Kuwait Times
January 29, 2010
NO: 14624
FREE
INSIDE
The female job market dissected PAGE 6
World powers seek end to Afghan war PAGE 12
Protesters wearing masks depicting German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left), Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (2nd left), US President Barack Obama (3rd left), British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (2nd right) and French President Nicolas Sarkozy (right) demonstrate outside the London Conference on Afghanistan at Lancaster House in London, yesterday. A major international conference to chart the way forward in Afghanistan opened in London yesterday with nearly 70 countries and organizations taking part. (Inset) US President Barack Obama delivers his first State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, Wednesday. —AFP
Obama: ‘I don’t quit’ Dazzling haute couture rises from Lebanonʼs ruins Page 55
Egypt and Ghana in African Nations Cup final PAGES 62 & 64
WASHINGTON: Insisting he is no quitter after a punishing first year in office, President Barack Obama defiantly refused to concede his change agenda and made American jobs his top priority in 2010. In his debut State of the Union address late Wednesday, Obama delivered a candid assessment of how he saw his achievements — heading off a second Great Depression — and his failings — allowing his ambitious reform program to slow to a crawl. “We do not quit. I do not quit, let’s start anew,” he said, seeking to rally Americans to his leadership on multiple crises at home and abroad, but chiefly the lingering economic blight and 10 percent unemployment. In an address punctuated by standing ovations and some jeers from Republicans, Obama reeled off a volley of plans in a 68-minute speech that took aim at the economic pain still felt by many Americans. He sought to revive America’s belief in his crusade for change despite a year in which his approval ratings tumbled from stratospheric heights to less than 50 percent, and support for top initiatives like health care reform faded. “I campaigned on the promise of change — change we can believe in, the slogan went,” Obama said, recalling the
days before his barnstorming 2008 campaign promises faced a brick wall of opposition in government. “Right now, I know there are many Americans who aren’t sure if they still believe we can change — or at least that I can deliver it,” he said, and bluntly stated “change has not come fast enough.” But he added, “I have never been more hopeful about America’s future than I am tonight. Despite our hardships, our union is strong. We do not give up. We do not quit, we don’t allow fear or division to break our spirit.” a Republican rebuttal, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell hit out at mounting deficits under Obama and dismissed his promise of a three year freeze on discretionary spending as only a “small step” in the right direction. “The amount of this debt is on pace to double in five years, and triple in ten. The federal debt is already over 100,000 dollars per household. This is simply unsustainable,” McDonnell said. But Obama defiantly vowed that he would not “walk away” from his stalled effort to pass comprehensive health care reform and said his administration’s early actions last year had staved off a repeat of the 1930s Great Depression. He demanded Congress pass a jobs bill and send it to his desk “without delay,”
and warned that if lawmakers did not maintain the strength of his bid to crackdown on Wall Street he would veto their efforts. “Jobs must be our number one focus in 2010,” Obama said, and promised to redirect 30 billion dollars from a Wall Street bailout fund to help small businesses get credit and create new positions. He also said the US government must double US exports in five years to support two million more jobs, and to boost commerce with South Korea, Panama and Colombia, but stopped short of urging Congress to pass trade pacts. Obama turned towards foreign policy only towards the end of an address dominated by economic challenges, almost as an afterthought, warning Iran would face “growing consequences” if it did not halt its nuclear program. He said in the speech in the House of Representatives, watched by millions on television and around the world, that North Korea was growing ever more isolated as a result of its pursuit of nuclear arms. Obama called for support for US forces manning his surge in Afghanistan, and said US combat troops would be home as scheduled from Iraq by the end of August. In another bid to recapture the heady spirit of change which swept him to pow-
er, Obama said he would work with Congress to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law banning gays from serving openly in the US military. The president reached into history, seeking hope for future unity, and of overcoming the “numbing weight” of gridlocked Washington politics. “America prevailed because we chose to move forward as one nation, as one people. Again, we are tested. And again, we must answer history’s call.” Obama also hit out at the corrosive influence of lobbyists in Washington, and sharply condemned a Supreme Court decision lifting curbs on corporations openly backing candidates in elections. “I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, and worse, by foreign entities.” Obama’s agenda took a huge hit when Republicans seized a Senate seat in liberal Massachusetts last week, and the president is under intense pressure to show leadership and to restore his authority. He had strong words for the Republicans, but was conscious that given the bitter, political climate in the run-up to mid-term congressional polls in November they were likely falling on deaf ears. — AFP
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Friday, January 29, 2010
FRIDAY SPOTLIGHT
Absence of moderation in the Arab world By Muna Al-Fuzai
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was thinking about moderation recently after viewing two different interviews on the TV, both with very different types of women of approximately the same age. The issue in both cases was religious belief in everyday life, with the debates resulting in more questions than answers. I guess those appearing feared the consequences of coming up with any controversial answers to the questions they posed, and instead seemed as if it was better to end the show leaving the questions unanswered. The first show featured an interview with a Kuwaiti woman who represented a form of extremism in a region that can’t tolerate calls for absolute human freedom, especially the freedom of religion, to the extent of suggesting that “we shouldn’t ask anyone to specify the nature of his or her beliefs because this is a part of spiritual belief and would violate his or her rights as a human and free-thinker”! I have to say, I can’t see the wisdom of such claims. Personally, I find it somewhat contradictory that this woman wishes to be known as a Kuwaiti, part of a majority-Muslim population with a small Christian minority that I’d say are also believers whom I respect and admire, yet issues a call to free society from religion and claims that people should not specify their religious belief and be able to hide it from official record! Would they do so out of shame or fear? Why and why not? The fact is that this woman is ashamed of who she is and to what she belongs, and I would suggest to her that she leaves this country and finds a planet of her own! As far as I know, in all the countries of this planet there are people with religious beliefs, whether Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu or even sun and moon worshippers! I think humans have an inner need to believe in something or someone and thus whatever their nature will lead them to choose the best belief system for them, but to call on people to hide this aspect of themselves and not show it, for no reason, is a ridiculous and nonsensical suggestion! As another example of the lack of moderation, I thought something had happened to my TV set when the screen went black. Then I realized that a group of three women, dressed head-to-toe in black were filling the screen. They discussed women’s rights in Islam and the need for women to be well-covered in order to avoid the devil in each man’s heart and mind! What is this?! Who said that men are devils? Who are these women to say things and why do they call for other women to dress as they do, all in black, just because they’ve concluded that this is suitable for them? Just because it’s right for you doesn’t mean that your choice should be inflicted on the rest of the world! Both of these forms of extremism are examples of things that really should be exorcized from society, especially in a world already full of tension, conflicts and contradictions! A society needs years and years to get rid of such thinking; maybe this is why we are backwards, we see the world from our own angle, not as others might see it, making judgments based on our poor minds and limited knowledge about the world and the future! Moderation is not a phenomenon known to these people; it is a gift for minorities, regardless of their beliefs, but those minorities won’t get shows on TV and exploit their beliefs to call for chaos. They will simply follow their beliefs in their own way, not objecting to them being mentioned in any documents; they have nothing to fear, no matter what their beliefs, and don’t fear the consequences when they don’t come up with answers. muna@kuwaittimes.net
IN MY VIEW
HalluciNations
The truth!
Speed limits fail to regulate By Soumya Sukrithan
By Ahmad Saeid
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ver the years, Kuwait’s dismal traffic accident record has been hotly debated. Nevertheless, last week’s horrific traffic accident that took place along the Sixth Ring Road, claiming the lives of eight, has compounded this country’s persistent road-woes. Many motorists equate their experiences to upheavals survived as a result of traumatic events. Stunt driving; in fact, has caught on among teenage drivers and hold occasional ‘races’ and ‘spins’ to flaunt their maneuvering skills. Noticeably, these acts which were earlier confined to deserted areas are now unabashedly displayed on the main expressways, causing untold distress to fellow drivers. The fact that roads are used as platforms to find expression for performing ‘daring’ acts calls for a closer examination of an underlying, social problem. It appears as if young people’s energies are not being channeled towards taking up productive activities. It is not uncommon to see boys who are not even old enough to own razors whizz past in their pick-up trucks or sports cars. One wonders if they even understand the necessity of taking driving tests and obtaining licenses. In the wake of the ‘Doha’ accident, ministry officials have issued warnings to parents, asking them to monitor the activities of their wards. It is unfortunate to note that such steps are taken only after disasters have already caused casualties. Surely, plentiful blame can be heaped on rudderless parenting for the excesses that their children indulge in! Somehow, the authorities’ stance on the matter is far from reassuring. Despite holding transnational conferences to solve traffic problems and observing ‘traffic weeks,’ the ordinary citizen has failed to comply with laws. Maybe those addicted to speed thrills are willing to forgo the mundane, insipid nature of orderly driving. New laws formulated to tackle the problem are viewed at as being biased or cause further inconvenience to the already irate motorist. Even the installation of super expensive, ultra sophisticated, radar controlled traffic cameras at every possible juncture has not instilled apprehension in the minds of the fearless driver; they inevitably devise foolproof schemes to circumvent ‘danger.’ After all, it is common knowledge that the driver is accosted by traffic police toto iissue ccitations for offenses that include but are not limited to broken window panes! Awkward traffic situations can also be expertly avoided by resorting to the ubiquitous practice of wasta. So all augurs well for the wasta-shielded motorist! Instead of enforcing Quixotic traffic laws, the authorities can take steps that center around encouraging drivers to be more attentive. Studies conducted in the West show that unconventional methods like removing traffic lights, placing speed bumps along intersections, avoid adding wider turn lanes and narrower streets will force motorists to exercise greater self control while on the road. It is time to slow down and think; before life comes to a screeching halt. soumya@kuwaittimes.net
number of issues caught my attention this week. The fact that a WHO official finally admitted exaggerating the risk of H1N1 virus was one of them. This article, however, is not about that issue in particular, neither it is about the ‘funny’ way with which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the latest HRW’s report on Kuwait, — we are doing everything we can to prove these allegations wrong!” It is not about the suggested amendments to the press law either. It is perhaps more related to two global phenomena. The first one is anti-semitism, and the second is war on terrorism. A recent study done by a university of Bielefeld in Germany shows that 42 percent of Europeans think Jews are using the Holocaust to blackmail Europe for money. In the meantime, the US congress is deliberating on a bill that will brand as terrorist any country that helps broadcast any channel that promotes or supports any group which the White House considers a terrorist organization! First of all, and before any of that is implemented, world leaders should come to an agreed definition of the term terrorism, so that everyone can take part in fighting it. It will be a nice ‘change’ from the Bush administration’s policy, which refused to agree on a single definition of the word in order to be able to apply it to whoever they choose. I hope the change Obama was talking about is not the same of that adopted by the Bush administration’s team. They were so smart, that their reasoning actually looks like this: “we will not change our policy; we will continue to bomb these people, and in the meantime, we will simply do more public relation tours to convince them that this is the right thing to do!” I don’t know why, but this reminds me again of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ remarks on the HRW’s report. “... Doing all that we can to ‘PROVE THEM WRONG!’” instead of ‘to stop human rights violations!’ Some people always assume that what is being said about something is more important than that ‘something’ itself! The truth is, in order for things to improve, they need to actually improve themselves, not only the way they are viewed or believed to be! Telling everyone how pretty ugliness is does not make it pretty! Nor does preventing people from talking about it! It’s that simple! I think the Ministry of Information should also consider this concept. Truth cannot be hidden. You can’t create a lie and sell it to the whole world for too long. H1N1 was a good example of that. The Holocaust is a good example of that too. Even if the clued-up 42 percent of Europe are still too timid to publicly ask why those ‘six millions Holocaust victims’ should be more important than the rest of the 60 million people who died in WWII. And if the number “six millions” is correct why is it such a taboo to question it?! You can’t keep justifying injustice and discrimination against Muslims with ‘war on terror.’ You simply can’t continue to terrorize the world with this bogus war! You can’t continue to justify suppressing freedoms around the world with the excuse of ‘protecting freedoms.’ You can’t bend logic. Truth prevails eventually. Stop fooling yourselves people! saeid@kuwaittimes.net
LOCAL
Friday, January 29, 2010 SATIRE WIRE
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
A women-only society By Sawsan Kazak
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few weeks back Kuwait saw the introduction of women-only pink taxis. These brightly colored vehicles are to cater to only women and are driven by women. The project called Eve Taxi was initiated to allow women to feel secure in this method of transportation. In other words, by being driven by women and sharing the cab with other women, females would in turn feel safer and more secure as they get to their desired destinations. There are other aspects of society that have seen this logic and have applied the women-only rule. There are business women’s groups, job search engines in Kuwait and even a women-only hotel in Saudi Arabia. The logic being that if men are removed from the equation, women will be at ease. But why stop at transportation, websites and hotels? Why don’t we extent this logic to others aspect of our society? We should have women only baqalas (corner stores) that are
In other words, by being driven by women and sharing the cab with other women, females would in turn feel safer and more secure as they get to their desired destinations. run by women and only serve women. This way females will not be ashamed when they need to purchase women products or will not be scared if they need to pass by the corner store late at night to pick up a few items. We should also have women-only restaurants in which the staff and the clients are all female. This would allow women to show up to the restaurant in their PJs and not worry how they look or who is watching them eat. Having women-only streets would allow women to cruise down the roads without the constant stares and attempts at conversations; probably resulting in fewer accidents too. Women-only shopping malls would permit women to shop freely as they are served by other women. The possibilities are endless and so are the conveniences. The more of this logic we implement, the more segregated
we get, leaving us with a women-only society. The above examples are somewhat of an exaggeration, but it is important to notice that it is a slippery slope down this extreme road. The minute we start accepting certain separations in society, the easier it becomes to justify many others. I guess we could find the convenient aspect of segregating every aspect of our lives, but is it truly the answer? If women are uncomfortable in certain situations, removing them or isolating them out is not a permanent solution, but rather a quick fix. To truly attempt to solve the ‘problem’ a society needs to fight it at its root. If women fear riding in taxis, then that is the problem that should be addressed, not avoided. Simply taking women out of the equation will only aggravate the initial problem. sawsank@kuwaittimes.net
IN MY VIEW
Violence against women remains unrecorded By Abdulla Alnouri
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ust the other night I stumbled upon the sentence ‘there exists no data on the prevalence of violence against women in Kuwait.’ The quote comes from the Human Rights Watch (HRW) World Report 2010 chapter on Kuwait. I was shocked. None? It is certainly not because of a lack of cases regarding physical or sexual assault. Just being at the newspaper for a few months has opened my eyes to the frequency of assault that takes place here, especially against women. Almost daily this newspaper carries at least one blurb about a woman who has been assaulted in our crimes section, but I have yet to see a politician address the topic directly. I admit no country is perfect and that this topic is an issue just about everywhere, but Kuwait really should do something about this. Here, where the topics of abuse and sexuality are barely discussed, ignoring abuse is especially harmful because, as the HRW report pointed out, there is no other outlet. However difficult, studies like these deserve critical thought and a creative solution. This issue can be used to address inequality and at the same time have some other useful effect such as promoting unity and encouraging a more socially aware society. It is unfortunate that the government seems to only respond to things that cause disunity as opposed to taking steps towards uniting the country. Development programs, healthcare, and handouts can only do so much to
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make people feel united. Contributions toward our civil society would do much more. I imagine a responsible, social and government sponsored response to the problem could begin with a coalition of NGOs and politicians committed to conducting studies to measure the scope of the problem. Common sense tells us that for every report that makes it to the newspaper or
It is unfortunate that the government seems to only respond to things that cause disunity as opposed to taking steps towards uniting the country.
police, there must be several instances that don’t. When setting up this monitoring group, internships can be created between local colleges and internationally experienced NGOs. This would offer a new set of skills for Kuwaiti society, and empower a younger generation of socially aware and active citizens. From there, organizations could be created to work closely with medical or police authorities and NGOs experienced in responding to assault.
Recommendations could be made to judicial authorities and medical facilities on how to better respond to reports of abuse. From there, support groups and organizations could be started to help survivors of violence and spread awareness about recognizing abusive relationships. Perhaps, I am getting ahead of myself a bit, but this is certainly a situation that should be addressed. Our society suffers from abuse and we are not even keeping track of it, not at all. We can at least begin by recording the incidents and document what happens af ter a case has been made. This would be appreciated by the international and local communities. If a politician were able to support the studies tastefully, I imagine they would see a response from female voters. When discussing this subject the other day with some friends of mine, one of them made a comment along the lines of how the HRW should just mind their own business. As though addressing the systematically ignored oppression of women is somehow ‘butting in’ on Kuwait! It is also unfortunate that people have such kneejerk responses to criticism from ‘outsiders.’ It is ridiculous to disregard criticism on such an obviously important topic from such an internationally recognized and established organization just because they are not ‘local.’ As the saying goes ‘a fish would be the last to discover water.’ Often, an outside opinion is necessary to point out what is obvious but overlooked. abdullaalnouri@hotmail.com
An accident waiting to happen
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n behalf of Kuwait Times, I would like to offer my condolences to the families of the eight Kuwaitis who died in a car crash the past week. May God have mercy on their souls. The crash that took the lives of those eight young men was the result of an illegal race that took place in Doha. The incident sent shockwaves across the nation as the media paid more attention to such road issues. On TV, Interior Ministry Spokesman Colonel Mohammad Al-Saber tried to increase awareness on the dangers of high-speed traffic violations. The efforts of the Ministry are praise-worthy as they are trying to bring down the accident rate in Kuwait. However, I would like to point out that such incidents are waiting to happen in Kuwait on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the fact that this accident occurred came as no surprise. I wish that the Ministry of Interior will pay a visit to Wafra (the Middle Eastern model of the Wild West). There they can enjoy the stunts that some skilled drivers display at T-junctions while their fans watch the show by the side of the road. If you are not interested, you could try and drive between the five or six ‘drifting’ cars or take the safer option of going offroad. If this is allowed to continue, I won’t be surprised if one of those teenagers lose control and drift into the crowd of teenagers enjoying the display of driving skills. There have been occasions where I have found myself stranded in front of the co-op society in Wafra. This is because these reckless kids decide to use my car as a pillar, in the middle of an empty car park lot, to skid, drift and perform ‘doughnuts’ around. They do notice that you are trying your best to enter the car, but that just adds to their amusement. The sad part is to notice that when police places checkpoints in such areas, these kids halt there and get warmly greeted by officers as if they are relatives or friends. This gives them further assurance that they escape the law. Most of these kids have no driving licenses and usually hide a shotgun somewhere in the car. Actually the sight of a group of teenagers aged between 10 and 15 years old, driving around the area in a 4x4 vehicle with shotguns pointed out of windows (appearing like the Bedouin version of hillbillies) is also very common in that area. They normally drive about on the lookout for dogs and traffic signs to shoot down. I hope that the Ministry of Interior will pay attention to such areas as a precautionary measure in order to avoid a crisis; rather than wait for one to occur and then react. Let me know what you think: email me at myopinion@kuwaittimes.net
Abd Al-Rahman Alyan Editor-in-Chief
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Friday, January 29, 2010
‘Hijab is not a ticket to heaven’ By Chidi Emmanuel s the row over the wearing of the hijab, veil, niqab and burqa continues to rage, the Friday Times recently talked with some female Kuwaiti students at Kuwait University about the issue. Below are some excerpts of their views about the controversy over the subject. While many Muslims see wearing the veil as a religious obligation for women, some see it as an outdated cultural tradition dating back to the early centuries which is not mandated by the Holy Quran. The request by the women interviewed that their identity be hidden to avoid any backlash demonstrates how controversial the hijab issue is and continues to be in this part of the world.
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Modesty Women’s dress in the Islamic world is based on a principle of female modesty. A woman’s choice of whether to wear hijab, veil or niqab is based on a number of factors, including location, prevailing dress codes and the woman’s social status. Some options include the hijab - a scarf hiding the hair, generally worn with loose clothing - or the burqa, a robe completely covering the head and body, with only a mesh panel through which the wearer can see. A niqab, meanwhile, veils the head and face, but allows the eyes to be seen. As the women (one in a burqa and the other in a western-style jumpsuit) interviewed together by the Friday Times discussed this controversial debate, they exposed the clash between religion and different cultures as they question some ‘basic facts.’ While Sarah, who is unveiled, sees the veil as a personal choice, Fatma, who wears the veil, sees it as a religious obligation for every Muslim woman. Sarah argued that hijab is an outdated traditional way of dressing and has nothing to do with religion. “I don’t think God will put me in hell for not wearing a niqab, hijab or burqa. What matters most is how clean and sincere your heart is, not how much you cover your body. History tells us that some people in this part of the world wore hijab during the pre-Islamic era and moreover it is not even in the Holy Quran. We should not continue to dwell so much on custom and tradition in this computer age. The fact that our forefathers lived in mud houses with thatched roofs back then doesn’t mean we should follow suit,” Sarah argued. Supporting Sarah’s view, May, another woman who chooses not to wear hijab, says, “During the time of the Prophet (PBUH), there were no cars, no computers etcetera, and people travelled on donkeys and horses, but today we have cars, airplanes, hummer jeeps and other luxuries. We are in another kind of civilization and this is the reality. I don’t have a problem with the hijab but let it be just optional. Many of these veiled women are wearing them not because they like it, but rather, they were forced to wear it by either their parents or their husbands, and that is where the problem lies. There are so many untold truths about this issue. Hijab is not a ticket to heaven”.
To veil or not to veil? Kuwaiti women face off
Hijab in religion On the other side of the argument, Fatma invoked the religious link to the issues in question. “There is nothing to argue in the matter because our holy books (Hadiths) and our religion
when a Muslim man grows a beard he is termed an extremist? When a girl wears a mini skirt and goes halfnaked, people don’t complain but when a girl covers her body, the world cries foul; why? Fatma’s friend Reem queried in dismay.
bloc are insisting on forcing the Education Minister Moudhi AlHumoud to wear the hijab, “in respect of the Islamic dictates”. Insisting that the request “is not a matter of extremism”, MP Mohammad Al-Kandari
Why is it that when Catholic nuns wear their headscarves, veils and robes, the West doesn’t see anything wrong in it? When the ultra-Orthodox Jewish men grow their long beard, everything seems to be okay, but when a Muslim man grows bearded he is termed an extremist? have spelt it out clearly for every woman regarding the dress code,” she insisted. “I don’t see anything uncivilized in a woman covering her body as approved by our religion. Islam is not only a religion but a way of life. Apart from that, dressing in an Islamic way makes me feel more relaxed and secure in a way. At least I’m less-tempting to a man than you [indicating Sarah],” she suggested. “I think this whole show is just an attack on Islam. Why is it that when the Catholic nuns wear their headscarves, veils and robes, the West doesn’t see anything wrong in it? When the ultra-Orthodox male Jews grow their long beard, everything seems to be okay, but
“The way you dress is the way you will be addressed. If you dress like a prostitute, guys will prey on you but if you dress respectfully, you will be respected,” she added. At the Kuwait Parliament Kuwait’s National Assembly is divided on this issue. Last year four women were elected to the parliament for the first time in this country’s history. Two of them - Dr Aseel Al-Awadhi and Dr Rola Dashti - do not wear the hijab, and since their election, the Islamists have been demanding that they be required to do so. Moreover, the MPs of the Islamist
maintained that, “according to Islam and according to Kuwait’s traditions, women must wear the hijab.” Others in parliament, however, responded by stating that “In a democracy such as Kuwait, the hijab cannot be imposed.” “It is a matter between women and God,” asserted MP Saleh AlMullah. As the controversy rages, the National Assembly speaker had called for calm, pointing out that the parliamentary regulations do not explicitly mention any obligation to wear hijab. On October 28, 2009, the Kuwait Constitutional Court rejected a lawsuit filed by
attorney Hamad Al-Nashi against MPs Al-Awadhi and Al-Dashti in which he demanded that their parliamentary membership be revoked for violating Sharia law by not wearing hijab. The court ruled that “The laws of Islamic Sharia do not have a binding force like the basic laws of the state...The Kuwaiti constitution does not stipulate that Sharia is the sole source of legislation, nor does it preclude the legislator from utilizing other sources of legislation, out of consideration for the people’s needs.” The Kuwaiti constitution guarantees complete religious and personal freedom and forbids discrimination based on an individual’s religion or gender. MPs Al-Awadhi and Dashti hailed the court’s ruling as a triumph for Kuwait’s constitution, which Dashti said would put an end to the attempts of “those who wish to bring Kuwait back to an earlier era.” Calls for hijab, veil, burqa ban Meanwhile, across the globe, opinions vary on the issue. A French parliamentary panel on Tuesday recommend a ban on the wearing of face-covering veils such as the niqab and burqa in public areas from hospitals to schools. The 32member panel’s report culminated in a six-month inquiry into the wearing of all-encompassing veils that began after President Nicolas Sarkozy said in June last year that they are “not welcome” on French territory. In Canada, a Muslim group has called on Ottawa to ban the wearing of the burqa in public, insisting that the argument that the right to wear it is protected by the Charter’s guarantee of freedom of religion is false. “The burqa has absolutely no place in Canada,” said Farzana Hassan, of the Muslim Canadian Congress. “In Canada we recognize the equality of men and women. The burqa marginalizes women.” Hassan said that many women who cover their face in public are being forced to do so by their husbands and family. “We are saying this practice has become a political issue promoted by extremists and to counter this trend we are asking for a ban on the burqa,” she urged. Iran crackdown The situation in Iran, meanwhile, is quite different. The authorities not only clamp down on westernized dress styles, they also target western haircuts and hijab-less store mannequins. Last October Iranian police in the north-eastern town of Bojnourd launched a new crackdown on attractive mannequins in clothes stores and the main bazaar, confiscating about 65 ‘hijab-less female mannequins.’ “The use of vulgar mannequins whether male or female - is an affront to public morals and is considered to be a crime,” said an Iranian official, adding that the display of properly veiled mannequins which adhere to the national dress code would not be considered a crime.
Friday, January 29, 2010
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Friday, January 29, 2010
The female job market dissected By Hussain Al-Qatari
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amar Al-Mansour, a 27-year old Kuwaiti with a degree in media and mass communications from a US university finds the job market in Kuwait to be very puzzling. “I have worked two jobs in the government and three in the private sector so far. I can safely tell you that the job market in Kuwait is seriously troubled,” she said. Elaborating, she stressed on the dearth of social mobility and the lack of encouragement to grow professionally. “With many public sector jobs, or maybe most of them, you remain in your position. You don’t move. You rarely get promotions, and you can’t really move up the career ladder,” she said. Taking her point further, she is quick to point out to the discrepancy between a degree and a certain job. “The most shocking to me personally is the fact that you end up doing something that is completely irrelevant to what you have studied and what you had in mind when you applied for the job. A holder of a bachelor’s degree ends up doing only secretarial tasks, and this is a serious problem,” she said. Al-Mansour believes that it should not be difficult for job hunters to find positions that suit them, but what needs to be done is proper communication between the employers and prospective
Women-only website caters to the employment needs employees. “Most ads that I have encountered are vague, and there aren’t many job listings in Kuwait that are available to begin with. Really,” she said. Women’s domain Using the internet to connect employers with job hunters, Abdulmohsen Al-Ajmi, CEO of Wasm Media founded fora9.com, a job search engine designated only for women in the Middle East and North Africa region. The website aims to make life simpler for both employers and future employees: by allowing companies, non-profit organizations or even individuals to post job ads, job hunters can go through simple categories, read the job descriptions and apply for the job directly. According to the website’s creator, the website does not require creating an account, and is planned to launch in English, French and Spanish besides the Arabic version which has already been launched late December. Al-Ajmi noticed the deficiency in the job market and decided to address them by creating the women-only employment website. “As an employer myself, I saw that
there are three main problems facing most employers and I wanted this website to create a solution for these problems,” he said. Stressing on these three problems he said that first employers face the difficulty of finding female job applicants with the desired qualifications. Another problem employers from the nonprofit sector face is finding active female volunteers. “The last and most important problem is the difficulty for employers to fill onetask temporary vacancies,” he said. Al-Ajmi explains that even though the website was only launched unofficially, it generated over a thousand viewers since the beginning of the new year, something Al-Ajmi says is a very promising sign. “We already have almost fifty job adverts so far, mostly from the GCC region,” he said. Embracing the idea Maryam Al-Abdullah, a 23-year old graduate who is on the lookout for a job that suits her business administration education thinks the website is much needed. “Everything has become dependent on the internet, it has
rapidly turned into more than social networking and a tool of communication. It is an essential part that makes life a lot easier, and I believe that having job adverts placed online is a very convenient idea in so many ways. First of all, it is faster, less hectic, and allows people to find jobs that they really want to take without the hassle of going to companies in person. It saves a lot of time to both job applicants and employers,” she said. Al-Abdullah noted that she sees a big shift towards the internet nowadays. “All businesses are online, both major and small ones. With things like Facebook and free internet website providers, setting up a homepage on the web has become very easy. With job vacancy adverts in Kuwait, however, companies post on their personal websites. I like the idea of having them all placed on one page, like an aggregator for job adverts,” she noted. Taking a different view, Shayma Al-Mershoud, 22, commends the creators of the website for including non-profit organizations’
volunteer vacancies. “It is very positive to see that this is being put into consideration and is not overlooked. Non-profit work is very essential and in Western countries it is what makes your job application interesting,” she said. However, Al-Mershoud believes that the website’s women-only orientation is a turnoff. “Of course there are a lot of job search engine websites, and targeting female job seekers is a unique approach, but it can also be unfair to male jobseekers. It is also very sexist. It overlooks qualifications and focuses on the applicant’s sex. I don’t know if I will resort to such a job search engine when I graduate.” A Kuwaiti woman and an employer is of the opposite opinion. Ohoud Al-Mulla, a 33-year old who works in the financial sector, thinks the idea of a womenonly website is quite good given the social norms in Kuwait. “The women-only policy is not only unique to Kuwait or to this region alone. There are women business communities around the world and the most liberal countries,” she said. Al-Mulla believes that it is very empowering for women to have services catering to their needs. As someone who co-owns a ladiesoriented business, she finds that it suits her better than posting an ad in the classifieds. hussain@kuwaittimes.net
A screenshot of the website fora9.com of Wasm Media. The banner reads: ‘Opportunities — to reach your dream job.’
Friday, January 29, 2010
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Facebook stalkers on the loose In general these Facebook stalkers are not dangerous, simply extremely curious and not very busy. They usually do not cause harm to the people they are stalking. They are only interested in knowing more about someone without having to actually talk to them; thus the spying. By Sawsan Kazak
Y
ou start a Facebook account, add some friends, upload some pictures and think nothing of it. You believe this new account will be used for good; to keep in touch with your family and friends and maybe get some important info about upcoming events. You check your account regularly, adding a few comments here and p o s t i n g s o m e v a c a t i o n p i c t u re s t h e re believing that your closest friends and family members are the only ones benefiting or taking notice of these transactions. Little do you know that there are Facebook stalkers out there prying on your very innocent communications. These people spend much of their time analyzing everyone’s every move. You should be aware of the fact that certain individuals are using Facebook for devious and seedy purposes; they are using the website as a tool to stalk others. This very popular social networking website is being tarnished and misused by Facebook spies. These are the people that know who your friends are, who you poke and when, what groups you join and even who you speak to, these are Facebook
stalkers. We all know someone who is a Facebook stalker, or maybe you are one yourself. These people spend a lot of time dissecting their friends list going from profile to profile and gather as much information as they can on the victim. They know when two people just became friends, when the next book club meeting is and who joined the fans of cheeseburgers. These fixated individuals are able to find out what your likes and dislikes are, what groups you are involved in, your birthday, marital status, political inclination. They track what friends you have in common and who you decide to block. They know when you are online and who you have played games with, they know it all. Obsessed Some of these Facebook stalkers do it on the ‘down-low’, meaning you have no idea that they are obsessively checking every move everyone makes on this website. These silent spies quietly maneuver through the site without leaving a trace; they get their desired information and get out of there without being discovered. H o w e v e r, y o u h a v e a s e c o n d t y p e o f
Facebook fanatics. These are the ones that do their spying very obviously. They comment on everyone’s status changes, they wish ever yone a happy birthday. They join every group, play all the games, poke everyone and are always online ready to chat with anyone that is free. Facebook becomes their social life and whatever is accessible becomes fair game. All Facebook stalkers suffer from a slight form of Obsessive Compulsive D i s o rd e r ( O C D ) w h e n i t c o m e s t o Facebooking. Their OCD is obvious as they are unable to go one day without checking their account, sometimes having to check multiple times a day just to quench their stalking thirsts. There are even those that are continuously connected through their phones and are up to the minute on ever y post, poke or invite. They have become addicted to other people’s social lives and can’t stop checking if there are any changes. Online detectives on prowl There are also those who meet someone once or hear about them through a friend and think this gives them the right to find
these people on Facebook and do their own research. They attempt to find out everything they can about these strangers, and they are successful most of the time. Not many people put their profiles on lockdown thus allowing these Facebook detectives to get the info they need. Before they have even met someone, Facebook spies know what circles their victims frequent, how old they are and who they have vacationed with. In general these Facebook stalkers are not dangerous, simply extremely curious and not very busy. They usually do not cause harm to the people they are stalking. They are only interested in knowing more about someone without having to actually talk to them; thus the Facebook stalking. But just to be on the safe side of things, one should not add complete strangers to their friends’ list, thinking that it’s always innocent or a fluke, nor should people’s statuses be a free for all. And it wouldn’t hurt to leave some personal information off the web, leaving something to talk about when you meet face to face. This way we keep Facebooking safe and fun for all. sawsank@kuwaittimes.net
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Friday, January 29, 2010
UN pays out $674.2 million from Iraqi oil fund GENEVA: The U.N. panel overseeing compensation for victims of Iraq’s 1990 Kuwait invasion said yesterday it has paid $674.2 million from Iraqi oil funds to cover losses from the war. The U.N. Compensation Commission said the money would go to five private corporations and five government or international bodies. It did not disclose the identities of the claimants. The commission, made up of the 15 U.N. Security Council member countries, has so far paid out nearly $29 billion. Another $23.5 billion is earmarked to go to nine more
unidentified claimants. Money to pay the claims comes from Iraqi oil sales. Until the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, the commission received 25 percent of the proceeds from the U.N. oil-for-food program, which allowed the former Iraqi regime to sell oil and buy food, medicine and other humanitarian goods despite international sanctions. Since the invasion, the amount the commission receives from Iraqi oil exports has been reduced to 5 percent. In 2008, the commission asked member nations to help it recover more than $80 million in
overpayments made to several thousand claimants. The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) made available $ 674.2 million to the Government of the State of Kuwait for distribution to 10 successful claimants. Payment is being made in respect of five claims in category E (claims of corporations and public sector enterprises) and 5 claims in category F (claims of Governments and international organizations, including environmental claims). With this round of payments, all environmental awards are now paid in full, marking the completion of the
second phase of Governing Council decision 256 (S/AC.26/Dec.256 (2005)) which gave priority in payment to claims with outstanding amounts less than USD 500 million and environmental remediation claims. Although now paid in full, the environmental remediation claims remain subject to the Follow-up Program for Environmental Awards established by decision 258 (2005) to ensure financial transparency and technical reasonableness in the implementation of approximately $4.3 billion of environmental remediation and restoration projects being undertaken by the
Governments of Iran, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Under decision 267 (S/AC.26/Dec.267 (2009)), the nine remaining category E and F claims, all awarded to Kuwait, will be paid on a quarterly basis in rounds of $10 million, in the order in which they have been approved. This payment brings the overall amount of compensation made available to date by the United Nations Compensation Commission for successful claims of individuals, corporations, and Governments and international organizations to $28,908,814,044. —Agencies
Crimes
Conman caught
John Hopkins Hospital to manage four Kuwaiti hospitals: Sayer
Kuwaiti doctors’ union formed KUWAIT: The Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Mohammad Al-Afasi on Wednesday passed a law to establish a union for Kuwaiti doctors. The union aims to defend the rights and benefits of doctors, and will work towards improving financial and social status, representing them in all issues related to their affairs, said a press statement from the ministry. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor added that the union would accept into its membership every doctor in practice, who carries a recognized certificate and is employed in any medical institution, be it private or public. —KUNA
Hit and run case By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A 25-year-old bedoon fractured his right leg and suffered injuries to the face after being run over by a car in Sulaibiya. He was admitted to Farwaniya hospital. In another case, a 12year-old Kuwaiti suffered multiple injuries after being run over by a car in Hadiya. He was admitted to Adan hospital.
Cardiac arrests A 50-year-old Indian suffered a cardiac arrest in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh. He was admitted to the nearest hospital. In another case, a 25-year-old man suffered a cardiac arrest while
exercising along the Arabian Gulf road. He was admitted to the Mubarak hospital. Also, a 30-year-old citizen sustained severe injuries to the head and suffered a cardiac arrest and was admitted to the KOC hospital.
Head injury A 21-year-old man suffered head injuries after a sharp object fell on his head at the Entertainment City. He was admitted to the Amiri hospital.
Motor accident A 32-year-old Egyptian fractured his limbs in a motorcycle accident that took place in Hawally.
WASHINGTON: Kuwaiti Health Minister Dr. Hilal AlSayer said yesterday that cooperation agreements have been set with John Hopkins University and Hospital, to manage AlFarwaniya, Amiri, Adnan and Jahra Hospitals in Kuwait. Al-Sayer said that talks with John Hopkins officials included ways to provide technical support services, information systems, laboratories, radiology, and quality of services, in addition to reviewing work policies in technical divisions like emergency, anesthesia and surgery. Al-Sayer also added that the discussions included ways to develop the health sector in the four hospitals, in the fields of therapeutic, diagnostic and training, in addition to sending doctors from Kuwait for training and fellowship in subspecialties. Al-Sayer explained that officials at John Hopkins University aim to promote healthy relations with Kuwait, and are ready to provide all possible facilities and better health services. The Minister of Health had signed a memo of understanding in Canada for the development of services to treat cancer diseases and surgery, in addition to cardiovascular research, education with the largest Canadian health centers and universities in Toronto and Montreal. —KUNA
KUWAIT: Abu Halifa detectives have arrested a recruitment agency owner who cheated a large number of individuals out of a total of KD 50,000 after conning them into believing that their money was going towards paying for educational courses for them in Lebanon. Detectives are still hunting for his accomplice who remains at large. The agency owner and his accomplice apparently published advertisements in local papers about educational courses in Lebanon, with many people tempted by the offer paying sums of between KD 900 and KD 1,000 each to sign up for the courses in question. The trusting would-be students subsequently discovered that the courses were nonexistent, leading various disgruntled victims of the scam to lodge official complaints at the local police station. One security official said that a total of 15 cases were registered, which prompted detectives to obtain a warrant to search the unlicensed agency’s office, where they arrested the owner. He initially denied any wrongdoing, but when he was confronted by his victims he relented and admitted his actions, also telling police about his partner’s part in the scam. The accomplice is understood to have fled the country. The security source said investigations showed that the two partners collected nearly KD 50,000 fro their victims. He added that the swindler was detained at Abu Halifa police station, in preparation to be taken to the public prosecution.
Painful row Police are hunting for a Gulf expatriate who broke his Arab
business partner’s nose following an argument between them. The attacker immediately fled the scene after launching the attack, while his victim visited Jahra Hospital before going to the local police station to file an official complaint over the incident, providing a medical report detailing his injuries.
Muggers caught Farwaniya detectives have arrested nine juveniles of various nationalities who were responsible for a total of 27 muggings in the area. After a spate of robberies was reported, the police presence in the area was increased, leading to one of the youths being caught redhanded while attempting to mug an expatriate man. On being arrested, the youth told police about his accomplices, with the remaining eight being quickly arrested.
Optician burgled Police are hunting for a burglar who broke into a local optician’s, stealing KD 400 in cash. Crime scene officers took fingerprints and other evidence from the scene and an investigation is underway to catch the culprit.
KD 60,000 theft Thieves stole KD 60,000 in cash from a car parked in the Shuwaikh Free Trade Zone. The Chinese expatriate engineer had apparently just withdrawn the money from a local bank before parking his vehicle outside an engineering firm in the area, leaving the money inside it. He returned 30 minutes later to find that the thieves had broken into the vehicle, stealing the cash. A hunt is underway for the culprits.
Amiri Guard delegation visits fire directorate By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A delegation from the Amiri Guard headed by Major Talal Al-Kandari visited the Kuwait Fire Service Directorate (KFSD) on Wednesday. The Head of the Information Department, Major Nasser Al-Ansari delivered a lecture on the duties and missions undertaken by fire fighters, and the geographic distribution of fire centers. He also spoke about the KFSD’s speedy response to accidents. Major Al-Kandari presented a memento to Deputy Director General for Financial and Administrative Affairs Colonel Khalid Al-Tarkeet.
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Amir the force behind Arab solidarity, integration efforts: Jordanian PM AMMAN: His Highness the Amir of the State of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Sabah is clearly a driving force behind many efforts and initiatives related to Arab solidarity and integration, said the Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Al-Rifae yesterday. Speaking about the forthcoming fourth anniversary of HH the Amir’s ascent to the Kuwaiti throne, the Jordanian premier said that Jordan is keen to extend its cooperation with Kuwait to defend Arab causes and to present an example of what relations between two Arab nations ought to be like, saying that this has always been a priority of HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad’s. HH the Amir is surely the dean of Arab diplomats, said the Jordanian leader, and his influence is indisputable in the drive and constant effort to create a united Arab front in the face of regional and international challenges. “The leader has earned his homeland a fitting reputation and position on the map of regional and international interaction,” said the Jordanian premier, adding that the leadership in both countries is now keen to foster the principles of preempting crises and foreseeing challenge. On the Arab Economic, Social, and Development Summit hosted in Kuwait in January 2009, PM AlRifae said the event was a great success despite its timing amid tensions among some Arab states and leaders and against the backdrop of an international economic challenge. Building on promising agreements regarding regional conditions, the summit prepared for future efforts and initiatives to restore and preserve Arab solidarity and to advance Arab economic development, said AlRifae. Closer to home, the Jordanian PM noted that the two states are working to bring economic relations close to the distinguished level of political ties. The minister expressed his best wishes for Kuwait’s prosperity and development in Kuwait, saying that what the state has already achieved is “quite impressive” and
Kuwait Consul in Vietnam discusses media issues
An undated photo of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah visiting senior citizens at a diwaniya where patrons play the traditional game ‘dama’ which is almost equivalent to ‘checkers’ in the West. — KUNA testimony to Sheikh Sabah’s foresight. Meanwhile, economists said that the fourth year of HH the Amirís reign reminds us yet again of his sharp intellect and foresight in the field of economic stability and development, whether at the local, regional, or international level. Economics professor at Kuwait University Riyadh Al-Fars said the Amir’s long term policy could be discerned in his 2005 address, and there is obvious stress on stronger private sector involvement and partnership. His Highness is clearly in favor of the private sector taking the initiative in key projects and of a bigger share for the sector in executing as well as operating projects and institutions and creating products and services. The professor noted that economic issues are never absent from HH the Amirís speeches or from his meetings with ministers and MPs. HH the Amir clearly puts emphasis on human development as the cornerstone of economic and general development, considering it the true weapon and means of protection in modern times. His Highness’ encouragement and directives created an atmosphere which Enabled the launch of a number of development projects including a water treatment plant, Jaber Stadium, Sabah Al-Salem University, Jaber Hospital, Jaber City, Khairan City,
and Boubyan Port, among others, said the prominent economist. The emphasis and diligent effort which the Kuwaiti monarch put into this area also resulted in the introduction of legislation such as the amendments to the tax law, anti-monopoly law, amending state property law, and much more. The professor said that the staging of the Arab Economic, Social, and Development Summit in Kuwait last January had required immense effort to bring sometimes discordant leaders together for the first summit of its kind. HH the Amir sponsored the event in the belief that while political issues threaten to keep Arab states apart, economic concerns and issues can restore unity, asserted the professor. The biggest sign of the summit’s success was that all the proposals on the agenda had been approved and that the states also agreed to hold a regular summit every two years. Researcher Amer AlTamimi, meanwhile, said the Amir had frequently stressed the importance of taking care of the private sector and of its contribution to economic development, as well as emphasizing the need to wisely invest the state’s human and material resources to bolster the national economy. As to HH the Amir’s specific accomplishments, the researcher recalled the government and parliament’s passing of a development plan which
would pump over KD 37 billion into vital projects. Another important item receiving a great deal of attention due to the Kuwaiti monarch’s concern is the living conditions of those on limited and average incomes, as well as his efforts to ensure that living costs are minimized for the majority of the public. The Amir has also encouraged employment of nationals in the private sector as part of the state’s drive to become a regional financial and economic center. On the economic summit, Al-Tamimi pointed out the recommendations which stressed the need for clear identification of vital projects had led to a brought on sea change in Kuwait’s role in overall economic development. Meanwhile, the chairman and Managing Director of the Advantage Consulting Company, Safa Al-Hashem, said the Amir’s call to make Kuwait a regional economic center was coupled with an emphasis on different aspects of development in his many speeches, and particularly on the value of productivity. Al-Hashem expressed hope that these goals would be realized, voicing confidence there are enough devoted, highly motivated and creative Kuwaiti at Kuwaiti citizens should serve as mind, might and muscle in making progress towards higher levels of economic and social development in the homeland. — KUNA
KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuwaiti Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Najib Al-Bader met Editor-inChief of the Saigon Times, Tran Thi Ngoc Hue, yesterday and discussed the role of media in bolstering cooperation and relations between the two countries. The consul said all means to further relations, and particularly those involving media and the press, were discussed, and emphasis was put on economic relations and trade exchange. The discussion also pointed out that exchange and focus of media should mind principles of dialogue among cultures and peoples of the world and stress values of tolerance and understanding, he noted. Stressing the keenness of leadership in boosting interaction and relations with Vietnam, the Consul presented the Editor-in-Chief with a number of publications on Kuwait and received, in turn, a number of editions of the Saigon Times. — KUNA
MPs propose including firemen among hard jobs By B Izzak KUWAIT: The National Assembly financial and Economic Affairs committee yesterday discussed final amendments to the development plan with Deputy Premier for Economic Affairs, Minister of Housing and development Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah. The plan was unanimously approved in the first reading by the assembly about two weeks ago and the committee was asked by the assembly to study a number of amendments. It had already held a meeting earlier this week and yesterday’s meeting was supposed to be the final meeting. The committee will then submit its final report to the assembly for a second and final reading. Sheikh Ahmad
profession of firemen under hard jobs in order to allow them to seek early retirement with full benefits. The bill stipulates to allow firemen to seek retirement after 20 years of service and be entitled to full pension benefits because their profession is a hard job. In another development, lawyer Thamer Al-Jadaei who represents MP Musallam AlBarrak denied yesterday claims that his client has won only one case against writer Nabil Al-Fadhel. Al-Barrak announced in the past two days that he won cases against Fadhel and received compensation worth KD 9,000 and even invited parliamentary reporters to lunch. Jadaei said that so far, AlBarrak has won six cases against Fadhel, a persistent
Panel discusses development plan amendments told reporters that the government is prepared and ready to vote on the plan and now it was left to MPs to take their decision. The plan stipulates spending around KD 37 billion over the coming four years on mainly investment projects. Head of the committee MP Youssef AlZalzalah praised Sheikh Ahmad for his cooperation with the committee. During the debate, a number of MPs cast doubt over the ability of the government to implement the plan in full, describing the plan as over-ambitious and saying it will be an achievement if only half of the plan was carried out. Meanwhile five lawmakers yesterday submitted a draft law calling to include the
critic of Al-Barrak, and received in total KD 18,000. Four more cases are still being heard in the courts. In the meantime, MP Khaled Al-Adwah called on the national assembly to launch a probe into the failure of the interior ministry to protect the lives of people on the road. AlAdwah accused the interior ministry agency of failing to stop an illegal car race by youths in Doha two days ago which resulted in a deadly accident. At least five young Kuwaitis died and several others were still in critical condition because of the accident. The lawmaker said that the interior ministry has failed to carry out its duty in saving the lives of people.
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Hamas ‘targeted’ civilians GAZA: Human Rights Watch yesterday rejected Hamas claims that the Islamists did not target civilians during Israel’s devastating Gaza offensive just over a year ago. “Hamas’s claim that rockets were intended to hit Israeli military targets and only accidentally harmed civilians is belied by the facts,” the New York-based group said. HRW issued its statement after the Islamist rulers of the Gaza Strip said its investigations of allegations in a UN report on the Gaza war found that they and other Palestinian armed groups “struck military targets and avoided civilian targets.” HRW pointed out that most of the rocket attacks on Israel hit
civilian areas. “Civilians were the target,” the rights group said, adding that “deliberately targeting civilians is a war crime.” The UN report into the 22-day Gaza offensive published in September also said the firing of the hard-to-aim rockets at southern Israel deliberately targeted civilians and could constitute a crime against humanity. The report authored by the respected former international prosecutor Richard Goldstone accused both Israel and Palestinian groups of war crimes during the conflict, which killed 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. HRW rejected claims Hamas made during the war that attacks against Israeli civilians
were justified reprisals for attacks on Palestinians and lawful resistance against occupation. The rights group stressed that “under the laws of war nothing can justify an attack against civilians, and violations by one side do not justify violations by the other.” The Goldstone report recommended its findings be referred to the International Criminal Court in the Hague if Israel and Hamas failed to carry out credible, independent investigations. Israel has rejected the report as “antiSemitic” despite the fact Goldstone is Jewish, because it accuses Israeli troops of deliberately targeting civilians and destroying vital infrastructure. — AFP
Friday, January 29, 2010
Boy in court for bee sting prank JAKARTA: A prank has had serious repercussions for an Indonesian boy facing criminal charges because he caused a classmate to be stung by a bee, the Jakarta Post reported yesterday. The English-language daily reported that the thirdgrade student-whose age was not given but who would be about seven or eight years old-was being tried at the Surabaya District Court in East Java. The boy was alleged to have stuck a bee on the cheek of a female classmate as they returned home from school in March last year, the paper said. Her father then filed a police report. The prosecutor in the case said the boy was accused of violating the Indonesian Criminal Code by committing “severe abuse that led to an injury”, the Jakarta Post reported. The newspaper said this could result in a maximum penalty of a 32month jail sentence. The boy, whose name was not given, has not appeared in court because he is depressed and afraid, the paper said. Edward Carwardine, spokesman in Indonesia for UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund, told Reuters that the criminal age of responsibility in Indonesia was eight years. However, there are proposals in place for this to be raised to 12 years. A recent case involving shoeshine boys in Indonesia also highlighted the ease with which children can be arrested and jailed. Last year, 10 shoeshine boys aged eight to 15 were found guilty of betting on games of heads and tails as they waited for customers at Jakarta’s international airport. The boys spent a month in a children’s penitentiary awaiting trial. They were found guilty, but following a public outcry they were not sentenced to jail, but sent home to their parents. Typically children who are jailed serve time in the adult, rather than juvenile, penal system. — Reuters
Malaysia terror suspects ‘from Mideast and Africa’
TEHRAN: Arash Rahmanipour, speaks at the revolutionary court in this file photo. Iran yesterday, hanged two men convicted of trying to topple the country’s clergy-led regime. The report identified the two men as Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour. — AP
Iran hangs two protesters Oppn figure says president’s days numbered LONDON: Iran hanged two men convicted in the wake of the unrest that erupted after last year’s disputed election, as a top opposition figure predicted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would be ousted before the end of his term. President Barack Obama warned Tehran it faced “growing consequences” over its nuclear program and said international consensus against it was building. Russia said patience with Tehran was running out. The two men executed at dawn yesterday were among 11 sentenced to death on charges including “moharebeh” (waging war against God), trying to overthrow the Islamic establishment and membership of armed groups, the student news agency ISNA said. The June presidential election was followed by huge opposition rallies, plunging Iran into its deepest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The opposition says the vote was rigged to secure hardliner Ahmadinejad’s re-election. The authorities deny it. Eight people were killed in clashes between opposition supporters and security forces on Ashura, the holy Shiite day of ritual mourning, on Dec 27. “Following the riots and anti-revolutionary measures in recent months, particularly on the day of Ashura, a Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Court branch considered the cases of a number of accused and handed down the execution sentences against 11 of those,” ISNA said. “The sentences against two of these people ... were carried out today at dawn and the accused were hanged,” ISNA said, adding the sentences had been confirmed by an appeal court. It named them as Mohammad Reza
Alizamani and Arash Rahmanipour. The lawyer for Rahmanipour, 19, said he was detained before the election. She said the charges were political and the verdict “illegal and unjust”. “An execution with this speed and rush has only one explanation ... the government is trying to prevent the expansion of the current (opposition) movement through the spread of fear and intimidation,” lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh said. “He was never granted the right to defend himself freely and I could not defend him (adequately),” she said. In August, the state broadcaster IRIB said Rahmanipour had confessed to links with Western countries and had a mission to plant bombs at election time. The cases of the other nine are at the appeal stage. ISNA said the charges included membership of two anti-revolutionary groups, including a pro-monarchy association. Internet messages have been circulating about new protests on Feb 11, when Iran marks the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution which toppled the US-backed shah. IRAN ‘WEAK’ Mehdi Karoubi, who came fourth in the election, said in Tehran a weakening economy and popular opposition would lead moderates to remove Ahmadinejad. “Considering the political and economic problems plus a controversial foreign policy, I personally believe Mr Ahmadinejad would not be able to finish his term,” he said. Karoubi, 72, told the Financial Times he believed Ahmadinejad’s populist policies had made Iran “too weak” for people to endure further unemployment and inflation. Solutions ranged from removing Ahmadinejad from office to limiting his powers or reshuffling
the cabinet, Karoubi said. “But knowing this man, I believe he would not change his behavior,” he said. In his annual State of the Union address, Obama suggested Ahmadinejad’s combative administration was increasingly besieged internationally over a nuclear program the West believes is intended to produce nuclear weapons. Iran denies it. “The international community is more united, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is more isolated,” he said. “And as Iran’s leaders continue to ignore their obligations, there should be no doubt: they too, will face growing consequences.” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in London after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov there was “growing understanding ... that Iran should face consequences for its defiance of international obligations”. Lavrov stopped short of openly supporting new sanctions. “It is clear that one can’t wait forever, and our partners are already talking about the need to discuss further measures in the UN Security Council,” Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti quoted him as saying. Russia’s state arms trader yesterday declined to say whether it would go ahead with a deal to sell S-300 anti-aircraft systems to Iran, a sore point in Moscow’s relations with the United States and Israel. In Jerusalem, an Israeli official told Reuters Russia had yet to ship the S300’s “main systems”-such as radars and interceptor missiles-to Iran. Defense analysts say the S-300 could help Iran thwart any attempt by Israel or the United States to bomb its nuclear facilities from the air. — Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR: Terrorism suspects from Jordan, Nigeria, Syria and Yemen have been detained in Malaysia, activists said yesterday as a report linked them to the Nigerian behind the botched Christmas plane bombing. Malaysia announced Wednesday it had arrested 10 people for “acts of terrorism” and said they were members of an international terror outfit tracked down in cooperation with foreign intelligence groups. The government-linked New Straits Times said the 10 were believed to be associated with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian student accused of trying to detonate explosives on a Northwest Airlines plane approaching Detroit. “It was learnt that foreign anti-terrorism agencies informed Malaysian authorities that the 10 were linked to Abdulmutallab and that they were in Malaysia,” said the daily, which did not cite any sources for its report. Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Wednesday that the suspects were being held under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for indefinite detention without trial. Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, chairman of the Abolish ISA Movement, said the activist group had learned that 50 people were detained on January 21 as they attended a religious lecture on the fringes of the capital Kuala Lumpur. He said the majority were released the following day but that 12 remained in detentionincluding a Malaysian, two Nigerians, four Syrians, one Yemeni and one Jordanian. “The house they were at was
forced into without warning by the police action forces using force and weapons,” he told a press conference. Syed Ibrahim said the detentions may have been a response to international pressure on Malaysia to crack down on terrorism, particularly after US warnings that militants were planning attacks on foreigners at Borneo island resorts. “In any case, the ISA is a convenient tool to use to avert pressure by making foreigners, in this case mostly from the Middle East region, into scapegoats,” he said. Muhamad Yunus Zainal Abidin, 29, said he was among those detained during the lecture by Syrian preacher Aiman Al Dakkak who was among those taken into custody. He told the press conference that the interrogation focused on whether Aiman was planning any action, and that he was not questioned over the Christmas bombing. “We never talked about jihad or bombing anyone. Aiman condemned this,” he said of the classes which he said had been running since 2003. Malaysia’s controversial ISA has been used in the past against alleged militants, including members of Southeast Asian extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah, which is linked to Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network. One JI member released in 2008 is accused of hosting a planning meeting ahead of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Analysts say that other militants affiliated with AlQaeda have used Kuala Lumpur for meetings and logistics. — AFP
Friday, January 29, 2010
INTERNATIONAL
Emirati sentenced to death
Somalia Islamists ban video games MOGADISHU: Somalia’s Islamist insurgents yesterday banned video games, one of the last forms of entertainment left for local youth, arguing they were destroying the country’s social fabric. The Hezb al-Islam group, currently engaged in a deadly insurgency against the internationally-backed federal government, made the announcement in a statement circulated in the areas it controls. “Starting two days after this statement’s date of issue, all video game playing centers in the areas under Hezb alIslam control should be closed and playing video games will be prohibited,” it said. “Video games are designed in such a way that they destroy our social traditions and for that reason, anybody found ignoring this order will be punished and equipment will be confiscated,” it said. It was signed by Sheikh Mohamed Omar, head of propaganda for Hezb Al-Islam, an insurgent group headed by influential cleric Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and which controls densely-populated areas in and around Mogadishu. Video games became particularly popular in areas on the outskirts of Mogadishu housing tens of thousands of families who fled the fighting in the capital since watching films on DVDs was also banned. Children and teenagers would gather after school in small centers like cybercafes where PlayStations were wired up and a 30-minute game cost 5,000 Somali shillings (around 15 US cents). “Hezb AlIslam officials ordered us to close our video game centers so today we’re closed. We don’t have a choice,” said Ali Hidig, a game centre owner in Elashabiyaha, a village hosting refugees on the ouskirts of Mogadishu. “Young boys used to like coming here for entertainment after school but it looks like this is now a thing of the past,” he said. The disappointment was deep among teenage boys in the area, where movies and sports are also banned. “We used to watch movies. They were banned. Now the PlayStations we had fun with are also banned. This country is not for young people like me,” said Abdirahman Hirsi, a 19-year-old from Lafole town. “They have basically banned everything that is fun, so we feel increasingly bored,” said another boy. Abdi Moge, an older resident in the village, argued that there were few alternatives to occupy young people other than joining an armed group. “Who knows what else the children are going to do now. It’s not as if there was proper education for them. The more they are prevented from playing, the more likely they are to join the fighting,” he said. Hezb Al-Islam and their insurgency comrades from the Al-Qaedainspired Shebab group are implementing a very strict form of Sharia (Islamic law) in the areas they control. The Hezb Al-Islam statement did not make clear what forms of punishment would be reserved for diehard gamers caught flouting the ban. However, in recent months across Somalia, people found dancing to traditional songs have been flogged, men guilty of trimming their beards arrested and youth playing football in shorts reprimanded by religious police units. Satellite television is also banned in many areas and there are no cinemas left in central and southern Somalia, which are under Islamist control. Rights groups have accused all sides involved of recruiting children in the fighting that has rocked the country since the 1991 ouster of former president Mohamed Siad Barre. — AFP
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DUBAI: A Dubai court has sentenced an Emirati to death after convicting him of raping and then murdering a four-year-old Pakistani boy in a mosque on the first day of a Muslim feast, newspapers said today. The sentence was handed down on Wednesday by lower court judge Fahmi Fahmi amid tight security. The victim’s father and brother were in court to hear the verdict, the Khaleej Times reported. The sentence is not final as it can be challenged before the appeals and supreme courts. The condemned man, 30, had confessed during the trial to raping and murdering the boy in a mosque as worshippers offered prayers nearby on the first day of Eid Al-Adha (The Feast of the Sacrifice) on November 27. The boy was found dead in the toilet of the mosque, according to a statement last month by the Dubai prosecutor. According to the prosecution, the culprit, a fisherman by profession, said he lured the boy to the toilet by saying he would give him a cash present to mark the feast. As the boy tried to scream after being sexually assaulted, the attacker muzzled him and banged his head on the floor, killing him. Although the United Arab Emirates has the death penalty on its statute book, executions are rarely carried out in the Gulf country. — AFP
MOGADISHU: An African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) aims a building where a suspected Al Shabab sniper hides at the junction K4 (Kilometer 4), a strategic roundabout in Mogadishu. — AFP
Ugandan soldiers cling to crucial K4 crossroads MOGADISHU: Hiding from the sweltering sun and Islamist snipers behind sandbags, Ugandan troops obstinately defend a small but strategically crucial piece of tarmac: Mogadishu’s K4 junction. “Whoever holds K4 controls Mogadishu” is a kind of motto for the African Union (AU) peacekeepers who rotate to this dangerous outpost on the edge of the confined area they control in the Somali capital. “Kilometer Four” in southeastern Mogadishu is where the airport road meets several other key thoroughfares and is a major flashpoint in the war-ravaged seaside city. Hunkering down behind their makeshift fortifications of canvas and sand, a few dozen Ugandan troops from the AU’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia (Amisom) keep watch on the prized intersection. From the patchy shade provided by the ruins of the building where they have set up their position, they look on as swarms of passengers clamber in and out of minibuses with their bundles and bales. The junction’s imperturbable traffic warden is a T-55 tank parked between the crumbling walls of what was once Mogadishu’s largest cinema. The barrel of its cannon stares down a deserted road which serves as the city’s unofficial frontline and leads to the northern neighborhoods harboring the Shebab, Somalia’s feared Al Qaeda-inspired militants. Heads covered with heavy-duty helmets and sunk into their bullet-proof vests, Ugandan soldiers posted on their base’s roof scan the horizon anxiously for an enemy they rarely see. “Snipers have been shooting at us since the morning,” says Kenneth Wabwire, a young captain with Amisom, sitting on a khaki-painted ammunition box. In a constant state of alert and under the scolding Somali sun, any attempt to make their base comfortable would be futile and the contingent’s paraphernalia is messily scattered
across the rooftop. The K4 unit’s modest digs include an army cot sheltered by camouflaged tenting, with weights and a pair of pink plastic slippers strewn over the sizzling concrete terrace. Their finger on the trigger, a dozen peacekeepers with sleepless red eyes squint through a tiny loophole in their sandbags to detect the enemy. Crouching and sweating heavily, one officer points towards a sun-baked chalk-white mosque: “The enemy snipers are posted there, you see.” The insurgents take relentless pot shots at the Amisom force, as evidenced by a pock-marked wall behind their shooting position. “Generally, we ignore them,” says Wabwire. “But we answer immediately if they shoot with mortars, that’s too dangerous.” “We try to identify the origin point and to limit the collateral damage,” he says, in reference to the dozens of civilians who die each month when caught in an exchange of mortar shelling. Below him, six neatly lined-up mortars stand in a dusty courtyard, aimed at insurgent positions and their Bakara market stronghold. “These people are less than a kilometer away but they cannot approach. They are just harassing us, that’s their only tactic,” says Amisom spokesman Ba-Hoku Barigye. “But because of its strategic location, K4 is particularly exposed, and almost daily targeted by insurgents,” he admits. Rusty iron sheets and more sandbags block the windows of the building where the unit has set up its makeshift dormitory, a few plastic tables serving as a chow hall and a rudimentary infirmary. “It used to be the Egyptian embassy,” says Mulki, who owns the next door villa. As a flurry of machinegun fire rips through the sky, the smiling middle-aged woman barely flinches. “This? It’s the music we hear every day. And our Ugandan friends are protecting us.” — AFP
Somalia pirates hijack Cambodian cargo ship NAIROBI: Somali gunmen hijacked a Cambodian cargo ship, the MV Layla-S, off Berbera after it unloaded at the port in the breakaway northern enclave of Somaliland, a regional maritime official said yesterday. “Crew members on board the ill-fated vessel are ... Pakistani, Indian, Sri Lankan, Somali and Syrian nationals,” Andrew Mwangura of the Mombasa, Kenya-based East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme said in a statement. “It is said that the vessel has a link with Syrian and UAE businessmen. We are informed that she was taken by gunmen after discharging her cargo.” The hijacking appeared to have happened on Wednesday, but few other details were immediately available. The seizure came a week after Somali pirates freed a Greekflagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil for a record ransom. Somaliland, which declared itself independent in 1991, is proud of its relative stability compared with the south of Somalia, where hardline Islamist rebels control large amounts of territory and are battling a weak Western-backed government. Worldwide, piracy attacks rose by nearly 40 percent last year, with Somali gangs accounting for more than half the 406 reported incidents, the International Maritime Bureau says. Typically, pirates from the failed Horn of Africa state hold the captured ships and crews hostage until ransoms are paid. The International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 75 percent of the global seaborne industry, said this month that it felt deepening frustration at the international community’s “impotence” in combating growing piracy in the Indian Ocean. —Reuters
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French ex-PM cleared in Sarkozy smear plot 3 defendants found guilty in Clearstream case PARIS: Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin was cleared yesterday of being part of a conspiracy to smear Nicolas Sarkozy and sabotage his campaign to become president in 2007. The verdict in the so-called “Clearstream case” represents a sharp blow to Sarkozy, who had made no secret of his enmity towards the aristocratic Villepin when the two served together in the government of ex-President Jacques Chirac. Villepin, who became prime minister in 2005 after stints as foreign and interior minister, had been accused of using faked documents to link Sarkozy to a corruption probe as the two men angled to succeed the ageing Chirac. He always denied the charges and said repeatedly that he was a victim of a vendetta by Sarkozy, who won power in the 2007 election while Villepin battled the allegations of wrongdoing. In a ruling read
out to the packed courtroom, a judge said there was no firm evidence that Villepin had tried to discredit Sarkozy or that he had acted in bad faith. “I salute the courage of the court, which has allowed justice and the law to triumph over politics,” Villepin told a scrum of reporters gathered outside the door of the courtroom. “I don’t bear any grudges or rancor. I want to turn the page ... I want to look to the future, to serve the French people and continue in a spirit of unity,” he added. The former prime minister holds no elected post and works as a lawyer. However, he still has supporters on the centre-right and members of his inner circle have said he should challenge Sarkozy in the 2012 presidential election. Sarkozy, who was a civil plaintiff in the case, said in a statement he was satisfied by the verdict and would not appeal.
THREE FOUND GUILTY The court found three of Villepin’s codefendants guilty. The judge said JeanLouis Gergorin, a former EADS executive with links to intelligence services and Imad Lahoud, a computer specialist, were the main architects of the affair which dragged in some of the top names in French politics and business. Both were found guilty on the main counts of slanderous denunciation and use of false documents. Gergorin was sentenced to 15 months in prison and Lahoud to 18 months and both also received fines of 40,000 euros ($56,160). Florian Bourges, a former Arthur Andersen auditor who obtained the original documents, was found guilty of theft and breach of trust but the journalist Denis Robert, to whom he gave them and who later showed them to Lahoud, was cleared. — Reuters
Friday, January 29, 2010
Goa rape draws Russian rebuke PANAJI: Russia expressed grave concern at repeated attacks on its nationals in the Indian resort state of Goa and slammed local authorities after a nine-year-old Russian girl was allegedly raped. Goa police said the girl was attacked on January 26 by an Indian youth while she was swimming at Arambol beach, 30 kilometers from the state capital Panaji. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Russia’s embassy said it was shocked and outraged by the reported incident. “We expect Indian authorities to ensure safety of Russians. Otherwise, we will have no options but to recommend tourists to refrain from visiting Goa,” it said. Last year, the mutilated body of a Russian woman was found on railway tracks. Other allegations of attacks on Russian tourists have been widely reported. In 2008 the partially clothed body of British girl Scarlett Keeling, 15, was found on a north Goa beach. She was found to have taken a cocktail of drink and drugs before she died. Moscow’s consul general to India in December raised fears over the “criminal situation in Goa,” a hugely popular holiday destination for tens of thousands of Russians each year. Goa’s police, who have been accused of botching rape probes, said they had ordered a speedy investigation into the latest allegations. “We have released a sketch of the accused and are conducting search operation across Goa,” investigating police officer Bosco George said yesterday. Goa is famous for its sandy beaches and party scene, but has suffered damage to its reputation due to a series of high-profile crime cases. — AFP
Tony Blair braces for grilling over Iraq war
LONDON: Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown (second from left) shakes hands with his Foreign Secretary David Miliband (second from right) flanked by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) and Afghan President Hamid Karzai (right) after making their speeches in the opening session of the Afghanistan Conference yesterday. — AP
World powers seek end to Afghan war Karzai trying to lure Taleban back into mainstream society LONDON: Major world powers opened talks yesterday seeking an end to the grinding conflict in Afghanistan, drafting plans to hand over security responsibilities to local forces and quell the insurgency with an offer of jobs and housing to lure Taleban fighters to renounce violence. Afghan President Hamid Karzai greeted delegates from about 70 nations and institutions in London, seeking to win new international support after more than eight years of combat which is threatening to exhaust public good will in the West. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen also joined talks aimed at setting targets to transfer security control of several Afghan provinces to the local police and military by the end of 2010. “This is a decisive time for the international cooperation that is helping the Afghan people secure and govern their own country,” British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, opening the one-day talks. “This
conference marks the beginning of the transition process.” Brown said the conference would set a target for Afghanistan to increase its military to 171,600 by Oct 2011, and boost police numbers to 134,00 by the same date. “By the middle of next year we have to turn the tide,” he said. Karzai envisions Afghanistan’s government taking control of security in all 34 provinces by 2015, but said he expects foreign troops to stay in his country for up to a decade. Announcing his plan to lure Taleban soldiers back into mainstream society with offers of jobs and housing, Karzai said Afghanistan was moving “slowly but surely toward the end goals of peace and stability.” Karzai called for support from Afghanistan’s neighbors - especially Pakistan and oil-rich, influential Saudi Arabia. “We hope that his majesty (Saudi) King Adbullah will kindly take a prominent role to guide and assist the peace process,” he said. The Afghan chief said he would convene a
peace jirga - or conference - to discuss the proposals. “We must reach out to all our countrymen, especially our disenchanted brothers who are not part of Al-Qaeda or other terrorist networks,” Karzai told the meeting. International allies will pledge at least $500 million for Karzai’s program, but Western diplomats said the money would not pay for cash inducements. Funding will be used to create jobs in the country’s police and army, or in agriculture and pay for housing, officials said. US special representative Richard Holbrooke said many low- and midlevel Taleban fighters were motivated by financial need, rather than ideological support for the Taleban or AlQaeda. In a sign of possible tensions over the ambition of the program, Holbrooke said negotiations with higher ranking insurgents are unlikely, while Karzai and other Western officials indicated that, over the longer term, the program may eventually target leadership figures. — AP
LONDON: Former British prime minister Tony Blair will face a public grilling today over his decision to wage war on Iraq, seven years after a bloody conflict that still divides his country. Blair is the star witness in a long-awaited inquiry that commentators hope will finally resolve questions about the intelligence that justified the March 2003 invasion, and whether the USled war was legal. Anti-war campaigners, who held a million-strong march against the invasion at the time, have promised protests for the hearing in London, while the public interest is such that organizers had to hold a ballot for spectators. Relatives of some of the 179 British soldiers who died in the war will also be there, many of them keen to confront the man who they hold responsible. Britain and the United States justified the invasion of Iraq with the threat posed by its possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in defiance of United Nations resolutions, but they did not have explicit UN approval. Concerns this meant the war was illegal were compounded by the failure to find the WMD, raising questions about the reasons for the conflict. The inquiry panel, led by former top civil servant John Chilcot, is intended to learn lessons, not apportion blame, but it has vowed “not to shy away from making criticism”-and the focus has inevitably narrowed onto Blair. Although he is Labor’s most successful prime minister, leading the party to three successive electoral victories, Blair’s strong support for such an unpopular war contributed to his decision to step down early in June 2007. Blair has always
insisted the war was legalsupported by his then attorney general, Peter Goldsmith, who gave evidence here Wednesday-and said he was convinced Iraq had chemical and biological weapons. “I’m like any other human being, as fallible and as capable of being wrong,” he told the Labour party conference in September 2004, adding that leadership was “about doing what you think is right and sticking to it”. However, he has never shaken off accusations that he and then US president George W. Bush were both determined to remove Saddam Hussein by any means possible-and that the intelligence was doctored to support their case. Successive government officials and ministers from the time have told the inquiry that the intelligence pointing to the WMD was patchy at best, and several made no secret of their desire to see Saddam removed from power. Blair himself told the BBC last month that he would “still have thought it right to remove” Saddam because of the threat he posed to the region, although he acknowledged they would have had to deploy “different arguments”. One of the key documents in the intelligence case against Saddam was a September 2002 dossier in which Blair wrote, in a foreword, that Saddam’s possession of WMD was “beyond doubt” and he could deploy them within 45 minutes. But the inquiry heard the intelligence was limited, while the foreign secretary at the time of the war, Jack Straw, admitted the 45-minute claim was an “error” as it was only meant to refer to battlefield weapons. — AFP
INTERNATIONAL
Friday, January 29, 2010
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Re-elected Lankan leader pledges reconciliation COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa pledged yesterday to seek reconciliation with minority Tamils after his sweeping re-election, but did not indicate how he plans to deal with their demands for greater rights. Critics said the balloting showed the country’s ethnic divisions that fueled decades of war were again near a breaking point, with many minorities apparently voting for the opposition or staying away from the polls. Rajapaksa won a second term in office Tuesday, defeating his former army chief by 17 percentage points in the first presidential election since his government defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels and brought an end to decades of
war. The opposition candidate, former army chief Sarath Fonseka, cried foul, and said he will challenge the results in court. The United States congratulated Rajapaksa on his victory, but also urged authorities to ensure the safety of all candidates and campaign workers, according to a US Embassy statement, after troops surrounded the hotel where Fonseka was staying. He said he feared arrest but left the hotel unimpeded late Wednesday. Rajapaksa said his sweeping victory at the polls shows that the people backed the methods his government used to crush the Tamil Tiger rebels and end the war. “There were many, both in Sri Lanka and abroad, who
criticized President Rajapaksa’s policies to bring an end to violence and terrorism that threatened our own people, as well as our region,” the statement from his office said. “The overwhelming mandate given to President Rajapaksa in this election has given the answer to these critics.” Human rights groups and some Western governments have alleged that Sri Lankan troops and the rebels committed war crimes during the last stage of the war, which ended last May. The UN says more than 7,000 civilians were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced last year alone. Rajapaksa will lead a country mired in economic difficulties and split along
ethnic lines, and faces serious allegations of human rights violations against minorities and government critics. He said he recognizes the hardships of those afflicted by the war in the north and east, but fell short of making any concessions to demands by the Tamil minority for self-rule and greater rights in those areas. “The people in Sri Lanka have voted for an end to division, an end to terrorism, and for a new beginning of peace and prosperity,” a statement from his office said. “President Rajapaksa intends to ensure that we build on the peace already achieved and move toward a full reconciliation program.”
Newspapers urged Rajapaksa yesterday to use his second term and wide election margin to forge reconciliation between the majority Sinhalese and Tamils, who have suffered disproportionately during the decades of war. Tens of thousands are still living in refugee camps. The independent Daily Mirror newspaper said the election results showed that polarization between the ethnic communities has sharpened. “The politics in Sri Lanka has pushed the nation into such a precarious edge that a party leader can no longer win the support of both the Sinhalese and Tamil-Muslim combine alike,” it said in an editorial. — AP
Man pleads guilty to killing seven in Tokyo knifing spree Japan’s bloodiest crime in many years TOKYO: A man on trial for killing seven people in a stabbing frenzy in Tokyo’s neon-lit electronics district in 2008 pleaded guilty yesterday to the attacks, Japan’s bloodiest crime in many years. “It is true that I am the culprit,” said auto plant worker Tomohiro Kato, 27, as his trial opened at the Tokyo District Court, Jiji Press reported. “Please let me use this occasion to apologize,” he said about the bloody rampage that also left 10 people injured in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, the hub of Japan’s comic-book and video-game subculture. Kato is charged with multiple cases of murder and attempted murder and, if convicted, could face the death penalty for the attacks on June 8, 2008, which were Japan’s worst mass-killing in seven years. Defense lawyers argued he is not mentally fit to stand trial. Kato was arrested on the spot shortly after the attacks, in which he rammed a rented two-ton truck into a crowd of pedestrians before getting out and randomly stabbing people with a doublebladed knife. Police say Kato documented his deadly journey to Akihabara on Internet bulletin boards, typing messages on a mobile phone from behind the wheel of the truck and complaining of his unstable job and his loneliness. Kato then swerved the truck into the pedestrians, jumped out and ran into the crowd raising the dagger in one hand and a smaller knife in the other, slashing and stabbing his victims, before he was arrested. Three people were killed by the truck and four died from stab wounds. The son of a banker, Kato grew up in Aomori prefecture in Japan’s north, where he graduated from a top high school. He failed his university entrance exams
and eventually trained as an auto mechanic, reports said. He reportedly had an interest in manga comics, anime movies and video games. Prosecutors said Kato’s selfconfidence had plummeted after a woman he had chatted with on a mobile phone website abruptly stopped emailing him after he sent her a photograph of himself. His anger against the general public grew when his comments on an Internet bulletin board, including his plans to go on a killing spree, met with no reaction at all, prosecutors said. While awaiting trial, Kato wrote to a 56-year-old taxi driver whom he injured in the knifing spree, expressing his remorse. The victims “were enjoying their lives, and they had dreams, bright futures, warm families, lovers, friends and colleagues,” Kato wrote according to a copy published in the Shukan Asahi weekly. “I destroyed them all and they cannot be brought back, no matter how deep my regret. What I did cannot be undone. For my crime I deserve to die many times over, and naturally I will get the death penalty.” Japan has a low violent crime rate and had not seen such a deadly attack since a former mental patient stabbed to death eight children at an elementary school almost seven years to the day of the Akihabara attacks. After the 2008 rampage, Japan banned possession of double-edged knives with blades longer than 5.5 centimeters, punishable by up to three years in prison or a 500,000 yen (5,600 dollar) fine. Japan is the only major industrialized democracy other than the United States that carries out the death penalty. No executions have taken place since a new centre-left government took power in September. — AFP
SEOUL: South Korean honor guard soldiers hold their guns at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea. — AP
North Korea fires more artillery at tense border SEOUL: North Korea pressed ahead with a live-fire artillery drill in a tense border zone yesterday despite US and South Korean criticism, and separately announced it had detained an American citizen. The communist state fired shells into the sea near its disputed maritime border with South Korea for a second day, Seoul’s military said. Pyongyang’s official news agency said an American was under investigation after being detained Monday for illegally crossing the border from China-the second time in a month it has reported such a case. The shells from shore batteries landed near a South Korean island but Seoul said none fell in South Korean waters. On Wednesday the North had lobbed more than 80 shells near the flashpoint frontier and South Korean Marines fired 100 warning shots in response. The North describes the drill, which
Pyongyang detains American started a day after it declared “no sail” zones in the area, as a routine military exercise. But the western sea border, which it refuses to recognize, was the scene of deadly naval battles in 1999 and 2002. In the latest naval clash last November, a firefight left a North Korean patrol boat in flames. Washington called the shelling “provocative”, echoing an earlier protest from Seoul. “The declaration by North Korea of a no sail zone and the live firing of artillery are provocative actions and as such are not helpful,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said. Analysts said the North is raising tensions to show that a formal peace pact on the heavily-armed peninsula is necessary. Before it returns to nuclear disarmament negotiations, Pyongyang wants Washington to agree to discuss a treaty to
replace the 1950-53 Korean War armistice. But the latest reported detention is a potential complication in Pyongyang’s stated desire to improve relations. The North did not identify the man or give any details. The US State Department and South Korea’s foreign ministry said they knew nothing about the case. It was unclear if there was any connection to US missionary Robert Park, who was picked up on December 25 as he crossed the border from China on a lone human rights crusade. Jo Sung-Rae, a South Korean Christian involved in Park’s case said: “Right now we have no information about the reported entry of another American.” Park, 28, claimed he had seen a vision from God of North Korea’s liberation and redemption, according to his colleagues. They said he carried a letter
calling on North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il to release political prisoners, shut concentration camps and improve rights and conditions. After months of tensions marked by a nuclear test and missile launches, the North last summer began peace overtures to Seoul and Washington. Some analysts said the North hopes to ease tougher sanctions imposed following the weapons tests. US President Barack Obama sent envoy Stephen Bosworth to Pyongyang last month to try to persuade it to return to the six-nation nuclear talks. But the North says that in addition to peace treaty talks, it wants sanctions lifted before it comes back. Obama in his State of the Union speech Wednesday warned Pyongyang it faces growing isolation unless it abandons its nuclear weapons. “North Korea now faces increased isolation, and stronger sanctions-sanctions that are being vigorously enforced,” he said. — AFP
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Friday, January 29, 2010
Fertile Nile Delta falls prey to climate change ROSETTA: The Nile Delta, Egypt’s bread basket since antiquity, is being turned into a salty wasteland by rising seawaters, forcing some farmers off their lands and others to import sand in a desperate bid to turn back the tide. Experts warn that global warming will have a major impact in the delta on agriculture resources, tourism and human migration besides shaking the region’s fragile ecosystems. Over the last century, the Mediterranean Sea, which fronts the coast of the Nile Delta, has risen by 20 centimeters and saltwater intrusion has created a major challenge, experts say. A recent government study on the coast of Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city, expects the sea to continue to rise and flood large swathes of land. “A 30 centimeter rise in sea level is expected to occur by 2025, flooding approximately 200 square kilometers. “As a result, over half a million inhabitants may be displaced and
ROSETTA: Egyptian farmer Mohamed Hamid, 62, shows the salt in the soil of his now infertile land in the Nile Delta region of Rosetta, 250 km northwest of the capital Cairo. — AFP approximately 70,000 jobs could be lost,” the study said. Environmental damage to the Nile Delta is not yet one of Egypt’s priorities, but experts say if the situation continues
to deteriorate, it will trigger massive food shortages which could turn seven million people into “climate refugees” by the end of the century. The fertile Nile Delta provides
around a third of the crops for Egypt’s population of 80 million and a large part of these crops are exported providing the country with an important source of revenue.
Climatic changes have forced some Delta farmers to abandon their land, while others are trying to adapt by covering their land with beds of sand to isolate it against seawater infiltrations, and grow crops. “We buy these sacks of sand which cost a lot of money and use them to make a bed on which to grow crops so we can get by,” said farmer ElSayed Saad. “Life is difficult,” said Saad, who like other farmers must repeat the procedure every 10 years in order to stay productive-even if that in itself is not a guarantee. Meanwhile engineering firms specializing in underwater projects have been looking for more longterm solutions. Mamduh Hamza, of Hamza Associates, has floated a plan to build a waterproof wall or barrier that would effectively separate the sea from the land and raise the shore by two meters. “The wall will prevent flooding as well as underground infiltration,” Hamza said. The project was submitted to the authorities in 2007 but has not
yet been given the go-ahead, amid fears that such a wall would undermine Egypt’s Mediterranean beach resorts which are popular tourist destinations. Some say that Egypt, like many other developing countries, is suffering from the mistakes of the industrialized West. “Egypt is only responsible for 0.6 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mohammed al-Raey of the Regional Disaster Response Centre. Raey and other experts believe that rising sea levels will not only risk inundating the fertile Nile Delta region but will also change the quality of water, as saltwater seeps into the groundwater. “There is no doubt that (climate change) poses a threat to food security and a threat to social systems,” Raey said. People in affected areas will leave to find work elsewhere, this in turn will cause unemployment in other areas to rise, which leads to crime and threatens general security. — AFP
Staying ‘left of the boom’ as IED toll mounts in Afghan war CHORA: Keeping the convoy “left of the boom” is the singleminded focus of Sergeant 1st Class Tom as the Dutch patrol snakes through the desolate mountains of Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province. The sergeant and his team of six engineers are the last line of defense against the roadside bombs that have become the biggest killers of coalition troops in the Afghan war. It takes four hours to cover less than 10 kilometers from forward operating base Mirwais to an “overwatch” point on a small plateau above a river valley through which the troops will patrol on foot. At choke points, where the terrain forces vehicles to take a particular line across the barren, mountainous moonscape, engineers walk ahead of the vehicles, mine-detectors sweeping every inch of the trail. “But most important are the eyes-your gut feeling and your sight,” says Sergeant Tom, identified only by his first name in line with Dutch military procedure. “It’s a cat and mouse game. We have to stay left of the boom”. “Left of the boom” is a military term for the period before a device explodes, as in a timeline written across a page where the story starts with the network of facilitators and leads to the man planting the bomb. To the right of the boom is too late for anyone in the vicinity 11 Afghan troops and policemen died in two separate blasts in the area two weeks ago. Many more coalition troops are killed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) than in direct combat, and last year’s death toll was the highest since the US-led invasion ousted the hardline Islamist Taleban regime in 2001.
A US intelligence officer said recently that up to 90 percent of casualties among foreign forces were caused by IEDs. “Over the years the threat has changed,” the commander of Dutch forces in Uruzgan, Brigadier General Marc van Uhm said in an interview. “In 2007 for example there were many fights on a daily basis. Now, the Taleban has learnt that when they are engaging my troops they will not win. “So what they do is fight against us indirectly, by using IEDs, suiciders and that’s of course more difficult for us.” Having reached its overwatch point safely, the Dutch patrol sets off on an intelligence-gathering operation, essential to gauging mood and movement that might point to hostility to coalition troops — and plans to kill them. Two thin lines of soldiers make their way down a steep, rocky mountainside towards “the green” alongside the river, into a village of medieval mud-walled compounds, some turreted like the forts of times long past. In stark contrast to the vast emptiness beyond the reach of the water, there is suddenly life among groves of almond trees: men and children, sheep, cattle, donkeys and chickens-but no women visible outside the high walls of the compounds. The patrol is soon confronted by a turbanned, white-bearded elder who is not pleased to see them and not afraid to tell them. “Why are you coming here?” he asks platoon leader Captain Rik through an army interpreter, as curious children crowd around. The captain, an affable blond with the build of a rugby player and a sharp glint in his eye, explains that he wants to know if all is well in the village. “We can solve our own problems,” the elder says
dismissively. “Here is peace, there is no Taleban.” He says it is “very bad” when troops enter compounds without permissionalthough Captain Rik’s men have not done so-as “there are women”. The patrol moves on and within minutes encounters a sharply contrasting attitude-the captain is invited in for tea in a lavishly-carpeted guest house with a portrait of Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the wall. The host chats about the need for a better bridge over the river and the fact that the district government is establishing a school in the area. The central province of Uruzgan is one of Afghanistan’s poorest, with high illiteracy among the population of about 360,000. The captain explains that he is part of the Dutch battle group and is looking for information on Taleban activity but will report the problems to the provincial reconstruction team at Mirwais. Then a call comes through from the engineers: they have found a cache of explosives. They searched an abandoned compound and found two wrapped and buried anti-personnel mines. The mines are of the type that, when tripped, spring to about chest height before exploding, invariably killing anyone within range. But in Afghanistan they could also be used to trigger bigger IEDs, such as those commonly made with ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which can be deadly even to troops in armored vehicles. The two mines bring the patrol to a grinding halt. A line of soldiers guards the compound; a line of Afghan men in turbans and flowing robes squats two meters away across an aqueduct and watches. — AFP
CHORA: Dutch soldiers of Charlie Air assault company check for unexploded IEDs (improvised explosive devices) during a patrol in Chora valley in Afghanistan’s southern Uruzgan province. — AFP
German court summons Holocaust-denying bishop BERLIN: A German court has summoned traditionalist Catholic bishop Richard Williamson to face charges he denied the Holocaust, an offence punishable by up to five years in jail. In comments broadcast on Swedish television last January, Williamson said he believed no more than 300,000 Jews perished in the Holocaust and that there were no gas chambers. The consensus among historians is the Nazis killed some six million Jews in the Holocaust. The district court in the southern city of Regensburg has set a hearing for April 16, because Williamson had appealed against a 12,000 euro ($16,870) fine for incitement that was summarily handed down last year for his remarks. The court has now summoned Williamson, 69, to face questioning in person, court spokesman Thomas Frick said. Authorities cannot force him to attend, but if Williamson is not represented at the hearing, then the appeal against the fine will be thrown
out, Frick added. “Then the fine becomes legally binding,” he said. Williamson’s remarks broadcast on the television station were made near to Regensburg, within the court’s jurisdiction. British-born Williamson belongs to an ultratraditionalist Catholic splinter group, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). The Pope caused outrage among Jewish groups last year when he lifted excommunications on four SSPX bishops, including Williamson, at about the same time that Williamson denied Jews had died in Nazi gas chambers. Williamson later offered an apology for his comments though the Vatican rejected this, saying it did not go far enough. SSPX, which opposes the way the Catholic Church has evolved over the last 40 years, rejects the Second Vatican Council’s decision to stop calling Jews killers of Jesus Christ and to seek good ties with Protestants, Jews, Muslims and other faiths. — Reuters
INTERNATIONAL
Friday, January 29, 2010
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Lebanon’s foreign domestic workers fight back at abuse BEIRUT: Abused, humiliated and deprived of the most basic rights, foreign maids in Lebanon are starting to fight back against their employers in court and, in rare cases, they are winning. Nanda, from Sri Lanka is one of the few to break the silence. The 22year-old arrived in Beirut in 2009 to work as a housekeeper, hoping to help support her eight-year-old daughter and soldier husband back home with her meagre monthly salary of 180 dollars (127 euros). Instead she found herself trapped in an abusive household with no way out. Nanda’s employer confiscated her passport and forced her to work seven days a week, although her contract stipulated eight-hour workdays and a recent decree adopted by the Lebanese government that calls for domestic workers to be given one day off a week. “I worked from 5:30 in the morning until midnight, nonstop and without pay,” she recalled. “And what’s worse is I was never allowed to call my family.” Nanda was particularly shocked when her employer’s six- and 12-year old children took to beating her when she did not cater to their whims. “I did not understand Arabic and now I know I was often being treated as a ‘sharmouta’,” the Arabic word for whore, Nanda
said, fighting back tears. “For my first two months in Lebanon, my boss gave me one slice of bread a day to eat because she said I was too fat, and sometimes leftovers. I was always hungry,” she said, sitting in a shelter at Caritas Lebanon, a charity group that offers refuge to victims of domestic abuse. But today, Nanda has joined a growing number of foreign workers who are filing lawsuits against their employers in a bid to improve their lot. “We hope that justice will find her,” said Dima Haddad, a social worker at Caritas which is giving Nanda legal assistance. Haddad said she especially hopes Nanda will repeat the success of 29-year-old Filipina Jonaline Malibagu, whose employer was sentenced in December to 15 days in prison by a Lebanese court for abuse and ordered to pay 7,200 dollars (4,950 euros) in damages. “Another worker who had not received her salary for years also managed to win compensation in court in 2009,” Haddad said. Many of the estimated 200,000 foreign domestic workers in Lebanon hail from the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. The Philippines, Ethiopia and Madagascar now ban their citizens from travelling to Lebanon due to the tiny Mediterranean country’s poor labor rights record. — AFP
Georgia tries to lure back rebel regions TBILISI: Georgia yesterday offered Abkhazia and South Ossetia help with travel, trade and healthcare under a reintegration plan that the Russian-backed rebel regions said was more about impressing the West. The Black Sea region of Abkhazia and the mountain territory of South Ossetia broke away from Georgia after the collapse of the Soviet Union and were recognized by Russia as independent states after a war with Georgia in August 2008. Calling for their “annexation” to be reversed, a government paper outlined a “human-centric policy” of engagement with Abkhaz and Ossetians by offering support for travel and enterprise and access to education and healthcare. But with no access to either region since the 2008 war and no official contact besides low-level security discussions in Geneva that have produced few results, it was unclear how Georgia would bring the plan to life. Backed militarily and financially by Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia say they have no need of the Georgian state. “The intent of the Strategy is to promote interaction among the divided populations of Georgia, currently separated by occupation lines, and to ensure that residents of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia enjoy the rights and privileges available to every citizen of Georgia,” it stated. The government said it would offer to extend healthcare and social security benefits and enable travel, study and trade abroad within the bounds of Georgian law. Abkhazia said it would have nothing to do with the Georgian government of President Mikheil Saakashvili “until it changes its policy towards us”. “We saw their idea of reintegration in August 2008,” Nadir Bitiev, an adviser to Abkhaz leader Sergei Bagapsh said. The strategy paper, he said, “is directed at other international structures they have to report to, to look good.” In a five-day war, Russia crushed a Georgian assault on South Ossetia launched after days of clashes between Georgian and rebel forces and years of growing tensions between Moscow and U.S.-ally Tbilisi. Venezuela, Nicaragua and the tiny Pacific island of Nauru followed Russia in recognizing the regions as independent. Russian security forces control the de facto borders of both regions, which are dependent on Russia for state aid and trade. — Reuters
PORT-AU-PRINCE: Darlene Etienne, 17, is treated at a French military field hospital after being rescued from a collapsed school building by a French search and rescue team in Port-au-Prince. — AP
‘Miracle’ rescue in Haiti Girl pulled from rubble 15 days after quake PORT-AU-PRINCE: A French search team that wouldn’t go home pulled off another “miracle” rescue in Port-auPrince, lifting a 17-year-old girl alive from beneath this cityscape of rubble. Above ground, hundreds of thousands of other survivors hoped for a breakthrough of another kind - in delivering badly needed food aid. Key players in the Haiti earthquake relief effort, in what may have been a pivotal meeting, decided to better coordinate by dividing up the city among themselves for handing out food. Food distribution thus far has often been marked by poor coordination, vast gaps in coverage, and desperate, unruly lines of needy people in which young men at times shoved aside the women and weak and took their food. “These things should be done in a systematic way, not a random way,” Dr. Eddy Delalue, who runs a Haitian relief group, Operation Hope, said Wednesday of the emergency food program. “It’s survival of the fittest: The strongest guy gets it.” Wednesday’s rescue of teenager Darlene Etienne from a collapsed home near St Gerard University, 15 days after Haiti’s great quake killed an estimated 200,000 people, was the first such recovery since Saturday, when French rescuers extricated a man from the ruins of a hotel grocery store. A man pulled Tuesday from the rubble of a downtown store said he had been trapped during an aftershock, not in the original Jan 12 quake. Authorities say it is rare for anyone to survive more than 72 hours without water, let alone more than two weeks. But young Etienne may have had some access to water from a bathroom of the wrecked house, and rescuers said she mumbled something about having a little Coca-Cola with her in the rubble. Her family said Etienne had just begun studies at St. Gerard when the disaster struck, trapping dozens of students and staff in the rubble of school buildings, hostels and nearby homes. “We thought she was dead,” said cousin Jocelyn A St
Jules. Then - a half-month after the earthquake - neighbors heard a voice weakly calling from the rubble of a private home down the road from the destroyed university. They called authorities, who brought in the French civil response team. Rescuer Claude Fuilla walked along the dangerously crumbled roof, heard her voice and saw a little bit of dust-covered black hair in the rubble. Clearing away some debris, he reached the young woman and saw she was alive - barely. “I don’t think she could have survived even a few more hours,” Fuilla said. Digging out a hole big enough to give her oxygen and water, they found she had a very weak pulse. Within 45 minutes they managed to remove her, covered in dust. A neighbor said he believed she was rescued from the house’s shower room, where she might have had access to water. She was extremely dehydrated and weak, with very low blood pressure. She was rushed to a French military field hospital and then the French military hospital ship Sirroco. France’s ambassador to Haiti, Didier le Bret, praised the “stubbornness” of the French rescue squad. “They should not have been working anymore because, officially, the rescue phase is over,” he said. “But they felt that some lives still are to be saved, so we did not say they should leave the country.” At least 135 people buried in rubble have been rescued by search teams since the quake, most in the immediate aftermath. An Israeli team that earned international praise for its rescue efforts in Haiti returned home yesterday with a 5year-old boy in need of urgent heart surgery. Israeli leaders gathered at BenGurion airport to welcome the team home. Also yesterday, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution expressing concern about rights abuses in the wake of the quake and urging the government and aid groups to protect children from violence and exploitation. The UN World Food Program, meanwhile, urgently appealed to
governments for more cash for Haiti supplies - $800 million to feed 2 million people through December, more than quadruple the $196 million already pledged. The WFP says it has reached 450,000 people. Food remains scarce for many of the neediest survivors despite the efforts of the United Nations, the US military and dozens of international aid groups. Relief experts said the scale of this disaster and Haiti’s poor infrastructure are presenting unprecedented challenges, but Haitian leaders complain coordination has been poor. The food agency said rising tensions and security incidents - “including people rushing distribution points for food” - have hampered deliveries. At some regular distribution points, such as near the Champs de Mars, the central plaza where thousands of homeless are living, daily food handouts have drawn crowds of frantic people. Desperation boiled over earlier this week and Uruguayan peacekeepers retreated as young men rushed forward to grab US-donated bags of beans and rice. A pregnant woman collapsed and was trampled. Since the relief effort’s first days, however, other problems have also delayed aid - blocked and congested roads, shortages of trucks, a crippled seaport and an overloaded Port-au-Prince airport. In a bid to improve food distribution, representatives of the UN, the US, the Haitian government and private aid groups met Wednesday to discuss coordination. Afterward, Donal Reilly of Catholic Relief Services said they decided to divide Portau-Prince into zones, designating a major aid agency to be responsible for delivering food to each sector. That may bring some hope to the newly homeless of the rubble-strewn Bizoton slum, who say they haven’t gotten food, water or help with shelter in the two weeks since the earthquake. “If it rains now, that’s it,” Wilson St Ellis, 50, a father of eight, said Wednesday amid plastic sheets stretched here and there as flimsy shields against the elements.— AP
BUSINESS
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Leaders plead for global trade deal in 2010
Obama job campaign earns business plaudits at Davos DAVOS: Wall Street executives welcomed US President Barack Obama’s plan to create jobs and a softening of his attack on banks, but questioned yesterday whether proposals in his State of the Union address would become law. Obama pushed job creation to the top of his agenda in his annual speech to Congress and vowed
not to abandon his struggling healthcare overhaul after the loss of a key Senate seat in Massachusetts raised doubts about his leadership. He renewed criticism of bankers’ “bad behavior” and of the recklessness that triggered the deepest crisis since the 1930s, but appeared to ease his assault on big banks.
DAVOS: Participants attend the session “Global energy outlook”, on the second day of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos yesterday. Khalid Al Falih, Aramco’s chairman and chief executive, hit out at “misleading” rhetoric that the world was weaning itself off fossil fuels, saying this did not give producers confidence to keep investing in production.— AFP
Gulf markets rise on improving sentiMIDEAST STOCK MARKETS DUBAI: Most Middle East markets rose yesterday as improved global sentiment spurred some investors to take advantage of lower prices and open new positions. Trading was again lacklustre, however, and analysts said volumes would have to increase substantially for regional stocks to escape the broader downtrend. “We haven’t had a lot of participation from foreign or regional institutions, so it’s pretty much a retail market and none of these investors want to get caught when bad news comes out, which is why we’re seeing such volatility in the market,” said Jithesh Gopi, head of research at SICO investment bank. “Improvement and more visibility on earnings will play a crucial role in setting the direction of the market.” Dubai was the most volatile bourse, with the index rising 2.2 percent to trim its losses this week to 3.2 percent. Dubai Investments Co climbed 3.4 percent after swinging back into profit, while Abu Dhabi’s Sorouh Real Estate rose 3.6 percent, with investors unmoved by the developer’s quarterly earnings missing estimates. “The market has already priced in bad results for most companies, so price movements are not related to Q4 results- it’s all about sentiment right now,” said Marwan Shurrab, vice-president and chief trader at Gulfmena Alternative Investments. “There’s a rebound on international markets and we’re seeing a rebound here, because sentiment is getting better after (US President) Barack Obama’s speech yesterday , which reassured investors that the US economy is stabilizing.” On Wednesday, Obama promised
Americans that he would revive jobs growth and curb exploding deficits in a speech to Congress that also took a more moderate tone on US banking curbs. This helped US markets edge higher overnight, spurring early-morning gains in Asia, with Japan’s Nikkei ending 1.6 percent higher. Agility climbed 5.3 percent to 600 fils, lifting Kuwait’s index to a higher close as speculators bought into the stock following a recent slump. The logistics provider fell 12.3 percent in a 13day slide to Wednesday’s close. “Whenever Agility fell below 600 fils, it attracts speculators who then sell when the stock rises back above this level,” said Naser AlNafisi, general manager for Al Joman Center for Economic Consultancy in Kuwait. Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) fell 4.1 percent. On Jan. 21, Fitch Ratings said it may cut its rating for the lender, while earlier this month, CBK’s entire board resigned, although the stock has held firm. “CBK is trading at more than double its fair value, but its major shareholder is supporting the price,” said Nafisi. Kuwait’s index climbed 0.9 percent. “We expect the market to rise 10 percent in 2010, but it is likely to trade in a range between 6,900 and 7,100 points until companies deliver their full-year results, which will be around the end of March,” added Nafisi. Qatar’s index rose 1.4 percent on low volumes after slumping to a six-month low on Wednesday. “Generally, the market is pretty quiet, but this is a fair rebound after yesterday’s fall,” said Mohamed Abu Ghoush, head of equities brokerage at Ahli Bank. — Reuters
“The market is probably relieved that he didn’t come out with some other nuclear attack on Wall Street,” John Studzinski, global head of the advisory group at Blackstone said. Studzinski, a former investment banking boss, told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum that he welcomed the plan to boost lending to small businesses, but said execution would be critical: “The devil is in the detail”. Tom Donahue, President of the US Chamber of Commerce, said he welcomed the job moves and the fact Obama had adopted some of the initiatives promoted by his organization, including doubling exports in five years with the help of a push for improved trade agreements and changes in export control rules. “I think it is a recognition that everybody is getting down to the reality (that) what keeps people happy or not happy, what is going to get us out of the recession or not, what is going to address the deficit or not is jobs, jobs and jobs,” Donahue told Reuters. Howard Lutnick, head of private investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, criticized Obama’s “populist battle against the banks” and warned that local banks could find too many strings attached to government aid. “These community banks are so fearful of the classic words ‘Hi, I am the government I am here to help’-those are dangerous words indeed,” he said in an interview at the WEF in the Swiss resort of Davos. “It is tremendously risky for any institution... to in any way be caught in the government safety net, because you get caught in the political rhetoric.” Global business leaders in Davos appealed to governments, including the Obama administration, to make good on their commitment to conclude stalled trade liberalization talks this year and boost a world economic recovery. But trade negotiators were skeptical, citing the impact of unemployment in developed countries, and political obstacles such as the US mid-term Congressional elections in November and Brazil’s presidential election. Business leaders at the annual Davos meeting have warned Western governments that an uncoordinated, heavyhanded crackdown on the financial industry could crimp a fragile recovery from recession. In his State of the Union message, Obama pledged to slap tough new regulations on Wall Street but said he was “not interested in punishing banks”.— Reuters
Friday, January 29, 2010
Aramco seeks to ease oil production worries DAVOS: The head of Saudi oil giant Aramco yesterday sought to ease international concerns over dwindling stocks of oil but failed to convince all his customers. Khalid al Falih, Aramco’s chairman and chief executive, hit out at “misleading” rhetoric that the world was weaning itself off fossil fuels, saying this did not give producers confidence to keep investing in production. “We feel that the whole issue that came to the surface and created a lot of concern about peak oil is behind us,” the head of the world’s biggest producer company told a World Economic Forum session on the global energy outlook. He also said that his company was able to maintain a cushion of four million barrels a day of spare capacity even if global demand were to grow. “We don’t believe in peak oil,” he told reporters later. However, petroleum bosses remained unconvinced. “The problem of peak oil remains,” said Thierry Desmarest, chairman of French giant Total. “In our opinion, it will be very difficult to raise oil production worldwide above 95 million barrels a day, which is 10 percent more than today.” The problem is not one of insufficient reserves, but that “a lot of it is difficult to be produced.” Desmarest told AFP that world oil production could peak in “about 10 years. We are not there yet today.” For BP’s chief executive officer Tony Hayward, Iraq could be a new oil source, with a potential to boost production by 10 million barrels a day in the next decade. “There is no reason Iraq cannot produce 10 million barrels a day in 10 years,” he told the forum. Meanwhile, Al Falih said talk of moving away from fossil fuels a major cause of gases that cause global warming-did not help producers as they seek funds and political backing to keep churning out oil. “Last year, despite the recession, we maintained our investment,” the Aramco boss said. “But we don’t see the reciprocal assurance (from) policymakers in particular... in terms of giving us the long-term signals that we need to maintain that kind of investment and commitment to long-term supply,” he said. “There is too much rhetoric from the public domain about moving away from oil ... that is unachievable, and in many ways misleading to the public.”— AFP
DAVOS: (From left) Ronald Kent, Executive Vice President, head of International Listings, NYSE Euronext UK, Olivier Piou, CEO Gemalto France, Lars G Olofsson, CEO Groupe Carrefour France, and Dominique Cerutti, Deputy CEO NYSE Euronext France, are seen during the opening bell of the European stock exchange at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland yesterday.—AP
Etisalat defers planned 1.8billion dirham bond DUBAI: Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) will postpone a planned 1.8 billion dirham bond issue because it has sufficient cash to fund expansion, its chairman said. “Maybe we will issue the bond at a later stage, but we still haven’t decided when,” Mohamed Omran, chairman of the Gulf Arab region’s second-largest telecom firm, said yesterday. Asked when Etisalat planned to make a payment of $800 million to Pakistan for a stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Co (PTCL), Omran said: “We have the money and will only make the payment once all the land is transferred”. In 2006, Etisalat signed an agreement to buy a 26 percent stake in PTCL for $2.6 billon. So far, only $1.4 billion has been paid because of problems linked
with a transfer of 3,000 real estate units. Under the contract, the government agreed to transfer the properties before Etisalat made the full payment. This week, Pakistan said it expected Etisalat to make the payment by the end of March, according to Pakistan’s Minister of Privatisation Waqar Ahmed Khan. “If the minister is confident that this will happen in March then we will pay in March,” said Omran. Etisalat has faced increased competition in its home market after its monopoly was broken in 2007 by Dubai-based du. Etisalat, operating in 18 countries, including Egypt and India, is one of a number of Gulf Arab telecom operators to have expanded overseas after losing their monopoly at home. — Reuters
BUSINESS
Friday, January 29, 2010
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Toyota recalls show price of rapid growth Recalls top 5 million including in US, Europe and China TOKYO: A flood of recalls in the US shows Toyota compromised on quality control in an overzealous drive to cut costs and expand sales during its climb to the top of the world auto market. Recalls for gas pedals prone to sticking and faulty floor mats that can entangle the accelerator are a devastating blow to an automaker that had prided itself on a reputation for quality. The safety doubts have also forced Toyota to suspend US sales and production of eight models including the Camry, America’s top-selling car, and announce recalls in China and Europe. The huge number of recalled vehicles — topping five million, when accounting for models being recalled more than once — stems from the auto industry’s drive to use the same parts across a range of models to cut costs, some analysts say. Even a small defect can set off a recall numbering millions of cars. At its peak, Toyota Motor Corp sold 9.4 million vehicles around the world in 2007, adding more than three million vehicles in annual sales over five years. “The past few years, Toyota has been expanding too rapidly,” said Christopher Richter, auto analyst at Calyon Capital Markets Asia in Tokyo. “Maybe they should have gone a little slower.” Embroiled in a public relations disaster, Toyota is hoping drivers will ultimately view its unprecedented suspension of sales and production as a responsible step. “We didn’t want to spare even a moment after we found a problem so our customers don’t have to worry,” company spokesman Hideaki Homma said yesterday. Homma said the company had learned its lesson and was making quality checks more thorough under an initiative spearheaded by President Akio Toyoda to put customers first. Toyoda, grandson of the company’s founder, last year replaced Katsuaki Watanabe, a cost-cutting expert who oversaw Toyota’s dethroning of Detroitbased General Motors Co as No 1 in global vehicle sales. Still, it remains unclear how quickly the
ZHEJIANG: Chinese drivers wait to buy diesel fuel at a gas station in Hangzhou, in east China’s Zhejiang province. China has set up a government agency headed by Premier Wen Jiabao to better coordinate energy policy, as the world’s second-largest power consumer faces growing domestic demand and struggles with shortages.— AP problems can be solved. When Toyota recalled 4.2 million vehicles in November, it said it was because floor mats were interfering with the pedals. That may have been an issue, but now the company is saying last week’s recall of 2.3 million vehicles is linked to worn pedal mechanisms that increase friction in certain conditions and cause the accelerator to stick sometimes. Sean Kane, president of Safety Research and Strategies Inc, a Massachusetts-based car safety investigation and advocacy group, said he’s certain there is no single
cause. He said he’s logged thousands of stuck gas pedal complaints. Toyota says the same problem gas-pedal part, manufactured by supplier CTS Corp, based in Elkhart, Indiana, is used in European-made vehicles. Colin Hensley, a manager at Toyota’s European operations headquartered in Brussels, said recalls will be carried out in Europe but the number of vehicles involved isn’t known yet. Toyota said yesterday it was recalling an additional 1.09 million vehicles in the US for problem gas pedals
and floor mats. Toyota also announced a recall of 75,500 RAV4 sport utility vehicles in China. The problems in the US — Toyota’s biggest market — are a major embarrassment for a company that has consistently topped consumer-survey rankings and counseled manufacturers around the world about efficient “just-in-time” and exemplary production methods. Analysts said automakers may rethink their production and procurement methods. “Even a small thing needs to be fixed, and you are going to get into massive numbers really quickly,” said Richter. Automakers could switch to using more than one supplier to reduce the cost of recalls by keeping down the numbers of cars involved, said Tatsuo Yoshida, analyst with UBS Securities. “Toyota is going to have to become more cautious,” he said. “The most important test is whether Toyota can come out of this, preserving its image as an ethical company.” But Ryoichi Saito, auto analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co Ltd, thinks the trend toward standardizing parts is irreversible as global alliances become more common. “Toyota’s problem could happen at any of the automakers,” Saito said of big recalls. “To survive cutthroat global competition, Toyota must sell in volumes and save on costs.” In another blow yesterday, Fitch Ratings placed Toyota’s “A+” rating on watch negative, meaning it could be downgraded. “The recalls and sales and production suspension cast a negative light on Toyota’s reputation for quality, just as the company emerges from an unprecedented downturn in the auto industry,” said Jeong Min Pak, a Fitch senior director. “This could hamper the company’s potential sales and profitability recovery, especially in the US market,” she said. The eight models, whose sales have been halted in the US, accounted for 57 percent of Toyota’s US sales last year, meaning that a one-week stoppage affects 20,000 vehicles, according to Fitch. — AP
Hyundai Motor’s Q4 profit quadruples Microsoft Kuwait to take part in InfoBiz 2010
SEOUL: A Hyundai Motor Genesis is displayed at Hyundai Motor Co’s showroom in Seoul yesterday. Hyundai Motor’s net profit nearly quadrupled in the fourth quarter on higher sales following a strong performance during 2009 in the fast-growing Chinese and Indian auto markets.— AP
SEOUL: Hyundai Motor’s net profit nearly quadrupled in the fourth quarter on higher sales following a strong performance during 2009 in the fast-growing Chinese and Indian auto markets. South Korea’s largest automaker and a growing force in the global market, earned 945.5 billion won ($820 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, it said in a statement yesterday. Hyundai Motor Co reported net profit of 243.5 billion won the same period the year before. The Ulsan, South Koreabased maker of the Elantra and Sonata sedans and the luxury Genesis said sales during the quarter rose 9.3 percent to 9.65 trillion won from 8.83 trillion won a year earlier. For all of 2009, Hyundai recorded a net profit of 2.96 trillion won, more than doubling from 1.45 trillion won in 2008. Sales for the year, however, fell 1 percent to 31.9 trillion won from 32.2 trillion. Hyundai reported big gains in sales volume in China and India in 2009 from the year before. It also said that profits in China soared while in India it made money after a loss the year before. Hyundai, which along with affiliate Kia Motors Corp forms one of the world’s five biggest automotive groups, has seen its market share grow worldwide in recent years through an emphasis on quality and design. Both companies have expanded aggressively overseas. Hyundai has factories in China, India, Turkey, the US and the Czech Republic. Kia has plants in China and Slovakia and began production in the United States last year. Shares in Hyundai Motor, which released results during afternoon trading, rose 4.1 percent to close at 113,500 won. The stock price tripled in 2009. — AP
Ford earns $2.7bn in 2009, first profit in 4 years DEARBORN: Ford Motor Co made $2.7 billion in 2009, its first annual profit in four years. The automaker yesterday also forecast a full-year profit in 2010. Earlier it had only promised to be “solidly profitable” in 2011. Ford benefited from cost-cutting, a $696 million profit in its credit arm and popular cars and trucks like the Ford Fusion midsize sedan and Ford Escape small sport utility vehicle. It gained market share in North and South America and Europe, despite the worst
US sales climate in 30 years. “While we still face significant business environment challenges ahead, 2009 was a pivotal year for Ford,” Ford CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement. Ford’s 2009 net income of 86 cents per share showed a significant improvement from the year before, when it lost a record $14.6 billion. Excluding one-time items of $711 million, Ford made 43 cents per share. Those items included severance payments and retiree healthcare
charges. The profit surprised Wall Street, where analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected an annual loss of 31 cents. In the fourth quarter, Ford earned $868 million, or 25 cents per share, compared with a loss of $5.9 billion a year earlier. Ford earned money in three of the four quarters last year. Ford said it will make profit-sharing payments to its US hourly workers in March. They will be the first profitsharing checks since 2004. — AP
KUWAIT: Microsoft Kuwait announced its participation at InfoBiz 2010 along with its partners Ebla Computer Consultancy and Diyar United Company who are the platinum sponsors of Microsoft. InfoBiz 2010 is Kuwait’s premier IT and communications trade show that is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al Mohammed Al Ahmed Al Sabah, the Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait. InfoBiz will take place from January 31-February 4, 2010 at the Kuwait International Fairs Ground. Commenting on the significance of the event, Ehab Mostafa, Country Manager for Microsoft in Kuwait said, “This year Microsoft is getting their partners together to present their solutions as part of Microsoft’s commitment to develop the private sector. We believe that it is an important platform that will enable us to showcase our latest business solutions that improve productivity and reduce costs and also share best practices that will transform and drive the success of businesses in Kuwait. We also thank Ebla Computer Consultancy and Diyar United Company for their continuous support and together, we aim to help organizations understand and respond to changing business conditions with greater insight and speed than ever before.” Microsoft will also have speakers at the event, who will deliver a range of presentations throughout the exhibition. In addition, Microsoft Kuwait will also host an ‘experience stand’ to showcase how customers can take advantage of the powerful new functionality of some of its latest offering including Windows 7. Ebla Computer Consultancy will shed light on the Microsoft Office Enterprise Project
Management (EPM). The Office EPM solutions helps organizations gain visibility, insight, and control across all work, enhancing decision-making, improving alignment with business strategy, maximizing resource utilization, and measuring and helping to increase operational efficiency. Diyar will showcase e-government, e-services, and the Kuwait Government Online Portal (KGO Portal), and will be demonstrating the Microsoft System Center which helps our customers to manage the network, servers, and the stops. Hilal Arnaoot, CEO, Ebla Computer Consultancy said “This region is a key market for Ebla and we are committed to providing innovative technology products and services that have the potential to reshape the workplace and deliver great benefits to the enterprise. By participating at InfoBiz 2010, we hope to showcase a new line of solutions while offering insight into the latest trends and developments in the region’s information and communications technology industry.” Bashar Atout, General Manager, Diyar United Company added, “Diyar and Microsoft share a strategic relationship and are collaborating to develop solutions that help customers optimize and transform their businesses. At InfoBiz 2010, customers will get insight into how these new offerings, provide unprecedented business agility and IT productivity thereby reducing many challenges they face today.” InfoBiz 2010 also aims to address key issues that face enterprises today including privacy, security and information management. Panel discussions will also be held during the event to discuss the future direction of the uptake of technology in Kuwait.
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Beijing’s priority to address bureaucratic hurdles
China sets up energy agency headed by PM BEIJING: China has set up a government agency headed by Premier Wen Jiabao to better coordinate energy policy, as the world’s second-largest power consumer faces growing domestic demand and struggles with shortages. The
establishment of the National Energy Commission reflects the high priority that energy issues have taken in China and the frustrations Chinese leaders have had coordinating powerful bureaucracies and state-owned companies.
ZHEJIANG: Chinese drivers wait to buy diesel fuel at a gas station in Hangzhou, in east China’s Zhejiang province. China has set up a government agency headed by Premier Wen Jiabao to better coordinate energy policy, as the world’s second-largest power consumer faces growing domestic demand and struggles with shortages.— AP
Euro-zone sentiment up 10th month running LONDON: Economic sentiment in the 16 countries that use the euro rose in January for the tenth month running as businesses saw their order books improve, the European Commission said yesterday. In its monthly survey of economic conditions, the Commission said its economic sentiment indicator rose by 1.6 points in the euro-zone to a 19month high of 95.7 from December’s upwardlyrevised 94.1, largely because of an improvement in the industrial sector. At its low point in March, the indicator stood at 70.6. The level of the indicator was unexpectedly strong — the consensus in the markets was that it would rise to only 92.5. The Commission said Italy and the Netherlands saw the biggest improvements in sentiment during January whereas in Germany, France and Spain the advance was modest. The data provided some
PARIS: French President Nicolas Sarkozy (right), next to Prime Minister Francois Fillon (center) and Economy Minister Christine Lagarde (left) delivers his speech on 2009 French deficit in Paris yesterday.— AFP encouragement that the recovery in the euro-zone is on a sure footing after a batch of disappointing indicators recently. Jennifer McKeown, a senior European economist at Capital Economics, said the figures were “somewhat reassuring” but that a sharper rise in sentiment would be needed in the
coming months for her to be convinced that the recovery was gaining momentum. For the wider 27-country EU, which includes noneuro members like Britain and Sweden, the economic sentiment indicator rose by 2.1 points to 97.1. As in the euro-zone, that was the tenth straight rise from March’s trough of 68. — AP
Leaders see growing reliance on imported energy as a potential strategic weakness. Heavy use of fossil fuels is also creating severe environmental damage, while rapid economic growth and poor policies have led to occasional fuel shortages. The commission will draft energy development strategy, review energy security and coordinate international cooperation, according to a notice late Wednesday by the general office of the State Council, China’s Cabinet. Vice Premier Li Keqiang will be the commission’s deputy head. Its 21 other members include the head of the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s powerful economic planning agency, and the ministers of finance, environmental protection, land and resources, and foreign affairs. It is the second time in two years that the government has tried to create a high-level body for energy. The National Development and Reform Commission resisted an attempt to set up an independent authority and kept control of the National Energy Administration in 2008. The need for Premier Wen, ranked No. 3 in the Communist Party, to take charge of the new body underscores the depths of bureaucratic infighting. Such interagency competition has thwarted cooperation on various initiatives, including reduction of carbon emissions and raising energy efficiency to help combat global warming, experts said. “It has been very hard to coordinate the different energy industries without an independent office at a higher level,” said Qiu Xiaofeng, a petroleum analyst at China Merchant Securities. “Now the new office will definitely help to make some good changes.” To feed the demands of the rapidly growing economy, Chinese energy companies have signed a string of multibillion-dollar deals to import oil and gas from the Gulf, Africa, Central Asia and elsewhere. “In the energy space, China is doing a large variety of things both domestically and globally. Its activities encompass both political and economic objectives, so to have a single ministry coordinating all these activities and forming a unified strategy seems long overdue,” said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. China is the world’s secondlargest energy consumer after the United States. It faces widespread difficulties in ensuring smooth supplies of fuel, coal and natural gas, partly due to conflicts over pricing policies that have caused widespread losses for refiners and utility companies.— Reuters
TOKYO: People walk by a Seibu department store in Tokyo’s Yurakucho shopping and business district yesterday one day after its holding company Seven & I Holdings Co announced its plan to close the store by the end of this year. — AP
Japan’s bond sales may climb in 2011 TOKYO: The Japanese government’s new bond issuance is set to climb a quarter in the four years from fiscal 2010/11, media reported yesterday, casting doubt on the government’s ability to avoid a ratings downgrade. The government is under pressure from ratings agencies to keep a tight rein on its finances and markets are already jittery that it could face a future funding crunch as public debt climbs to almost twice the size of the economy, by far the heaviest burden in the developed world. Investors have been concerned that the Democratic Party-led government, whose popularity has been slipping since it took power in September, will spend more to bolster the economy ahead of an upper house election in mid2010. The increased issuance doesn’t account either for any additional costs that will arise if the Democratic Party carries out its campaign pledges, which included full payouts to households with children, the media reports said. “The reported figures on bond issuance simply underline why we think the negative outlook on the sovereign rating is appropriate at this stage,” said Agost Benard, associate director for sovereign ratings at Standard & Poor, which downgraded its outlook on Japan earlier this week. The government has agreed to raise new bond issuance in fiscal 2010/11, which starts on April 1, to 44.3 trillion yen ($490 billion). The media reports said
that would increase to 51.3 trillion yen in fiscal 2011/12 and by 2013/14 would be 55.3 trillion yen, a quarter higher than 2010/11. Finance Ministry officials declined to comment. “The estimates for new bond issuance make sense, and a ratings downgrade is certainly possible,” said Nobuto Yamazaki, executive fund manager at DIAM Asset Management in Tokyo. “The real question is whether the government will try to spend more. Given the remaining work needed for their fiscal strategy, tax hikes could be the next step. Yields may seem low, but they’d be even lower if we didn’t have fiscal problems.” Still, the estimates were met with some scepticism by financial markets, where the 5year/20-year spread on government bond yields was little changed at 1.622 percent and Japan’s 5-year credit default spread held steady. That’s because the estimates are from the finance ministry, a proponent of fiscal restraint, and not the government’s official issuance plan. Actual issuance in future years may be quite different from the ministry’s estimates reported by the media. The Asahi newspaper, citing the ministry estimates, said the increased issuance would help cover rising social welfare costs and slack tax revenues. Previous governments spent big on public works to try to stimulate the economy through a decade of stagnation after a property bubble burst leaving banks mired in debt. — Reuters
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Country faces off against real Google over local ops
Imitation sites of Google, YouTube emerge in China BEIJING: Imitation Websites of both Google and YouTube have emerged in China as the country faces off against the real Google over its local operations. YouTubecn.com offers videos from the real YouTube,
which is blocked in China. The Google imitation is called Goojje and includes a plea for the U.S.-based Web giant not to leave China, after it threatened this month to do so in a dispute over Web censorship and cyberattacks.
BEIJING: A Chinese man uses a computer at an Internet cafe in Beijing yesterday. Knockoff websites of both Google and YouTube have emerged in China as the country faces off against the real Google over its local operations. — AP
Apple iPad lays claim to computer tablet market SAN FRANCISCO: Apple is shaking up the gadget world with an iPad that redefines the tablet computer and threatens with obsolescence electronic readers, digital photo frames and other mono-purpose gizmos. “Apple’s new iPad signifies another step toward the convergence between smartphones and mobile computers,” said Frost & Sullivan analyst Todd Day. “It’s more than a smartphone, less than a notebook, but just the right personal device for everyday users. The iPad will likely be the best selling electronics device of 2010.” Apple chief executive Steve Jobs on Wednesday revealed the iPod, iPhone, and Macintosh computer maker’s latest must-have device, a touchscreen tablet computer crowned “iPad.” The gadget has a 9.7-inch (24.6-centimeter) color screen and resembles an oversized iPhone. It is 0.5 inches (1.3 cms) thick, weighs 1.5 pounds (0.7 kgs) and comes with 16, 32, or 64 gigabytes of flash memory. The cheapest iPad model, with Wi-Fi connectivity and 16GB of memory, is $499 while the most expensivewhich includes 3G connectivity and 64GB of memory-costs $829.
The iPad offers full color, Web and multimedia capabilities for just $10 more than Amazon.com’s top-ofthe-line Kindle DX that presents digital reading material in black-and-white. “Right now, if you are thinking about buying a Kindle you are probably reconsidering that decision,” Interpret analyst Michael Gartenberg said. Some book lovers overwhelmed by or uninterested in video, location-sensing maps, music and more might still cling to e-readers that only present on-screen versions of ink and paper. “I have a hard time believing that after seeing this folks are going to want an
e-reader that just does plain text,” said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group. “This is going to do some significant damage to existing e-readers on the market, even the formatted ones like the Plastic Logic Que.” The iPad has a picture frame mode for presenting slide shows of stored photos and an optional charging stand to sit upright on a desktop. It has Google Maps coupled with geo-location software to pinpoint where users are and direct them where they want to go. Screen images flip between portrait and landscape modes depending on how an iPad is held. — AFP
The iPad is shown after it was unveiled at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. — AP
The separate projects went up within a day of each other in mid-January, just after Google’s threat to leave. “This should be an issue with Google’s intellectual property, also with China censorship,” said Xiao Qiang, director of the Berkeley China Internet Project at the University of California-Berkeley. “I cannot see how these sites can survive very long without facing these two issues.” Both sites were still working yesterday. It wasn’t clear what Chinese authorities would do with them, if anything. China’s National Copyright Administration has been cracking down on illegally run Web sites and this month issued a code of ethics, but no statement was posted on its Web site yesterday about the Google and YouTube imitations. Google had little comment. “The only comment I can give you right now is just to confirm that we’re not affiliated,” spokeswoman Jessica Powell said in an e-mail. China is famous for its fake products, but this is the first time such prominent sites have been copied in this way, Xiao said. The creators of the two sites could not be reached yesterday. “I did this as a public service,” the founder of the YouTube knockoff, Li Senhe, told The Christian Science Monitor in an instant message conversation. Videos on social unrest in China can be found on the site, which is in English. The real YouTube was blocked in China in 2008 after videos related to Tibetan unrest were posted there. Some Chinese quickly welcomed the knockoff YouTube site. “I don’t know if it will last long,” wrote blogger Jia Zhengjing, who has written posts against censorship. The other site, Goojje, is a working search engine that looks like a combination of Google and its top China competitor, Baidu. “Exactly speaking, Goojje is not a search engine but a platform for finding friends,” one of the founders, Xiao Xuan, told the Henan Business Daily on Wednesday. Xiao said the site didn’t have the level of sensitive material of the copycat YouTube site and that it probably was based on the Google China site instead of the version used in the United States. — AP
TOKYO: A shopper checks a computer game software by shelves selling Nintendo DS game software at a Yamada Denki discount store in Tokyo, yesterday. — AP
Nintendo profit drops despite holiday sales TOKYO: Nintendo, maker of the hit Wii game console, said profit for April through December fell 9 percent after price cuts and the rising yen tarnished strong holiday sales. Nintendo Co reported yesterday a 192.6 billion yen ($2.1 billion) profit for the nine months through Dec 31, down from 212.5 billion yen a year earlier. Sales retreated 23 percent to 1.18 trillion yen. Kyoto-based Nintendo blamed a lackluster first half and a strong yen for overshadowing robust holiday sales. A 20 percent price cut of the Wii also eroded profitability. Since Nintendo launched its Wii console in 2006, it has consistently outsold rivals by targeting casual gamers. Rival systems from Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. have begun to catch up, but Nintendo showed over Christmas that it was still the one to beat. To stay
competitive, Nintendo lowered the price of the Wii to 20,000 yen from 25,000 yen in Japan, and to $200 from $250 in the US before the year-end shopping season. The move followed price cuts by Sony and Microsoft earlier in the year. US sales of the Wii hit 3.8 million units in December, which was more than Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 combined, according to market researcher NPD Group. Nintendo set a record for most gaming systems ever sold in a single month. The company’s “New Super Mario Bros. Wii” was the month’s top-selling game in the US, followed by “Wii Fit Plus,” the exercise game, and “Wii Sports Resort.” “These strong software titles, coupled with the price reduction on the Wii hardware and other factors, combined to drive sales of Wii hardware strongly in the holiday season,” Nintendo said. — AP
Nokia posts 65% in Q4 profit HELSINKI: The world’s top mobile phone maker, Nokia Corp, yesterday said strong sales of smart phones and lower costs helped profits rise 65 percent in the fourth quarter despite a drop in total revenue. Net profit was 948 million euros ($1.33 billion), up from 576 million euros in the last quarter of 2008. But net sales in the last three months of 2009 dropped 5.3 percent to 12.0 billion euros from 12.7 billion euros in the same period a year earlier. The Finnish company said it boosted its share of the mobile phone market to 39 percent, from 38 percent in the previous quarter and 37 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said that included gains in the market for smartphones, driven by the launch of new models. “Our solid results also owe a good deal to world class supply chain management and impressive sales execution,” Kallasvuo said. Nokia’s share price jumped more than 10 percent to 9.95 euros ($14) in early afternoon trading in Helsinki. The company’s results were also boosted by the fact that special items, one-time costs which include restructuring charges, were significantly lower than in the comparable quarter in 2008. The mobile phone industry has been hit hard by the financial crisis, and Nokia last year slashed more than 3,000 jobs globally and temporarily laid off thousands in Finland. Its joint network equipment venture with Germany’s Siemens AG-Nokia Siemens Networksannounced some 5,700 job cuts. As the market leader, Nokia has been better prepared to weather the crisis, but in the third quarter it posted its first quarterly loss in a decade amid falling sales, lower handset prices and a one-time charge for the fallen value of its network equipment unit. — AP
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President to harmonize job creation, fiscal discipline
Obama holds out mixed remedy for US economy WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama tried to blend mixed messages on job creation and fiscal discipline as he offered a contradictory State of the Union fix for the battered US economy. In his address before Congress late Wednesday, he called for swift legislation that could cost
billions of dollars to create jobs to fix the double digit unemployment dogging his one year old administration. But at the same time, he sought a government spending freeze to stem ballooning budget deficits that threaten to double federal debt held by the public to $15 trillion.
CHICAGO: Sean Ridgeway signals an offer in the Eurodollar pit at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange following the announcement from the Federal Open Market Committee that it would maintain short-term interest rates at near zero while the economy continues its recovery in Chicago. — AFP
Fed takes more ‘baby steps’ toward normalizing policy WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve moved ever so slightly toward an exit from its extraordinary effort to revive economic activity, offering a more upbeat outlook as signs of dissent emerged among policymakers, analysts said. Concluding a two-day meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to keep the base federal funds rate in a range of zero to 0.25 percent, where it has been for over a year. It also reaffirmed that it expects to hold “exceptionally low” rates “for an extended period” to support the economic recovery. Yet analysts pointed to a more optimistic assessment of economic conditions and a public dissent from one Fed member, who argued that the central bank should send a tougher signal on inflation. The Fed “showed a slightly more hawkish tilt than we expected,” said Dean Maki, economist at Barclays Capital. Maki said the statement “indicated a more upbeat outlook on growth, somewhat less disinflationary pressure, and further confirmation that the
Fed will not expand its asset purchase program beyond March.” Overall, Maki said this “does appear to be another step on the road toward eventual tightening; we continue to expect the first rate hike in September.” Sacha Tihanyi, analyst at Scotia Capital, said the Fed “has telegraphed” its
intention to normalize monetary policy with a hike in rates as soon as possible to prevent a surge in inflation. The latest FOMC statement “is one of a number of baby steps toward that goal,” Tihanyi said. “You have the dissenter, there is the acknowledgment of a continuing economic improvement. — AFP
Strong US GDP may mask underlying weakness WASHINGTON: A keenly anticipated report today is expected to show the US economy grew at a robust pace in the fourth quarter, but analysts say special factors mask underlying activity that is still struggling. The consensus forecast for US gross domestic product (GDP) is for a healthy 4.6-percent pace of expansion in the October-December period, up sharply from 2.2 percent in the third quarter of 2009. Some analysts see the rate at six percent or higher. But because of the way the government measures GDP, the overall figure will be skewed by a sharp growth in inventory rebuilding-with companies expanding stocks drawn down during the worst of the recession. “Much of the strength at the end of 2009 stemmed from an inventory boost, growth that is not sustainable in the coming quarters,” said Sara Kline at Moody’s Economy.com, who expects a figure of 4.1 percent for the fourth quarter. “Therefore, the stronger fourth-quarter forecast has translated into slightly weaker growth in the first quarter of 2010. Consumption has yet to rebound significantly.” — AFP
If the Senate were to heed Obama’s call to emulate legislation passed by the House of Representatives for a rapid jobs creating program, it could cost about $150 billion-but some analysts say this is still a drop in the ocean considering the magnitude of the problem. Obama’s agenda “is not bold enough to address the severity of the problems facing the economy,” including the critical task of keeping the current workforce intact, said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, an independent US think tank. He cited the latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office showing the unemployment rate, currently at 10 percent, staying above 8.0 percent until well into 2012 and not falling back to normal levels until 2014. “This is a crisis for tens of millions of workers who will face unemployment solely as a result of bad economic policy and Wall Street greed,” Baker said, calling for “a much larger stimulus, more expansionary monetary policy from the Fed, and a lower dollar to bring down the trade deficit.” More than seven million Americans have lost their jobs since the United States plunged into recession in December 2007 and nearly 25 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed because they cannot find full-time work, or have given up looking for work, latest data showed. Obama himself acknowledged the “truth,” saying the steps he proposed “still won’t make up for the seven million jobs we’ve lost over the last two years. But he pointed out that achieving full employment required a “new foundation” for long-term economic growth, which analysts warn will be difficult to build as the nation grapples with a bleak fiscal outlook fueled by mounting debt. Obama, who is at a rocky point in his presidency and has shifted his rhetoric to adopt a more populist tone, also announced a freeze in government spending for three years, saying most discretionary government programs would be affected. — AFP
HAMBURG: A person in a German job center in Hamburg. German unemployment jumped in January 2010 to 8.6 percent of the workforce, with a total of 3.617 million unemployed, the Federal Labor Agency said on January 28, 2010, a rise that was in fact less than analysts had feared. — AFP
German jobless rate jumps in January FRANKFURT: German unemployment jumped in January to 8.6 percent, or 3.617 million people, official data showed yesterday, as Europe’s biggest economy continues to fight its way out of its worst economic crisis in decades. The Federal Labor Office said 342,000 more people were unemployed compared with December, when the jobless rate was 7.8 percent, with unusually early and cold winter weather contributing to a loss in jobs and productivity. Seasonally adjusted, the unemployment rate increased to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent. The office said the effects of the economic crisis were acute, though considering the massive decline in production, it has so far only had a moderate affect on the labor market. The office said German short time work programs continued to stabilize employment levels. The German government set up a program that compensated companies for keeping employees on shorter work weeks and less pay to respond to drops in demand. “At the beginning of the year, the German labor market is showing robustness,” Labor Office Director Frank-Juergen Weise said. The Labor Office said Federal Statistical Office estimates show German gross domestic product fell 5 percent in 2009, while the federal government expects a 1.4 percent improvement this year, which should help employment levels improve gradually. “The strong winter with heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures has hurt the German labor market,” Carsten Brzeski at ING said. “Today’s labor market report includes good and bad news. Of course, it was only a matter of time before German unemployment would increase again and it was also not the last time. “... The continuous increase of new vacancies since September 2009 makes the outlook for the German labor market much better than several months ago. The danger of exploding unemployment, stemming from the high number of short-work schemes, seems to have been prevented. “The improved economic outlook, increasing new orders and low inventories have gradually motivated companies to reduce short-work schemes,” Brzeski said. — AP
SEOUL: A currency trader passes by a screen showing foreign currency rate between the US and South Korea at the Korea Exchange Bank headquarters in Seoul yesterday. — AP
Friday, January 29, 2010
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Call centers explore art of persuasion Great Recession forces industry to cut staff, close business hawn Jones sat at a computer in a small cubicle, eyeing the screen for the rundown on his next call from a man in Vermont who wanted to cancel his service. With a click of the mouse, the 27-year-old opened the phone line at the call center, already prepared. “I’m sorry to hear that,” Jones said after a few seconds. “What exactly is the problem
S
with your service?” There was no problem with the service. The man on the phone wanted to save money and cancel. In less than five minutes, Jones was renewing the customer’s subscription and adding more costly bonus features. Jones pointed the index finger of his right hand toward the ceiling to signal his victory. He looked back at his boss,
ones has what is arguably the hardest job in the call center industry, persuading often angry or financially strapped customers not to cancel or downgrade their service. With the recession hurting pocketbooks, those calls have become more frequent at the Convergys call center at Pharr’s El Centro Mall, said Devin Finlay, site director for the Cincinnati-based call center company.
J
WASHINGTON: Before setting up NCTeleserv, a new call center in Winthrop, Washington, George Dale built call centers in India and the Philippines. Such businesses are moving back to America, Dale says, because calls took too long as customers struggled to communicate. — MCT photos pushed the microphone of his headset aside and said to a visitor: “I’m just trying to get paid, man.” Jones has what is arguably the hardest job in the call center industry, persuading often angry or financially strapped customers not to cancel or downgrade their service. With the recession hurting pocketbooks, those calls have become more frequent at the Convergys call center at Pharr’s El Centro Mall, said Devin Finlay, site director for the Cincinnati-based call center company. “It’s gotten a little soft,” Finlay said.
“People aren’t interested in buying new products. A lot of people aren’t making the kinds of little changes in their life that would lead them to call customer service.” The decline in calls has led call centers across the Rio Grande Valley to cut staff and even close their doors. In 2007, Convergys boasted that with the addition of a second Pharr facility, which formerly hosted a Hotels.com call center, its total number of employees in the Valley would hit 2,000. Now, in its 10th year in the Valley, Convergys employs more than 1,000 locally.
Staff at the second Pharr center will be moved to El Centro Mall location soon, leaving the old building vacant. By April, Finlay estimates the company will employ 1,200 locally. The art of persuasion begins and ends with a smile, Finlay emphasized repeatedly. Customer service can be rough on the ego when enraged callers harass or even insult. It doesn’t happen that often, but when it does, the trick is to avoid taking it personally and keep smiling, Finlay said. “(The) worst horror stories are when there is a system outage,” he added. “It doesn’t matter what (I say) — unless I can patch you through to Mother Nature, I can’t do anything.” Convergys closely guards its clients’ identities, mostly because the clients don’t want their customers to know they’re talking to a separate company when they call customer service. With some call centers, particularly those in the financial world, the security concern is that call center employees, who have access to personal data on the callers, could commit fraud or, worse, collude with someone on the outside. Convergys allowed The Monitor access to its facility, to tour the center and speak with employees, on the condition that the newspaper not disclose the client’s name. According to the company’s filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Convergys’ three largest clients are AT&T, DirecTV and Comcast. When entering the 60,000-square-foot call center, an electronic pass unlocks a revolving door that separates a small entrance room with a security desk and guard from the main floor. Once inside, voices of hundreds of operators rise from clusters of computers and coalesced into a din of chatter. At other centers, the voices are silent. In 2009 in Edinburg, Teleperformance cut staff from its call centers after a contract was canceled, said Pedro Salazar, president and CEO of the Edinburg Economic Development Corp. The company did not return calls seeking comment. Teleperformance will soon announce a new contract that will add hundreds of employees, Salazar said. West Corp. closed its call center in McAllen in 2003, said Dave Pleiss, vice president of investors and public relations for the company. With state and national “do not call” registries shrinking the pool of available phone numbers, and with consumers buying more goods and services online, outbound calling business at the center declined dramatically, he added. The job losses at call centers are difficult to quantify, as employment data is outdated and incomplete. As of four years ago, 6,000 Valley residents worked at call centers, according to the Lower Rio Grande Valley Workforce Development Board. With labor here still cheaper than in other areas of the United States, industry insiders and economic development officials have said the setback is temporary. Customer service employees make an average hourly wage of $15.28 across the United States. In the Valley, the average hourly rate is $9.45, according to the board. In July 2009, United Healthcare opened a new call center in Harlingen. By January, the company employed 360 people, and the goal by the end of the year is 400, said Blake Thomas, site director at the center, which takes calls from Medicare Advantage customers. “The recession has not impacted us, and our membership continues to grow,”
WASHINGTON: The DC Call center for city services and nonemergency. The service is the biggest and best booster of public service delivery. Thomas added. At Convergys, Jones readied for another call about service cancellation. He spoke calmly but was assertive. He empathized with the caller, but then he asked what alternatives the customer had explored. He pointed out that those alternatives would cost more, and he used one of his few tools, aside from his social skills, to keep the customer from quitting-dropping the price of his subscription. Again, Jones pointed toward the ceiling to signal victory-he gets a bonus for retaining customers. “The only thing he cares about more than his wife and kid is money,” Finlay said. — MCT
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CAREERS
Friday, January 29, 2010
Biggest career change mistakes to avoid re you considering changing your career? Are you bored, fed-up, lost, or otherwise unhappy in your current career? Are you facing a crossroads at which you need to decide between staying in your current field and moving to a new one? Do you have skills that you are not using in your current career? Have you been promoted to a point where you are no longer doing what you love? Changing careers is one of the biggest decision job-seekers face, and with many possible outcomes and consequences. Before you make that jump to a new career field, consider these common career change mistakes so that you can avoid them as you make the transition from one career to your next.
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Making a career change without a plan Probably the biggest mistake you can make is attempting to change careers without a plan. A successful career change can often take months to accomplish when you have a strategy, so without one, you could end up adrift for an even longer period. Having a detailed action plan (including items such as strategies, finances, research, and education/training) is essential to your success. Without a plan, you might take the first job offer that comes along, whether it is a good fit for you or not. Changing careers because you hate your job Don’t make the mistake of confusing hating your current job with hating your current career. Take the time to analyze whether it’s just the job/employer/boss that you hate, or whether it’s the career/skills/work that you dislike. The same goes with if you are feeling bored or lost with your job; review whether it’s the job/employer or the career. Whatever you determine, it’s best not to leave your job — if possible — until you have a plan for finding a new job/career. Making a career change solely based on money/benefits Certain career fields are very alluring because of the salary and other benefits they offer, but be very careful of switching careers because of all the dollar signs. Keep repeating to yourself, “money won’t buy me happiness.” Remember that you may make more money, but if you hate your new career, you’ll probably be spending that money on stress- and healthrelated expenses. A career that’s hot today could be gone tomorrow, so dig deeper. Changing careers because of outside pressure Don’t let your parents, significant others, or anyone else influence your career choice. They don’t have to live that career every day; you do. If you love what you do and earn a reasonable living, why is it anyone’s business but yours? If you switch careers because of outside pressure to have a “better career,” and then hate your new career, you’ll end up resenting the person(s) who pressured you to make the switch. Making a career change without refreshing your network Don’t ever attempt a career change alone. As soon as you have identified the career field you want to switch into, begin developing new network contacts. Conduct informational
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interviews. Join industry associations. People in your network can provide inside information about job-openings and can even champion you to hiring managers. Networking is essential for all job-seekers, but even more so for career-changers. And use a current or new mentor as a sounding board to help guide you in the transition. Changing careers without examining all the possibilities Don’t jump career fields without first conducting thorough research into all the possibilities, including career fields you may never have considered. By conducting research into careers you have never considered or been exposed to, you may find the career of your dreams. Talk to people in your network, read career and job profiles, meet with a career management professional. The more information you have about various career choices, the more successful you’ll be in making a career change. Making a career change without assessment Self-assessment (of your skills, values, and interests) is a critical component to careerchange success. Make a list of the skills you love doing (in your job, in your hobbies, in all aspects of your life) and the skills you never want to do again. Next, consider taking one or more assessment tests, especially those with a
component. Preparing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) Analysis is also a useful activity. All these activities are designed so that you better understand yourself — your product — so that you can find the best career for you and then sell yourself to employers in that new career. Changing careers based on the success of others It’s human nature to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. Just because your best friend or neighbor is successful in a certain career does not mean that you will be — or that you will be happy doing it — so certainly consider the career field, but make sure you do the research before jumping into it. Finally, just to add yet another cliche, too many job-seekers switch careers on the assumption that the grass is always greener — and often times find out that is not the case. Making a career change without necessary experience/education As a career-changer, you must find a way to bridge the (experience, skills, and education) gap between your old career and your new one. While transferable skills (skills that are applicable in multiple career fields, such as communications skills) are an important part of career change, it is often necessary to gain additional training and experience before you can find a good job in a new career field. Research whether you need additional training, education, or certifications. And try to find time to volunteer, temp, intern, or consult in your new career field — what some experts refer to as developing a parallel career — before quitting your current job and searching for a full-time position in your new career field. — www.quintcareers.com
TECHNOLOGY
Friday, January 29, 2010
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Blackberry Bold vs iPhone 3G
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How do they match up? The BlackBerry Bold is very well built, and should last as long as you would like it to, barring any kind of abuse on the light weight device. The iPhone 3G is also built very well, the inside engineering is great, the glass is precision-laser-cut, and it should be able to stand a bit more abuse than that of the BlackBerry. How do they look? The BlackBerry Bold looks very clean and sharp. The face is black, the sides are chrome, and the back is black leather. The layout of the phone is simple and easy to understand. The iPhone 3G is undoubtedly a world icon as far as mobile phones go these days. The 3G comes in only two colors; black or white. Although the 3G appears small, most of the commonly
used features are accessible. The BlackBerry Bold is larger in size than the 8800, and is the largest in size since the 8700. The Bold may be a little much in one hand for some people, but the keyboard accounts for much of the space, and most likely, two hands will be used for the keyboard. The iPhone 3G is slimmer and easier to hold in one hand than the Bold, but obviously doesn’t have the larger keyboard. The screen of the BlackBerry Bold is excellent. Graphics, content, videos, it all looks great on the Bold thanks to the dense ppi ratio. The screen of the iPhone 3G is not far behind that of the Bold. Make entire use of the 3.5? screen while not using the virtual keyboard. Web browsing, email, and videos all look great on the screen of the 3G. The keyboard of the Bold is excellent. The look, the layout, and the feel of the keyboard is all good. The keyboard of the iPhone is virtual, which may be nice to some people, but not so nice to others. If you are looking for the real feel of the keyboard then the virtual may not do. How well do they operate? Many people love the operating system of the BlackBerry, it does what it’s supposed to do, and users seem to find all of the tricks in which to get all of the usability out of it. The operating system of the iPhone is said to be the most technologically advanced, out of any other mobile operating system in the world. As far as general usage goes regarding battery life, the Bold seems to last a little bit longer than that of the iPhone. You can probably expect to get the same usage out of the Bold battery, as that of any other BlackBerry. The call quality of each phone seems to be very good, the iPhone might get the slightest edge as sounding a bit more natural than the Bold. What about email? On the iPhone reading email may be second to none, however, everything else even related to email is better on the BlackBerry. Using the keyboard on the BlackBerry makes working with email fast and easy. You might say that email on the BlackBerry is almost perfect? How are these phones for business use? The BlackBerry can handle anything that you would normally do from Outlook on your Exchange server, and it is a perfect desktop extension. The BlackBerry is said to
be the most secure device in the world for business use. The iPhone needs more testing with its security, the device deployment tools need some work, which leaves the iPhone with more to prove in the business world. Which phone is better overall? Really neither phone is that much better than the other. The Bold is the best BlackBerry up until now, and it is great for business use. The iPhone is a consumer device, and most of the original problems have already been addressed. It all comes down to what you like and what you really want in a phone. Each phone is great in its own right, so the battle really comes down to you, the consumer. — www.blackberryvsiphone.com
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ake two very similar devices that are selling today, put them up against each other, and you get BlackBerry Bold vs iPhone 3G.
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BEAUTY
Friday, January 29, 2010
Find your personality before choosing a new perfume ake your time perfume shopping before you buy a perfume fragrance. Perfume shopping isn’t something you can do in a single day, because after a few sprays at the
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samples counter, the sensors in your nose shut off and either you can’t smell the perfumes you’re trying on, or they blend and create a perfume that doesn’t really exist. hen you choose a perfume, you are expressing something about the way you want to see yourself or your “fragrance personality”. Do you want to feel fresh and clean? Exotic and energetic? Youthful or woman-of-the-world? You’d think it would be an easy thing to find a new perfume-just pick the scents you like, right? Sure, that’s where you should start, and you should also make an effort to consider scents you dislike. Fragrance researchers have found that many people find the scent of lavender calming, because it reminds them of earlier times and their grandmother’s linen closet. But we are all individuals, and someone who was made to stand in the linen closet until she ate all her broccoli may not find the scent of lavender pleasant at all. On the other hand, the scent of tobacco is attractive to many people, and has found its way into dozens of men’s colognes and a significant of women’s perfumes, often characterized as having a leatherywoody-spicy-tabac scent.
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Take your time perfume shopping before you buy a perfume fragrance. Perfume shopping isn’t something you can do in a single day, because after a few sprays at the samples counter, the sensors in your nose shut off and either you can’t smell the perfumes you’re trying on, or they blend and create a perfume that doesn’t really exist. At that point, you may find yourself coming home with something that turns out to smelling completely different from the way it did in the store. The fragrance didn’t change during the car ride home: after a half-hour or so of not being exposed to fragrances, your nose just started working again! Take lots of breaks when shopping for perfume. Whenever possible, start with lighter scents, so your nose won’t be overpowered early on. If you’re looking for something rich and heady, test one or two fragrances, wander off to shop for something else or grab a cup of coffee, and return in 20 minutes or more to try a couple more.
Read the perfume information before you buy. You can sometimes find lighter scents by reading the descriptions on the packaging: packaging is often colored to reflect the overall tone of the scent, so that you will often find fruity scents in bright packages, rich, complex ones in deep reds or browns, and light florals in pastel colors. It’s not always a sure thing, though: some perfumes made for the ‘teens and ‘tweens are heavy with sweet, aqueous scents and florals, often boosted with high-potency citrus. You’ll find them in blues and greens, metallic-finished bottles and high-tech looking packages. Clear your sense of smell. Like all our senses, after being exposed to stimuli for awhile, our olfactory senses “habituate”, shutting down to pervasive or continuing aromas or odors. Sensors can be recalled to duty by “palate cleansing”, or by taking a break. Fragrance boutiques that specialize in scented oils often leave saucers of coffee beans around so you can get a little more mileage out of your scent sensors. In the way that a wine taster takes a bite or two of bread between tastings, sniffing the coffee beans refreshes your sense of smell and lets you sniff a few more scents before your nose gives out. If you aren’t sure what you’re looking for, you might save some time by talking to the salesperson about scents you like and asking for help finding a perfume that combines them. — www.freebeautytips.org
BEAUTY
Friday, January 29, 2010
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Your daily aromatherapy
Applying your favorite perfume or fragrance oils of 8-15%. You pay more for perfume because it is stronger at application and lasts longer than eau de toilette. Perfume (or “parfum”) contains somewhere between 15% and 30% of perfume oils and lasts longer than other scent types-typically around six hours. Always try to take a sample of perfume home to try for a week or two and make sure it is the right fragrance and strength for you before buying.
o apply the perfect amount of scent, put it on when you are just out of the shower and before dressing. Dab perfume on pulse points (no more than six if you’re applying it on the backs of knees or ankles) or three sprays of eau de toilette or eau de parfum right after drying off. The scent will become a part of your skin, easing through your clothing rather than sitting on top of it. Scenting before dressing also prevents sprays from staining or fading clothing.
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Layering Fragrances for Enhance Perfume Scent Perfumers have always warned against warring fragrances. If you are going to wear a perfume, they say, it should be layered-powder, lotion and cologne should all be the same perfume to avoid olfactory clashes. If you want to wear the same scent you’ve always worn but worry that it may cause you trouble at work or in public, you may decide to lighten it by wearing eau de toilette instead of perfume, or you may choose a scented bath gel, body lotion or powder instead and keep the spray or dab-on scent for wearing on special occasions. The traditional stance on perfumes has been that each woman finds her “signature” scent and it becomes part of personality, scenting her closet, her lingerie and her handbag. Women have often chosen the same perfume their mothers wore, making it part of a family tradition. New thoughts on perfumery encourage women to make more than one scent part of their “signature”. Single note perfumes such as rose, orange, blossom, amber or jasmine are often sold in order to give women the chance to acquire a scent wardrobe to match the mood of any particular day or event.
Types of perfumes and fragrance categories Perfume has always been a vital part of human culture: people have perfumed their hair and bodies with oils, resins, flower and herb extracts and animal scents
since earliest history. Wearing scent is pleasurable; it is an expression of individuality; it attracts mates and makes us nice to be close to. Perfumes are more for the wearer: they make us feel wonderful. Fragrances are classed-and
priced-by their alcohol content, with the least expensive being eau de toilettes and eau de colognes containing between 3% and 8% fragrance with the other 92-97% of the content being made up of alcohol, water and color. Eau de parfum contains actual perfume
Fragrance Blending Families Fragrances may be floral, spicy, woody, herbal, musky, powdery (also called “chypre”) or “aqueous” a recent designation for aromatherapy scents that are based more on a concept of a “watery” smell than an actual scent. The recent rediscovery of herbal and floral scents combined with recent technology for scent capture has created new markets for subtle extracts-”headspace” scents extracted through the use of gas chromatography, creating entirely new classes of perfumes. Food scents such as vanilla, chocolate, cherry and coffee have made their way into perfumery to the chagrin of many classical perfumers and to the happiness of younger customers who like fruity, foody, unsophisticated scents. Many perfumes combine the scent categories, creating combinations such as “Oriental” which is usually identified by heavy florals and spices. Aldehydes, which made their debut with the heady scent of Chanel No. 5, are pure chemicals whose particular odors are named by letters rather than names. Aldehydes, while completely man-made are also compelling and immensely popular, making up many of the elegant perfumes of today. — www.freebeautytips.org
HEALTH
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Friday, January 29, 2010
Stretching: Focus on flexibility You can stretch anytime, anywhere. Consider the benefits of stretching, such as increased flexibility and circulation. Then ready, set, stretch!
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ou pound out a few miles on the treadmill. You work your way through a series of strength training exercises. You even add some time on the stationary bike for good measure - and you smile with satisfaction that you made it through your workout. Nothing to do now but hit the shower. Not so fast. Did you consider stretching those muscles that pulled you through your invigorating workout? Understand why stretching matters and how to stretch correctly. Benefits of stretching Most aerobic and strength training programs inherently cause your muscles to contract and flex. That’s why regular stretching is a powerful part of any exercise program. Consider this: Stretching increases flexibility. Flexible muscles can improve your daily performance. Tasks such as lifting packages, bending to tie your shoes or hurrying to catch a bus become easier and less tiring. Stretching improves range of motion of your joints. Good range of motion keeps you in better balance, which will help keep you mobile and less prone to falls - and the related injuries especially as you age. Stretching improves circulation.
Stretching increases blood flow to your muscles. Improved circulation can speed recovery after muscle injuries. Stretching can relieve stress. Stretching relaxes the tense muscles that often accompany stress. Some studies indicate that stretching helps prevent athletic injuries as well. However, this finding remains controversial. Other studies don’t support stretching as a way to prevent injury. Stretching essentials Ready, set, stretch! Target major muscle groups. When you’re stretching, focus on your calves, thighs, hips, lower back, neck and shoulders. Also stretch muscles and joints that you routinely use at work or play. Warm up first. You may hurt yourself if you stretch cold muscles. Warm up by walking while gently pumping your arms, or do a favorite exercise at low intensity for five to 10 minutes. Better yet, stretch after you exercise - when your muscles are warm and more receptive to stretching. Pace yourself. It takes time to lengthen tissues safely. Hold each stretch for about 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side. Do each stretch three or four times.
Don’t bounce. Bouncing as you stretch can cause small tears in the muscle. These tears leave scar tissue as the muscle heals, which tightens the muscle even further - making you less flexible and more prone to pain. Focus on a pain-free stretch. Expect to feel tension while you’re stretching. If it hurts, you’ve gone too far. Back off to the point where you don’t feel any pain, then hold the stretch. Relax and breathe freely. Don’t hold your breath while you’re stretching. How often to stretch is up to you. As a general rule, stretch whenever you exercise. If you don’t exercise regularly, you might want to stretch at least three times a week to maintain flexibility. If you have a problem area, such as tightness in the back of your leg, you might want to stretch more often. Know when to exercise caution You can stretch anytime, anywhere in your home, at work or when you’re traveling. If you have a chronic condition or an injury, however, you may need to alter your approach to stretching. For example, if you have a strained muscle, stretching it like usual may cause further harm. Discuss with your doctor or physical therapist the best way to stretch. www.mayoclinic.com
HEALTH
Friday, January 29, 2010
Page 27
10 tips for better sleep eople with fibromyalgia tend to have very disturbed sleep,” says Doris Cope, MD, director of Pain Management at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “Even if they sleep 10 hours a night, they still feel fatigued, don’t feel rested.” Research shows that with fibromyalgia, there is an automatic arousal in the brain during sleep. Frequent disruptions prevent the important restorative processes from occurring. Growth hormone is mostly produced during sleep. Without restorative sleep and the surge of growth hormone, muscles don’t heal and neurotransmitters (like the mood chemical serotonin) are not replenished. The lack of a good night’s sleep makes people with fibromyalgia wake up feeling tired and fatigued. The result: The body can’t recuperate from the day’s stresses-all of which overwhelms the system, creating a great sensitivity to pain. Widespread pain, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and memory
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Do you toss and turn at night because of fibromyalgia pain or discomfort? difficulties are all symptoms of fibromyalgia. Insomnia takes many formstrouble falling asleep, waking up often during the night, having trouble going back to sleep, and waking up too early in the morning. Smoothing out those sleep problems-and helping people get the deep sleep their bodies need-helps fibromyalgia pain improve significantly, research shows. Medications can help enhance sleep and relieve pain. But doctors also advocate lifestyle changes to help sleep come naturally. Tips to get better sleep with
fibromyalgia Creating a comfort zone at home is key to better sleep, whether you have fibromyalgia or not. It’s all about easing into bedtime feeling relaxed-and staying relaxed so you sleep through the night. These 10 tips can help people sleep better: Enjoy a soothing (warm) bath in the evening. Brush your body with a loofah or long-handled brush in the bath. Ease painful tender points with a self-massage device (like a tennis ball). Do yoga and stretching
exercises to relax. Listen to calming music. Meditate to tame intrusive thoughts and tension. Sleep in a darkened room. Try an eye mask if necessary. Keep the room as quiet as possible (or use a white-noise machine). Make sure the room temperature is comfortable. Avoid foods that contain caffeine, including teas, colas, and chocolate. Therapies to treat insomnia when you have fibromyalgia If you’re still having sleep problems, several therapies can
help, including biofeedback, relaxation training, stress reduction, and cognitive therapy. A psychologist who specializes in sleep disorders can discuss these therapies with you. The therapies help people handle stress better, which helps control fibromyalgia episodes, Cope says. “Fibromyalgia comes and goes,” she tells WebMD. “When you’re stressed out, that’s when it’s worse.” That’s when you’re most likely to have insomnia, too. Medications can also help ease fibromyalgia pain at night, or directly treat insomnia. Medications to ease fibromyalgia at night include antidepressants, anticonvulsants, prescription pain relievers, and sleep aids. No one therapy will control fibromyalgia pain 100%, Cope adds. “Medications help some. Exercise helps some. Stress reduction helps some. Cognitive behavior therapy helps some... If you can get restful sleep, you’re going to function better when you’re awake.” www.webmd.com
PETS
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Friday, January 29, 2010
Thousand Hills Cattle Ranch in Cannon Falls, Minnesota produces grass fed beef. — MCT
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here is a growing market for raw pet food. Slowly but surely, grass-fed beef from the Thousand Hills Cattle Co is becoming a familiar sight in groceries, coops, some top restaurants and even on school lunch trays. Its next destination may be your dog’s food dish. Todd Churchill’s ranching enterprise, inspired by author Michael Pollan’s account of a steer’s path to market, is rolling out Restoration Raw, a blend of raw grass-fed beef, sprouted grains, trace minerals and vitamins. The product came about after Churchill hired Will Winter, a holistic veterinarian formerly of the Uptown Veterinarian, to be herd health consultant. Years earlier, Winter was persuaded that diet was key to improving a pet’s health. He championed raw food - what animals ate in the wild before becoming domesticated. Churchill had a ready supply of raw meat, and they figured out how to sprout grain on a large scale, “which turns it into a more easily digestible vegetable,” he said. Now the company is ready to dive into a growing market for raw pet
food. Restoration Raw doesn’t come cheap, selling for about $5 a pound in certain Lunds stores. But Churchill believes that people will realize the savings in their pet’s improved health, “and what does it cost to take your pet to the vet and deal with a medical issue?” It’s unlikely that Churchill’s move has Purina convening strategy sessions, but that’s sort of his way. Thousand Hills beef accounts for no more than oneseventh of 1 percent of the beef eaten in the 12-county metro area, he said, yet that market share has grown steadily. His most delicate balancing act is meeting demand. “We kill 25 animals a week, so it’s a limited supply of beef,” Churchill said. For comparison, he noted the kill rate at Tyson Foods in Lincoln, Nebraska, the nation’s largest meat processing plant, where “more cattle are killed by noon on Jan 2 than we’ll kill all year.” A thousand hills The inspiration for this dining revolution is the Sogn Valley, a stretch of ancient coulee through which the Cannon River flows, just east of Northfield, Minn Churchill
fell in love with the valley as a student in the early 1990s, driving between St Olaf College and his family’s horse farm in Orion, Illinois. “I believe the food industry is supposed to be about distributing nourishing food that makes people well.” It’s tempting to consider Churchill’s trademark black cowboy hat as a marketing ploy. “But I’ve been wearing cowboy hats since I was 3 years old,” he said. At St Olaf, Churchill veered from veterinary science to accounting to speech and communications, graduating to become a certified public accountant. His first employer had a policy of taking attendance at 8 each morning, “and just out of principle, I couldn’t be in my cubicle at 8 am,” Churchill said with a flicker of mischief. He was fired, and began working as a freelance CFO with small businesses, preparing their financial statements, going with them to meetings with their bankers. Over the next 10 years, he worked with more than 90 businesses, among them Mike Lorentz’s meat processing
plant in Cannon Falls, Minn. Lorentz believed that specialty meats were the future, and in 2002 sent Churchill the Pollan article from the New York Times Sunday Magazine. Pollan contended that grass-fed beef makes more sense ecologically because it’s sustainable, then asked whether eating corn-feed beef is healthy for us - or for the steer. His answer was a resounding “no.” All in the cow Churchill began researching traditional breeds that fed on grass, settling on old-fashioned breeds such as Red or Black Angus, shorthorn Herefords and Scottish highlanders. But cattle are what they eat, and what they eat depends less upon the grass itself than the soil in which it grows. “Growing good grass is an art, not a science,” Churchill said, explaining how much of his focus is on “raising” good soil. He refers to leaves of grass as solar panels, and will talk at length about how growing grass sequesters atmospheric carbon in the soil instead of releasing it to the slice of a plow. Thousand Hills works with
50 farms throughout the Upper Midwest, mostly in Minnesota. Farmers agree to uphold strict protocols. Churchill eyeballs each animal at least once, and more often several times over the course of its life. He’s been experimenting with pastured pork, but isn’t yet sure if it makes economic sense. The traditional beef industry has taken a lot of badmouthing in this shift away from corn. Yet the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association takes a circumspect approach, stating only that the grass-fed market offers further choice to consumers. The December issue of Cook’s Illustrated includes an item about taste-testing grassfed and grain-fed beef. “The results surprised us,” the item said, finding that tasters couldn’t distinguish the difference with seared medium-rare strip steaks. Negative dining experiences with grass-fed beef are likely to be linked to meat that hasn’t been dryaged, a process that concentrates beefy flavor and increases tenderness, they wrote. An increasing number of grass-fed beef producers are
now dry-aging their meat. Twin Cities chef JD Fratzke serves only Thousand Hills beef at the Strip Club in St Paul. “I didn’t know how damaging it was to raise cattle on grain,” he said of his earlier views. “Primarily it’s our country that changed a natural cycle that’s existed since man started to raise cattle, given that corn is indigenous to North America. It made me look a lot farther into the diet of the other tasty creatures I was serving.” Or, as Fratzke described it: “The simplest solution is usually the correct one.” Churchill is a kindred spirit, finding he needs nothing more mechanical on his farm than a tractor. He and his wife, Dee Ann, are raising six children, the last two being young twins, so he takes the future seriously. Yet he relies on what the past can teach. For that matter, he can trace his ancestors back to 1685, to English families who settled in Connecticut. “I’m the first one in my family to live west of the Mississippi,” he said, then smiled. “Though it’s not by much.” —MCT
Friday, January 29, 2010
RELATIONSHIPS
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Nanny Blanca Duarte, 47 (from left) Julian Moggach, 3, his sister Charlotte Moggach, 7 months, and mother Samantha Slattery, 33, gather inside the den during lunchtime at Slattery’s home in Topanga, California. — MCT
Parents and nannies fall into rift over flu shots bout two months ago, Samantha Slattery approached her nanny about getting the H1N1 flu vaccine. Slattery, 33, of Topanga, California, had a 5-month-old daughter and 2year-old son. The baby was too little to be vaccinated, and Slattery wanted to avoid vaccinating her son. But nanny Blanca Duarte refused. Duarte, 47, said she was afraid the vaccine would make her sick; she had gotten ill after a flu vaccination years before. “For three weeks I could not work,” Duarte said. “After that, I said no more.” She also worried about side effects. She said her teenage daughter had heard rumors at Crenshaw High that the vaccine makes you sterile. And she said her family doctor did not even have the vaccine in stock. For many parents and caregivers, reaching agreement about flu vaccines has proved impossible, even amid initial fears that the H1N1 pandemic could prove more dangerous than seasonal flu. New parents are particularly concerned, because babies younger than 6 months - too young for vaccination - are considered among those most at risk for serious complications. This month is a peak hiring season for nannies nationwide as families return from holiday vacations and new mothers go back to work, according to officials from major nanny placement agencies. Some nannies are trying to get an edge in the tough economy by advertising themselves as having received the H1N1 vaccine. But many others refuse vaccinations, parents and doctors say, because they are concerned about rumored side effects or unable to get access to the vaccine because of shortages. In recent weeks, online message boards have filled as parents struggle to persuade nannies to be vaccinated, fire nannies who refuse and screen new applicants. “Ugh! I am so frustrated right now that I could explode,” the mother of a premature baby girl wrote on Babycentercommunity.com. “I have been
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interviewing potential nannies for the past several weeks. I finally found one that I was feeling confident that I would like to hire, I called to get more info for reference check and also I had forgot to ask if they were OK with getting both flu and swine vaccine this year. The response was no.” “I can’t make her do it,” another parent wrote on Urbanbaby.com. “I offered to pay. If she doesn’t want to, she doesn’t want to.” Mothers are calling agencies to ask how to broach the subject of vaccination with their nannies, said Claudia Kahn, owner and founder of the Help Company in Santa Monica, California, which serves families in Los Angeles and New York. “It’s a very touchy discussion, to ask people to get vaccinated,” Kahn said. “There’s a fine line about medical things, and people are questioning whether they’re allowed to ask, if it’s prying into their health background.” Slattery, a music event coordinator, had heard about other families requiring nannies to get vaccinated and show proof. Instead, Slattery was vaccinated, as were her son and her husband, a visual effects supervisor for movies that have included “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” “I didn’t want to force my nanny,” Slattery said. “It’s a personal choice. I wasn’t going to get heavy-handed about it.” Relationships between mothers and nannies can be fraught with unspoken tension about terms of employment and parenting, said Lindsay Heller, a psychologist and former nanny. Heller mediates between nannies and parents at her Beverly Hills, California, consulting business, the Nanny Doctor. The H1N1 flu scare exposed rifts in some families, she said, if the “power of privilege” initially allowed parents to get the vaccine through their doctors while many nannies had a harder time finding it for their families. In other cases, Heller said, she heard from nannies who said they worried vaccines could
make them sick or lead to autism in their children. At QueensCare Family Clinic in Hollywood, many patients ask Dr. Guillermo Diaz whether he and his children have been vaccinated. The pediatrician and father of two tells them his family members are all vaccinated - as is his nanny. Diaz said that about half of his Latino patients have refused the vaccine but that the other half “are proponents.” “I don’t think it’s a matter of culture so much as whether they believe the rumors and bad reports,” Diaz said. “Nannies have networks and speak among them, so if one nanny says no and it spreads, then it’s all over.” Some legal experts say they have been fielding calls from anxious parents and agencies dealing with reluctant nannies. “What I’m hearing from families is there does seem to be some push back from nannies about getting the shot,” said Bob King, lawyer and founder of Irvine, California-based Legally Nanny, which provides legal advice to families and nanny agencies. “It’s largely driven by fear from the nannies.” Although it is a violation of federal antidiscrimination law for agencies to screen nannies based on their medical histories, including vaccinations, it is not illegal for parents to screen or fire nannies for refusing to get vaccinated, King said. California and Los Angeles County health officials do not mandate or monitor whether nannies, baby-sitters or day-care providers get vaccinated for H1N1 flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that caregivers of babies younger than 6 months old be inoculated. Kahn, who has been in the nanny business for 28 years, said she assures mothers that they can ask nannies to get vaccinated, and she said most mothers succeed. “Most of them have a pretty close relationship with their nanny,” she said. Some parents have paid for nannies’ shots, driven them to their own
doctor’s offices or given them paid time of to get vaccinated, Kahn said. “It’s all about respect,” Kahn said. “You want to keep your employees happy.” Molly Morales, 34, took nanny Delila Morales, no relation, with her to a countysponsored H1N1 flu vaccination clinic in Santa Clarita, California, last month. They camped out in line with her 2-month-old son, Hayden, and 3-year-old daughter, Bailey. “She was fine with it,” said Morales, a marketing director, as the nanny nodded. “Just to keep everybody healthy in the house.” When people in the household do fall ill, new concerns arise. “The kids are getting sick, so it’s like what do you do with your nanny, do you expose her? That’s the dilemma,” Kahn said. Kahn has witnessed a range of behavior from parents. She said one family did not get vaccinated or ask their nanny to do so, only to have their baby get the flu during a vacation. Kahn said the nanny, who eventually caught the flu too, had to stay with the ill child while the parents continued their activities. But another client, whom Kahn described as a high-ranking television executive, gave her nanny time off when her 5-year old daughter got seriously will with the flu rather than expose the nanny to the virus. Instead the mother stayed home to care for her daughter who ended up needing to be hospitalized before recovering. In some cases, parents and nannies end up in agreement. Before this fall, Glendale, California, nanny Esther Avalos had never gotten a flu vaccine, and she did not plan to do so this fall. Then her employer explained the danger of catching the virus. “I realized I’m putting my kids and my work kids at risk,” said Avalos, 33, who later got herself and her two young daughters vaccinated for seasonal flu and accompanied her employer’s children to a county-sponsored H1N1 flu clinic. “For my boss, it’s real important. She educated me.” — MCT
FOOD
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Everyday cooking:
By Sawsan Kazak
Lime water
Limes For each serving you will need: 1 cup water 1 lime 2 tablespoons of sugar eel a little less than half the rind off each lime. Discard it or save it for a recipe using lime zest. Cut the limes in quarters and put them in the blender with all of the water and sugar. Blend on high setting for five seconds; longer blending will result in bitterness rather than the sweet-andtart flavor the drink should have. The lime wedges will still be in chunks. Pour the contents of the blender through a strainer into the serving pitcher or individual glasses with ice.
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Friday, January 29, 2010
emon’s citrus cousin, the lime has a distinctive sweet flavor. Perfect in desserts of savory dishes, limes add a tangy twist to anything they touch. However, not very prevalent in our parts, this tasty fruit is usually overlooked. I say we give the lime the respect it deserves and make its special sweet taste the feature in your next recipe.
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Send suggestions to: sawsank@kuwaittimes.net
Fun facts about limes imes (Citrus aurantifolia) are the fruit of tropical citrus tree closely related to lemons. This evergreen tree is in the Rue family, Rutaceae, which also includes citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons and kumquats. Limes are native to Southeast Asia, and probably originated in Indonesia or Malaysia. They made their way to the eastern Mediterranean with the Arabs, and to the western Mediterranean, with returning Crusaders, and eventually to the West Indies, when Columbus introduced citrus fruits there on his second voyage. These limes, used in most of the world, are what we call Key Limes.
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The large, green, seedless limes found in your supermarket is the Persian or Tahiti Lime (Citrus latifolia) a hybrid developed in the early 20th century. The fruit is larger than the Key Lime, more resistant to disease and pests, and has a thicker rind. They are picked slightly immature, while they are still green in color (they turn yellow when fully ripe, and might be confused with lemons). Key limes which predominate in the rest of the world, are smaller, yellower in color, seedy, sourer, and grow on thorny trees which are sensitive to cold weather. — www.foodreference.com
FOOD
Friday, January 29, 2010
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Thai lime beef salad
Lime chicken tenders 2 pkgs. boneless, skinless chicken tenders 1/3 c olive oil Juice of 3 limes 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 3 tbsp fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper, freshly ground rim fat from tenders. Pound between waxed paper to flatten. Combine olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour over chicken and marinate 4-8 hours. Grill or broil the chicken tenders for 2 minutes on each side. Yield: 4-6.
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For the dressing: 7 T fresh lime juice (about 5 limes) 7 T fish sauce (nam pla) 3 T minced, seeded jalapeno chilies 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 T sugar For the salad: 1 lb flank steak 1 head romaine lettuce, torn in pieces 4 T chopped fresh cilantro 2 tomatoes, quartered 3/4 c chopped shallots 1/4 c matchstick-size strips peeled cucumber 1/4 c diced celery 1 T chopped fresh mint 1 T minced fresh lemongrass, or 1 t. grated lemon peel 1/4 c thinly sliced radishes
ix dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Let stand 30 minutes. (Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temp. before continuing). Preheat broiler. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Broil to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer meat to cutting board. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut meat across grain into 2.5 inch wide strips. Cut strips crosswise into thin slices. Combine meat slices, lettuce, cilantro and next 6 ingredients (through lemongrass) in large bowl. Add enough dressing to taste (may not need all) and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with radishes.
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Key lime pie Grilled chili-lime salmon 4 salmon fillets, about 6 ounces each 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon cumin 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 4-6 lime wedges
reheat grill for medium heat. Place salmon fillets in a shallow pan. Combine spices, sugar, and garlic. Spread mixture evenly over fillets. Place skin side down onto grill and cook for about 18 minutes, or until fish flakes easily. Remember not to turn the salmon when it is on the grill. Once cooked, remove from grill and squeeze fresh lime juice on each fillet before serving.
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1/2 cup fresh lime juice (12 to 15 key limes or 3 to 4 common limes) 4 teaspoons grated lime zest 4 egg yolks 1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk 11 graham crackers 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted hisk the egg yolks and lime zest together in a bowl until tinted light green. This takes about 2 minutes. Beat in milk, then juice and set aside at room temperature till it thickens. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix graham cracker crumbs and sugar in another bowl. Add butter and stir with a fork until well blended. Pour this mixture into a 9inch pie pan and press over the bottom
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and up the sides of the pan. Try using the bottom of a measuring cup to make sure the graham cracker mixture forms a firm crust on the bottom of the pie pan. Bake on the center rack for about 15 minutes until the crust is lightly brown, remove and let cool to room temperature. Pour the lime filling into crust, spread evenly, and then bake for 15 minutes until the center sets, but still wiggles when shaken. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least three hours until well chilled. Some of you might like to serve it with a whipped cream topping or a meringue topping, but I prefer keeping it simple. If the pie seems to be sticking to the pan when serving, try dipping the pan into a bowl of warm water to loosen it.
TRAVEL
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Friday, January 29, 2010
scuba diving sites around the world cuba Diving is the most extraordinary thing to do, while one is chilling-out at any tropical island. Diving beneath the land, where the life is only dependent on water is a wonderful place to be in. Being there denotes being wet, experiencing a state of mildness and tranquility and exploring vast coral reefs swarmed with marine life and
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plants. Below, one comes across a new world and a new habitation that is breathing life. Also, one gets to experience varied colorful facets of multifaceted nature. So, whether you are on a lookout for a vibrant start or on a search for moving to new places, I have compiled a list which encompasses top sites for diving all over the world.
The Blue Hole Snuggling in Belize, The Blue Hole is the most popular dive site across the world. Actually, Jacques Cousteau has played a crucial role in popularizing this site as he was the one who brought the Blue Hole under the limelight, by asserting it as one of the top site for scuba diving across the world. The waters of Blue Hole are impeccable and pure, which gives divers a splendid opportunity of observing rare marine life that includes reef sharks, bull sharks and hammerheads. Thailand Thailand proffers numerous dive sites such as Phuket, Similan Islands, Surin Islands, Ko Tao and Surin Islands. Divers have a wide-ranging option to pick up from, because of which there is no doubt of attaining fine experience. Apart from these, there are many other diving sites lying across the country. However, if you want to gain the finest diving experience, then head to Ko Tao or Similan Islands. In addition to fine dive experiences, Ko Tao is a pocket-friendly dive site as one can learn scuba diving at economical prices.
Friday, January 29, 2010
TRAVEL
Gili Islands Located in Indonesia, the Gili Island is latest burning spot gaining large tourist crowds. Tourism has started flourishing in this region, but not without a reason. This is because of the magnificent reefs and crystal clear waters that add to the charm. One can soothe their eyes with stunning natural visuals. Also, the cheap price factor compared to the adjacent Bali Islands, has been a major reason to the booming tourism sector.
great diving opportunities for upcoming tourists.
Sipadan Sipadan can be found in Malaysia. Perhaps, it is one of the five best dive sites across the globe. Sipadan is a safe haven to abounding life that comprises of namely cave systems, turtles, dolphins, sharks, bright fish and dazzling coral. Apart from these, you can find so many things that too in such a great volume, that your head might burst.
Boracay Boracay is virtually a diving paradise. Sitting cozily in Philippines, this tropical island offers every thing that other popular dive site has to offer. Abundant marine life and reef systems adorn this site. After you have done swimming in its pleasant waters, rejuvenate your eyes with enthralling views of beach.
Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is undoubtedly world’s favorite diving spot. Lying off the coast of Queensland in Northeast Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is known worldwide. Acknowledged as the largest tropical reef around the world, it is teeming with abundant tropical sea and coral life, one could have ever thought of. Tour to this country is incomplete without a visit to Great Barrier Reef.
Fernando de Noronha Located in Brazil, Fernando’s bright blue waters shelter abundant marine life. Dive in the waters and get up-close and personal with water creatures such as dolphins, turtles and many more.
Hawaii Hawaii offers some of the best scuba diving experiences. Hawaiian Islands boast profuse varied wildlife and natural reefs. The North of Hawaiian Island was formulated as the leading marine reserve in the entire US, eventually proffering
Micronesia Micronesia is one of the top dive sites of South Pacific. This tropical island is encircled with bright coral reefs, offering amusing sights to the divers. The spectacular Blue Wall is one of the most eye-catchy sights of Micronesia. Also, Micronesia is immaculate, cheap and accessible dive site worth visiting.
Egyptian Red Sea The Egyptian Red Sea boasts crystal clear turquoise blue waters. The view of the water itself can awe struck anyone. It also possesses some of the world’s best dive sites. Its colorful reefs flaunt diverse marine life. Whether you are a novice or a professional scuba diver, the dive spots tracked in my list are world’s best scuba diving sites. Each of these spots can captivate your senses.
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BOOKS
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Friday, January 29, 2010
Q&A with author Francine Prose rancine Prose is the author of 15 books of fiction, including A Changed Man and Blue Angel, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and the nonfiction New York Times bestseller Reading Like a Writer. She is the president of PEN American Center. She lives in New York City.
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Q: Describe your latest project. A: My latest book is a novel, Goldengrove. It’s about sex and death, grief and recovery, coming of age.... It’s narrated by a 13-year-old girl, and I’ve tried to make it as raw and elegant and powerful as possible. I’m also completing a nonfiction book about the cultural history of the diary of Anne Frank Q: What’s the strangest or most interesting job you’ve ever had? A: I worked as a lab assistant in the Bellevue Morgue. It was a summer job, I was 15. Q: Introduce one other author you think people should read, and suggest a good book with which to start. A: Mavis Gallant. Start with Paris Stories (New York Review of Books). Also Patrick Hamilton; start with Slaves of Solitude (same publisher). Q: How did the last good book you read end up in your hands and why did you read it? A: I was sent a galley of Roberto Bolano’s 2666. It’s the best book I’ve ever read. Q: Have you ever made a literary
pilgrimage? A: I’ve made lots of literary pilgrimages: Flaubert’s house, Dickens’s house, Balzac’s chateau, Kafka’s grave, etc. It’s my equivalent of a trip to Lourdes. Q: What makes your favorite pair of shoes better than the rest? A: I have a pair of glittery red shoes that are almost exactly (at least to me) like the ones Dorothy wore in The Wizard of Oz. I’m afraid of clicking them together for fear of winding up in Kansas at an inconvenient moment. Q: What is your astrological sign? If you don’t like what you were born with, to what sign would you change and why? A: I’m an Aries, which is fine with me. Obsessive, driven, living in the future, and fixated on the past. Q: What is your idea of absolute happiness? A: A bright summer morning in the country, my husband, my kids, my granddaughter, everyone there. Perfection. Q: Share an interesting experience you’ve had with one of your readers. A: A reader once wrote me a letter saying
that she had communicated with her mother, who had died, through one of my books. I can’t recall the details of how she said it happened, but I was profoundly moved by it, and I believed her. Q: Name the best television series of all time. A: The Sopranos. For seven years, I never left the house on Sunday nights, and I still haven’t gotten over Adriana’s death. I loved it from the beginning, but I fell madly in love when Syl Dante (I think it was Syl) said, “My wife, she’s an albacore around my neck.” Q: Who’s wilder on tour, rock bands or authors? A: Rock bands, I would imagine. They complain a lot and trash hotel rooms. They have company and encouragement for their bad behavior. Writers just complain and make longdistance phone calls. Q: If you could have been someone else, who would that be and why? A: I would have liked to have been Tina Turner. — Powells Books
Three coming-of-age stories you must read She’s Come Undone By Wally Lamb ine is a story of craving: an unreliable account of lusts and troubles that began, somehow, in 1956 on the day our free television was delivered....” Meet Dolores Price. She’s 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallmomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she’s determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly up. In this extraordinary comingof-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years. At once a fragile girl and a hard-edged cynic, so tough to love yet so inimitably lovable, Dolores is as poignantly real as our own imperfections. She’s Come Undone includes a promise: you will never forget Dolores Price.
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Amy and Isabelle By Elizabeth Stout n her stunning first novel, Amy and Isabelle, Elizabeth Strout evokes a teenager’s alienation from her distant motheróand a parent’s rage at the discovery of her daughter’s sexual secrets. In most ways, Isabelle and Amy are like any mother and her 16-yearold daughter, a fierce mix of love and loathing exchanged in their every glance. And eating, sleeping, and working side by side in the gossip-ridden mill town of Shirley Falls doesn’t help matters. But when Amy is discovered behind the steamedup windows of a car with her math teacher, the vast and icy distance between mother and daughter becomes unbridgeable. As news of the scandal reaches every ear, it is Isabelle who suffers from the harsh judgment of Shirley Falls, intensifying her shame about her own secret past. And as Amy seeks comfort elsewhere, she discovers the fragility of human happiness through other dramas, from the horror of a missing child to the trials of Fat Bev, the community peacemaker. Witty and often profound, Amy and Isabelle confirms Elizabeth Strout as a powerful new talent.
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BOOKS
Friday, January 29, 2010
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White Oleander By Janet Fitch hirteen-year-old Astrid Magnussen, the sensitive and heart-wrenching narrator of this impressive debut, is burdened with an impossible mother in Ingrid, a beautiful, gifted poet whose scattered life is governed by an enormous ego. When Ingrid goes to prison for murdering her ex-lover, Astrid enters the Los Angeles foster care program and is placed with a series of brilliantly characterized families. Astrid’s first home is with Starr, a born-again former druggie, whose boyfriend, middle-aged Ray, encourages Astrid to paint (Astrid’s absent father is an artist) and soon becomes her first lover, but who disappears when Starr’s jealousy becomes violent. Astrid finds herself next at the mercy of a new, tyrannical foster mom, Marvel Turlock, who
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grows wrathful at the girl’s envy of a sympathetic next-door prostitute’s luxurious life. “Never hope to find people who will understand you,” Ingrid archly advises as her daughter’s Dickensian descent continues in the household of sadistic Amelia Ramos, where Astrid is reduced to pilfering food from garbage cans. Then she’s off to the dream home of childless yuppies Claire and Ron Richards, who shower her with gifts, art lessons and the warmth she’s been craving. But this new development piques Ingrid’s jealousy, and Astrid, now 17 and a high school senior, falls into the clutches of the entrepreneurial Rena Grushenka. Amid Rena’s flea-market wares, Astrid learns to fabricate junk art and blossoms as a sculptor.
Meanwhile, Ingrid, poet-in-prison, becomes a feminist icon who now has a chance at freedom ó if Astrid will agree to testify untruthfully at the trial. Astrid’s difficult choice yields unexpected truths about her hidden past, and propels her already epic story forward, with genuinely surprising and wrenching twists. Fitch is a splendid stylist; her prose is graceful and witty; the dialogue, especially Astrid’s distinctive utterances and loopy adages, has a seductive pull. This sensitive exploration of the mother-daughter terrain (sure to be compared to Mona Simpson’s Anywhere but Here) offers a convincing look at what Adrienne Rich has called “this womanly splitting of self,” in a poignant, virtuosic, utterly captivating narrative.
Indulge yourself in books about food Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink his volume of food writing from the New Yorker proves again that famous weekly’s reputation for literary and journalistic excellence. An anthology of reporting both recent and vintage, this book takes readers from the oyster beds of Long Island to the bistros of Paris, from artisanal tofu joints in Japan to a Miami restaurant serving Basque food to homesick Cubans. Along the way, lucky readers get to travel to fun food towns like San Francisco and New York, drink martinis with Roger Angell, make fun of menus with Steve Martin and reminisce about Julia Child’s winsome public television series. A particularly wonderful profile introduces a wild-foods forager capable of making a 10-course meal from ingredients in the field near his house; he and the author dine on cattails and watercress while canoeing through an icy November river. Another winning profile explores the life and times of a cheesemaking nun with a Ph.D. in microbiology. But perhaps the greatest pleasure here is the gorgeous prose of masters like M.F.K. Fisher and A.J. Liebling. Liebling, in particular, knows how to turn meals into stories; though he wrote of Paris before the war, his descriptions are so immediate and enticing that a reader wants to run out and buy the first plane ticket to France.
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The Kind Diet By Alicia Silverstone n The Kind Diet, actress, activist, and committed conservationist Alicia Silverstone shares the insights that encouraged her to swear off meat and dairy forever, and outlines the spectacular benefits of adopting a plantbased diet, from effortless weight loss to clear skin, off-the-chart energy, and smooth digestion. She explains how meat, fish, milk, and cheeseóthe very foods weíve been taught to regard as the cornerstone of good nutritionóare actually the culprits behind escalating rates of disease and the cause of dire, potentially permanent damage to our ecology. Yet going meat- and dairy-free doesnít mean suffering deprivation; to the contrary, The Kind Diet introduces irresistibly delicious food that
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The Pioneer Woman Cooks By Ree Drummond logger-turned-author Drummond gives readers a slice of frontier life in this likeable-enough collection of recipes and dispatches from the Oklahoma ranch she shares with her husband and children. Replicating the step-by-step photography that made her blog such a hit, Drummond walks readers through dishes ranging from simple-Guacamole, Chili, Artichoke Dip-to more complex, such as from-scratch Cinnamon Rolls and Sherried Tomato Soup. Drummond’s careful coaching will help anyone intimidated by the kitchen fearlessly crank out favorites like Chicken Fried Steak, Meat Loaf and Rib Eye Steak with Whiskey Cream Sauce. While the recipes are reliable home cooking standards, relentless references to her husband, known as the Marlboro Man, range from distracting to juvenile, giving what could have been a comfort food classic the feel of a junior-high class project.
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satisfies on every levelóit even includes amazing desserts to keep the most stubborn sweet tooth happy. Alicia also addresses the nutritional concerns faced by many who are new to a plant-based diet, and shows how to cover every nutritional base, from protein to calcium and beyond. Alicia knows that changing life-long dietary habits is a process, and that each person progresses at a different pace. For that reason, The Kind Diet encompasses 3 separate levels, from Flirting to Superhero. Flirts learn to dip a toe into the vegan pool, reducing their meateating and swapping out a few key foods for plant-based substitutes to see quickly how even small changes can reap big results. Vegans get
to experience the life-altering effects of forgoing animal-products entirely, while still enjoying many convenience foods and meat substitutes in addition to the wonderful grains, vegetables and fruits that form the core of that diet. True enlightenment comes with the Superhero program, based on the principles of macrobiotics and built on a foundation of whole grains, vegetables, and other yummy foods that Alicia describes in detail. Whether your goal is to drop a few pounds, boost your energy and metabolism, or simply save the world, Alicia provides the encouragement, the information, and the tools you need to make the transition to a plant-based diet deliciously empowering.
So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week By Ellie Krieger New York Times’ bestselling author’s guide to quick and healthy everyday meals As weekly host of the Food Network’s Healthy Appetite, Ellie Krieger is known for creating light and healthy dishes that taste great and are easy enough for the busiest people to prepare. Now, Ellie has put together a collection of meal solutions for those of us who love food and want to eat well but struggle to make it happen given life’s hectic pace. With 150 delicious, easy-to-prepare, fortifying recipes, Ellie provides dishes that tackle every possible mealtime situation. Illustrated with 50 full-color photos, there are recipes for: Grab-and-go breakfasts for hectic days, as well as easy breakfast options for more leisurely mornings Lunches to go, each road-tested in a cooler pack, along with athome lunches for when you have the luxury of eating in A month’s worth of different rush-hour dinners-fabulous meals you can whip up in less than thirty minutes-as well as dinners for days when you have a little more time to marinate or roast, but still want it all to be effortless Decadent desserts, some ready in minutes, others truly worth waiting for-all easily pulled together As a mom with a full-time job, Ellie knows how busy life is
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when you’re juggling your family’s needs. Now, you can stop stressing over whether to eat healthily or to eat fast. The recipes here-from Cheddar Apple Quesadilla, Pork Piccata with Spinach and Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Marinated Flank Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce to Chocolate-Cream Cheese Panini Bites and Fig and Ginger Trufflesare ideal, regardless of the time, or experience, you have in the kitchen. When so much in lifeis complicated, isn’t it nice to know that eating doesn’t have to be? After making and enjoying the meals in this book, you will say along with the title, “That was SO EASY!”
CHILDREN
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Sudoku for Kids
Friday, January 29, 2010
Solution
Friday, January 29, 2010
CHILDREN
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OPINION
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Friday, January 29, 2010
Arrest Blair for war crimes The Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war and the courts won’t do it, so it is up to us to show that we won’t let an illegal act of mass murder go unpunished.
By George Monbiot
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he only question that counts is the one that the Chilcot inquiry won’t address: was the war with Iraq illegal? If the answer is yes, everything changes. The war is no longer a political matter, but a criminal one, and those who commissioned it should be committed for trial for what the Nuremberg tribunal called “the supreme international crime”: the crime of aggression. But there’s a problem with official inquiries in the United Kingdom: the government appoints their members and sets their terms of reference. It’s the equivalent of a criminal suspect being allowed to choose what the charges should be, who should judge his case and who should sit on the jury. As a senior judge said in November: “Looking into the legality of the war is the last thing the government wants. And actually, it’s the last thing the opposition wants either because they voted for the war. There simply is not the political pressure to explore the question of legality - they have not asked because they don’t want the answer.” Others have explored it, however. Two weeks ago a Dutch inquiry, led by a former supreme court judge, found that the invasion had “no sound mandate in international law”. Last month Lord Steyn, a former law lord, said that “in the absence of a second UN resolution authorising invasion, it was illegal”. In November Lord Bingham, the former lord chief justice, stated that, without the blessing of the UN, the Iraq war was “a serious violation of international law and the rule of law”. Under the United Nations charter, two conditions must be met before a war can legally be waged. The parties to a dispute must first “seek a solution by negotiation” (article 33). They can take up arms without an explicit mandate from the UN security council only “if an armed attack occurs against [them]” (article 51). Neither of these conditions applied. The US and UK governments rejected Iraq’s attempts to negotiate. At one point the US state department even announced that it would “go into thwart mode” to prevent the Iraqis from resuming talks on weapons inspection (all
references are on my website, www.monbiot.com). Iraq had launched no armed attack against either nation. We also know that the UK government was aware that the war it intended to launch was illegal. In March 2002, the Cabinet Office explained that “a legal justification for invasion would be needed. Subject to law officers’ advice, none currently exists.” In July 2002, Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general, told the prime minister that there were only “three possible legal bases” for launching a war “self-defence,
humanitarian intervention, or UNSC [security council] authorisation. The first and second could not be the base in this case.” Bush and Blair later failed to obtain security council authorisation. As the resignation letter on the eve of the war from Elizabeth Wilmshurst, then deputy legal adviser to the Foreign Office, revealed, her office had “consistently” advised that an invasion would be unlawful without a new UN resolution. She explained that “an unlawful use of force on such a scale amounts to the crime of aggression”. Both Wilmshurst and her former boss, Sir Michael Wood, testified before the Chilcot inquiry. Without legal justification, the war with Iraq was an act of mass murder: those who died were unlawfully killed by the people who commissioned it.
Crimes of aggression (also known as crimes against peace)
are defined by the Nuremberg principles as “planning,
preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties”. They have been recognised in international law since 1945. The Rome statute, which established the international criminal court (ICC) and which was ratified by Blair’s government in 2001, provides for the court to “exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression”, once it has decided how the crime should be defined and prosecuted. There are two problems. The first is that neither the government nor the opposition has any interest in pursuing t h e s e crimes, f o r the
obvious reason that in doing so they would expose themselves to prosecution. The second is that the required legal mechanisms don’t yet exist. The governments that ratified the Rome statute have been filibustering furiously to delay the point at which the crime can be prosecuted by the ICC: after eight years of discussions, the necessary provision still has not been adopted. Some countries, mostly in eastern Europe and central Asia, have incorporated the crime of aggression into their own laws, though it is not yet clear which of them would be willing to try a foreign national for acts committed abroad. In the UK, where it remains illegal to wear an offensive T-shirt, you cannot yet be prosecuted for mass murder
commissioned overseas. All those who believe in justice should campaign for their governments to stop messing about and allow the international criminal court to start prosecuting the crime of aggression. We should also press for its adoption into national law. But I believe that the people of this nation, who reelected a government that had launched an illegal war, have a duty to do more than that. We must show that we have not, as Blair requested, “moved on” from Iraq, that we are not prepared to allow his crime to remain unpunished, or to allow future leaders to believe that they can safely repeat it. But how? As I found when I tried to apprehend John Bolton, one of the architects of the war in George Bush’s government, at the Hay festival in 2008, and as Peter Tatchell found when he tried to detain Robert Mugabe, nothing focuses attention on these issues more than an attempted citizen’s arrest. In October I mooted the idea of a bounty to which the public could contribute, payable to anyone who tried to arrest Tony Blair if he became president of the European Union. He didn’t of course, but I asked those who had pledged money whether we should go ahead anyway. The response was overwhelmingly positive. So I am launching a website - www.arrestblair.org - whose purpose is to raise money as a reward for people attempting a peaceful citizen’s arrest of the former prime minister. I have put up the first £100, and I encourage you to match it. Anyone meeting the rules I’ve laid down will be entitled to one quarter of the total pot: the bounties will remain available until Blair faces a court of law. The higher the reward, the greater the number of people who are likely to try. At this stage the arrests will be largely symbolic, though they are likely to have great political resonance. But I hope that as pressure builds up and the crime of aggression is adopted by the courts, these attempts will help to press governments to prosecute. There must be no hiding place for those who have committed crimes against peace. No civilised country can allow mass murderers to move on. — Guardian
ANALYSIS
Friday, January 29, 2010
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Israel, Turkey and low seats By George Friedman
years will generate economic activity throughout the region, particularly in Egypt, where wages are low and where the (albeit small) middle class can buy Turkish products. A Turkish-Egyptian economic relationship follows from the Turkish surge. Maintaining Egyptian neutrality is a foundation of Israeli national security, but souring IsraeliTurkish relations during a Turkish-sponsored economic revival in Egypt could threaten this. And Israel does not want to be caught between a hostile Egypt and Turkey. Elsewhere in the region, Turkey is increasing its influence in Syria. It currently shares Israel’s interests in curbing Hezbollah in Lebanon and redirecting Syrian relations away from Iran toward Turkey. Obviously, Israel wants to see this process continue, but Turkey could expand its influence in Syria without dealing with Hezbollah.
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ecently, a small crisis with potentially serious implications blew up between Israel and Turkey. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned Turkish Ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oguz Celikkol to a meeting Jan 11 to protest a Turkish soap opera that depicted Israeli agents kidnapping Palestinian children. When the ambassador arrived, he received a lower seat than Ayalon - and was photographed in that position, making it appear that Ayalon was speaking to an inferior. Ayalon wouldn’t shake hands with him during the televised parts of the meeting, and had an Israeli flag visible on the table. Topping it all off, Ayalon told an Israeli cameraman in Hebrew that the important thing was that people see Celikkol sitting down low “while we’re up high”. Turks saw the images as a deliberate Israeli insult, though Ayalon argued that the episode was not meant as an insult but as a reminder that Israel does not take criticism lightly. While it is difficult to see the relative height of seats as an international incident, Ayalon clearly intended to send a significant statement to Turkey. The Turks took that statement to heart, so symbolism clearly matters. Israel’s intent is not so clear, however.
Turkey and Israeli National Security Over the past year, Turkey has become increasingly critical of Israel’s relations with the Arab world. Turkey has tried to mediate, for example, between Syria and Israel. Now, Turkey has made it known that it holds Israel responsible for these failures. Even so, Turkey remains Israel’s major ally, albeit informally, in the Muslim world. Turkey is also a growing power. Uniquely in the region, it provides Israel with a dynamic economy to collaborate with. Turkey also has the most substantial and capable military force in the region. Should Turkey shift its stance to a pro-Arab, antiIsrael position, the consequences for Israel’s longterm national security would not be trivial. Also last week, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman introduced a new concept to Israeli diplomacy, and Israel’s treatment of the Turkish ambassador must be understood in this light. According to Lieberman, Israel will expel ambassadors from countries that it feels have criticized Israel unfairly. The presence of ambassadors does not mean as much today as it did in the 18th century, but the image of Israel responding to criticism - which, fair or not, is widespread - by reducing
In this Jan 11, 2010 file photo, Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon (left) humiliates Turkish ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oguz Celikkol (right) in Jerusalem. – AP relations seems self-defeating. For many governments, having Israel reduce diplomatic status causes no harm, and might even be a political plus domestically. Obviously, Lieberman’s statement was meant to generate support among the Israeli public, and it well might. But consider the strategic consequences to Israel. Turkey has been shifting its position on its role in the Islamic world in recent years under the Islamist-rooted government of President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. While increasingly critical of Israel, the Turkish government also has tried to bridge the gap between the Arabs and Israelis, albeit to promote Turkey’s position in the Muslim world. Thus, Turkey is far from being confrontational with Israel. Moreover, tensions in Turkey between secularists in the military and the civilian Islamist-rooted government are substantial. Turkish internal politics are complicated, and therefore politics between Turkey and Israel are complicated. Israeli Strategy Ever since its peace treaty with Egypt, Israel’s grand strategy has been to divide Muslim nations in the region, finding common interests with some to make certain no common front against Israel arises. To this end, Israel has formal treaties with Jordan and Egypt both based on common enemies. The Jordanian government - Hashemites ruling a country with a substantial Palestinian population - fears the Palestinians at least as much as Israel. Egypt, which
suppressed the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1980s, opposes Hamas, which is an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood. Israel accordingly uses mutual hostility toward the Palestinians to create a balance of power on its border. Still, both Egypt and Jordan have said - and will continue to say - many critical things about Israel. They need to speak to their respective domestic audiences, and Israel understands that what is said to satisfy that audience is not necessarily connected to their foreign and security policies. Some Israelis condemn both Egypt and Jordan for such criticisms. But from a larger perspective, if Egypt were to repudiate its peace treaty with Israel and begin refurbishing its military, and Jordan were to shift to an anti-Israeli policy and allow third parties to use its territory and the long and difficult-to-defend Jordan River as a base of operations, Israel would face a fundamental strategic threat. So Israel has adopted a very simple policy: Egypt and Jordan may say what they want so long as Egypt does not abandon its neutrality and beef up its military and Jordan does not let a foreign force into the Jordan Valley. And given that the Israelis want to ensure that the Egyptian and Jordanian regimes survive, the Israelis tolerate periodic outbursts against Israel. Rhetoric is rhetoric and geopolitics is geopolitics, and the Israelis understand the distinction. That they understand this difference makes Ayalon’s behavior, let alone Lieberman’s as-yet-unimplemented policy, difficult to follow. It is difficult to know whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
sanctioned Ayalon’s move. As has been the case in Israel for years, Netanyahu’s coalition is weak and fragmented, enabling smaller parties to pursue their own policies. There is no question that embarrassing the Turkish ambassador pleased many Israelis, particularly those who already belong to Netanyahu’s coalition. If the event was staged with an Israeli audience in mind, the episode might have made sense. But Ayalon also spoke to the Turkish public, and at the moment, the Turkish voters may well be more important to Israel than Israeli voters. Turkey is just too powerful a country for Israel to have as an enemy. On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak made an official visit to Turkey, and both sides went out of their way to put the Ayalon incident behind them. Clearly, there are members of the Turkish and Israeli cabinets who do not want a crisis between the two countries. And they probably will be able to contain the current situation. Either way, Israel certainly knew how the seating episode would play in Turkey. Perhaps the Israelis felt that by showcasing their displeasure they might incite Turkish secularists against the Islamists. If so, this is a dangerous game, as insulting Turkey is apt to mobilize the secularists against Israel as much as the Islamists, leading to a Turkish consensus on the Israeli issue not in Israel’s best interests. The Turkish Re-Emergence When we step back and look at the broader strategic picture, we see a Turkey slowly but systematically reemerging as a regional power
prepared to use its influence. Washington has observed this, too, and so regards Turkey as a key part of its strategy to draw down the US presence in Iraq. Turkey does not want to see massive instability in Iraq any more than the Americans do. Similarly, in any confrontation with Iran, Turkey is both a communications channel and a potential ally. Further afield, Turkey is contributing to the Western war effort in Afghanistan, and has substantial influence in the Caucasus, the Balkans and Central Asia. The United States has no desire to move into confrontation with Turkey. Indeed, it sees Turkey not so much as a US surrogate, which Turkey is not, but as the most significant regional power with interests aligned with the United States. Israel is also an ally of the United States, but it cannot achieve the things Turkey might in Syria, Iraq and the rest of the region. The US interest at present lies in stabilizing these countries and moving them away from Iran. The Turks could help this process. The Israelis can’t. That means that in any breakdown of relations between Turkey and Israel, the United States will be hardpressed to side with Israel. The United States shares fundamental interests with Turkey, so in breaking with Turkey, the Israelis are risking a breach with the United States. US relations aside, Israel needs its relationship with Turkey as well. The region as a whole has two major powers and one potential power. Turkey and Israel are the major powers, Egypt is the potential one. The ongoing Turkish economic surge of the past few
Israeli Limitations Turkey is a developing power with options, while Israel is a power that has developed to its limits. The Turkish re-emergence could well transform the region, and Turkey has a number of ways it could play this. By contrast, geopolitically and economically, Israel is committed in a certain direction. This is a moment during which Turkey has options, and more options than Israel. Israel has relatively few tools available to shape Turkey’s choices, though it does have several ways to close off some Turkish choices. One of Turkey’s choices is to maintain its relationship with Israel. If the Turks choose not to maintain this relationship, Israel’s strategic position will suffer a severe blow. Logic would therefore have it that Israel would try to avoid sparking a political process in Turkey that makes breaking with Israel the easier choice. By deliberately embarrassing the Turks, Lieberman and Ayalon are unlikely to make the Turks want to improve their relationship with Israel. And Lieberman and Ayalon seem to underestimate the degree to which Israel needs this relationship. Turkey can afford to criticize Israel because an Israeli rupture with Turkey actually solves diplomatic problems for Turkey without harming the Turkish strategic position. If Turkey breaks with Israel, Israel now has a very powerful regional adversary quite capable of arming regional Arab powers. It is also a country able to challenge the primacy of the Israeli relationship in American regional thinking. We therefore see avoiding a crisis in IsraeliTurkish relations as mattering more to Israel in the long run than to Turkey. — Stratfor
SPOTLIGHT
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Friday, January 29, 2010
The world of orchids
he $2.1 million orchid conservatory at Old Dominion University was the lifelong goal of the late Arthur Kaplan, a physician and avid orchid collector who also raised money for the facility in Norfolk, Va. Caring for the 750 orchids that Kaplan personally donated is the dream-come-true for Steve Urick, a horticulturist who grew orchids at his home in Hampton, Va., for 26 years. “I was intrigued by the seedling lady slipper orchids, so I bought one and the Sunset book ‘How to Grow Orchids,’” he says of his first purchase in 1983. “I read the book from cover to cover that night and was fascinated, so I went back the next day and bought a second slipper seedling. Three months later I bought another orchid _ a Dendrobium nobile (semievergreen) in bloom with about 30 flowers. “By then, I was hooked. At one time I had more than 2,000 orchids
T
2,000 orchids: From home collection to multi-million dollar conservatory growing in my own 14-by-14-foot greenhouse. Now, I have traded growing orchids at home for tending to nearly 2,000 of them at ODU.” Steve started at the Arthur and Phyllis Kaplan Orchid Conservatory in 2007, almost a year before it opened in April 2008. The complex consists of six individual, climatecontrolled greenhouses. A state-ofthe-art computer-run environmental system coordinates with a roof-based weather station to monitor and maintain each greenhouse’s temperature, humidity, light and carbon dioxide
levels. Since opening, the conservatory has purchased and received additional orchid donations, giving it 400 species among more than 1,500 plants. The goal is eventually to spotlight 2,500 orchid species among 5,000 plants. When you enter the conservatory, which is open to free public tours 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday, you walk into the main display greenhouse. It’s the “heart of the jungle,” a native habitat replica with splashes of color from corsage-like Cymbidium, garden-style Reed-stem
epidendrum and showy lady slipper orchids. Some orchids grow on bark in tree trunks, some in pots sunk in native garden soil, some in the depressions of a man-made rock wall. Vegetation like bromeliads, ferns, palms and cinnamon, chocolate and coffee plants add more tropical touches. Steve is always switching potted orchids in and out of the five growing greenhouses, ensuring the display area is full of color with at least 100 blooming orchids on any given day. “Some of the flowers are big and
showy, the size of your hand,” he says. “Some are so small they are never seen by the casual visitor, revealing themselves only to the intent orchid hunter, or curious explorer.” While your eyes take in orchid colors and shapes, your nose takes its own tour. A sweet earthy smell rises from soil that’s warm and moist, thanks to a cool mist that occasionally drifts across the plants. Explore a little more and you pick up the sweet floral fragrance of a Cattleya in bloom or the hint of rotting meat on a Bulbophyllum. In addition to looking pretty and smelling nice or bad, orchids are smart when it comes to attracting beneficial pollinators for reproductive purposes. They mimic other parts of nature, using motion, color, shape and sometimes scent to bring bees, butterflies, moths and flies to their pollen. For instance, a green Cattleya uses a splash of purple on its labellum, or lip, as an enticing
SPOTLIGHT
Friday, January 29, 2010 landing strip for a curious bee. The lip’s large, flat surface gives the bee a good place to land, crawl in, roll around in pollen and emerge. Cirrhopetalum annandalei gets pollinators like bees and butterflies with its half composite flower (some orchids have full composite flowers) because they tend to think it’s a daisy. The flower also utilizes motion _ bouncing lips on its flowers _ to “rock” a pollinating fly onto its pollen. The 50 to 100 flowers on each spike of the Bulbophyllum orchid feature a strong smell, like old grapes or souring grape jelly. Your nose may wrinkle at the unpleasant smell but some pollinators, especially flies, are drawn to it. Then, there’s the trap-themquick orchid, or Coryanthes macrantha, that is nicknamed the “bucket orchid.” It features flowers with a “bucket” that the plant keeps half filled with a liquid that drips from two faucets. The flowers are sweetly fragrant, which attracts male Euglossine bees, also called orchid bees, looking for perfume to attract female bees. When males start scratching the flowers to collect the perfume, they fall into the bucket of liquid and can only get out through a hidden trap door. When the
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bee makes its exit, the orchid puts its pollen on the back of its visitor, pollinating the flower to produce new bucket orchid seeds. During your visit to the conservatory, you’ll also see more common species like the Phalaenopsis, or moth orchid, and Paphiopedilum, or lady slipper orchid, that are sooo easy to grow indoors at home. For outdoor container gardening during summer, you’ll see Reedstem epidendrum, a “fireworks” orchid that grows nicely in a pot, giving you flowers spring to fall. During winter, put it indoors in a sunny window. “Plant it in the middle of a pot and surround it with some filler annuals and you have a great container garden for deck or patio,” says Steve, who is encouraging local garden centers to stock this orchid. Most likely, your conservatory tour will hurry you to the nearest garden center so you can take home the beginnings of your own orchid collection or entice you to expand the ones you have. “Most people worry and fuss too much over their plants,” says Steve. “Orchids are easy to grow, much easier than African violets and many other flowering houseplants.” —MCT
Bandito Rose can go at the front of the border or as a filler plant in mixed containers. —MCT photos
GROWING ORCHIDS
Bandito Orange Sunrise don’t need constant pruning.
Light needs: Low light (east window): Phalaenopsis (moth orchids), Paphiopedilum (slipper orchids) and seedlings. Medium light (south, east or west window): Cattleya, Dendrobium and Oncidium. High light (south window): Cymbidium, Brassavola and Vanda. Temperature needs: Almost all orchids do well with daytime temperatures 65-85 degrees Fahrenheit but here’s what different species need for nighttime temps during winter:
Warm (60-65 degrees): Phalaenopsis, Paphiopedilum with mottled leaves, Dendrobium phalaenopsis and seedings. Intermediate (55-60 degrees): Cattleya, Oncidium and Paphiopedilum with solid green leaves. Cool (50-55 degrees): Cymbidium, Dendrobium nobile and Dracula/Masdevallia. Moisture: Let an orchid get almost dry before watering it thoroughly and then letting it drain completely. Sit pots on trays of pebbles/water to provide humidity during winter. Fertilizer: Use a good orchid fertilizer according to directions.
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Friday, January 29, 2010 CROSSWORD 884
Word Sleuth Solution
Yesterday’s Solution
ACROSS 1. The compass point that is one point east of due south. 4. Elegant and stylish. 8. A knockout declared by the referee who judges one boxer unable to continue. 11. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine. 12. (anatomy) A fold or wrinkle or crease. 13. Lap that forms a cloth border doubled back and stitched down v 1. 14. (informal) Exceptionally good. 16. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity equal to 10 decibels. 17. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group. 18. A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal. 19. A fluorocarbon with chlorine. 20. (Judaism) A Jewish festival (traditionally 8 days) celebrating the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. 22. Goddess of the dead and queen of the underworld. 24. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey). 26. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth. 28. Being in competition. 31. An official prosecutor for a judicial district. 32. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light. 33. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae. 39. An accidental happening. 44. The compass point that is one point south of due west. 45. A blue dye obtained from plants or made synthetically. 46. A master's degree in business. 47. How long something has existed. 48. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind. 49. A close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities. 50. An interest followed with exaggerated zeal.
DOWN 1. A region of Malaysia in northeastern Borneo. 2. A boat with a flat bottom for carrying heavy loads (especially on canals). 3. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event. 4. A hard brittle blue-white multivalent metallic element. 5. Cap that fits over the hub of a wheel. 6. One of the five major classes of immunoglobulins. 7. A high-crowned black cap (usually made of felt or sheepskin) worn by men in Turkey and Iran and the Caucasus. 8. The fifth day of the week. 9. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables. 10. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska. 15. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the pilot is talked down by ground control using precision approach radar. 21. The capital and largest city of Yemen. 23. Infectious disease caused by a species of chlamydia bacterium. 25. Cut off the testicles. 27. Leaf or strip from a leaf of the talipot palm used in India for writing paper. 29. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders. 30. A federal agency that supervises carriers that transport goods and people between states. 34. 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. 35. A domed or vaulted recess or projection on a building especially the east end of a church. 36. The (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb. 37. A small cake leavened with yeast. 38. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples. 40. The cry made by sheep. 41. Brief episode in which the brain gets insufficient blood supply. 42. Late time of life. 43. (folklore) Fairies that are somewhat mischievous.
Yesterday’s Solution
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Friday, January 29, 2010
COUNTRY CODES
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY A r i e s ( M a rc h 2 1 - A p r i l 1 9 ) Shakespeare got modest respect while he was alive, but his reputation as a brilliant bard didn't gel right away. It wasn't until almost 50 years after he died that anyone thought his life and work were notable enough to write about. By then, all his colleagues and compatriots were gone, unable to testify. He himself left little information to build a biography around. That's why next to nothing is known about the person who made such a dramatic impact on the English language and literature. I suggest you take this as a metaphorical prod that will inspire you not to be blasĂŠ about the greatness that is in your vicinity. Don't take superlative intelligence, talent, or love for granted. Recognize it, bless it, be influenced by it.
Ta u r u s ( A p r i l 2 0 - M a y 2 0 ) You are the lord of all you survey! I swear to God! I'm almost tempted to say that you now have the power to command whirlwinds and alter the course of mighty rivers! At the very least you will be able to mobilize the ambition of everyone you encounter and brighten the future of every group you're part of! Act with confident precision, Taurus! Speak with crisp authority! Your realm waits expectantly for the transformative decisions that will issue from the fresh depths of your emotional intelligence!
Gemini (May 21-June 20) It's time for you to fly away -- to flee the safe pleasures that comfort you as well as the outmoded fixations that haunt you; to escape at least one of the galling compromises that twists your spirit as well as a familiar groove that numbs your intelligence. In my astrological opinion, Gemini, you need to get excited by stimuli that come from outside your known universe. You need fertile surprises that motivate you to resort to unpredictable solutions. C a n c e r ( J u n e 2 1 - J u l y 2 2 ) "I never meet anyone who admits to having had a happy childhood," said writer Jessamyn West. "Everyone appears to think happiness betokens a lack of sensitivity." I agree, and go further. Many creative people I know actually brag about how messed up their early life was, as if that was a crucial ingredient in turning them into the geniuses they are today. Well, excuse me for breaking the taboo, but I, Rob Brezsny, had a happy childhood, and it did not prevent me from becoming a sensitive artist. In fact, it helped. Now I ask you, my fellow Cancerian, whether you're brave enough to go against the grain and confess that your early years had some wonderful moments? You're in a phase of your cycle when recalling the beauty and joy of the past could be profoundly invigorating.
L e o ( J u l y 2 3 - Au g u s t 2 2 ) Usually I overflow with advice about how to access your soul's code. I love to help you express the unique blueprint that sets you apart from everyone else. Every now and then, though, it's a healing balm to take a sabbatical from exploring the intricacies of your core truths. This is one of those times. For the next ten days, I invite you to enjoy the privilege of being absolutely nobody. Revel in the pure emptiness of having no clue about your deep identity. If anyone asks you, "Who are you?", relish the bubbly freedom that comes from cheerfully saying, "I have no freaking idea!" Vi rg o ( Au g u s t 2 3 - S e p t e m b e r 2 2 ) French novelist Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) is generally regarded as one of the greats. His book Madame Bovary appears on many lists of the greatest novels of all time. And yet writing didn't come especially easy for him. He worked as hard as a ditch-digger. It wasn't uncommon for him to spend several agonizing days in squeezing out a single page. On some occasions he literally beat his head against a wall, as if trying to dislodge the right words from their hiding place in his brain. He's your role model in the coming week, Virgo. You can create something of value, although it may require hard labor.
Libra (September 23October 22) My theory is that right now the whole world is in love with you. In some places, this simmering adoration is bordering on infatuation. Creatures great and small are more apt than usual to recognize what's beautiful and original about you. As a result, wonders and marvels are likely to coalesce in your vicinity. Is there anything you can do to ensure that events unfold in ways that will yield maximum benefits for everyone concerned? Yes: Be yourself with as much tender intensity as you can muster. Scorpio (October 23-November 2 1 ) I hope that you saw the horoscope I wrote for you last week. And I hope that you acted on my advice and refrained from all sweating and striving and struggling. These past seven days were designed by the universe to be a time for you to recharge your psychic battery. Assuming that you took advantage of the opportunity, you should now be ready to shift gears. In this new phase, your assignment is to work extra hard and extra sweet on yourself. By that I mean you should make your way down into your depths and change around everything that isn't functioning with grace and power. Tweak your attitudes. Rearrange your emotional flow. Be an introspective master of self-refinement. Sagittarius (November 22D e c e m b e r 2 1 ) This horoscope borrows from one of my favorite Sagittarian visionaries, Jonathan Zap. The advice he gives below, which is in accordance with your astrological omens, is designed to help you avoid the fate he warns against. Here it is: "Many of the significant problems in our lives are more about recognizing the obvious rather than discovering the mysterious or hidden. One of the classic ways we deceive and hide from ourselves is by refusing to recognize the obvious, and shrouding what is right before us in rationalization and false complexity. We often delay and deny necessary transformation by claiming that there is a mysterious answer hidden from us, when actually we know the answers but pretend that we don't." Capricorn (December 22January 19) It's a good time to take inventory of all the stories you allow to pour into your beautiful head. Do you absorb a relentless stream of fear-inducing news reports and violent movies and gossipy tales of decline and degeneration? Well, then, guess what: It's the equivalent, for your psyche, of eating rotting bear intestines and crud scraped off a dumpster wall and pitchers full of trans fats from partially hydrogenated oil. But maybe, on the other hand, you tend to expose yourself to comedies that loosen your fixations and poems that stretch your understanding of the human condition and conversations about all the things that are working pretty well. If so, you're taking good care of your precious insides; you're fostering your mental health. Now please drink in this fresh truth from Nigerian writer Ben Okri: "Beware of the stories you read or tell; subtly, at night, beneath the waters of consciousness, they are altering your world." Aquarius (January 20- February 18) In the coming week, I predict that you will NOT experience disgusting fascinations, smiling-faced failures, sensationalized accounts of useless developments, or bizarre fantasies in the middle of the night. You may, on the other hand, have encounters with uplifting disappointments, incendiary offers of assistance, mysterious declarations of interdependence, and uproars that provoke your awe and humility in healing ways. In other words, Aquarius, it'll be an uncanny, perhaps controversial time for you -- but always leading in the direction of greater freedom. Pisces (February 19-March 2 0 ) Congrats on your growing ability to do more floating and less thrashing as you cascade down the stream of consciousness. I think you're finally understanding that a little bit of chaos isn't a sign that everything's falling apart forever omigod the entire planet's crashing and evil is in ascension . . . but rather that a healthy amount of bewildering unpredictability keeps things fresh and clean. My advice is to learn to relax even more as you glide with serene amusement through the bubbling and churning waters of life.
Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antiga Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Cyprus (Northern) Czech Republic Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador England (UK) Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Holland (Netherlands) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Ibiza (Spain) Iceland India Indian Ocean Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait
0093 00355 00213 00376 00244 001264 001268 0054 00374 0061 0043 001242 00973 00880 001246 00375 0032 00501 00229 001441 00975 00591 00387 00267 0055 00673 00359 00226 00257 00855 00237 001 00238 001345 00236 00235 0056 0086 0057 00269 00242 00682 00506 00385 0053 00357 0090392 00420 0045 00246 00253 001767 001809 00593 0020 00503 0044 00240 00291 00372 00251 00500 00298 00679 00358 0033 00594 00689 00241 00220 00995 0049 00233 00350 0030 00299 001473 00590 001671 00502 00224 00592 00509 0031 00504 00852 0036 0034 00354 0091 00873 0062 0098 00964 00353 0039 00225 001876 0081 00962 007 00254 00686 00965
Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Liberia Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Majorca Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar (Burma) Namibia Nepal Netherlands (Holland) Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Nigar Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Ireland (UK) North Korea Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts Saint Lucia Saint Pierre Saint Vincent Samoa US Samoa West San Marino Sao Tone Saudi Arabia Scotland (UK) Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tanzania Thailand Toga Tonga Tokelau Trinidad Tunisia Turkey Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay
00996 00856 00371 00961 00231 00218 00370 00352 00853 00389 00261 0034 00265 0060 00960 00223 00356 00692 00596 00222 00230 00269 0052 00691 00373 00377 00976 001664 00212 00258 0095 00264 00977 0031 00599 00687 0064 00505 00227 00234 00683 00672 0044 00850 0047 00968 0092 00680 00507 00675 00595 0051 0063 0048 00351 001787 00974 0040 007 00250 00290 001869 001758 00508 001784 00684 00685 00378 00239 00966 0044 00221 00284 00232 0065 00421 00386 00677 00252 0027 0082 0034 0094 00249 00597 00268 0046 0041 00963 00886 00255 0066 00228 00676 00690 001868 00216 0090 00688 00256 00380 00976 0044 00598
WHAT'S ON
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Friday, January 29, 2010
Parish holds warm farewell ceremony
P
eople of God’s own country bid adieu to Father Melvin and Father Teo last week at Our Lady of Arabia Parish. On behalf of all the members of the parish and the Malayalam community a warm send off was given to both Father Melvin and Father Teo. There was a feeling of sadness and loneliness throughout the Vicariate since people were told about the departure of the
Carmelites. In spite of all the sadness, there was a great feeling of acceptance and a sincere wish that the new appointment being taken up by both the fathers will bring them joy, fulfillment and happiness. The parish also welcomed Father Varghese Chemboli, the Vice provincial of the Capuchin order. Father Varghese expressed his happiness to be present on
this occasion. He wished both Father Melvin and Father Teo his best wishes and blessings in his future endeavor. Father Andrew Francis, OFM Cap, the new Parish Priest was also present. Both Father Melvin and Father Teo were touched by the program put up by the children. There were tears in the eyes of most of the children as they bid a fond farewell to both their favorite
fathers. The gathering were also touched and moved by the children’s effort to get the program ready. Father Varghese and Father Melvin both acclaimed the poem written by a young girl, Archana Sebastian on Father Melvin and Father Teo. Father Teo was very emotional when he heard the poem. Our Lady of Arabia parish wishes to thank all the children who participated in
the program: Anjali Sebastian, Sharon, Christopher, Leya, Archana, Cristel, Caroline, Chris and Christina. The vote of thanks was given by Thomas, the Parish Council representative. A special word of thanks to Father Andrew Francis for supporting the children throughout. Thank you Father Melvin and Father Teo for everything. We will surely miss you.
Movenpick Hotel hosts brunch on Fridays
U
p for all-day family style day? The Movenpick Hotel Restaurant is the perfect place to be. Known for its wonderful range of live cooking stations, an array of Arabic and International food, freshly made pasta, Chinese delicacies prepared in front of your eyes and the chocolate fountain where strawberries, fresh pineapple pieces and marshmallows disappear in soft dripping milk chocolate, the Friday brunch at the Movenpick Hotel Restaurant displays a great place to be on Friday. Friendly team members are welcoming you with attentiveness and high level of standards and while you are attended to by your server of the day, pleasant care-takers of the “kids club” keep your little ones busy. You enjoy live entertainment, which contains a marvelous blend of oriental and international music. Highlights of the brunch are in fact all the action stations. May it be the fried noodles made to order, shawarma station or the fresh pasta station. The wide range of international specialties makes it hard to choose where to start. For parents and children, equally appealing is the Movenpick Ice Cream trolley and it is just perfect to combine this lovely melting sweet delight with some of the dipped fruits. For reservations or more information, please call 22253100 extension: 5444.
WHAT'S ON
Friday, January 29, 2010
Page 47
Joyalukkas opens showroom in Karur J
oyalukkas, the world’s favorite jewelry retailer, opened their latest showroom on Kovai Road, Karur on January 17, 2010. The glittering showroom was inaugurated by Madhavan, the brand ambassador of Joyalukkas Jewelry, in the presence of large gathering that included several VIPs and other dignitaries. The ceremonial lamp at the inauguration was lit by Ex MP, Thiru KC Palanisamy, Thiru V Senthil Balaji MLA-Karur and District Panchayath Chairman Thiru, Poovai Ramesh Babu. The Kovai Road showroom is another signature addition to the growing number of Joyalukkas retail showrooms in Tamil Nadu. The showroom displays traditional, chic and contemporary designs from India and abroad that are designed to appeal to the discerning residents of Karur. The showroom features all the Joyalukkas world class jewelry brands such as Sparx, Tre’stelle, Perfekt, Spring, Florentina, Resham, Trisha, Aamira, Madhubani, teens and twenties and Zenina, plus a host of platinum, precious stone jewelry collections, silver items and jewelry. Globally, Joyalukkas has set benchmarks for quality, service and choice and is one of the most trusted jewelry retailers in the world. “Our Karur showroom located on Kovai Road like all Joyalukkas showrooms promises to bring an exceptional shopping experience to its residents and we are glad to be a part of this wonderful city. We are targeting the quality, tradition and design conscious woman of Karur who demand quality and want to choose from a wide range of traditional and contemporary jewelry. With the vision of making jewelry shopping more convenient, we intend to be in every catchment area within Tamil
Nadu. “With an expertise spanning over five decades, we are sure that our distinctive designs, quality and service will be welcomed and appreciated by the residents of Karur” said Joy Alukkas, Chairman of Joyalukkas Group. The Joyalukkas Karur showroom is consistent in design with the rest of the Joyalukkas showrooms and offers exclusivity and a welcoming feel. The showroom is conveniently located within the city ensuring ease of access for customers. “Our aim is to appeal to women of all nationalities who love jewelry and are looking for traditional, chic and contemporary styles along with a wide choice in jewelry. The Joyalukkas standard of product, price, choice and service is assured to the Karur residents.” added Joy Alukkas. Speaking on the occasion, Madhavan, the brand ambassador for Joyalukkas said, “I feel proud to be associated with a brand of Joyalukkas’ stature, which stands for trust, value, choice and exceptional service. Customers can rest assured that with Joyalukkas they will be dealing with a jewelry chain that truly understands their needs and has the international experience to introduce them to jewelry trends around the world”. According to a company representative, the Karur opening will be followed with more showrooms openings across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala in the year 2010. Joyalukkas’ competence in the jewelry business is evident from the unique patterns and styles that has won the hearts of customers and accolades from various renowned jewelry bodies across the globe. The ISO certified jewelry chain currently has 75 showrooms in eight countries across the world.
Adopt a pet
atchon is a very alert white persian cat! His eyes are wide watching everything going on around him. Batchon would do best in a home with children over 8.
B
llie is a male persian mix. He is sweet, psychic, and knows when you need a cat in your lap. He is friendly with other cats and is about two years old.
O
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Friday, January 29, 2010
FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161
FLIGHT SCHEDULE
“IN CASE YOU ARE NOT TRAVELLING, YOUR PROPER CANCELLATION OF BOOKINGS WILL HELP OTHER PASSENGERS TO USE SEATS”. Arrival Flights on Friday 29/01/2010 Airlines Flt Route Jazeera 0263 Beirut Tunis Air 321 Tunis/Dubai Wataniya Airways 2011 Sharm El Sheikh Royal Jordanian 802 Amman Wataniya Airways 2103 Beirut Gulf Air 211 Bahrain Kuwait 544 Cairo Jazeera 0513 Sharm El Sheikh Turkish A/L 1172 Istanbul D.H.L. 370 Bahrain Jazeera 0241 Amman Emirates 853 Dubai Etihad 0305 Abu Dhabi Qatari 0138 Doha Ethiopian 622 Addis Ababa/Bahrain Air France 6770 Paris Jazeera 0503 Luxor Jazeera 0527 Alexandria Kuwait 416 Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur Jazeera 0529 Assiut Jazeera 0481 Sabiha British 0157 London Kuwait 352 Cochin Kuwait 206 Islamabad Jazeera 0161 Dubai Kuwait 302 Mumbai Kuwait 676 Dubai Kuwait 362 Colombo Emirates 855 Dubai Kuwait 286 Chittagong Arabia 0121 Sharjah Qatari 0132 Doha Etihad 0301 Abu Dhabi Gulf Air 213 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 1121 Bahrain Jazeera 0447 Doha Jazeera 0165 Dubai Jazeera 0425 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 1021 Dubai Jazeera 0113 Abu Dhabi Iran Air 619 Lar Middle East 404 Beirut Yemenia 825 Sanaa Pakistan 239 Sialkot Egypt Air 610 Cairo Jazeera 0171 Dubai Kuwait 672 Dubai Wataniya Airways 2301 Damascus Jazeera 0525 Alexandria Jazeera 0257 Beirut Wataniya Airways 2001 Cairo Kuwait 552 Damascus Kuwait 744 Dammam Jazeera 0457 Damascus Qatari 0134 Doha Kuwait 284 Dhaka Kuwait 546 Alexandria Royal Jordanian 800 Amman Jazeera 0173 Dubai Emirates 857 Dubai Gulf Air 215 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 510 Riyadh Etihad 0303 Abu Dhabi Jazeera 0239 Amman Arabia 0125 Sharjah Jazeera 0367 Deirezzor Wataniya Airways 2101 Beirut Jazeera 0497 Riyadh Srilankan 227 Colombo/Dubai United A/L 982 Washington DC Dulles Jazeera 0427 Bahrain
Time 00:05 00:10 00:15 00:35 00:50 01:05 01:15 01:25 02:15 02:15 02:30 02:35 03:00 03:25 03:30 04:35 05:35 06:10 06:25 06:30 06:35 06:40 07:40 07:40 07:45 07:55 08:10 08:20 08:30 08:35 08:55 09:00 09:35 10:45 10:45 11:00 11:05 11:10 11:20 11:20 11:50 11:55 12:35 12:50 12:55 13:05 13:25 13:35 14:05 14:10 14:20 14:35 14:40 14:45 15:00 15:10 15:30 15:40 16:05 16:55 17:05 17:15 17:15 17:35 17:40 17:45 17:50 18:00 18:05 18:15 18:15
Wataniya Airways D.H.L. Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Kuwait Kuwait Indian Kuwait Kuwait Jet A/W Wataniya Airways Oman Air Saudi Arabian A/L Jazeera Gulf Air Kuwait Middle East Qatari Emirates Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera Global Jazeera Jazeera Egypt Air Egypt Air Shaheen Air Lufthansa Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways Pakistan
2003 Cairo 473 Baghdad 1025 Dubai 542 Cairo 674 Dubai 618 Doha 166 Paris/Rome 0177 Dubai 614 Bahrain 774 Riyadh 575 Chennai/Goa 102 New York/London 562 Amman 572 Mumbai 1201 Jeddah 0647 Muscat 506 Jeddah 0459 Damascus 217 Bahrain 786 Jeddah 402 Beirut 0136 Doha 859 Dubai 502 Beirut 0449 Doha 0429 Bahrain 081 Baghdad 0117 Abu Dhabi 0185 Dubai 612 Cairo 606 Luxor 441 Lahore/Karachi 636 Frankfurt 2201 Amman 1029 Dubai 1129 Bahrain 215 Karachi
18:20 18:30 18:40 18:50 18:55 18:55 19:00 19:05 19:20 19:30 19:30 19:35 19:40 20:05 20:15 20:20 20:35 20:40 21:05 21:10 21:20 21:35 22:00 22:00 22:10 22.15 22:20 22:25 22:40 22:45 23:00 23:05 23:30 23:40 23:45 23:55 23:55
Departure Flights on Friday 29/01/2010 Airlines Flt Route Time Egypt Air 607 Luxor 00:01 Jazeera 0528 Assiut 00:05 India Express 390 Mangalore/Kozhikode 00:30 United A/L 981 Washington DC Dulles 00:40 Tunis Air 328 Tunis 01:00 Indian 982 Ahmedabad/Chennai 01:05 Pakistan 206 Lahore 01:10 Bangladesh 044 Dhaka 01:15 Lufthansa 637 Frankfurt 01:20 Safi A/W 216 Kabul 02:30 Kuwait 283 Dhaka 02:55 Turkish Al 1173 Istanbul 03:15 D.H.L. 371 Bahrain 03:15 Emirates 854 Dubai 03:50 Etihad 0306 Abu Dhabi 04:10 Ethiopian 622 Addis Ababa 04:15 Qatari 0139 Doha 05:00 Air France 6770 Dubai/Hong Kong 06:20 Jazeera 0164 Dubai 07:00 Wataniya Airways 1020 Dubai 07:00 Royal Jordanian 803 Amman 07:05 Jazeera 0524 Alexandria 07:20 Wataniya Airways 2000 Cairo 07:30 Jazeera 0112 Abu Dhabi 07:35 Jazeera 0446 Doha 07:40 Gulf Air 212 Bahrain 07:45 Wataniya Airways 1120 Bahrain 07:30 Jazeera 0422 Bahrain 07:55 Wataniya Airways 2300 Damascus 08:10 Kuwait 545 Alexandria 08:30 Jazeera 0256 Beirut 08:35 British 0156 London 08:55 Jazeera 0170 Dubai 09:00
Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Arabia Emirates Kuwait Qatari Etihad Kuwait Wataniya Airways Gulf Air Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Wataniya Airways Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait Iran Air Middle East Yemenia Pakistan Egypt Air Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera Wataniya Airways Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Royal Jordanian Qatari Gulf Air Etihad Emirates Arabia Jazeera Saudi Arabian A/L Jazeera Jazeera Wataniya Airways Jazeera Global Jazeera Wataniya Airways Srilankan Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Wataniya Airways Jet A/W Oman Air Kuwait Gulf Air Saudi Arabian A/L D.H.L. Kuwait Middle East Jazeera Qatari Kuwait Emirates Jazeera Jazeera Egypt Air Jazeera Kuwait
Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)
671 551 0456 0122 856 117 0133 0302 173 2002 214 743 541 0172 2100 0366 0238 103 618 405 825 240 611 1024 673 561 0496 0176 1200 0426 0458 617 785 501 773 613 801 0135 216 0304 858 0126 0262 511 0184 0116 2200 0448 082 0428 2102 228 1028 361 343 1128 571 0648 331 218 507 171 675 403 0188 0137 301 860 0636 0526 613 0502 411
Dubai Damascus Damascus Sharjah Dubai New York Doha Abu Dhabi Frankfurt/Geneva Cairo Bahrain Dammam Cairo Dubai Beirut Deirezzor Amman London Lar Beirut Doha/Sanaa Sialkot Cairo Dubai Dubai Amman Riyadh Dubai Jeddah Bahrain Damascus Doha Jeddah Beirut Riyadh Bahrain Amman Doha Bahrain Abu Dhabi Dubai Sharjah Beirut Riyadh Dubai Abu Dhabi Amman Doha Baghdad Bahrain Beirut Dubai/Colombo Dubai Colombo Chennai Bahrain Mumbai Muscat Trivandrum Bahrain Jeddah Bahrain Dubai Beirut Dubai Doha Mumbai Dubai Aleppo Alexandria Cairo Luxor Bangkok/Manila
09:00 09:10 09:25 09:35 09:40 10:00 10:00 10:20 10:20 11:30 11:40 11:55 12:00 12:00 12:03 12:20 12:25 12:30 12:50 12:55 13:35 13:40 13:55 14:25 14:30 14:35 14:40 15:05 15:10 15:25 15:30 15:33 15:45 16:10 16:10 16:20 16:25 16:30 17:55 18:00 18:10 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:40 18:50 18:50 19:00 19:05 19:15 19:30 20:20 20:50 21:00 21:10 21:20 21:25 21:55 21:55 22:00 22:10 22:20 22:30 22:35 22:45 23:10 23:20 23:25 23:45 23:50 23:55
CLASSIFIEDS
Friday, January 29, 2010
ACCOMMODATION Separate room available in Hawally Tunis street, Near Al Ghanim in 2 bedroom/bathroom C-A/C new flat with separate bathroom & balcony with family. Contact: 99380453. (C 20252)
Christian family in Abbassiya with separate bathroom in a C-A/C flat from 26th January. Call: 99412951. (C 20241) Room with attached bath available in new C-A/C, two bedroom, two toilet, flat in Abbassiya, to share with Sri Lankan couple. Contact: 66552905. (C 20245)
Furnished single room accommodation available in a flat for executive Muslim bachelor in Abbassiya, near Hi Dine supermarket. Contact: 99702105. (C 20254)
Two rooms available CA/C in Salmiya near Indian Public School, starting from 1st Februry for single, couple or working ladies. Contact: 97972920. (C 20240)
Flat available with household items in Abbassiya, hall very big and one spacious bedroom and kitchen items in good condition. Contact: 97143540. (C 20253)
Accommodation available in Farwaniya behind Crowne Plaza in a flat, G. floor, prefer Goan or Manglorean, rent KD 50. Contact: 97277454. (C 20242)
One room for rent, 2 bedroom flat for couple or two decent bachelors near Hi Dine supermarket, gents camp building from 25th January. Contact: 65500258, 66041367. (C 20255)
Sharing accommodation available in Hawally behind Dar Al Shifa hospital with two bedroom + 2T, central A/C and shaded car parking. Contact: 99485424. (C 20243)
To let from 1st February 2010, one furnished large bedroom with separate toilet in B始neid Al Gar area, for 1 decent executive bachelor. Contact: 60046720 for details. (C 20256) 28-1-2010 Sharing accommodation available near Amiri hospital, Sharq, couple or working ladies or bachelor. Contact: 67766273. (C 20247) 27-1-2010 Sharing accommodation available with a Keralite
Sharing accommodation available for Indian, working ladies in a two bedroom, C-A/C flat in Maidan Hawally, opposite 4th Ring Road, near Al Safat American Medical Center with a Keralite lady with all facilities. Call: 99325130, 25649970. (C 20246) 26-1-2010 Sharing accommodation, bachelor or family, central A/C building, bathroom attached, near Garden store. Contact: 65662085, 66274078. (C 20236)
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25-1-2010 Furnished sharing accommodation available for a Keralite bachelor or family in Abbassiya. Contact: 66577233. (C 20234) 24-1-2010
CHANGE OF NAME Old name: Vinodkumar Raghavan Ezhuthassan, Passport Number F 9952256, new name: Vinodkumaar Raghavan Ezhuthassan. (C 20216) 25-1-2010
FOR SALE Toyota Corolla, model 2006, golden color, very good condition, insured up to 11/2011, km only 80,000. Price KD 3,000. Mobile: 99316392. Toyota Corolla Xli 1.6L, model 2009, silver color, excellent condition, done 25,000 kms only, cash price KD 3,850. Contact: 66211779. (C 20250) Nissan Urvan, 10 seater bus, model 2009, done 17,000 kms only, white metallic, excellent condition, cash price KD 4,500. Contact: 97213518. (C 20251) 28-1-2010 Mitsubishi Gallant, model 2003, silver gray color, very good condition and insured up to October 2010, price fixed KD 1050. Please call: 97563505. (C 20249) Household items for sale, kitchen cabinets, couch
love seat, etc. ATV 50cc Eton runs great! Call any time 67039015. (C 20248) 27-1-2010 Toyota Corolla 2009, white color, run only 15,000 km, excellent condition, price KD 3,850, Contact: 66050484, interested person only. (C 20239) 26-1-2010 Lancer 2007, full option, Glx, km 68,000, super condition, KD 2100. Tel: 60048674. (C 20235) 25-1-2010
MATRIMONIAL Proposals invited for Keralite RC boy 30/170/ BA/DME working KRH Kuwait from professionally qualified girls. Email:
abilashdk@gmail.com / abilashkaranath@yahoo.co m (C 20238) 28-1-2010 Proposals invited for Keralite Marthomite boy, 30, 172, MoH male nurse, from CSI, Marthomite girls working in Kuwait. Going for vacation in June. Contact: mathewmerin@hotmail.com 27-1-2010
SITUATION VACANT A lady cook is needed to work for a single Arab American man in an apartment located in Salmiya. She must know how to cook Arabic and Chinese food. The job also requires light cleaning. Working hour is 2 pm to 8:30 pm. Salary is KD 100. Tel: 66417504. (C 20244) 26-1-2010
PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists: Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea Dr. Masoma Habeeb Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy Dr. Mohsen Abel Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly
5622444 5752222 5321171 5739999 5757700 5732223 5732223
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT): Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz
4555050 Ext 510 5644660 5646478 5311996 5731988 2620166 5651426
General Practitioners: Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi Dr. Yousef Al-Omar Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem Dr. Kathem Maarafi Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae
4555050 Ext 123 4719312 3926920 5730465 5655528 4577781 5333501
Urologists: Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 2641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 2639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 2616660
Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 5313120 Plastic Surgeons: Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 2547272 Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 2617700 Dr. Abdel Quttainah 5625030/60 Family Doctor: Dr Divya Damodar
3729596/3729581
Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 2635047 Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 2613623/0 Gynaecologists & Obstetricians: Dr Adrian Harbe Dr. Verginia s.Marin Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly Dr. Salem soso
3729596/3729581 572-6666 ext 8321 2655539 5343406 5739272 2618787
General Surgeons: Dr. Abidallah Behbahani 5717111 Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 2610044 Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 5327148 Internists, Chest & Heart: Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan
2639939 2666300 5728004
Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra Dr. Mobarak Aldoub Dr Nasser Behbehani
5355515 4726446 5654300/3
Paediatricians: Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed Dr. Zahra Qabazard Dr. Sohail Qamar Dr. Snaa Maaroof Dr. Pradip Gujare Dr. Zacharias Mathew
5340300 5710444 2621099 5713514 3713100 4334282
(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada) 5655535 Dentists: Dr Anil Thomas Dr. Shamah Al-Matar Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan Dr. Bader Al-Ansari
3729596/3729581 2641071/2 2562226 2561444 2619557 2525888 5653755 5620111
Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali
Endocrinologist: Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr
5633324 5345875
5339330 5658888 5329924
Physiotherapists & VD: Dr. Deyaa Shehab Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees
5722291 2666288
Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 5330060 Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 5722290 Internist, Chest & Heart: DR.Mohammes Akkad 4555050 Ext 210 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Tel: 5339667
Neurologists: Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan
2636464 5322030 2633135
Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Consultant Cardiologist Tel: 2611555-2622555
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Friday, January 29, 2010
TV Listings Orbit /Showtime Channels 00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00
AMERICA PLUS Without a Trace Janice Dickinson ER The Closer One Tree Hill Supernatural GMA Recorded GMA Health What’s the Buzz One Tree Hill The Closer Ally McBeal One Tree Hill The Closer Ally McBeal GMA Live Cold Case One Tree Hill Without a Trace The O.C. ER Cold Case The O.C.
ANIMAL PLANET 00:50 Animal Cops Houston 01:45 Bull Shark: World’s Deadliest Shark with Nigel Marven 02:40 Untamed & Uncut 03:35 Austin Stevens Adventures 04:30 Animal Cops Houston 05:25 Animal Cops Houston 06:20 Lemur Street 06:45 Monkey Business 07:10 Aussie Animal Rescue 07:35 Vet on the Loose 08:00 Wildlife SOS 08:25 Pet Rescue 08:50 Animal Precinct 09:45 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 10:10 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 10:40 Aussie Animal Rescue 11:05 Animal Cops Houston 11:55 The Jeff Corwin Experience 12:50 Wildlife SOS 13:15 Pet Rescue 13:45 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 14:10 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 14:40 Bull Shark: World’s Deadliest Shark with Nigel Marven 15:35 Lemur Street 16:00 Monkey Business 16:30 Pet Rescue 16:55 Vet on the Loose 17:25 Wildlife SOS 17:50 Aussie Animal Rescue 18:20 Animal Cops Houston 19:15 Night 19:40 Night 20:10 Ocean’s Deadliest 21:10 Animal Cops Houston 22:05 Untamed & Uncut 23:00 Night 23:25 Night 23:55 Animal Cops Houston BBC ENTERTAINMENT 00:30 The Mighty Boosh 01:00 The Mighty Boosh 01:30 Little Britain 02:00 Coast 03:00 Mission Africa 03:30 Amazon Abyss 04:00 Massive 04:30 Carrie & Barry 05:00 The Mighty Boosh 05:30 Coast 06:35 Bargain Hunt 07:20 Balamory 07:40 Tweenies 08:00 Fimbles 08:20 Teletubbies 08:45 Yoho Ahoy 08:50 Tommy Zoom 09:00 Balamory 09:20 Tweenies 09:40 Fimbles 10:00 Teletubbies 10:25 Yoho Ahoy 10:30 Bargain Hunt 11:15 Coast 12:15 Amazon Abyss 12:45 Amazon Abyss 13:15 The Weakest Link 14:00 Eastenders 14:30 Doctors 15:00 Bargain Hunt 15:45 Cash In The Attic 16:15 Blackadder II 16:45 2 Point 4 Children 17:15 The Weakest Link 18:00 Doctors 18:30 Eastenders 19:00 Green Green Grass 19:30 Green Green Grass 20:00 Antiques Roadshow 21:00 The Weakest Link 21:45 Doctors 22:15 Blackjack 04: Sweet Science 23:45 Rough Diamond Sd BBC LIFESTYLE 00:05 Ching’s Kitchen 00:30 Masterchef Goes Large 01:00 Masterchef Goes Large
01:20 01:45 02:10 03:00 03:30 03:55 04:25 04:55 05:25 05:50 06:15 07:05 07:30 08:00 08:50 09:15 09:35 10:00 10:45 11:30 12:20 13:10 13:35 14:00 14:45 15:35 16:05 16:30 16:50 17:15 18:05 18:30 18:55 19:45 20:15 20:40 21:05 21:35 22:00 22:45 23:35
Cash In The Attic Usa Hidden Potential Living In The Sun Boys’ Weekend Ching’s Kitchen Ching’s Kitchen Masterchef Goes Large Masterchef Goes Large Cash In The Attic Usa Hidden Potential Living In The Sun A Week Of Dressing Dangerously A Week Of Dressing Dangerously Antiques Roadshow Cash In The Attic Usa Cash In The Attic Usa Hidden Potential Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes Living In The Sun Antiques Roadshow A Week Of Dressing Dangerously A Week Of Dressing Dangerously Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes Daily Cooks Challenge Daily Cooks Challenge Cash In The Attic Usa Hidden Potential Antiques Roadshow A Week Of Dressing Dangerously A Week Of Dressing Dangerously Living In The Sun Daily Cooks Challenge Daily Cooks Challenge Masterchef Goes Large Boys’ Weekend Ching’s Kitchen Living In The Sun What Not To Wear Boys’ Weekend
CINEMA CITY 01:00 The Watch - PG 03:00 The Gold Retrievers - PG 05:00 An American Rhapsody - PG15 07:00 The Vanishing - PG15 09:00 Kiss of Life - PG15 11:00 Life or Something Like it - PG 13:00 Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief - FAM 15:00 Impact - Pt. *1* - PG 17:00 The King of Comedy - PG15 19:00 A Walk in the Clouds - PG15 21:00 Wilby Wonderful - 18 23:00 Kiss of Life - PG15 00:00 00:30 01:00 02:00 02:55 03:50 04:45 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:55 08:50 09:45 10:10 11:05 12:00 12:30 12:55 13:25 13:50 14:15 15:10 16:05 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00
DISCOVERY CHANNEL Destroyed in Seconds Destroyed in Seconds Miami Ink Street Customs 2008 American Chopper Chop Shop Mythbusters Factory Made Ultimate Survival Extreme Engineering Chop Shop Street Customs 2008 How Do They Do It? Mythbusters Ultimate Survival Destroyed in Seconds Destroyed in Seconds How Do They Do It? Factory Made Fifth Gear American Chopper Miami Ink Mythbusters Ultimate Survival Destroyed in Seconds Destroyed in Seconds Street Customs 2008 How Do They Do It? Factory Made Wheeler Dealers Wheeler Dealers American Chopper Street Customs
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DISCOVERY SCIENCE Mega World Science of Beauty The Future of... Mission Implausible Beyond Tomorrow Race to Mars How Stuff’s Made Green Wheels One Step Beyond Science of Beauty Junkyard Mega-Wars Ten Ways The Future of... How Stuff’s Made Stunt Junkies Science of Beauty Green Wheels One Step Beyond Ten Ways The Future of... Under New York How Stuff’s Made Junkyard Mega-Wars
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Brainiac Mega World Sci-Fi Science Sci-Fi Science Weird Connections Weird Connections How It’s Made How It’s Made Mythbusters Sci-Fi Science Sci-Fi Science Weird Connections
E! ENTERTAINMENT 00:15 Streets Of Hollywood 00:40 Ths 01:30 25 Most Stylish 02:20 Sexiest 03:15 50 Most Shocking Celebrity Confessions 05:05 Dr 90210 06:00 Ths 07:45 25 Most Stylish 08:35 E! News 09:00 The Daily 10 09:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 09:50 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 10:15 Ths 11:05 Ths 12:00 E! News 12:25 The Daily 10 12:50 Perfect Catch 13:40 Beauty Queens Gone Wrong 15:25 Behind The Scenes 15:50 Behind The Scenes 16:15 E!es 17:10 Leave It To Lamas 17:35 Leave It To Lamas 18:00 E! News 18:25 The Daily 10 18:50 Streets Of Hollywood 19:15 Battle Of The Hollywood Hotties 19:40 15 Remarkable Celebrity Body Bouncebacks 21:20 Wildest Tv Show Moments 21:45 Wildest Tv Show Moments 22:10 E! News 22:35 The Daily 10 23:00 Dr 90210 23:50 Battle Of The Hollywood Hotties FOX SPORTS The Golf Channel - TBA Golf Central International The Golf Channel - TBA Dream Team Season 8 Archipelago Raid 2009 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball UCLA at
00:00 02:00 02:30 03:00 06:00 06:30 Oregon 08:30 Torneo de Verano Mar Del Plata, Argentina 10:30 FIM Motocross World Championship 2009 - Season Review 11:30 FIM Supermoto World Championship 2009 - Season Review 12:30 Archipelago Raid 2009 13:00 European Tour Commercialbank Qatar Masters Rd. 2 17:00 Torneo de Verano Mar Del Plata, Argentina 19:00 Dream Team Season 8 20:00 NHL: Ottawa Senators at Pittsburgh Penguins 23:00 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball UCLA at Oregon 01:30 03:10 04:45 06:10 07:50 09:20 10:50 12:30 14:10 15:50 17:15 19:00 20:30 22:00 23:40 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00 05:30 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00
MGM The Pope Must Die A Woman’s Tale The Curse Of Inferno House Of Games Nobody’s Perfect My American Cousin I Could Go on Singing Prancer The Mechanic Sticky Fingers Great Balls Of Fire Teen Wolf Interiors Grievous Bodily Harm Mannequin NAT GEO ADVENTURE Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue First Ascent Finding Genghis Destination Extreme Madventures Surfer’s Journal Bondi Rescue Destination Extreme Madventures Nomads Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue First Ascent Finding Genghis Destination Extreme Madventures Surfer’s Journal Bondi Rescue Destination Extreme Madventures
Cadillac Records on Show Movies 1 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:30 19:30 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00
Don’t Tell My Mother... Lonely Planet Somewhere In China Destination Extreme Madventures Surfer’s Journal Bondi Rescue Destination Extreme Madventures Don’t Tell My Mother... Lonely Planet Somewhere In China Destination Extreme Madventures Surfer’s Journal Bondi Rescue
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NAT GEO WILD Ancient Creatures Planet Carnivore Rescue Ink Humpbacks - Inside The Pod Hidden Worlds Snake Wranglers Sharkville Ancient Creatures Planet Carnivore Rescue Ink Humpbacks - Inside The Pod Hidden Worlds Snake Wranglers Animal Autopsy World’s Wildest Encounters A Life With Bears Triumph Of Life Orca Killing School Hidden Worlds Snake Wranglers Animal Autopsy World’s Wildest Encounters A Life With Bears Triumph Of Life Orca Killing School Hidden Worlds
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PLAYHOUSE DISNEY Special Agent Oso Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Imagination Movers Chuggington Chuggington Chuggington Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Special Agent Oso Imagination Movers My Friends Tigger and Pooh Chuggington Chuggington Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Little Einsteins
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Imagination Movers Little Einsteins Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jo Jo’s Circus Jo Jo’s Circus Higglytown Heroes Higglytown Heroes Happy Monster Band My Friends Tigger and Pooh Happy Monster Band Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Special Agent Oso Chuggington Imagination Movers Handy Manny Chuggington Special Agent Oso Little Einsteins Handy Manny My Friends Tigger and Pooh End Of Programming
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SHOW COMEDY Gavin And Stacey Seinfeld The Daily Show With Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Comedy Central Comedy Central Home Improvement The Daily Show With Jon Stewart The Daily Show With Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne Will And Grace Two And A Half Men Home Improvement Rita Rocks Ellen Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 8 Simple Rules.. Watching Ellie Malcolm In The Middle Will And Grace Two And A Half Men Til Death 8 Simple Rules.. Ellen Watching Ellie Rita Rocks Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne Home Improvement Malcolm In The Middle Gavin And Stacey Seinfeld Ellen Watching Ellie Rita Rocks 8 Simple Rules.. Will And Grace Two And A Half Men Til Death After You’ve Gone
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Gavin And Stacey Seinfeld The Daily Show With Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Live At Gotham Nut Case Til Death
SHOW MOVIES 1 01:00 Cadillac Records - 18 03:00 Eagle Eye - PG 15 05:00 Georgia Rule - PG 15 07:00 Picture This - PG 15 09:00 Ghost Town - PG 15 11:00 The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep - FAM 13:00 Fireproof - PG 15:00 Ghost Town - PG 15 17:00 The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep - FAM 19:00 Rocky Balboa - PG 15 21:00 Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins PG 15 23:00 Lakeview Terrace - PG 15 SHOW MOVIES 2 00:00 Birds Of America - PG 15 01:30 Cocaine Cowboys Ii - 18 03:30 Jcvd - PG 15 05:30 Brick Lane - PG 15 07:30 Terms Of Endearment - PG 15 10:00 Taina Ii - PG 11:30 Two Weeks - PG 13:30 La Vie En Rose - PG 15 16:00 Taina Ii - PG 18:00 Two Weeks - PG 20:00 How To Lose Friends And Alienate People - PG 22:00 No Country For Old Men - PG 15 01:00 03:00 15 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00 00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 PG 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00
SHOW MOVIES ACTION Urban Assault - 18 Snake In The Eagle’s Shadow - PG Street Fighter - PG The Forbidden Kingdom - PG 15 The Mist - PG 15 The Glass House - PG 15 Kokoda - PG 15 The Mist - PG 15 The Glass House - PG 15 Jeepers Creepers - 18 Resident Evil 3 - 18 30 Days Of Nights - PG 15 SHOW MOVIES COMEDY Blue State - PG 15 Manhattan Murder Mystery - PG The Game Plan - PG Dennis The Menace Strikes Again Manhattan Murder Mystery - PG Golden Boys - PG My Favorite Martian - PG This Christmas - PG Golden Boys - PG My Favorite Martian - PG Deconstructing Harry - 18 American Pie 2 - 18
SHOW MOVIES KIDS 00:45 Yogi Bear And The Magical Flight Of The Sp - PG 02:30 Barbie - And The Diamond Castle 04:00 Barbie In The 12 Dancing Princesses - FAM 05:30 Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus 07:00 Laura’s Stern - FAM 08:30 Barbie In The 12 Dancing Princesses - FAM 10:00 Barbie And The Three Musketeers 11:30 Barbie Fairytopia Mermaidia - FAM 13:00 High School Musical 3: Senior Year - PG 15:00 My Neighbors: The Yamadas - FAM 17:00 Yogi And The Invasion Of The Space Bears - FAM 18:45 High School Musical 3: Senior Year 20:45 Barbie And The Three Musketeers 22:15 Barbie Fairytopia Mermaidia - FAM 23:45 My Neighbors: The Yamadas - FAM 00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 05:30 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00
SHOW SERIES House Bones Demons Secret Diary Of A Call Girl Secret Diary Of A Call Girl Hotel Babylon Emmerdale Huey’s Cooking Adventure House Eureka Lipstick Jungle 10 Years Younger (usa) 10 Years Younger (usa) Hotel Babylon Eureka Emmerdale Huey’s Cooking Adventure Bones Demons Lipstick Jungle House Eureka Spooks Hotel Babylon C.s.i. C.s.i. Breaking Bad
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Lipstick Jungle
SHOW SPORTS 1 00:00 Premier League 02:00 Premier League 04:00 Premier League 06:00 Premier League 07:00 Dubai International Horse Racing Carnival 08:00 Barclays Premier League Highlights 09:00 Premier League Classics 09:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 10:00 Premier League World 10:30 Premier League 12:30 Premier League 14:30 Barclays Premier League Highlights 15:30 Brazilian League Highlights 16:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 17:00 Premier League 20:30 Goals Goals Goals 21:00 Premier League World 21:30 Live Barclays Premier League Arabic Preview 22:30 Futbol Mundial 23:00 Premier League SHOW SPORTS 2 03:00 Scottish Premier League 05:00 Scottish Premier League 07:00 Premier League World 07:30 Live Cricket One Day International 15:45 Premier League World 16:30 Weber Cup Bowling 17:30 Dubai International Horse Racing Carnival 21:30 Premier League Preview Show 22:00 Barclays Premier League Highlights 23:00 Live Super League
Fallon 23:00 HUNG 23:30 Jimmy Kimmel Live SUPER MOVIES 01:00 The Timekeeper - PG 03:00 Zodiac - PG15 05:00 The Good German - PG15 07:00 Happy Feet - FAM 09:00 The Secret Life of Bees - PG 11:00 Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants *2* - PG 13:00 Meet Dave - PG 15:00 Kit Kittredge: An American Girl FAM 17:00 The Secret Life of Bees - PG 19:00 Bride Wars - PG 21:00 Australia - PG15 23:00 In The Loop - PG15 00:30 01:00 03:10 05:00 06:25 08:00 09:50 11:40 14:05 15:45 17:10 19:10 21:30 23:00
TCM The Screening Room A Hole in the Head (1959) Mrs. Soffel House Of Usher (1960) Jailhouse Rock The Philadelphia Story Mrs. Soffel Ice Station Zebra Singin’ in the Rain The Honeymoon Machine A Hole in the Head (1959) Kelly’s Heroes My Favorite Year Lost Horizon (1937)
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THE HISTORY CHANNEL Mega Movers First 48 The Cold Case Files Decoding the Past The Oracle Of Delphi Cities Of The Underworld Modern Marvels
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Mega Movers Amazon Adventures Decoding the Past The Oracle Of Delphi Cities Of The Underworld Modern Marvels Mega Movers Amazon Adventures Decoding the Past The Oracle Of Delphi Cities Of The Underworld Modern Marvels Mega Movers Amazon Adventures Decoding the Past Conspiracy? UFO Files Day After Roswell THE STYLE NETWORK Clean House - PG Peter Perfect - PG Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane - PG Running In Heels - PG How Do I Look? - PG Split Ends - PG Clean House - PG Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? - PG Glow - FAM Area - FAM How Do I Look? - PG Style Star - PG Style Her Famous - PG My Celebrity Home - PG Style Star - PG Dress My Nest - PG Peter Perfect - PG Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? - PG Ruby - PG Ruby - PG Clean House - PG Clean House Comes Clean - PG Dress My Nest - PG How Do I Look? - PG
SHOW SPORTS 3 00:30 Scottish Premier League 02:30 Scottish Premier League 04:30 Barclays Premier League Highlights 05:30 Weber Cup Bowling 06:30 Gillette World Sport 07:00 PGA European Tour 11:00 Weber Cup Bowling 12:00 Barclays Premier League Highlights 13:00 Live PGA European Tour 17:00 ODI Cricket 01:00 03:00 04:00 06:00 07:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 19:00 20:00 22:00 23:00
SHOW SPORTS 4 NCAA Basketball Bushido UFC - The Ultimate Fighter UFC Unleashed NCAA Basketball Braincell UFC All Access UAE National Race Day NFL Game Day NFL NFL Game Day UAE National Race Day FIM World Cup Braincell UFC All Access WWE Vintage Collection NCAA Basketball WWE ECW WWE SmackDown! WWE Bottomline WWE ECW
SUPER COMEDY 00:30 The Jay Leno Show 01:30 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 02:00 The Ellen Degeneres Show 03:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 03:30 Late Night Show With Jimmy Fallon 04:30 Jimmy Kimmel Live 05:30 The Jay Leno Show 06:30 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 07:00 Frasier 07:30 All Of Us 08:00 The Tonight Show With Conan O’ Brien 09:00 The Ellen Degeneres Show 10:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live 11:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 11:30 Frasier 12:00 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 12:30 All Of Us 13:00 The Jay Leno Show 14:00 The Tonight Show With Conan O’ Brien 15:00 Late Night Show With Jimmy Fallon 16:00 The Ellen Degeneres Show 17:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 17:30 Frasier 18:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live 19:00 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 19:30 Two And A Half Men 20:00 The Jay Leno Show 21:00 The Tonight Show With Conan O’ Brien 22:00 Late Night Show With Jimmy
Zodiac on Super Movies
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Split Ends - PG Dallas Divas And Daughters - PG Dallas Divas And Daughters - PG Running In Heels - PG Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane - PG Split Ends - PG Clean House - PG Dress My Nest - PG Style Her Famous - PG Dr 90210 - PG 15
TRAVEL CHANNEL 00:00 Globe Trekker - U 01:00 Intrepid Journeys - U 02:00 Essential - U 02:30 Croissants In The Jungle - U 03:00 Raider Of The Lost Snow - U 03:30 Skier’s World - U 04:00 Julian And Camilla’s World Odyssey - U 05:00 Globe Trekker - U 06:00 Swiss Railway Journeys - U 07:00 Intrepid Journeys - U 08:00 Globe Trekker - U 09:00 Essential - U 09:30 Rudy Maxa’s World - U 10:00 Distant Shores - U 10:30 Skier’s World - U 11:00 Chef Abroad - U 11:30 Flavours Of Spain - U 12:00 Planet Food - U 13:00 Globe Trekker - U 14:00 Chef Abroad - U 14:30 The Thirsty Traveler - U 15:00 Taste Takes Off - U 15:30 Flavours Of Spain - U 16:00 Croissants In The Jungle - U 16:30 Essential - U 17:00 Globe Trekker - U 18:00 Skier’s World - U 18:30 Extreme Travellers - U 19:00 Chef Abroad - U 19:30 The Thirsty Traveler - U 20:00 Intrepid Journeys - U
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wants to be US President in politics. She wants the education system in the US reformed and is prepared to campaign for change. The ‘Matrix Reloaded’ actress who raises two children, 11-year-old Jaden and nine-year-old Willow, with Will - told German magazine Bunte: “Will and I want to leave traces on this planet - and with that I mean more important traces than just films.” Jada, 38, and Will, 41, are known for their philanthropic work and set up the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, a charity which focuses on helping youths in urban inner cities.
is wife Jada Pinkett Smith has revealed her actor husband is seriously considering swapping the big screen for politics and has his eye on one day making it all the way to the White House. She said: “Will is thinking about going into politics. He once said he could imagine becoming a US president. He wasn’t joking, he was quite serious about it.” Although Will can imagine himself replacing Barack Obama as president, Jada isn’t bothered about becoming the First Lady. She added: “It’s just not for me.” However, Jada does enjoy engaging
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Robbie Williams to rejoin Take That he 35-year-old singer - who quit the pop group in 1995 - spent five hours in a Los Angeles studio on Tuesday singing and recording songs with his old bandmates and was then spotted hugging each of them as he left. A source told The Sun newspaper: “All the signs are looking good. It’s great news for the fans. They’re using this time in Los Angeles to start working together as a band again. “They were delighted with Tuesday’s session and were congratulating each other as they left. They’re using this time together to crack on with reunion songs.” Take That - Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Jason Orange - were in the US city to record their parts for Simon Cowell’s charity single, which is set to raise funds for the relief effort for Haiti’s earthquake victims. The track, a cover version of REM’s ‘Everybody Hurts’, features a star-studded line-up which includes Kylie Minogue, Leona Lewis, Mariah Carey and Rod Stewart among others. A spokesman for Take That said: “Take That didn’t go to Los Angeles with plans to officially write or record with Robbie, but they’ve been hanging out together, which is great.”
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Brooke Mueller checks into rehab he real estate investor - who is married to actor Charlie Sheen - is currently being treated at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre in the US and not visiting a spa as it had previously been claimed. ‘Entertainment Tonight’ reported: “Sources confirm that the Hollywood mom is now seeking treatment at a drug and alcohol rehab centre in North Carolina.” The star left hospital on Monday after suffering from pneumonia. It had been alleged she was heading away for a spa break to relax after Charlie - with who she has 10 monthold twin sons Bob and Max - was arrested over domestic violence charges on her on Christmas Day . However, sources now claim she is seeking professional help. It has also been claimed Brooke caught pneumonia because of her alleged addiction to drink and drugs.
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Gossip website TMZ reported: “Sources tell TMZ the pneumonia Brooke suffered last week was a secondary situation - her immune system had become so weakened by substance abuse that she became susceptible to infection.” Earlier this week, Brooke’s mother Moira Fiore was trying to work out what would be the best course of treatment for her daughter, to help her build up her strength and recover quickly. She told People magazine: “I picked her up Monday night and brought her to a friend’s house in Los Angeles where we will stay until we decide what we are going to do and where we will go.” A restraining order taken out by Brooke following the alleged incident has meant her husband has been unable to contact her, apart from during her spell in hospital, when she appealed for the order to be lifted. However, Charlie has reportedly been allowed to move back into his family home to look after the two babies while Brooke is being cared for. Her attorney Yale Galanter told E! Online: “Brooke can’t be there right now because the children have germs, so as soon as she gets healthier, she will move back into the home.” Brooke and Charlie are due to appear together in court on February 8, to discuss the terms of the restraining order.
Lucy Liu to make her Broadway debut he ‘Charlie’s Angels’ star will take to the stage in ‘God of Carnage’ - a Tony awardwinning comedy about the clash between two liberal, middle-class couples whose children get into a fight. The 41-year-old actress will join fellow actors Dylan Baker, Janet McTeer and Jeff Daniels when the current cast are replaced at the end of next month. The play’s current cast Jimmy Smits, Annie Potts, Christine Lahti and Ken Stott - will perform together for the last time on February 28. Lucy is the latest in a long line of TV and film stars to tread the boards in New York’s famous theatre district. Scarlett Johansson recently received rave reviews for her debut Broadway performance in Arthur Miller’s tragedy, ‘A View from The Bridge’. Recalling some of the “dim” performances from screen stars such as Julia Roberts, Katie Holmes and Catherine Zeta-Jones, The New York Times newspaper reported: “Ms Johansson melts into her character so thoroughly that her nimbus of celebrity disappears.”
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Madonna’s winning kiss adonna and Britney Spears’ kiss at the MTV Video Music Awards has been voted Top Kiss in a new poll. The on stage smooch during a performance of Madonna’s track ‘Like A Virgin’ in 2003 was voted the most famous smooch of the last decade, according to the poll conducted by UK department store Selfridges. The performance - which also saw Madonna kiss Christina Aguilera - made headlines across the world and is one of the most shocking moments in the history of the music channel’s annual awards. A source said: “Madonna performing with both Britney and Christina was a big enough event in itself, but nobody - even the MTV people - expected what happened. It is one of the most memorable moments ever.” Same sex kisses scored highly in the with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal’s famous gay kiss in 2005 film ‘Brokeback Mountain’ being voted
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third. ‘Bruno’ actor Sasha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell’s reenactment of Madonna and Britney’s kiss at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) also made the top ten. Female on female kisses also proved memorable with the Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson’s first public kiss outside New York’s Mercer hotel making the top ten list, as well as Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz locking lips in film ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’. Other popular smooches were on screen embraces by rumored real life couples such as Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart’s steamy scene in ‘Twilight’ and Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in 2005’s ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ - which did blossom into a real romance. Selfridges conducted the poll ahead of its Valentine’s Day kissing booth opening at its London store on February 12.
Top ten most famous kissing moments of the last decade: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Britney Spears and Madonna, MTV Music Video awards 2003 Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, ‘Spider-Man’ 2002 Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, ‘Brokeback Mountain’ 2005 Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, ‘Twilight’ 2008 Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz, ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ 2008 Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson, Mercer Hotel NYC 2008 Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’, 2005 Freida Pinto and Dev Patel, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ 2009 Sasha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell, MTV Movie Awards 2007 Jennifer Aniston and Winona Ryder, ‘Friends’ 2001
Bloom to leave ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ rlando Bloom will not return to ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ because his character is dead to him. The British actor, who played good guy William Turner in the swashbuckling flick, has no plans to return to the franchise, despite a clamor for his reprisal. He said: “No, I’m definitely not returning. William Turner is sort of swimming around with the fish at the bottom of the ocean.” Although the 33-year-old star won’t be joining Johnny Depp in the new movie, Orlando had a blast making the previous films. He added: “I had a great time making those movies. I just really wanted to do different things, but I think it’s going to be great. Whatever Johnny does, I think it’s fantastic.” Orlando is the second star of the franchise to confirm he won’t be in the next installment of the series. Keira Knightly - who plays Elizabeth Swan - has also stated she won’t be returning. Lead character Captain Jack Sparrow - played by Johnny - is returning for the fourth movie, entitled ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’. It has been suggested the actor will receive at least £21 million for reprising the role.
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Douglas’ son pleads guilty to drug dealing ichael Douglas’ son faces at least ten years in jail on drugs charges. Cameron Douglas pleaded guilty to the charge of methamphetamine - or crystal meth possession in a New York court. He was caught in possession of a large amount of the highly addictive drug in New York’s Hotel Gansevoort hotel last July. Actor Cameron, 31, told the judge he had first been approached to deal drugs in 2006, after which he “began supplying on a regular basis”. When asked if he understood this was wrong, he replied: “Yes, your honor.” Cameron Michael’s son with his first wife Diandra Luker - had allegedly called the methamphetamine ‘pastry’ and ‘bath salts’ in phone calls which had been recorded by the US Drug Enforcement agency (DEA) and he had frequently used mainstream courier
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services such as Fedex to transact his dealings. Cameron’s lawyer, Nicholas DeFeis, said after his plea: “I think he handled it well, under the circumstances.” Last year, a spokesperson for Michael and Diandra said of their son’s actions: “We are devastated about the recent behavior of our son Cameron. Any family who has dealt with substance abuse knows how difficult it can be.” ‘It Runs In The Family’ star Cameron also pleaded guilty to heroin possession, arising from an allegation that his girlfriend had tried to smuggle the drug to him inside an electric toothbrush while he was under house arrest. Cameron has reportedly signed a plea bargain, although the details were not made public. He will be sentenced for between ten years and life in prison on April 27.
Jackson’s children to perform at the Grammy Awards ichael Jackson’s children could perform at the Grammy Awards. Katherine Jackson - who is now the legal guardian of Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, seven - is reportedly in talks with organizers about whether the kids could sing one of their father’s songs at the ceremony at Los Angeles’ Staples Centre on Sunday night .A source said: “Michael first unveiled his legendary moonwalk at the Grammys, so it’s only right they all go out with a tribute.” The tribute, which is set to include the premiere of the ‘Earth Song’ mini-movie, will feature performances from stars including Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion and Smokey Robinson. Singer Keri Hilson - who is up for two awards, Best New Artist and Best Rap/Song - can’t wait for the ceremony and the Michael Jackson tribute, but has no idea what to wear. She said: “I guess my aim would be to stand out. I want it to be kind of the humble approach of being at the Grammys for the first time, first album. So I want that, something great but not something like, ‘I’m here. I’ve arrived.’ “
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‘Hope for Haiti’ album shakes up US pop chart he “Hope For Haiti Now” charity album debuted at No 1 on the US pop chart, becoming the first digital-only release to achieve this feat, according to sales data issued Wednesday. The album, featuring songs performed by the likes of Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift at last Friday’s nationally televised telethon, sold 171,000 copies, said tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan. Since the tracking week runs through Sunday, the “Hope for Haiti Now” numbers represented just two full days of sales. By contrast, Susan Boyle’s former chart-topper “I Dreamed a Dream” held at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart after selling 86,000 copies during the full week. MTV, which organized the two-hour fundraiser with actor George Clooney, said the album sold an additional 60,000 copies outside of the United States and hit No 1
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on leading digital retailer iTunes’ chart in a total of 18 countries. Consumers also downloaded 300,000 individual audio performances as well as 15,000 downloads of the full video telecast, MTV said. The telethon also featured performances by Shakira, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Bono, Beyonce, Sting, Justin Timberlake and dozens of other stars. Watched by a total of 83 million viewers in the United States and millions more online, the event has raised more than $66 million so far including the music sales, MTV said. All the labels, artists and retailers donated their share of proceeds, MTV said. Besides Apple Inc’s iTunes, the other retailers are Amazon.com, RealNetworks Inc’s Rhapsody, and Best Buy Co Inc’s Napster. Up to 200,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Jan 12 earthquake. — Reuters
Mexico: Maya tomb find could help explain collapse
All races a target for Iranian-American comedian istory says Maz Jobrani is descended from Caucasians. Some Americans think he’s a dangerous Arab. Jobrani, however, prefers to call himself “Brown and Friendly.” That’s the title of a new comedy special from this Iranian-born comedian who was raised in the United States and now travels the world running roughshod over ethnic stereotypes. Jobrani starts his show laughing at his fellow Persians, then widens his scope to the whole Middle East. His Indian wife gets no mercy. Before the end of the show, Mexicans, white Americans, Japanese, the Swiss and more get lampooned, in a variety of perfect accents. “If you come from a place of love, and you’re not saying, ‘I’m better than you,’ that’s one thing that allows you to talk about different ethnicities,” Jobrani said in an interview. “It’s almost like laughing with each other. “I’ve had people come up to me after the show and say, ‘Why did you not make fun of Pakistan?’ People are actually upset you didn’t talk about them. When you do, it’s like, ‘Cool, I’m in the circle.”‘ Jobrani is 37 with fair skin, a prominent nose, shaved head and dramatic down-swooping black mustache. He moved from Tehran to the San Francisco Bay area with his family when he was 6. A love of theater led to standup comedy and roles in film and television, including “Life on a Stick,” “24,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “The Knights of Prosperity.” His new one-man show premiered on Showtime in January and was released Tuesday on DVD. In the fourth grade, Jobrani endured insults after Islamic revolutionaries took hostages inside Iran’s American embassy. In high school and college, he was called “sheik” and “camel jockey.” Then came the World Trade Center attacks, which changed the lives of many Middle Easterners living in the United States. “Definitely in the West, we’re all cast as the same now,” Jobrani said. “Whether you’re Indian, Pakistani, Arab, Iranian, Afghan or whatever, you just get thrown into this category. And nine times out of 10, you’re depicted as bad.” The cure for this disease is familiarity. Besides ethnic jokes, Jobrani’s show also includes common comedic themes such as clueless parents and his newborn son learning to breast feed-but from a different point of view. One of his best shows ever was in Ottawa, Canada. The auditorium did not sell
H Ceramic heads found in a newly discovered tomb. — AP
exican archaeologists have found a 1,100-yearold tomb from the twilight of the Maya civilization that they hope may shed light on what happened to the once-glorious culture. Archaeologist Juan Yadeun said the tomb, and ceramics from another culture found in it, may reveal who occupied the Maya site of Tonina in southern Chiapas state after the culture’s Classic period began fading. Many experts have pointed to internal warfare between Mayan city states, or environmental degradation, as possible causes of the Maya’s downfall starting around AD 820. But Yadeun, who oversees the Tonina site for Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, said artifacts from the Toltec culture found in the tomb may point to another explanation. He said the tomb dates to between AD 840 and 900. “It is clear that this is a new wave of occupation, the people who built this grave of the Toltec type,” Yadeun said Wednesday. “This is very interesting, because we are going to see from the bones who these people are, after the Maya empire.” The Toltecs were from Mexico’s central highlands and apparently expanded their influence to the Maya’s strongholds in southern Mexico. They are believed to have dominated central Mexico from the city of Tulajust north of present-day Mexico City-between the 10th and 12th centuries, before the Aztecs rose to prominence. Archaeologists not connected with the dig expressed caution about drawing conclusions from one site, noting the Maya empire covered a wide area, with a varied and complex history. “One tomb, even if it is very fancy, isn’t going to answer big things about the trajectory of Maya history all over the place ... maybe locally,” said David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin. Susan Gillespie, an archaeologist at the University of Florida, said that
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“the whole idea of a migration of people from Tula to the Maya area has been abandoned.” The jungle-clad site is dotted with temples and platforms left by the classic Maya. The newly uncovered tomb-first detected during maintenance work in December, and later excavated and shown to reporters Wednesday-is dug into the earth at the foot of one of the older temples. — AP
A man sits at the Mayan Tonina archeological site where a newly discovered tomb is seen, bottom, near Ocosingo village in Mexico’s Chiapas state, Wednesday.—AP
US jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin performs during a concert in Kiev late on January 27, 2010.—AFP
out, so the promoter sent free last-minute tickets to theater subscribers-a group of older, white people. “They were loving it,” Jobrani recalled. “Part of it is just being exposed to a Middle Eastern comedian. How many white people have been exposed to that? People have these perceptions of us not laughing. They have a perception of us being terrorists ... and then they’re going, ‘Oh, wow, this is funny.’ You know, funny can be universal.” American culture has long dealt with shifting boundaries through jokes, said John Limon, an English professor at Williams College and author of “Stand-Up Comedy in Theory, Or, Abjection in America.” In the 1960s and 1970s, as standup became a cultural force, it challenged the notion that American identity was white and Christian, Limon said, citing the early prevalence of Jewish comedians, followed by giants such as Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor. “With Maz Jobrani, it’s clear there aren’t just two things,” he said. “It’s not just am I going to get counted as a white American. It’s what does it mean when I’m having dinner with a Jewish person or if I marry an Indian person.” “It’s not a question of does this outsider play an interesting and funny game at the border of inside and outside,” Limon said. “It’s that you can’t tell what’s inside or outside.” This confusion can be compounded by history. Jobrani notes that parts of ancient Persia, which is now Iran, were populated by people from the Caucus mountains, and that the word Iranian comes from Aryan. “So we’re actually like the original white people,” he said. In 2007, Jobrani was part of the “Axis of Evil” comedy special, featuring comedians of Middle Eastern descent. That led to numerous overseas performances, including places such as Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Dubai and Cairo, Egypt. Through it all, he remains a new kind of American. “I was walking down Santa Monica Boulevard (in Los Angeles), and this straight-up Japanese dude, or maybe Korean, with a thick accent came up to me as was like, ‘Maz Jobrani? Can I get a picture? I see you on the Internet!”‘ “To me that’s a victory. That guy knows more about Iranian and Middle Eastern culture. He knows a funny Middle Eastern dude. In his mind, that’s changing the image he might have had.”— AP
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Dazzling haute couture rises from Lebanon’s ruins
Lifestyle
French art treasures see a new light in Australia
A model wears a creation designed by Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab. — Photos by AP / AFP
A model presents a creation by Lebanese fashion designer Zuhair Murad.
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Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad
Lebanese designer Elie Saab ebanon’s new star couturiers face the typical problems of people working in fashion: snarled deliveries, cancelled trips, delayed fittings. Only in their case, such hiccups are caused by war. At the Paris haute couture shows this week, a crop of Lebanese designers charmed private clients with sparkling gowns and wispy wedding dresses, produced in Beirut ateliers that have survived decades of bloodshed. These days, helped by a period of political stability and strong economic growth, Lebanon’s fashion houses are taking the elite world of haute couture by storm. And while storied French names such as Christian Lacroix are in financial difficulties, the Lebanese are flourishing thanks to a style and service that wealthy Middle Easterners love. “The Lebanese love fashion, we love going out, we love eating, we love books and cinema,” designer Georges Chakra told Reuters before his show. “After a difficult time, we see things afresh, we have even more energy and we want to fight. That’s life.” Beirut was known as the Paris of the Orient before the gruesome 1975-1990 civil war. Recent upheaval includes a 34-day war with Israel in 2006, a militant Islamist revolt and political killings.
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One bride, twelve dresses “When the situation in Beirut is not normal, when stuff happens, it’s not easy to work or even get to work,” Chakra said with an understatement characteristic of Lebanese couturiers. Chakra’s dresses cost $20,000-$50,000. A Middle Eastern bride, he said, may easily order a dozen: one for the wedding, the others for the 11 nightly parties that follow. And that’s not counting the dresses for her mother, sisters and cousins. Most Arab countries are expected to record an average 3.6 percent economic growth this year as the price of crude oil rebounds, according to a United Nations report. That kind of market is a dream for couturiers. However, exploiting it takes more than a show in Paris and a boutique in Beirut. For a start, there is the question of style. French haute couture prides itself on being innovative, avant garde. But this does not necessarily translate into the kind of fairytale gown a Saudi princess wants to wear. “Lebanese fashion is a lot more feminine. If you
look at French designers, they stage a big show but it’s not wearable,” Marianne Helou, a Frenchwoman married to a Lebanese lawmaker, told Reuters backstage at Chakra’s show. “And in Lebanon, we dress up. That’s over in Paris, it doesn’t exist anymore, people don’t dress.” Women like Helou, who was wearing a glossy fur coat, her blonde hair perfectly coiffed, filled the front rows at Chakra, Elie Saab, and Zuhair Murad this week. They applauded the swishing organza and heavily embroidered silk, then contemplated how it would suit their own wardrobes- Helou, for example, may ask Chakra to close some revealing slits in a dress to adapt it to Beiruti tastes.
Forced abroad, returning in triumph European aristocrats have had a similar relationship with Parisian brands. But even Princess Caroline of Monaco only orders so many dresses a year. Parisian couturiers whose business is going well, such as Stephane Rolland who had a turnover of 5 million euros in 2009, have managed a cultivate a strong following in the Middle East also due to the enduring appeal of French tradition and craft. Many other fashion houses here are struggling. Christian Lacroix, whose baroque dresses once wowed the fashion world, was placed
under creditor protection last year. The advantage of the Lebanese is that they are seen as somewhat of an Arab-European melangepartly because history has forced them to be. “Because of the war, many Lebanese studied abroad, and that makes them very open, very adventurous,” Dalia Kamel, whose husband is Egypt’s ambassador in Paris, told Reuters. “Among Arabs, the Lebanese are very well known for their finesse.” Sitting in the front row at Elie Saab, the most famous Lebanese designer, Kamel recalled the 10 years she spent in Beirut in the 1990s, when her husband was a diplomat there. “In the beginning I was really scared, but then over time I made a lot of Lebanese friends and I took on their lifestyle, going out, dressing up,” she said with a smile. Around the catwalks in Paris, that exuberant aspect of Lebanese living, spiced up with a little irony, was in full bloom. “The security situation is really good right now,” designer Elie Saab told Reuters among a throng of photographers, before adding with a laugh: “Let’s hope it lasts.” Backstage at Zuhair Murad’s show, held in the gilded halls of Paris’s coin museum, the designer air-kissed fashionistas while next to him, an assistant was helping a naked model climb into a camouflage-patterned ballgown. The theme of the show: military chic. — Reuters
Lebanese fashion designer Georges Chakra checks one of his creations at his workshop in the northern Beirut suburb of Jal el-Dib on January 7, 2010.
Deep cracks are seen on a part of the painting of JeanBaptiste Camille Corot, titled Diana Bathing (1874) in the new exhibition ‘Degas to Picasso - French masterpieces from the Pushkin Museum in Moscow’ of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday. The exhibition, opens for the public today, displaying a very unique selection from the wealthy collection of the Pushkin Museum showing fifty-five selected paintings from the most dramatic period of French art from the middle of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th.—AP
rare appearance in Australia of one of France’s most treasured art collections has Australians queuing in their thousands to experience colors never before revealed, even in its Paris home. A exhibit from the Musee D’Orsay, which hold the world’s largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces, is in Australia ahead of showings in Tokyo and San Francisco, as the famous Paris museum undergoes renovation. “There are colors that you wouldn’t see in Paris,” Musee D’Orsay President Guy Cogeval said at the opening of the exhibition, praising stateof-the-art lighting being used at the Australian National Gallery to illuminate the 112 works. Drawcard paintings like Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night Over the Rhone” and “Bedroom in Arles”, along with Paul Gauguin’s “Tahitian Women on the Beach”, depicting two women on the Pacific Island of Tahiti, are seeing Australians queue for hours in searing summer heat for even a fleeting glimpse. Cogeval, close friends with the Australian gallery’s director Ron Radford, described the lighting used in Canberra as “a revelation” of colors and textures. The Canberra lakeside gallery has seen more than 150,000 people pass through its doors since the D’Orsay collection opened late last year, with more than 5,500 gathering on its busiest day last weekend. “It’s been doing so well that we have added extra dates,” said Kirsten Downie, a spokeswoman for the Australian gallery exhibit, which runs until April 5. The collection explores the wild changes in the late 19th century European art world and focuses on the avantgarde Post-Impressionists, also including works by Monet and Cezanne. Shifting the pieces to Australia has been a monumental logistical exercise, to be repeated when the exhibition moves to Japan later this year and then the United States. “Australia will be the first country to see these works outside France”, Radford said on its opening night, attended by Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The gallery is expecting more than 250,000 visitors to spend more than $45 million based on the success of two previous exhibitions-’Monet and Japan’ and ‘Turner to Monet’-both in 2008. — Reuters
Model wears a creation by Georges Chakra
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’ meets jungle Mariachis at Gaultier show
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Fashion
arisian designer Jean-Paul Gaultier showed his haute couture collection on Wednesday, with extravagant ball gowns competing in a melange of styles and hints of the Hollywood blockbuster “Avatar”. Mexican Mariachi singers, exotic foliage and warrior women all came together in a collection that displayed Gaultier’s love of exuberance and spectacle-a passion most memorably expressed in his tour costume designs for pop star Madonna. A white gown with a billowing tulle skirt was covered in rust-and-green jungle leaves, and paired with a wide-brimmed mariachi hat in a matching pattern. “These are jungle dresses, as if they were made from natural elements, with a slightly feline elegance,” the designer said after the show. “It’s a bit ‘Avatar’ with little dreadlocks, then there’s a bit of an Indian side, Mexico with its masculine Mariachis and conquistadors and palm-leaf dresses,” he added. “Avatar”, which stars Sigourney Weaver in a tribe of 3-metre tall blue aliens, has surpassed “Titanic” as the highest-grossing movie worldwide. Box office takings total $1.859 billion so far French actress Arielle Dombasle brought some local movie glamour to the show, performing on the catwalk in a flesh-colored dress covered in tattoo-like red embroidery, a voluminous red headdress perched on her blonde hair. — Reuters
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French designer Jean Paul Gaultier acknowledges the public with French performing artist Arielle Dombasle during the spring-summer 2010 haute couture collection show on January 27, 2010 in Paris. — AFP
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Fashion
ollywood’s favorite Lebanese designer, Elie Saab, on Wednesday delivered a sexy and sweet springsummer 2010 haute couture collection of heavily beaded slip gowns in muted pastel tones. It was a slimmer silhouette than usual for Saab, whose full-skirted princess gowns have helped make him a perennial red carpet favorite. Dresses made up of delicate, transparent layers of lace and chiffon were cut close to the body and covered with elaborate
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beadwork. At the end of the show, held in a theater in Paris’ stately 16th district, the mirrored catwalk was littered with fallen beads, tubes and chiffon scraps. Bias cut spaghetti strap gowns had long swishing skirts, while a series of dresses with draped bustiers had skirts with bold slits that nearly reached the model’s prominent hip bones. While pretty, the collection was a bit deja vu, with little to distinguish it from other catwalks in Paris and beyond.— AP
Models present creations by Lebanese designer Elie Saab during the spring-summer 2010 haute couture collection show on January 27, 2010 in Paris. — AFP
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Ferrari unveils 2010 car — the F10 ITALY: In this image released by Ferrari Press office yesterday the new Formula One car was unveiled in Maranello, Italy. Ferrari launched its car for the upcoming Formula One season, naming it the F10 in hope of a return to the team’s winning tradition. — AP
MARANELLO: Ferrari launched its car for the upcoming Formula One season yesterday, naming it the F10 in hope of a return to the team’s winning tradition. For years Ferrari named its cars with an “F” for Ferrari followed by the year, but last year’s uncompetitive car was called the F60 to honor Ferrari’s 60th year in F1. “We’re coming off a season that was not competitive for us and this should mark a turning point for the future,” team director
Stefano Domenicali said. “We want to win again.” In another change, the new car features white wings to feature the team’s new sponsor, the Spanish bank Santander. Last season, Ferrari finished a disappointing fourth in the constructors’ standings and Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella placed sixth, 11th and 15th in the drivers’ ranks. Fisichella replaced Massa midseason after the Brazilian nearly lost his life in a crash at the
Hungarian Grand Prix, suffering severe head injuries. Massa is set to return this season and Fernando Alonso has been hired to replace the departed Raikkonen, while Fisichella will be the team’s reserve driver. Alonso was a two-time Formula One champion with Renault, and Ferrari is expecting big things from the Spaniard. “You can’t have two without three,” Domenicali said. “The moment is right, for him and for us.” Still, it was Massa slated to take the F10 for a
Sabres edge punchless Devils 2-1 in shootout BUFFALO: The Buffalo Sabres prevailed 2-1 after a shootout in a clash of NHL divisional leaders on Wednesday, handing another defeat to the suddenly punchless New Jersey Devils. Jason Pominville and Jochen Hecht scored shootout goals, after Adam Mair had scored in regulation. Brian Rolston scored for the offensively-challenged Devils, who’ve scored just 12 times during an eightgame stretch in which they’ve won only twice. The game featured a potential Olympic matchup between the goalies. Buffalo’s Ryan Miller — the likely starter for the United States — finished with 39 saves, while New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur — Canada’s likely selection — had 30. Capitals 5, Ducks 1 In Washington, free-scoring Washington Capitals got three goals in less than three minutes in the third period to cap an easy win over Anaheim and an eighth straight victory. Shaone Morrisonn, Mike Knuble and Alexander Semin scored on consecutive shots early in the third period to break open the game. The Capitals’ winning streak is their longest since they also won eight in a row in 1988-89. Alex Ovechkin scored his 34th goal in the first period and had two assists in the third, while Semin added another goal — his 25th of the season — in the third. Since Ovechkin became captain on Jan. 5, Washington has won 11 of 12 games and scored at least four goals in all but one of them. Dan Sexton scored for the Ducks. Canucks 3, Blues 2 In Vancouver, defenseman Christian Ehrhoff scored a late powerplay goal from a sharp angle to give
games. Keith Tkachuk also scored for St. Louis. Stars 4, Flames 3 In Dallas, Loui Eriksson scored in the third round of the shootout to give Dallas victory over Calgary. Stars goalie Alex Auld stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout as Dallas won its fourth straight at home. Modano scored his 553rd career goal, and Richards and James Neal also connected for Dallas in regulation. Iginla, Dion Phaneuf and Olli Jokinen scored for Calgary, which is winless in eight games.
Wild 5, Red Wings 2 In St. Paul, Minnesota, Antti Miettinen got Minnesota going with a pair of first-period goals, and Detroit’s defense fell apart late. Andrew Ebbett, Guillaume Latendresse and Martin Havlat also scored for the Wild, which has won six of seven at home. Pavel Datsyuk scored twice for Detroit.
Lightning 3, Canadiens 0
NEW YORK: Alex Ovechkin No.8 of the Washington Capitals skates with the puck against Ducks Vancouver a win over St. Louis. Mason Raymond had put the Canucks ahead with his second goal of the game early in the third period, but St. Louis’ TJ Oshie tied it midway through. The Canucks won a sixth straight game for the first time since 2006-07 and moved two points ahead
of Colorado atop the Northwest Division. Vancouver leads the NHL with 47 points on home ice. But the Canucks don’t play there again until March 13 because of the upcoming Olympics — causing an upcoming run of 14 straight road
In Tampa, Florida, Vincent Lecavalier scored a nifty goal with his stick between his legs and added an assist to help Tampa Bay defeat Montreal. Antero Niittymaki made 33 saves for Tampa Bay for his first shutout of the season and fifth overall. Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos also scored for Tampa Bay, which has its first three-game winning streak in a year. Hurricanes 5, Rangers 1 In New York, Patrick Dwyer and Eric Staal scored in a 25-second span early in the first period to set up Carolina’s win over New York. Staal and Sergei Samsonov each finished with two goals to inflict the Rangers’ fourth straight loss. New York’s goal came via Ryan Callahan. — AP
brief spin on Ferrari’s private Fiorano track later Thursday, with the Brazilian also scheduled to be behind the wheel for the car’s first official test in Valencia, Spain, on Monday. “After a season as dramatic as the last one — but also fantastic for the birth of his son — Felipe can show what type of driver he is,” Domenicali said. “He can restart from that straightaway in Hungary, where destiny stopped him.” The season begins with the Bahrain GP on March 14. — AP
NHL results/standings NHL results and standings on Wednesday. Buffalo 2, New Jersey 1 (SO); Carolina 5, NY Rangers 1; Washington 5, Anaheim 1; Tampa Bay 3, Montreal 0; Minnesota 5, Detroit 2; Dallas 4, Calgary 3 (SO); Vancouver 3, St. Louis 2. (SO denotes shootout) Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF GA PTS New Jersey 34 16 2 139 115 70 Pittsburgh 33 20 1 172 152 67 Philadelphia 26 22 3 155 144 55 NY Rangers 24 23 7 138 150 55 NY Islanders 23 22 8 141 164 54 Northeast Division Buffalo 31 14 7 147 126 69 Ottawa 29 21 4 150 154 62 Montreal 25 25 5 141 149 55 Boston 23 20 8 127 131 54 Toronto 17 27 10 142 187 44 Southeast Division Washington 35 12 6 207 146 76 Florida 23 21 9 146 154 55 Atlanta 23 21 8 158 167 54 Tampa Bay 22 20 10 135 157 54 Carolina 17 28 7 137 173 41 Western Conference Central Division Chicago 36 13 4 174 122 76 Nashville 29 20 3 145 145 61 Detroit 25 19 9 137 143 59 St. Louis 23 22 8 139 149 54 Columbus 21 25 9 145 182 51 Northw est Division Vancouver 33 18 2 173 129 68 Colorado 30 15 6 153 136 66 Calgary 26 20 7 135 138 59 Minnesota 26 23 4 150 158 56 Edmonton 16 29 6 135 176 38 Pacific Division San Jose 35 10 8 179 128 78 Phoenix 30 18 5 144 139 65 Los Angeles 30 19 3 156 146 63 Dallas 23 19 11 152 171 57 Anaheim 24 23 7 150 171 55 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L)
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Swiss eye skiing boost at Vancouver Winter Olympics PARIS: Switzerland, a country with a well-founded reputation for its obsession with alpine sports, have set their sights on a medal haul of 13 from the Winter Olympics. “Based on an analysis of results in previous years, we are aiming for thirteen medals,” said a confident Urs Lehmann, president of the Swiss Ski Association. Lehmann said that the country which boasts some of the world’s best known ski resorts would be represented in seven disciplines and a particular emphasis would be on alpine skiing. “We have our sights set on six medals in alpine skiing - four in men’s
and two in women’s,” he told the Swiss Review. “We were the top nation in the 2009 World Championships for the first time in 20 years.” After the disappointment of the alpine skiers at the 2006 Games in Turin, when they garnered just one silver (Martina Schild in downhill) and two bronze (Ambrosi Hoffmann in super-G, Bruno Kernen in downhill), things turned around at last year’s worlds. Didier Cuche won gold in the super G and silver in the downhill, Carlo Janka gold in the giant slalom and bronze in the downhill, with teenager Lara Gut claiming silver in the women’s downhill and super combined.
However, in a big blow to the Swiss team, Gut will miss the Olympics after failing to recover from a hip injury along with Franzi Aufdenblatten (knee) and Schild (knee). For the women, Fabienne Suter, Dominique Gisin and Nadia Styger all have the potential to hit podium while veteran Cuche, Janka and Didier Defago, as well as Silvan Zurbriggen, will all surely threaten in the men’s events. The Swiss team will also be pegging their hopes on their snowboarding and snow cross stars, despite the absence through injury and subsequent retirement of reigning Olympic snowboard cross champion Tanja Frieden.
Fraenzi Maegert-Kohli and Patrizia Kummerin won world championship medals in alpine and Mellie Franco and Olivia Nobs in snowboard cross, but Lehmann warned that it would be tough in Whistler, the Canadian host resort. “In freestyle skiing, there is, of course, the Olympic champion, Evelyne Leu, and a very talented young men’s team, four of whom finished in the top 10 of the overall World Cup rankings, including Andreas Isoz and Thomas Lambert.” In ski jumping, the Swiss have their own star in Simon Ammann, world gold medallist last year and second in the overall World Cup rankings. In Dario Cologna, there is another
gold medal hope, the cross-country skier having topped the 2009 overall World Cup rankings. With both curling teams eyeing a podium push and former two-time world champion Stephane Lambiel returning to timely form with a silver medal showing at this month’s European figure skating championships, Switzerland has an outside chance of returning with more than its record 15-medal haul at the 1988 Calgary Games. The Swiss team finished in eighth place overall four years ago with a total medal haul of 14 - five golds, four silver and five bronze, a significantly better return than at previous Olympics in Salt Lake City (11) and Nagano (7). —AFP
Chinese duo wins pairs gold at Four Continents
Ireland aims to defend its Six Nations crown
JEONJU: Chinese pairs skaters Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao notched their highest score of the season yesterday as they grabbed the gold at the Four Continents championship in their last outing before the Olympics. The world’s No. 2-ranked pair nailed all their jumps and throws to handily outscore Americans Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker with a season’s best 126.36 points. Canada’s Meagan Duhamel and Craig Buntin finished third. The Chinese pair will be gunning for gold at the Vancouver Olympics, having won silver at the previous Winter Games in Turin. Zhang Dan said the pair approached the Four Continents as a “warmup” to the Olympics. “We are very pleased to win this competition and we hope we will do just as well at the Olympic Games,” Zhang Dan told reporters in Jeonju, south of Seoul. The ambitious throw they attempted in Turin — a quad triple salchow — won’t be in the program, they said. Zhang Dan took a hard spill when they tried the throw at the last Olympics in a bid to become the first pair to land it in competition. “No quad triple salchow. We will keep to our current program,” she said. The Chinese pair had been looking for a confidence-building win in Jeonju after two lackluster finishes this season. They resurrected an old short program and have steadily worked on building two solid routines. “Because this is our third time going to the Olympics, we really think our biggest competitors are ourselves,” Zhang Hao said. “We just want to do our best. We just want to perfect our current program.” Another Olympic contender, Mao Asada of Japan, hit the practice rink yesterday after a flawed performance in the women’s short program left her in third place going into Friday’s free skate. The former world champion has been struggling to land the triple axel, the jump that would give her an edge over current world champ Kim Yu-na of South Korea, the favorite for Olympic gold. In the ice dance, Canadian duo Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje secured their lead with a seductive Spanish flamenco in the original dance segment. “We had a really exciting year with this program because we traveled to Madrid to learn the choreography and learn the culture,” Weaver said. “We are proud of ourselves for learning the dance. It’s something different.” Fellow Canadians Allie Hann-McCurdy and Michael Coreno were in second place in the original dance and overall with a comedic Italian tarantella, and will seek to grab the title Friday in the free dance. Chinese pair Huang Xintong and Zheng Xun rounded out the top three in both the original dance segment and overall with a high score with their Greek folk dance. Weaver and Poje scored high despite Poje stumbling on the sequential twizzle step. “When it came to that, I was thinking a little too much and it became too much in my head,” he told reporters. “I didn’t let my body go with the flow, and so I made that mistake.” —AP
LONDON: Ireland starts its first ever defense of the Six Nations title next week aiming to make last year’s Grand Slam the start of a sustained period of success. No side has won consecutive Grand Slams since the competition expanded to include Italy 10 years ago, but Ireland could be well-placed to become the first after being the only team in world rugby unbeaten through 2009. Ireland goes into its tournament opener against Italy with the same squad that followed a first European title since 1985 with a draw against Australia and victory over World Cup holder South Africa. Captain Brian O’Driscoll said the settled lineup should provide consistency rather than the complacency that has at times afflicted other teams. “You don’t defend something; you just try and win it again,” O’Driscoll said. “I don’t think our psyche changes. It’s the same as its been for the last 10 years or so.” The veterans of O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell have been joined by the likes of Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe and Jamie Heaslip, all of whom have starred over the past year. With Jonathan Sexton scoring 31 points in his first two matches to prove himself a capable backup, or even alternative, to record scorer Ronan O’Gara at flyhalf, Ireland has the sort of depth that should make it a strong challenger even if it picks up injuries. Ireland’s success last year was built on its tightest ever tournament defense, with just three tries conceded. O’Driscoll and coach Declan Kidney are keen to add more of the flowing rugby Ireland is more famous for, anxious that the youngsters in the side are not stifled by fear of the sort of failure that afflicted Ireland over the past decade. Ireland was regularly tipped to win a first Grand Slam since 1948 but always fell short, with Wales, France and England all achieving the feat since 2000. “The older brigade have said that some of the less experienced guys don’t really know the 10 years of disappointment that we went through,” O’Driscoll said. “You shouldn’t try to burn them or tell them about that. —AP
JEONJU: Zhang Dan (top) and Zhang Hao of China perform in the pairs free-skating event of the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. Zhang and Zhang won the gold medal. —AFP
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NBA Results/Standings NBA results and standings on Wednesday. Cleveland 109, Minnesota 95; La Lakers 118, Indiana 96; Toronto 111, Miami 103; Memphis 99, Detroit 93; New Jersey 103, La Clippers 87; Milwaukee 91, Philadelphia 88; Chicago 96, Oklahoma City 86; Denver 97, Houston 92; San Antonio 105, Atlanta 90; Utah 106, Portland 95; New Orleans 123, Golden State 110. Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L Boston 29 13 Toronto 24 22 NY Knicks 18 26 Philadelphia 15 30 New Jersey 4 40 Central Division Cleveland 36 11 Chicago 22 22 Milwaukee 19 25 Indiana 16 30 Detroit 15 29 Southeast Division Atlanta 29 15 Orlando 29 16 Miami 23 22 Charlotte 22 22 Washington 14 30 Western Conference Northwest Division Denver 31 14 Utah 27 18 Portland 27 20 Oklahoma City 24 21 Minnesota 9 38 Pacific Division LA Lakers 35 11 Phoenix 26 21 LA Clippers 20 25 Sacramento 16 28 Golden State 13 31 Southwest Division Dallas 30 15 San Antonio 26 18 Memphis 25 19 New Orleans 25 20 Houston 24 21
PCT .690 .522 .409 .333 .091
GB 7 12 15.5 26
.766 .500 .432 .348 .341
12.5 15.5 19.5 19.5
.659 .644 .511 .500 .318
0.5 6.5 7 15
.689 .600 .574 .533 .191
4 5 7 23
.761 .553 .444 .364 .295
9.5 14.5 18 21
.667 .591 .568 .556 .533
3.5 4.5 5 6
CLEVELAND: Cavaliers’ LeBron James (center) is fouled by Minnesota Timberwolves’ Damien Wilkins (left) as Corey Brewer moves in in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game. —AP
Cavaliers ease past T-Wolves CLEVELAND: The Cleveland Cavaliers finally won comfortably after a string of nail-biters in beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 10995 for their sixth straight NBA victory on Wednesday. J.J. Hickson scored a
career-high 23 as the Cavaliers were able to rest their starters in the fourth quarter, but not before LeBron James added 11 assists. The Timberwolves dropped to 3-21 outside Minnesota.
Lakers 118, Pacers 96 At Indianapolis, Kobe Bryant scored 29 points and Andrew Bynum added a season-high 27 to lead Los Angeles. Bryant also had nine rebounds and seven assists, and Bynum had 12 rebounds. Pau Gasol had 21 points and 13
rebounds and Lamar Odom added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers. Roy Hibbert led Indiana with 21 points. Raptors 111, Heat 103 At Toronto, Chris Bosh had 24 points and a season-high 18
Wilson, Dredge on top in windy Qatar DOHA: England’s Oliver Wilson and Bradley Dredge of Wales produced solid five-under-par 67s to share a one-shot lead after the first round of the 2.5-million dollar Qatar Masters yesterday. Both defied windy conditions and putted superbly, carding six birdies and one bogey to sit atop the leaderboard with Race to Dubai winner Lee Westwood in a four-way tie in second with 68. Wilson, a nine-time runnerup on the European Tour, including the HSBC Championship and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2009, had three birdies each on the front and back nine, while Dredge, the winner of two European titles, had a whopping five birdies over his first nine holes. “I am pretty pleased with myself. The conditions were not that great, but I stuck to my game,” said 30-year-old Wilson. Dredge echoed the same
sentiments. “It feels good to be top of the leaderboard. Hopefully I can maintain my form tomorrow,” said the Welshman. Westwood, who missed the cut in Abu Dhabi last week, shot five birdies and a bogey for a 68 to be in joint second along with the Swedish duo of Robert Karlsson and Alexander Noren and Germany’s Marcel Siem. Australia’s Brett Rumford was a further shot behind on 69, while Colombian Camilo Villegas and Spaniard Sergio Garcia were in a bunch of seven players on 70. Only 34 players out of a field of 126 went par or better in the opening round of the 13th edition of the tournament at the plush Doha Golf Club. Karlsson, the former European number one, found every green in regulation and hit an eagle on the par four 15th hole to go with his birdies on the first, eighth and 16th although he dropped a shot on the seventh. —AFP
rebounds, and Andrea Bargnani scored 27 points as Toronto beat Miami. Dwyane Wade had 35 points and 10 rebounds and former Raptors center Jermaine O’Neal scored 22 for Miami, which lost Michael Beasley to a right knee injury. —AP
India miss Dravid, Yuvraj for South Africa Test
DOHA: Ross Fisher of England plays from the bunker at the 18th hole during the Qatar Masters at Doha Golf Club. —AP
NEW DELHI: India will be without three key players, including Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh, when they defend their number one Test ranking against South Africa next month. Key batsmen Dravid and Yuvraj, and pace bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, were yesterday excluded from a 15-man squad for the first of two Test matches starting in Nagpur on February six. The second-ranked South Africa need to win the series 2-0 to displace India from the top. A 1-0 result in favour of the Proteas will leave both teams level on 123 rating points. Dravid fractured his jaw bone and Yuvraj tore a cartilage on his left wrist during the second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka earlier this week. Sreesanth suffered a hamstring strain during the first Test of the same series in Chittagong. All three players are also
likely to miss the second Test against the Proteas in Kolkata from February 14, the team for which will be named later. Veteran batsman Venkatsai Laxman, who needed stitches on a bruised finger during the Chittagong Test, was declared fit to play. The squad includes three uncapped players, batsman Subramaniam Badrinath, reserve wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha and promising seamer Abhimanyu Mithun, for the first Test. Mithun, 20, a right-arm seamer, grabbed 47 first-class wickets in nine matches in his debut season, helping Karnataka reach the Ranji Trophy final earlier this month. Badrinath is still to play a Test after three one-day appearances, while Saha replaces Dinesh Karthik as the second wicketkeeper, behind skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. —AFP
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Serena and Henin end Chinese dream MELBOURNE: Defending champion Serena Williams said she was feeling no pressure ahead of tomorrow’s Australian Open final against sentimental favorite Justine Henin. Williams battled her way into the decider when she won a thrilling semifinal against China’s Li Na 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/1) in two hours yesterday. By contrast Henin cruised through in just 52 minutes with a 6-1, 6-0 thrashing of Zheng Jie. The Belgian is playing her first Grand Slam since making a return to tennis and is riding a wave of emotion and passionate crowd support as she tries to emulate fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters, who won the 2009 US Open on her comeback. Her meeting with Williams has been highly anticipated ever since the draw was made, but the world number one claimed she wasn’t even thinking about the final. “I don’t think about it, I just go out and do whatever I can,” said Williams, the top seed. “I have a doubles final (on Friday), so I’m pretty focused on that.” Williams did concede she enjoyed playing the Belgian. “I think we bring out the best game in each other,” she said.”I think that we both just play our hearts out-I think that’s what creates a good rivalry.” Williams has now had two long and brutal singles matches in a row and two doubles matches that lasted almost as long. She and sister Venus play the doubles final against top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber on Friday ahead of Saturday’s singles final. Williams looked tired in her match with Li but said she was feeling fine, despite taking to the court with both ankles, her right knee and left thigh heavily strapped. She said her doubles commitments helped, rather than hindered her. “I don’t think it’s flattened me, I think it’s helped me,” she said. “You know, I get a lot of extra practice, so ... I think I spent a lot of time on the court. “But, you know, I like being out there.” She showed her legendary fighting qualities as she saw off 16th seeded Li, who played superbly throughout and saved four match points before Williams claimed victory with her 12th ace. “I had so many match points and I blew them,” Williams said. “I knew I had to hang in on my serve and close it out. She never gives up-she’s an amazing fighter.” The world number one, who came back from the brink of defeat in a gruelling quarter-final against Victoria Azarenka, will be aiming to win her 12th Grand Slam title and her fifth Australian Open. She is also hoping to become the first player to successfully defend her title since Jennifer Capriati in 2002 But Williams had to fight hard against a determined Li, who pushed her all the way in both sets and did not look overawed at making her first Grand Slam semi-final. The American was saved time and again by her huge serve and it was fitting that she won the first set and the match with aces. Li conceded the serving had been the difference between the two. “It makes the game easy for her to play-if she wants to win the point, she just serves an ace,” said Li, who was nevertheless happy with the way she played. “I lost the match, of course I was a little bit sad that it stopped in the semi-final,” she said. “But it was a good day for my tennis. I played well today also.” — AFP
MELBOURNE: Andy Murray of Britain returns to Marin Cilic of Croatia during the Men’s singles semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship. — AP
Murray reaches Australian final MELBOURNE: Andy Murray wore down tiring Croatian 14th seed Marin Cilic over four sets to become the first Briton to reach the Australian Open final in 33 years yesterday. The fifth seeded Scot, who had been on court eight hours less than Cilic for the tournament, won 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in three hours and two minutes. Murray will now play either Swiss top seed Roger Federer or French 10th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Sunday’s final. Three-time Australian champion Federer plays the 2008 finalist Tsonga today. “It’s really important to make the final,” Murray said. “I mean, after last year I had a few tough losses in the Grand Slams. “It’s nice. It’s what you work for. Obviously, I want to try and win one.” John Lloyd was the last Briton to play in an Australian final in 1977 while Fred Perry was the last British champion here in 1934. Murray is bidding to become the first British male Grand Slam champion since Perry won the 1936 US Open. Virginia Wade was the last British women to win a Grand Slam, at Wimbledon in 1977. “I’d obviously love to do it. It’s not really the only reason that I want to win a slam,” he said. “I want to win it for the people that I work with, for my parents and those who helped me when I was growing up, then doing it for British tennis and British sport would be excellent, as well.” It is Murray’s second Grand Slam final after he lost to Federer in the 2008 US Open decider. The intense Scot also avenged his defeat to Cilic in the fourth round of last year’s US Open in straight sets. “Marin showed incredible guts after playing three five-set matches back to back before coming out here and he made it so tough for me,” Murray said. “He was clearly tired at the end, he’s played so many matches this week.” The loss ended Cilic’s unbeaten 10-match start to the new season, while Murray stands at 9-1. Cilic refused to blame his 18 hours of court time in Melbourne for his loss, instead congratulating Murray. “I wouldn’t use my tiredness as an excuse for losing this match,” he said. “I think he deserved to win. Murray dropped
his first set of the tournament but gradually ground down the leg-weary Cilic to control the next three sets. “There was a long way to go in the match. I’ve been a set down before in slams,” Murray said. “Even in best of three set matches, you’ve got a lot more time to turn it around in best of five. “You’ve got time to work things out, change your game plan a little bit. And I managed to do that.” The Scot came under pressure in the opening set with double breaks to drop his first set of the tournament. But a major turning point came in the fifth game of the next set when he broke after a magnificent rally, where he ran down a drop shot, made an instinctive lunge volley and then
scampered back to retrieve a lob for a magical winner. Murray gave a full-throated long scream and was fired up for the remainder of the set. He had break points on Cilic’s serve in the seventh but was denied, and served out with three set points, winning it on his second with a forehand winner. Cilic’s first serve percentage was tailing off and Murray broke him twice in the third set, giving one back, as he moved to a two sets to one lead. Murray pressed against the tiring Croat and broke in the third game of the fourth set when the fading Cilic double-faulted. Murray brought up the first of two match points with a magnificent running forehand from well outside the court before claiming the match. — AFP
Mirza ends engagement HYDERABAD: Indian tennis star Sania Mirza has ended her engagement to a childhood friend, citing incompatibility. “We were friends for five years but found ourselves incompatible during our engagement period,” the 23-year-old said in a statement yesterday. She had become engaged to Sohrab Mirza last July and earlier this month had said she would consider retiring from the game after she got married. “I wish Sohrab the best in life,” she said yesterday. Sania’s father Imran Mirza said that the end of the engagement would not impact the long friendship both families had shared. Mirza became the first Indian woman to crack the top 40 in the rankings a few years ago and is now at No. 57. At one time, the Muslim player was assailed by conservative elements of the Indian community for competing in short skirts and sleeveless shirts. — AP
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LUANDA: Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan (center) is challenged by Nigeria’s Obinna Nwaneri (left) and Ayila Yussuf in their African Nations Cup semifinal match.—AP
Ghana down Nigeria for final spot LUANDA: Ghana are into the African Nations Cup final for the first time in 18 years after a 1-0 defeat of Nigeria at the 11 November stadium here yesterday. In form striker Asamoah Gyan got the priceless first half goal to claim the honors as Ghana moved to within one win of a fifth continental crown. The Black Stars’ opponents in Sunday’s 2010 climax will emerge from yesterday’s second semifinal in Benguela between holders Egypt and Algeria. “It’s unbelievable,” said Gyan. “We are a young team and not many people gave us a chance of making the final.” Ghana made one change from the side that knocked out hosts Angola in the
quarter-finals, with Haminu Draman making way for the fit again midfielder Anthony Annan taking to the field for the first time in Angola. Nigeria were without defender Onyekachi Apam, sent off in the last eight penalty shoot-out defeat of Zambia, with Obinna Nwaneri called up in his place. Coach Shaibu Amodu made two further alterations, Obafemi Martins coming in for Everton striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni, and Ayila Yussuf in for Fulham midfielder Dickson Etuhu. A Manchester derby resembles a childrens’ tea party compared to the rivalry between these west African footballing giants, with Ghana holding the recent
bragging rights following their 2-1 quarter-final win over their larger neighbours at the 2008 Nations Cup on home soil. FIFA president Sepp Blatter and a regiment of Angolan soldiers were among the 10,000 plus crowd to watch Ghana given a scare seconds after kick off when Peter Odemwingie crossed
minute against the run of play when Kwadwo Asamoah fired in a corner from the left for Gyan to outjump his marker, Nwaneri, and head past Vincent Enyeama. That was the in-form Rennes’ striker’s third goal of the competition, putting him joint top of the scoring charts.
African Nations Cup to Martins, who was unable to do the pass justice. Nigeria were looking a good deal more energised than they had done in the quarter-finals with Martins menacing the Ghana back line repeatedly in the first quarter of an hour. But it was Ghana who took the lead in the 21st
Ghana, with their sprinkling of youngsters and smattering of experienced stars, almost doubled their lead shortly after only for Gyan’s dipping shot to go over Enyeama’s crossbar. Nigeria’s front men Odemwingie of Lokomotiv Moscow and Martins were combining well and their
double act would have produced an equaliser if it hadn’t been for Ghana captain and skipper Richard Kingson’s athletic save on 26 minutes. Ghana coach Milovan Rajevic was forced into an unscheduled substitution on the half hour when Draman was introduced into the fray in place of injured Opuku Agyemang. Seconds after the break Kingson was at full stretch to keep out a shot inadvertly sent in his direction at an alarming rate of knots by defender Lee Addy. On 63 minutes Rajevic switched Hans Adu Sarpei for Zamalek Ibrahim Ayew, who was joining his younger brother Andre in midfield. Nigeria then strung
together a slick threecornered move involving Sani Kaita, Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel and Martins but Wigan stopper Kingson was having a great game, and kept Ghana in front by chesting Martin’s close range shot out of danger. Under-fire Nigeria coach Shaibu Amodu then took off Odemwingie, who handed the captain’s armband to Yakubu Ayegbeni. The Everton forward was barely on the pitch when he was set up in front of goal by Elderson Echiejile, but his shot though cannoned wide. Ghana would need all their tenacity and luck to hold on in the dying minutes but they did it to leave the Nigerians’ title hopes in tatters.—AFP
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Real waiting on Ronaldo suspension appeal MADRID: The result of Real Madrid’s appeal against Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card and two-game suspension could be pivotal to their hopes of catching leaders Barcelona, starting with tomorrow’s trip to Deportivo Coruna. Real are five points behind Barca in second place at the halfway stage of the season and, with Gonzalo Higuain injured, Kaka misfiring and Karim Benzema out of sorts,
Ronaldo is more important than ever to their campaign. Real have said that if their appeal to the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) is unsuccessful they will take the case to Spain’s Sporting Disciplinary Committee (CEDD), a body overseen by the government sports council (CSD). That could mean the suspension is put on hold and the Portuguese forward would then be available to
coach Manuel Pellegrini for the match in Coruna. “He’s a key player who brings a huge amount to the team,” defender Sergio Ramos said at a news conference on Wednesday. “But Real Madrid can’t allow themselves to be affected by this,” he added. “Our squad has a lot of depth and I am sure other players will make the most of their chance.” Opinion is deeply divided
in Spain over whether Ronaldo was guilty of dangerous play or even deliberate aggression when he caught Malaga defender Patrick Mtiliga with a flailing arm and broke his nose. The RFEF’s disciplinary committee decided his actions were not wilful or reckless, which would have meant a longer suspension, but that he had been guilty of dangerous play. “We all think the same,”
Ramos said. “We believe Cristiano did not mean to injure the player and the punishment is unfair. These are involuntary actions without any malice.” Undefeated champions Barca can stretch their lead to eight points with a win at mid-table Sporting Gijon earlier tomorrow and coach Pep Guardiola should have Yaya Toure available after the Ivory Coast midfielder’s return from the African
Flamengo beat Americano in Rio state tourney RIO DE JANEIRO: Flamengo fielded star strikers Adriano and Vagner Love together for the first time and both scored in a 3-2 win over Americano in the Rio de Janeiro state tournament on Wednesday. Adriano scored the opener in the 40th minute of the Guanabara Cup match, the first stage of the state tournament. The former Inter Milan striker converted a penalty after being taken down just in front of goal. Fernando doubled the lead eight minutes later, tapping in a corner kick from midfielder Dejan Petkovic after defender Alvaro’s attempt at a header went awry. In the 54th, midfielder Leonardo Moura was sent off for complaining too loudly after he thought he was fouled, but it took Americano until the 80th to take advantage, when Diego Sales converted a penalty. Flamengo hit back one minute later, as Adriano and former CSKA Moscow striker Love had a nice exchange to set up a big right-footer from Love to put the match out of reach. Ameriano’s Itacare knocked in a nice cross from Patrick a minute into injury time. Of his teamwork with Adriano that created Flamengo’s final goal, Love said it was a good omen for fans looking for not only a state championship but a repeat national title. “A goal like that shows that we have the ability to mount a great attack,” Love said. In other Rio state matches, Olaria beat Bangu 2-0; Volta Redonda beat Boavista 30; Madureira beat Friburguense 2-1; Botafogo beat Tigres 2-1 and America drew with Resende 2-2. In the Sao Paulo state tournament, Palmeiras midfielder Cleiton Xavier converted a penalty in the 29th for a 1-0 win over Monte Azul. Santos, perhaps on the cusp of seeing former star Robinho return as his departure from Manchester City seems imminent, rolled by Barueri 5-0. Santos’ 17-year-old striker Neymar scored twice. Andre started things off for Santos in the 33rd, booting in a shot after Leo’s attempt in the area bounced off a defender. The team didn’t score again until the 70th, through Wesley, then Ze Eduardo converted a nice pass from Neymar in the 73rd. Five minutes later the teenage striker easily dribbled around a defender and punched in a shot to make it 4-0. Neymar struck again in the 87th, converting a penalty. Elsewhere, Ronaldo scored a minute before halftime to put Corinthians in front of Mirassol, easily knocking in a free kick from Tcheco after dribbling around the goalie. But Mirassol evened it in the 58th on striker Ferreira’s header, capping the scoring. In other Sao Paulo matches, Rio Claro beat Sao Caetano 3-1; Mogi Mirim beat Portuguesa 1-0; and Santo Andre drew with Oeste, 2-2. — AP
Nations Cup. Club captain Xavi has warned his team mates against complacency. “There is a lot of time left in the season and Madrid will battle until the end,” he told reporters. “We cannot afford to relax but we have the good fortune that we only have to focus on ourselves.” Valencia, five points behind Real in third, play at sixth-placed Sevilla on Sunday. — Reuters
Injuries worry Arsenal for United crunch game
SAO PAULO: Corinthians’ Ronaldo (second from right) fights for the ball with Mirassol’s Alex Silva (right) and Amarildo ( slightly covered ) during a Sao Paulo state soccer league match. — AP
Mutu fails drugs test MILAN: Fiorentina and Romania striker Adrian Mutu has tested positive for the appetite suppressant drug sibutramine, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) said in a statement yesterday. Mutu, sacked by English Premier League club Chelsea in 2004 after using cocaine, gave a positive sample on Jan. 10 at the Serie A game between Fiorentina and Bari. “In the first sample analysed, the presence of a metabolite of sibutramine has been revealed for Adrian Mutu,” the statement said. CONI, which acts as Italy’s anti-doping body, gave no further details but has a long track record of pursuing bans for sportspeople who fail tests-even if they took drugs by accident. However, CONI did absolve Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro last year when documentation was not filed correctly by Juventus after he
ITALY: This file picture taken on November 4, 2009 in Artemio Franchi stadium in Florence shows Fiorentina’s Romanian forward Adrian Mutu celebrating after scoring against Debrecen. — AFP
received emergency treatment for a wasp sting. Mutu has had a truncated season with Fiorentina, partly because of injury and partly because of the continued fallout from his 2004 sacking by Chelsea. The English club wanted compensation and football authorities and the Court of Arbitration for Sport backed their claim, asking the 31-yearold former Parma and Juventus forward to pay over 17 million euros ($23.9 million). Mutu appealed again to a Swiss federal court and the situation is now on hold, although Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli has acknowledged the saga was playing on Mutu’s mind and he has not always picked the forward this season. Fiorentina, who qualified for the Champions League group stages but have slipped to ninth in Serie A after a poor run of form, were not immediately available to comment. — Reuters
LONDON:- There will be no respite for Arsenal when their season reaches a critical juncture on Sunday with the visit of champions Manchester United. The mood of a club can change quickly in the helter-skelter Premier League and while United’s League Cup semi-final win over Manchester City and the electrifying form of Wayne Rooney has them on a high, Arsenal need a quick pick-up. Last weekend’s FA Cup defeat at Stoke was a blow and on Wednesday a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa, while on the face of it not a bad result, left Arsene Wenger’s side slightly adrift in the title race. The draw at Villa also proved costly in terms of personnel with reliable defender Thomas Vermaelen suffering a leg injury and Croatian striker Eduardo a hamstring strain. Both will miss the visit of United. “We want to win our next home game-it is as simple as that,” Wenger, whose side face Chelsea and Liverpool in their next two games, told Arsenal’s website. “We go from game to game because if you think too much ahead it is not too good.” Vermaelen’s injury means that veteran defender Sol Campbell could be called into action for a third time in a week. “Sol has not played for six months and just in three days he has had two big games, so I will have to see how he recovers,” Wenger said. Defeat for Arsenal on Sunday would leave them four points behind United and possibly five behind Chelsea who crucially have also played a game less. United’s 3-1 victory over City, for a 4-3 aggregate win, was sealed by a last-gasp header by Rooney who is enjoying the best goal-scoring form of his career at just the right time. The England striker has 21 goals this season and has netted 13 in his last 13 games in all competitions. “His control, his leading of the line, his penetration is absolutely fantastic,” Ferguson said of the man who is pivotal to United’s hopes of a fourth consecutive title.” Chelsea travel to struggling Burnley tomorrow fresh from an impressive 3-0 victory over Birmingham City on Wednesday which put them back on top of the table. Carlo Ancelotti will be able to call on Ivory Coast duo Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou after they returned from the African Cup of Nations-not that they have struggled without them, winning all four matches in their absence and scoring 17 goals in the process. “I think we need Drogba back, he is a fantastic player,” Ancelotti said. “We did very well in January. I want to thank my players because without the African players we could have had problems but they did very well.” While Chelsea, United and Arsenal scrap for the title, the battle for fourth place and the chance of Champions League football is also raging. Tottenham, who are in fourth spot with a three-point lead over Liverpool, travel to Birmingham while Liverpool host Bolton. Manchester City, back in sixth but with two games in hand of the sides above them, host bottom club Portsmouth. — Reuters
ANGOLA : Mohamed Zidan of Egypt celebrates after scoring the second goal against Algeria during their semi final match of the African Nations Cup.—AFP
ANGOLA: Egypt’s Mahmoud Fathala (left) clears the ball as Algeria’s Hassan Yebda (right) follows play during the semi-finals of their African Nations Cup. —AP
Egypt crush eight-man Algeria BENGUELA: Defending champions Egypt thrashed bitter rivals Algeria 4-0 to reach the Africa Cup of Nations final yesterday and stay on course for an unprecedented seventh title. In a stormy semi-final clash, Algeria ended the game with just eight players as Egypt avenged their painful World Cup qualifying defeat against their North African rivals last November. Victory also extended Egypt’s unbeaten run in the championship to 18 games. On Sunday, the Pharaohs will on Ghana, who pipped Nigeria 1-0 in the other semifinal. Egypt took the lead in the 39th minute through a penalty by Hosni Abdrabou after Emad Motaeb was brought down by Rafik Halliche inside the box. The big Algeria defender saw red
for his second booking of the night. Mohamed Zidan extended Egypt’s lead in the 65th minute when he let fly from 15 metres beyond a diving goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi. Soon after Nadir Belhadj became the second Algerian player to be sent off after a vicious two-footed tackle on Ahmed Al-Muhammadi. Substitute Mohamed Abdel Shafi put the game beyond the Desert Foxes of Algeria on 81 minutes when he found the back of the net from a very tight angle on the left. Algeria’s woes were compounded in the 86th minute when goalkeeper Chaouchi was also sent off after he launched a wild kick at a goal-bound Mohamed ‘Gedo’ Nagy. Supersub Nagy made it 40 in stoppage when he
slammed the ball past replacement goalkeeper Lamine Zemmamouche. After a rather cautious first half, Algeria tried to come out of their defensive shell and attack Egypt.
corner. Egypt’s response was quick as three minutes later, several players including Ahmed Hassan, failed to connect home from inside the 18-yard box, before Zidan broke his goal scoring
Advance to African Nations Cup final Belhadj now began to attack from the left but it was Egypt who came close to doubling their first-half lead when Sayed Moawad got to the end of a loose ball, raced into the box only to be denied by a timely tackle by an Algerian defender. On the hour mark, Essam El-Hadary pulled off a splendid save off Mourad Meghni, whose free kick was heading into the top corner before the veteran goalkeeper stretched full length to push it away for a
duck at this tournament with a superb effort from just inside the box. In the 76th minute skipper Ahmed Hassan would have got his name on the scoresheet in his 171st international, but his shot from inside the box missed its target with the Algerian goal at his mercy. Egypt and Algeria lined up with the same starting lineups from their quarter-final victories over Cameroon and the Ivory Coast, respectively. Egypt picked Ahmed Al-
Muhammadi ahead of the more exprienced Hossam Ghaly in midfield, while Karim Ziani and Mourad Meghni shrugged off injury worries to feature for Algeria. The travelling fans of both teams created a festive atmosphere at the 35,000capacity Ombaka Stadium with their drumming, gas flares, chants, flags and colour as anti-riot policemen looked on. Two minutes after kick-off a dipping free kick by Algeria midfielder Meghni missed the target, while moments later Al-Muhammadi’s low cross from the right rolled across the face of the Algerian goal and into touch. Egypt attacked mostly down the right, where AlMuhammadi’s pace and guile kept the attack-minded Nadir Belhadj busy. In the 24th minute,
Motaeb was denied by a diving save from goalkeeper Chaouchi after the Al Ahly striker was set up by Zidan inside the box. Ten minutes later, Sayed Moawad fired into the Algeria area but Motaeb could not get a foot to the ball.—AFP
Fixtures BENGUELA: Remaining fixtures of 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournament (GMT) time. Saturday At Benguela Third place play-off Algeria v Nigeria 1600 Sunday At Luanda Final Egypt v Ghana 1600