color, etc.) Colors have a symbolic meaning which is immediately recognized by our subconsciousness. It must be said that not all colors mean the same to all persons and all cultures. They influence the flow and amount of energy in our bodies. Colors tell something about biological attraction.

Before examining color and its healing implications, we must address a very important concept: cause and effect.

True healing comes about when the cause of the condition or illness is addressed and transformed. If healing goes no further than a mere relief or masking of the symptoms, then, eventually, that which brought about the need for healing, in the first place, will resurface and manifest itself within the body in one form or another.

Keeping this in mind, let us look at how color can help jumpstart the tired or diseased body. Color healing, known as Chromotherapy, can be implemented in a number of ways. The ancients built great halls of color healing, where individuals entered and were bathed in light that was filtered through various colored glass panels or windows.

Orange Healing properties: Orange is warm, cheering, non-constricting. Orange has a freeing action upon the body and mind, relieving repressions. Orange shows new possibilities and other options in life. Stimulates creative thinking and enthusiasm, and helps assimilate new ideas. Orange stimulates the lungs, the respiration and the digestion. Increases the activity of the thyroid. Helps muscle cramps and spasms.

Finally, orange links very strongly with the sacral chakra.

Esoteric: Attraction, charm, kindness, encouragement, stimulation, optimism, success, abundance, prosperity, feast and celebration, energy, achieving business-goals, investments and success in legal matters.

Preference for orange: Orange represents the warmth of fire. It brings even more energy than yellow, celebration and great abundance, comfort, enjoyment of the senses. Warm, sociable, dynamic and independent people who dedicate themselves to whatever they do.

Aversion to orange: A person who has an aversion to orange may have suppressed sexual feelings or other difficulties with sensual enjoyment of life. The attitude can also be over-sensual, indulgent, or too materialistic.

Yellow Healing properties: Yellow helps strengthen the nerves and the mind. It helps awaken mental inspiration and stimulates higher mentality. Thus, it is an excellent color for nervous or nerve-related conditions or ailments. It also energizes the muscles. Dark yellow soothes pains in the nerves (shooting pains). Yellow can be used for conditions of the stomach,

In love with Red Healing properties: Brings warmth, energy and stimulation, therefore good for energy, fatigue, colds and passive people. Red energizes heart and blood circulation, it builds up the blood and heightens a low blood pressure.

Energizes all organs and senses like hearing, smell, taste, vision and touch. Never treat cancer with red, because this color will stimulate cell growth.

Red links with and stimulates the root chakra, at the base of the spine, causing the adrenal glands to release adrenalin. This results in greater strength. Red causes hemoglobin to multiply, thus increasing energy and raising body temperature. It is excellent for anemia and blood-related conditions. It loosens, opens up clogs, releases stiffness and constrictions. It is excellent for areas that have become stiffened or constricted.

Esoteric: Great energy, courage, will-pow-

er, determination, speed, assertiveness, aggression, masculinity, independence, physical strength, sports, competition, conflicts, health, and potency, love and passion, fertility.

Preference for red: Red is associated with passionate love, sex, great energy, impulse, action and stimulation, assertiveness and aggression, courage, strength and power, adventure, danger, warnings, revolt and revolution. Temperamental and ambitious people with a need for personal freedom.

Aversion to red: A person who has an aversion to red may be over-active, too impulsive, hot-tempered, aggressive and egocentric, or have difficulties with people with such characteristics. It can also symbolize deeply hidden fears and rejection of his own assertiveness.

liver, and intestines.

Speeds up the digestion and assimilation. It helps the pores of the skin and aids scarred tissue in healing itself.

Yellow links with and stimulates the solar plexus, or psychic center. It can be used for psychic burnout or other psychic-related conditions or ailments. Activates and cheers up depressed and melancholic people. Gives lust for life.

Esoteric: Life-force, vitality, change, progress, contact, communication, trade, commerce, to persuade with confidence, joy, cheerfulness, learning, knowledge, mental clarity, concentration, memorizing, tests, speaking and writing, traveling, affirmation, visualization.

Preference for yellow: The color of the sun, life-force, vivacity, vitality and energy. The color of cheerfulness, curiosity, alternation, flexibility, progress, amusement, contact through traveling and communication, learning and practical knowledge. A feeling for writing and speaking.

Aversion to yellow: A person who has aversion to yellow may be emotionally disappointed and bitter. May have tendency to rationalize feelings, or to avoid the depth of life by often changing relationships, many superficial relationships

29

HEALTH FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

and/or constant changing activities.

be melancholic. Blue is also the color of truth.

acting depression.

skin. Relaxes sensations of stress.

Green Healing properties: Green is the color of nature and the earth. It is balance and harmony in essence and possesses a soothing influence upon both mind and body. It is neither relaxing nor astringent in its impact.

Green can be used for just about any condition in need of healing. Green rings psychological and emotional harmony and balance.

Green links with and stimulates the heart chakra. Green affects blood pressure and all conditions of the heart. It has both an energizing effect and a moderating or soothing effect. It cures hormonal imbalances.

Stimulates growth hormone and rejuvenation. Cleans and purifies from germs, bacteria and rotting material. Harmonizes the digestion, stomach, liver, gall. Has a healing effect on kidneys. Increases immunity. Builds up muscles, bones and tissues. Stimulates inner peace. Strengthens the nervous system.

Aversion to blue: A person who has an aversion to blue, may be very disciplined, strong career worker, with an aversion of commentary or restriction. He may have charted out a clear direction for his life and wants to follow that.

Preference for violet/purple: Colors for meditation, contemplation, mysticism, spirituality and religion power. A longing to ascend and dissolve polarities (purple consists of the active red and passive blue), to improve the world. Reservation, mystery and dignity. Soft, sensitive people with often paranormal abilities.

Esoteric: Alterations, intellectual and intuitive insights, technique, inventions, originality, renewal, brotherhood, humanism.

Indigo Healing properties: Indigo is a great purifier of the bloodstream and also benefits mental problems. It is a freeing and purifying agent. Indigo combines the deep blue of devotion with a trace of stabilizing and objective red. Indigo is cool, electric, and astringent. Indigo links with and stimulates the brow chakra (third eye) and controls the pineal gland. It governs both physical and spiritual perception. It can be of great assistance in dealing with

Aversion to violet /purple: A person who has an aversion for violet/purple may have very serious attitude towards life; and may find it difficult to give dreams, fantasies, vague fears or memories a place in it. May have tendency to rejection everything he regards as unnatural or unrealistic.

Pink Healing properties: Heals grief and sad-

Preference for brown: An earthly color for practical people with a preference for natural, tribal and primitive things, solidity and simplicity. Brown can be warm and cozy but also depressing.

Preference for green: Green brings peace, rest, hope, comfort and nurturing, calmness and harmony. Interest in nature, plants, fellowmen, children and animals, health and healing, natural and plain life.

Longing for a safe home and family-life. A dislike of conflicts.

Aversion to brown: A person who has an aversion to brown may feel an aversion against normal, boring, trivial life; may not feel connected with his roots (home-land, family, etc); may experience instability in health and attitude.

Aversion to green: A person who has an aversion to green may be more interested in independence and self-development than in a warm family-life. May prefer to keep a certain distance in relationships.

Esoteric: Elemental water and elemental air. Peace and tranquility, calmness, truth, wisdom, justice, counsel, guidance, understanding, patience, loyalty and honor, sincerity, devotion, healing, femininity, prophetic dreams, protection during sleep, astral projection.

Preference for blue: Cool and soothing, dreamy and magical. Peace and rest. For people who keep a certain distance, but give calm and practical help; they are faithful and loyal, have a sense of order, logic and rational thinking. Dark blue is more severe and can

Aversion to turquoise: A person who has an aversion to turquoise may be looking for solidity and security in society, especially in marriage. Also, may be reluctant to think originally or walk new paths.

Brown Esoteric: Stability, grounding, conservation, protection of household, family and pets, healing animals, finding lost objects, material constructions (buildings etc), material increase, to make relationships solid, to increase decisiveness and concentration, attracting help during financial crises.

Esoteric: Elemental earth (dark green) and elemental water (blue-green). Nature, fertility, growth, rejuvenation, recovering, healing, harvest and abundance, prosperity, harmony, balance, peace, hope, mother earth, home, plants and animals, counteract greed and jealousy.

Blue Healing properties: Blue is cooling, electric, astringent. Dr Edwin Babbitt, in his classic, “The Principles of Light and Color,” states that “The Blue Ray is one of the greatest antiseptics in the world.”

Cools down inflammations (don’t forget rheumatic inflammations), fever, high blood pressure, stops bleeding, helps the bursting headaches, calms strong emotions like anger, aggression or hysteria. Brings tranquility. Anti-itching. Anti-irritation (for instance redness of the skin), anti-stress. Soothes suffering.

Blue can be used for any type of ailments associated with speech, communication, or the throat. Blue links with and stimulates the throat chakra. The throat chakra is often referenced as the “power center” and “the greatest center in the body” because it is the primary center of expression and communication, through speech.

Preference for turquoise: Just like the wide turquoise sea, you don’t want to feel restricted and you don’t immediately bring to the surface what goes on in you; emotions can remain hidden. A color for nontriviality, renewal, innovation and inventions, progressive techniques, alternative ways of living together, humanity.

Black Esoteric: Repel or banish evil and negativity, protection, binding, breaking free from bad habits/addictions, deep meditation, opens up deep unconscious levels.

Preference for black: Symbolizes seriousness, darkness, depression, death, mourning, mystery, secrecy, occultism, a standing apart from or revolting against triviality, provocation, underground, underworld, things that have to remain hidden, nothingness as the great source of all creation, the need to keep your energy with you. Black is a color for extremes, everything and nothing. People who foremost trust themselves. ailments of the eyes and ears.

Violet / Purple Healing properties: These are colors of transformation. They heal melancholy, hysteria, delusions and alcohol addiction and bring spiritual insights and renewal. These colors slow down an over-active heart; stimulate the spleen and the white blood cells (immunity). Soothe mental and emotional stress. Decrease sexual activity. Decrease sensitivity to pain. They help in detoxification.

Leonardo da Vinci proclaimed that you can increase the power of meditation ten-fold by meditating under the gentle rays of violet.

Esoteric: Psychic abilities, divination, counter-acting negativity, reversing curses, psychic healing, psychic power, inspiration, meditation, spirituality, spiritual power, astral projection, third eye, compassion, counter-

ness. Restores youthfulness. Brings you in contact with your feelings.

Esoteric: Softness and tenderness, romance, caring, nurturing, for children, youth, peace, friendship, femininity, emotional love, emotional healing.

Preference for pink: Regarded as a feminine color. Pink symbolizes softness, sweetness, innocence, youthfulness and tenderness. Soft and kind people.

Aversion to pink: A person who has an aversion to pink may have a challenge with expressing soft, tender, female side.

Turquoise Healing properties: Increases intuition and sensitivity. Works disinfecting and antiseptic. Tones the general system. Builds the

Aversion to black: A person who has an aversion to black may have fear for the unknown, or fear the abuse of power.

Desires to become free from all kinds of dependency, blockages, hindrances; to throw off shackles.

Gold Esoteric: Absolute authority, self-confidence, creativity, perfection, solar energies, male energy, financial riches, investments, luxury, winning, worldly power, overcoming bad habits/addictions.

Silver Esoteric: Female energy, cycles, rebirth, reincarnation, healing of hormonal imbalances, emotional stability, remove or neutralize negativity, intuition, dreams, psychic abilities and psychic workings. www.deeptrance.com

Food FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

y r e V

Straw berry !

You know spring is here when you take that first bite into a plump, juicy strawberry. Enjoy the berries in a variety of ways while they’re at their peak from April until June.

Strawberry-Lemon Shortcakes

Strawberry Parfaits

Strawberry-Rhubarb Ice Cream

Ingredients 4 cups sliced strawberries, divided 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese 1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon water 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup amaretti cookie crumbs (about 8 cookies) 1/2 cup frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed 2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted

Ingredients 9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces 1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind Cooking spray 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon butter, melted 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar 4 cups sliced strawberries 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 1/4 cups frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 425º.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon 9 ounces (about 2 cups) flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine 9 ounces flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine 1 1/4 cups buttermilk and grated lemon rind. Add the buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, and toss gently with a fork to combine.

(Dough should be wet and about the texture of cottage cheese.)

3. Coat a 9-inch round metal cake pan or baking sheet with cooking spray. Place 1/2 cup flour in a shallow dish.

Scoop 10 equal dough portions into dish. Gently shape each portion into a round by tossing in flour to help shape the dough. Arrange in pan. Discard excess flour. Brush dough with melted butter, and sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar. Bake at 425º for 22 minutes or until the shortcakes are lightly browned. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove shortcakes from pan.

Cool on wire rack.

4. Combine berries, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and lemon juice; toss to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes. Split each shortcake in half; spoon about 1/3 cup berry mixture and 2 tablespoons whipped topping into each.

Preparation 1.

Place 2 cups of strawberry slices and granulated sugar in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Set strawberry puree aside.

2.

Combine ricotta and next 4 ingredients (ricotta through vanilla) in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk.

Spoon 2 tablespoons cookie crumbs into each of 4 parfait glasses. Top each portion with 2 tablespoons strawberry puree, 1/4 cup strawberry slices, and 3 tablespoons ricotta mixture; repeat the layers. Drizzle the remaining strawberry puree over each serving. Chill for 2 hours. Top each parfait with 2 tablespoons whipped topping and 1 1/2 teaspoons almonds.

Ingredients 2 1/2 cups whole milk 3/4 cup half-and-half 1 cup sugar, divided 3 large egg yolks 2 cups chopped fresh rhubarb 3 cups chopped fresh strawberries (about 1 pound) Preparation 1. Combine milk and half-and-half in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Heat milk mixture to 180º or until tiny bubbles form around edge (do not boil). Combine 1/2 cup sugar and egg yolks in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until pale yellow.

Gradually add half of hot milk mixture to egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Pour the egg yolk mixture into pan with remaining milk mixture; cook over medium-low heat until a thermometer registers 160º (about 2 minutes), stirring constantly. Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl for 20 minutes or until custard cools completely, stirring occasionally.

2. Combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, rhubarb, in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until rhubarb is tender and liquid is syrupy. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Combine rhubarb mixture and strawberries in a blender; process until smooth. Strain mixture through a sieve over a bowl, pressing with a wooden spoon; discard solids. Stir rhubarb mixture into custard mixture.

3. Pour custard into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Drain ice water from freezer bucket; repack with salt and ice. Cover with kitchen towels, and let stand 1 hour or until firm.

Academics FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

What is the fastest way to learn a

foreign language?

M

ost people nowadays have trouble recalling anything more complex than “Donde esta la biblioteca?” decades after their last high school Spanish lesson.

Many of us dream of going to a foreign country and learning some of the local language so we can at least make conversation. But we don’t want to spend years doing it. Is there any way

to learn a language in a week or two, the way those ads on the internet promise? It’s hard to believe, but in some cases, the answer is yes.

Nothing is stopping you from learning For a long time, American educators believed that some people just had an aptitude for learning foreign languages, while others seemed to have a learning disability when it came to French class. But as evidence mounted, this idea fell out of favor. In 2006, education researcher Richard Sparks wrote

an oft-cited paper called “Is There A “Disability” for Learning a Foreign Language?”. After going over many studies of students who had problems learning foreign languages, he concluded that there is no compelling evidence that some students have an innate problem or gift when it comes to learning foreign languages. Some students struggle more than others, of course, but that probably has more to do with learning strategies than a disability. The good news is that pretty much anybody can learn a foreign language quickly. You just have to pick the right language, and the right learning technique.

The immersion technique When it comes to learning a language fast, the most tried-and-true method is the immersion technique, commonly associated with the Berlitz language schools. What Berlitz educators found in the 1950s and 60s was that their students learned more quickly if they stopped using grammar textbooks and just started speaking the language on the very first day of class.

In a Berlitz school, students learn a language through intensive exposure to it in a context that makes sense. So, for example, you and your classmates might sit down to dinner and start talking about it in Arabic. It is easier to learn the language quickly if your teacher hands you plates and food items while describing them. The idea is that you pick up key phrases and words first, and then learn the grammar almost unconsciously in the process. Though this sounds commonsensical to us now, it was fairly revolutionary at the time the Berlitz schools pioneered it. Now, most language

schools aimed at teaching languages quickly use some version of the immersion method.

Pick the right language Tim Ferriss, the master of all things quick and dirty, points out on his “4 Hour Workweek” blog that before you try to master a language in a few weeks, you should “deconstruct” it to see how similar it is to your native language(s). The closer it is to yours grammatically, the faster you’ll learn the language. For example, English speakers will find Japanese and Mandarin harder to learn than Spanish and German. And everybody will find Finnish hard to learn. So before you invest in immersion classes to learn another language fast, be sure that you’ve picked a language that isn’t extremely different from others that you know. It’s not that you can’t learn those other languages, by the way. It’s just that most people won’t be able to learn them in a few weeks.

Some weird but effective tips One of the most famous language learners alive today is Alexander Arguelles, a linguist who has learned over 50 languages (some of them dead, admittedly) and has developed a couple of techniques that he shares with people online. You can learn all about his techniques on his website - he makes instructional videos available for free - and a lot of people swear by them.

Here’s his famous “shadowing technique,” where students listen to the language with simultaneously speaking it out loud and reading along with it in a book. Arguelles describes it like this: The videos I have made about

Shadowing demonstrate and discuss the proper form for using my technique of shadowing or listening to and simultaneously echoing a recording of foreign language audio that accompanies a manual of bilingual texts . . . In order to shadow most effectively, it is important to observe three points: 1. Walk outdoors as swiftly as possible.

2. Maintain perfectly upright posture.

3. Articulate thoroughly in a loud, clear voice.

He also recommends his “scriptorium technique,” where students write the language while simultaneously speaking it out loud. He writes: In order to do this properly, you should: 1. Read a sentence aloud.

2. Say each word aloud again as you write it.

3. Read the sentence aloud as you have written it.

The whole purpose of this exercise is to force yourself to slow down and pay attention to detail. This is the stage at which you should check all unknowns in grammars or dictionaries.

So if you want to learn a foreign language quickly, there are three things to keep in mind. One, you need to pick a language that is reasonable to expect you could master in a few weeks. Two, you need to immerse yourself in it, whether through language classes or discussion groups.

And three, try a few tricks where you simultaneously listen to the language and speak it aloud while reading it. The main thing to keep in mind is that nothing is stopping you from learning a new language. Your brain is ready.

You just have to train it right.

TECHNOLOGY FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Top 10 tips for

beginners

E

ven if you don’t use Instagram, you’ve encountered an Instagram image somewhere on the web - even if you didn’t realize it. Instagram’s calling card is the photo filter, a digital layer that, when added to a standard photo, gives it the appearance of professional editing.

Some filters enhance the colors in a photo, while other dull the light to a soft glow for an aged, vintage appearance. But while Instagram’s filters revolutionized mobile photo editing, they’re only a portion of the appeal. The mobile app boasts over 50 million users, despite only living in iOS and Android devices. Its success caught the eye of the most valuable social network in the world.

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Register/setup Instagram has always been an almost exclusively mobile platform. Therefore, you must download the iPhone or Android app to your device in order to register an Instagram account. Instagram accounts are public by default, but you may elect to create a private account. In that case, only users who you approve may follow you and view your photos. Head to your profile tab and scroll down to “Privacy.” There, you may select to make photos private. Once registered, change your profile picture and edit your profile information, which includes a brief 150-character bio and a website.

Notifications Since Instagram doesn’t have a web-hosted feed of photos, you’ll be doing most of your browsing on mobile. For that reason, you may choose to enrich your mobile experience by setting up push notifications.

Depending on your level of comfort, enable the following push notifications: * When a user likes or comments on one of your photos. * When a user @mentions you in a comment. * When your photo is posted to the Popular page. * When you are tagged in a photo To control the notifications on your device, click on the Settings wheel while viewing your profile. Scroll down and select Push Notification Settings. You can also edit your Share Settings from the options panel. To change the way you receive notifications from Instagram, exit the app and access the Settings location. From there, find Instagram in the Notification Center and configure your app preferences. If you choose not to enable external notifications, Instagram will still keep you apprised of your account activity in-app. New user and comment notifications appear in the News section of the app which you can access via the navigation panel - the icon looks like a speech bubble with a heart in it.

Connect to Social Again, because Instagram is a relatively isolated social app that lives inherently on mobile, it’s important to connect social accounts to get the most out of the experi-

ence. You may choose to link Instagram to your Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Tumblr, Flickr, VK, Mixi and Weibo accounts (the latter two apply only to iPhone users in Japan and China, respectively). To connect social accounts, head to the Profile Tab > Edit Sharing Settings, then choose the network you wish to connect. Each time you upload a photo to Instagram, you’ll have the option to share to each of the social networks you’ve enabled, or to none. If you choose to share to no social networks, the photo will post only to Instagram, viewable only by those users who follow you on the app.

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Add a photo The bread and butter of Instagram is, obviously, sharing photos. Click the blue camera button in the center of your Instagram navigation panel. By default, Instagram activates your device’s camera, so you may either choose to snap a picture then and there, or choose a picture already saved to your phone. If you choose the latter, click the double-square button on the lower-left of the screen. If you choose a photo from your camera roll, keep in mind that Instagram sizes photos to perfect squares. Therefore, if you select a photo that was originally taken horizontally (landscape), you’ll have to crop some portions of the image - either that, or live with the default black border.

Filters/borders Once you’ve either taken or selected a photo, a set of three icons appears beneath the image. These are the 17 famous Instagram filters which add different pre-determined layers to your photos, and give the effect that you’ve altered or professionally edited them. Many filters add “vintage” effects, which have certainly pleased many a hipster. Scroll through the filters and experiment with the best one for that particular image. You’ll soon find that certain filters work well with specific types of photos, whether outdoor panoramas, personal portraits, odd perspectives, intense colors, etc.

Each filter also has its own associated border. For instance, the Earlybird filter adds rounded edges to your photo, and Kelvin adds a rough, sandpapery frame. You may, however, choose to forego borders altogether by tapping the square “frame” on the upper-left of the edit screen.

the delete arrow.

When you’re finished recording your video, click Next to add a filter, exactly as you would a photo, only Instagram Video offers different filter options than photo. For users with the iPhone 4S or any later iPhone model, this stage also includes a video stabilizing feature. Though turned on by default, stabilization can be toggled off with a single click. If you don’t like the pressure of creating video live, you may choose an existing a video in your phone’s gallery. iPhone users can upload multiple saved videos, splicing them together.

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Tilt-Shift Another celebrated editing option on Instagram, tilt-shift allows you to selectively focus certain planes of the photo, almost as if you were using a special DSLR lens. Tiltshift gives the appearance of an altered depth of field, which can make smartphone snaps look stunning when used wisely.

Experiment with the tilt-shift feature by tapping the button above the photo that looks like a water droplet. From there, choose either the horizontal bar or the circle. The bar adds a thin field of focus across your image, which you may tap and move up and down, or two-finger tap and swivel to rotate.

Or move the circle tilt-shift across your photo for a more focused effect.

Other options Before saving your photo, test a few other edit options. Tap the sun icon on the lowerleft of the edit screen to apply the Lux effect - essentially, an auto-enhance button that enriches the colors in your image.

Additionally, the curved arrow to the right of the frame option rotates your image, and the next camera icon flips your camera front-facing so you can take a picture of yourself.

Video With Instagram video, you can record short video clips ranging anywhere from three to fifteen seconds long. To record video, press the camera button and choose the video recorder option on the right. Choose to film either one continuous segment or several clips spliced together, which allows for some creative stop-motion or animated videos. To create multiple clips, lift your finger off the record button. If you aren’t happy with a previous clip, delete it by pressing

Share Once your photo is ready to go, click the green checkmark. This brings you to the social sharing screen. If you wish, add a caption explaining what you’ve photographed, an anecdote, or really anything your social networks would enjoy. Feel free to add category hashtags and @mention people, especially if you plan to share via Twitter. The caption will be the text of the tweet, and the app will file hashtags and @mentions accordingly. If you’ve enabled location services, you even have the option to tag where you took the photo.

Then, depending on what networks you’ve linked to Instagram, toggle the accounts to share across those platforms. The way your photo appears when posted depends on the style of the social network to which you post. When sharing to Facebook, your Instagram photo will appear in the News Feed with the attached caption. You may also choose to retroactively share the Instagram photos you’ve already posted.

Follow users

10 Now you’re ready to find users to follow.

Chances are many of your social media friends are already using Instagram, and on top of that, a bunch of celebrities are, too.

Head to your profile tab and select “Find Friends.” You may search for friends who have connected their Facebook and Twitter accounts to Instagram, or you may input your phone’s contact list to generate further connections. Or search by name, username or tag (e.g. “#skydiving”). Finally, Instagram does a great job curating suggested users and trending photos. Head to the Popular page (see right), denoted by the star on your navigation panel, and peruse photos that strike your fancy. Once you’ve followed some users, you’ll begin to see their photos appear in your news feed, accessed by tapping the icon that looks like a house on the left side of the navigation panel. Alongside user photos, you’ll see people who have liked or commented on the photo. Add your own two cents!

— www.mashable.com

Lifestyle FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

A view of television sets and stereo sound systems made by Kantanka at the Apostle Safo Technology Research Centre in Gomoa Mpota, Ghana. — AP photos

A view of a robotic door guard at Apostle Safo Technology Research Centre.

Self-styled ‘Apostle’ seeks converts to ‘Made

F

rom wooden TVs and talking robots to cars that start with gold watches, an inventor and church leader who calls himself the “Star of Africa” is hoping to transform manufacturing in Ghana. The West African country has seen a rise of eager consumers on the back of strong economic growth, fuelling greater demand for cars, computers and mobile telephones. Few-if any-of the products are made in Ghana or anywhere else in Africa but that could all change if Kwadwo Safo has his way.

For decades, Safo’s company Kantanka has been producing prototype sport utility vehicles, televisions, switchboards and even robots, incorporating local woods and traditional patterns into their designs and showing them off at yearly exhibitions to much fanfare. Experts are skeptical that locally made cars would be able to compete with the over 100,000 cheap used vehicles that are imported every year. Yet to many Ghanaians, Kantanka offers a glimpse of a Ghana that relies on more than gold, cocoa and oil to bolster its economy, which is already the second largest in West Africa. So confident is Safo in Ghana’s ability to sustain heavy industry that he plans to open a car factory sometime this year and launch his “Made in Ghana” vehicles into commercial production. His followers hope the “Apostle”, as Safo is known, can put Ghana and Africa on the map as car manufacturers. Once Safo has perfected his technology, “his dream is to extend to the whole of the continent,” said Alfred Akutteh, a technical officer at the Apostle Safo Technology Research Centre.

“And that’s why he’s saying he’s the ‘Star of Africa’.”

A view of the inside of a Kantanka car at the Apostle Safo Technology Research Centre.

in Ghana’ goods

SUVs, attack helicopters From the computers in offices to the cars on the roads, Ghana is dependent on imports for most of its vehicles and equipment. That dependence, coupled with rising inflation and a downturn in world gold prices, contributed to the cedi currency losing nearly a quarter of its value last year, despite an economic growth rate of more than seven percent. Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama made domestic production of staples such as poultry, rice and tomatoes a centerpiece of his State of the Nation address last month.

But Safo and his band of followers believe Ghana is capable of producing more than just its own foodstuffs-and should think bigger.

A view of a Kantanka car at the Apostle Safo Technology Research Centre.

The Apostle Safo Technology Research Centre is located near the village of Gomoa Mpota, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) west of the capital Accra. About 250 apprentices spend their days working on everything from an attack helicopter to a sport utility vehicle that is started by pushing a button on a gold watch. Most of the products are prototypes and few ever leave the centre. Apprentices produce two to three car engines a year, Akutteh said, but the new factory will make three to four cars a day when finished.

‘An African visionary’ Safo spent much of his early career as a welder before getting into inventing, recalls Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a long-time friend. Despite repeated attempts by AFP Safo himself was not available for an interview. First came switchboards and voltage stabilisers,

Apprentices work at the Apostle Safo Technology Research Centre.

SUV prototypes. Church members make up the bulk of his apprentices, who work without pay in exchange for room and board. Some get a scholarship to further their education at university.

“Working with the Apostle is actually an experience everyone would want to have,” said Nyan Saba Safo Kantanka, a Safo godson who has worked at the factory for five years.

“Looking at the Apostle’s vision, being the father of Africa, we all have a role to play, helping him and helping Ghana and Africa put its name on the world map.”

Men work on a prototype helicopter at the Apostle Safo Technology Research Centre. then cars, starting with a replica of a Mercedes Benz sedan which now lies covered in dust beneath a tree at the research centre.

Alongside Safo’s invention work are his 137 churches-and a carefully cultivated image as a man of God and a pan-African hero. “He sees himself as the savior of Africa. That is his style,” said Frimpong-Boateng. Portraits of a smiling Safo sporting sunglasses can be found in the places of worship as well as on the walls of his research facility and even on the side of his

Tough market to crack Money from a stone quarry, clinics, schools and a bus company sustains Kantanka’s operations, said Akutteh. But industry experts say he faces an uphill battle to make gains in an auto sector which sees about 12,000 new and 100,000 second-hand cars imported into Ghana every year. “The market will be a big challenge,” said Abdul-Somad Alhsssan Musah, chairman of the Association of Ghana Industries automotive sector. While many key components such as glass, tyres and brake callipers are imported, one way Kantanka distinguishes his products is by blending Ghanaian materials and culture into its goods. —AFP

Lifestyle FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

The Soil, new wave of

South African trio a capella

R

hythmic and perfectly harmonized, South Africa’s up-and-coming vocal trio The Soil promise to be the 21st century’s answer to their countrymen Ladysmith Black Mambazo, though none of them can read a note of music. Running fast in the tracks of their forerunners, this next generation of township a capella bring their laid-back fusion of hip-hop, soul, jazz and afropop for the first time to the 15th Cape Town International Jazz Festival, which starts today.

No instruments, no music lessons, just three voices and local jazz inspiration, because that’s all these 20-somethings had during their childhood in Soweto, Johannesburg’s world-famous former blacksonly suburb. “Growing up in Soweto, you can’t just find a house with a piano, it’s very rare to find a home with a set of drums sitting there,” said Buhle Mda, 26, the group’s only woman member.

“You just use what you have,” she added, sporting vivacious bright red lipstick and black thick-rimmed glasses. Luphindo “Master P” Ngxanga, 27, is the human beatbox, pumping out the rhythms with his mouth while playing air guitar-bass guitar, to be exact. His 25-year-old brother, Ntsika, joins Buhle on vocals to complete the trio. Their sound is modern with traditional influences, their look cheeky and confidently urbane, reaching far beyond their native Soweto. They write the lyrics together-”Majority rules!” said Buhle-in English and Xhosa, and tell the story of life in a country where most people are under 25 years old and many don’t have work.

‘People relate’ to their music “One percent fantasy and 99 percent reality”, they touch on love, family, and community. “We sing about daily occurrences, and living in South Africa. You get exposed to politics, to whatever, to love and things like that,” said Buhle. “Maybe we sing about poverty and how it has struck our communities, and we bring hope from those sad stories.” “And when it comes to those love songs we joke about things,” explained Ntsika.

“And we take from experiences that maybe Buhle went through and Master P over there, or myself and we just make the song of that.” “And people relate to that kind of music.” They have gone a far way in a short time, received with fanfare at New York’s Apollo Theatre and last year’s Edinburgh International Festival. But it all started 10 years ago, at their high school music group. “We would have musical sessions that looked more like poetry sessions at times.

At times it also looked like rap sessions, but those sessions became more musical” remembered Ntsika.

Double platinum By 2005 they started taking music more seriously and soon built up a repertoire of 10 songs. Almost a decade later they sport a double platinum album-more than 100,000 sales-hundreds of thousands of fans, and a prime spot at one of Africa’s largest jazz festivals. “From the moment we started singing, forming this group, we had a list of places we would like to perform at, and that the Cape Town Jazz Festival has always been in that top five,” said an upbeat Ntsika.

“So we are geared up and ready for it, we cannot even contain our excitement!” Stretching over two days, the festival will host over 40 acts from around the world, including America’s acclaimed Erykah Badu. A remaining dream is to perform with Joseph Shabalala, the 73-year-old founder of mult-Grammy winners Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and emulate his achievements. “His music and the rest of the Mambazo has been a very big influence on our music as well as music from different artists in South Africa,” said Buhle. —AFP

The Soil

‘Frozen’ sales hit high note, holds throne on top of Billboard

T

he soundtrack to Disney’s “Frozen” showed no signs of slowing down four months after its release, as sales for the album hit a high note and held the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday. “Frozen,” which features the Oscar-winning song “Let It Go,” sold 202,000 copies last week

according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan, its biggest sales week since its November 25 release.

“Frozen,” the Oscar-winning animated tale of two Nordic princess sisters who must save their kingdom from an eternal winter, has grossed more than $1 billion worldwide at the film box office. The spike in sales of its soundtrack was spurred by the release of the film on DVD. Six new debuts entered the top ten of the Billboard 200 chart this week, led by rapper YG’s “My Krazy Life” at No. 2 with sales of 61,000. Alt-rockers Foster the People debuted its latest

record “Supermodel” at No. 3, electronic music DJ Skrillex came in at No. 4 with “Recess” and grunge rockers The Pretty Reckless notched No. 5 with “Going to Hell.”

Latin pop crooner Enrique Iglesias’ latest studio album “Sex and Love” clocked in at No. 8 in its opening week, while rockers Taking Back Sunday rounded out the top ten with “Happiness Is.” For the week ending March 23, overall album sales totaled 4.7 million, Billboard said, down 22 percent from the comparable sales week in 2013. — Reuters

Review

Body count out of control in ‘Raid 2’ L

eaving behind the original’s grungy Jakarta tenement setting for the luxurious hangouts of Indonesia’s organized crime overlords, “The Raid 2” pumps up its production values several notches. Even so, it’s easy to imagine that one of the biggest items on the budget might be the orthopedics bill, since this orgy of broken bones and vicious badassery makes its cult predecessor look like a peevish bitch-slap. Lining up bloody showdowns like the dizzying acts of a hyper-violent ballet, Gareth Evans’ sequel invites accusations of, ahem, overkill. But the fanboys will eat it up.

There’s more of pretty much everything in this sequel. That means it sacrifices some of the purity of the first movie, which had its share of weaponry but was rendered exciting and distinctive primarily by its virtuoso assaults of lethal fists and feet on flesh.

Visceral in the extreme, the bravura martial arts mayhem still takes pride of place, choreographed again by lead actor Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian, who also appears, though as a different character from last time. But Evans expands the hardware beyond the usual guns and knives, giving some of his assassins their own special tools. Uwais returns as police officer Rama, but his bad-seed brother, Andi (Donny Alamsyah), isn’t so lucky. He gets iced in the opening minutes in a sugarcane field by Bejo (Alex Abbad), a half-Arab gangster looking to grow his territory. Bejo tells Andi that ambition and limitation don’t mix well in the underworld. That unfortunate combination applies to more than one criminal upstart here, Bejo included.

Undercover cop Demonstrating that the cops are almost as ruthless as the crooks, Rama is forced to go undercover in an anti-corruption task force, with the understanding that the safety of his wife and child depend on it. He’s cornered into doing prison time to get close to Ucok (Arifin Putra), the cocky son of old-school crime boss Bangun (Tio Pakusodewo), whose syndicate co-exists peacefully with that of his Japanese counterpart, Goto (Kenichi Endo). In a great kickoff to the fight action, Rama gets Ucok’s attention by single-handedly dis-

This image released by Sony Pictures Classics shows Iko Uwais, left, and Cecep Arif Rahman in a scene from ‘The Raid 2.’ —AP patching the welcome committee with little more than a steel bathroom door. While the cop initially refuses overtures to join the mob scion’s gang, he steps in when Ucok’s life is threatened.

The gritty squalor of the prison is the chief visual link with the grubby aesthetic of the first movie. It’s also the setting for a massive smackdown when all hell breaks loose in the muddy courtyard after a downpour. Rama shows his resourcefulness by making creative use of a broom handle, earning Ucok’s respect and loyalty. Cut to two years later, when Rama is ushered upon his release into Bangun’s employ. Nervous about keeping his identity under wraps, he receives little help or reassurance from his police supervisor. He proves his worth to Bangun, but the cop’s safety is jeopardized when Ucok starts rocking the boat, looking for advancement from his reluctant father. —AP

Lifestyle FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Guitarist and cellist to mesmerize Kuwait audiences

Interview with Bella

Brighton, UK. Jo Quail, who has received international acclaim due to her incredible skills in creating lavish cello layers with her loop station, effectively becoming a solo orchestra.

Bella began playing the guitar about 10 years ago after the mandatory saturation into Hendrix’s magical musical weavings. She was always a texture junkie, avidly into harmonic and fingerstyle blending and two years ago, she effectively re-learned the guitar to incorporate percussive techniques.

In 2009, she released her debut album “Paint Your Sound” which is all about using

Q: How do you “paint your sound”?

A: I learnt to play the guitar by watching and listening to people. To me, it was more about the shapes and the stories told through music. When I write, I usually start with a situation, a feeling, a picture, or color that has been emotive and try to convey this with what and how I play.

Q: What is innovative in the music you create?

A: Probably the lack of lyrics. I still have people coming up to me, telling me how they felt or what they saw while I was playing. It’s a more instinctive way of communicating, without directly telling people what the piece is about. But it also leaves me free to tell the stories behind the music and place them in the story.

Q: What are the non-conventional uses of the guitar that you aim for?

A: Using it to its full capability. There is a hollow cavity and the beautifully resonant woods that are used should shine too. Taking direct focus away from the strumming or scales and looking at the textures created.

Effectively building a one-manband.

Q: Why have you chosen this career path and what has attracted you to music?

A: I think it’s one of those things that everyone will relate to. It’s a difficult but important profes-

sion. It gives you discipline. As communication, it’s universal.

You keep it alive via inertia, so you yourself are constantly growing and learning too. I think that kind of progress is important to teach and to practice.

Q: Are you working currently on a new album or piece that you will perform in Kuwait?

A: I am working on a new EP. I’m about halfway through at the moment and will be playing some tracks from this in Kuwait.

Q: Who was your inspiration?

A: Preston Reed and Thomas Leeb are two of the most humble, progressive guitarists I know. Jimi Hendrix has always been a huge influence in my life - I don’t think anyone has been as innovative with the guitar (in the mainstream) as he was. Zoe Keating is a solo cellist who live loops with her cello. It’s some of the most beautiful music you will ever hear. She’s also a massive tech geek and writes software/midi scripts for her to be able to play what she does, so that is impressive to anyone who’s ever had technical difficulties with their instruments or equipment.

Q: Can you share some of the pictures that you plan to paint with your sound in Kuwait?

A: I’ve never been to Kuwait. I’m excited about seeing things and visiting places I have never been to before. I have no idea what to expect and that expectation and bubbling nerves always gives rise to some ideas.

Interview with Jo Quail

H

ere’s music to Kuwait’s ears. Bella, a solo instrumental guitarist and Jo Quail, a solo electric cellist and composer will be performing at a concert in Kuwait on Saturday. LoYAC and the British Embassy in Kuwait are jointly organizing this concert. The concert which is free and open for everyone will be held on Saturday, March 29 at the courtyard of Al-Qibla School in LoYAC at 7 pm.

Bella is a solo instrumental guitarist who creates intricate melodies with her percussive finger-tapping technique and is based in

the guitar as an illustrative tool and wanting to stretch the instrument further than conventional uses, in an attempt to bring out its subtle and hidden textures. Each tune has a much greater meaning and represents a story.

Some people have words and some paint pictures with sound.

Quail is a cellist and composer of instrumental contemporary music, whose live performance is unrivaled by any other. A resident of London, her performances have mesmerized and delighted audiences in UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and

Japan. She plays an electric cello and uses electronics to combine atonality with rich orchestration and deft percussive sounds to produce majestic soundscapes. When performing, she plays entirely live, with no prerecorded elements, using her cello, effects and loop station to build layers of sound into unique and powerfully structured pieces of audio alchemy.

Kuwait Times interviewed Bella and Jo Quail on ocassin of thair visit to Kuwait and learned more about what drives them to create magic through music.

Q: What inspired you to create “audio alchemy” and what exactly does that mean?

A: Everything that I experience in life goes in to the creation of my music. It all goes in to a musical melting pot and from this, each piece is born. Audio alchemy is, I suppose, a process that begins with an initial musical theme or sound. From then on, the compositional process is one of experimentation, refinement, distilling, re-sculpting and developing this idea into a fully formed musical piece.

Q: Why have you chosen to play the cello and what is the special tone unique to this instrument only?

A: I began to play the cello when I was five years old. An organization called the Centre for Young Musicians (CYM) gave certain schools in London the opportunity to offer cello or violin lessons, and I was very lucky to be at a school that participated in this scheme. I began playing in orchestras with the CYM from an early age, and was introduced to a wide repertoire of classical music this way. In time, I began to perform with bands and ensembles outside of the classical world, and still very much enjoy the opportunities to combine my love of traditional classical music with contemporary music. Last week, I performed in Poland with orchestra Cappella Gedanensis who are very well-respected as baroque musicians. At this concert, the orchestra played my compositions with me, specially arranged for solo electric cello and orchestra, and it was an exhilarating and hugely inspirational experience for me. I have always loved the vocal range of the cello; it is just like a human voice, and can be deeply evocative, moving, demonstrative and joyous - all at the same time!

Q: Who is your inspiration?

A: Many composers and performers from all genres of music inspire me. From the classical world, I love the music of Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Kodaly, Tavener and Part to name a few. I also love rock music, for example, Whitesnake, Jane’s Addiction, and Nine Inch Nails. I find some of the production values of pop music very interesting and inspiring too, and I also enjoy collaborating with musicians from many cultures, including Indian classical musicians, traditional Irish musicians and most recently, a Persian music ensemble. All performers inspire me with their unique talent and musical language. I’ve also worked with aerial artists over the last few years (silks, cord lisse, aerial hoop etc) and I find their work hugely inspirational. I think it is something to do with their precision and lithe grace. It is empowering to try to emulate this

from the perspective of technique as a cellist.

Q: Are you working on a new album or piece that you will perform in Kuwait?

A: I will release my second album ‘Caldera’ shortly and am already working on my third! I will be playing tracks from my first and second albums in Kuwait, and also a new piece which has no title as yet. I am certain that the experience of performing this piece of music in front of all of you will inspire me to name it, and develop it further! Performing new pieces to new audiences is a very important step for me in my creative process. I identify the true nature of music only while performing it live, and these early performances become pivotal to the development of the music.

Q: Would you rather compose your own music or perform music composed by others?

A: I love composing my own music, and equally love performing concerts of traditional repertoire. Each is a very different experience, and I enjoy the challenge of interpreting the composer’s thoughts and feelings, and trying to honor their intention. I also find my own voice within their music.

Q: Which is your favorite musical piece that you will never get enough of performing?

A: My new favorite piece is John Tavener’s Svyati for solo cello and choir. I performed this last week for the first time and I look forward to the opportunity to perform it again! I also love performing Debussy’s sonata for cello and piano, a highly evocative work; at times so reflective and dark, yet uplifting too. Cassado’s sonata for solo cello is a piece I enjoy playing immensely, and I will never tire of playing Kodaly’s solo cello sonata. But the music I would play every day forever is Bach. All of the solo cello suites are simply breathtaking. I am very lucky to be able to perform these fairly regularly as they are often requested at concerts and events.

Lifestyle FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Mimosa French perfume-makers’

secret ingredient

“

Mimosa has a fresh, floral, slightly powdery, almost honeyed aspect, which blends with the green scent of the stems.

“

L

ike miniature pompoms bursting with color and fragrance, mimosa flowers turn the hills around France’s perfume capital, Grasse, a golden yellow for a couple of fleeting weeks each year. Though they fade fast-and must be processed as soon as they are harvested-a second life awaits these harbingers of spring as a prized ingredient in some of the world’s most coveted scents. “Mimosa is still a perfumer’s mainstay,” says Sebastien Plan of Robertet, a major international supplier of the raw ingredients that go into perfumes.

Mimosa’s heady fragrance, which enjoyed a heyday from the 1950s through the ‘70s, is used in tiny amounts today. Modern perfumes tend to be “subtler, with a good, clean and smooth” effect, says Robertet. Yet it can still “become a perfume’s secret ingredient,” he says. “Mimosa has a fresh, floral, slightly powdery, almost honeyed aspect, which blends with the green scent of the stems,” he adds, admitting a preference for the stronger wild variety.

From a harvest of around 40 tons of flowers, Robertet produces some 400 kilos (880 pounds) of a rock-like substance called “concrete”-which is in turn purified into about 100 kilos of “absolute”. Jean-Pierre Roux, the boss of the Grasse perfumery Galimard, pays tribute to this “symbol of the Grasse terroir” by distilling the flowers into a refreshing cologne, popular with visitors who come to see the mimosas in bloom. Grasse, situated on the French Riviera, has long been France’s perfume capital. Fields of Provence roses and jasmine sprung up around the area in the 17th century when local tanners started scenting their leather products-especially gloves-with fragrant floral oils, which are still used today to make luxury perfumes such as Chanel No. 5.Galimard’s perfumer Caroline de Boutiny admits that its

mimosa scent is more popular with older customers than with the young.The strong mimosa absolute is little used in modern fragrances, but it can “lend weight to a composition with its honeyed and powdered notes”, she said. Luxury perfume brands Kenzo and Guerlain use it for this quality in their toilet waters, de Boutiny said.

‘Like velvet’ The mimosa tree arrived in France from Australia in the mid19th century as a decorative plant for gardens and still forms a luxurious forest on the Tanneron hills west of Grasse. “Mimosa is like velvet,” says Gilbert Vial, an 85-year-old “mimosist” who has never left the town of Tanneron. This year, he said, the blossoms

Bi-annual

China Fashion Week

This photo taken on February 7, 2013, shows Mimosa flowers in Tanneron, southern France. — AFP photos have only flowered for a brief period. To lengthen the season, local mimosa growers first plant the mirandole variety, which flowers in December and January, followed by the rustica and gaulois varieties, which bloom in February and March. Vial, whose family has sold mimosa bouquets for three generations, has little time for the secret world of the perfume industry. These days he can no longer even discern the scent of mimosa, even as it pervades his small village shop.

Yet the declining use of the flowers in the fragrance industry is being felt here. Vial’s 60-year-old son is the last in line to harvest the steep slopes of the family’s six hectares (15 acres).

“Before the frost of 1956, thirty families grew mimosa in Tanneron. Today there are just three or four of us,” he said.

Many perfumers prefer synthetic ingredients that closely resemble mimosa and are less onerous to produce. Globalization of production has also affected French growers, who now face competition from cheaper producers in far-flung countries. Even some Grasse suppliers, like Robertet, today import cheaper mimosa “concrete” from Indian suppliers. “Previously, six train cars left five days a week from Cannes heading to England,” Vial said. “Then, there was no other source of flowers in winter.

Nowadays, flowers arrive from all over the world.” — AP

Lifestyle FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Photos show models parading creations from the “CRZ Collection” by designer Peng Che during the bi-annual China Fashion Week in Beijing. — AFP photos

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Kuwait

SHARQIA-1 SABOTAGE (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG) SHARQIA-2 MINUSCULE: VALLEY OF THE LOST ANTS (DIG) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG-3D) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG-3D) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG-3D) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG-3D) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG-3D) SHARQIA-3 NON-STOP (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) MUHALAB-1 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG)

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MUHALAB-2 NEED FOR SPEED (DIG) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG) LEGEND (DIG) (Telugu) LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG)

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MUHALAB-3 SABOTAGE (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG)

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FANAR-1 NON-STOP (DIG) MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) NON-STOP (DIG)

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FANAR-3 SABOTAGE (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG)

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FANAR-4 NEED FOR SPEED (DIG) 2:15 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 4:45 PM NEED FOR SPEED (DIG) 6:45 PM NEED FOR SPEED (DIG) 9:15 PM CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG-3D) 9:15 PM NEED FOR SPEED (DIG) 11:45 PM FANAR-5 BLOOD TIES (DIG) HAUNT (DIG) THE DOUBLE (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) NO WED BLOOD TIES (DIG) NO WED BLOOD TIES (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG) MARINA-1 NON-STOP (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG)

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KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (27/03/2014 TO 02/04/2014) NON-STOP (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED MARINA-2 SABOTAGE (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED MARINA-3 NEED FOR SPEED (DIG-3D) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG-3D) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG-3D) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG-3D) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG-3D) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG-3D) AVENUES-1 MINUSCULE: VALLEY OF THE LOST ANTS (DIG) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) LEGEND (DIG) (Telugu) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) LEGEND (DIG) (Telugu) LEGEND (DIG) (Telugu) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) AVENUES-2 FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-3 NON-STOP (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED AVENUES-4 DIVERGENT (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG) WED CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG) 360ยบ- 1 DIVERGENT (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) NO WED DIVERGENT (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG) 360ยบ- 2 FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic)

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360ยบ- 3 BLOOD TIES (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG)

AL-KOUT.3 NON-STOP (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG)

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AL-KOUT.4 BLOOD TIES (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) HAUNT (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) HAUNT (DIG)

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BAIRAQ-2 MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG) LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) DIVERGENT (DIG) DIVERGENT (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED

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AL-KOUT.2 DIVERGENT (DIG) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) DIVERGENT (DIG) FACTORY GIRL (DIG) (Arabic) DIVERGENT (DIG)

BAIRAQ-1 SABOTAGE (DIG) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG-3D) SABOTAGE (DIG) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG-3D) SABOTAGE (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG-3D) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG-3D)

8:00 PM 10:45 PM

AL-KOUT.1 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG)

BAIRAQ-3 MINUSCULE: VALLEY OF THE LOST ANTS (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) BLOOD TIES (DIG) NON-STOP (DIG) NO SUN+TUE+WED PLAZA LEGEND (DIG) (Telugu) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG) LEGEND (DIG) (Telugu) LEGEND (DIG) (Telugu) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG) LAILA DIVERGENT (DIG) NEED FOR SPEED (DIG) SABOTAGE (DIG) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (DIG) AJIAL.1 YOUNGISTAAN (DIG) (HINDI) FRI+SAT YOUNGISTAAN (DIG) (HINDI) YOUNGISTAAN (DIG) (HINDI) AJIAL.2 DISHKIYAAOON (DIG) (HINDI) DISHKIYAAOON (DIG) (HINDI)

1:15 PM 3:15 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:15 PM 12:15 AM 8:00 PM 10:45 PM 12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:15 PM 9:15 PM 12:05 AM

1:45 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM

3:30 PM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM

SITUATION VACANT Lady Indian physiotherapist B.PT, M.Sc (UK) 4 years experience, transferable visa, ready to join. Please call 99651572.

(C 4677) 27-3-2014

beside the main road and bus stop. Near police station roundabout, from 1st May with kitchen and internet facility. Contact: 97523316 / 24745162. (C 4676) 27-3-2014

9:30 PM

MATRIMONIAL 5:30 PM 8:15 PM 10:45 PM 10:45 PM 3:30 PM 6:15 PM 9:15 PM 5:30 PM 8:30 PM

AJIAL.3 OM SHANTHI OSHAANA (DIG) (Malayalam) 3:30 PM FRI+SAT

Marriage proposal for Marathomite girl 26 years B/B in Kuwait (Ms) well placed in Kuwait. Proposals from Marthomite boys - qualified and well placed in Kuwait or GCC countries. Email: jennitthomas@yahoo.co.in (C 4678) 27-3-2014 ACCOMMODATION Abraq-Khaitan bed space/sharing room available for decent Goan/Indian bachelor in two bedroom flat,

CHANGE OF NAME I have changed my name Abbas holding Indian Passport No. Z1922769 issued at Kuwait to Abbas Mashrak for all purposes. 158, Kharol Colony, Fatehpura, Udaipur (Raj.) (C 4675) 25-4-2013 I, Saud Ali Vettukattu Kuniyil holder of Indian Passport No. L1164641, hereby change my name to Saud Ali Koya.

Address: Mishkath, Thuvvakkode, Cheman Chery, Kozhikode Dt, Kerala, India.

(C 4674) 24-3-2014

BOOKS FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Leadership books every young leader needs to read T

o lead you must inspire others to follow your example or orders. It helps if you’re able to attract, engage, and encourage employees, business partners, and potential clients to get on board with your plan or proposal.

Reading is an essential life skill. It’s how we record our history and share stories. Sure, there are countless books jam-packed from cover to cover with valuable facts. But there are also limitless volumes containing invaluable insights on the human experience. Generations of people have scribed their experiences and struggles, their emotions and confessions onto blank pages, thereby transform-

ing them into rich resources. Given this truth, it’s disheartening to report that global literacy rates are in decline.

Individuals young and old all around the world are reading less, less absorbedly.

According to author John Coleman, this lack of literature extends into the business world and all the way up the corporate ladder. In his experience, “business people seem to be reading less.” Which is bad news considering the fact that “broad reading habits are often a defining characteristic of our greatest leaders.” Perhaps it’s because reading has been shown to improve communication, emotional

intelligence, organizational effectiveness, and to reduce stress. All of which are critical requirements for an effective leader.

Now that you’ve been sufficiently convinced of the importance of reading, especially for would-be leaders, you’re probably wondering what you should be reading.

You might also be thinking that you don’t have the time.

Well, the truth is that you do have the time: “reading must become as natural as eating and breathing to you.” You don’t have to read 52 books in a year, but you do have to make time for more reading.

Man’s Search for Meaning

by Viktor Frankel

T

his book recounts Viktor Frankel’s experience in Auschwitz, the Nazi prison camp, during the Holocaust. Through all the pain and suffering Frankel was able to maintain perspective and conclude that there “must be meaning in suffering.” He reminds us that the meaning of life is to define that meaning for ourselves through action.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Gregory Hays translation)

A

lthough Aurelius was writing for himself, the surviving text is a road map to living a better life. By removing the excess, Aurelius shows us all how to rise above distractions to maintain our principles. Rooted in Stoic philosophy, Meditations is practical advice for controlling your thoughts, emotions, and actions to remove stress from your life.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

L

ife is a journey. Each one of us should be trying to follow our own personal legend (that is, what you have always wanted to accomplish). The tale of Santiago, a shepherd boy, reveals what happens when we pursue our own legend: “the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

The Truth About Leadership by James M Kouzes and Barry Z Posner

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven R Covey

T

S

here are some things that will always play a role in effective leadership. Trust, credibility, and ethics are among those things. Kouzes and Posner reveal 30 years of research that support these and other core principles.

even Habits is a timeless lesson in leadership and success. By changing your mindset to embrace an alternative perspective, Covey walks you through the self-mastery Paradigm Shift. This process is broken down into Independence, Interdependence, and Continual Improvement, resulting in meaningful and consistent growth.

Good to Great by Jim Collins

S

ome companies succeed, but most fail. Jim Collins evaluated thousands of articles and interview transcripts to figure out why exactly that is. Then he packaged it all into this book to show you what traits you’ll need to build a great company.

Stars

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Aries (March 21-April 19)

It doesn't seem fair that your workload has increased these last few days. Never mind that you still have all of your normal tasks to do, your boss expects you to finalize a new budget and write a proposal as well? Enlist the help of others if you can. If you can't, simply do the best you can without sacrificing time with your family and loved ones. Ultimately, Aries, the latter is more important.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

You've been extremely busy these past few months, working extra hours at the office, then going out with friends late at night. This sort of behavior is known as "burning the candle at both ends," and it rarely has a happy ending, Taurus. You need to take some quiet time, ideally with someone special. It's likely that your romantic partner misses you and would jump at the opportunity to spend an intimate evening with you.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Expect today's planetary energies to raise your social consciousness, Gemini. You may be distracted with thoughts of the homeless person you saw today, or the television special you saw on babies with AIDS. You may be reflecting on your connection to and responsibilities toward humanity. Why don't you put aside a little time or money for the charity of your choice? If you're feeling these urges, don't hesitate to act on them!

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

You may be asked to swallow your pride and give in to someone else's will today, Cancer. This will be difficult for you to do.

Try to concentrate on your good reasons for obedience, and work out your frustration by taking a brisk walk. Expect to receive some welcome news from another source, which will also help calm you down. Relax with a group of supportive friends tonight.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

The planetary energy makes this a good day for contemplation rather than action, Leo. If you feel the urge to buy, don't.

Sleep on decisions. If you feel the same tomorrow, go for it. If you're in the middle of a conflict at work, try not to take sides.

Tell anyone who asks your opinion that you need time to think about it. Consider scheduling an hour of meditation.

The word for today is Zen!

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Passion and romance are in the air, Virgo, so make the most of the great atmosphere! Everyone seems to be in a festive mood.

You feel close to others and feel profound gratitude for the loved ones in your life. Consider leaving work early to go home to snuggle up close with your special someone. Be sure to be extra open about sharing your feelings today.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

You may receive some upsetting news from a family member today, Libra. It could have you reeling for a moment, but when you take the time to think about it some more you'll realize that things aren't as troubling as they first seemed. Be sure to get all the facts before taking any action. You want to be sure to do what's right in this situation.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

You must weigh your physical limitations with your desire to get everything done, Scorpio. You run the risk of wearing yourself out and getting sick just as you finish your tasks. Enlist the help of others, if you can, for all those chores and errands that absolutely need to be done. You should definitely leave anything that can wait. Your health needs to come first!

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Today you could realize that a friend is actually your soul mate, Sagittarius. You've been spending a lot of time together attending social events, and you've come to realize how much you look forward to each other's company. Your new level of affection seems obvious, but it would be a good idea to put it into words. If you can't screw up the courage to do so, express your thoughts with a gift.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You may feel at odds with the rest of the world now, Capricorn, as you yearn for some quiet time alone. See if you can find a balance between spending time with your family and time alone. If you set the alarm to wake you early, you can enjoy the peace and quiet of dawn. If you aren't an early riser, you can always sequester yourself in the library for a few hours of solitude.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

You have a warm and sensitive nature, Aquarius, and today you could be feeling especially tuned in to the feelings of others.

Romance is very much on your mind, as are all things sensual. If you're shopping for clothes, you'll likely be drawn to rich and luxurious fabrics. Don't hesitate to indulge this passionate side of yourself. Your mate will likely be quite appreciative!

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Dreams or visions could bring sudden and exciting insights with regard to career issues, Pisces. These dreams could steer you toward books, websites, and other sources of information that can provide further guidance that could well prove invaluable. The source of your insights may be rather unorthodox, but don't write them off because of that. Think of them as messages from your higher self and make the most of them.

COUNTRY CODES Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African Republic 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands)0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062 Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686

Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland)0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK)0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677 Somalia 00252 South Africa 0027 South Korea 0082 Spain 0034 Sri Lanka 0094 Sudan 00249 Suriname 00597 Swaziland 00268 Sweden 0046 Switzerland 0041 Syria 00963 Taiwan 00886 Tanzania 00255 Thailand 0066 Toga 00228 Tonga 00676 Tokelau 00690 Trinidad 001868 Tunisia 00216 Turkey 0090 Tuvalu 00688 Uganda 00256 Ukraine 00380 United Arab Emirates00976

L e i s u re

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

C R O S S W O R D 5 0 0

Challenging Maze

ACROSS 1. A widely distributed system of free and fixed macrophages derived from bone marrow.

4. A small house with a single story.

11. An inactive volcano in Sicily.

15. An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members.

16. Produced by aphesis.

17. A barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports.

18. To make a mistake or be incorrect.

19. Firmly fastened or secured against opening.

21. Showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil.

23. Light informal conversation for social occasions.

25. Feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and being unable to roar.

26. A crystalline rock that can be cut and polished for jewelry.

27. Disciple of Jesus and leader of the apostles.

30. An associate degree in nursing.

32. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

33. Having an elongated seating area.

35. Large high frilly cap with a full crown.

38. The upper house of the parliament of the Republic of Ireland.

41. A woman hired to suckle a child of someone else.

42. Jordan's port.

46. A bachelor's degree in religion.

47. A form of address for a man.

48. (informal terms) "gave me a cockamamie reason for not going".

49. (Judaism) A Jewish festival (traditionally 8 days) celebrating the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.

51. A doctor's degree in education.

52. A promontory in northern Morocco opposite the Rock of Gibraltar.

53. Savory jelly based on fish or meat stock used as a mold for meats or vegetables.

57. A flat bread made of oat or barley flour.

59. Of or relating to alga.

62. A small vessel for travel on water.

63. A high-crowned black cap (usually made of felt or sheepskin) worn by men in Turkey and Iran and the Caucasus.

68. Stairway in India leading down to a landing on the water.

71. A device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned.

72. Given to avoiding association with others.

75. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment.

76. A cruel wicked and inhuman person.

77. Conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual.

78. Strong liquor flavored with juniper berries.

79. Tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera Arundo and Phragmites.

80. An island state in the West Indies in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. 81. A periodic paperback publication.

1. (archaic) A fitting reward.

2. A beautiful and graceful girl.

3. Lean end of the neck.

4. Alternatively, a member of the family Nymphaeaceae.

5. A translucent mineral consisting of hydrated silica of variable color.

6. Any of various small to minute sucking insects with narrow feathery wings if any.

7. The cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one.

8. Goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment.

9. Scrubby Australian acacia having extremely foul-smelling blossoms.

10. An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members.

11. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event.

12. Genus of tropical plants with creeping rootstocks and small umbellate flowers.

13. A rechargeable battery with a nickel cathode and a cadmium anode.

14. Having winglike extensions.

20. A small pellet fired from an air rifle or BB gun.

22. (of a shore or shoreline) Having an extensive gently sloping area covered with sand or gravel or shingle down to the water line.

24. Studies intended to provide general knowledge and intellectual skills (rather than occupational or professional skills).

28. Relating to or characteristic of a tribe.

29. Of or relating to or characteristic of the Republic of Chad or its people or language.

31. A member of a people who have no permanent home but move about according to the seasons.

34. Language of the people of Cebu in the Philippines.

36. An unofficial association of people or groups.

37. Proceeding from or ordered by or subject to a pope or the papacy regarded as the successor of the Apostles.

39. Of or related to the amnion or characterized by developing an amnion.

40. (slang) Merchandise that is shoddy or inferior.

43. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

44. The seventh month of the Hindu calendar.

45. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

50. A short pithy instructive saying.

54. An unforeseen obstacle.

55. Used especially of front teeth having artificial crowns.

56. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

58. On a ship, train, plane or other vehicle.

60. Above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent.

61. Great brightness.

64. 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.

65. Any thick messy substance.

66. The act of scanning.

67. The basic unit of money on Malta.

69. The capital of Western Samoa.

70. The taste experience when a savoury condiment is taken into the mouth.

73. Term of address for a man.

74. A unit of length of thread or yarn.

Yesterdayʼs Solution

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Yesterday’s Solution

Sports FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Pacers cool Heat, Spurs roll INDIANAPOLIS: Paul George scored 23 points and Roy Hibbert had 21, leading the Indiana Pacers back from a sevenpoint fourth-quarter deficit for an 84-83 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. The NBA’s best home team ended a two-game losing streak, took a 2-1 lead in the season series against the two-time defending champions and rebuilt a three-game advantage in the race for the Eastern Conference’s top seed. Indiana (52-20) also clinched its second straight Central Division crown, something it hadn’t done since 199899 and 1999-2000.

LeBron James scored 38 points, but missed a potential goahead 3 late. Chris Bosh had a jumper at the buzzer to win it but it hit nothing but air. George had two monster dunks - one over LeBron James - to get the Pacers back in the game.

SPURS 108, NUGGETS 103 Tim Duncan had 29 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, and San Antonio overcame a fourth-quarter collapse to beat Denver for its 15th straight victory.

Danny Green scored 16 points before leaving with a foot injury early in the second half. Tiago Splitter, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili had 10 points apiece for San Antonio (55-16), which maintained the league’s best record.

Aaron Brooks scored 25 points and Kenneth Faried had 24 points, including 15 points in a frenzied final quarter for Denver.

Timofey Mozgov added 14 points and 11 rebounds and Quincy Miller had 11 points. After leading by as many as 24 points and by 20 midway through the third quarter, San Antonio needed Duncan’s late heroics to preserve its win streak. Denver went on a 34-20 run in the final 11 minutes.

KNICKS 107, KINGS 99 Carmelo Anthony scored 36 points, and J.R. Smith added 29 points as New York held off a furious rally to beat Sacramento and move a game closer to a playoff berth.

A night after a lackluster 127-96 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers, the Knicks avoided a monumental collapse to another one of the Western Conference’s worst teams. New York led by 24 in the third quarter before Sacramento surged back, and the Knicks needed a scintillating shooting performance from Anthony and Smith to snap a two-game skid.

New York (30-42) is two games behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the weak Eastern Conference after the Hawks (31-39) lost 107-83 to Minnesota. DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Kings.

the Grizzlies, who won for the fifth time in six games and are a season-best 15 games over .500.

Derrick Favors had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Gordon Hayward scored 18 points and Richard Jefferson added 15 for the Jazz, who are 1-5 in their last six home games.

Though Memphis is the team in a tight playoff race, the Jazz exerted extra effort for steals and dove for loose balls and led for most the contest while playing their starters extended minutes. The Grizzlies made the key plays down the stretch and made their final 13 free throws to secure the victory.

PELICANS 98, CLIPPERS 96 Anthony Davis had 16 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks as under-manned New Orleans beat Los Angeles for its fourth straight win.

Darius Miller capped a 16-point effort with a pair of crucial late jumpers, the last giving New Orleans a 97-92 lead with 47 seconds left. Anthony Morrow scored 27 points.

Jamal Crawford scored 31 for the Clippers, but narrowly missed a couple late 3-point attempts, including one as time expired that could have won it. Blake Griffin had 21 points but missed a free throw that could have tied it with 10.5 seconds left.

SUNS 99, WIZARDS 93 Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe combined to finish with 48 points, 13 assists and 13 rebounds, helping Phoenix beat Washington for its fifth consecutive victory.

The Suns moved into a tie with the Dallas Mavericks for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Both clubs are 43-29 with 10 games remaining.

The Suns have won seven of their last eight, coinciding with Bledsoe’s return to the starting lineup after missing 21/2 months because of knee surgery. He had 23 points, seven

assists and six rebounds, and Dragic wound up with 25 points, six assists and seven rebounds. John Wall led Washington with 29 points and six assists.

CAVALIERS 97, PISTONS 96 Dion Waiters hit a contested baseline jumper at the buzzer to complete a rally that lifted Cleveland over the Detroit. The Pistons led 82-66 going into the fourth quarter, but once again collapsed down the stretch. Jarrett Jack hit a 3-pointer to pull the Cavaliers within 96-90 with 2:49 left, and his jump shot made it a 4-point game with 90 seconds to play. After a bad Brandon Jennings miss, Jack drove the lane and hit a floater while being fouled. His free throw made it 96-95 with 53.8 seconds left.

After several Piston misses and timeouts by both teams, Waiters got the ball in the right corner and hit a 19-footer as time expired. Matt Dellavedova led Cleveland with a careerhigh 21 points, Waiters had 18 and Jack 17. Josh Smith scored 24 points for Detroit.

BOBCATS 116, NETS 111 Al Jefferson scored 35 points and Kemba Walker had a double-double as the Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Brooklyn Nets in overtime for their 10th victory at home in the last 12 games.

Walker had 20 points and 12 assists and Chris DouglasRoberts had 16 points, including two big jump shots in overtime. It was Jefferson’s 12th 30-point game this season for the Bobcats, who beat the Nets for only the second time in the last 11 meetings.

The win pulled the Bobcats within three games of the Nets, the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte (35-37) has the conference’s seventh-best record.

Deron Williams finished with 29 points for Brooklyn, after scoring 18 in the first quarter. Joe Johnson had 18. — AP

RAPTORS 99, CELTICS 90 Terrence Ross scored 24 points, Kyle Lowry 23 as Toronto beat Boston to edge closer to its first playoff berth since 2008.

Terrence Ross scored 24 points and Kyle Lowry 23 as the Toronto Raptors edged closer to their first playoff berth since 2008 with a 99-90 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.

DeMar DeRozan added 20 points for Toronto, which increased its Atlantic Division lead to 21/2 games over Brooklyn, which lost in Charlotte. The Raptors can clinch a playoff spot if the New York Knicks lose at Sacramento.

Jared Sullinger led Boston with 26 points, going 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Boston lost for the seventh time in eight games.

It was Lowry’s eighth straight game of 20 or more points and helped the Raptors snap an 11-game losing streak in Boston. Toronto captured its 19th road win, one off the club record set 2000-01.

TIMBERWOLVES 107, HAWKS 83 Gorgui Dieng had 15 points and 15 rebounds as Minnesota dealt slumping Atlanta another costly loss. Corey Brewer and Kevin Martin each scored 18 points and Kevin Love had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Minnesota scored 32 points off 26 Hawks turnovers and blew the game open in the second half.

Paul Millsap had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta, which has lost four straight and has the New York Knicks right in their rearview mirror for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Jeff Teague, who had averaged more than 23 points over the previous four games, went scoreless for the first time this season on 0-for-5 shooting.

GRIZZLIES 91, JAZZ 87 Zach Randolph had 22 points and 13 rebounds, while his two free throws with 11 seconds clinched Memphis’ comefrom behind win over Utah.

Mike Conley scored 19 points and Marc Gasol added 18 for

INDIANAPOLIS: Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (24) hangs on the rim after dunking in front of Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) during the second half of an NBA basketball game. — AP

Sports FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Rangers stretch winning streak NEW YORK: Henrik Lundqvist stopped 30 shots and came within 1:53 of his second shutout in three games as the New York Rangers stretched their season-best winning streak to five games with a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.

The second-place Rangers moved three points ahead of third-place Philadelphia in the Metropolitan Division race by winning what could be a playoff preview. New York has eight games remaining, and the Flyers have 10 left.

Derek Dorsett scored in the first period, defenseman Ryan McDonagh added a goal in the second, and Dominic Moore made it 3-0 in the third against Steve Mason, who made 26 saves. The Flyers’ Jakub Voracek scored his 21st goal off a faceoff with 1:53 to go to make it 3-1.

SAITAMA: Japan’s Mao Asada performs during the ladies’ short program at the world figure skating championships. — AFP

Asada breaks world record SAITAMA: Japan’s Mao Asada broke the short programme world record in a bid for a third women’s title at the world championships Thursday, putting her disastrous Olympic performance behind her.

Skating to Frederic Chopin’s “Nocturne in E Flat major” in what could be the last competition of her career, the 23-year-old nailed her trademark triple axel in her opening element, followed by a clean triple flip and a triple-double loop combination.

She also hit a maximum level-four in all three spins and a step sequence to pick up 78.66 points in front of a roaring capacity home crowd at the 18,400-seat Saitama Super Arena.

Her result topped the previous world mark of 78.50 points scored by her longtime rival Kim Yu-Na of South Korea when she beat Asada into second spot at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. It also beat her five-year-old personal best of 75.84.

Italy’s Carolina Kostner, the 2012 world champion who grabbed the bronze behind Russia’s Adelina Sotnikova and Kim at last month’s Sochi Games, trailed in second spot at 77.24 points going into the final free skate on Saturday.

Russia’s 15-year-old Julia Lipnitskaia came in third on 74.54 points. Both Kostner and Lipnitskaia improved their personal best scores.

“While I skated I kept remembering how disappointed I was in Sochi,” said Asada, the 2008 and 2010 world champion, rating her result at “100 out of a possible 100”.

In Sochi, she botched a triple axel and other jumps to be 16th after the short programme but sprang back in free skating to finish sixth overall.

“I usually don’t care about my score but I feel great for scoring the world’s best,” said Asada, who has said her chance of continuing to compete after this Olympic season was “50-50”.

“I think this disappointment may have

pushed me so much,” she said. “Of course, it would have been very great if I could do this at the Olympics. You never know what is awaiting you in life.”

About her free skating, Asada, the only woman who regularly attempts the difficult 3.5-revolution triple axel, said: “My mission here is to perform both programmes perfectly.”

Sotnikova, 17, has skipped the worlds and Kim has retired from competition after Sochi, amid controversy in which the freeskate judging was accused of favouring the hometown girl.

“It all happens so fast,” said Kostner, 27.

“This is my 13th championship in a row and I kept on saying to myself ‘You have so much experience. You don’t have to be so nervous.’ But it’s each time the same.”

About her free skate, she said she would try to “enjoy the movement, have fun and put all the heart I have into it”. Lipnitskaia, the European champion, said: “I was able to show my level after the disappointing performance in Sochi.”

She contributed to Russia’s gold medal in the inaugural Olympic team competition in Sochi by topping both programmes. But she cracked under pressure to finish fifth in the individual competition.

“Obviously I hope to have a medal after the free skating.” In the pairs, double Olympic figure skating bronze medallists Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy bowed out on a high with a fifth world title in their final competition before retirement.

In the absence of Olympic champions and main rivals, Russia’s Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov, the German pair topped the table for a second straight day with 145.86 points in the free skate. Russia’s Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov, second at last month’s Sochi Game, moved up from overnight third spot to grab more silver medals. Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada slipped to third spot. — AFP

CANUCKS 5, WILD 2 David Booth scored two unassisted goals and Eddie Lack made 29 saves to lead Vancouver. Zack Kassian, Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler also scored for Vancouver as the Canucks try to make a late push to overtake Phoenix and Dallas for the Western Conference’s final wild-card playoff spot.

Minnesota outshot Vancouver 31-19 and got goals from Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter, but lost its third straight at home.

Booth scored for the second consecutive game after going scoreless in his previous 32.

DUCKS 3, FLAMES 2 Andrew Cogliano scored the go-ahead goal at 14:41 of the third period as the Anaheim Ducks picked up an important two points.

Stephane Robidas’ shot from the blue-line was kicked out by Karri Ramo but the puck went right to Cogliano at the face-off circle, who quickly fired in his 21st goal of the season.

Nick Bonino and Mathieu Perreault also scored for Anaheim, which kicked off a threegame road trip to Western Canada with its sixth road win in its last eight games away from the Honda Center.

The Ducks moved to within two points of the Pacific-leading San Jose Sharks. Anaheim still holds two games in hand. Brian McGrattan and Jiri Hudler scored for Calgary. — AP

NHL Results/Standings Vancouver 5 Minnesota 2; NY Rangers 3 Philadelphia 1; Anaheim 3 Calgary 2.

WESTERN CONFERENCE PACIFIC DIVISION W L OTL GF GA San Jose 47 18 9 227 177 Anaheim 47 18 7 231 182 Los Angeles 42 25 6 182 155 Phoenix 35 26 12 202 207 Vancouver 34 30 10 181 198 Calgary 30 36 7 185 214 Edmonton 25 39 9 180 241 CENTRAL DIVISION St. Louis 49 16 7 233 163 Chicago 42 16 15 244 188 Colorado 45 21 6 221 198 Minnesota 37 25 11 182 183 Dallas 34 27 11 203 207 Nashville 31 31 11 177 218 Winnipeg 32 32 9 202 213 EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION Boston 49 17 6 230 153 Montreal 41 26 7 190 184 Tampa Bay 39 24 9 214 193 Detroit 33 25 14 191 204 Toronto 36 30 8 216 231 Ottawa 29 29 14 205 243 Florida 27 38 8 178 237 Buffalo 20 44 8 138 212 METROPOLITAN DIVISION Pittsburgh 46 21 5 224 180 NY Rangers 41 29 4 197 179 Philadelphia 38 27 7 206 204 Columbus 37 29 6 204 196 Washington 34 27 12 212 218 New Jersey 31 28 13 175 187 Carolina 31 32 9 181 205 NY Islanders 28 35 9 202 243

PTS 103 101 90 82 78 67 59 105 99 96 85 79 73 73

104 89 87 80 80 72 62 48 97 86 83 80 80 75 71 65

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

CALGARY: TJ Galiardi No. 39 of the Calgary Flames looks for a wrap-around as Jonas Hiller No. 1 (left) and Ben Lovejoy No. 6 of the Anaheim Ducks defend during an NHL game. — AFP

44

Sports FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Nishikori stuns Federer to reach Miami semis MIAMI: A tireless Kei Nishikori shocked 17-time grand slam winner Roger Federer 3-6 7-5 6-4 on Wednesday to claim his second top five scalp in two days and reach the semi-finals of the Sony Open. After knocking off fourth seeded Spaniard David Ferrer in a threehour marathon on Tuesday, the 21st ranked Japanese was forced to go the distance again, surviving a two-hour centre court battle with Federer. Nishikori has been one of Federer’s few bogeymen, having now gotten the better of the

Richard Gasquet. A two-time Miami champion, Federer convincingly won the opening set and looked ready for an easy night when he twice went up a break in the second. But each time, the feisty Nishikori would immediately answer back then broke Federer again at 6-5 to level the match.

With the third set heading towards a tie-break it was Federer who blinked while serving to stay in the match at 5-4, slamming an easy forehand into the net and then sending a return long to hand

KEY BISCAYNE: Roger Federer of Switzerland returns a shot to Kei Nishikori of Japan during the Sony Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center. —AFP Swiss maestro in two of their three career meetings. “To beat Roger, and it’s second time to beat him... I thought I really played well, especially in the third,” Nishikori told reporters. “I was hitting both deep and striking well. Everything was going well. “There was couple of tough moments, but I was fighting through and happy to win today.”

Arriving in south Florida riding the momentum from a finals appearance at Indian Wells, Federer had been in superb form, cruising into the Miami quarterfinals without dropping a set, highlighted by 49 minute fourth round win over

Nishikori triple match point. Federer would survive the first two but could not save the third, Nishikori whipping a forehand winner off the return to seal the upset. “I just couldn’t find my rhythm on the serve today,” Federer said. “It was surprising especially after how well I have served and played this week. “I had the set and a break and up a break again so it is a little frustrating. “He was more consistent in the second and third so all credit to him.”

MURRAY FALLS The victory setup a semi-final meeting

against world number two Novak Djokovic, who ended Andy Murray’s reign as Miami champion by easing past the sixth seeded Briton 7-5 6-3. For Djokovic, the victory over Murray was a small measure of revenge as the met for the first time since the Scotsman beat him in last year’s Wimbledon final.

Murray, playing his first event since splitting with coach Ivan Lendl last week, had looked increasingly comfortable and confident on his own but Djokovic kept the Scotsman under almost constant pressure in blustery conditions. “I was not surprised about the way he played,” said Djokovic, whose coach Boris Becker was also not in Miami as he is taking time off to undergo double hip surgery. “I expected him to play well, to be a little bit more aggressive.

“I tried to not allow him to be in the comfort zone because when he strikes the zone, when he feels comfortable on the court, he’s striking the ball so well, maybe best in the world.” In dramatic contrast to the women’s semi between Dominika Cibulkova and Agnieszka Radwanska that ended moments earlier on centre court and featured 19 breaks of serve, breaks were hard to come by for Djokovic and Murray in a tight opening set. Murray had only a single break opportunity against the Serb while Djokovic was able to convert one of his three chances, with the help of a controversial point.

The first set ended in an argument between Murray and the chair umpire, the Scotsman furious that Djokovic was given a point to open the decisive game even though it was clear the Serb reached across the net to hit the ball. A distracted Murray then lost the next three points on unforced errors as Djokovic claimed the break and set. “I wasn’t sure, from where I was standing, it was a very hard thing to see,” Murray said. “I knew it was close. So that’s why I went and asked Novak and he told me he was over the net. That was it. “(The chair umpire) said, ‘yes, he was over the net but he was in line with the net,’ so I didn’t really understand. “It maybe had a slight bearing on that game but I was still up a break in the second set.” —Reuters

KEY BISCAYNE: Na Li of China returns a shot to Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark during their match on Day 10 of the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center. —AFP

Li books rematch with Cibulkova MIAMI: World number two Li Na powered her way past 11th seed Caroline Wozniacki 7-5 7-5 and into the semi-finals of the Sony Open on Wednesday, setting up another rematch of the Australian Open final against Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova.

Li did not play a match until the third round after receiving a first round bye and second round walkover but has since been in sizzling form, reaching the last four without dropping a set.

Earlier on a windswept centre court, Cibulkova fought off three match points to claim a 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 upset win over third seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, propelling her into the top 10 for the first time in her career. The win set up another clash with Asia’s first grand slam singles champion, who defeated the Slovakian at Melbourne Park in straight sets and again at the quarter-finals at Indian Wells in three sets two weeks ago.

“Another tough match, for sure,” said Li, looking ahead to her semi-final. “I think so many people think about maybe a repeat for the final, but it’s not. “Miami is Miami, because Australia is over. It’s past already.” Wozniacki, a former-world number one, presented few problems for Li as she raced to a 4-1 lead in the opening set before the Dane hit back with a four-game spurt to go in front 5-4. But Li recovered to close the set with a three-game run which was followed by a similar four-game sweep to end the second set and clinch the match.

With players struggling in cool, blustery conditions, 10th seed Cibulkova reached the final four for the first time in eight visits to Miami despite being broken 10 times by Radwanska, committing 51 unforced errors and eight double faults. The match was not of the same quality the pair showed in their Australian Open semi-final earlier this year, as Cibulkova waited until the fourth game of the second set before managing to hold serve for the first time. “I have to say I’m really glad, especially about my win today,” said Cibulkova, who took out three-time champion Venus Williams in the fourth round. “It wasn’t easy at all to play today against Aga with the wind and conditions and I had to stay aggressive all the time even if I missed many shots.” —Reuters

Rosberg eyes more wins before grid catches up SEPANG: A beaming Nico Rosberg predicted he and Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton will be battling for victory in Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix with their swift adaptation to the new regulations leaving the opposition trailing. The German driver overtook pole sitter Hamilton before the first turn of the season opening race in Melbourne two weeks ago to go on and grab the first chequered flag of the V6 turbocharged engine era.

With little time for their rivals to employ significant upgrades, Rosberg was quietly confident his fifth career victory could come in Malaysia on Sunday. “The chances are that we will be right at the front it seems we already have a bit of an advantage over the other people,” the German told reporters at the Sepang Circuit yesterday.

“Of course Melbourne is not a bench mark as a race so we should be cautious with that but we are looking good so for sure it will be possible to get a great result here.” The technical changes introduced for the 2014 season are the biggest most of the sport’s engineers and mechanics have ever seen, with new quieter engines, energy recovery systems and an emphasis on fuel economy as the sport embraces a ‘green revolution’. After four consecutive world titles for Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, the last coming after the German won nine straight races, the new changes have leveled the playing field and unsurprisingly Rosberg was all for it.

“I think its been all good for F1, it has changed the pecking order around which is definitely good for everybody after the same guy winning last year. We needed a

bit of a change on that so that’s been good,” he said. “Its been a fantastic start to the season. I think the whole team has done a great job with these new regulations with the car and engine and the power trend they have built.

“We looked to be the quickest at the moment which is fantastic but then we must be careful with that and the opposition is not asleep and they are pushing like crazy.” Despite the strength of the car, Hamilton encountered engine problems in Melbourne and was told to retire by the team over the radio on his third lap.

The Briton told reporters yesterday he would be using the same engine in Malaysia and stressed the importance of reliability, especially in the testing conditions in Sepang where temperatures are high and the humidity heavy. “Reliability is

going to be put to the real test because it’s so hot the engine is going to be on the absolute limit and I really don’t know how big the advantage is going to be,” the 2008 world champion said.

“When you lose 25 points that’s a serious deficit to catch up and from one DF (did not finish) you can gain a large amount. I hope for our team that we don’t have anymore DFs this year.”

Despite the stuttering start to the season, Hamilton shared Rosberg’s confidence in the car and said it was important the team made the most of their advantage before the grid inevitably made up the time over the year. “Everyone else is pushing massively hard to catch us up and we can definitely not sit back and relax we have got to keep pushing and keep trying to develop the car,” the Briton said. —Reuters

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Sports FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Hales ton leads England to thrilling win over Sri Lanka CHITTAGONG: Opener Alex Hales smashed a maiden hundred to help England upset world number one Sri Lanka in a thrilling World Twenty20 Super-10 stage match in Chittagong yesterday.

The 24-year-old smashed a 64-ball 116 not out as England chased down a challenging 190run target in 19.2 overs. With England needing 23 off the last two overs Hales smashed Nuwan Kulasekara for a six to reach his hundred off 60 balls and then hit Angelo Mathews for the winning six, to anchor England’s best chase in all T20 cricket.

Hales hit six sixes and 11 boundaries in a breathtaking display of batting. The victory gives England their first win in two games while Sri Lanka lost their first in three to leave Group One wide open with South Africa beating the Netherlands by six runs earlier in the day for their second win in three matches. New Zealand have one win in two matches.

England were rocked by Kulasekara (4-32) in the first over when he bowled Michael Lumb off

CHITTAGONG: England batsman Eoin Morgan plays a shot during the ICC World Twenty20 tournament cricket match against Sri Lanka. —AFP

SCOREBOARD CHITTAGONG: Scoreboard of the World Twenty20 Super-10 Group one match between England and Sri Lanka played at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium yesterday.

Sri Lanka T. Dilshan c Jordan b Dernbach 55 K. Perera c Buttler b Dernbach 3 M. Jayawerdene b Jordan 89 T. Perera not out 23 K. Sangakkara c Hales b Jordan 0 A. Mathews not out 11 Extras: (lb2, nb2, w4) 8 Total: (for four wkts; 20 overs) 189 Did not bat: D. Chandimal, S. Senanayake, N. Kulasekara, A. Mendis, L. Malinga.

Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Perera), 2-149 (Jayawardene), 3156 (Dilshan), 4-169 (Sangakkara) Bowling: Ali 1-0-4-0, Dernbach 4-0-42-2 (1nb, 1w), Bresnan 4-0-48-0, Jordan 4-0-28-2 (1w), Tredwell 4-0-36-0, Broad 3-0-

29-0 (1nb, 2w).

England M. Lumb b Kulasekara 0 A. Hales not out 116 Moeen c Senanayake b Kulasekara 0 E. Morgan c Mathews b Kulasekara 57 J. Buttler c Chandimal b Kulasekara 2 R. Bopara not out 11 Extras: (nb1, w3)4 Total: (for four wkts; 19.2 overs) 190 Did not bat: T. Bresnan, C. Jordan, S. Broad, J. Tredwell, J. Dernbach Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Lumb), 2-0 (Ali), 3-152 (Morgan), 4156 (Buttler) Bowling: Kulasekara 4-1-32-4 (2w), Mathews 2.2-0-31-0, Malinga 4-0-31-0 (1nb, 1w), Senanayake 4-0-30-0,

the fifth ball and had Moeen Ali caught in the slips off the last to leave England reeling at 0-2.

But Hales and Eoin Morgan took the attack to the Sri Lankan bowlers, as Hales smashed three sixes and a four off Ajantha Mendis.

Mendis went for 52 runs in his four overs as spinners found the ball hard to grip because of the excessive dew. Morgan was finally dismissed

by Kulasekara with 38 needed for victory.

The previous best third wicket stand in all T20s was 137 set by thed New Zealand pair of Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson against Zimbabwe at Auckland in 2012.

Sri Lanka’s total was built around 89 by Mahela Jayawardene and 55 by Tillakaratne Dilshan. Jayawardene hit 11 boundaries and three sixes during his 51-ball knock and Dilshan smashed two sixes and four fours in his 47-ball innings as the two added 145 for the second wicket.

Jayawardene was lucky not to be out off the first ball he faced when television replays showed Lumb took a brilliant catch off Jade Dernbach.

But the on-field umpires-Rod Tucker at the non-striker’s end and Aleem Dar of Pakistanreferred the catch to television umpire Steve Davis. Davis, also from Australia, ruled replays were inconclusive.

That did not end England’s misery as their fielders dropped as many as four catches, twice off Jayawardene on five and 82, and one off Dilshan on 21 and in the final over off Thisara Perera who made 23 not out.

England dismissed opener Kusal Perera for three in the second over. Jayawardene smashed James Tredwell for his eighth boundary to complete his ninth half-century off just 32 balls.

He was finally bowled by Chris Jordan. Both Jordan and Dernbach picked up two wickets apiece. Australia take on defending champions the West Indies and India face Bangladesh in Group Two in Dhaka today. Top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals. The final will be played in Dhaka on April 6. —AFP

Gavaskar ready to take over troubled India board NEW DELHI: Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar said he was willing to take the helm of India’s embattled cricket board yesterday after a proposal by the Supreme Court designed to stem the damage from a betting scandal.

At a dramatic hearing in New Delhi, a panel of judges also called for the banning of two teams from this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), in a potentially devastating blow to a tournament which begins

next month. After warning the incumbent N. Srinivasan that they could order him to quit, the judges proposed 64-year-old Gavaskar take over on an interim basis as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

“In the place of Srinivasan, we propose to appoint an experienced cricket player like Sunil Gavaskar to replace him and function as BCCI president,” said Justice A.K. Patnaik, the panel’s chairman.

Gavaskar, the first player ever to score 10,000 runs in Test match cricket and who is now a television commentator, said he was up for the challenge of leading the most powerful body in world cricket.

“The fact that I am contracted to the BCCI to do TV commentary has to be put on record,” he told the NDTV network. “After that if the honorable Supreme Court tells you to do something, then of course ... if they ask me to do something, I will do it. —AFP

SA survive Dutch scare CHITTAGONG: Leg-spinner Imran Tahir came to South Africa’s rescue as they survived a scare from the Netherlands with a hard-fought six run win in their group one match in Chittagong yesterday.

Tahir took 4-21 in his four beguiling overs to keep the Netherlands down to 139 in 18.4 overs in a chase for 146 in the super-10 stage match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium. Tahir’s effort overshadowed paceman Ahsan Malik’s best bowling figures of 5-19 by a Dutchman in all T20 internationals which restricted South Africa to 145-9 in their 20 overs. The Netherlands, who were shot out for 39 - the lowest-ever Twenty20 score against Sri Lanka in their previous match, had themselves to blame for not able to chase the modest target despite a fiery start of 58 in 5.5 overs given by Stephan Myburgh’s 28-ball 51.

Myburgh, born in South Africa, was particularly severe on paceman Lonwabo Tsotsobe who he smashed for four boundaries and two sixes in the third and fifth overs.

Myburgh, who hit a match-winning 63 in a remarkable win over Ireland which helped his team to qualify from the first round, reached his half-century off just 25 balls with eight boundaries and two sixes but a run later was bowled by spinner Jean-Paul Duminy.

But none of the other batsmen could cope with Tahir as the Netherlands lost their last seven wickets for a mere 42 runs. South Africa’s skipper wasn’t happy with their performance despite the win. “I think we are making it hard for ourselves,” said Du Plessis. “It’s a great sign when your side is not playing 100 percent and still gets over the line.” Dutch skipper Peter Borren was left disappointed. “We obviously let this one go. We played across the line to Tahir,” said Borren of the man-of-the-match legspinner. —AFP

SCOREBOARD CHITTAGONG: Scoreboard of the World Twenty20 super-10 group one match between South Africa and the Netherlands played at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium yesterday.

South Africa Hashim Amla c Barresi b Malik 43 de Kock c Myburgh b Swart 0 du Plessis c van Beek b T. Cooper 24 AB de Villiers B. Cooper b van Beek 21 Morkel c B. Cooper b Malik 5 JP Duminy c Barresi b Gugten 12 Miller b Malik 17 Steyn c Barresi b Malik 5 Hendricks c c Borren b Malik 3 Imran Tahir not out 9 L. Tsotsobe not out 1 Extras: (b1, w4) 5 Total: (for nine wkts; 20 overs) 145 Fall of wickets: 1-3 (de Kock), 2-45 (Amla), 3-84 (du Plessis), 4-92 (de Villiers), 5-102 (Morkel), 6-120 (Duminy), 7-127 (Steyn), 8-133 (Hendricks), 9-135 (Miller) Bowling: Swart 2-0-26-1 (1w), Gugten 4-0-28-1 (1w), Malik 4-0-19-5, van Beek 2-0-14-1 (2w), Bukhari 4-0-26-0, Seelaar 1-0-9-0, T. Copper 3-0-22-1.

Netherlands Myburgh b Duminy 51 Swart c du Plessis b Steyn 8 Barresi lbw b Tahir 14 Borren lbw b Tahir 13 T Cooper b Tahir 16 B Copper c de Kock b Steyn 5 Mudassar c Miller b Tsotsobe 11 Seelaar c Duminy b Tahir 2 van Beek run out 1 Gugten c de Kock b Hendricks 8 Ahsan Malik not out 1 Extras: (b4, lb2, w3) 9 Total: (all out; 18.4 overs) 139 Fall of wickets: 1-58 (Swart), 2-80 (Myburgh), 2-80 (Myburgh), 3-82 (Barresi), 4-97 (Borren), 5-116 (B. Cooper), 6-116 (T. Cooper), 7-118 (Seelaar), 8-124 (van Beek), 9-134 (Bukhari) Bowling: Morkel 2-0-19-0 (1w), Hendricks 3.4-0-16-1, Tssotsobe 4-0-46-1, Steyn 4-0-19-2 (1w), Tahir 4-0-21-4, Duminy 1-0-12-1 (1w)

Sports FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Liverpool on title trail Sunderland 1

Liverpool 2

LIVERPOOL: Daniel Sturridge scored his 20th goal of the campaign as Liverpool kept the pressure on their Premier League title rivals with a 2-1 home win over Sunderland on Wednesday. The England striker netted Liverpool’s second goal of the game at Anfield three minutes into the second half after captain Steven Gerrard had given the hosts a 39thminute lead with a fine free-kick.

Sturridge’s goal meant that he and Luis Suarez have now both scored 20 league goals this season-the first time two Liverpool strikers have achieved that feat since Ian St John and Roger Hunt in the 1963-64 campaign.

Sunderland pulled a goal back through South Korean midfielder Ki Sungyueng to ensure a tense finale, but Liverpool held their nerve to record a seventh successive league win. The victory enabled the Reds to regain second spot in the table, a point behind leaders Chelsea, although Manchester City-two points back in third place-have two games in

hand on the teams above them. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers named an unchanged starting line-up from his side’s 6-3 victory at Cardiff City, while Sunderland counterpart Gus Poyet made five changes to the team beaten 2-0 at Norwich City.

With three centre-backs in a 5-3-2 system, the visitors’ intentions were clear as they packed men into the middle of the pitch, restricting Liverpool to efforts from distance in the opening stages. Striker Luis Suarez curled an early free-kick from a dangerous position over the crossbar, but the Black Cats kept their shape and organization to reach the half-hour mark without their ranks being breached.

Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole, snapping at the heels of anything in a red shirt, was particularly impressive, shielding the defense as the visitors held Liverpool at bay. Gerrard makes breakthrough Having equaled Robbie Fowler’s Premier League record of 28 goals in a season for the club against Cardiff on Saturday, Suarez looked a likely source for the breakthrough. And after threatening with a shot after a jinking run, the striker won the free kick that yielded Liverpool’s opening goal. The Uruguay international was brought down by Santiago Vergini as he headed towards goal, with the Sunderland centre-back fortunate to escape with just a yellow card.

Gerrard stepped up from just outside the 18-yard box and fiercely bent the ball into the top-right corner of the net, past the despairing dive of goalkeeper Vito Mannone. Sunderland registered their first meaningful effort on goal just before half-time when a deflected Connor Wickham shot forced Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to scramble across goal and push the ball past the post.

But the momentum was all Liverpool’s and they doubled their lead three minutes into the second half with a goal from Sturridge, who curled the ball into the top left corner from the edge of the area, via a deflection off Wes Brown’s knee.

Sunderland, fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table, showed plenty of heart and the impressive Cattermole rattled the crossbar with a swerving shot in the 70th minute. Moments later Sturridge did the same for the hosts at the other end, but it was Sunderland who pulled a goal back with 14 minutes left to leave Anfield sweating.

Adam Johnson’s corner was allowed to bounce inside the box and fellow substitute Ki bundled the ball into the net with a stooping header. The nervous tension that had Anfield on edge in the opening half hour returned, and the ground held its collective breath when Sunderland captain John O’Shea got on the end of a late corner, only to flick the ball wide. —AFP

West Ham ease relegation fears West Ham 2

Hull 1 LONDON: West Ham United eased their Premier League relegation fears by snapping a run of three consecutive defeats with a 2-1 victory at home to Hull City on Wednesday. Hull were reduced to 10 men mid-way through the first half when goalkeeper Allan McGregor was sent off for a foul on Mohamed Diame, with Mark Noble putting West Ham ahead from the resulting penalty. Nikica Jelavic equalized early in the second half, only for an unfortunate own goal by Hull defender James Chester in the 54th minute to gift West Ham all three points.

Victory saw West Ham leapfrog their opponents in the table, leaving the east London club nine points clear of the relegation zone in 11th place. West Ham manager Sam Allardyce kept faith with the team that had started Saturday’s 2-0 loss at home to Manchester United and he saw his side make a positive start at Upton Park. The hosts lost James Collins to an apparent muscular injury in the ninth minute, Roger Johnson coming on, but it did not disturb their momentum and in the 26th minute they took the lead in contentious circumstances. Diame appeared to use his hand to control Noble’s pass as he bore down on goal, but after he was brought down by McGregor, referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot and showed the Hull goalkeeper a straight red card. Hull defender Alex Bruce made way for Steve Harper and the substitute goalkeeper was promptly sent the wrong way by Noble from 12 yards. The visitors initially seemed shellshocked, but they roused themselves in first-half injury time, with Chester heading over and West Ham goalkeeper Adrian obliged to parry a long-range Maynor Figueroa effort. —AFP

Sports FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

Real beaten again as Atletico, Barca win MADRID: Real Madrid suffered a huge blow to their La Liga title hopes as a 2-1 win for Sevilla sent them crashing to a second defeat in four days on Wednesday. Colombian striker Carlos Bacca struck twice to give the hosts a sixth consecutive league win after Cristiano Ronaldo had opened the scoring. League leaders Atletico Madrid now lead Real by three points and have a better head-to-head record against Los Blancos as they beat Granada 1-0. Barcelona moved into second place, a point behind Atletico, with a 3-0 win over Celta Vigo at the Camp Nou thanks to a double from Neymar.

But it was a bittersweet night for the Catalans as goalkeeper Victor Valdes may have played his last game for the club after suffering cruciate ligament damage that will rule him out of the World Cup. Real were looking to react from a first defeat in 32 games on Sunday as they lost a thrilling El Clasico 4-3 to Barcelona and they started brightly with Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema going close inside the first 10 minutes. Ronaldo did open the scoring 14 minutes in as his free-kick cannoned off Ivan Rakitic to leave Sevilla goalkeeper Beto helpless.

The lead lasted only four minutes as Bacca finished off a fine move by converting Jose Antonio Reyes’ pass from close range. Reyes could then have put his side in front as Bacca returned the favor, but the former Arsenal man dragged his shot just wide.

However, Sevilla were grateful to Beto six minutes before the break as he brilliantly turned Ronaldo’s piledriver over the bar. Ronaldo was somehow denied his second of the night moments later as this time he lifted the ball over Beto, but the ball struck the inside of the post and rolled across the line before being cleared by a Sevilla defender.

Madrid continued to press after the break, but were struck on the counter-attack 18 minutes from time when wonderful play by Rakitic took him past Pepe and the Croatian played in Bacca to fire home his second of the night. Beto was called into action once more to deny Ronaldo moments later, but for all their possession Madrid failed to carve out another clear opening and their hopes of salvaging anything from the game disappeared when Bale’s free-kick flew over in the final minute.

And Real boss Carlo Ancelotti lamented his side’s inability to deal with Sevilla on the counter-attack. “In one sense the defeat could be deserved because we didn’t prepare well for the counter-attack which Sevilla had and they scored two goals,” he said. “We conceded two goals in the same way on the counter-attack when we needed more balance.”

However, the Italian still believes his side have a chance to redeem themselves in the final eight games of the season. “We need to concentrate on our own games, it is true we have lost two games in a row and that is not good at this point in the season. “We need to believe that we can win it

still. We are three points behind Atletico and two behind Barcelona, everything is still possible.”

DESTINY IN BARCA’S HANDS Barcelona now have the destiny of the title in their own hands as they host Atletico on the final day of the season.

However, their joy was tempered by Valdes’ injury that will keep him out of the World Cup for Spain. Valdes collapsed to the ground holding his right knee whilst making a routine save and was in tears as he was stretchered from the field.

“Victor Valdes has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will require surgery,” the club confirmed via its official Twitter account.

“It is very bad luck and a very costly injury, too much for a game that means just three points,” Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta told Barca TV. And midfielder Andres Iniesta admitted it was difficult for the Barca players to concentrate on the game after the injury. “It was an uncomfortable situation on the pitch. The players weren’t the same, the fans weren’t the same. Everything seemed a bit strange.

“The important thing now is that he recovers well.”

Neymar had already put the hosts in front before Valdes’ injury as he tapped home Alexis Sanchez’s cross. Lionel Messi continued his fine run of form to make it 2-0 from a wonderful Iniesta pass on the half hour before Neymar rounded off the scoring 23 minutes from time. It was a quieter evening at the Vicente Calderon as Atletico continued to demonstrate their title credentials with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Granada. In a game short on clear-cut chances, it was once again Diego Costa who made the difference for Diego Simeone’s men as he headed home Jose Sosa’s corner 27 minutes from time to register his 32nd goal of the season.— AFP

SPAIN: Barcelona’s Brazilian forward Neymar da Silva Santos Junior celebrates after scoring during the Spanish League football match. — AFP

ITALY: Juventus’ Argentinian foward Carlos Tevez (left) fights for the ball with Parma’s forward Antonio Cassano (right) during the Italian Serie A football match. — AFP

Juve restore lead MILAN: A brace from Carlos Tevez in a cagey 2-1 win over 10-man Parma restored Juventus’s 14-point lead over Roma on Wednesday and kept the champions on track for a third consecutive Serie A title. Roma had cut the gap on Tuesday with a lastminute 2-1 win at home to Torino.

But any expectations Juventus would hand Rudi Garcia’s team hopes of a title slip-up were effectively over by the 65th minute in Turin, when Parma, having reduced the arrears thanks to Cristian Molinaro’s half-volley, were reduced to 10 men when Amauri saw red for fouling defender Giorgio Chiellini.

Roberto Donadoni’s visitors pushed the champions all the way but Juve held on for a 26th win which also kept them on track to become the first Serie A champions with at least 100 points from the season. “It was a very important victory for us, especially coming as it did against a side defending a 17-match unbeaten run,” Juve coach Antonio Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

Tevez’s double took his tally to 18 for the season and top of the league scoring charts with a one-goal advantage on Ciro Immobile, who scored

Torino’s consolation in the 2-1 defeat to Roma. The Argentinian, however, picked up a booking meaning he will miss Sunday’s trip to Napoli, who meantime stayed in the hunt for the second automatic Champions League qualifying spot with a 4-2 win away to Catania.

Napoli coach Rafael Benitez left Gokhan Inler, Goran Pandev and Gonzalo Higuin on the bench for the trip to Sicily, where the hosts were looking for only their second win over their rivals in their last 10 league encounters.

However Benitez was pleased his rotation policy paid dividends: “We made a lot of changes for this game but the team played well overall.”

Striker Duvan Zapata honored his rare start, in place of Higuain, by scoring a brace, with Napoli’s other goals coming from Jose Callejon and Brazilian defender Henrique.

Catania, to their credit, fought back with goals from Fabian Monzon and Gyomber keeping the visitors on their toes. However Benitez’s men held on to claim an 18th win which kept them third but still six points off Roma, who also have a game in hand.—AFP

Celtic clinch their 45th Scottish league title GLASGOW: Celtic manager Neil Lennon has set his sights on making inroads in Europe after the Glasgow giants clinched their 45th Scottish league title. The Hoops sealed their third successive Scottish Premiership championship in style following an emphatic 5-1 win over Partick Thistle at Firhill for the earliest top flight title victory since 1928/29. The Hoops have dropped just nine points on their relentless march to the title, tasting defeat just once in a season where ‘keeper Fraser Forster set a new Scottish shut-out record of 1,256 minutes.

However, the Hoops have suffered disappointment in both domestic cup competitions this term as they were knocked out by Morton at the first hurdle in the League Cup before the Dons claimed their scalp in the Scottish Cup. The Glasgow giants were also dumped out of Europe following a poor Champions League campaign that saw them finish bottom of their group with just one win. Celtic will have to negotiate three qualifying rounds if they are to join the elite of European football in next year’s Champions League and Lennon has challenged his players to take their impressive league form into Europe. “For a long, long time Celtic didn’t win championships and now generation after generation of young supporters are coming to games and seeing Celtic win and that’s fantastic,” Lennon said.

“When I was growing up there wasn’t an annual party and now we are really stamping our authority on the game in Scotland and we want to take it further. We want to take it into Europe and enhance our reputation there as well. “We are just an outstanding team and we are an outstanding club at the minute. It’s brilliantly run and the strategy is spot-on.

“I’ve got really good people working behind the scenes and I’ve got a fantastic football team. They are a great bunch of boys whose attitude and enthusiasm and will to win is everything you can ask for as a manager. “I’m very proud of them and we march forward.”

Last season’s exploits in Europe took their toll on Celtic, who suffered seven defeats in the league. However, they have already surpassed last season’s points tally with seven games remaining and, despite criticism from some quarters about the lack of competition for his side in the absence of their historic rivals Rangers, Lennon hailed his side’s achievement. “The league is our priority and obviously we wanted to improve on last year. This is unquestionably the greatest league campaign I’ve had as a manager,” the Celtic boss said.

“We’ve had one defeat in 31 games and the style of football, the goals we’ve scored and the clean sheets we’ve kept have been

impressive.”We are the title favorites every season but we’ve been emphatic this year. There is room for improvement and obviously there are other competitions we want to look at and stride forward in.

But in terms of our league form the consistency and quality of performances have been fantastic “It’s in our DNA as a club to win championships and since I’ve been involved with the club that’s nine out of the past 14 years so we’re certainly stamping our domination on the championship.” It is a third successive league title for Celtic and Lennon, who recently celebrated four years as manager, to add to the five championships he clinched as a player with the Parkhead club.

Lennon initially landed the job on a temporary basis following Tony Mowbray’s dismissal in March 2010 and feared he had blown his permanent chances when he guided the club to a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat the following month. The Hoops boss admits he and the club have come a long way since then. “I think the success and growth of the club has been really significant in that four-year period,” Lennon said. “That’s not just done to myself and my background team but a whole network of people who work at the club and the strategy they’ve put in place and we’ve just tried to follow that and it’s been very, very successful.”— AFP

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014

South Africa survive Dutch scare Page 45

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SAITAMA: Japan’s Mao Asada performs during the ladies’ short program at the world figure skating championships. —AFP

Asada shatters world record PAGE 43