6 Mar 2010

RI PT IO N BS C SU THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF

24 PAGES

SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2010

RABI ALAWAL 20, 1431 AH

NO: 14659

150 FILS

Ships freed from Baltic ice trap

Street clashes as Greek parliament approves austerity

Fashion, advanced mathematics meet at Miyake

Hamstring curse ends Owen’s WCup dream

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Kuwait to keep oil supply curbs TOKYO: OPEC-member Kuwait has notified at least two customers in Asia that it will keep curbs on term crude oil supplies in AprilJune steady from JanuaryMarch, sources at the term buyers said yesterday.

Kuwait Petroleum Co (KPC) told the term buyers that they would continue to receive 5 percent below contracted volumes in the second quarter of 2010, the sources said. The percentage amount of the curbs has been unchanged since February 2009 and the continuation of Kuwait’s supply reduction for the second quarter was widely expected by traders.

KPC also said it would keep restrictions on its operational tolerance policy

by not allowing customers the ability to load up to 5 percent above contracted supplies on cargoes. The ban has been in place since late December 2008. The announcement by Kuwait comes after the issue of April supply allocations by fellow OPEC-members Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and before the issue of April supplies from top oil exporter Saudi Arabia.

Asian buyers of Qatari crude were told that they would continue to receive fully contracted crude volumes, while the UAE said it would deepen the supply curbs on its Murban crude, but keep steady or ease supply curbs on some of its Continued on Page 19

Iraq invasion a ‘right decision’ British PM defends record at Iraq War inquiry

Saddam shadow hangs over polls Qaeda declares ‘curfew’ BAGHDAD: Saddam Hussein was executed more than three years ago but the dictator’s shadow hangs over Iraq’s election, with hundreds of candidates barred over alleged links to his outlawed Baath Party. The fierce row over their exclusion has dominated the campaign for tomorrow’s vote and sparked accusations that Iraq’s “de-Baathification” program was being used for political advantage.

At the centre of it all is Ali Al-Lami, executive director of the Justice and Accountability Committee (JAC) which has barred around 500 candidates from the polls.

Controversially, he himself is running in the poll. “The JAC decisions have been made according to the law,” the 46year-old father of six insisted.

“Some of them (the barred candidates) are Baathists, and others are working as spies,” he told AFP. “All of them are dangerous.”

Lami was speaking in the Baghdad home of his friend Ahmed Chalabi, chairman of

the JAC, a parliamentary candidate, and the man whose faulty intelligence on weapons of mass destruction spurred the United States to invade Iraq in 2003. He said that on January 1 his committee received from the election commission a list of the names of all 6,500-odd candidates in the poll with the request that their pasts be checked to see if they had any part in the Sunni dictator’s oppression of his people.

It cross-checked the names with three databases, whose details he did not specify, and built dossiers of candidates’ alleged links to the Baath Party, said L ami, who like Chalabi is running on the Iraqi National Alliance slate.

Within 10 days, a list of 511 names had been compiled. Twenty-eight have since been reinstated, but political parties have largely either withdrawn the remaining candidates or replaced them with new names. Lami noted that two-thirds of the Continued on Page 19

LONDON: A protester wearing a mask holds a symbolic cheque signed

by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown outside the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre in London yesterday. — AFP

Clashes at holy sites Israeli police, protesters battle at Al-Aqsa mosque JERUSALEM: Israeli troops clashed with Palestinian stone-throwers at two contested holy sites and in a West Bank village yesterday, seriously injuring a Palestinian woman and a 14-year-old boy, officials and witnesses said.

At the Jerusalem shrine, home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, hundreds of Muslim worshippers emerging from prayers

threw stones at policemen and Jews praying below at the Jewish shrine known as the Western Wall, according to Israeli police.

Riot police carrying plexiglass shields rushed in, firing tear gas and stun grenades, and charged the youths throwing stones amid the compound’s stone buildings and cypress trees. It was one of

the most violent clashes in several years at the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. Yesterday’s events were sparked, in part, by rising anger over Israel’s decision to add two West Bank shrines to its list of national heritage sites.

While the decision has no immediate consequences,

Could germs be making you fat?

Bacteria ‘indirectly’ causing overeating WASHINGTON: Germs that make their home in the gut may help cause obesity and a range of health-threatening symptoms that go along with it, researchers reported yesterday. It could be that certain bacteria cause inflammation that can affect appetite as well as inflammatory bowel conditions like Crohn’s disease and colitis, the researchers reported in the journal Science.

In other words, the germs make you overeat, Andrew Gewirtz of Emory University in Atlanta and colleagues reported. “Previous research has suggested that bacteria can influence how well energy is absorbed from food, but these findings demonstrate that intestinal bacteria can actually influence appetite,” Gewirtz said. “The obesity epidemic is driven by people eating too much, but why are

people eating more?”

Gewirtz said the research suggests that bacteria may play a role-perhaps a population of bacteria that thrive because other, competing organisms have been wiped out by antibiotics, access to clean water and other factors of modern life. His team stumbled on the findings by accident. “We were studying mice that had colitis,” Gewirtz said in a telephone interview. The team suspected some kind of germ was responsible, so they transferred mouse embryos into surrogate mothers to prevent them from being infected by their own mothers.

Babies are colonized by bacteria and other microorganisms soon after birth and the makeup of these colonies-which persist for life in the skin and bowels-are Continued on Page 19

LONDON: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told an official inquiry into the Iraq War yesterday that joining the 2003 US-led invasion had been the right decision and that he had provided the necessary funding for military action. Brown, appearing just weeks before an election to discuss a war that still rankles with many Britons, acknowledged the human cost of the conflict, said mistakes had been made in the chaotic aftermath of the invasion but distanced himself from the most contentious decisions.

“I believe we made the right decision for the right reasons,” Brown told the fiveperson inquiry that he set up last year to learn lessons from the conflict following the withdrawal of British troops.

Brown said that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was a “serial violator” of international law and that tackling him had been an important test for world powers after Continued on Page 19

JERUSALEM: An Israeli border police officer fires a tear gas canister as Palestinians hurl stones during clashes in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound yesterday. — AP

Palestinians perceive it as another sign that Israel wants to hang on to large parts of the West Bank, one of the territories Palestinians want for their state. In Gaza, some 4,000 supporters of the Islamic militant group Hamas called for a new uprising in the West Bank, urging Hamas’ rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to “unleash the resistance” over the shrines.

Yesterday’s violence erupted ahead of a new mission by US Mideast envoy George Mitchell who was to arrive in the region over the weekend to help launch indirect IsraeliPalestinian negotiations. The Palestinians have been reluctant, arguing that talks are futile as long as Israel keeps expanding Jewish settlements on land they want for a state.

However, Arab nations earlier this week gave Abbas the political backing to conduct such talks for four months, with Mitchell shuttling between the sides.

The United States also offered written assurances to Abbas, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said yesterday. In Continued on Page 19

Block ‘genocide bill’ or risk ties Furious Turkey warns US ANKARA: A furious Turkey warned of damage to its ties with the US and protesters descended on the American embassy yesterday after a Congressional panel labeled the Ottoman-era massacre of Armenians as genocide.

Having recalled its ambassador immediately after the panel’s resolution was adopted, Ankara warned Washington risked a showdown with a key Muslim ally if the motion advanced to a full vote at the House of Representatives.

Turkey is “seriously disturbed” that President Barack Obama’s administration “did not put enough weight” behind efforts to prevent the resolution from being passed by the Foreign Affairs Committee, Foreign

Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. “We expect the US administration to make more efficient efforts from now on,” he said. “We hope Turkish-US ties will not be put to a new test ... otherwise, the prospect that we will face will not be a positive one,” he added, calling the issue a “matter of national honor”.

NATO member Turkey is a prominent Muslim partner in US efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and Iraq, and lies on a key route taking oil and natural gas to Western markets. The committee passed the non-binding resolution Thursday by a 23-22 margin, ignoring pressure from Turkey and the White House.

President Abdullah Gul Continued on Page 19

Aftershocks rock Chile TALCA: Three powerful aftershocks yesterday spread new terror among weary Chileans traumatized by a huge quake and tsunami as UN chief Ban Ki-moon was due to arrive to assess the damage. A first 6.2-magnitude quake jolted people awake at 6:20 am (0920 GMT), just six days after Saturday’s record 8.8-quake and ensuing tsunami waves killed over 800 people and left some two million homeless.

That was then followed yesterday by a 6.8-magnitude tremor-one of the most powerful of more than 200 to rattle Chile since the weekendfollowed swiftly by another measuring 6.6. Buildings in Concepcion, the country’s second city, already damaged in the disaster collapsed, although the national emergency services said yesterday’s quakes caused no injuries or serious damage.

They came as the country prepares for three days of national mourning starting from midnight tomorrow, when flags are to be hung on front doors around the nation out of respect for the dead.

In the central city of Talca, 300 kilometers south of the capital, life was slowly returning to normal. Long queues formed outside banks and automatic tellers were functioning. Many gas stations, supermarkets and shops were open, though many stores were reduced to rubble or remained locked up. The streets were busy with vehicles and people going about their business, open-air markets were open and phone lines were functioning.

But in the devastated old heart of the city, where street after street of homes crumbled to the ground in the quake, people remained camped in tiny tents or on the streets complaining of government negligence. “We have not received even a glass of water from the government,” said Manuel Carvahaj, 53, busy cobbling together a makeshift center to protect a group of homeless senior citizens from pending rain. “People have come individually to give us food and water, so has the church, but no official has even come to Continued on Page 19

Men ‘losing more’ jobs NEW YORK: The global recession has caused more men than women lose their jobs around the world, following a pattern already well established in the United States, according to research released yesterday.

Men held more of the jobs lost in nearly all the nations where executives were surveyed by Accenture, a management consulting firm.

In India, executives said 95 percent of their layoffs were men; in France men accounted for 71 percent of job losses. The

survey, conducted between November 2009 and midFebruary 2010, asked executives how many men and women had been fired or laid off in the preceding year. Executives also fired more men than women in Australia, Canada, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, it said. In the United States, men held 54 percent of jobs lost to women’s 46 percent.

“In some cases the majority of the work force was men, so most men got impacted,” said

Nellie Borrero, who heads global human capital and diversity at Accenture. “It could also mean that companies were more vigilant in insuring that a lot of women would not be impacted.”

In the United States, men dominate industries hardest hit by recession, such as heavy manufacturing and construction, while women dominate less hard-hit fields such as health services and education, statistics have shown.

A different story on gender and job loss came from the

Netherlands, where women accounted for 51 percent of jobs losses, Accenture said. In China the losses were split evenly between the genders. Accenture surveyed 524 senior executives in medium to large companies in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. — Reuters

CONSTITUCION: A boy makes the victory sign while having a meal donated by a private company in Constitucion yesterday. — AP

NATIONAL

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Saturday, March 6, 2010

Hit-and-run death in Rumaithiya

Asian maid injured in Salwa escape attempt KUWAIT: An Asian maid sustained multiple fractures when she fell while attempting to escape from her sponsor’s fourth-floor apartment in Salwa. The desperate woman had apparently tied sheets together to create a makeshift rope

Hit-and-run death An Ethiopian woman found dead on a Rumaithiya street is believed to have been the victim of a hit-and-run driver.

The body was removed for autopsy and police have launched an investigation into the incident.

Road rage A Kuwaiti man reported an unsettling incident to officers at Jahra police station, saying that af ter stopping another motorist to ask for directions in the area, the young man had, for no reason, intentionally smashed his car into the enquir-

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti youngsters celebrating the country’s National and Liberation Day anniversaries on the Gulf Road recently. — File photo

Learning how to celebrate ast week witnessed the National and Liberation Day celebrations, occasions that reminds us of why we are proud of being Kuwaitis.

Sadly, the truth of the matter is quite different.

The celebrations had nothing to do with Kuwaiti heritage. Instead they were a celebration of disorderliness, showcasing how rude our youngsters can be, how fast they can attack others with foam cans, and how creative they can get with annoying others.

I heard stories about kids spraying one another with hair-removing foam, balloons filled with water and

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salt, colored water, and brace yourselves - bodily fluids.

I know that such rowdiness in celebrations is not unique to Kuwait alone, and I know that it is present all over the world in the most civilized countries, but I don’t imagine that it is this extensive anywhere else.

During the celebrations I have not seen any organized parade taking place anywhere in the country, nothing at all that shows that the government cares about the celebrations, which makes me wonder if the government lacks any resources.

It certainly doesn’t; the police officers were stationed around all major streets to watch for any vio-

er’s own vehicle before driving away. The man managed to note the license plate details of the young driver’s car and police have launched an investigation into the incident.

after finding 120 shotgun cartridges in his car. The man aroused the officers’ suspicions when he attempted to avoid their patrol vehicle, with the cartridges being found in the ensuing search of the car. He was taken into custody.

Knife fight Police arrested a number of young men following a knife fight in Jahra. A number of those involved were taken to Jahra Hospital by passersby for treatment to their injuries.

Cartridges find Capital police arrested a Kuwaiti man

Dirty business A Kuwaiti family have lodged a complaint at Qairawan police station against an Egyptian family who visited their home in the area concerning a business deal, accusing them of stealing documents related to the deal during their visit. An investigation is underway.

kuwait digest

Time to go, information minister

in my view

By Hussain Al-Qatari

and was attempting to lower herself to the ground using it when it broke, sending her plummeting to the ground below.

Neighbors who saw what happened immediately called the emergency services and the woman was rushed to hospital.

lations, and if I remember correctly, the police academy graduation ceremonies always included organized shows and parades, and even air shows. Why these things are not present on these two important days is really beyond me.

We have a very rich culture, folk dances and customs that could be revived just for these two days to be enjoyed by the people of the country.

I would have liked to have seen a traditional Kuwaiti music band performing anywhere in the country, or a kiosk serving traditional Kuwaiti food or even a car playing traditional or national Kuwaiti music.

Contrary to that, howev-

er, cars played Arabic pop music, American hip-hop and when they played Kuwaiti songs they played sad, depressing ones reminiscent of the August 1990 invasion. If this proves anything, it proves that we don’t know how to celebrate.

For next year, I suggest that the government prints guidebooks with information on how to celebrate: what music to play in your car and what not to play; where to find happy optimistic national music; how, where and when to spray foam, and so on. Perhaps a video demonstration of good celebration vs. bad celebration would be of great help.

e start with a declaration from a government official that the gover nment will suppor t Minister of Information Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah, who is ready to defend himself in any grilling, writes columnist Jassem Boudai in Al-Rai. The official insists, furthermore, that the minister will not resign or be dismissed or transferred to another ministry.

We wish that the minister would think about this, think it over carefully and objectively and consider resigning as a step towards reform, regardless of his personal opinion of the violations perpetrated in the Ministry of Information by himself or other officials, especially since Kuwaiti unity is far more important than individuals and Kuwaiti security is the most important issue of all.

We wish that the minister would review his past career, during which he’s committed a large number of mistakes that

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he’s failed to learn from. He considers any criticism or advice a personal attack, claiming that whoever criticizes him is only doing so because he failed to approve some application submitted by them.

Admittedly, that was the case in the past, but today the minister’s scandals are live on air and their results are affecting national unity and stability. Yet still he insists on remaining in his post, unconvinced of the need to leave.

Sir, you should not be convinced by anybody that leaving the information ministry would impugn your honor; in fact, it would protect your honor, especially since the oil sector needs four ministers rather than merely one. Had you resigned earlier, after the violations had an effect on stability, it would have been better.

Compare and contrast what you have done with the acts of previous ministers, such as oil minister Dr. Adel Al-Subaih, who resigned over some negli-

gence at a local refinery that led to the deaths of a fireman and two Asian workers in a fire there, or the resignation of Dr. Maasouma Al-Mubarak, who stepped down from her health minister’s post following negligence at a local hospital staff that led to a blaze there. Two fires, one at a refinery, the other at a hospital, led to the resignation of two previous ministers, yet the wellbeing of Kuwait as a whole, which is about to be set alight by tribal and sectarian conflicts over the information ministry’s failure to apply the law, apparently does not merit the minister responsible giving up his determination to remain in his position as a result, and he is supported in this determination by others who behave as if nothing has happened.

The minister and those alongside him have made mistakes and we have found excuses for him. He has made contradictory statements which show that either he’s unable to

make or explain forecasts or that somebody else is running the ministry. Each of the preceding reasons should be enough by themselves to ensure that he apologizes and resigns his post.

Today, minister, the government is hinting that you are unable to face and declare your willingness to face the grilling, but that you will not resign. You should decide yourself which is the correct path to take, regardless of the pressure from MPs. It is your decision as to whether it is in Kuwait’s interests that you step down honorably from a ministerial position that you don’t have sufficient knowledge of and move instead to a large ministry like the oil ministry. You are the only one who can decide whether or not to continue with this mistake and to get into a showdown and cause a conflict between the two authorities. And if the MPs’ calculations are right, you won’t even remain in the oil ministry anyway.

TEC honors young karate champs

Adel Al-Fahad and Ali Shihab Al-Qallaf with the management of the Al-Shaab club and the young prize winners.

Capt Izzat with some of the children being honored.

The young award recipients pose for a group photo

KUWAIT: The Touristic Enterprise Company (TEC) recently held an awards ceremony to present prizes to the children of Al-Shaab Marine club members who recently took part in a karate tournament organized by the club.

The ceremony was attended by Engineer Adel AlFahad, the TEC ’s Deputy Managing Director for Recreational Affairs, as well as Ali Shihab Al-Qallaf, its Beach Administration and Marine Club director and Khalid Al-Mothan, the supervisor of the Al-Shaab Marine Club. Also present at the event were Captain Izzat Hanafi, the karate trainer responsible for training the young winners, and a number of parents.

Al-Fahad and Al-Qallaf presented prizes and certifi-

cates to the winners who achieved impressive scores.

Also during the event, the young martial arts enthusiasts received the belts denoting the level of expertise in karate that they have attained.

Thirty young male and female karate enthusiasts of different ages received awards during the event, with their parents expressing pride in the sporting achievements their children had attained. The second round of the tournament is scheduled to take part in April.

In his speech during the ceremony, Al-Fahad praised TEC’s role in encouraging sports activities and teaching young people self-confidence, as well as praising its organization of the tournament and other events.

Khalid Al-Mothan

Ali Shihab Al-Qallaf

Engineer Adel Al-Fahad

Al-Fahad hands over a certificate to one of the participants.

NATIONAL

Saturday, March 6, 2010

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Al-Otaibi presents credentials

Kuwait offers support to reform UN Secretariat UNITED NATIONS: Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi presented his credentials on Thursday evening to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, as Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. The Kuwaiti representative also submitted a letter to the UN Security Council president asking that “the situation between Kuwait and Iraq” be maintained on the council’s agenda, to The ambassador said that he had conveyed the greetings of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, HH the Crown Prince and HH the Prime Minister, along with the Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister, to the UN Secretary General.

“I reaffirmed to the Secretary General that Kuwait is a small, peaceful country that is committed to the goals and principles of the United Nations, and that it will continue to support his [Ban’s] efforts to reform the UN Secretariat and the General Assembly, as well as his role in reforming the Security Council,” he said.

Ambassador Al-Otaibi asserted that he would utilize his experience in the service of Kuwait and the principles of the UN, based on his belief in the importance of the actions taken by the international organization, in tackling global challenges.

The Kuwaiti representative further revealed that during the meeting, he expressed his hope that following the Iraqi elections and the formation of a new government, the UN would continue to encourage and assist Iraq in implementing the remaining articles stipulated in UN resolutions, such as the maintenance of border markers between Kuwait and Iraq, the issue of missing Kuwaitis and the return of Kuwaiti property.

Al-Awadhi slams bid to ban sportswomen from Olympics

KUWAIT: Hawally and Mubarak Al-Kabeer Municipality inspectors recently issued 177 citations and closed down nine local shops, while 12 others face legal action after being found to be operating without the necessary licenses.

Engineer Osama Al-Duaij, the municipality’s Deputy Director, said that during the recent campaign, inspectors also issued 244 warnings concerning public hygiene, while 165 abandoned vehicles, 5,533 rubbish skip-loads of domestic waste and a further 2,804 skip-loads of construction waste were removed from the area’s streets.

Hariri visit to Kuwait ‘chance to boost economic relations’ KUWAIT: The forthcoming visit of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri to Kuwait will be an opportunity to boost economic and commercial relations between the two countries, said a Kuwaiti Ministry of Commerce and Industry official yesterday.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Owaisi, the director of the ministry’s Department of Gulf and Arab Affairs, told KUNA that several agreements would be signed on the sidelines of the visit, adding that these would further strengthen the historic relations between the two closely allied countries in the area of economic cooperation.

He explained that the joint KuwaitiLebanese technical committee met in Beirut in February, completing six draft agreements, four of which will be signed during Hariri’s visit. The remaining two will be signed later,

once they have been approved in their final form.

Al-Owaisi said that the four agreements to be signed during the upcoming visit relate to attracting foreign direct investment, industrial cooperation, holding exhibitions, and cooperation between the two countries’ private sectors.

One of the joint committee’s main goals is to increase the volume of trade exchange, he explained, adding that officials on both sides are seeking to engage in more joint ventures.

He explained that the technical committee was also reviewing the 1996 bilateral agreement, so that it would conform to the Arab League’s Economic and Social Council’s resolutions on the Greater Arab Free Trade Zone.

KUWAIT: Responding to recent parliamentary questions over Kuwaiti women’s right to participate in international sporting events, MP Dr. Aseel Al-Awadhi has categorically rejected any form of discrimination against women, whether in sport or in any other field.

The MP suggested that any move by Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr. Mohammed AlAfasi to placate the parliamentary alien phenomena committee by banning Kuwaiti sportswomen from participating in the Olympics could lead to his being subjected to an interpellation.

She expressed astonishment at fellow MP and committee member Jamaan Al-Harbish’s demands that Kuwaiti women be excluded from participating in the Olympics, pointing out that any such ban would be counter to the constitution, which all MPs have sworn to uphold. Such a prohibition would in particular directly contradict the constitutional article outlawing any form of discrimination among citizens, she indicated, adding that the alien phenomena committee’s demand should be rejected on principle.

Al-Awadhi questioned how it was possible to ask the state to ban women from participating in such events and to quash the ambitions and achievements of females wishing to take part in them. “We are a state that resorts to the constitution in all matters under dispute and the constitution and Kuwaiti law do not ban women from participating in the Olympic Games and sports in general,” she asserted.

The MP also pointed out that female competitors from many other Muslim countries take part in the Olympics, suggesting that the problems over this issue here are related to the misogynistic system put in place in Kuwait to prevent women from practicing their full role in society and have nothing to do with Islam itself.

kuwait digest

Celebrate by giving thanks to Allah henever the anniversaries of Kuwait’s National and Liberation Days take place, we should thank Allah for his great grace and for the bounties He has awarded us, writes Adel Nayef AlMezel in Al-Watan. We went through harsh and painful experiences - is there anything worse, after all, than losing one’s homeland, family members and identity?

When this anniversary takes place, we must remember what happened and learn from what we went through and what we would have to have faced if it were not for Allah’s great care; if it had not been for this, we would have become like refugees, so we thank Allah day and night for Kuwait being restored to us. Thank you Allah as you made us see the greatness of your might over the tyrant who believed nobody could defeat him, showing him otherwise by blowing him and his soldiers away. Thank you for cleansing our country from a merciless enemy who filled our land with destruction, corruption and killing, and setting our source of income ablaze, believing that these fires would never be put out. Thank you my Lord for providing us with those who fought alongside us and liberated our country from the tyrant and his cronies and liberated Kuwaiti

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soil from the filth of Saddam’s Baath party.

Thank you for giving us victory and taking revenge on behalf of the weak on earth.

For all these reasons, we must, as we celebrate our national days, pray for our late Amirs Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah and for our martyrs, whose souls were sacrificed for Kuwait.

This magnificent occasion behooves us to celebrate well and not go overboard because, as Almighty Allah gave us the means for victory we should respect His commands and avoid committing sins under the claim of celebrating victory. Celebrating should be done by growing close to Almighty Allah, remembering Him and learning from the example of what happened to us.

Celebrating victory is best achieved by fearing Allah and praying for our martyrs and there should be certain protocols followed; spraying cars or people with foam has nothing to do with celebrating, neither does harassing women or showing off with cars and causing accidents.

These are not noble indications of joy and victorious celebration, especially with so many deaths and injuries, including some permanent disabilities, ensuing this year. Is

this really how we should mark the celebration of our victory?

Almighty Allah gave us victory by His grace and ability and through the help of Arab and Islamic countries, as well as in response to the good deeds Kuwait has done and continues to do for all those in need around the world. You careless citizens spoiled our happiness on the occasion of victory and celebration, transforming our festival into a series of accidents with grave results.

Let us overcome our base instincts and purify our celebrations, cleansing them of illmannered behavior and taking an opportunity to move closer to Almighty Allah. Let us remember the brotherly and friendly countries and their stance in helping us to defeat the aggressors, including our allies in the Arabian Gulf, Egypt, Syria and all the other countries who helped Kuwait to liberate its land. Teach your children the manners of celebration and tell them the bitterness we lived through, teach them about the bounties Allah gave us and tell them who stood with or against us. Teach them to hold martyrdom in the country’s sake as sacred, and to sacrifice their souls for Kuwait. Instill the feeling of belonging to this land in them.

prevent it from being automatically and permanently omitted from discussions. Speaking after his meeting with the Secretary General, Ambassador AlOtaibi expressed his pride at representing his country at the UN, and said that Ban had congratulated him on his new post and wished him success in his mission, while underscoring the important role played by Kuwait in the UN.

Ambassador Al-Otaibi reiterated to Ban that “Kuwait will stand by Iraq and assist and encourage it to implement these commitments,” adding that the Secretary General had affirmed that the UN would exert all efforts, through Ban’s representative in Iraq, Ad Melkert, to conclude these issues in the shortest possible time.

The new Kuwaiti representative officially took over his post as head of the Kuwaiti mission to the UN on February 22. Up to that date, Al-Otaibi was Director of the Kuwait Foreign Ministry’s International Organizations Department from 2007, prior to which he was a member of Kuwait’s UN mission from 1992 to 2006.

Ambassador Al-Otaibi is replacing Ambassador Abdullah Al-Murad, whose tenure ended in December.

Earlier on Thursday, Ambassador Al-Otaibi held a luncheon in honor of the Kuwaiti female delegation that is currently taking part in the 54th meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women, being held at the UN from March 1-12.

The delegation comprises of the head of the media committee at the Union of Kuwaiti Women’s Societies, and members Dr. Dhuha Al-Shaqath and Sheikha Al-Mithen. —KUNA

Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi

Ministry blamed for price increases KUWAIT: A senior Kuwait Union of Cooperative Societies (KUCCS) official has rejected Chamber of Commerce claims that the union is responsible for recent price rises, blaming what he called the “chaos” at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) for the problem.

KUCCS spokesman and chairman of the Nuzha Co-op Riyadh Al-Adsani pointed out that in a statement recently issued by the ministry, it had confirmed that price levels

in the news ‘Surprise’ law KUWAIT: Minister of Commerce Ahmad Al-Haroun is reportedly preparing a “surprise” law for the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry tailored to the regulatory body’s members’ wishes, according to a parliamentary insider. The law is being drafted on the quiet to avoid arousing any controversy before it is presented to the cabinet prior to being submitted to parliament, the insider claimed. The official said that the law meets all the Chamber of Commerce’s members’ wishes, while neglecting to take the parliamentary proposals presented

by MP Dr. Hassan Jowhar and four fellow parliamentarians into consideration, reported Al-Watan. In fact, the insider claimed, the most notable feature of the bill put forward by the minister is its emphasis on the need for the chamber to remain independent, which directly contradicts the points raised in the MPs’ proposal.

Citizenship applications KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti interior minister has revealed that it will not be possible to carry out any further work on granting citizenship to the children of naturalized Kuwaiti citizens until the relevant committee has completed its investigation of a previous report on the issue, reported Al-Watan.

Lieutenant General (Retd.)

Sheikh Jaber Al-Khalid AlSabah said that it would be impossible for work to go ahead on this issue until the higher committee tasked with authenticating nationality had completed its analysis of the most recent report issued by the investigation committee headed by Sheikh Tamer AlJaber Al-Sabah and examining all the associated documents.

‘Citizens Fund’ KUWAIT: Five MPs have jointly proposed the creation of a new ‘Citizens’ Fund’ to replace the controversial insolvency fund in providing assistance for citizens with debt problems. The MPs have already presented a copy of the draft bill for the new fund to the Public Authority for Investment (PAI), suggesting that the insolvency fund is no longer feasible or adequate to solve heavily indebted Kuwaitis’ financial problems. Eighty percent of the monies in the fund suggested by the MPs would be provided by the profits on the PAI’s shares in local banks and investment companies, reported Al-Rai.

in Kuwait are stable and within the acceptable price index for GCC countries, while also stating that the failure of some co-ops’ management boards had contributed to the price increase problems.

Al-Adsani said that he found it strange that the MCI can claim at the same time that prices in the country are stable and that coops are the reason behind price increases, adding pointedly that the ministry is the body responsible for monitoring prices.

The KUCCS spokesman said that the ministry had disbanded the previous price committee a couple of years ago before forming another one which had only met five times in two years and had a negligible influence on reducing prices, reported AlQabas. Al-Adsani said that some of the price increases seen in Kuwait had been extreme compared to those witnessed elsewhere in the Middle East, reaching up to 100 percent for some products.

Al-Khorafi urges bridge-building between Palestinian factions CAIRO: Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Jassem AlKhorafi called here on Thursday for ending the inter-Palestinian political divisions as soon as possible. Speaking after leading Kuwait’s delegation to the 16th session of the Arab InterParliamentary Union (AIPU), Al-Khorafi said: “All Arab countries are unanimous in pushing towards Palestinian national reconciliation.”

During the four-day session of the AIPU, hosted by the Egyptian People’s Assembly, the Arab parliamentarians voiced disappointment at the long-standing disputes among the Palestinian factions, he added.

In this context the senior Kuwaiti lawmaker called on the national parliaments of the Arab countries, as well as the AIPU delegates, to put the issue of Palestinian reconciliation at the top of their agendas.

Hailing the final communiqué of the AIPU session, AlKhorafi said: “The document was unanimously approved and none of the participants raised reservations about it.”

He expressed hope that the union’s customary adoption of mutually acceptable decisions would prove to be a long-lasting tradition.

“The AIPU decided to demand that the InterParliamentary Union (IPU) introduce an item onto the agenda of its forthcoming conference on the Israeli violations of the Islamic sacred sites,” he revealed. “The move aims to expose the recent Israeli decision to list as Jewish heritage sites Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi (the Sanctuary of Abraham) in AlKhalil and Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque in Bethlehem.”

Al-Khorafi also voiced his appreciation of the consensus among the general secretaries of the Arab parliaments to elect the Secretary General of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Allam Al-Kandari as chairman of the Association of Secretaries General of Arab Parliaments.

He voiced hope that AlKandari would be the best replacement for the outgoing Kuwaiti head of the association Shreida Al-Maousherji, praising the latter’s achievements during his tenure.

Led by Al-Khorafi, Kuwait’s delegation to the just-ended session of the AIPU included

Jassem Al-Khorafi MPs Mubarak Al-Khurainij, Saleh Al-Ashour, Ghanim AlMei’, Ali Al-Omair, Ali AlDeqbasi, Alam Al-Kandari and Tawfiq Al-Wahib.

Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah said on Thursday that the state of Kuwait is among the Arab countries most eager to work with African states.

Speaking prior to his departure from Cairo following his participation in the 14th session of the Permanent Committee for Arab-African Cooperation, Sheikh Dr. Mohammad said that Kuwait has a long history of working closely with African nations that harks back to the middle of the last century through Kuwait’s provision of assistance to the continent as a whole.

Kuwait currently has ambitious programs for expanding and strengthening its ties with Africa, he said, adding that this is most evident through the assistance provided by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development to African countries.

On the just-concluded committee session, Sheikh Dr. Mohammad explained that the

objective of the meeting was to make preparations for the ArabAfrican summit being held in Libya this October.

He went on to say that this meeting saw the election of the heads of both of the Arab and African sides as well as the committee’s rapporteurs, with Kuwait being elected as the Arab side’s rapporteur and Ghana as the African side’s rapporteur and Egypt and Libya being elected to the chairmanship of the African and Arab sides respectively.

Sheikh Dr. Mohammad was seen off upon his departure from Cairo by the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Egypt Rashid AlHamad.

The Kuwaiti foreign minister led the country’s delegation to the meetings of the 133rd ordinary session of the Arab League ministerial council which concluded here on Thursday evening.

The delegation accompanying Sheikh Dr. Mohammad included both the director of the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister’s office and the director of the Arab Homeland Department, Ambassador Jassem AlMubaraki. —KUNA

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Saturday, March 6, 2010

Rome and Tehran trade accusations over arrests ROME: Italian-Iranian relations hit a new low yesterday over the arrest of Iranian citizens accused of arms trafficking and espionage. Rome rejected accusations that the arrests were politically motivated while in Tehran, foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast called the detentions “an indicator of a new game with ambiguous intentions which aimed to create distractions”.

On Wednesday, Italy arrested seven people on sus-

picion of trafficking arms to Iran, including two Iranians they believe are secret agents and five Italians. One of those held was an Iranian journalist accredited with Rome’s foreign press club and two other Iranians, also believed to be spies, are still at large.

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini issued a statement after Italy’s ambassador in Iran, Alberto Bradanini, was summoned to Tehran’s foreign min-

istry to hear a protest over the arrests in Italy earlier this week. “I firmly reject any Iranian insinuation that the recent arrests by the Italian magistrates were politically motivated,” Frattini said. “Italy is founded on principles of law and the magistrature is independent,” he said. Italian media quoted Iranian state television as denouncing the arrests as part of an “American-Zionist plot to unjustly accuse the Islamic Republic”.

Italy is one of Iran’s main trading partners in Europe but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s close ties with Israel and diplomatic pressure over the nuclear dispute with Tehran have led to a sharp reduction in Italian investments in Iran. When Berlusconi visited Israeli last month Italian officials announced they wanted to block new oil and gas investments in Iran, where Italy’s ENI is involved in the Darkhovin oil field.

Last month Frattini announced a suspension of export credit guarantees for firms investing in Iran.

Iran is subject to an international arms embargo and Berlusconi has said on several occasions that trade sanctions ought to be toughened.

Italian magistrates said the five Italians and four Iranians implicated in the operation were sending weapons to Iran from Italy and via third countries. — Reuters

Maliki return may sit poorly with Sunnis, Kurds

Maliki struggles for second term as PM BAGHDAD: A year ago, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki looked unstoppable as a dramatic security turnaround and slowly improving services proved a formidable weapon for winning votes in January 2009 local polls. Now, people are asking if Maliki has turned that weapon on himself, as persistent violence, lingering sectarian tensions and growing impatience for public services and growth sow doubts about the Shiite leader’s chances of winning a second term.

Whether Maliki’s State of Law coalition gets enough votes to lead Iraq’s next government-no party is expected to win an outright majority-will shape Iraq’s future as it seeks to solidify security gains ahead of the US withdrawal and end the political bickering that undermines stability. His recent campaign speeches returned to well-worn themes: fighting terrorism, stamping out Saddam Hussein’s Baath party and nationalism prevailing over post-2003 sectarian conflict. Dour, formal, and rarely seen cracking a smile, Maliki has more recently added a new theme: seeking to discredit rivals by casting himself as the candidate who gets things done.

“We in the State of Law coalition don’t say that we want to work, because we have worked.

We don’t say we want to succeed, because we have succeeded. We don’t say we want to achieve sovereignty, because we achieved it. But now we want to complete what we have begun,” he told tribal leaders this week. Things will not be as easy for Maliki, 59, as in 2006, when he emerged in lengthy government formation talks as a compromise pick who was not well known enough to be objected to. Maliki, who joined the Islamic Dawa party as a student and later spent years in exile, defeated Shiite militias in 2008.

As incumbent, he is fending off attacks from former partners looking to recapture Shiite support and from the secularist Iraqiya List, which may grab the anti-establishment vote.

Both hope to capitalize on erosion of Maliki’s support after bloody attacks on ministries and other symbols of state power.

Since Wednesday, at least 45 people have been killed.

Even if Maliki can return to the premier’s office, his power will depend on the size and nature of the coalition he leads.

RECONCILIATION There is great debate about how willing Maliki, who was sentenced to death by Saddam in absentia and is said to have a deep hatred for Baathists, is to truly embrace minority Sunnis.

Many Sunnis, dominant under Saddam, say the answer is not very. That perception was strengthened when judges, bowing to apparent government pressure, recently upheld a ban of candidates linked to Baathists, including top Sunni contenders. “We haven’t seen anything but dismissal, marginalization and revenge, which will bring nothing good to Iraq,” said Mohammed Shakir, an engineer in Ramadi, capital of Sunni Anbar province. Such feelings may mean that a return for Maliki will bode poorly for Iraq’s ability to achieve true reconciliation with Sunnis and other groups, and so threaten lasting stability.

Another minority who may oppose another Maliki term are the Kurds, whose aspirations to take control of the disputed oil city of Kirkuk have been thwarted in part by the prime minister. But mindful perhaps that Kurds may prove kingmakers in post-election maneuvering, Maliki hinted in a recent interview that the question of Kirkuk’s future should be put to Iraq’s presidency council, headed by President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd. While initially skeptical, American officials appear to have become Maliki converts, and his return would likely preclude hiccups in the USIraqi relationship as Washington prepares to quickly reduce its troop level this summer and withdraw by 2012. With neighboring Iran, there are more questions. Maliki took heat last year for keeping a long silence after Iranian troops seized an oil well Baghdad claims belongs to Iraq.

Maliki, like all Iraqis, has condemned foreign meddling. But he is mindful of Iraq’s deep ties with the fellow Shi’ite nation and appears determined to keep the relationship on an even keel.

For foreign investors, continuity may be a positive-Maliki has lobbied hard to secure global business for Iraq. But oil executives, fresh from signing major oil deals with the government, signal that none of the potential replacements for Maliki are likely to pose a threat to their work in Iraq. — Reuters

Iraq expats vote as election campaign enters last day BAGHDAD: Politicians launched into their last day of campaigning yesterday as more than a million Iraqis living abroad began voting in an election that could turn the page on years of deadly sectarian strife.

The final days of the campaign for tomorrow’s parliamentary poll, the second since US-led troops ousted Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, have been rocked by a series of suicide attacks that left dozens dead.

Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, the Shiite head of the State of Law Alliance who this week boasted he was “certain” of victory, was due to give a press conference later on Friday in a final push to win support.

Some of the 6,200 other candidates from across Iraq’s complex religious and ethnic spectrum were appearing on television and radio at the end of a campaign in which public meetings and street electioneering were largely absent.

An estimated 1.4 million Iraqis from the warwracked nation’s large diaspora began to cast their votes Friday in 80 cities in 16 different countries.

Ahmed Fuad, a 22-year-old student, said as he emerged from a polling station in Amman in neighbouring Jordan that he backed Shiite ex-premier Iyad Allawi, whose secular Iraqiya list has strong support in Sunni areas.

“I hope the situation will improve there (in Iraq) so we can go back to our country. We are fed up with homesickness,” said Fouad.

On Thursday, a day of early voting for hundreds of thousands of soldiers and police due to work on Sunday, was marred by two suicide attacks at polling stations that killed seven troops and a mortar attack that killed seven civilians.

A day earlier, three suicide attacks, one by a bomber who rode in an ambulance to hospital before blowing himself up, killed 33 people in the central city of Baquba.

Those attacks came despite a massive security operation that saw 200,000 police and soldiers deployed in the Iraqi capital alone.

Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Omar al-Baghdadi had threatened to disrupt the election by “military means” but so far no group has claimed responsibility for this week’s violence.

The US military sees Sunday’s poll as a crucial precursor to a withdrawal of combat troops in August and said it would continue to provide Iraqi security forces with intelligence, logistical and air support for the election.

Sunday’s vote will usher in a government tasked with tackling violence, an economy in tatters and state institutions mired in corruption.

Sunni Arab voters are expected to turn out in force, in stark contrast to the last parliamentary election in 2005 which they mostly boycotted in protest at the rise to power of Iraq’s long-

JERUSALEM: Palestinian Hamas supporters demonstrate in front of the Dome of the Rock before clashes between Palestinian stone throwers and Israeli forces at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound — one of Islam’s holiest sites, yesterday. Israeli police stormed Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound after protesters threw stones following the main weekly prayers, police and witnesses said. — AFP

Western support grows for Mideast talks PARIS: Western countries have welcomed a decision by Arab foreign ministers to back indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks aimed at putting the long-stalled Middle East peace process back on track. Washington has been struggling for months to coax the Israelis and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table after talks were suspended in the wake of Israel’s devastating war on Gaza launched in December 2008.

The Palestinians have refused to meet directly with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu without a complete freeze of Jewish settlement growth in the occupied territories.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband was the latest to put his weight behind indirect talks, an initiative pushed by the United States as a way of breaking the deadlock.

“It is the right time for both sides to show the courage, commitment and

compromise necessary to bring a lasting peace for... the people of the region,” Miliband said on Thursday.

“These talks must begin soon and deal directly with the difficult issues at the core of this conflict,” he added, calling for “tangible momentum within months” of negotiations starting.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said the IsraeliPalestinian talks would be one of the key issues at the half-yearly meeting of EU foreign ministers in Cordoba yesterday and today.

The Middle East was up for discussion “at a critical time when we want to step up the European contribution to the efforts of the new American government, said Moratinos, whose country holds the six-monthly EU presidency.

Dialogue had to resume, he said, “both between Israelis and Palestinians and between Syrians and Israelis,

against the backdrop of the situation in Iran.”

In November, Netanyahu imposed a 10-month ban on new building starts in the West Bank, but the Palestinians rejected the move as insufficient because it excluded public buildings, existing projects and all of east Jerusalem. Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Wednesday agreed to back indirect US-mediated negotiations, even though they said they remained sceptical about Israel’s intentions.

The talks, they said, should not exceed four months.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas had said before the Arab ministers’ decision that he would abide by it, and was expected to make a formal announcement this weekend on the talks.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was quick to welcome the development.

“We were very pleased by the

endorsement that came out of Cairo today, that came out of the Arab followup group with respect to the proximity talks, we hope that they will begin soon,” Clinton said from Brazil Wednesday.

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who had proposed the indirect talks, would be involved in the process, she said.

Washington backs the creation of a Palestinian state more or less along the lines of the 1967 borders, lying next to a secure state of Israel.

A senior US official said Mitchell would visit the Middle East at the weekend, while a member of the Palestinian Authority said Abbas would him meet on Monday. The Middle East diplomatic Quartet-made up of made up of the European Union, the United States, Russia and the United Nations-is also due to meet in Moscow on March 19.—- AFP

Mediterranean Union chief pledges to promote growth

TEHRAN: Flashing a victory sign, an Iraqi man shows his inked finger after casting his vote, in a polling station in downtown Tehran, yesterday. — AP oppressed Shiite majority.

That boycott deepened the sectarian divide and heightened violence that killed tens of thousands of Iraqis and which has only eased in the past two years.

A Shiite is almost certain to become prime minister. Shiites were united in the 2005 polls but this time round are divided, a development hailed by some as a move away from rigid sectarian politics. Also competing with Maliki and Allawi for the top job are former deputy premier Ahmed Chalabi, who was once favoured but is now loathed by Washington, Shiite Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi and Finance Minister Baqer Jaber Solagh.

Under Iraq’s electoral system no one party will emerge with the 163 seats needed to form a government on its own and the ensuing horse-trading to form a governing coalition is likely to be protracted.

“It’s hard to put an actual timeframe on it, but we are talking months, not weeks,” a senior US official said in Washington on Thursday.

“We anticipate a difficult process,” full of challenges and claims of fraud “because the stakes are so high,” the official added, asking not to be identified. Campaigning in the weeks leading up to the election has been dominated by a bitter feud over who can stand.

Around 500 candidates, both Sunni and Shiite, were excluded from the poll after being accused of links to Saddam’s outlawed Baath party. —- AFP

BARCELONA: The first head of the new Mediterranean Union, Jordan’s Ahmad Masa’deh, pledged to “promote growth and security” in the region as he took charge on Thursday.

“I will do all I can so to ensure that this body promotes growth and security on both sides of the Mediterranean Union,” the former Jordanian ambassador to the EU said during his swearing in ceremony in Barcelona.

Launched at a Paris summit in July 2008, the 43-nation Mediterranean Union groups all 27 EU member states with countries in North Africa, the Balkans, the Arab world as well as Israel in a bid to foster cooperation in one of the world’s most volatile regions.

“I salute three years of effort. It is the start.

France is proud of this initiative. We have advanced despite the political difficulties,” French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told reporters on the sidelines of the event.

Masa’deh will have six assistants. A Palestinian will be responsible for environmental issues, an Israeli for higher education and research, a Turk will be responsible for transport, a Maltese for social affairs, a Greek for energy and an Italian for financing for small and medium sized businesses.

Kouchner said having an Israeli and a Palestinian “who normally do not work together, and sometimes clash very harshly, is an exceptional success, a diplomatic tour de force.”

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa attended the swearing in among others.

Masa’deh is now tasked with preparing a Mediterranean Union summit slated for Barcelona, which hosts the body’s headquarters, in June during the final month of Spain’s turn at the helm of the rotating presidency of the EU. — AFP

BAGHDAD: Iraqi Shiite Muslims perform Friday prayers in Baghdad’s Shiite bastion of Sadr City yesterday. Politicians launched into their last day of campaigning as more than a million Iraqis living abroad began voting in an election that could turn the page on years of deadly sectarian strife. — AFP

Iraq govt formation to take months WASHINGTON: The formation of a new government in Iraq after Sunday’s general election “could take some time” and the transition period is fraught with danger, according to a senior US official.

“It’s hard to put an actual time frame on it, but we are talking months, not weeks,” the official, who asked not to be identified, said Thursday.

After Iraq’s last general election in 2005 “it took about five months for the government to be formed,” the official said, adding that Washington now will watch the process “very carefully because it has the potential to be a dangerous period.”

“We anticipate a difficult process,” full of challenges and claims of fraud “because the stakes are so high,” he added.

It would not be surprising to see violence during that period, the official said, adding that nevertheless “there is the prospect of a peaceful democratic transfer of power.”

Some 19 million Iraqis are expected to vote Sunday in the country’s second legislative elections since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Under the Iraqi electoral system no one party will emerge with the 163 seats needed to form a government on its own and the ensuing horse-trading to form a governing coalition could be protracted.

“By March 10th to 11th and over three or four days after the elections, we expect preliminary results to be announced by the High Electoral Commission in Iraq, based on votes from about 30 percent of the polling stations in all of the provinces.”

He said a final certification by the Iraqi Supreme court would be expected “within about a month of the election.” Getting a new government up and running after the election certification would take some time, he stressed, and the current administration would remain in charge during the transition.

The US military sees the poll as a

crucial precursor to a withdrawal of combat troops in August and said it would continue to provide Iraqi security forces with intelligence, logistical and air support for the election.

Asked if the US withdrawal timetable would be altered in case a new Iraqi government is not formed

by August, the US official said: “We see nothing now that affects the plan. We’re on track.”

Another US official said US plans for a full military withdrawal by the end of 2011 took into account the difficult process of forming a new government in Iraq.

Despite two suicide bombings at polling stations and a mortar attack that killed 14 people in Iraq Thursday as early voting was under way, one of the officials said of the day, “things went well.”

Another US official noted that security measures for the elections were not in place on Thursday, but nevertheless several more attacks were prevented. — AFP

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Singapore bolsters security over terrorist threat SINGAPORE : Singapore raised its security alert and bolstered its defenses yesterday after receiving information of a terrorist plot to attack vessels off the coast of the citystate in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, a Cabinet minister said.

Malaysia and Indonesia have also stepped up maritime and air patrols in the Malacca Strait, where millions of barrels of oil pass daily. Singapore’s navy warned Thursday that a terrorist group was planning attacks on oil tankers and other vessels but provided no details. “All alert levels have been raised,” Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng told Parliament, saying that

the government has increased security at border crossings, airports, sea ports and at high-risk targets such as two new casino resorts.

Wong did not say which terrorist group was planning the reported attack.

“We received intelligence from our liaison partners about this possible plot to go and attack vessels coming through Singapore waters through the Malacca Strait,” Wong said. “As a result, the various security agencies have been working very closely with one another.” A Singaporebased terrorism expert said al-Qaida and the Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah

Islamiyah _ blamed for twin bombings last year on hotels in Jakarta _ would be the most likely to carry out such an attack.

“Certainly we know that in the past al-Qaida has had not only the intentions, but the capabilities to operate in the maritime environment,” said John Harrison, assistant professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Suspected JI operatives have been previously been arrested in Singapore.

Also yesterday, Indonesia’s police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said authorities were investigating whether 14 suspected Islamic militants captured in a

raid in Aceh province the previous day were linked to the threat. The raid came amid a police crackdown on militants in Aceh suspected of ties to Jemaah Islamiyah.

Indonesia’s president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said yesterday the group had set up in the western province believing that Indonesian security forces had lost interest in Aceh since a violent separatist movement ended in 2005. Indonesian police have blamed JI for suicide bombings of the J.W. Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels in Jakarta in July 2009 that killed seven people and bombings on the island of Bali in 2002 that killed 202 people. Harrison said Singapore’s

warning likely reflects a credible threat.

“Both the Singapore navy and Home Affairs Ministry are not bodies that are known to hype any threats,” Harrison said.

“If they are putting this information out, it means they are very concerned that something may be developing.” “The shipping industry should and is taking this very seriously,” he added.

The Singapore navy said Thursday that small fishing boats or speedboats were used in past successful terrorist attacks against ships, and these kinds of vessels could be used in the Malacca Strait.

The strait, which is 2.7 km at its narrow-

est point, is formed by the west coast of Malaysia and the east coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island. Singapore, one of the world’s busiest ports, lies at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula along the strait.

According to the US Energy Information Agency, 15 million barrels of oil a day passed through the strait in 2006. Wong said a new police and fire station would help protect Marina Bay Sands, a $5.5 billion casinoresort being built by the US-based Las Vegas Sands due to open in Singapore April 27. Resorts World Sentosa, built by Malaysia’s Genting Bhd., opened the citystate’s first casino last month. — AP

No permission to hold event

Police investigate deadly Indian temple stampede KUNDA, India: Organizers of a food and clothing giveaway in India that collapsed into a deadly stampede failed to take adequate measures to ensure the safety of thousands of poor villagers, officials said yesterday as relatives buried some of the 63 victims. Most of those killed were women and children who were crushed as people scrambled for the free items Thursday at a Hindu temple in the small town of

SRINAGAR: Kashmiri women cry at the funeral of Ghulam Mohammad, one of four militants killed in a gun battle with security forces, in Pastuna village, in Tral district south of Srinagar, on Thursday.

Four suspected militants belonging to Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Kashmir’s frontline militant group, and one army officer were killed in two-day gun battle between separatists and central government forces in the south Kashmir village. — AFP

India open to talks with Pakistan NEW DELHI: India said yesterday it was open to talks with Pakistan but no meaningful progress could be made until Islamabad controls the “terror machine” operating on its soil.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was a strong advocate of dialogue with Pakistan but Islamabad must not allow territory under its control “to be used for terrorism against India.”

“For any meaningful dialogue to proceed the terror machine has to be controlled by Pakistan,” he told parliament.

Singh’s statement came a day after Pakistan said it had put forward a road map on how to revive talks with India’s political leadership and had urged New Delhi to

respond to the proposal.

The prime minister did not comment on the Pakistani plan but said: “I have never believed channels of communication with Pakistan should break down... the chances of miscalculation can only increase in a situation of no contact.”

Senior officials of the two nuclear-armed South Asian rivals met in New Delhi last week for the first talks since a shaky IndiaPakistan peace process was suspended following the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks which New Delhi and Washington blamed on Pakistani militants.

The civil servants agreed to keep in contact but made no progress on core disputes leaving both sides at loggerheads on how to

take the dialogue forward.

Pakistan has complained about India’s “narrow focus” on terrorism and has called for a resumption of the full-blown peace talks.

Singh in the past has said peace talks can only resume if Islamabad brings the Mumbai perpetrators to justice and cracks down on militant groups operating on its soil.

Singh, responding to criticism from the opposition that India had restarted talks with Pakistan only because of US pressure, said the decision had been a “calculated one.” “The fact is that the rest of the international community is talking to Pakistan.

Not talking to them will not isolate them,” Singh said. —- AFP

US warns Japanese princess bullied against at elementary school adopting in Nepal KATHMANDU: The United States has warned its citizens against adopting children in Nepal, saying it has “grave concerns” about the reliability of that country’s adoption system.

The government urged prospective adoptive parents to choose another country, citing the case of a young Nepalese girl placed in the custody of an American couple without the consent of her biological mother and father.

“The US Department of State strongly discourages prospective adoptive parents from choosing Nepal as a country from which to adopt due to grave concerns about the reliability of Nepal’s adoption system,” it said in a statement on its website dated March 4.

Nepal introduced new adoption legislation in 2008 following reports of widespread abuses of the system by unscrupulous agents who were effectively trafficking children overseas for profit. Twenty Nepalese children have been adopted by foreign parents since the system restarted last year, seven of whom are in the US, but experts say little has changed since the new rules came into force.

The State Department said that in one of the first cases processed by the Nepal government, the US embassy in Kathmandu found the birth parents of the adopted child were actively searching for her.

The US government warning follows a recommendation last month from a team of international legal experts based in The Hague that international adoptions of Nepalese children be suspended. —AFP

TOKYO: Japan’s Princess Aiko, granddaughter of the emperor, has missed several days of classes because of bullying by boys at her elementary school, a spokesman for the royal family said yesterday.

The news provided a rare glimpse into the private affairs of the world’s oldest hereditary monarchy, which usually abides by strict, formal protocols and is tightlipped about personal matters.

The 8-year-old princess complained of a stomachache and expressed deep anxiety, and has not attended school since coming home early Tuesday, the spokesman for the Imperial Household Agency said. He declined to provide his name, citing agency policy.

An investigation by the agency and the school revealed that she and several other students had suffered “violent things” from boys in another class, the spokesman said, declining to elaborate. Aiko is the daughter of Crown Prince

Naruhito, son of the emperor, and Princess Masako. She attends the elite Gakushuin Primary School in Tokyo’s central Shinjuku district. The spokesman declined to comment on the reaction of her parents or when she would return to school.

Naruhito is to visit Africa starting today but won’t be accompanied by Masako, who hasn’t attended official duties for several years. She has long suffered from a nervous disorder attributed to the difficulties of adjusting to palace life and the pressure to bear a son.

After suffering a miscarriage in 1999, Masako gave birth to Aiko in 2001. The lack of a male heir fanned a movement to change the law to allow Aiko to succeed her father.

But the succession crisis was averted when Naruhito’s younger brother, Prince Akishino, and his wife Princess Kiko had a baby boy in 2006. The boy, Hisahito, is now third in line to the throne. — AFP

But Rajnish Puri, a spokesman for the Jagat Kripalu Parishat trust that runs the temple, said he had informed local authorities about the event last Saturday, telling them they expected large numbers of people. “But only two police constables were sent,” he said in a statement.

In the nearby village of Kazipur Maharajganj, grieving relatives chanted religious hymns as they accompanied the family of 48-year-old Phool Chand Saroj, a poor farmer who lost his mother and two children in the stampede. Saroj’s wife, who he believed had also died, was found to be alive overnight.

The bodies were carried to nearby fields for burial. While most Hindus cremate their dead, the villagers in this area traditionally bury them.

In the village of Piranagar, the bodies of two sisters, 8-year-old Vandana and 12year-old Sanjana, were wrapped in white sheets and placed on slabs of ice in their small house until their father could return

Kunda, on the northern plains of India’s Uttar Pradesh state.

Police opened a criminal negligence case against the temple management, Superintendent of Police S.M. Mishra said.

Relatives complained organizers should have done a better job of controlling the crowds. Ashok Kumar, a local government official, said the temple had not asked permission to hold the event.

home later Friday from his job ironing clothes in the distant city of Mumbai. Their mother, Bimla Devi, cried nearby among weeping relatives and neighbors. The girls had gone to the temple along with their mother and their 15-year-old sister Khushboo.

“We knew that we would get an offering so we went,” Khushboo said. “Then we felt people starting to push us, and people started falling on top of us. In this madness, my two sisters died.” The handouts in Kunda are an annual tradition arranged by local religious leader Kripalu Maharaj to mark the anniversary of his wife’s death, a common practice in India.

The event usually draws a few hundred people, but was announced more broadly this year and attracted several thousand villagers, said state lawmaker Raghuraj Pratap Singh, who represents Kunda, about 110 miles (180 kilometers) southeast of the state capital of Lucknow. While most men in the farming region worked in their fields,

women gathered with their children to receive the alms.

The stampede was so intense it knocked down a gate at the compound surrounding the temple.

The compound appeared to have been undergoing renovations. Bamboo and iron rods used in construction were strewn about the grounds, possibly causing some people to trip. All the victims have been identified and the bodies given to relatives to carry to their villages, police official K.G. Khan said. As bodies were claimed, temple officials at the hospital gave donations of 10,000 rupees ($220) to families who lost relatives.

Deadly stampedes are relatively common at temples in India, where large crowds _ sometimes hundreds of thousands of people _ gather in tiny areas with no safety measures or crowd control. In 2008, more than 145 people died in a stampede at a remote Hindu temple at the foothills of the Himalayas. —- AP

Tamil Tiger group held in Germany BERLIN: German prosecutors said yesterday that they have arrested six people suspected of being members of a wing of the Tamil Tiger rebels and of forcing Tamils living in Germany to make donations to the banned group.

The three German and three Sri Lankan nationals were arrested on Wednesday following searches in the western state of North RhineWestphalia, federal prosecutors said in a statement. The six are accused of serving in the leadership of the Tamil Coordination Committee, or TCC. The TCC is a Germanybased wing of the Tamil Tigers, who were defeated in 2009 after 25 years of civil war in Sri Lanka. The Tigers are listed as terrorists by the European Union.

Prosecutors said the committee was “tasked with siphoning finances off of Tamils living in Germany and transferring the collected money and objects to Sri Lanka.”

The six were identified only as Vijikanendra V. S., 34 _ the alleged ringleader _ Sivanathan T., 58, and Ragulan S., 22, all Sri Lankan citizens. The German citizens were identified as Sasitharan M., 33, Koneswaran T., 39, and 42-year-old Poobalasingham T. —AFP

MANILA: Policemen escort two of three militants to a vehicle to be transported to a detention cell in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon city suburban Manila yesterday. Three captured militants had been planning to launch bomb attacks in the Philippine capital in revenge for the killing of one of their commanders, the military said. — AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian farmers raise their fists and shout slogans as they take part in a protest in New Delhi yesterday. Demonstrators urged the government to increase the minimum support price of essential crops and to withdraw a price hike in fertilizers. — AFP

Australia launches major probe into Indian toddler’s death MELBOURNE: Australian police yesterday launched a major investigation after a three-yearold Indian boy’s body was found dumped by a Melbourne roadside, threatening to cast a fresh shadow over ties.

Victoria state premier John Brumby said he found the death of Gurshan Singh, who was visiting from Punjab in northern India, “personally distressing” but urged people not to speculate about the case.

“What has occurred is an unthinkable tragedy.

It’s deeply, deeply distressing,” Brumby told reporters. “There are no visible signs of the cause of death at this stage... but I think it’s very important that no one jumps to conclusions,” he added.

The little boy disappeared from a suburban house at about 1 pm Thursday while his mother was taking a shower. He was last heard screaming, upset because his father had left for a nearby library without him.

“He stopped shouting and I thought, what happened?” housemate Sim Kaur, 24, told reporters.

The boy’s body was found about six hours later some 30 km away, not far from the city’s airport.

An autopsy failed to reveal the cause of death.

Officials pleaded for privacy for the “shattered” parents, who were seeing grief counsellors, and appealed for calm. The boy, whose mother was studying in Australia, had been in the country for about six weeks.

“Of course we are asking for calm in the Indian community throughout Melbourne and also the Indian community back in India,” said local councilor Tim Singh Laurence.

His death comes as Foreign Minister Stephen Smith seeks to smooth over relations with India, a major export market, after a series of alleged race attacks including the killing of an Indian student in Melbourne in January.

Smith, the latest in a series of top officials to visit India in recent months, met Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh Thursday and assured him “that the Australian government was taking the issue of Indian student safety seriously”.

Smith had earlier acknowledged that some of the attacks, which prompted street protests last year, were “racist” following a series of denials by senior officials and police.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described the little boy’s death as a “really horrible story”.

“The death of any little child causes everyone in this country to stop, pause, think, reflect,” he said.

“If this is a case of murder, there is nothing worse than the brutal murder of a little child. The authorities are investigating it and we have every confidence the authorities will get to the bottom of it.” State premier Brumby added that state police were using “every possible resource” and their “best investigators” to solve the case, and appealed for witnesses.

Hundreds of Indian nationals, among around 100,000 studying in Australia, have been robbed and beaten over the past 18 months culminating in January’s stabbing murder of Nitin Garg, 21, as he walked to work at a burger restaurant.

The attacks, which have prompted damning coverage in Indian media, have badly damaged Australia’s image abroad and have also hit its 15 billion US dollar industry educating foreign students, mostly from Asian countries.

Australia has sought to repair ties with a charm offensive involving a series of diplomatic visits to India and by enlisting legendary cricketer Shane Warne to meet Indian students.

Last month, thousands of Australians visited Indian restaurants for a “Vindaloos Against Violence” campaign aimed at showing solidarity with the 450,000-strong community.

Initial Indian media reaction to Singh’s death was muted, contrasting with widespread coverage to attacks on Indian students. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL

6

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Africa aims to regulate ‘mercenary’ industry ADDIS ABABA: Twenty-five African states agreed yesterday to step up efforts to regulate mercenary activity on the continent amid an explosion of private security companies on the continent. The nations decided at the end of a two-day meeting with a UN working group in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to propose regulations at the September meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, participants said. “Clearly a

consensus has emerged, a willingness of the participating states to regulate more the activities of the PMSCs (private military and security companies),” one delegate told AFP. Jose Luis Gomez del Prado, from the UN committee on mercenaries, told the meeting the largely US- and British-based industry, worth many billions of dollars a year, had boomed in African and across the world.

“With the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, we

have seen this embryonic industry explode.

There is a new dimension with the piracy in Somalia,” he said. Private security “multinationals”, 70-80 percent of which were based in the United States or Britain, were recruiting around the world, he said, adding there was an “osmosis” between these groups and typical mercenaries.

“This market represents between 20 and 100 billion dollars a year,” Del Prado said,

adding that these guns for hire posed a “great danger” to fragile governments. In Africa there was “resentment towards private armies mainly because of the involvement of mercenaries in regime change in a number of African countries,” said African Union security expert Norman Lambo. In one example, British-led mercenaries led a foiled coup in 2004 against the government of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea.

“It is unfortunate that of late some groups have decided to move their mercenary activities to hide them under private security activities,” he told the meeting.

Nine African states are among 32 countries that have ratified a 1989 UN Convention against the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries. The Organization of African Unity, predecessor of the African Union, adopted in 1977 a convention on the

elimination of mercenaries which was in turn adopted by 30 African countries. However there were a number of loopholes in the document and it needed to be strengthened, del Prado said. The head of the UN group, Shaista Shameem, said the current regulations were “largely inadequate”. “Africa is also becoming an important market for the security industry as well as a supplier of personnel for the industry.”—AFP

UN chief visits quake victims

Chile declares period of national mourning CONCEPCION, Chile: Chile has declared a period of national mourning as divers searched for bodies and discrepancies emerged over a death toll potentially lower than official figures for the killer earthquake and tsunami. As rescue dogs combed the fetid coastline, where emergency personnel believe huge waves The official death toll stands at 802, but President Michelle Bachelet, touring the heart of the disaster zone for the first time five days after the quake, said it included some 200 people who should be listed as missing but were prematurely added to the death toll.

Chile’s deputy interior minister Patricio Rosende, in an apparent attempt to clarify the figures, read out “the complete list of the 279 Chileans who have been fully identified by authorities,” although he did not lower the official toll.

Bachelet, who called for the national flag to be hung from each house during the mourning period, predicted it could take up to four years for the South American nation to fully recover from its worst quake in half a century.

The stench of death was everywhere as Bachelet arrived in the country’s hard-hit second city Concepcion to inspect the massive aid operation struggling to get food and water to ravaged areas.

“This is testing us as a nation once again. Chile will get back on its feet. What has happened to us is terrible, of colossal dimensions,” Bachelet said as she talked with relief workers.

Thousands of Chilean troops sent to central and southern regions have largely managed to quell the looting that erupted in the wake of Saturday’s 8.8magnitude quake and ensuing tsunami.

In the small coastal town of Constitucion, vans, cars and small trucks flying the Chilean

swept hundreds to their deaths, the government said three days of mourning would be observed from Sunday in honor of the quake victims. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday began a two-day visit to assess the damage and the relief requirements.

CONCEPCION: Aerial view taken yesterday of the damages caused by the tsunami in Tubul, 50 km away from Concepcion, Chile, after the quake that hit the country last Saturday. —AFP flag sped around loaded with supplies.

“Restoring order and feeding the hungry are our top priority,” said Laura Abornoz, Bachelet’s special envoy in the low-lying coastal area, where more and more people were fleeing for higher ground despite government reassurances.

“I want to go home, but my little girls won’t go back,” said Andrea Luna Casanova, with her two young daughters by her side.

“They cry whenever we mention it. They were terrified by the quake. We live on the seventh floor and it just shook and shook.”

A false tsunami alert on Wednesday sent terrified people scrambling for the hills.

Regular aftershocks as well as a

separate 6.3-magnitude quake in northern Chile late Thursday, and an equally powerful aftershock at dawn yesterday just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Concepcion, ensured nerves were constantly rattled.

Bachelet, whose presidency ends March 11, has deployed 14,000 troops and imposed broad curfews in the quake region, an unprecedented move since the 17-year military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet which ended only in 1990.

She will be replaced by president-elect Sebastian Pinera, who inherits the huge task of rebuilding the South American country.

“We will not be the government of the earthquake, but the government of reconstruction,” the multi-millionaire business-

man vowed a week before his inauguration.

Both Bachelet and Pinera will be meeting with Ban, the UN chief’s office said.

Despite being considered a model of political and economic stability in Latin America, Chile has struggled to cope with catastrophe of this scale.

Many of the nation’s lifeline industries, from agriculture and fishing to tourism and trade, were decimated by the disaster.

Tonnes of aid has begun to arrive, and the international airport in Santiago which was damaged in the quake-one of the largest ever recorded-has now reopened.

International credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s was positive about Chile’s long-term recovery prospects and issued a statement saying it was leaving its 2010 growth forecast unchanged at five percent.

“While we expect a significant hit to growth-and to the recovery already under way-in the first half of the year, extensive reconstruction efforts are likely to bolster economic activity thereafter.”

Total economic losses from the quake could exceed 15 billion dollars, according to EQECAT and AIR Worldwide, two firms which model the impact of disasters.

Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI sent a message to Chileans, 70 percent of whom are Roman Catholic, saying he hoped the disaster “would inspire in everyone feelings of Christian hope and fraternal solidarity to overcome adversity.” — AFP

Ships freed from ice nightmare STOCKHOLM: Icebreakers have freed dozens of ships from thick ice in the Baltic Sea, officials said yesterday, ending the ordeal of thousands of passengers and crew stranded in freezing conditions off the Swedish coast.

“There are no more ships stuck in the ice,” Ann Ericsson of the Swedish Maritime Administration’s ice breaker unit, said. A number of vessels, including several large passenger ferries shuttling as many as 1,000 passengers each between Sweden, Finland and Estonia, become stuck Thursday just outside the Stockholm archipelago, where freezing winds had pushed thick ice towards the coast.

“We have not slept much,” Lena, a passenger on the Amorella ferry that broke free from the ice early yesterday, told Swedish public radio.

“We’ve been interested in watching all the ice breakers and helicopters work.”

Two small ice breakers on Thursday failed to free the Amorella and several other smaller ferries, which had been forced to wait for the larger Ymer ice breaker to sail down from the Bay of Bothnia in the north.

There it had been working to free as many as 50 cargo ships and commercial vessels, some of which had been stuck for days, and in one case since last Saturday, according to the maritime administration.

Twelve ships were still docked near the central port city of Sundsvall for that ice breaker to return to escort them out, according to Ericsson.

STOCKHOLM: A handout photo released by the Swedish Coast Guard yesterday shows a large cargo ship stuck in the ice in the Baltic Sea on the same day. Around 50 ships, including large ferries carrying thousands, were stuck in the ice in the Baltic Sea, Swedish maritime authorities said. — AFP “They’re waiting for help, but none of them are stuck,” she said, adding that the winds had died down and conditions at sea had become easier. The Amorella ferry, which has the capacity to carry up to 1,313 passengers and crew, had collided with a Finnfellow ferry trapped nearby while trying to free itself from the ice.

Its owner Viking Line however insisted no damage was done to the ship and that there had at no time been any danger to the passengers.

Passengers on the Amorella were requested to move to the front of the boat to avoid any collision impact, according to Mats Nystroem, one of the passengers.

The two ships “were simply drifting towards each oth-

er,” he told Swedish public radio from the stranded ferry.

Finnfellow passenger Tapio Sippo meanwhile told Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat that “there was a big crash.” “The staff panicked more than us tough truck drivers,” he added.

The Swedish Maritime Administration issued a warning to ships not to take the route where most of the ferries became stuck. “They got caught outside the archipelago, where there is moving ice. It’s hard to navigate,” Johny Lindvall, also of the Swedish Maritime Administration’s ice breaker unit, told AFP Thursday, adding that he had not seen so many ships stuck at once since the mid-1980s.

Sweden has suffered an

unusually harsh winter this year, with temperatures across the country almost continuously well below freezing since December.

The large ferries are equipped to break their way through the thin layers of ice that often cover parts of the Baltic they traffic, but Swedish maritime authorities criticized their decision to ignore its warning and attempt to take the treacherous route near the Stockholm archipelago.

“The problem is that these big ferries think they can handle the ice. They have extremely powerful engines, but in this case the ice was simply too difficult for them,” Ulf Gullne, also of the administration’s ice breaker unit, told Swedish public radio. —- AFP

SALZBURG: A cat and two dogs play in the fresh snow in Lofer in the Austrian province of Salzburg, yesterday. After springlike temperatures the last days, winter has returned to the alpine country. — AP

Florida winter hits tomato growers ST. PETERSBURG, Florida: A frigid Florida winter is taking its toll on your sandwich. The Sunshine State is the main US source for fresh winter tomatoes, and its growers lost some 70 percent of their crop during January’s prolonged cold snap.

Wholesale prices are up nearly five times over last year. That means you can say goodbye to the beefsteaks on that burger and prepare to pay more than usual for the succulent wedges in your salad.

At Costello Sandwich and Sides in Chicago, which uses 10 to 15 cases of tomatoes a week and is now paying $25 a case instead of $15, customers can expect to get a bit less tomato on their sandwiches. The shop hasn’t raised prices or stopped serving tomatoes altogether, but manager Matthew Villareal says he can see the tomatoes are soft when the prep cooks are cutting them.

“The tomato prices definitely have gone up and the quality isn’t so great either,” he said. “We just kind of eat the cost.” An unusually cold January in

Florida destroyed entire fields of tomatoes _ along with some green beans, sweet corn and squash. The cold scarred the tomatoes, damaged their vines, and forced many farmers to delay their harvest. The average wholesale price for a 25-pound box of tomatoes is now $30, up from $6.50 a year ago. Florida’s growers would normally ship about 25 million pounds of tomatoes a week; right now, they’re shipping less than a quarter of that, according to Reggie Brown of the Florida Tomato Grower’s Exchange, a tomato farmer cooperative in Maitland.

Some parts of Florida saw average temperatures so low that this January and February were among the 10 coldest on record, according to the National Weather Service. “Anecdotally, from talking to some real long timers, as well as people who watch the weather, this has been the most extended cold in maybe 60 years,” said Terry McElroy, spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture. Industry estimates suggest that about two-thirds of the tomato crop in the major southwestern production

region was destroyed, according to a Feb. 25 United States Department of Agriculture report.

There’s more bad news, Brown said: Because of the continued cold weather _ 38-degree temperatures were predicted Friday in some central Florida growing areas _ the current crop of fruit isn’t as far along as everyone had hoped.

“We thought they’d recover by early April, but now it’s mid- April,” he said.

And because high demand has driven up domestic prices, many wholesalers are buying from Mexico instead. “We’re obviously losing market share to Mexico, and there’s always a price to pay to get the customer to get back into the Florida market,” Brown said. Florida is the only place where tomatoes are grown on a large scale in the US during winter.

California doesn’t grow them until later in the year, and much of that state’s crop is used for processed foods, such as ketchup, sauce and juice. Other states grow tomatoes in greenhouses yearround, but Florida’s winter tomato crop is by far the largest. — AP

Eight jailed for plot to kill Fiji PM SUVA, Fiji: Eight Fijian men were sentenced yesterday to jail terms of three to seven years for their roles in a 2007 plot to assassinate the South Pacific island nation’s prime minister. The men conspired to kill armed forces chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 2006.

“In late 2007 the state of Fiji was in a very fragile state, and had this plot succeeded, the consequences are unthinkable,” said Justice Paul Madigan of Fiji’s High Court.

“There has been no evidence before this court of any thought given to the fate of the average Fijian should the country be suddenly rid of its president, prime minister and army.

The plans of the accused were totally self-serving, thoughtless and greedy.” When the defendants were arrested in late 2007, then-New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said the plot allegations appeared to be a pretext to round up opponents of Fiji’s military government.

The men were convicted Wednesday and had faced up to 14 years in prison.

The longest sentence of seven years went to Ratu Inoke Takiveikata, a former senator and indigenous Fijian tribal leader, and Sivaniolo Naulago, a former manager of information technology company Pacific Connext.

Former Fiji Intelligence Service director Metuisela Mua was sentenced to threeand-a-half years. The five other conspirators were all members of the now-disbanded Counter Revolutionary Warfare unit. They received sentences ranging from three to six-anda-half years. —AP

REYKJAVIK: Icelandic Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir and Finance Minister Steingrimur J. Sigfusson give a press conference yesterday. Iceland’s prime minister hinted that an upcoming referendum on how to repay Britain and the Netherlands for money lost in the collapse of an Icelandic bank might be postponed.— AFP

Iceland PM appeals voters to shun bank referendum REYKJAVIK: Iceland yesterday pursued last minute efforts with Britain and Netherlands to reach a deal to repay debts from a collapsed bank, ahead of a referendum on the controversy which its prime minister has called “meaningless.” A team of Icelandic negotiators remain in London where they have been holding meetings and telephone contacts with counterparts from Britain and the Netherlands on the Icesave bank deal, finance ministry spokesman Elias Gudjonsson, said.

Iceland is to hold a referendum today on an earlier deal and polls indicate voters will reject the accord.

While some believe rejection will plunge the country further into crisis, Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said the referendum means nothing because the London talks could produce a better deal and she has appealed for people not to vote.

“The referendum is meaningless and in my opinion it will not get us much,” Sigurdardottir told RUV television late Thursday. “I am disappointed that the first national referendum

Iceland has seen is under these circumstances.”

She said in an interview with the Frettabladid newspaper released yesterday: “I see no meaning in participating in this referendum.”

She said the talks could mean even lower repayments by Icelandic taxpayers and warned: “I am afraid that the delay is going to cost us more than getting a new deal.”

Today’s vote will be Iceland’s first referendum since it achieved independence from Denmark in 1944. The latest poll suggested that three quarters of the 225,000 eligble voters would spurn the Icesave deal.

Existing legislation proposes paying some 3.9 billion euros ($5.2 billion) to Britain and the Netherlands for money they paid to 340,000 people hit by the October 2008 collapse of Icesave online bank.

A bill was passed on December 31 but President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson refused to sign it into law because of the public opposition and called the referendum. — AFP

business

saturday, March 6, 2010

7

Asian markets gain ahead of US jobs report HONG KONG: Asian stock markets rose yesterday amid hopes a key US jobs report would show the world’s largest economy was on track toward a sustainable rebound.

Every major market was higher as the region bounced back from declines the day before. Oil prices extended gains above $80 a barrel, while the dollar strengthened against the yen and the euro.

Investors were awaiting the US government’s February jobs figures — the monthly

employment snapshot that is among the market’s most important reports — for clues to whether the recovery under way in the world’s largest economy is sustainable.

Thursday brought cause for optimism the monthly report wouldn’t disappoint. The number of people filing jobless claims for the first time fell last week and major retailers posted February sales numbers that topped — suggesting hard-hit expectations Americans whose spending is critical for

Asian export companies were healing financially.

In Asia, speculation that Japan was mulling extra measures to shore up its recovery added to the upbeat mood. A top paper reported the Bank of Japan might easy monetary policies to keep money flowing through economy. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 stock average jumped 223.24 points, or 2.2 percent, to 10,368.96. Hong Kong’s market rose 0.9 percent to 20,754.30 and Shanghai’s

market gained 0.7 percent to 3,043.25 as investors focused on Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s annual policy address.

Wen said Beijing would more than halve the annual increase in spending, to 11.4 percent, as the country winds down measures that insulated the economy from last year’s global slowing. He set an economic growth target of 8 percent for 2010.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.9 percent at 1,632.69. Markets in India,

Taiwan and Singapore gained, as well.

Yestrday’s US jobs report is likely to show unemployment continued to rise, to 9.8 percent in February from 9.7 percent from the month before, as employers cut 50,000 jobs. But economists say there could be a silver lining if, as expected, both average hourly earnings and average hours worked climbed last month. Such increases often precede more hiring.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 89.27

yen from 89.13 yen. The euro fell to $1.3573 from $1.3580. Oil prices rose in Asia with benchmark crude for April delivery up 54 cents at $80.757.

In the US Thursday, the Dow rose 47.38, or 0.5 percent, to 10,444.14, its highest close since Jan. 20. The Dow is now up 16 points, or 0.2 percent, for 2010. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 4.18, or 0.4 percent, to 1,122.97. It is up 0.7 percent for the year. — AP

Paris closer to hosting Islamic bond issue Confident of establishing new French framework for sukuk

twofour54 signs global publishing deal with Macmillan ABU DHABI: twofour54 announced the signing of a global publishing deal with Macmillan Children’s Books to create a range of ‘Driver Dan’s Story Train’ books in Arabic and English.

Under the terms of the agreement, Macmillan Children’s Books, a division of Pan Macmillan, will focus on developing a publishing programme aimed at pre-school children.

The programme will start with character based board books and paperback story books before adding new formats including wipe-clean, board, cloth and bath books as well as ebooks.

‘Driver Dan’s Story Train’ was the first partnership signed by twofour54 ibtikar, an agreement with 3Line Media of the United Kingdom in early 2009. It is a fun and educational, bi-lingual animation and live action children’s TV series developed to introduce young, preschool age children to the delights of storytelling and reading books. It features a cast of animated animal characters who read and explore a different children’s storybook in each show.

The English version of the show debuted on the BBC’s flagship UK children’s channel CBeebies in January 2010. It has been a resounding success, with rave reviews across the UK media as well as featuring in the top ten downloads on the BBC’s online i-player platform. A number of international broadcasters are currently in discussion with twofour54 regarding the acquisition of rights.

The Arabic version of the show, which is currently being produced at the twofour54 intaj production and post-production facilities, has been created specifically for the Arab world and features animation relative to the region and live action footage of locally-cast children responding and play-acting to the story.

Regional broadcasters have responded positively to the initial pilot episode, with the Arabic version scheduled for completion and ready for broadcast before the end of the year.

This new deal opens up tremendous opportunities for the Arabic publishing industry, as it will enable Arabic publishers and artists to

work with one of the biggest names in international publishing on an exciting series of books.

Plans include securing an Arabic publishing partner, mass market distribution as well as developing books for the educational market and an initiative based on the importance of literacy.

With over 7000 staff operating in more than 80 countries, Macmillan Publishers Ltd is one of the largest and best known international publishing groups in the world. Macmillan Children’s Books is a division of Pan Macmillan, which is the trade publishing arm of Macmillan Publishers. It is owned by Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH, one of the world’s leading media companies focused on print and electronic media. It is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany and owns around 40 companies apart from Macmillan. Its interests include book, magazine and newspaper publishers and new media firms.

Commenting on the publishing deal, Wayne Borg, COO, twofour54 said: “Macmillan is an ideal partner for twofour54. They have a proven track record within the publishing industry, have a real passion for story-telling and share our aim of making ‘Driver Dan’s Story Train’ a leading, global pre-school brand. This deal will play a key role in increasing the amount of high quality, Arabic content being produced in the region, for the region.”

Macmillan is a winner of several major children’s book prizes including the Nestle prize, the Kate Greenaway medal, Blue Peter and Early Years Awards. “Having taken the decision to enter the licensed arena, we have been determined to wait for the right project,” explained Suzanne Carnell, Publishing Director of Illustrated Publishing. “We are in no doubt that ‘Driver Dan’s Story Train’ is not only the right project, but the perfect one. We have the genuine passion and commitment to focus on Story Train as the first key licensed brand in our preschool publishing and are excited about working with twofour54 to make Driver Dan a global brand.”

PARIS: France is set to adjust its legal and fiscal framework to accommodate Islamic bonds this year, a leading Paris official told Reuters, as the French capital looks to attract business in this potentially fast-growing industry.

“Work is well advanced on the matter of hosting sukuk (Islamic bond) emissions,” Paris Europlace Managing Director Arnaud de Bresson said in an interview. Paris Europlace is a body that promotes the French capital’s business interests.

“We are confident that the new fiscal and regulatory framework (for sukuks) will be finalised during the year, perhaps even during the first half of the year,” he added.

Sukuk bonds are a flagship product of the Islamic finance industry, and Paris has been looking to keep up with London in attracting business in a sector estimated to be worth at least $1 trillion.

However, the sector suffered last year in the wake of debt problems in Dubai, when Dubai World’s Nakheel property unit asked for three listed Islamic bonds worth $5.25 billion to be suspended pending restructuring. At least one French sukuk bond was also delayed last year due to legal hurdles.

Gilles Saint Marc, a member of Paris Europlace’s Islamic Finance committee, told a Reuters Summit last month that France was still examining tax and legal changes to avoid double taxation of Islamic products.

The credit crisis also hit the Islamic bond market, but Europlace’s de Bresson is confident that sukuk bonds will be issued in Paris once more favourable market conditions return. “As soon as the market recovers, we will be in a position to host sukuk emissions,” he said. Sukuk bonds are structured as profit-sharing or rental agreements, with returns derived from underlying assets since Islamic laws prohibit paying or earning interest. Britain has made the most progress on developing an Islamic finance market in Europe, with a London-based private healthcare organisation set to issue the first-ever Islamic bond in the UK this month. —Reuters

Lack of Abu Dhabi debt guarantees comes at a price ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi-linked firms will pay more to raise capital in the wake of Moody’s downgrades as a government statement of support for the high-profile firms fell short of explicit guarantees, analysts said yesterday.

Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest emirate in the seven-member United Arab Emirates federation, has dismissed Moody’s downgrade on Thursday of seven Abu Dhabi-government linked companies, saying it had the “fiscal position and reserves” to meet its commitments to the firms, especially three which are wholly state-owned.

However, the emirate stopped short of offering an explicit, contractual guarantee the ratings agency was pushing for, which analysts said was crucial in the wake of Dubai’s debt crisis last November.

“November 25 changed everything,” Khuram Maqsood, managing director at Emirates Capital said, referring to Dubai’s announcement to delay repayment of $26 billion in debt.

“It changed the implicit assumptions that both lenders and credit agencies were making with respect to the borrowings by government-related entities. It changed everything because the implicit assumption was violated.”

Dubai distanced itself from debt woes at its state-owned conglomerate Dubai World [DBWLD.UL] last year, shattering widely held expectations among investors that the emirate would back the debt of its government-related

entities or GREs. Instead, Abu Dhabi gave Dubai a $10 billion lifeline and Dubai World is in restructuring talks.

“It seems that the Dubai experience has led the agencies to be more cautious in assessing the sovereign guarantees that Abu Dhabi has made verbally with respect to the debt of GREs,” said David Butter, director for the Middle East and North Africa at the Economist Intelligence Unit, in London.

“Unless these guarantees are formally written into the prospectus of debt issues, the agencies clearly feel they have to reflect this ambiguity in their ratings.”

In downgrading the seven firms Moody’s said that, despite Abu Dhabi’s full and unconditional backing, there was no explicit formal agreement requiring the emirate to support the companies “under all circumstances.”

The agency cut its ratings on investment vehicle Mubadala, International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and Tourism Development & Investment Company (TIDC) — all 100-percent owned by the Abu Dhabi government.

Moody’s also downgraded Emirates Telecommunications <ETEL.AD> (Etisalat), Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa) and Dolphin Energy.

Abu Dhabi said it was impossible to differentiate between the government and the three wholly owned firms.

“The three companies TDIC, Mubadala, and IPIC ... each play a crucial role in the government’s strategy for diversifying the economy. They are irreplaceable,” Abu Dhabi’s department of finance said in a statement.

Abu Dhabi government-owned entities have sold billions of dollars in bonds in the last two years to fund the oil-rich emirate’s ambitious expansion plans and their own funding needs.

In 2009, Abu Dhabi and its entities issued at least $10 billion worth of bonds and a senior banker said another $5-10 billion would be needed this year to fund plans.

“All these companies have specific financial needs whether it is IPIC, Mubadala, TIDC or Aldar,” the Abu Dhabi-based banker said. “They have been in negotiations with banks and some of them are eyeing bonds.

“How successful (companies) would be, time will tell. But it is not going to be easy going forward, borrowing will be costly.” Mubadala is in talks with banks to refinance a $2 billion loan due in April while IPIC has launched a $2.5 billion, three-year term loan to refinance existing debt. “If the government is unwilling to give that guarantee, for some of its government-related businesses, then it’s a fair question to raise: the government has an out,” said Maqsood. “They have the flexibility to not support one of its state-owned enterprises under a certain set of circumstances.” —Reuters

TOKYO: A man walks in front of the electric stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo yesterday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 209.91 points, to end morning session at 10,355.63. — AP

BUSINESS

8

Saturday, March 6, 2010

US, India set to launch economic, financial partnership WASHINGTON: The United States and India will launch an economic and financial partnership next month, with a permanent cabinet-level bilateral dialogue a key feature, the US Treasury said Thursday.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will travel to India on April 6-7 to launch the US-India Economic and Financial Partnership in New Delhi with Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The partnership, to focus on macroeconomic policy, the financial sector and infrastructure financing,

will meet at the cabinet level, alternately in the United States and India, led by Geithner and Mukherjee, a Treasury statement said.

Working group meetings will be held throughout the year to advance discussions on specific economic areas, it said.

The partnership was first announced in November when President Barack Obama hosted Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the first state visit since he entered the White House in

January.

The United States already has a standing dialogue with fellow emerging Asian giant China.

Former US President George W. Bush conceived of the dialogue to focus on the economy, but Obama expanded it to cover strategic issues as well.

Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led the dialogue with China in July in Washington.

The US-India partnership “will serve as a platform for greater cooperation on economic issues of

importance to both nations,” the Treasury statement said.

“Both countries recognize the importance of expanding bilateral economic engagement, noting the rapid growth of US-India economic ties and the increasing range of global macroeconomic and financial issues on which the United States and India cooperate,” it said.

During the trip, Geithner will also visit Mumbai, India’s financial center, to meet with Indian and US

business leaders.

The United States and India signed a landmark nuclear deal in 2008 which allows New Delhi to enter civilian nuclear energy markets for the first time in decades despite its nuclear weapons arsenal.

The nuclear agreement was a milestone in relations between the world’s two largest democracies, which had inconsistent ties during the Cold War when India was non-aligned and sometimes tilted toward the Soviet Union. — AFP

‘We need support from EU to obtain credit on the markets at better conditions’

Violent protests rock Greece as PM seeks German backing ATHENS: Greek police clashed w ith demonstrators protesting sw eeping budget cuts yesterday as the government sought support from Germany to help it avoid default, only to be told not to expect a single cent. Police fired tear gas after a union leader w as struck and hurt by youths, an AFP reporter on the scene said, during protests against

sw eeping new budget and spending cuts announced Wednesday. The violence erupted as Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou w as to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin later Friday, w ith Germany seen as critical to any eurozone effort to help Greece restore its credibility on financial markets.

ATHENS: Riot police detain a demonstrator during a protest in Athens yesterday. Greece has frozen pensions and raised a string of taxes to cut spending by 4.8 billion euros in a frantic bid to persuade its EU partners and the markets that it can dodge bankruptcy. — AFP

World stocks extend gains on upbeat US jobs news LONDON: World stock markets rose yesterday after better than expected US jobs data helped reassure investors that the recovery from recession in the world’s largest economy remains on track.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 63.61 points, or 1.2 percent, at 5,590.77 while Germany’s DAX rose 53.63 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5,848.95. The CAC-40 in France was 48.40 points, or 1.3 percent, higher at 3,876.81.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 71.88 points, or 0.7 percent, at 10,516.02 soon after the open while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 8.19 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,131.16. The buying momentum was fueled by the news that the US unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent in February as employers shed fewer jobs than expected — the consensus in the markets was for a rise to 9.8 percent. The Labor Department also said employers shed 36,000 jobs, below analysts’ expectations of 50,000.

“The growth bulls will interpret the modest loss in jobs as a sign that if it had not been for the weather the economy would have added workers in February and yet the initial unemployment claims have clearly bottomed out at a very high level,” said Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities.

The monthly payrolls data, which often set the stock market tone for a week or two following their release, also contributed to big

dollar gains, particularly against the yen, as investors priced in a greater probability that the US Federal Reserve will start raising borrowing costs sooner than predicted. By midafternoon London time, the euro was down 0.1 percent at $1.3572 while the dollar was 1.2 percent firmer at 90.20 yen.

Confidence in the markets has also been shored up somewhat by Thursday’s successful §5 billion ($6.8 billion) Greek bond auction, which has eased concerns that the debt-laden country will not be able to raise money on capital markets. The bond auction has reined in market expectations that a meeting later between Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will yield anything substantially new apart from ongoing vocal support for the Greek government’s latest batch of austerity measures, announced on Wednesday.

“Today’s meeting is likely to see offers of moral support rather than details of an actual aid program,” said Neil Mackinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital. However, the debt crisis is a long way from being over, especially as Greece has to raise another §20 billion by the end of May to rollover debts.

“We think it is best to treat any ‘relief rallies’ in the markets — especially in the euro — with caution,” said Mackinnon. Earlier in Asia, speculation that Japan was mulling extra measures to shore up its recovery added to the upbeat mood. — AP

REYKJAVIK: Johanna Sigurdardottir, Prime Minister of Iceland speaks during a press conference at the Culture House, in Reykjavik yesterday. Iceland’s talks with Britain and the Netherlands on a new repayment deal for losses in the collapse of an Icelandic bank adjourned on March 5, a day before Icelanders vote on the unpopular bill. Iceland’s leftwing government has for weeks been scrambling to hammer out a new deal to avoid the vote, which observers say could cause political and economic turmoil. — AFP

Miners rebound on metal price strength LONDON: Britain’s top share index rose 0.6 percent by midday yesterday led by rallying financials and rebounding miners though trade was light as investors waited on the sidelines ahead of US non-farm payroll data.

By 1152 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 30.82 points to 5,557.98, having closed 0.1 percent lower on Thursday, although just 28 percent of the average 90 day volume had been traded.

Banks were the biggest risers.

Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Standard Chartered, which reported bumper profits on Thursday, added 1.8 to 3.2 percent. “Volumes are a little lighter than normal this morning with many traders preferring to stand aside until the latest US non-farm payrolls announcement is out of the way,” said Anthony Grech, market strategist at IG Index.

US non-farm payrolls data, due to be released at 1330 GMT, will be the key focus of the day, with a Reuters poll predicting a 50,000 decrease in the number of jobs. “A better than expected number could be the catalyst that will see the FTSE finally test that key upside level at 5,600,” said James Hughes, market analyst at CMC Markets.

Schroders was again the top blue chip performer, up 4.8 percent, extending the previous day’s gains following the fund firm’s upbeat results.

Life insurers were on the front foot, following recent dips after Prudential announced a $21 billion rights issue on Monday to fund its takeover of AIG Asia.

Prudential, Aviva, which posted results on Thursday, and Standard Life rose 1.1 to 1.9 percent. Peer Resolution, which faces possible FTSE 100 relegation, fell 0.4 percent.

Miners rallied after profit takers had stepped in in the previous session, underpinned by rebounding metal prices.

Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, Lonmin, BHP Billiton and Xstrata added between 1.4 and 3.6 percent.

Swiss-based commodity trader Glencore said it was buying back its prized Prodeco coal operations in Colombia from Xstrata. Among energy stocks, Cairn Energy added 1.9 percent after Numis raised its recommendation on the oil explorer, while peer Tullow rose 0.6 percent as Numis raised its target price.

Selected defensive issues were the main fallers as risk appetite returned.

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline dropped 1.2 percent after UBS cut its price target and highlighted potential liabilities from diabetes drug Avendia.

Utilities, Centrica and United Utilities fell 1.5 and 1.7 percent, respectively, while oil and gas services firm Petrofac extended Thursday’s falls, down 2.9 percent. —Reuters

Papandreou told Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper he was “not asking for money” but other forms of support.

“We need support from the European Union and our partners to obtain credit on the markets at better conditions. If we do not receive this aid, we will not be able to enact the changes we foresee.”

But speaking ahead of the MerkelPapandreou talks, Germany’s Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said Berlin would not provide Greece with “one cent.”

“Papandreou said that he didn’t want one cent-in any case the German government will not give one cent,” Bruederle told reporters.

Media reports have suggested that for all the tough talk, Germany is drawing up contingency plans behind the scenes including either bilateral aid, joint European action or help from the International Monetary Fund.

Europe’s biggest economy, Germany is widely seen as the most likely candidate to help prevent a Greek default, which would be disastrous for the 16-nation eurozone.

But there is huge opposition in Germany against such a move, with newspapers carrying angry editorials about Greek corruption and wasteful spending and Merkel allies even suggesting Greece should sell some of its islands to free up cash.

There was also anger aplenty on the streets of Athens yesterday.

A few thousand Communist protesters demonstrated in front of parliament in Athens as debate on the austerity bill began and ahead of a larger protest by unions scheduled for later in the day.

Local protests were also scheduled in Thessaloniki and other main cities.

“We say no to anti-popular measures, to taxes and allowance cuts,” said a Communist banner deployed outside parliament.

Greece’s two main unions brought traffic to a standstill with a public sector strike. No public transport ran in Athens in the morning, all Greek airports were to close for a four-hour period and giant traffic jams clogged the centre of the capital.

State hospitals ran on skeleton staff, while teachers, state and private media groups were also hit by the strike. Even the police union called on its members to join protests organised for the day.

But despite the unions’ show of strength, parliament was expected to approve Papandreou’s third package of austerity measures that analysts have described as the most dramatic in peacetime by a developed nation.

Addressing parliament, Papaconstantinou said the state was currently paying 26 billion euros on civil servant salaries, a sum that exploded by 50 percent in the last five years.

“Where did this money go? Each and every minister would give benefits to whomever they wanted,” Papaconstantinou said.

The government on Wednesday increased sales, tobacco and alcohol taxes and cut public sector holiday allowances. Pensions were also frozen in a package worth the equivalent of around two percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Athens has promised the European Union that it will reduce its public deficit this year by four percentage points from 12.7 percent.

Merkel welcomed the Greek package as “an important step” towards cutting its budget deficit and restoring trust in Athens and the euro.

Needing to borrow money urgently to pay its bills, Greece successfully raised an urgently needed 5.0 billion euros (6.8 billion dollars) with a bond issue on Thursday.

But it had to pay an interest rate of 6.3 percent or about twice the rate at which Germany can borrow.

Greece’s borrowing costs shot up late last year when it was hit with a triple downgrade by credit agencies after revealing that its official budget deficit figures had been grossly underreported. — AFP

TOYOTA: Akio Toyoda (L), president of Japan’s auto giant Toyota Motor, shakes hands with an executive after delivering a speech to employees and suppliers at the company’s headquarters in the city of Toyota yesterday.

Toyoda, the man who founded what has become the world’s biggest automaker, admitted the company’s rapid growth had outpaced the speed of nurturing human resources, causing recalls of millions of cars worldwide. — AFP

Toyota holds urgent meeting for workers TOYOTA: Toyota’s brand is in crisis but its cars are safe, top executives told thousands of workers at a meeting yesterday aimed at boosting morale amid the automaker’s recall crisis.

Two thousand workers gathered at Toyota’s headquarters in the Japanese city named after the automaker and some 7,000 more watched at factories via live video feed. Suppliers and dealers also attended the event, billed as “an urgent meeting for all Toyota — Toward a New Beginning for Toyota.” The world’s No. 1 automaker has recalled 8.5 million vehicles worldwide in the past few months for braking problems, sticking gas pedals and faulty floor mats — damaging its reputation for quality. As executives spoke, workers wearing pale gray jackets applauded.

Takeshi Uchiyamada, executive vice president, said the Toyota brand was in “a serious crisis” and acknowledged Toyota must improve its monitoring of consumer complaints and do better at crisis management. “The path to regaining trust remains tremendously difficult,” he said.

“But I would like to work with all of you.” Jim Lentz, the head of Toyota’s North American sales unit, assured the crowd the company was working hard to restore customer trust.

Lentz said he was “proud to represent Toyota,” at the recent US congressional hearing over quality lapses, and urged all to be prepared for “a long road ahead” of harsh criticism.

“We are confident that Toyota vehicles are safe,” he said.

Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Corp. has launched new promotions in China, fighting to keep sales in the world’s biggest market on track after its reputation was dented by a slew of recalls.

The 75,522 RAV4 sport-utility vehicles

recalled by Toyota in China in late January are a tiny fraction of the 8.5 million vehicles the automaker has pulled worldwide since October over sticky gas pedals, faulty floor mats and glitches in braking software.

But the company has shifted quickly into damage control, bringing its president Akio Toyoda to Beijing to make a formal apology on Monday. He flew straight to China from the US after testifying before Congress about the company’s handling of its quality problems. Though China sales of Toyota-brand vehicles rose 30 percent in February from a year earlier to 45,000 units, that was down sharply from 72,000 vehicles sold in January. “To meet our sales goal for 2010, we have started to offer a sales promotion. As China is still one of the growing markets, we can not sit still and wait any more,” Toyota’s spokesman in Beijing, Niu Yu, said yesterday. The company forecasts that its China sales will rise to 800,000 units this year, up from 709,000 in 2009. Toyota and other automakers are looking to China to offset weak demand in the US and other markets and to power future growth.

In Shanghai, the Xietong Toyota dealership is offering a year’s insurance, worth about 1,000 yuan ($150), with the purchase of any Toyota model, said general manager Xu Chunlei.

“Sales have bounced back a bit compared to February, thanks to the promotion we began this month,” Xu said. The incentives apparently vary from dealer to dealer. Some Toyota dealers were offering gasoline coupons worth 88 yuan (about $1.30) to each customer who test drives a Toyota vehicle, the Kyodo News Agency reported. Xu said her dealership was offering small potted plants to each customer who brings his or her RAV4 in for gas pedal repairs. —AP

NEW DELHI: This combination of undated handout pictures released yesterday, by Olive Communications shows a front (L) and rear (R) view of their cellular telephone which is powered by a single “AAA” sized battery. An Indian mobile phone company has launched a low-cost handset that uses commonly available AAA-sized batteries aimed at the hundreds of millions who live in areas where power supplies are erratic. Priced at 1,699 Indian Rupees ($35), Olive Telecommunications’ “FrvrOn” — short for “forever on” — has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery common to mobile phones, but also a facility to include a AAA, dry-cell battery. — AFP

9

BUSINESS

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Ford Taurus: Redefining power and style Virtual Design •

•

•

Drive Green

Industry-exclusive virtual tools are used by Ford engineers and designers to shave months off the product development process, while improving the quality, comfort and appeal of Ford vehicles. Ford’s product development is anywhere from eight to 14 months faster than it was as recently as 2004.

•

An Immersive Virtual Review (iVR) lab allows Ford to evaluate and test early vehicle designs - before a single unit is built - against various ergonomic considerations such as a person’s weight and physical limitations so designs can be quickly and cost-effectively evaluated.

• •

Specialized tools like the Cave Automated Virtual Environment (CAVE) use advanced motion-tracking equipment and computer software to generate virtual vehicles, reducing the need to build physical prototypes. Ford’s industry-first Programmable Vehicle Model (PVM) also re-creates a realistic virtual vehicle and driving experience to let engineers see how their designs are affected by the physical placement of vehicle components.

•

T

Director of Sales Hussein Murad industry average by more than 10 per cent, while driving encouraging growth in Saudi Arabia, the region’s largest market. And of course,

for 2010, we’re looking forward to build upon these achievements and market share gain, and we have the confidence, the great dealer network and the products to do just that.

Our dealer network is getting stronger thanks to expansions planned in the UAE, KSA and Iraq. The confidence that our dealers have in the business is truly commendable, and we applaud their commitment to continuously grow the Ford customer base in the region.

They are a credit to Ford.

Taurus confidently leads a growing wave of new-car introductions from Ford Motor Company in this region, such as the all-new Lincoln MKT, the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, Mustang with its new V6 and V8 engines, as well as the new Edge and MKX models.

Hydrogen Power Hydrogen-powered vehicles use hydrogen fuel cells to produce electricity for power. They emit zero tailpipe emissions, and are twice as efficient as internal combustion engines. Ford continues to research hydrogen technology, which holds promise as a longer term solution.

Newest addition in Middle East

Taurus confidently leads a new growing wave his is truly an exciting time for the company, not only because of the strong new products we are introducing but also because of the great performance we have seen both globally and in the Middle East. It is no exaggeration, we are on a roll!

As you already are aware, we have had a profitable 2009 and grew market share in the US, Europe and the Middle East, and that alone is a statement that we’re very much on the right track with the one Ford transformation plan.

More and more customers are choosing Ford products. Why? Because we are completely focused on delivering products that our customers want.

Our success has naturally been reflected in the Middle East, where Ford, Lincoln and Mercury sales last year held a healthy pace and helped us outperform the regional

Alternative Fuels Ford’s commitment to sustainability and reduced dependence on fossil fuels means the company will continue to deliver products capable of running on renewable fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol.

Ford has more than 5 million flexible fuel vehicles on the road globally.

Ford also supports the development of cellulosic biofuels, which, in the longterm, promise up to 90 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

T

aurus is the newest-addition to an already refreshed Ford passenger car lineup here in the Middle East. It has been turning

Managing Director Larry Prein Chief Engineer Pete Reyes heads and generating new excitement for Ford following its first-showing in the region late last year. Now, some of you may be asking yourselves... why would we call this car a Taurus?

The fact is there are more

than 4 million Taurus sedans still on the road today. It is a nameplate that has instant recognition among consumers. And like the original Taurus, we think our new model again will change the definition of what a full-size sedan represents. Just as Explorer, Mustang, F-series, are icons that represent Ford at its best, so too does our new Taurus.

The 2010 Taurus joins a product lineup that is, without question, the strongest in our company’s 106-year history.

Taurus is introducing new customers to the Ford brand back home in the US, and we are confident it will do the same here. We cannot wait for all of you and customers throughout the region to have an opportunity to drive and experience for yourself all that the new Taurus - and the new Ford Motor Company has to offer.

Winning hearts and accolades along the way DUBAI: The new hi-tech 2010 Ford Taurus created a revolution in the full-size category earlier this year when it debuted on the Middle East motoring scene, giving a tantalizing glimpse into the motoring features of the future.

And the only way is up for Ford’s flagship model as it sets the trend for what consumers can expect from the Ford brand in the near future.

The Ford Taurus - the car that changed America’s view of full-size sedans - is all-new for 2010 and ready to take on the world’s best, with an upscale new design, impeccable driving dynamics and class-leading technologies.

“The new Taurus sets the pace for Ford’s growing new car launch momentum,” said Mark Fields, President of the Americas. “This sedan completely redefines expectations of what Taurus stands for - and helps further define what Ford is capable of delivering - quality, fuelefficient vehicles featuring the latest technologies and head-turning design.” The new Taurus benefits from Ford’s Global Product Development System, which made it possible to deliver an all-new sedan 12 months sooner with more new features than customers and dealers dreamed possible.

“Taurus is our premium Ford flagship, and it

casts a halo across the entire brand portfolio,” said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president for global product development. “Building on its reputation for safety leadership, we leveraged extensive use of computer-aided design and engineering technologies as well as digital preassembly modeling to deliver a high-quality, new Taurus a year ahead of schedule.”

“The new Taurus showcases the best of what the Ford brand has to offer - expressive design, class-leading technologies and an engaging driving experience with impeccable quality,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s group vice president of Marketing and Communications. “When customers get behind the wheel and drive one, their experience will beat or rival that offered by the best cars in the full-size sedan segment.”

New times, new design The shift starts with the vision for Taurus itself. It debuted as a family sedan, but with the advent of crossovers, the new Taurus is aimed more at drivers who might move friends and family but place more of a premium on the driving experience and technologies aimed at making time on the road more meaningful and fun.

“Taurus is more of a ‘me’ sedan now, and we’ve delivered with this buyer in mind,” said Moray Callum, director of Ford’s Car and Crossover Design. Exterior design details are more sculpted and powerful - from the powerdome that speaks to the strength behind its confident grille to the pronounced fenders and fascia. Bold new headlights combined with recessed parking lamps frame a new expression of the signature Ford three-bar grille - and the

lowered roofline helps make the new Taurus more aspirational.

The highly acclaimed new Taurus has already been dubbed America’s most innovative sedan, winning Edmunds.com’s Technology Breakthrough Award and appearing as the official vehicle of the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show and last year’s GITEX in Dubai. Techies, safety experts, drivers and critics have all put the Taurus in a class of its own.

The new Taurus was also named among the “Top 10 Family Cars for 2010,” according to the editors of Kelley Blue Book’s (kbb.com), who also recently awarded the new model the “Best Resale Value” accolade in the full-size car category, because it offered a great combination of value, technology and style all wrapped up into a very good price.

“There are far too many claims of ‘a revolution’ in motoring,” said Hussein Murad, director of sales, Ford Middle East. “But when you look at the advances that have been made in the Taurus, you have to take a step back. These incredible features are normally something that could only ever have come with a luxury car and a luxury price tag. Taurus is a smart car in every sense. It is very much a case of innovation catering to the customer’s needs rather than adding gimmicks.”

Safer driving is what has made the Taurus even more remarkable. Rather than sacrifice some of the factors that contribute to Ford’s industry-leading safety record, much of the technology is based around it.

The new Taurus features crash-avoidance technologies, such as a segment-first, radarbased forward collision warning system that

helps drivers avoid accidents. The system uses a radar sensor to detect moving vehicles ahead and provides a visual “heads-up” warning signal and an audible warning when slower-moving traffic is detected ahead.

The Taurus has been named as the Ford safety flagship and has earned top five-star crash ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and “Top Safety Pick” from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Ford Motor Company has more IIHS “Top Safety Picks” and NHTSA five-star ratings than any other automaker.

Murad believes that safety should always walk hand in hand with motoring technology.

“What Ford has achieved with the new 2010 Taurus is a unique experience coupled with unprecedented protection. The safety technologies that are available in the Taurus are barely available in vehicles twice its price. It is a fantastic achievement and great news for drivers, owners and passengers.”

The new Taurus also features some of the industry’s first side air bags that use pressure pulses from a side impact to deploy up to 30 percent faster than traditional air bags with acceleration-based sensors.

HEALTH & SCIENCE

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Saturday, March 6, 2010

It’s definitive: An asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs WASHINGTON: Dinosaurs were wiped out by a huge asteroid that smashed into Earth 65 million years ago with the force of a billion atomic bombs, scientists said Thursday, hoping to lay an age-old debate to rest once and for all.

The definitive verdict came from an international panel of experts who reviewed 20 years’ worth of evidence about what caused the Cretaceous-Tertiary (KT) extinction that wiped out more than half the species on the planet.

They determined it was a massive asteroid, measuring around 15 kilometers (nine miles) wide, which smashed into what is today Chicxulub in Mexico.

The event marked a pivotal point in history because it cleared the way for mammals to become the dominant species on Earth.

“The asteroid is believed to have hit Earth with a

force one billion times more powerful than the atomic bomb at Hiroshima,” the researchers said in a report published in the journal Science.

“It would have blasted material at high velocity into the atmosphere, triggering a chain of events that caused a global winter, wiping out much of life on Earth in a matter of days.”

The panel of 41 scientists hope their findings will lay to rest once and for all the debate about what caused the KT extinction.

Some scientists have argued that dinosaurs and species including bird-like pterosaurs and large sea reptiles were wiped out by a series of volcanic eruptions in what is now India that lasted some 1.5 million years. The eruptions spewed enough basalt lava across the Deccan Traps in west-central India to fill the Black Sea twice and were thought to have caused

a cooling of the atmosphere and acid rain on a global scale.

But the evidence gathered for the study published in Science showed that marine and land ecosystems were destroyed rapidly in the KT extinction, leading the scientists to rule out volcanic activity as the culprit, because its effects would have whittled away at dinosaurs and other species over time.

“Despite evidence for relatively active volcanism in the Deccan Traps at the time, marine and land ecosystems showed only minor changes within the 500,000 years before the time of the KT extinction,” the scientists said.

“Computer models and observational data suggest that the release of gases such as sulphur into the atmosphere after each volcanic eruption... would have had a short-lived effect on the planet and would not

cause enough damage to create a rapid mass extinction of land and marine species.”

The Chicxulub asteroid, on the other hand, could very well have made short shrift of dinosaurs, pterosaurs and other species, the scientists said.

The impact of the large asteroid would have “triggered large-scale fires, earthquakes measuring more than 10 on the Richter scale, and continental landslides which created tsunamis,” said Joanna Morgan, a lecturer in geophysics at Imperial College, London and co-author of the study.

The asteroid hit Earth 20 times faster than a speeding bullet and exploded into a deadly mix of hot rock and gas which would have “grilled any living creature in the immediate vicinity that couldn’t find shelter,” said Gareth Collins, a research fellow at Imperial College.

‘Women should have the right to decide’

Groups protest S Korea crackdown on abortion SEOUL: South Korean activists staged a protest yesterday against a government crackdow n on abortion, saying w omen should have the right to decide on the issue. About 40 activists-mainly w omen-from 24 groups

shouted “Stop a crackdow n on abortion that violates w omen’s rights” in a Seoul park, after issuing a joint statement to mark International Women’s Day on March 8.

SEOUL: South Korean women hold up placards reading “Stop a crackdown on abortion that violates women’s rights” during a rally at a downtown park in Seoul yesterday. South Korean activists staged a protest against a government crackdown on abortion, saying women should have the right to decide on the issue. — AFP

Abortion is officially illegal unless there is a risk to the mother’s health or in cases of rape or foetal malformation.

But it has been widely tolerated in the crowded nation, partly to reduce the birth rate.

About one month ago a group of obstetricians supporting tough abortion rules began reporting colleagues who perform the operation.

Last week the health ministry announced its own crackdown, saying criminal penalties for illegal abortions would be enforced. It estimates that 350,000 abortions were carried out in 2005.

After decades spent trying to curb population growth, officials in recent years have been trying to boost the birth rate-one of the world’s lowest-to counter the ageing of society.

“Abortion for social and economic reasons must be tolerated,” the activists said in the statement.

They accused the government of using women’s bodies “as mere tools to control population” and said their interests should not be sacrificed to boost the birth figures.

“Decisions on pregnancy, abortion and childbirth must be left to women,” the statement said, describing the crackdown as violating women’s rights.

The campaign against abortion has prompted many obstetricians to refuse to conduct the procedure, sent the price of the operation soaring and caused more trouble to pregnant women, said Choi Mi-Jin, a leading activist.

“There are desperate calls from women asking for help because hospitals refuse abortion,” she said. — AFP

Mosquito nets fail to curb malaria in Malawi BLANTYRE: Malawi’s campaign to fight malaria by providing free or cheap mosquito nets has failed to curb the number of deaths caused by the disease, a deputy health minister said yesterday.

Up to 7,000 Malawians died of malaria in 2009, with 4.5 million cases recorded, even though the government provided one million free nets to young children and pregnant women the year before, Gloria Mwale said.

That is roughly the same number of deaths seen in 2007, when four million cases were recorded, she told an international conference on malaria in the commercial capital Blantyre.

“The disease is one of the major causes of deaths,” she said, affecting more than one third of the nation’s 12 million people.

Health experts say the government spends about seven million dollars (more than five million euros) annually to treat malaria cases.

Malaria is spread by mosquitos, and Malawi had hoped to fight the disease by giving one million insecticide-treated nets to young children and pregnant women, using money from the Global Fund and US aid.

Health officials say mosquito net coverage among pregnant women and children jumped to 65 percent in 2008, from six percent in 2000.

South African pop star Yvonne Chaka Chaka, who helped launch the drive in 2008 as a goodwill ambas-

sador for the UN Children’s Fund, said she was shocked by the data.

“This is unacceptable,” she said.

“Malaria is preventable and we can save lives by ensuring that pregnant mothers and under-five children sleep under treated mosquito nets.

These nets cost only 700 Malawi kwacha (20 US cents) on the market.”

Some 45 percent of Malawians live on one dollar a day. The country’s per capita gross domestic product is around 210 dollars per year. — AFP

Medical education for NRI students A strong response for medical and technical education by NRI students and their parents was witnessed during the India Education Exhibition that was recently held in Kuwait and saw the participation of various educational institutions.

MVJMC & RH was one such an institution which was the eye catcher of the exhibition. In response to a question by the media, the Chief Administrator Mrs Dharani said, “MVJ Medical College and Research Hospital is committed to providing quality medical education by competent and dedicated faculty with excellent clinical exposure in a multi-specialty hospital. It is committed to providing excellent health care to rural population through continual up gradation of services, system and processes.”

Spearheading a medical revolution in holistic medical education and research, MVJ Medical College and Research Hospital is geared to providing holistic medical education for every medical professional that passes though its portal.

MVJ Medical College and Research Hospital was established in 2001 under the umbrella of VES, which has 11 institutions under its name, each of which has set new standards in Indian education. It is recognized by medical council of India and is affiliated to

Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Health Sciences to conduct undergraduate programs and permitted for postgraduate degree courses in 12 disciplines and post graduate diploma courses in six disciplines.

MVJ Medical College and Research Hospital is a 640 bedded Multi-specialty Research Hospital; incredibly, within a span of less than a decade, the hospital has administered medical attention to 350 Villages in the vicinity, treating approximately 40.5 million patients.

Research is another focus area of MVJ Medical and Research Hospital. The College has the distinction of publications and presentations of research papers at national and international levels.

MVJ Medical College and Research Hospital is a “Home Away from Home” for all the students. The hostels ensure luxurious, safe and healthy atmosphere to the students, while the efficient and dedicated faculty provides academic and personal care to every student. We at MVJ Medical College and Research Hospital believe “Who Dares to teach, Must Never Cease to Learn”.

NRI students and parents can contact Nambudri on 97383955 or Email@ edusolutions@rocketmail.com

“The final nail in the coffin for the dinosaurs happened when blasted material was ejected at high velocity into the atmosphere,” shrouding the planet in darkness and causing a global winter that killed off species that “couldn’t adapt to this hellish environment,” added Morgan.

Another clue that the KT extinction was caused by a huge asteroid and not volcanic activity was evidence in geological records of “shocked” quartz in rock layers at KT boundary levels around the world.

Quartz is “shocked” when it is hit very quickly by a massive force-such as a 15-kilometer-wide asteroid traveling 20 times faster than a bullet.

The KT extinction marked the end of the 160-million-year reign of the dinosaurs and allowed mammals, and eventually humans, to become the dominant species on earth. — AFP

Australia may hike taxes to fund health plan: Paper SYDNEY: The Australian federal government may raise taxes to pay for an ambitious takeover of the nation’s ailing public heath care system, local media reported yesterday.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd proposed a $45 billion funding takeover, aimed at reviving flagging support for his Labor government, by cutting long waiting lists for surgery in public hospitals which have long struggled for funds.

Rudd said the plan would be budget neutral, effectively moving to a centralised funding model from the current method of allowing the states to decide how federal health funds are spent. But The Sydney Morning Herald quoted federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon as agreeing tax hikes may be needed to meet “a significant extra burden” on federal health spending over the latter half of this decade.

Asked if there may be tax increases, Roxon said, “Well, it certainly means that there may

be. We have to be able to fund the delivery of services in the future.”

The Australian newspaper also reported that Rudd could face opposition from within his own cabinet on any new tax measures.

It said Rudd faced a backlash from government lawmakers over his plan to tie 30 percent of national consumption tax revenues to health spending. Currently, Canberra hands that 30 percent over to state governments for them to spend how they wish.

Rudd has said Canberra would take control of 60 percent of public hospital funding under his plan, which is also likely to run into opposition from state governments.

The prime minister’s opinion poll ratings have been on the slide against a resurgent opposition and the Australian newspaper said lawmakers from Rudd’s centre-left Labor Party has begun questioning his handling of major reform challenges. — Reuters

World cops target traditional healers over smuggled wildlife PARIS: Police seized tiger bones, anteater scales and bear gall bladders in an international operation against the use of endangered plants and animals in traditional medicine, officers said yesterday.

Illegal animal and plant products with a retail value of 10 million euros (13.6 million dollars) were seized in a month-long drive carried out by forces around the world, the global law enforcement agency Interpol said.

“National wildlife enforcement authorities, police, customs and specialised units from 18 countries across all five continents worked together as part of Operation Tram which ran from 1 to 28 February,” Interpol said.

Operation Tram “revealed a large amount of medicines either containing or marketing the use of illegal ingredients such as tiger, bear and rhinoceros,” according to the French-based international coordinating body.

British police targeted a business selling medicine from the Chinese tradition, but an Interpol spokeswoman told AFP the global operation was against all use of endangered species in cures from various cultures.

For centuries, traditional Chinese healers have used tiger bone to treat arthritis, rhinoceros horn for fevers and convulsions and bear bile to treat various infections, thus encouraging poachers to hunt rare animals.

In Rome, Italian forest rangers said they had seized 30,000 products containing wildlife, worth about one million euros, after checking more than 3,000 individuals, planes, baggage, and container ships.

Arrest warrants were issued against 40 individuals or companies.

“We noticed there is great deal of illegal traffic in Italy,” the Italian Interpol director Colonel Giuseppe Verrocchi told AFP, adding that rare plants and parts of tigers, bears and pangolins-a scaly anteater-were seized.

“The products were imported directly from India, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam

through the ports of Mestre, Trieste and Naples and Milan airport,” a statement by the Italian forest rangers said.

In London, the Metropolitan Police raided a Chinese traditional medicine business and found what seemed to be plant species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

“Most traditional Chinese medicines are perfectly legal. However, a small number of people continue to trade in illegal products containing endangered species,” said Sergeant Ian Knox from the force’s wildlife crime unit.

“This trade threatens some of the world’s most iconic species, and it will continue as long as the demand exists,” he added.

A director of the company that owns the raided properties will be questioned once the plants have been analysed, Scotland Yard said.

Police in Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Georgia, India, Italy, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Turkey and Zimbabwe also took part in the operation.

“The important cultural, historical and religious values of traditional medicines are recognised by the law enforcement community,” said senior British officer Chief Constable Richard Crompton.

“However, the increased use of endangered species in medicines can no longer be tolerated as it places extreme pressure on their very survival,” he warned.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), still known in North America as the World Wildlife Fund, welcomed the raids. “Given that this crosses many borders, coordinating effective efforts to tackle the illegal trade in wildlife is not easy,” said Heather Sohl, who advises the WWF on wildlife trafficking. “It’s great to see 18 countries all working simultaneously ... This can be a blueprint for future action on other areas of illicit wildlife trade too.” — AFP

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Saturday, March 6, 2010

Heidi Klum loves modeling for Seal

Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush buy $4.8 million love-nest

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ly manicured lawns. The estate agent describes the property as “the perfect place to relax and entertain”.

Kim and Reggie started house-hunting last October after reuniting following a four-month break. She put her three-bedroom condominium on the market for just over $1 million while Reggie put his $5 million Hollywood Hills home up for sale. She said at the time: “I love my condo, it’s beautiful.

However, I feel that it’s time to move into a home. I will miss it, for sure.”

Amanda Seyfried works hard to look hot

he 36-year-old supermodel works hard to keep the spark in their marriage alive and adores dressing up in the expensive jewels and gems given to her by her devoted singer spouse. She said: “I love dressing up for him

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and putting on all the jewelry he gives me. It is such fun!” Heidi and Seal, 47, been together since 2004 and raise four children together daughters Leni, five, and fourmonth-old Lou, and sons Henry, four, and three-year-old Johan.

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he ‘Fight for This Love’ singer has given in to her soccer star spouse’s pleas and agreed to jet over to France - where the 29-year-old sportsman is receiving treatment for a broken ankle - to discuss his alleged affairs and the future of their marriage. A source said: “Cheryl wants to be tough with Ashley and believes that will be easier on neutral territory.” The 26-year-old pop star dumped Ashley two weeks ago, after it was claimed he had slept with several other women and sent them Xrated text messages and explicit photographs of himself. Cheryl has now agreed to meet with him for just 15 minutes to hear his explanation. The source added: “She’ll listen - but not for very long.” Since Cheryl left him, Ashley has bombarded her with texts and phone calls in a bid to win her back. He is now even using lines from her songs in an attempt to win her over. Apparently, one text said: “We’ve got to fight for this love.”

Despite his emotional pleas, Cheryl is determined to stay strong. Another source said: “She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He doesn’t stand a chance.” Cheryl is now focusing on her career to help her through this difficult time. A friend of the singer’s said: “She is busier than ever and that’s how she wants it. It’s hard but she’s nothing if not a fighter. She has worked hard to get where she is and will not let anything affect her focus.”

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prioritise. But sometimes we do get to do our favorite thing. If my mum is here, we run off and go to Paris for the weekend!” Heidi recently revealed she was planning to post Seal some underwear and other gifts because they would be apart.

costs of her travel around Europe to work with the 22year-old star. Rihanna has previously spoken about her exercise regime, admitting she always needs a trainer to motivate her in her work-out sessions. She said: “I stay in shape with a lot of hard work and a lot of running on the treadmill.

Cardio is the key. I have a personal trainer who travels with me if we have a big event coming up. I work out every day but I need a trainer to motivate me - I don’t find it much fun working out on my own.”

he ‘Russian Roulette’ singer allegedly owes Cindy Percival $26,144.14 in unpaid wages from 2009, says a claim filed at Los Angeles County Superior Court by the fitness expert last week. In the law suit, Cindy claims she was hired by the singer to perform “exclusive personal training services” at a rate of $1,500-a-day but wasn’t paid for a few weeks work between September and October. In addition, the trainer is also seeking $2,644.14 in travel expenses to cover the

Cheryl Cole will fly to France to meet estranged husband

he ‘Mamma Mia!’ actress says it’s important for her to maintain her svelte figure because of the job she has and does it with regular exercise and sensible eating. She said: “If I didn’t run and work out, there’s no way I would be this thin. But I have to stay in shape because I’m an actress.

It’s f****d up and it’s twisted, but I wouldn’t get the roles otherwise. If I’d been bigger, I don’t think they would have cast me for ‘Mamma Mia!’. “If I have to diet, it’s salad with protein, salmon and broccoli, no desert. But what kind of life is that? So I work out a lot and I’m just pretty moderate about what I eat.”

Amanda also admitted she may have cosmetic surgery when she’s older. The 24-year-old beauty told Britain’s Glamour magazine: “My boobs hang pretty low. I might get a little

Because of their hectic family life, the couple have found they struggle to spend time together and have to rely on other family members to help them out with babysitting.

Heidi explained to the National Enquirer magazine: “You have to

Speaking ahead of the romantic occasion, she said: “I’m making a very fun box of heart things. Kind of like an explosion of things; confetti hearts with cute underwear and chocolates. It’s a fun surprise box for him.”

Rihanna sued by personal trainer

Diane Kruger hates authority

he reality TV star and her American footballer boyfriend - who have put their respective homes on the market - have splashed out on a luxurious five-bedroom in Beverly Hills and are expected to complete this week. A friend of the couple said: “She liked that it was walled and gated. It’s just sexy. It’s a very, very sexy house.”

The Tuscan-style home also boasts four bathrooms, an indoor swimming pool and a spa, while the garden features a waterfall and perfect-

New Pussycat Dolls members to join icole Scherzinger has confirmed she is going to be joined by a host of new Pussycat Dolls. The singer has seen two members of the girl group, Kimberly Wyatt and Ashley Roberts, quit in the last week but rather than be worried for the band’s future Nicole is excited about the new members coming in. Nicole - who has been in discussions with group founder Robin Antin about the incoming members -

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he ‘Inglourious Basterds’ star confessed she has come close to being arrested more than once because she gets so argumentative around people in power. She said: “I have a real problem with authority.

I’ve nearly been arrested so many times. “Airports are the worst - you go through security, you only have one item, one tube and they tell you to put it in a plastic bag.

I’m like, ‘But it’s one f***ing item! A plastic bag isn’t going to make it any more secure.’ “ The 33-year-old German actress - who had a strict religious upbringing believes the problem stems from her youth when she was an “angry child” who despised school. She added to Britain’s Marie Claire magazine: “I was always arguing.

Unless someone could explain and it made sense to me I just couldn’t accept things. “I think everybody has childhood problems, issues, whatever. I was angry when I was a teenager. I just really hated school and the Catholic bit was part of that. Just the suppression and everything being so proper.” Former model Diane struggled to find an outlet for her anger, so focused all her passions on ballet as a way of exorcising her frustrations. She explained: “I didn’t see myself as an academic. I wasn’t happy so I loved to be able to express my anxiety or passion or whatever you feel by dancing.”

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said: “We’re going to have a new cast of Dolls. And I’m excited.” The 31-year-old pop beauty has been in the studio working on new material for the next Pussycat Dolls album and insists fans should start getting excited. She added to MTV News: “Right now I’ve been in the studio working on music non-stop. We’re going to have another Pussycat Dolls album for all of our fans out there, but that’s going to be late this year.

“I’m still Nicky Doll. And I’m just ploughing away in the studio making music that I love.” However, not all of the tracks Nicole is currently working on will definitely make the next Pussycat Dolls album. She explained: “I don’t know if I’m going to put all the new music out under my name yet or if it’s going to be perfect for the Dolls. “It doesn’t matter. I just want to make great music for the fans.”

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Fashion and advanced math meet at Miyake ashion scaled the ivory tower yesterday at the Issey Miyake fall-winter 2010-11 ready-to-wear display, where complicated mathematical theorems found expression in fabric. On hand at the display was Cornell University Professor William Thurston, whose Geometrization Conjecture inspired Miyake designer Dai Fujiwara. Thurston’s theory was described in the collection notes as “a comprehensive vision of eight geometries that are sufficient to form an ideal shape for all possible three-dimensional topologies.” Sound complicated? That’s because it was - particularly for a milieu like fashion, where normal sources of inspiration include far less esoteric themes, like gypsies, rock princesses or ‘60s chic.

Still, the clothing - snugly cocoon sweaters and draped harem pants gathered with elastic bands - was concrete and easy to grasp. The collection, in an eyepopping rainbow of mostly high-tech fabrics, riffed on the idea of oblong shapes and loops, circles and spirals Thurston’s model metaphors for the universe.

A beige blazer was emblazoned with swirling loops of fluorescent pink piping and paired with shiny beige draped leggings. A backless vest in metallic gray wool was but a doughnut shape that wrapped around the model’s body. A tangle of circular scarves in primary shades stood in for more conventional shirts. The set of the show, undulating, peaked screens that the models circled around, also grew out of Fujiwara and Thurston’s collaboration.

Asked how he got interested in three-dimensional topology, Fujiwara told The Associated Press, “I’m interested in all sorts of things and read a lot of different kinds of things. It’s important for the mind to stay open like that.”

Professor Thurston, sporting a Miyake blazer for the occasion, said his discussions with designer Fujiwara had uncovered real areas of overlap between their seemingly disparate professions.

“We are both trying to grasp the world in three dimensions,” Thurston told The AP. “Under the surface, we struggle with the same issue.” For his first-ever fashion show, Thurston - sporting a Miyake blazer for the occasion - took in the spectacle from his firstrow perch. At the end of the show, he stood for a bow. “I thought it was beautiful interpretation of the ideas we talked about,” said Thurston. “Not a literal interpretation, of course, but really quite pretty.” — AP

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Models wear creations by Japanese fashion designer Dai Fujiwara for Issey Miyake as part of his Fall-Winter 2010-2011 ready-to-wear fashion collection presented in Paris yesterday. — AP

Likely winners and losers at 82nd Academy Awards F orm guide in top four categories at tomorrow’s 82nd Academy Awards taking place at Kodak Theater in Hollywood.

BEST PICTURE FAVORITE: “The Hurt Locker” DARK HORSE: “Avatar” Expanded to 10 films this year from the usual five, the race for best picture honors increasingly appears to be a shoot-out between Iraq war drama “The Hurt Locker” and science-fiction blockbuster “Avatar.” If successful, “The Hurt Locker” will be the lowest-grossing best picture winner in Oscars history with earnings of around 15 million dollars. By contrast James Cameron’s “Avatar” is the highest grossing film of all-time with more than two billion dollars in earnings. The introduction of a preferential voting system could possibly help “Inglourious Basterds” score what would be a monumental upset, but “The Hurt Locker” remains on pole position despite a slew of controversies which have engulfed the film in the final week of campaigning.

BEST DIRECTOR FAVORITE: Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”) DARK HORSE: James Cameron (“Avatar”) After virtually ignoring woman directors at 81 previous editions of the Oscars-only four women have ever been nominated for best director-the Academy is finally set to honor a female film-maker, Kathryn Bigelow. The 58year-old behind “The Hurt Locker” has already made history by becoming the first woman to win best director prizes at the Directors Guild of America Awards and BAFTAS. Adding spice to the contest is the presence of Bigelow’s exhusband James Cameron on the list of five nominees, leading somem to dub the category as the “Battle of the Exes.” Other nominees include Jason Reitman for “Up in the Air,” Quentin Tarantino for his bloody World War Two revenge fantasy “Inglourious Basterds” and Lee Daniels for his grim drama “Precious.”

BEST ACTOR FAVORITE: Jeff Bridges (“Crazy Heart”) DARK HORSE: George Clooney (“Up In the Air”) Nearly 40 years after the first of his five career Oscar nominations, Jeff Bridges is expected to finally get his hands on one of the famous gold statuettes. The popular 60-yearold has swept the awards season honors this year, winning Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards for his portrayal of the alcoholic country singer struggling to rebuild his life in the independent drama “Crazy Heart.” It will be a major upset if Bridges fails to add an Oscar to his trophy haul, although the ever-popular George Clooney remains a long shot for his performance in “Up In the Air.” Other nominees include Britain’s Colin Firth for “A Single Man,” Morgan Freeman for “Invictus” and Jeremy Renner for “The Hurt Locker.”

BEST ACTRESS FAVORITE: Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side”) DARK HORSE: Meryl Streep (“Julie & Julia”) Sandra Bullock’s performance in “The Blind Side,” where she plays a feisty southern matriarch who mentors a troubled teenager, helped the film rewrite box office history by becoming the first movie carried by a female lead to earn more than 200 million dollars. It is also likely to earn Bullock an Oscar. However the best actress race is reported to be the closest of the major categories, with evergreen Meryl Streep nominated for a record 16th occasion for her performance in “Julie & Julia.”

Streep, chasing her third Oscar, leads a pack of challengers to Bullock which also includes young British star Carey Mulligan (“An Education”) and Gabourey Sidibe (“Precious”).

The fifth nominee is 2007 winner Helen Mirren, regarded as a long shot as her film “The Last Station” is not nominated in the best picture race. — AFP

In this film publicity image released by 20th Century Fox, the character Neytiri, voiced by Zoe Saldana (left) and the character Jake, voiced by Sam Worthington are shown in a scene from, “Avatar.” — AP

John Lennon appearance in car ad stirs controversy new Citroen commercial that’s airing on UK television features old footage of John Lennon, and now Beatles fans are wondering whether Yoko Ono made the right decision in allowing the French car company to use her late husband’s image. In the ad-made for Citroen’s new “anti-retro” DS-3 model-Lennon is shown criticizing people

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who rehash the past in their own work. “Once a thing’s been done it’s been done, so while this nostalgia-I mean for the ‘60s and ‘70s, you know, looking backwards for inspiration, copying the past-how’s that rock ‘n’ roll?” Lennon says. “Do something of your own. Start something new, you know? Live your lives now. Know what I mean?”

In response to the controversy, Lennon and Ono’s son Sean Lennon took to his Twitter page and explained the thought process behind his mother’s decision. “She did not do it for money,” Lennon said. “Has to do (with) hoping to keep dad in public consciousness. No new LPs, so TV ad is exposure to young.” “Having just seen (the) ad I realize why people are

mad,” Lennon added. “But (our) intention was not financial, (it) was simply wanting to keep him out there in the world.” When one of Lennon’s Twitter followers argued that the public is still very much aware of who the Beatles are (Thank you, “Beatles Rock Band”), Lennon countered, “You wouldn’t believe how many teenagers ask me who the Beatles were.” — Reuters

Chopin bicentenary: Exhibition

revisits composer’s French years uring his 18-year exile in France, Frederic Chopin was a regular visitor to a two-storey house on a quiet street in Paris where the Polish composer often performed for friends and renowned artists. The house - now a museum but off the beaten path and of ten missed by tourists-is hosting one of two exhibitions for the bicentenary of the great 19th century musician in the city where he spent his final years and is buried. “Frederic Chopin, the Blue Note” opened this week in the green-shuttered Musee de la Vie Romantique at the foot of Montmartre to mark the anniversary of Chopin’s birth, variously given as February 22 and March 1, 1810.

It revisits his life in his father’s home country through some 90 paintings, drawings and other works by contemporary greats including Delacroix, Corot, Courbet and Ingres. The 1843 Pleyel piano Chopin played in France is also on display, along with an 1839 sketch by the musician entitled “Man’s Head”, showing his talent as a portraitist.

The show captures the heady days when Chopin, fellow composers Liszt, Rossini, Berlioz and other luminaries of the Romantic movement including Chopin’s companion, feminist and writer George Sand, and friend Eugene Delacroix, gathered for Friday night salons in what was the home of Dutch-born painter Ary Scheffer on Rue

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Picture at the “Cite de la musique” shows the piano Pleyel used by Polish musician Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) as part of the Exhibition “Chopin, the European”. — AFP Chaptal. The exhibition’s name comes from Sand and Delacroix, who said they heard “color” when Chopin played his music. It opens with an 1838 Chopin portrait

by Delacroix on loan from the Louvre.

Though browns dominate, “the blue note resonates,” Sand once wrote, saying the painting had the same “azure of the transparent night” as the preludes, nocturnes and polonaises Chopin wrote for piano. “When the idea was proposed two years ago to organize an exhibition in honor of Chopin’s bicentenary, we

decided to explore the relationship between his music and painting, stressing the ‘blue note’ that George Sand and Delacroix said they heard in his musical works,” said curator Jerome Godeau.

“This ‘blue note’ is like a reverberation of Chopin’s inner world, a poetic world, torn by exile and suffering for his motherland,” said Godeau, describing the composer as “a dandy, delicate and torn, one whom, as Sand said, the shadow of a rose petal could hurt.”

While the musical world has dedicated the year 2010 to Chopin’s music, notably in

Warsaw near where he was born, the two Paris shows focus on his time in France.

Chopin left Poland in 1830 at age 20, just before a Polish revolt that was suppressed by imperial Russia. He arrived in France a year later and died in Paris 1949 at 39, apparently from tuberculosis. His body is buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery though his heart, at his request, was sent back home. One painting, “Le Boulevard Poissonniere” by Isidore Dagnan shows his first Paris residence, while another Delacroix work, “George Sand’s Garden at Nohant” on

loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, depicts the bucolic estate where the at times turbulent lovers spent summers. The exhibition runs though July 11 (ww.vieromantique.paris.fr). Paris’ Cite de la Musique cultural center will also host a multimedia exhibition entitled “Chopin in Paris, the Composer’s Workshop” from March 9 to June 6, exploring the evolution of his work and his preference for the intimacy of salons and small venues rather than huge public concerts (www.citemusique.fr). — AFP

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Fifth annual PAWS for the Cause dog show 2010

By Rawan Khalid

A dog for adoption.

KUWAIT: The fifth annual PAWS for the Cause dog show 2010 started with a wink.

—Photos by Joseph Shagra

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Protecting Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) held its fifth annual ‘PAWS for the Cause’ dog show yesterday in the grounds of the British Embassy.

More than 700 people attended the event, which took place between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM, with many bringing their dogs along to take part in the competitions and just to meet some canine companions, with the human visitors getting to meet fellow dog-lovers.

“This is the fifth time we’ve organized this event,” explained PAWS administrator Janet Ralph.” We’re a nonprofit organization. There are a lot of participants and a lot of sponsors for the events, with Pedigree putting up the most money and donating free ice cream for the guests, donating pet food and making beautiful panels. Movenpick have also been fantastic with us; they’ve provided a lot of food for the people.”

She also praised the hosts of the event, saying, “The British Embassy have been wonderful with us too. Lots of people who work in the embassy volunteered to help us out here, and they made some cakes and muffins for the event.”

The PAWS administrator explained that the dog show featured a number of different events. “We have a raffle draw at the end of the day for the participants and most of the gifts are from our sponsors; we have around 60 different raffle prizes.”

Every penny raised by the dog show is very much needed by PAWS to take care of the animals it helps, Ms. Ralph explained. “We are holding this show to raise funds for our shelters. We now have 65 dogs and 50 cats and it costs us a lot of money to feed them. We have no money, so every penny we get from these events goes to feeding them.”

She further revealed that the dog show is only one of the events held by PAWS: “We hold three big fundraisers a year; the Paws Dog Show, the puppy show and the Christmas dinner in the German Embassy. It’s fantastic that all these bodies help us - if we didn’t have these three events during the year, we wouldn’t be able to raise the funds that we do.”

There were five categories for canine entrants into yesterday’s dog show: Best Tail-Wagger; Best Lookalike; Most Mysterious Heritage; Most Obedient Dog; Most Adorable Dog, Pet Pageant (Best-Dressed); Best Veteran (for dogs of seven or older), and Best Rescue Dog. During a break in the proceedings, the dogs of the Military K9 Unit put on a brilliant display.

The Judges

Abd-Al-Rahman Fawzy pictured at the dog show Taniya, she is one of the winners of Most Obedient Dog

The 3rd place winner of Best Lookalike category.

One of the Pet Pageants Movenpick hotel officials participate in the event they were the main sponsors, Khadija Meftah (2nd from left), and Gary Moran the General Manager of Movenpick hotel and Resort (2nd from right), and May (right).

Winner of Most Adorable Dog.

Military K9 Unit show.

WHATʼS ON IN KUWAIT Indian Public School celebrates Graduation Day

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Saturday, March 6, 2010

Happy Birthday

Embassy information EMBASSY OF UKRAINE The Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Kuwait informs that it has started updating the information about Ukrainian citizens, who live and work in Kuwait. In this connection, we are asking you to refer to the Embassy and update your file in consular register in order not to be excluded from it.

Please note, that the last day of updating your data is 20th of March, 2010. For additional information please call: 25318507 ext.106 or visit the embassy of Ukraine in the State of Kuwait (address: Hawalli, Jabriya, bl.10, str.6, house 5). The consular section of the Embassy open every day from 09:30 till 14:30 except Friday and Saturday.

any happy returns to Sanjay Selvam on his birthday on March 5. Best wishes from Preethika, daddy, mummy, pati, ammamma, thatha, uncle, friends, and relatives.

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Announcements TOMORROW International Women’s Group: To prepare us for spring, our next meeting will be about physical beauty. Mrs Mokhtaria Bouhend-Haddou, a fellow member, has kindly arranged an extravaganza by Lancome with various beauty demonstrations and product gifts. The meeting Will be held at Radisson Blu Hotel-Al Boubiyan on Sunday 7th March. Doors open at 9:30 am with breakfast at 10:00 am, to be followed by beauty presentations at 11:00 am. We look forward to seeing all of you at this ‘beautiful’ event.

MARCH 26 Ugadi carnival: Kalanjali Kuwait plans to organize Carnival & Musical Nite of Sri Koti, on 26th March 2010, in American International School - Maidan Hawally, on the occasion of UGADI - Telugu New Year’s Day. Sri Koti with his troupe from Hyderabad will present some of his hits.

Kalanjali plans to conduct “Painting Competition” for school children & adults, as well as “RANGOLI Competition” for ladies, “Salad Cutting Competitions” for MEN during this occasion. There will be an Inter-School “Youth Festival Competition” among the Indian School Children. Schools interested in participating can contact us.

Persons interested to keep Game Stalls, Food Stalls and ready to participate in various games & sports, or present any musical talents / perform any talents, can send an email to kalanjaliq8@gmail.com or contact 55457286 for further details.

indergarten section of Indian Public School held its Graduation Day on Feb, 18. Surendra Kumar, Country Head, Air India and Indian Airlines, the chief guest for the evening lauded the kids on their stupendous performance. The other guests for the evening were Cherian Thomas and Thomas George, who also enjoyed the wonderful program.

The program was compered by the blossoming stars

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MAY 6 2010 Mayflower Ball: The Social & Cultural Exchange Group - a multi-lingual, multi-cultural association will present the Mayflower Ball Dinner Dance & Beauty Pageant contest at a gliterring venue with a live music band from the western coast of India and renowned DJs. A galaxy of prizes awaits for the participants and to learn more about the show to be held on Thursday, 6th May 2010, watch out for more details in your favourite newspaper.

mances. At Indian Public School, we aim to bring out the full potential of our children by providing an environment by taking into consideration each and every child’s unique strength and differences. K A Rodrigues, the Principal of IPS believes that graduation programs are one such platform to bring out the hidden talents of children. The program on the whole was a team effort of the teachers of the Kindergarten section.

Nick Vujicic visits Spa Aquatonic istory was created when the very well known motivational speaker and inspirational icon Nick Vujicic experienced the Aquatonic Pool at the Spa Aquatonic. Nick, a miracle born without hands and legs has set a real example captivating the world giving a new meaning to the words, happiness and success.

Nick traveled extensively to over 19 nations around the globe but did not get the chance to try an Aquatonic pool. The Aquatonic Pool at the Spa Aquatonic in Crowne Plaza Kuwait is a combination of jet massages and intense bubble baths that regenerates body, tones muscles and relaxes mind. Aquatonic offers new and different techniques of relaxing such as Lower back massage seats, Dynamic body massage bay, Jets for the legs, Spiral jet pool from ankles to the lower back, Massage fountain, an Aqua relax bed and a pool for the aqua gym and other water exercises.

Regardless of Nick’s physical challenge, he was able to try and enjoy every section of the Aquatonic pool with the assistance of the pool coach.

Nick Vujicic amazed everyone around him as he got into the pool. “The Spa Aquatonic pool is a must try for everyone and I am sure of coming back again for more” said Nick after his astonishing Aquatonic pool experience, he concluded, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank BlueLink for giving me this great chance to see and meet such generous people”.

H

CRYcket 2010: The 13th annual crycket tournament is scheduled to be held on Friday, 26th March 2010 at the KOC Hockey Grounds, Ahmadi. This tournament is organized by FOCC (Friends of Cry Club). Friends of CRY Club (FOCC) is associated with CRY (Child Rights and You), India and its main objectives are to create awareness of the underprivileged Indian children, help restore their basic rights, strive to provide support in personal development of the Indian children in Kuwait and bring out the qualities of social commitment in them. FOCC has been organizing CRY awareness programmes for children through its two annual events - CRYcket (Cricket match for children below 14 years organized annually since 1997) and CRY chess tournament (for children of all ages organized annually since 2005) - and ‘Brain Bang’ programme which is an ongoing bi-weekly Accelerated Learning activity. CRYcket will be played by 24 teams of children and about 500 spectators are expected for this special one-day event. The deadline to receive the registration forms is 18th March 2010, however registration may be close earlier if the available slots of 12 teams in each category are filled. A colourful souvenir will be released to mark the 13th year of FOCC’s activities in Kuwait. For details how to become a sponsor and/or to advertise in the Souvenir or to volunteer as a FOCC member, pls visit www.focckwt.org or email focckwt@yahoo.com APRIL 16 Friends of Kannur holds drama competition: Friends of Kannur Expatriates Association (FOKE) is arranging a drama competition for their forthcoming fifth anniversary celebration. Competition will be held on April 16th at Daiya Auditorium.

Applications are invited from all art lovers in Kuwait to participate in this drama competition. Drama should be in Malayalam language and should be less than 40 minutes duration. All those who wish to participate in this competition are requested to submit their application along with a copy of their script before February 15th 2010. For further details you may contact 65071434, 99860832.

of UKG, Benjamin and Yavana. The program got off to a great start with the recitation of the Holy Quran by Abdullah and English prayer by Nicole.

It was a fun-filled and entertaining evening with a variety of programs like the welcome song and the Graduation song. The step dance, Arabic dance, butterfly dance and the Indian dance set the foot tapping and enthralled the audience with their fabulous perfor-

EMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India has further revamped and improved its Legal Advice Clinic at the Indian Workers Welfare Center, and made the free service available to Indian nationals on all five working days, i.e. from Sunday to Thursday every week. Kuwaiti lawyers would be available at the Legal Advice Clinic daily from Monday to Thursday, while Indian lawyers would be available on Sundays. Following are the free welfare services provided at the Indian Workers Welfare Center located at the Embassy of India: [i] 24x7 Helpline for Domestic Workers: Accessible by toll free telephone no. 25674163 from anywhere in Kuwait, it provides information and advice exclusively to Indian domestic sector workers (Visa No. 20) as regards their grievances, immigration and other matters. [ii] Help Desk: It offers guidance to Indian nationals on routine immigration, employment, legal, and other issues (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iii) Labour Complaints Desk: It registers labor complaints and provides grievance redressal service to Indian workers (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iv) Shelters: For female and male domestic workers in distress; (v) Legal Advice Clinic: Provides free legal advice to Indian nationals (Embassy premises; Kuwaiti lawyers 3 PM to 5 PM, Monday to Thursday; Indian lawyers 2 PM to 4 PM on Sunday); and (vi) Attestation of Work Contracts: Private sector worker (Visa No. 18) contracts are accepted at the Embassy; 9 AM to 1 PM; Sunday to Thursday; Domestic sector worker (Visa No. 20) contracts are accepted at Kuwait Union of Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO), Hawally, Al-Othman Street, Kurd Roundabout, Al-Abraj Complex, Office No 9, Mezzanine Floor; 9 AM to 9 PM, Saturday to Thursday; 5 PM to 9 PM on Friday.

EMBASSY OF PHILIPPINES The Embassy of the Philippines wishes to inform the Filipino community in the State of Kuwait, that the recent supreme court decision to extend the registration of voter’s applies only in local registration in the Philippines under Republic Act no. 8189 and does not apply to overseas voters which is governed

by Republic Act no. 9189, hence it has no impact on the plans and preparations on the conduct of overseas absentee voting. The overseas absentee voting for presidential elections will start on 10 April 2010 and will continue uninterrupted until 10 May 2010 daily at the Philippine Embassy. Registered overseas absentee voters are advised to schedule their days off in advance to avoid complications in their schedules. Qualified voters are encouraged to get out and vote.

BSK students contribute to global education eadership Incorporated, or L’inc is a charitable organization founded in Kuwait in 2007 by Saima Faruqi. Its aim is to raise awareness of young people, their families and friends to the numerous social and environmental issues that challenge us here in Kuwait. The motto “Youth Empowering Youth Through Education’ sets Saima’s vision out very clearly: give the young people of Kuwait the responsibility to determine their future and that of their country. Some 45 students from Year 9 and 10 at The British School of Kuwait have helped in L’incs’ activities over the last two years. Green L’inc has an environmental focus. Volunteers plant trees and flowers and clear rubbish from the streets, whilst activities for all the family show that hard work can still be fun and a send out the message that looking after our environment is much easier when we are all working together.

Community L’inc gives the

L

time and care to the young and not so young of Kuwait who live in orphanages and attend the Special Educational Needs Schools. L’inc volunteers visit the residents every week playing games with them, reading stories, doing art work and providing the opportunity to spend time with someone other than their carers or parents.

Events Management plans and runs activities to raise money that will ultimately be donated to the Linc nominated charities. To date events have included an action packed fair at Shaab Leisure Park, a football tournament, music concert and talent show. Typical of the caliber of the young people involved in L’inc is Abrar Hussein of The British School of Kuwait.

As a Year 10 student she was the driving force behind a fashion show that raised KD 11,000.

Saima visited The British School of Kuwait recently to recognize the achievements of 14 young volunteers. She and Madame Vera Al-Mutawa, the

BSK Executive Chairman, presented letters of thanks before students gave a brief presentation about what they had gained from L’inc and how they hope to be involved in the future: Samia AlTimanil said she started with Green L’inc in 2009 as she wanted to show the people in Kuwait that people their age can make a difference in the world. “I have learnt many things and in particular how to take care of the environment.”

Ali Boushiri: “I became involved in Community L’inc in 2007. It was a great opportunity to apply the academic and social skills we learn at school to a practical situation. I have been fortunate to reach out from my safe bubble’ of school, family life and friends to involve myself in a quite different way of life. Every week I visited a Special Needs School called the Al-Kharafy Centre. The children there had severe learning difficulties and need a lot of care, all day and every day. It was challenging to go there and help these

children, and although it was often very hard it was also fun. I am very proud of what the children and I accomplished.” To date L’inc has raised KD 70 000 which

has been used to build schools and fund the education of 5,000 students in Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Kenya. In fact, in the summer of 2009 Saima and five volunteers

went to Kenya and helped to construct a school, putting into practice the L’inc motto of “Youth Empowering Youth Through Education.”

SPECTRUM

16 CROSSWORD 919

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Calvin Aries (March 21-April 19) Dress properly and

begin your day with a good breakfast. This looks to be the beginning of a calm, but very busy business day. At least you will find—business as usual.

There is a relationship you have been holding onto for a bit too long—now may be the time to reassess your plans. Traveling for business matters can be most profitable now. If you travel by city transit, you will create a little extra time to do some of your paperwork or planning while riding. Someone older or in authority needs your help and you are able to pitch in and lend a helping hand. They are appreciative, even though it may be hard to see. Keep a fun attitude at home this evening. Teach positive thinking—it will certainly benefit all!

Taurus (April 20-May 20) There are good

opportunities to increase your income now. The efforts of your hard work will be paying off soon.

You find yourself talkative and quick-witted. Ideas are clear and easy to come by today. This could be a good time for thinking over your own affairs. You may have a conversation with an older person or someone in authority that will give you insight. Your communication abilities are at a high. This is an excellent time to sway others to your way of thinking. Be careful not to go to extremes, however. Take a back seat to an issue if people do not understand right away—you can approach it later. You may have been able to get your message across whether you realize it or not.

You may discover a lover is also a good friend.

Pooch Cafe

ACROSS 1. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

5. A bachelor's degree in science.

7. A material effigy that is worshipped as a god.

11. Tropical woody herb with showy yellow flowers and flat pods.

12. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

13. Chevrotain somewhat larger than the kanchil.

14. An agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank.

16. The month following January and preceding March.

17. The bill in a restaurant.

18. A workplace for the conduct of scientific research.

22. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America.

27. A ductile silvery-white ductile ferromagnetic trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

28. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa.

29. By bad luck.

31. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

33. The basic unit of money in Bangladesh.

37. Before noon.

39. Dried out by heat or excessive exposure to sunlight.

40. An amino acid that is found in the central nervous system.

45. A small cake leavened with yeast.

46. A public act of violence by an unruly mob.

47. Someone who engages in arbitrage (who purchases securities in one market for immediate resale in another in the hope of profiting from the price differential).

49. A decree that prohibits something.

50. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology.

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

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

DOWN 1. A nearly horizontal passage from the surface into a mine.

2. An informal term for a father.

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

4. A metric unit of volume equal to one tenth of a liter.

5. Common Indian weaverbird.

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

7. Not out.

8. Little known Kamarupan languages.

9. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

10. A Bantu language spoken in southern Zaire.

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

19. An associate degree in nursing.

20. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

21. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

23. A colorless and odorless inert gas.

24. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

25. The cry made by sheep.

26. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.

30. A thrusting blow with a knife.

32. A crystalline metallic element not found in nature.

34. Jordan's port.

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

36. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.

38. A female domestic.

41. A long thin fluffy scarf of feathers or fur.

42. A unit of pressure.

43. Of or relating to or characteristic of Thailand of its people.

44. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.

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

Gemini (May 21-June 20) It is difficult for you to find a middle ground with money. You are either extremely extravagant or extremely tight. New technology and the latest communication equipment will soon play a role in your financial success. Your intuitive insights are beginning to become more and more reliable. These talents can help you learn the life lessons you have been striving so hard to learn. This is the perfect time for new romance. If you are already involved, this is a good time to show your affections in fun, unique ways. General good feeling and a sense of support and harmony make this a happy time. Spend more time with the family or your special sweetheart now. Passion is prevalent continuously during this month and children seem more loving.

Non Sequitur

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Perhaps you have a special glow about you today or you purchased new clothes, shoes or, you are wearing a newly purchased item.

This seems to be the day for compliments. You enjoy the attention and value your own life situation. There are opportunities to make some clear decisions in the work place today. It is easy to organize your thoughts just now and communication of all kind is furthered. A little extra inspiration and motivation available this evening to sort out any relationship problems that you have been pushing aside for another time. Find ways to support each other. You may even find yourself out with your loved one this evening. You are happy to run into some friends while you dine at some restaurant or some other gathering place.

Leo (July 23-August 22) This could be a challenging day—try to eliminate much of the work that does not pertain to the main focus. In other words, decide the main goals and let the rest of the day fall where it may. Others value you for your ability to make practical decisions concerning group issues. You have a natural sense of what the public wants at any given time and can be involved in some problem-solving matters that would save your company quite a lot of money. Clear decisions affecting others could be made now. Difficulties, blocks and all manner of hot spots may be discovered and worked through to a successful conclusion. You are stirred this evening to work out any old relationship problems. Hugs are important this tonight.

Zits

Virgo (August 23-September 22) A little more flexibility today will help you get through this busy time. Ideas and interaction with authority figures or older people may be in the works. After work you may be tempted to purchase a large item that leans toward the comfort zone. This could mean a new vehicle, furniture, expensive electronic toy, etc.

Finances—purchases, investments and credit in particular—could stand some clear thinking: getting in over your head where such things are concerned can happen before you know it, so keep an eye on the bottom line. Think about when and where you will vacation this year and if you have provided ways in which you will not be interrupted from that well-earned rest? This is a good time to re-evaluate your aims and goals.

Libra (September 23-October 22) Take the opportunity to enjoy this day because the energies will certainly pick up pace from here. In the work place, work may move at a higher speed than usual.

Take plenty of breaks and, weather permitting, enjoy some outside activity. Ideas and thoughts will have a greater meaning and form. You may be very eloquent or forceful in speaking or communicating.

Because you can be so influential when you speak, you must take care in what you say. Young people need your opinion today. Learn to expand your ability to experience health, happiness, abundance, prosperity, riches, loving, caring, sharing, learning, etc., by expanding your expectations. The evening might be best spent with a good book or a movie. Relax.

Mother Goose and Grimm

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Be responsible in

attempts to improve your knowledge about your work.

This could be a restless day—bored by routines. You may look around and see projects you meant to finish earlier this day are still sitting on your desk; waiting for review.

Think about allocating jobs and creating an outline that will guide you into becoming better organized in the future. There are people that would be willing to help you get updated. Stop thinking it would not be worth the time to explain the steps. Initiate fun and exciting short-term activities for stress-relief. An example would be run, walk and stretch, play darts, throw a ball against the wall, etc., etc. This evening you will meet someone new and if you are not involved in a relationship, today could be the day!

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) This is a good time for clear deliberation and problem solving. You are in a serious frame of mind and find yourself dealing with matters of much concern and responsibility. Now is a good time to follow through on nutritious meals; brain food. You should expend great enthusiasm toward money-making efforts and show caution as to what type of activities you enjoy. You may tend to stay to near home most of this time, but the energies should balance out soon. Plenty of rest will see you through. The stress at work should be over in another week. Nothing however, stops the business interaction with your associates. You seek new ways to multiply your property or finances and eliminate the amount of work. Praise your loved ones tonight.

Yesterday’s Solution

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You are

yester

Yesterday’s Solution

to

INTERNATIONAL CALLS Kuwait Qatar Abu Dhabi Dubai Raas Al Khayma Al-Shareqa Muscat Jordan Bahrain Riyadh Makkah - Jeddah Cairo Alexandria Beirut Damascus Allepo

00965 00974 009712 009714 009717 009716 00968 009626 00973 009661 009662 00202 00203 009611 0096311 0096321

Tunisia Rabat Washington New York Paris London Madrid Zurich Geneva Monaco Rome Bangkok Hong Kong Pakistan Taiwan Bonn

0021610 002127 001212 001718 00331 004471 00341 00411 004122 0033 00396 00662 00852 0092 00886 0049228

Word Sleuth Solution

feeling happy as well as lucky today. Someone supports your ideas. You will be doing everything you can to find ways to secure a firm love relationship, as well as a business relationship. If you are living true to your ideals, then this is a time of satisfaction. This is a good time to start new projects. Small scale endeavors will have success. Write out your goals and affirmations that you had created at the beginning of this year. Remind yourself of these important goals and find ways to keep yourself focused. Try to loosen up and enjoy your companions this afternoon. You have increased passion for whatever you want to attempt. Have you played a music instrument lately? Tonight is good for walking with your sweetheart.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) If you have any vacation time coming to you, now through the middle of this month is a good time to take it. Today is a positive day for a loan if you decide a vacation is in order—a little extra money would be useful. Keep up the good work in striving to maintain a balance in your life. You may find that your interest in communication will spur you to join a group of people with like interests. You may be able to enjoy and value your own life situation. If you are not headed out-of-town, this would be a good time to scan the college or self-help papers at a book store for some new class that will help you expand your knowledge or talents. Perhaps you can encourage a young person to join you in this adventure. Consider future plans.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Authority figures could be testy today. If at all possible, it might be a good idea to stay out of their way. You could find that you are appreciated or valued for your skills and the way you help others and handle yourself in difficult situations.

Some may disagree with what you say or think or in some way oppose your ideas and thoughts—but what fun. This is not unusual for your particular job. Your job is to see these opinions of others as constructive and helpful. You could request time for re-evaluation before any decisions are made. Others will appreciate your efforts later. A loved one may be feeling under the weather. Don’t be so absorbed in your own day that you do not notice. A helping hand will be appreciated.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

17 ACCOMMODATION

Flight Schedule Departure Flights on Saturday 06/03/2010

Arrival Flights on Saturday 06/03/2010 Airlines

Flt

Route

Time

Airlines

Flt

Route

Time

Jazeera

0263 Beirut

00:05

Jazeera

0528 Assiut

00:05

Gulf Air

211 Bahrain

01:05

India Express

390 Mangalore/Kozhikode 00:30

Ethiopian

3406 Addis Ababa

01:45

United A/L

981 Washington DC Dulles 00:40

Turkish A/L

1172 Istanbul

02:15

Indian

994 Mumbai/Chennai

DHL

370 Bahrain

02:15

Pakistan

206 Lahore

01:10

Emirates

853 Dubai

02:35

Lufthansa

637 Frankfurt

01:20

Etihad

0305 Abu Dhabi

03:00

Ethiopian

3407 Beirut/Addis Ababa

03:15

Qatari

0138 Doha

03:25

DHL

371 Bahrain

03:15

Kuwait

802 Cairo

04:45

Turkish A/L

1173 Istanbul

03:15

Falcon

201 Dubai

05:25

Emirates

854 Dubai

03:50

Jazeera

0503 Luxor

05:35

Etihad

0306 Abu Dhabi

04:10

Cargolux

792 Luxembourg

05:45

Qatari

0139 Doha

05:00

Jazeera

0527 Alexandria

06:10

Jazeera

0164 Dubai

07:00

Jazeera

0529 Assiut

06:30

Wataniya Airways 1020 Dubai

07:00

British

0157 London

06:40

Jazeera

Kuwait

412 Manila/Bangkok

06:45

Wataniya Airways 2000 Cairo

07:30

Kuwait

352 Cochin

07:40

Jazeera

0112 Abu Dhabi

07:35

Kuwait

382 Delhi

07:50

Jazeera

0446 Doha

07:40

Kuwait

302 Mumbai

07:55

Gulf Air

212 Bahrain

07:45

Kuwait

344 Chennai

08:10

Wataniya Airways 1120 Bahrain

07:50

Kuwait

676 Dubai

08:10

Jazeera

07:55

0524 Alexandria

0422 Bahrain

00:50

07:20

Kuwait

284 Dhaka

08:15

Wataniya Airways 2300 Damascus

08:10

Kuwait

362 Colombo

08:20

Kuwait

545 Alexandria

08:30

Emirates

855 Dubai

08:30

Jazeera

0256 Beirut

08:35

Arabia

0121 Sharjah

08:55

Cargolux

792 Hong Kong

08:45

Qatari

0132 Doha

09:00

Kuwait

543 Cairo

08:50

Etihad

0301 Abu Dhabi

09:35

British

0156 London

08:55

Iran Air

603 Shiraz

09:40

Kuwait

671 Dubai

09:00

Falcon

203 Dubai

10:30

Kuwait

551 Damascus

09:10

Gulf Air

213 Bahrain

10:45

Kuwait

561 Amman

09:15

Wataniya Airways 1121 Bahrain

10:45

Jazeera

0456 Damascus

09:25

Iran Aseman

6791 Mashad

10:55

Jazeera

0170 Dubai

09:30

Jazeera

0447 Doha

11:00

Arabia

0122 Sharjah

09:35

Jazeera

0165 Dubai

11:05

Emirates

856 Dubai

09:40

Jazeera

0425 Bahrain

11:10

Qatari

0133 Doha

10:00

Jazeera

0113 Abu Dhabi

11:20

Kuwait

117 New York

10:00

11:20

Kuwait

173 Frankfurt/Geneva

10:20 10:20

Wataniya Airways 1021 Dubai Middle East

404 Beirut

11:55

Etihad

0302 Abu Dhabi

Airquarius

061 Baghdad/Basrah

12:00

Iran Air

602 Shiraz

Egypt Air

610 Cairo

12:55

Wataniya Airways 2002 Cairo

11:30

Mahan Air

5066 Mashad

12:55

Gulf Air

11:40

Kuwait

672 Dubai

214 Bahrain

10:40

13:25

Falcon

204 Baghdad

11:45

Saudi Arabian A/L 508 Riyadh

13:30

Iran Aseman

6792 Mashad

11:55

Wataniya Airways 2301 Damascus

13:35

Jazeera

0172 Dubai

12:00

Jazeera

0171 Dubai

13:35

Kuwait

541 Cairo

12:00

Egypt Air

621 Assiut

13:55

Global

062 Najaf/Baghdad

12:00

Nas Air

745 Jeddah

14:00

Wataniya Airways 2100 Beirut

Jazeera

0525 Alexandria

14:05

Jazeera

0492 Jeddah

12:15

Jazeera

0257 Beirut

14:10

Jazeera

0366 Deirezzor

12:20

Wataniya Airways 2001 Cairo

14:20

Jazeera

0238 Amman

12:25

Nas Air

703 Riyadh

14:25

Kuwait

103 London

12:30

Saudi Arabian A/L 500 Jeddah

14:30

Middle East

405 Beirut

12:55

Kuwait

14:35

Kuwait

501 Beirut

13:00

562 Amman

12:05

Kuwait

552 Damascus

14:40

Rovos

098 Muscat

13:30

Jazeera

0457 Damascus

14:45

Airquarius

060 Baghdad/Basrah

13:30 13:40

Qatari

0134 Doha

15:00

Kuwait

785 Jeddah

Kuwait

544 Cairo

15:30

Egypt Air

611 Cairo

13:55

Kuwait

546 Alexandria

15:30

Mahan Air

5065 Mashad

14:15

Royal Jordanian

800 Amman

15:40

Wataniya Airways 1024 Dubai

Jazeera

0173 Dubai

14:25

16:05

Kuwait

673 Dubai

14:30

Almasria Universal 109 Alexandria/Assiut

16:25

Jazeera

0496 Riyadh

14:40

Global

061 Baghdad

16:50

Saudi Arabian A/L 509 Medinah

14:45

Emirates

857 Dubai

16:55

Egypt Air

622 Assiut

14:50

Gulf Air

215 Bahrain

17:05

Nas Air

746 Jeddah

14:55

Saudi Arabian A/L 510 Riyadh

17:15

Jazeera

0176 Dubai

15:05

Etihad

0303 Abu Dhabi

17:15

Nas Air

704 Medinah

15:10

Jazeera

0493 Jeddah

17:30

Jazeera

0426 Bahrain

15:25

Jazeera

0239 Amman

17:35

Jazeera

0458 Damascus

15:30

Arabia

0125 Sharjah

17:40

Kuwait

617 Doha

15:35

Jazeera

0367 Deirezzor

17:45

Kuwait

547 Sharm El Sheikh

15:40

Wataniya Airways 2101 Beirut

17:50

Saudi Arabian A/L 501 Jeddah

Jazeera

0497 Riyadh

18:00

Kuwait

773 Riyadh

16:10

Sri Lankan

227 Colombo/Dubai

18:05

Kuwait

613 Bahrain

16:20

United A/L

982 Washington DC

18:15

Royal Jordanian

801 Amman

16:25

Jazeera

0427 Bahrain

18:15

Qatari

0135 Doha

16:30

Wataniya Airways 2003 Cairo

18:20

Jazeera

0432 Mashad

16:55

DHL

17:25

15:45

18:30

Almasria Uni

110 Alexandria

Wataniya Airways 1025 Dubai

18:40

Gulf Air

216 Bahrain

17:55

Yemenia

824 Sanaa/Doha

18:40

Etihad

0304 Abu Dhabi

18:00

Kuwait

502 Beirut

18:45

Emirates

858 Dubai

18:10

Kuwait

542 Cairo

18:50

Arabia

0126 Sharjah

18:20

Kuwait

674 Dubai

18:55

Jazeera

0262 Beirut

Kuwait

618 Doha

18:55

Saudi Arabian A/L 511 Riyadh

Kuwait

166 Paris/Rome

19:00

Jazeera

0184 Dubai

18:35

Jazeera

0177 Dubai

19:05

Jazeera

0116 Abu Dhabi

18:40

Kuwait

786 Jeddah

19:10

Wataniya Airways 2200 Amman

Kuwait

614 Bahrain

19:20

Jazeera

0443 Doha

18:50

Kuwait

774 Riyadh

19:30

Global

082 Baghdad

18:50

Indian

575 Chennai/Goa

19:30

Jazeera

0428 Bahrain

19:00

Kuwait

102 New York/London

19:35

Srilankan

228 Dubai/Colombo

19:15

473 Baghdad

18:25 18:30

18:40

Jet A/W

572 Mumbai

20:05

Wataniya Airways 1128 Bahrain

19:15

Oman Air

0647 Muscat

20:20

Wataniya Airways 1028 Dubai

19:30

Jazeera

0459 Damascus

20:40

Yemenia

824 Sanaa

19:40

Gulf Air

217 Bahrain

21:05

Jazeera

0694 Shiraz

20:00

Middle East

402 Beirut

21:20

Kuwait

283 Dhaka

20:15

Qatari

0136 Doha

21:35

Kuwait

343 Chennai

20:50

Emirates

859 Dubai

21:00

21:40

Kuwait

331 Trivandrum

Wataniya Airways 1129 Bahrain

22:00

Jet A/W

571 Mumbai

21:10

Jazeera

0449 Doha

22:10

Oman Air

0648 Muscat

21:20

Jazeera

0429 Bahrain

22:15

Gulf Air

218 Bahrain

21:55

Global

081 Baghdad

22:20

Kuwait

801 Cairo

22:00

Jazeera

0117 Abu Dhabi

22:25

DHL

171 Bahrain

22:00

Jazeera

0433 Mashad

22:35

Kuwait

675 Dubai

22:10

Jazeera

0185 Dubai

22:40

Middle East

403 Beirut

22:20

Jazeera

0695 Shiraz

22:45

Jazeera

0188 Dubai

22:30

Kuwait

548 Sharm El Sheikh/Luxor 22:55

Kuwait

203 Lahore

22:30

Rovos

097 Muscat

23:00

Falcon

102 Bahrain

22:30

Shaheen Air

441 Lahore

23:05

Qatari

0137 Doha

22:35

India Express

393 Kozhikode/Cochin

23:15

Kuwait

301 Mumbai

22:45

Lufthansa

636 Frankfurt

23:30

Emirates

860 Dubai

22:50

Wataniya Airways 2201 Amman

23:40

Jazeera

0636 Aleppo

23:20

Bangladesh

23:40

Jazeera

0526 Alexandria

23:25

Wataniya Airways 1029 Dubai

23:45

Kuwait

415 Kuala Lumpur

23:45

Pakistan

23:55

Jazeera

0502 Luxor

23:50

045 Dhaka/Doha 215 Karachi

FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161

Sharing accommodation available in Sharq near Amiri hospital, in 2BHK CAC separate bathroom with Keralite family, for family, working ladies or executive bachelors. Contact: 97675851.

6-3-2010 Abaraq Khaitan, single room available for executive bachelor / lady opp Kuwait clinic beside the main road, new building, from 1st April.

Contact: 97523316/ 24745162. (C 20411) 5-3-2010 Sharing accommodation available for couples or working ladies in Abbassiya.

Please contact: 66538532.

(C 20404) Accommodation available for non-smoking bachelor in 2 BR CA/C flat in Abbassiya near Integrated School.

Contact: 97199124.

(C 20407) Sharing accommodation available for Indian bachelor to share with other Indian bachelors at Salmiya behind Apollo hospital in CA/C building.

Contact: 97961405. (C 20405) Room available to share with a working lady at Salmiya, close to Indian Community senior school, working ladies/girls. Contact: 66231580. (C 20408) 4-3-2010 Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya for Keralite couples only KD 50/month.

Contact: 97145592. (C 20402) Sharing accommodation (fully furnished room) available for an executive bachelor with Keralite family, near Classic typing center, Abbassiya. Call 66829585.

(C 20401) Sharing accommodation available with food for 2 Goan or Manglorean bachelors to share with a Goan family in Abbassiya. Contact: 66269035. (C 20399) Nangangai langan 2 pilipinang bed spacer sa Salmiya, likod ng Gulf Mart. tumawag sa 99101530 or 99132471. (C 20400) 3-3-2010 Furnished room with attached bath and AC avail-

able for rent from 1st March 2010 in Farwaniya next to main street. Rent KD 75.

Interested call on 24748837, 66509289.

(C 20396) Room (new central A/C building) available for rent on sharing basis in Salmiya near Apollo hospital/Al Rasheed hospital, preference to south Indian family, for more information contact: 97301765. (C 20394) Furnished room with carpet, curtain, bed, cupboard, fridge in CAC 2 BR for nonsmoking executive bachelor in Abbassiya near Integrated School. Rent KD 80. Contact: 60049556.

(C 20398)

FOR SALE Audi TT 2008 convertible black and red turbo mileage 40,000 km with best condition, special order from Al Ghanim. Tel: 99983300.

(C 20410) Furniture and household items, flat with two bedroom sitting dining balcony two full toilets extra kitchen table and cabinet, central A/C available near City Center Salmiya.

Contact: 97201151. (C 20413) 5-3-2010 1997 Mercedes Benz Class for sale, insurance up to 14th Feb 2011. Please contact: 99256044.

Corolla 1.8 2003 model, totally maintained by Al Sayer, all 4 tyres new top condition, price KD 1800. Phone: 97848077. (C 20403) 4-3-2010 Honda Accord 1999 coupe black, excellent condition, full option, price KD 1,300.

Call: 55522942. (C 20392)

MATRIMONIAL Proposals invited for a well qualified Marthomite boy, 28 years and working as an HR - officer at a hospital in Kuwait. BSc nurses working at MOH or any other professionals preferred. Interested candidates may contact with

No: 14659

full details and photo to: anishvarghese_81@yahoo.co.in (C 20412) 5-3-2010 SITUATION VACANT

Live-in Indian driver required for an Indian family with transferable residence 18 or 20.

Contact: 22406645. (C 20406) 4-3-2010

(C 20395) 2-3-2010 Indian female (MBA in HR), 10 years experience in HR/Admin functions. Proficient in MS Office and other computer applications.

Commendable in English, multi-tasker and highly efficient. Please contact: 66634322. (C 20370) 1-3-2010

CHANGE OF NAME SITUATION WANTED Indian male on visit with nine years Gulf experience seeks job as IT consultant/manager experienced in document/project management, pre-sales, technical support. Call: 60049783.

I, Santokh Singh Tung Pritam Singh, holder Indian Passport No: G2644269 hereby change my name to Santokh Singh Tung.

(C 20409) 5-3-2010

TV PROGRAMS

18

Saturdday, March 6, 2010

Orbit / Showtime Listings

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

Starter Wife Prison Break Inside the Actors Studio Dawson’s Creek Prison Break The Closer Tess of the D’urbervilles Starter Wife Without a Trace Survivor Inside the Actors Studio Dawson’s Creek Tess of the D’urbervilles The Closer Inside the Actors Studio Prison Break Without a Trace Survivor Kathy Griffin No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Glee

00:50 Animal Cops Houston 01:45 China’s Last Elephants 02:40 Untamed And Uncut 03:35 Night 04:00 Night 04:30 Animal Cops Miami 05:25 Animal Cops Houston 06:20 Lemur Street 06:45 Monkey Life 07:10 Rspca: Have You Got What It Takes?

07:35 Dolphin Days 08:00 Lemur Street 08:25 Pet Rescue 08:50 All New Planet’s Funniest Animals 09:15 All New Planet’s Funniest Animals 09:45 Animal Cops Houston 10:40 E-Vets: The Interns 11:05 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 11:55 Animal Planet’s Most Outrageous 12:50 Britain’s Worst Pet 13:15 Animal Crackers 13:45 Cell Dogs 14:40 The Most Extreme 119:15 Xtremely Wild 19:40 Xtremely Wild 20:10 Up Close And Dangerous 20:40 Up Close And Dangerous 21:10 Cell Dogs 22:05 Untamed And Uncut 23:00 Untamed And Uncut 23:55 Animal Cops Miami

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

14:30 Aaron Stone 15:00 Pokemon DP: Battle Dimension 15:30 Phineas & Ferb 16:00 Kid vs Kat 16:30 K9 ADVENTURES 17:00 Suite Life On Deck 17:30 Zeke & Luther 18:00 DADNAPPED (DUBBED CEMA) 19:30 Kid vs Kat 20:00 NEXT X U.S SHORTS 20:10 Phineas & Ferb 20:40 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 21:05 Kid vs Kat 21:30 American Dragon 22:00 Phineas & Ferb 22:25 Aaron Stone 22:50 Power Rangers Jungle Fury 23:15 Incredible Hulk

Holby Blue A Year At Kew A Year At Kew Space Race Hustle Holby Blue Cash In The Attic A Year At Kew A Year At Kew Bargain Hunt Balamory Fimbles The Roly Mo Show Tikkabilla Yoho Ahoy Little Robots Balamory Fimbles The Roly Mo Show Tikkabilla Yoho Ahoy Little Robots Balamory Tommy Zoom Garden Rivals Garden Rivals Eastenders Eastenders Eastenders Eastenders Antiques Roadshow Antiques Roadshow Bargain Hunt Bargain Hunt The Week The Women Went The Week The Women Went The Weakest Link Holby City Holby City Doctor Who Doctor Who Confidential Extras Extras Green Green Grass The Alan Clark Diaries

00:05 Ching’s Kitchen 00:30 Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes 01:20 Cash In The Attic Usa 01:45 Hidden Potential 02:15 Antiques Roadshow 03:05 Antiques Roadshow 04:00 What Not To Wear 04:45 Cash In The Attic Usa 05:15 Cash In The Attic Usa 05:45 Hidden Potential 06:10 Living In The Sun 07:15 What Not To Wear 08:00 Antiques Roadshow 08:50 Antiques Roadshow 09:45 Antiques Roadshow 10:30 Antiques Roadshow 11:20 Antiques Roadshow 12:15 Living In The Sun

00:15 Streets Of Hollywood 00:40 E!es 01:30 25 Most Stylish 02:20 Sexiest 03:15 Fatal Beauty 05:05 Dr 90210 06:00 50 Cutest Child Stars: All Grown Up 07:45 Extreme Hollywood 08:35 E! News 09:00 The Daily 10 09:25 15 Most Infamous Child Star Mugshots 11:05 Kendra 11:30 Kendra 12:00 E! News 12:25 The Daily 10 12:50 Behind The Scenes 13:15 Behind The Scenes 13:40 Bank Of Hollywood 14:30 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 14:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 15:25 Ths 17:10 Behind The Scenes 17:35 Behind The Scenes 18:00 E! News 18:25 The Daily 10 18:50 Kendra 19:15 Kendra 19:40 Ths 20:30 Ths 21:20 Leave It To Lamas 21:45 Leave It To Lamas 22:10 E! News 22:35 The Daily 10 23:00 Dr 90210 23:50 Perfect Catch

Tropic Thunder on Show Movies 13:05 13:55 14:45 15:35 16:00 16:25 16:50 17:15 17:40 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:45 20:30 21:30 22:00 22:25

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:15 09:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:30 20:30 23:00

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

Living In The Sun Living In The Sun Living In The Sun Cash In The Attic Usa Cash In The Attic Usa Cash In The Attic Usa Cash In The Attic Usa Cash In The Attic Usa Cash In The Attic Usa Saturday Kitchen Saturday Kitchen Living In The Sun Coleen’s Real Women 10 Years Younger Saturday Kitchen Saturday Kitchen Come Dine With Me

The Basketball Diaries-18 Transamerica-18 Liberty Heights-18 Ensemble C’est Tout-PG15 The Firm-PG15 An American Rhapsody-PG Cocoon-PG15 Nicholas Nickleby-PG15 Ceux Qui Restent-PG15 Surviving Picasso-PG15 The Apostle-PG15

Untamed & Uncut Miami Ink Street Customs 2008 American Chopper Hot Rod Apprentice: Hard Mythbusters How Does It Work Dirty Jobs Smash Lab Brainiac Mythbusters How Does It Work Street Customs 2008 Wreck Rescue Wreck Rescue Fifth Gear Fifth Gear American Chopper Street Customs 2008 Industrial Junkie Industrial Junkie Man Made Marvels Asia Extreme Explosions How Does It Work Destroyed In Seconds Destroyed In Seconds Storm Chasers Ultimate Survival Extreme Fishing River Monsters Untamed & Uncut

00:15 Weird Connections 00:40 Giant Of The Skies: Building Airbus A380 01:30 The Sun 02:20 Sci-Fi Science 02:45 Sci-Fi Science 03:10 Weird Connections 03:35 Weird Connections 04:00 Beyond Tomorrow 04:50 Ten Ways 05:45 How Does That Work?

06:10 Green Wheels 06:40 One Step Beyond 07:10 The Sun 08:00 Thunder Races 09:00 Robotica 10:00 The Future Of...

10:55 Mighty Ships 11:50 Mighty Ships 12:45 Mighty Ships 13:40 Mighty Ships 14:35 Mighty Ships 15:30 Mighty Ships

16:25 16:55 17:20 17:50 18:45 19:40 20:05 20:30 21:20 21:45 22:10 23:00 23:50

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

How Stuff’s Made Weird Connections Weird Connections Engineering Thrills Suv Revolution How It’s Made How It’s Made Nextworld Sci-Fi Science Sci-Fi Science The Future Of...

Mythbusters Mythbusters

My Friends Tigger And Pooh Handy Manny Special Agent Oso Imagination Movers Lazytown Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Handy Manny Special Agent Oso Brandy & Mr Whiskers Fairly Odd Parents Hannah Montana I Got A Rocket Wizards Of Waverly Place Phineas & Ferb Little Einsteins Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Handy Manny Lazytown Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Fairly Odd Parents Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Jonas Hannah Montana Sonny With A Chance Cheetah Girls: One World Hannah Montana Jonas Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Sonny With A Chance Suite Life On Deck Kim Possible Phineas & Ferb Fairly Odd Parents Replacements Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Fairly Odd Parents Jonas Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Sonny With A Chance Double Teamed Hannah Montana The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Replacements Hannah Montana Jonas Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Sonny With A Chance

07:00 X MEN 07:25 New SpiderMan 07:50 Incredible Hulk 08:15 American Dragon 08:40 Pokemon DP: Battle Dimension 09:05 Kid vs Kat 09:30 Phineas & Ferb 10:00 K9 ADVENTURES 10:30 Zeke & Luther 11:00 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 11:30 Iron Man: Armoured Adventures 12:00 Suite Life On Deck 12:30 Power Rangers Jungle Fury 13:00 American Dragon 13:25 American Dragon 13:50 Zeke & Luther 14:20 NEXT X U.S SHORTS

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

01:30 03:25 05:05 06:40 08:15 10:30 11:55 13:45 15:15 16:55 18:30 20:15 22:00 23:55

Dr G: Medical Examiner Fbi Files Dead Tenants Undercover Fugitive Strike Force Forensic Detectives Amsterdam Vice Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghosthunters Ghosthunters Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Undercover Forensic Detectives Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Hot Art Fugitive Strike Force Royal Inquest Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Undercover Forensic Detectives Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Hot Art

Madonna: Truth Or Dare Hotel Oklahoma A Man Of Passion Laws Of Gravity The Hawaiians The Fantasticks Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell The Heavenly Kid Summer Lovers The Burning Bed Great Balls Of Fire Pascalis Island The Bridge At Remagen After Midnight

00:00 How I met you mother 00:30 Two and a half men 01:00 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 01:30 The Colbert Report 02:00 Late Night with Jimmy Fallon 03:00 Cougar Town 03:30 East Bound & Down 04:00 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson 05:00 How I met you mother 05:30 Late Night with Jimmy Fallon 06:30 Tyler Perry’s House of Payne 07:00 Home Improvement 07:30 Three sisters 08:00 Coach 08:30 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 09:00 The Colbert Report 09:30 George Lopez 10:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:30 Frasier 11:00 Seinfeld 11:30 Teachers

12:00 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson 13:00 Two and a half men 13:30 Tyler Perry’s House of Payne 14:00 Home Improvement 14:30 Three sisters 15:00 Coach 15:30 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 George Lopez 17:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 17:30 Frasier 18:00 Teachers 18:30 Seinfeld 19:00 How I met you mother 19:30 Gary Unmarried 20:00 Best of Late night with Jimmy Fallon 21:00 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:00 03:00 04:00 04:30 05:00 Leno 06:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 Leno 23:00

00:30 02:30 04:00 05:45 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

What’s Good For You 10 Years younger S3 Look A Like S2 The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Monique Show Chef’s table Fresh The Tonight Show with Jay GMA (repeat) GMA Health What’s the Buzz What’s Good For You Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The View The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show Chef’s table Fresh Parenting Job Club GMA Weekend Live GMA Health What’s the Buzz Downsize Me S1 The View The Ellen DeGeneres Show Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The Tonight show with Jay The Monique Show

El Cantante-PG15 Chasing The Horizon-PG15 Saving God-PG15 The Mist-PG15 The Flying Scotsman-PG15 Quid Pro Quo-PG15 The Bucket List-PG15 Pink Panther 2-PG15 The Flying Scotsman-PG15 Drillbit Taylor-PG15 The Brothers Bloom-PG15 Tropic Thunder-18

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:30 13:00 14:30 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Severed-R Rogue-PG15 The Collective-PG15 The Invincible-PG15 Godzilla-PG15 The Collective-PG15 The Uninvited-18 Godzilla-PG15 Twins Effect 2-PG15 Dark Ride-18 Break-PG15 Pulse 2-18

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

Orange County-PG15 Kids In The Hall: Brain CandyHigh Heels And Low LifesThe Mighty Ducks-FAM Lock And Roll Forever-PG The Other Half-PG15 Mchale’s Navy-PG15 Faintheart-PG15 Orange County-PG15 In And Out-PG15 Friday After Next-PG15 How To Be A Player-18

01:00 Iron Giant-FAM 02:30 Batman And Mr. Freeze: Subzero-PG 04:00 Barbie Diaries-FAM 06:00 The Jungle Book I-FAM 08:00 Barbie Fairytopia MermaidiaFAM 10:00 Batman And Mr. Freeze: Subzero-PG 11:30 Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker-PG 13:00 Iron Giant-FAM 14:30 Barbie Fairytopia MermaidiaFAM 16:00 Scooby-doo Meets The Boo Brothers-FAM 18:00 Never Ending Story 2: The Next Chapter-FAM 20:00 My Dog Skip-FAM 22:00 Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker-PG 23:30 Barbie Fairytopia MermaidiaFAM

00:00 Burn Notice 01:00 Burn Notice

02:00 02:30 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00 23:30

Sex and the City Sex and the City Beauty and the Geek Breaking Bad Parkinson Better off Ted Billable Hours Life on Mars Parkinson Beauty and the Geek The Beast Breaking Bad Better off Ted Billable Hours Every Body Loves Raymond My Name is Earl Burn Notice Burn Notice Life on Mars “24” Emmerdale Coronation Street Life Law & Order: Criminal Intent In Treatment In Treatment Sons of Anarchy Sex and the City Sex and the City

02:30 Barclays Premier League Preview 03:30 Premier League 05:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 06:00 Premier League Classics 06:30 Premier League Classics 07:00 Barclays Premier League Preview 08:00 Premier League World 08:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 09:00 Barclays Premier League 11:00 Barclays Premier League Preview 12:00 Premier League 14:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 14:30 Premier League World 15:00 Live Toshiba Super Saturday 15:45 Live Premier League 17:45 Live Toshiba Super Saturday 18:00 Live Premier League 20:00 Live Toshiba Super Saturday

01:00 03:00 05:00 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 09:30 11:40 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:45 17:45 18:00 20:00 20:30 22:30 23:00

Super 14 Super 14 Premier League Preview Show European Tour Weekly World Hockey World Sport Premier League Preview Show Super League Live Super 14 Live Super 14 Premier League Preview Show Mobil 1 Futbol Mundial Live Toshiba Super Saturday Live Premier League Live Toshiba Super Saturday Live Premier League Live Toshiba Super Saturday Live Premier League Live Toshiba Super Saturday Premier League

00:25 03:35 05:00 07:30 08:00 09:50 10:20 11:45 12:10 13:55 14:20 15:45 17:05 19:30 21:05 23:00

Ryan’s Daughter The Honeymoon Machine Cimarron The Screening Room The Asphalt Jungle The Screening Room Viva Las Vegas The Screening Room Masquerade The Screening Room The Honeymoon Machine Bad Day At Black Rock Cimarron Lies My Father Told Me Clash Of The Titans Real Genius

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

Mega Disasters Dinosaur Secrets Cannibalism: Extreme Survival Monsterquest Ax Men 2 Tunnellers The Universe Mega Disasters Dinosaur Secrets Cannibalism: Extreme Survival Monsterquest Ax Men 2 Tunnellers The Universe Mega Disasters Dinosaur Secrets Cannibalism: Extreme Survival Monsterquest Ax Men 2 Tunnellers The Universe Mega Disasters Dinosaur Secrets Cannibalism: Extreme Survival Monsterquest Deadly Dust Storm Ancient Discoveries 3

00:00 01:00 02:00 02:30 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

Clean House Peter Perfect Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane The Dish How Do I Look?

Split Ends Dr 90210 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane Area How Do I Look?

Style Star Style Her Famous Clean House What I Hate About Me Ruby Ruby How Do I Look?

Clean House Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane Kimora’s Home Movies Growing Up Fabulous Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane Dallas Divas And Daughters

01:04 New 01:35 Playlist 02:00 Urban Hit 02:00 02:30 04:30 05:00 07:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Premier League Preview Super League Mobil 1 Super 14 Live PGA European Tour Premier League Preview Mobil 1 Super League Live FIH Hockey World Cup Live FIH Hockey World Cup Live Super 14 Live Super 14 PGA European Tour

00:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 20:00 20:30 21:30

WWE SmackDown WWE Bottomline Bushido British Triathlon Series NCAA Basketball WWE Bottomline WWE NXT WWE SmackDown WWE Vintage Collection WWE Bottomline NCAA Basketball WWE SmackDown WWE Bottomline Live Premier League Futbol Mundial WWE Vintage Collection Live NCAA Basketball

01:00 Choke-18 03:00 Hindsight-PG15 05:00 Happy Go Lucky-PG15 07:00 Last Mimzy-PG 09:00 Grace Is Gone-PG15 11:00 All Hat-PG15 13:00 All Roads Lead Home-PG 15:00 The Longshots-PG15 17:00 Grace Is Gone-PG15 19:00 The X-Files: I Want To Believe-PG15 21:00 Marley And Me-PG15

02:45 08:04 08:45 11:00 11:45 13:04 13:50 14:00 15:00 15:15 16:04 16:45 18:00 20:04 20:45 21:00 22:00 23:00 23:45

Playlist RNB Playlist Club 10 Playlist Urban Hit Playlist Focus Guest Star Playlist French Only Playlist Urban Hit 30 Africa Playlist Trace Video Mix Legend Club 10 Playlist

00:00 Globe Trekker 01:00 Angry Planet 01:30 The Thirsty Traveler 02:00 Globe Trekker 03:00 Intrepid Journeys 04:00 Angry Planet 04:30 Photoxplorers 05:00 Globe Trekker 06:00 Swiss Railway Journeys 07:00 The Thirsty Traveler 07:30 Angry Planet 08:00 Globe Trekker 09:00 Travel Today 09:30 Essential 10:00 Inside Luxury Travel-varun Sharma 11:00 Food And Wine Special-varun Sharma 12:00 Feast India 12:30 Feast India 13:00 Globe Trekker 14:00 Planet Food 15:00 Chef Abroad 15:30 Chef Abroad 16:00 Floyd Uncorked 16:30 Essential 17:00 Globe Trekker 18:00 Globe Trekker 19:00 Inside Luxury Travel-varun Sharma 20:00 Flavours Of Peru 20:30 Chef Abroad

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

Long Way Down Long Way Down Bondi Rescue Destination Extreme Surfer’s Journal Treks In A Wild World Madventures Chasing Time Perilous Journeys Long Way Down Long Way Down Bondi Rescue Destination Extreme Surfer’s Journal Food Lovers Guide To The Food School Pressure Cook Excellent Adventure Culture Shocks Culture Shocks Culture Shocks The Music Nomad Food Lovers Guide To The Food School Pressure Cook Excellent Adventure Culture Shocks

Grace Is Gone on Super Movies

Star Listings (UAE Timings) STAR Movies 21:05 Keeping The Faith 23:15 High Plains Invaders 00:45 The Perfect Assistant 02:20 A Simple Twist Of Fate 04:05 Keeping The Faith 06:10 High Plains Invaders 07:35 Horton 09:05 Gone Baby Gone 10:55 A Simple Twist Of Fate 12:40 C.I. Frank Mcklusky 14:05 No Bad Days 15:45 The Jewel Of The Nile 17:30 The Road To Perdition 19:25 Dick Tracy STAR World 20:00 Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

21:00 American Idol 23:00 Stone Undercover 00:00 American Idol 02:00 [V] Tunes 03:00 [V] Tunes 04:00 Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

05:00 [V] Tunes 06:00 [V] Tunes

07:00 08:00 10:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30

[V] Tunes American Idol American Idol The Goode Family The Bold And The Beautiful The Bold And The Beautiful The Bold And The Beautiful The Bold And The Beautiful The Bold And The Beautiful Kyle XY American Idol American Idol The Goode Family According To Jim According To Jim According To Jim

Granada TV 21:00 I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! (Series 7) 22:00 City Lights 23:00 I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! (Series 7) 00:00 At Home With The Braithwaites (Series 2) 01:00 Football Saved My Life

02:00 All About George (Series 1) 03:00 The Street (Series 1) (Double Bill) 05:00 I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! (Series 7) 06:00 Emmerdale (WEEKEND OMNIBUS) 07:30 Undercover Customs (Series 2) 08:00 City Lights 09:00 Total Emergency 10:00 Fat Club 10:30 City Cabs (Series 1) 11:00 Come Dine With Me (Primetime Series 1) 12:00 The Colour Of Money 13:00 Stars In Their Eyes (Series 12) 14:00 Prime Drama: Rhinoceros 16:00 Come Dine With Me (Primetime Series 1) 17:00 The Colour Of Money 18:00 Stars In Their Eyes (Series 12) 19:00 Prime Drama: Rhinoceros Channel [V] 22:00 The Playlist 00:30 Double Shot 01:00 Loop

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NEWS

Saturday, March 6, 2010

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Somali Islamist rebels ban English and science lessons NAIROBI: Somalia’s hardline Islamists have banned English and science studies in schools in the southern Afmadow town after the education centers there ignored the rebels’ call for fighters, residents and teachers say. Residents of the town near the border with Kenya said three schools had been given one month to comply with the order by AlShabaab rebels and switch the curriculum to accommodate Arabic and Islamic studies.

“They asked us to contribute students to their militia so that they can fight for them, but we rejected their proposal,” said one teacher who

wanted to remain anonymous.

Al Shabaab, which Washington says is Al-Qaeda’s proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state, wants to topple Somalia’s UN-backed government and impose its own strict version of sharia, Islamic law. The heavily armed group controls much of the south and parts of the capital Mogadishu, and courts run by its clerics have ordered executions, floggings and amputations. It has also banned movies, dancing at wedding ceremonies and playing or watching soccer in the areas under its control.

Elders said the Al Shabaab

militia shut down Waamo, Dhoobaale and Osman Mohamud schools briefly on Sunday, before slapping the ban on English, which they called a “spy language”. “The Islamic administration closed education centers and ordered them to stop teaching English which they said is a western language,” Ali Mowlid Mohamud, clan elder in Afmadow, told Reuters by phone. “They told schools, ‘We know everyone who is going to be a spy for western governments learns this language.’” Schools reopened on Tuesday after elders and schools accepted Al Shabaab’s

decree.

The order also forced 23 instructors that did not have an Arabic education background, out of their jobs.

Safiya Ali, a mother at one of the affected schools, said she sent her children to the Quranic schools earlier in their life so they would later pursue some western education to enable them to join higher education institutions elsewhere. “We had already taught our children Islamic principles and religion. I don’t know how the new curriculum will fit the education needs of our children,” she told Reuters. — Reuters

In U-turn, Obama’s aides eye Sept 11 military trial Gunman targets Pentagon

WASHINGTON: Pentagon Police direct traffic away from a closed section of the parking lot following a shooting at the Pentagon on Thursday, March 4, 2010. A gunman coolly drew a weapon from his pocket and opened fire at the teeming subway entrance to the Pentagon complex, wounding two police officers before being shot. — AP

WASHINGTON: In a U-turn, White House aides are poised to recommend holding military tribunals for the alleged co-plotters of the September 11 attacks, the Washington Post said yesterday. Self-confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four accused co-plotters are detained in Guantanamo Bay awaiting trial for the 2001 attacks that killed almost 3,000 people, most in New York.

The move would reverse the plan by the administration of US President Barack Obama to try Sheikh Mohammed and his co-plotters in a civilian court in New York, just steps from where the World Trade Center once stood. Asked about the report by AFP, a senior White House official responded only that no decision had been taken. Obama

has been under pressure in Congress, with many lawmakers in both parties wanting Mohammed and his accused co-conspirators to remain under military jurisdiction.

The plan for the New York trial also lost the crucial support of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has worried about the high costs and disruption of holding the trial in lower Manhattan. A group of lawmakers unveiled legislation Thursday requiring military interrogations and trials for suspected terrorists. The Post said that if Obama accepted a military tribunal, he may be able to secure from Congress the funds and legal authority to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay and replace it with a facility within the United States.

Obama had taken office pledging to close down the

prison in Cuba, which many around the world consider a symbol of excesses under his predecessor George W Bush “war on terror.” But Obama administration missed a selfimposed deadline to shut it down within a year of taking office. While it has vowed to close the Guantanamo camp, it has said that the United States may still hold some prisoners indefinitely without trial, albeit on US soil in a top-security prison in Illinois.

Attorney General Eric Holder, in an interview with the Post last month, left open the possibility of a military trial for the September 11 attacks, saying the main priority was to “ensure that it’s done as transparently as possible and with adherence to all the rules.” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs at the time also declined to rule out a military trial and said

the decision would be up to the Justice Department.

Obama is bracing for a fierce election-year battle over how the United States should handle suspected attackers, with Republicans attacking Obama over the treatment of the so-called Christmas Day plotter.

Republicans have denounced the decision to have civilian authorities detain and question Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian accused of trying to use explosives sewn into his underwear to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane with nearly 300 people aboard. Democrats have shot back that US civilian courts have successfully tried and convicted scores of terrorists and that pushing for military trials gives extremists a propaganda victory by enhancing their stature. — AFP

Kuwait to keep oil supply curbs Continued from Page 1 other grades. Several members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have relaxed their compliance with record production cuts of 4.2 mil-

lion barrels per day (bpd) agreed to in late 2008.

A Reuters survey last month showed that OPEC crude oil supply rose in February to its highest in 14 months, with members of the group making 53 percent of promised

check on us though we need tents, food, water and toilets.” Outgoing President Michelle Bachelet has predicted it could take up to four years for the South American nation to fully recover from its worst quake in half a century. “This is testing us as a nation once again. Chile will get back on its feet. What has happened to us is terrible, of colossal dimensions,” Bachelet said. Bachelet said a “simple and austere” handover ceremony will be held next Thursday when president-elect Sebastian Pinera takes up the reins of power.

Pinera, a multimillionaire rightwing businessman, has pledged that he is reshaping his programs and priorities to

focus on the nation’s reconstruction which could cost tens of billions of dollars. The UN secretary general was meanwhile due to arrive in the capital Santiago yesterday to assess the damage and meet with Bachelet. The official death toll stands at 802, but Bachelet said it included some 200 people who should be listed as missing but were prematurely added to the death toll.

Thousands of Chilean troops sent to central and southern regions have largely managed to quell the looting that erupted in the wake of the disaster. Bachelet has deployed 14,000 troops and imposed broad curfews in the quake region, an unprecedented move since the 17-year military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet which ended in 1990. The cheers and plaudits greeting

supply cutbacks versus 56 percent in January.

OPEC, the source of more than a third of the world’s oil, next meets to set policy on March 17 and the widening gap between its supply target and actual output is likely to be a main topic of debate. — Reuters

Chilean soldiers along the country’s tsunami-flattened coast point to a long march by the army since the days of Pinochet’s repressive military regime. “The army has been fabulous,” said 69-year-old retired teacher Osvaldo Fuentes in Constitucion after lifting water from a military truck.

“Everyone is applauding them.” “I think people are extremely happy to see the support the army is offering in this crisis,” General Bosco Pesse, the chief of emergency operations in the disaster zone said.

Despite being considered a model of political and economic stability in L atin America, Chile has struggled to cope with a catastrophe of this scale, with many of the nation’s lifeline industries decimated by the disaster. — AFP

Could germs be making you fat?

Continued from Page 1 very similar to those of the mother. The colitis was better but the baby mice became obese and developed metabolic syndrome-a cluster of symptoms that include unhealthy cholesterol levels, too much fat around the midsection, high blood pressure and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means the body does not use insulin effectively to break down food and Gewirtz believes this may be the key.

PREVIOUS RESEARCH The researchers remembered a recent study in which normal, slender mice

became obese when fed gut bacteria from fat mice. They worked with that team, including Ruth Ley of Cornell University in New York, to see what role the gut bacteria may be playing. “What we think is that the mice are prone to intestinal inflammation,” Gewirtz said. “If you have a lot of inflammatory signals about, insulin won’t work properly.”

Weeks of antibiotic therapy helped, and so did diets. “If we limit their food intake they are mostly OK; they certainly are no longer obese,” he said. “They are, however, insulin-resistant.” Gewirtz’s team is now working to see if they can identify the micro-organisms involved. They are also

working to see if obese people have unique patterns of gut bacteria.

Scientists know that hundreds of species of bacteria live in the gut and an average person carries about 5 pounds worth. On Wednesday, Chinese scientists reported in the journal Nature that they found 1,000 different species in human intestines. So could you treat obesity by taking an antibiotic to wipe out the offending ger ms that are making people overeat? “It is very hard to replace the bacteria that you have,” Gewirtz said.

Studies already show it is difficult to treat conditions like Crohn’s disease, even with months of antibiotics. — Reuters

Block ‘genocide bill’ or risk ties Continued from Page 1 has warned that “Turkey will not be responsible for the negative ramifications” of the vote. As Turkish anger swelled, a crowd of around 100 demonstrated outside the US embassy in Ankara, laying a black wreath that read “We did not commit genocide, we defended the motherland.”

Protestors chanted anti-US slogans at a similar demonstration in Istanbul. Davutoglu said the resolution also raised the “the risk of stopping” bridge-building efforts with Armenia and stressed that Turkey would not bow to pressure to ratify a troubled peace deal with its eastern neighbor. “We are determined to normalize Turkish-Armenian ties but we are against this being secured through the intervention of third parties and through pressure,” he said.

The non-binding resolution calls on Obama to ensure that US foreign policy

reflects an understanding of the “genocide” and to label the mass killings as such in his annual statement on the issue. Following US-backed talks to end decades of hostility, Turkey and Armenia signed a deal in October to establish diplomatic relations and open their border. But the process has already hit obstacles, with Ankara accusing Yerevan of trying to tweak the terms of the deal and Yerevan charging that Ankara is not committed to ratifying the accord.

The government of Azerbaijan, a close ally of Turkey which is locked in a conflict with Armenia over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region, also warned of damage to US interests. “This unilateral decision was accepted under pressure from pro-Armenian congressmen. It contradicts the state interests of the United States and the interests of the American people,” Ali Hasanov, a senior aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.Azerbaijan is a key partner in US-backed

of September 11, 2001. “That’s one of the many things we’re looking at,” Keevill said. Authorities had yet to confirm if the web posts were from the suspect, he said.

In one entry, a user by the name JPatrickBedell wrote that he was working toward “establishing the truth of events such as the September 11 demolitions.”

The user also wrote “I am determined to see that justice is served in the death of Colonel James Sabow,” a US Marine who died in his backyard in 1991. The death was ruled a suicide but some followers of the case allege Sabow was murdered in a cover-up.

In an audio file under the same name, the US government is described as a “coup regime” run by an “international criminal conspiracy” that allegedly seized power after the 1963 assassination of former president John F Kennedy. One law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity said that there were initial signs that Bedell was mentally “unstable” and had run-ins with police.

Bedell “had a couple of contacts with the law” in the past, Keevill said, without

offering more details.

The police chief said the gunman had driven across the country from the West coast over the past few weeks and left his car in a nearby parking garage near the Pentagon. Police found more ammunition in the car, he said. The police chief painted a picture of a “well-educated” gunman in a business suit quietly determined to inflict major carnage at the center of US military power. “He was very well armed,” with two 9-millimeter semi-automatic weapons and several magazines, he said. “He walked very directly to the officers and engaged” them in a shootout at a main entrance to the building which sent employees diving for cover, Keevill said.

There were “a significant number of rounds” fired in an exchange at close range that lasted less than a minute, he said. Three officers, including the two who were wounded, shot back at Bedell.

The officers were wearing bullet-proof vests and had minor injuries, with one grazed on the shoulder and the other in the thigh. They were later released after being treated at the hospital. —AFP

international pressure. The clashes in Jerusalem and the West Bank erupted after Friday prayers. At the walled compound in Jerusalem, 13 Palestinians and 18 police officers were hurt, according to police and medics. Among them was a Palestinian woman who was hit in the head by a rubber bullet and was hospitalized in serious condition, an Israeli hospital official said. Police denied using rubber bullets.

In the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, a 14-year-old boy was critically wounded

by a rubber bullet, medics said. A witness, Israeli activist Jonathan Pollack, said soldiers fired from a rooftop in the village at stone throwers and that the boy was hit from a range of about 20 meters.

The Israeli military said soldiers fired rubber bullets in the village to disperse a violent riot. Skirmishes also broke at a contested holy site in the West Bank city of Hebron, but no serious injuries were reported. The Hebron site is one of the two included on the Israeli national heritage list. — AP

Clashes at holy sites

Aftershocks rock Chile Continued from Page 1

WASHINGTON: A heavily armed gunman who opened fire at police outside the Pentagon has died of his wounds, police said yesterday, adding that he appeared to have acted alone without any connection to terrorist groups. The suspect, identified as 36-year-old John Patrick Bedell of California, was shot in the head by officers, two of whom suffered minor wounds in the Thursday assault, chief Richard Keevill of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency told reporters.

A surveillance video showing a welldressed Bedell approaching the entrance to the huge Department of Defense building “pretty much confirms what we’ve been saying, that he acted alone,” Keevill said. He said no motive had yet been found for the assault that occurred at the evening rush-hour outside the metro system’s busy Pentagon station.

But the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies were checking Internet postings suggesting that Bedell may have harbored resentment of the US government and promoted conspiracy theories about the attacks

Continued from Page 1 the document, the US promises to assign blame if the talks fail. “If one side, in our judgment, is not living up to our expectations, we will make our concerns clear and we will act accordingly to overcome that obstacle,” said the document.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for direct talks, but the Palestinians fear he is not serious about a deal and instead wants open-ended negotiations as a way of deflecting

Saddam shadow hangs over polls Continued from Page 1 names on the list were from the majority Shiites, while the remaining third were Sunni. Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki quickly embraced the JAC’s findings, saying that only “criminals” and “murderers” would be affected. Iraq, he added, had “no intention of reconciling with those who regard... Saddam as a martyr,” referring to the December 2006 hanging of the toppled Iraqi president for crimes against humanity.

The row over the bans dominated the election campaign, raising questions about the JAC’s legal status, the judiciary’s independence, the electoral commission’s credibility and the ultimate fairness of tomorrow’s vote. Saleh AlMutlak, leader of the Sunni National Dialogue Front and the most prominent candidate barred, condemned the JAC, saying last month: “This is the coup de grace of the political process and the suicide of democracy in Iraq.”

Diplomats and analysts have complained of a lack of transparency in the

the mujahedeen.”

The group, which has previously threatened to sabotage the elections and claimed responsibility for attacks that have killed hundreds in Iraq, delivered its warning after a series of suicide bombings left dozens dead. The ISI statement came as Iraq’s religious leaders ordered citizens to vote and safeguard democracy in the second parliamentary election since the ouster of dictator Saddam Hussein in a US-led invasion in 2003.

“The Islamic state declares for the time a curfew on election day... from six in the morning until six pm, throughout Iraq and especially in Sunni areas,” the SITE monitoring agency said in a statement on its website. “For the safety of our people, any of those who learn of this, report it to those who do not know and supply yourself with needs for the curfew,” it said in a translation of the message which was posted on jihadist websites. ISI leader Abu Omar AlBaghdadi last month threatened to disrupt tomorrow’s election by “military means.” — Agencies

Iraq invasion a ‘right decision’ Continued from Page 1

energy projects in the Caspian Sea. Armenians say up to 1.5 million people were killed during World War I as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, a claim supported by several other countries. Turkey argues 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in what was a civil strife when Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.

Washington has traditionally condemned the killings, but refrained from calling them a “genocide”, anxious not to strain relations with Turkey. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had urged the committee not to hold the vote for fear it might harm Armenia-Turkey reconciliation. During a visit to Turkey in April, Obama said he retained his view that the killings amounted to genocide but stressed that reconciliation between the two neighbors was more important. — AFP

process which led to the bans. They fear the controversy might dissuade some Iraqis from voting. The process has also heightened political tensions in a country which was engulfed by deadly sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007, and comes as the US is set to withdraw half of its troops by the end of August. Lami dismisses charges of a conflict of interest.

“What we do is just like the minister of interior or the minister of education.

They also check candidates to make sure they meet requirements,” he said, referring to rules which state that would-be MPs must have completed secondary school and have no criminal record.

In another development, Al-Qaeda in Iraq yesterday threatened to kill people who vote in the war-torn nation’s election and imposed a self-declared curfew during polling hours when millions are to cast ballots. The Islamic state of Iraq (ISI), the Qaeda front in the country, in a statement two days ahead of tomorrow’s vote said anyone who defies the curfew would “expose himself to the anger of Allah and then to all kinds of weapons of

the Cold War. “Obviously the loss of life is something that leaves us all sad, the loss of life particularly after the success of the initial military operation to remove Saddam Hussein is something that leaves me very sad indeed,” he said.

Brown, finance minister at the time of the invasion, is the most prominent figure to give evidence since his predecessor Tony Blair made a highly publicized appearance in January.

While Blair was criticized for saying he had no regrets about the conflict, Brown expressed sorrow for the deaths of both British servicemen and Iraqi civilians at the beginning and end of the hearing. Although a far less vocal advocate of the war than Blair, critics, including senior civil servants and military chiefs, have accused Brown of failing to provide enough funding to equip troops properly. Some relatives of the 179

British soldiers killed in Iraq said this led to unnecessary deaths and had urged the inquiry team to press Brown for answers. The issue of support for Britain’s military remains relevant because 10,000 troops are fighting in Afghanistan and face a similar threat from insurgents. “There was no time ... when the Treasury said this is a better military option because it’s cheaper or less costly,” Brown told the inquiry.

“Every request that military commanders made to us was answered. No request was ever turned down.” The invasion of Iraq has been one of the most damaging episodes during the Labor Party’s 13 years in power, provoking internal divisions and huge public protests.

With an election due by June 3 and polls indicating that Britain is on course for a hung parliament, Brown would have wanted to avoid giving ammunition to his opponents. Much of Blair’s testimony

related to the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) falling into the wrong hands in the aftermath of the Sept 11 attacks on the United States as the main reason for conflict. Critics accuse Blair of deliberately misleading the public over WMD, as no such weapons were found, and making a pact with former US President George W Bush to go to war almost a year before the invasion.

Brown instead focused on Saddam’s failure to comply with United Nations resolutions as a justification, saying he had hoped diplomacy would prevail until the last minute. He said lessons learned from mistakes on rebuilding Iraq were being applied in Afghanistan. “We couldn’t persuade the Americans that this had to take the priority that it deserved. I regret this. I can’t take responsibility for everything that went wrong,” he said.

“We won the battle within almost seven days but it has taken us seven years to win the peace in Iraq.” — Reuters

SPORTS

20

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Kieswetter sets up clean sweep for England Bangladesh hit by controversial lbw decision

CHITTAGONG: England’s cricket team captain Alastair Cook, seated center holding trophy, poses with his teammates after winning the one day international cricket match series against Bangladesh. — AP

CHITTAGONG: Opener Craig Kieswetter struck his maiden one-day century to lift England to a 45-run victory over Bangladesh yesterday and a clean sweep of their one-day series. South African-born Kieswetter, who completed his four-year qualification process last month, blasted 107 for the tourists in their imposing 284 for five. Seamer Tim Bresnan then took four wickets as Bangladesh were restricted to 239 for nine.

Chasing a daunting total, Bangladesh lost opener Tamim Iqbal to the third ball of their innings but were in contention for a first win over England until a dubious lbw decision against skipper Shakib Al Hasan derailed them. After the dismissals of Aftab Ahmed (46) and Mushfiqur Rahim (40), Shakib was rebuilding the innings when he was given out lbw off Kevin Pietersen to a delivery that pitched outside the off stump and was turning away.

Before Shakib departed for a run-a-ball 38, Bangladesh were comfortably placed at 162 for four with more than 16 overs and a batting powerplay left. Bresnan and off-spinner Graeme Swann (2-38) then made quick work of the lower order as Bangladesh’s hopes fell away. Earlier, after opting to bowl first, the hosts’ spinners did a good job of containing England until the last 10 overs when the tourists thumped 107 runs. Kieswetter, playing his third one-day international, led the way by blasting nine fours and three sixes in his century.

“It’s obviously really nice to get hundred under my belt, especially so early in my career. It’s something I’m going to cherish but the fact that we won the game and the series means a lot to me too,” Kieswetter told reporters. “I’ve had to adapt mentally, in the first two games I don’t think I was quite tactically aware of how I was going to pace my innings towards helping the team win games,” he added. “Today I tried to pace myself a bit more. I tried to get myself in before playing too many extravagant shots.” Eion Morgan, who cracked an unbeaten century in the previous game, chipped in with 36 and Luke Wright added 32 off only 13 balls. — Reuters

Scoreboard CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh: Scoreboard after the end of the third and final one-day international between England and Bangladesh at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

England won by 45 runs to win series 3-0 England innings A. Cook c Rahim b Shakib 32 C. Kieswetter b Razzak 107 K. Pietersen lbw b Razzak 22 P. Collingwood c Razzak b Suhrawadi 36 E. Morgan c Tamim b Shafiul 36 L. Wright not out 32 T. Bresnan not out 6 Extras (lb-3 w-10) 13 Total (five wickets; 50 overs) 284 Fall of wickets: 1-59 2-96 3-170 4-237 5-257 Bowling: Shafiul 5-0-35-1 (w-2), Rubel 6-0-620 (w-1), Razzak 10-0-40-2 (w-2), Shakib 10-045-1, Naeem 7-0-36-0 (w-1), Suhrawadi 10-145-1, Mahmudullah 2-0-18-0 Bangladesh innings T. Iqbal c Bresnan b Shahzad 0 I. Kayes c Prior b Bresnan 17 A. Ahmed run out 46 M. Rahim c Bresnan b Swann 40 S. Al Hasan lbw b Pietersen 38 Mahmudullah c Cook b Bresnan 34 N. Islam c Wright b Swann 17 Suhrawadi Shuvo c Shahzad b Bresnan 11 A. Razzak not out 17 S. Islam c Prior b Bresnan 0 R. Hossain not out 2 Extras (lb3 w-14) 17 Total (nine wickets; 50 overs) 239 Fall of wickets: 1-0 2-40 3-96 4-125 5-162 6204 7-211 8-228 9-228 Bowling: Shahzad 9-0-55-1 (w-3), Bresnan 91-28-4 (w-2), Wright 2-0-16-0, Plunkett 2-012-0, Collingwood 10-0-51-0 (w-1), Swann 100-38-2, Pietersen 8-0-36-1 (w-3).

Blumenherst, Lim tied for lead at Australian Masters Coyotes’ Wolski punishes GOLD COAST: American Amanda Blumenherst shot a 3-under-par 69 yesterday to maintain a share of the lead with Lim Ji-na of South Korea after two rounds of the ANZ Australian Ladies Masters. First-round leader Blumenherst and Lim (66) had tworound totals of 9-under 135. Australia trio Katherine Hull (70), six-time former champion Karrie Webb (69) and Tamie Durdin (68) were tied for third, two strokes back, along with South Koreans Ryu So-yeon (67) and Seo Hee-kyung (68).

Blumenherst, Hull, Webb and Durdin played most of their afternoon rounds in steady rain at Royal Pines. Up to 200 millimeters (eight inches) of rain hit the course earlier in the week. When she finished her round, Blumenherst was shown on the tournament’s computer leaderboard as trailing Lim by a stroke. But her score on the par-4

second hole was incorrectly recorded as a bogey instead of a par four.

It was the first time the former amateur star from Duke University had led a pro tournament after the first round, and she’ll do it again today in the last group. “I was very proud of myself,” Blumenherst said. “I was nervous of course, but I handled it very well, I played my game, and I’m putting really well.” “It was really tough, especially after coming around the turn when it really started raining. I tried to think of it as part of my advantage, that everyone in my section was facing it too.”

Blumenherst’s group was put on the clock with two holes left, caused mostly by a ruling needed by another player in the threesome early in the round. As a result, they had fallen two holes behind the group in front.

“Being on the clock is tough,” Blumenherst

said. “Even though I don’t feel like I’m going overtime, you still subconsciously think that you could be penalized.” Lim, who won her first Korean tour event in 2007 in her rookie season, said the course conditions were better earlier Friday before the rain hit. “My short game was very good and putting as well,” said Lim, whose best finish in three previous trips to Royal Pines was 30th two years ago.

Lim spent most of her time in her postround interview Friday talking about Jack Nicklaus. A week after she won her second South Korean ladies tour event in September, she received a letter of congratulations from Nicklaus that forced her to race to her Korean-English dictionary and translate word by word. “I was very surprised,” Lim said through an interpreter. “He said he hopes to see me in the US very soon.” Lim

met Nicklaus two years ago while he was on a business trip to South Korea, and has an endorsement contract with Jack Nicklaus clothing.

She not only wears the Golden Bear logo, but has gone one better, asking the manufacturer to emblazon “I love Jack” - using the heart symbol instead of the word - on her clothing. “I envied him before, but I love him after I met him,” the 22-year-old Lim giggled.

“And they pay me a lot of money.” Lim, who has Nicklaus’ letter framed on her bedroom wall, birdied three of the four par-5 holes and two par-3s in a bogey-free round. Lim will attempt to qualify for the LPGA Tour next year after playing another full season on the Korean tour, where she finished eighth on the money list in 2009. She’ll also play next week at the Australian Women’s Open in Melbourne. — AP

Kiradech leads Malaysian Open Woods turns down sponsorship deal

KUALA LUMPUR: Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat led the weather-interrupted Malaysian Open on nineunder-par despite completing only 14 holes of his second round yesterday. Kiradech, who started on the 10th, chipped in from 30-yards for an eagle three on the par-5 fifth, his final hole of the day, before bad light stopped play after more than two hours were lost because of storms. “I was very lucky on that eagle,” Kiradech, the world number 231, told the Asian Tour website (www.asiantour.com). “It wasn’t quite dark... I wanted to continue and chipped in for eagle.”

Spain’s Alejandro Canizares was a shot back on eight-under-par after managing to complete his threeunder 69 round just before play stopped at the co-sanctioned Asian and European Tour event. Earlier, Dane Soren Hansen and Filipino Angelo Que both fired fiveunder-par 67s in the morning session to sit at seven-

under after another hot and humid day at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country club. Temperatures reached 35 degrees with 75 percent humidity which proved too much for India’s Jyoti Randhawa and Argentine Rafa Echenique, who both withdrew from the tournament before yesteray’s round after suffering effects from the weather. Que, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, fired six birdies in his round and said he was trying not to concern himself by the weather. “Everybody is struggling in the heat and I think everyone is more focused on the heat than on their game,” Que said. “It’s hot enough and if you let it affect you more, your game is going to be affected.” Overnight leaders Ignacio Garrido (16 holes) and Rhys Davies (11) and South Korean’s Kim Daehyun (9) and KJ Choi (16) were also at seven-under and will have to finish their rounds early on Saturday, when more storms are expected. — Reuters

DUBLIN: US golfer Tiger Woods has turned down a 75-million-dollar sponsorship offer from bookmakers Paddy Power, the Irish firm revealed yesterday. Paddy Power had made an initial offer to pay the sum over a five-year period but, after talks with Woods’ management company IMG, that was rejected. But Paddy Power aim to continue talks before making a revised offer. In a statement Paddy Power said: “Paddy Power remains keen to work with Tiger Woods, and will reengage with IMG. “An enhanced offer will be made, the details of which will remain confidential.” Woods has lost a number of high-profile sponsors following the publicity surrounding allegations that he had extramarital affairs. He has yet to return to playing and recently made a public apology over his actions. — AFP

Brumbies tame Lions, but miss out on bonus point CANBERRA: The ACT Brumbies downed the gritty Golden Lions 24-13 but for the fourth straight week of the Super 14 they failed to crown victory with a bonus point here yesterday. Yet again the Johannesburg-based team left the Australian capital without a win, after nine attempts, but yet again the Brumbies rued a missed opportunity to push their way further up the standings. It was the Brumbies’ third win in four outings this season, but it was a frustrating night in the rain in their first home match of the campaign as they were unable to score their fourth try to claim an elusive bonus point. The Brumbies scored their third try in the 56th minute through Wallaby hooker Stephen Moore, but they could not snare a fourth try in the final 24 minutes.

“It was disappointing in the last 10 minutes that we couldn’t get the bonus point, but otherwise we did well in difficult conditions,” Brumbies’ captain Stephen Hoiles said. The Brumbies have now won 33 of 35 games against South African teams at home, with the Coastal Sharks of 1998 and Northern Bulls of 2007 the only teams from the Republic to have avoided defeat there. Both teams traded penalty goals in the opening 16 minutes before the Lions lost prop Kevin Buys to the sin bin in the 28th minute after repeated scrum infringements deep inside the Lions’ quarter.

Referee Steve Walsh lost

patience with the Lions’ spoiling tactics and awarded a penalty try after 37 minutes against scrumhalf JP Joubert when he rushed out from behind the scrum to grab the ball off Brumbies’ counterpart Josh Valentine. Matt Giteau’s conversion lifted the home side to lead 10-3 at halftime. Burton Francis reduced the deficit with his second penalty shortly after the resumption, but the Brumbies claimed their second try through inside-centre Christian Lealiifano in the 48th minute. Hoiles made the break and drew the last line to send Lealiifano over for Giteau to convert for a 17-6 lead.

The Lions hit back through replacement hooker Hannes Franklin in the 52nd minute, swan-diving over the pack from a ruck right under the Brumbies’ posts. Moore’s burrowing try four minutes later looked to have the Brumbies in prime position to go on and claim a bonus point, but the chance was lost when winger Pat McCabe failed to ground the ball in Wandie Mjekevu’s splendid tackle six minutes from the end. The Brumbies threw everything at the Lions’ defence in stoppage time but missed their chance when Giteau opted to kick across field rather than keep the ball in hand and the opportunity was lost. The Brumbies are at home to the Coastal Sharks next week, while the Lions travel to Sydney to take on the NSW Waratahs. — AFP

old team Avalanche Penguins out-shoot Rangers GLENDALE: Wojtek Wolski beat his former Colorado teammates in his Phoenix debut, scoring the go-ahead goal with 22 seconds left as the Coyotes beat the Avalanche 3-1 in the NHL on Thursday.

Wolski joined the Coyotes on Wednesday in one of the seven deals the team pulled off before the trading deadline. Lee Stempniak, acquired from Toronto on Wednesday, scored for the Coyotes in the first period, and Radim Vrbata added an empty-net goal as Phoenix moved into third place in the Western Conference standings, three points above Colorado. John-Michael Liles scored a power-play goal for the Avalanche in the second period.

Capitals 5, Lightning 4 In Washington, Scott Walker scored twice in three minutes of the third period in his first game with Washington, leading the Capitals over Tampa Bay. Walker, acquired from Carolina on Wednesday, scored the winner off a rebound with 6:51 left. Mike Knuble scored two and Eric Fehr also netted to help the Capitals run their home winning streak to 12 games. Vincent Lecavalier scored twice for the Lightning, Steven Stamkos added his 38th goal of the season, and Steve Downie also scored.

Sharks 3, Canadiens 2 In San Jose, California, San Jose move two points clear atop the Western Conference by downing Montreal. Dany Heatley scored the tying goal and Manny Malhotra delivered the winner in a 2:33 span in the third period. Patrick Marleau scored a shorthanded goal for the Sharks, coming off their first back-to-back regulation losses of the season. Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta scored for Montreal.

Predators 4, Kings 2 In Nashville, Tennessee, JP Dumont, Jason Arnott, Marcel Goc and Jerred Smithson scored as Nashville overcame Los Angeles. Pekka Rinne made 20 saves for the Predators, who notched a sixth straight win over Los Angeles, which had won 11 of its previous 13 games. The Kings’ goals came from Alexander Frolov and Drew Doughty.

Penguins 5, Rangers 4, OT In New York, Evgeni Malkin scored a powerplay goal 3:42 into overtime to lift Pittsburgh over New York. Earlier in overtime, Malkin had hit a post and seen another shot stopped by the outstretched glove of Henrik Lundqvist, but his winner came on Pittsburgh’s 55th shot of the game at the

Rangers goalie. Lundqvist’s 50 saves were a career high. Pittsburgh held the Rangers to 16 shots overall and only one after the second period. The Penguins went 5-1 against their Atlantic Division rivals this season. New York had a three-game winning streak snapped. Alex Goligoski, Chris Kunitz, Jordan Staal and Mike Rupp also scored for Pittsburgh. Brandon Dubinsky, Chris Drury, Artem Anisimov and Michal Rozsival scored for New York.

Blues 6, Stars 1 In Dallas, St Louis extended its winning streak to a season-best five games by routing Dallas. Paul Kariya scored twice, combining with teammate Brad Boyes for a pair of goals during a 17-second span of the first period. Alexander Steen, Patrik Berglund and TJ Oshie added goals for the Blues.

Loui Eriksson scored for Dallas.

Hurricanes 4, Senators 1 In Raleigh, North Carolina, Carolina’s winning run stretched to seven games with victory over Ottawa. Tom Kostopoulos and Rod Brind’Amour netted within 65 seconds of the first period, and Manny Legace made 25 saves. Chad LaRose and Brandon Sutter also scored for Carolina. Former Hurricane Matt Cullen, traded to Ottawa on Feb 12, scored for the Senators.

Thrashers 6, Islanders 3 In Atlanta, Nik Antropov had two goals and an assist, and Clarke MacArthur and Evgeny Artyukhin scored in their Atlanta debuts as the Thrashers downed New York. Niclas Bergfors, another recent acquisition, also scored, while the other came from Maxim Afinogenov. MacArthur was acquired from Buffalo on Wednesday, while Artyukhin came from Anaheim on Monday. The Islanders got goals from Mark Streit, Rob Schremp and Tim Jackman.

Bruins 3, Maple Leafs 2, SO In Boston, goalie Tim Thomas made a timely return to form with 24 saves in regulation and overtime and three more in the shootout as Boston edged Toronto. Thomas was back from US Olympic duty and from a slump that had sent the reigning Vezina Trophy winner to the bench.

Miroslav Satan scored Boston’s first goal and had the only goal in the shootout. It was Boston’s first home win since the New Year’s Day Winter Classic. Johnny Boychuk also scored for the Bruins, while Tyler Bozak and Viktor Stalberg got Toronto’s goals. — AP

NHL results/standings

CANBERRA: Lions player Derick Minnie charges during their Super 14 rugby game against the Brumbies in Canberra, Australia, Friday, March 5, 2010. The Brumbies won 24-13. — AP

NHL results and standings on Thursday: Boston 3, Toronto 2 (SO); Pittsburgh 5, NY Rangers 4 (OT); Washington 5, Tampa Bay 4; Carolina 4, Ottawa 1; Atlanta 6, NY Islanders 3; Nashville 4, Los Angeles 2; St Louis 6, Dallas 1; Phoenix 3, Colorado 1; San Jose 3, Montreal 2. So Denotes Shootout, OT Is Overtime) Eastern Conference Western Conference Central Division Atlantic Division Chicago 42 16 5 207 153 89 W L OTL GF GA PTS Nashville 35 23 5 178 178 75 Pittsburgh 38 22 4 203 185 80 Detroit 29 22 12 165 172 70 New Jersey 38 21 3 166 147 79 St. Louis 30 25 9 174 175 69 Philadelphia 33 26 3 190 169 69 Columbus 25 28 11 169 207 61 NY Rangers 29 27 8 169 175 66 Northw est Division NY Islanders 26 30 8 167 203 60 Vancouver 39 22 2 204 158 80 Northeast Division Colorado 36 22 6 185 167 78 Ottawa 36 25 4 180 187 76 Calgary 30 24 9 156 160 69 Minnesota 31 27 4 175 178 66 Buffalo 33 20 9 169 158 75 Edmonton 19 38 6 158 220 44 Boston 28 23 11 153 160 67 Pacific Division Montreal 30 29 6 170 180 66 San Jose 41 14 9 210 159 91 Toronto 19 32 12 165 216 50 Phoenix 38 22 5 172 164 81 Southeast Division Los Angeles 38 21 4 192 171 80 Washington 43 13 8 255 182 94 Dallas 28 23 12 177 197 68 Atlanta 28 24 10 192 199 66 Anaheim 30 26 7 180 193 67 Tampa Bay 26 26 11 166 194 63 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one Florida 25 28 10 164 185 60 point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L) Carolina 26 30 7 177 196 59

SPORTS

Saturday, March 6, 2010

German League Preview

Italian League Preview

Two­will­become­one­ as­Roma­host­Milan

ROME: All eyes will be on Rome’s Stadio Olimpico today night as Inter Milan’s two Serie A title rivals fight it out to see who will earn the right to pursue the champions to the end. AS Roma host AC Milan with both sides knowing defeat could signal the death of their championship chances. Milan trail Inter by four points with Roma a further three points back. Neither team can afford to lose but even victory might not be enough to keep either side in the hunt and Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani suggested as much as he took a begrudging dig at Inter. “From an aesthetic point of view, this match is the best that Serie A has to offer at the moment,” he said.

“The two teams have to put on a show because the stadium will be full. “I’m not worried about these big matches, I’m just delighted to be able to watch them. “And the two sets of fans should be satisfied because at the beginning of the season they would have all taken a second or third place which guarantees you qualification for next season’s Champions League group stages.” If Roma win they will draw level on points with Milan but will have momentum on their side as they still have not been beaten in the league since October - 16 matches ago.

Having been dumped out of the Europa League last week they have only an Italian Cup semi-final next month to distract them from their title bid while both Milan and Inter still have at least one eye on the Champions League.

If Roma were to lose it would surely spell the end of their hopes, while if Milan were to lose it would be hard to see how they could still retain some realistic hope. It is in exactly these kind of tests that teams demonstrate their championship mettle and with Inter still to visit Roma’s ground, the giallorossi can still hope to deal a blow to Jose Mourinho’s team’s hopes of recording a fifth title in a row.

But even if a victory would leave Roma and Milan on equal points, it would show once again that Milan are not capable of taking that final step towards a sustained challenge to Inter.

Whereas Roma, whose form has been magnificent since October, would have more hope simply because it was only due to a poor start that they are not at least neck-and-neck with Inter.

Their run over the last 16 matches has also included trips to Inter, Juventus, Fiorentina, Napoli and Sampdoria-notoriously difficult away trips. And this run could have been even better but for two late collapses from 2-0 leads away to both Cagliari and Napoli. Even so, more than Milan they appear to have the consistency and grit needed to eke out the results needed to push Inter to the wire.

Although Milan have the points in the bag, they have had their chances but have failed to take them. Ahead of the last Milan derby in January Milan knew a win would leave them just three points behind Inter with a game in hand.

And yet despite playing with a numerical advantage for more than an hour, they were still well beaten. And even when Inter drew three games in a row in February, Milan could not fully capitalize as they dropped points away to minnows Bologna and Livorno-had they won both they would be level with Inter.

Inter will have three players back from suspension-Muntari Sulley, Walter Samuel and Ivan Cordoba-when they host Genoa tomorrow.

Fifth-placed Juventus face the first in a series of tough away fixtures that could make or break their season. Over their next four matches they face three trips, to Fiorentina today and then Sampdoria and Napoli, three teams fighting with Juve for the final Champions League spot.

Depending on how they fare, Juve’s Champions League hopes could look either very rosy or very bleak.—AFP

French League Preview

Montpellier­eye­miracle­ rise­to­Ligue­1­summit PARIS: Ligue 1 leaders and defending champions Bordeaux meet second-placed Montpellier tomorrow as the newly-promoted southern club eye an unlikely rise to the top of the French championship. Both sides are level on 51 points although Bordeaux have two games in hand over Rene Girard’s men, who are back in France’s top flight for the first time in five years. The Montpellier manager conceded his team are unlikely to steal Bordeaux’s league crown but warned his opposite number Laurent Blanc to expect a stern test when they meet at the Girondins’ Stade Chaban Delmas.

“Since the start of the season, I’ve said Bordeaux are my favorites to win the title and I think they will be champions,” said the 55-yearold manager, who spent eight years at the sixtime league winners as a player. “When you look at the two teams, one has a lot of experience with players used to playing in the Champions League, while we have a group of young players who still have a lot to learn.”

“But saying ‘It’s the taking part that counts’ is not really my thing...we will come to Bordeaux with the aim of taking first place.”

Girondins midfielder Gregory Sertic told his club’s official website that Bordeaux go into the match as clear favorites. “We beat them in the first match (this season), why can’t we beat them in this game? We’ve got the strongest hand,” the 20-year-old said. Fellow title challengers Lyon travel to relegation-threatened Boulogne aiming to continue their unbeaten league run in 2010. Lyon’s assistant manager Patrick Collet stressed the clash with the 19thplaced side is “a big game.” “It will be more dif-

ficult for us than both sets of supporters think,” he said.

A number of Lyon players have returned from midweek international duty and stars such Miralem Pjanic and Kim Kallstrom have just two days to train before the trip to northern France.

“There is always a physical and psychological fatigue (when returning from international games),” said Collet. “Boulogne will be anything but a formality.” Crisis-hit Paris SaintGermain, currently in 12th place, will travel to Lens as they look to bounce back from their 30 thrashing at the hands of long-time rivals Marseille last weekend.

The capital club’s image has been marred in recent weeks by a fresh wave of violence amongst factions of hardcore supporters and PSG officials are so worried about further trouble that they have cancelled travel for away fans. Fourth-placed Marseille, meanwhile, take on ninth-placed Lorient at the Stade Velodrome but former Manchester United and Real Madrid defender Gabriel Heinze will miss the game with a cracked right fibula.

In the weekend’s other games, basement side Grenoble meet 18th-placed Le Mans, while fellow relegation strugglers Nice host Nancy.

Tenth-placed Rennes welcome seventh-placed Monaco, while Valenciennes travel to Auxerre.

Sochaux meet Toulouse today with both teams missing their star strikers. Sochaux’s US forward Charlie Davies is still recovering from a car crash, while French international AndrePierre Gignac has just returned to training after an abductor injury. — AFP

Bayern­Munich­out­ to­consolidate­lead­ BERLIN: Bayern Munich will be looking to cement or even extend their newly gained place at the top of the Bundesliga this weekend as second and thirdplaced Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke snap at their heels. A scorcher of a goal from French striker Franck Ribery was enough for Bayern to beat fourth-placed Hamburg 1-0 last Sunday and take the Bavarian giants top for the first time since winning the title in 2008.

Leverkusen, who had been neck-and-neck with Bayern for a month and just ahead on goal difference, were held to a 0-0 draw at home to CologneBayern’s opponents today. “We expected Leverkusen to slip up, of course, and they did us the favour,” Bayern chairman KarlHeinz Rummenigge said.

Rummenigge’s team looks stronger on paper, having lost only two league games this season, and not since September, while 14th-placed Cologne have failed to win since an own goal saw them through against Frankfurt on January 30.

Bayern will travel to Cologne without Argentinean defender Martin Demichelis, out for three weeks after colliding with Michael Ballack’s knee in Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Germany. He has multiple facial fractures. Leverkusen and Gernany goalkeeper Rene Adler will be keen to keep a clean sheet as his team take on second-from-bottom Nuremberg away on Sunday, after his disastrous slip-up led to Argentina’s only goal on Wednesday.

The other main contender for the Bundesliga title is thirdplaced Schalke, four points behind Bayern and two points shy of Leverkusen. The nextclosest, Hamburg, are 12 adrift of the leaders Bayern. Schalke, with one defeat in their last 10 games, travel to seventh-placed Eintracht Frankfurt today, a side which manager Felix Magath is wary of underestimating. “Eintracht is a very close-knit team. Every player is there for the others,” Magath said. “It will be a very difficult game.”

In other matches, Hamburg, who have sorely missed Ruud van Nistelrooy, take on bottomplaced Hertha Berlin at home.

Former Manchester United striker van Nistelrooy is set to make a welcome return after a thigh injury kept their new star signing sidelined for two weeks.

The Dutchman returned to training on Thursday, but coach Bruno Labbadia was optimistic he will be fit for the Hertha clash.

Defending champions Wolfsburg, now languishing in 11th place, host 13th-placed Bochum, while eighth-placed Stuttgart are away to sixthplaced Werder Bremen. — AFP

MUNICH: In this file picture Miroslav Klose from Germany (right) and Martin Demichelis from Argentina challenge for the ball during the friendly soccer match between Germany and Argentina.

Bayern Munich says Argentina defender Martin Demichelis will be out for three weeks after suffering facial injuries during his country’s friendly against Germany. — AFP

Kashima­face­Urawa­ in­J-League­opener TOKYO: Kashima Antlers have their sights set on winning the J-League title for a record fourth straight year and are also out to lift the AFC Champions League for the first time. For a second year in a row, Kashima go up against fellow giants Urawa Red Diamonds today in the season-opener, with Urawa eager to make up for a disappointing campaign last time around.

“Nobody can be sure whether we can win the title or not. It’s impossible,” said Kashima’s Brazilian coach Oswald Oliveira.

“It’s the same in any tournament where we are aiming to win a title-it’s important to concentrate on winning the game ahead of us.” Urawa, the 2007 Asian champions, failed to reach the Champions League after finishing sixth last season and are already facing fitness concerns with several players injured, including midfielder Naoki Yamada.

“We will play against the best team in the J-League,” Urawa’s German coach Volker Finke said ahead of the Kashima clash. “I hope we can play like we did in the last game of the last season. I don’t think Kashima played better than we did at that time,” said Finke, reflecting on Kashima’s narrow 1-0 victory that earned them the league. “We hope to win a title-as many as possible. Actually, we have the Emperor’s Cup, the J-League and the J-League Cup.

Our ultimate goal is to qualify for the AFC Champions League,” Finke added.

The other major tie of the opening weekend sees Gamba Osaka, who won the J-League in 2005 and Champions League in 2008, face Nagoya Grampus, coached by Serbian Dragan Stojkovic. Nagoya beat Gamba twice last season, and Stojkovic said nothing less than the league title will do this time-and his players are under no illusions about that.

“I told them already what I’m thinking about this season,” the Serb said. “This is the target we must achieve. We must fight for that. We must show solidarity. “It’s simple. We will try to get the championship, we worked very hard for that and we’ll never give up.”

Kawasaki Frontale and Sanfrecce Hiroshima, who both got off to losing starts in the Champions League, take on Albirex Niigata and Shimizu S-Pulse respectively.

Yokohama Marinos, whose ranks have been embellished by the return of Japan international Shunsuke Nakamura, play FC Tokyo.

Newcomers Shonan Bellmare, Vegalta Sendai and Cerezo Osaka will meet Montedio Yamagata, Jubilo Iwata and Omiya Ardija. The league will take a break during the World Cup, which runs for a month from June 11.— AFP

21

Scottish League Preview

­Rangers­skipper­insists­ title­race­far­from­over ZURICH: Josep S Blatter (left) FIFA - President and Cele Bhekokwakhe, Chief South African Police pictured during a press conference in Zurich yesterday. — AP

‘World­Cup­will­be­safe’ LONDON: South African President Jacob Zuma promised visitors would be protected at the 2010 World Cup as he sought to allay fears the country’s crime rate would blight the tournament. “The fact is we have brought down crime already,” he said during his state visit to Britain on Thursday. “We are therefore very confident on this. And when we say we are ready now for the World Cup, we include security in that. “They will come to South Africa safely and leave safer,” he added. “At the beginning many people said it would be very difficult for South Africa to host the competition. “For the last six years we have worked very hard

to ensure we are able to welcome the world to South Africa.

“We can say now without fear of contradiction that we are ready, if not more than ready, to receive those who come to South Africa,” he insisted ahead of the first World Cup ever to be staged on the African continent. Zuma spoke after visiting Wembley Stadium, the home of English football, where he met officials involved in England’s bid to stage the 2018 World Cup. Earlier, Danny Jordaan, the chief executive of South Africa’s organizing committee, said the 2010 event was involved in a journey of “perception and reality”. —AFP

GLASGOW: Runaway league leaders Rangers have the chance to pile the pressure on rivals Celtic by moving 13 points clear at the top of the table if they win at home to St Mirren today. A last minute Maurice Edu goal in last week’s Old Firm derby gave Walter Smith’s men a 10 point lead of the Scottish Premier League with the added bonus of a game in hand over the Hoops.

With Tony Mowbray’s side not taking on Falkirk until tomorrow the Gers know they can increase the gap with a win over the Paisley Buddies at Ibrox. In the past two seasons both sides of the Old Firm have overturned seven point advantages to claim the league title on the final day of the season, but a 13 point gap should prove insurmountable.

However Rangers captain Davie Weir is not taking anything for granted and says the title race

is not over. “Everybody here knows that is not the case. In the last two seasons the title race has gone down to the last day,” the defender said. “I think it’ll be close again and I don’t think anything is going to be decided at this stage in the campaign. “We just have to keep looking forward. Our results have been good lately and we’ve had a few draws, but we have stayed unbeaten for a while now so that is a big thing for us.

“Now we’ve got everyone fit, back in the squad and competing for places, hopefully that can spur everybody on. If you look back at December, we scored a lot of goals and won games comfortably.

“It would be great if we could get back to that, but football doesn’t always work like that.” Rangers midfielder Lee McCulloch is winning his race to be fit for the game against St Mirren, giving manager Smith a full squad to pick from.

The two sides will be sick of the sight of each other having met three times in the past month and will face each other in the League Cup final in two weeks time.

Celtic are away to bottom club Falkirk tomorrow. Hoops gaffer Mowbray has several players missing for the match. Defenders Glenn Loovens and Tomas Rogne are struggling with injuries meaning Darren O’Dea is likely to partner teenager Josh Thompson in the centre of defence. Captain Scott Brown will be suspended following the failure of his appeal against the red-card he picked up in the Old Firm derby. Despite their lowly status the Bairns have a good record against Celtic this season having drawn twice with the Parkhead club. Hamilton will hope to pull away from the relegation zone with victory over an Aberdeen side that hasn’t won in their last nine games. — AFP

sports

22

saturday, March 6, 2010

Hamstring curse ends Owen’s WCup dream

LONDON: Manchester United’s English footballer Michael Owen is congratulated by team-mates after scoring against Aston Villa during the 2010 Carling Cup Final at Wembley. — AFP

Bosingwa suffers WCup heartbreak

LONDON: Chelsea and Portugal defender Jose Bosingwa is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury and will miss the World Cup, the Blues’ assistant manager, Ray Wilkins, revealed yesterday. The fullback had been back in light training after surgery but has now been told he needs another operation.

“He’ll be out for the season and that’s him out of the World Cup as well,” Wilkins told reporters. The news is a further blow to Chelsea’s hopes of winning a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble. Carlo Ancelotti’s side are currently without three other first-choice players with goalkeeper Petr Cech sidelined for a further two weeks at least with a torn calf muscle and Michael Essien (knee) and Ashley Cole (broken ankle) also out of action.

Bosingwa, a 16-million-pound signing

from FC Porto in 2008, suffered the knee injury playing against Aston Villa in October. Wilkins meanwhile insisted that the club was doing everything it could to persuade midfielder Joe Cole to stay on following the expiry of his contract at the end of the season. Cole has lost his place in the England squad having failed to start regularly for his club since returning from a serious knee injury in Septmeber.

He is holding out for a substantial pay rise which Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich, has so far refused to sanction, but Wilkins is confident the differences will be resolved.

“We are desperate to keep Joe,” said Wilkins. “I know the club are and we as a management group feel the same. He is a very valuable asset to us. Wilkins added: “I have spoken to Joe on numerous occasions.

Tottenham old boys set to turn on Spurs LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur have a proud tradition when it comes to the FA Cup, having lifted the famous trophy eight times, whereas Fulham have played in the final just once, back in 1975. But if the Cottagers do reach their first semi-final since that run, which saw them beaten 2-0 at Wembley by another fellow London club West Ham, the chances are they will have some former Spurs players to thank.

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has four to choose from in Bobby Zamora, the forward, midfielders Simon Davies and Danny Murphy and Stephen Kelly, the defender.

Tottenham defender Michael Dawson, who will try to shackle the in-form Zamora, was aware the quartet would all be keen to get one over their former club when the tie kicks off at Fulham’s Craven Cottage ground today.

“Simon Davies was at Tottenham when I first came to the club, and ‘Murph’ was here as well,” he said.

“I’ve played with Bobby at England Under-21 level but not when he was at Tottenham. They’re good players and we know they’re a good team.

“Bobby’s definitely one of the in-form strikers in the Premier League at the moment. Whenever you play against him you know it’s going to be a tough.

He’s certainly on fire at the moment, scoring some good goals.

“Look at the way he holds the ball up, his goal-scoring, he’s a top player.

You come up against so many of them in the Premier League so it’s going to be another good test.” With Arsenal

and Manchester United both having been knocked out in earlier rounds the opportunity is there for Spurs to win the FA Cup for the first time since 1991 and Dawson was adamant the north London side had their sights set on more than just a Wembley semifinal.

“We’re 90 minutes away from Wembley,” he said. “If we go there in the semi-final we’ll certainly want to go there and play again. It’s not just one day out, it’s cup final day that you want to be there, not the semis. You want to win the cup, it’s as simple as that.

“This year you look at the teams who have gone out of the competition, but the teams that are still in will all be thinking the same as us.” Fulham, ninth in the Premier League table to Tottenham’s fourth, are also still in the Europa League and have a doubleheader with Italian giants Juventus to look forward to this month.

But for Republic of Ireland international Kelly, the FA Cup remains a prize worth fighting for. “Tottenham in the FA Cup this weekend is special for me, especially if I can get one over on them,” he said. “They are playing a lot of good football and doing very well in the league at the minute. “It is going to be difficult, but we have got them at home and our home form has been very good this season so why can’t we get through to the next round? “We are in the next round of the Europa League, the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, our league position is going well and we are also playing a lot of good football.” — AFP

He is upbeat about his future here. He loves Chelsea. He wants to stay at Chelsea and I am sure that the club and his people will sort the situation out.”

Wilkins also backed Cole to return to the England squad in time for the World Cup. “If he continues to work in the way he is in training and the game time he will get from here on in, I see no reason why he shouldn’t.

“I think he will give England something slightly different.

He can play on both sides of the pitch and in different formations. Chelsea entertain Stoke on Sunday in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup without suspended midfielder Michael Ballack and the versatile Juliano Belletti. Defender Ricardo Carvalho will face a late fitness test after collecting a hamstring injury on international duty with Portugal. — AFP

‘Red Knights’: We will not overpay for Utd LONDON: A group of wealthy supporters looking into a possible bid for English soccer club Manchester United said they would not overpay, and dismissed financial numbers circulating in the media as purely speculative. The Times newspaper reported yesterday that 60 investors have pledged up to 1.5 billion pounds ($2.26 billion) in their bid to seize control of the club. A spokesman for the group said they had received a very good level of interest.

The “Red Knights”, a collection of City figures including former Football League chairman Keith Harris and Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jim O’Neill, have said they are looking at the feasibility of putting together a bid for the world’s third-richest soccer club. “No specific discussions have been held in relation to the value of Manchester United,” the group said in a statement.

“People are talking about putting their own money in and are only going to do so if it’s at a fair and reasonable price.

“Every penny over a fair price that goes to the Glazers in profit is less money that could be spent on putting the club on a sound financial footing after any takeover.”

The group said the talks were at an early stage. The Glazer family, who also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers American football team, have said the club is not for sale. The Glazer family bought Manchester United in 2005 for about 790 million pounds against a wave of opposition from fans who feared they were loading it up with too much debt.

The club raised a 500 million pound bond in January to refinance its debts. The latest accounts show the club owed 507 million pounds at Dec 31 2009. —Reuters

Michael MANCHESTER: Owen will be out injured until the end of the season after learning he needs surgery to repair the hamstring injury that forced him out of last weekend’s League Cup final.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson revealed yesterday that the injury suffered by the striker had been more serious than initially thought, definitively ending any lingering hope Owen had of making England’s squad for the World Cup in June and July.

Owen limped out of Sunday’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa at Wembley just before half-time and will have an operation on Monday. “It is a terrible blow for the lad,” Ferguson said. “It is more serious than we thought.” There was some positive news for United fans yesterday with Ferguson revealing that England midfielder Owen Hargreaves will make his long-awaited comeback in a reserves match on Thursday.

Hargreaves, voted England’s best player at the 2006 World Cup, has not played since September 2008 because of chronic tendinitis in both knees, for which he underwent surgery last year. His comeback has been repeatedly postponed but a glimmer of light has now appeared at the end of the tunnel. “Owen Hargreaves has shown for the first time that he is almost ready to play,” said Ferguson. “He has been training with the first team, which has been good to see and is penciled in for a game with the reserves on Thursday.”

Ferguson also announced that striker Federico Macheda would next week resume training for the first team following a recent injury. “He is a good player to have back, particularly considering the loss of Michael,” Ferguson said of the Italy under-21 star, who scored two crucial goals in last season’s title run-in. Owen’s career has been blighted by hamstring problems with the recurring injuries depriving him of the blistering pace that enabled him, at 18, to score one of the all-time great World Cup goals, for England against Argentina at France 98.

His latest setback will inevitably fuel concern that, at 30, he has reached the end of the road, but he insisted that he was looking forward to returning, fully fit, next season.

“Unfortunately the specialist says I will miss the end of the season,” he said. “I have loved every minute of my first campaign with Manchester United and have already enjoyed some memorable moments. I am determined to come back at the start of next season in peak condition.” Owen’s injury will intensify concern over the poor quality of the playing surface at the new Wembley after Ferguson said the heaviness of the pitch “had something to do with it.”

Owen signed for United on a pay-as-you-play two-year deal before the start of this season and had scored some crucial goals, a derby winner against Manchester City and a Champions League hat-trick preceding a goal on Sunday that was reminiscent of him at his very best. But he has generally been a peripheral figure, Ferguson preferring to deploy Wayne Rooney as a lone striker. The lack of first-team starts has ensured Owen has been unable to convince England manager Fabio Capello to recall him to the national squad and he had recently acknowledged that he was no more than a “long shot” to make the World Cup. Despite a record of 40 goals in 89 appearances for England, the forward has not been picked

by Capello since the Italian’s second game in charge, a 1-0 friendly defeat by France in Paris in March 2008. In the wake of Sunday’s 2-1 win at Wembley, Owen offered an insight into his frustration at being ignored by Capello. “I’ve said many times it’s difficult for me to talk about it or find the right words because one slip of the tongue and I’m going to be on the back page,” he said. “If I said what I think or how I feel...I would only be lying to you if I spoke about England so there is no point in asking, put it that way.” —AFP

LONDON: Brazil’s striker Robinho attends a training session at the Emirates Stadium in London.— AFP

Robinho lifts Santos against Paulista 3-2 SAO PAULO: Robinho scored his fourth goal since returning to Brazilian football on Thursday, helping Santos defeat Paulista 3-2 to win its 10th in a row and maintain a comfortable lead in the Sao Paulo state championship. Robinho, on a six-month loan from Manchester City, came off the bench to score Santos’ winner in the 70th minute, clearing two defenders inside the area before firing into the top of the net.

It was Robinho’s fourth goal in six matches since his return to Santos in late January. He nearly scored another goal in the 77th, but his close-range shot struck the crossbar. Robinho started on the bench because he had just returned from Brazil’s 2-0 win over Ireland in a friendly in London on Tuesday, when he scored a goal and helped set up the other.

“This is what happens when you are playing with happiness,” Robinho said. “Even though I’m tired I was able to play well.” Paulista opened the scoring just two minutes into the match through Barbosa, but Santos replied via Wesley in the 26th and went ahead through Paulo Henrique in the 53rd. Julinho equalized for Paulista in the 56th. Thursday’s victory gives Santos 31 points from 12 matches, four points ahead of second-place Santo Andre and nine points clear of third-placed Botafogo. The top four clubs will reach the semifinal stage, which will begin in April.

Fourth-placed Sao Paulo was held by Oeste to a 00 draw in Araraquara on Wednesday in a match marked by three ejections. Oeste played a man down from the 31st after a reckless tackle by striker Fernandinho, while Sao Paulo had former Atletico

Madrid midfielder Cleber Santana red carded for a hard foul in the 70th and had defender Wellington sent off just a few minutes before the final whistle for a hand ball. Sao Paulo coach Ricardo Gomes has fully recovered from a minor stroke suffered two weeks ago and is expected to command the team on Sunday against Ponte Preta in Campinas.

Corinthians, sixth in the standings, was held to a 1-1 draw against Botafogo at Pacaembu stadium in Sao Paulo despite the presence of striker Ronaldo from the start. The result extended Corinthians’ winless streak in the Sao Paulo tournament to three matches. Palmeiras fell 3-1 at home to Santo Andre on Wednesday, losing its second in a row and dropping to 10th in the standings. Players carried a Chilean flag onto the field in honor of the earthquake victims in that country. Palmeiras right back Luis Pedro Figueroa has relatives in the city of Concepcion, which was hard-hit by the quake. In the Rio Cup, the second stage of the Rio de Janeiro state championship, Botafogo beat Duque de Caxias 2-1 at Engenhao stadium with two goals by striker German Herrera. Forward Marcelo gave Duque de Caxias the lead in the 10th, but Herrera converted penalties in the 38th and 53rd minutes. The Argentine also missed a penalty in the 49th. Botafogo, which won the Guanabara Cup, the tournament’s first stage, will play for the state title against the Rio Cup winner.

Led by former South Africa coach Joel Santana, Botafogo can automatically clinch the regional title if it also wins the Rio Cup.—AP

Goalline technology back on IFAB agenda ZURICH: Goalline technology will be back on the agenda when soccer’s rule-making body meets today following a series of high-profile refereeing controversies. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) will be presented with two possible systems although officials are in no hurry to implement technology and its use at this year’s World Cup is out of the question.

The IFAB will consider an end to automatic sendings-off when a player denies the opposition a clear scoring chance, believing the current system constitutes a “triple punishment” of penalty, red card and automatic suspension for the offender.

Penalty-takers could be banned from feinting in their run-up under another proposed change and the board will also review the experiment in this year’s Europa League where one extra linesman has been placed behind each goal to help the referee spot infringements.

UEFA president Michel Platini is optimistic that extra linesmen could make the use of technology unnecessary. Soccer’s governing body FIFA has come under intense pressure to help referees, whose mistakes are cruelly exposed by television replays from varying angles. One of the most high-profile cases was the Thierry Henry handball incident during November’s World Cup qualifying playoff between France and Ireland, and there were two more major rows involving referees in the Champions League last month.

NEVER-ENDING STORY “This is a never-ending story. It is not terrible.

It is what can happen in football,” FIFA president Sepp Blatter said recently. “It is not a case of me and Michel Platini being stubborn. We need to see a system which is accurate but which must also be immediate.”

General secretary Jerome Valcke echoed Blatter’s comments. “Nothing will change at the World Cup. We cannot use the World Cup to test things,” he said. “It’s too late now to change the system. We have been working with our referees for more than two years now and they are the best trios. Plus, there is no proposal in place at the moment which completely guarantees that a switch to another system would be without problems. The IFAB will be shown presentations of the Kairos system, which uses a chip inserted in the ball, and the Hawkeye system used in tennis and cricket. Technology has been discussed by the IFAB before-the Kairos system was tested at the world under-17 championship in Peru in 2005 - but was put on ice. Platini, meanwhile, has put his faith in the use of extra linesman. The IFAB, founded in 1886 and seen as the guardian of the rules of the game, is composed of the representatives from the FAs of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, each having one vote. FIFA has four votes and a 75 percent majority is needed for any proposal to be passed. — Reuters

SPORTS

Saturday, March 6, 2010

23

FIFA urged to scrap extra officials MANCHESTER: FIFA’s former director of referees has urged football’s rule-making body to scrap experiments with extra officials. George Cumming, now helping to oversee refereeing in Asia, believes referees in Europe have been undermined by the use of an extra official behind each goal in the Europa League this season. The International Football Association Board will be updated on the UEFA trials at its annual meeting in Zurich today, but Cumming has deemed the system too impractical to be expanded.

“I’m not in favor it and I can’t see it developing throughout world football,”

Cumming told The Associated Press. “To have extra assistant referees means extra expense. It’s only an elite competition that’s using them right now and they shouldn’t just be used in certain competitions (in future).

You want the basic laws to apply throughout the world. “You’ve got to control these things and I’m very conservative.” FIFA president Sepp Blatter has backed further experimentation but has rejected calls for five officials to be used at the June 11-July 11 World Cup to help spot infringements in the penalty area.

The clamor for the extra officials at South Africa 2010 grew when Thierry

Henry’s handball helped France qualify at the expense of Ireland. In their suddendeath World Cup playoff, millions of TV viewers saw Henry deliberately control the ball with his left arm and hand to keep the ball in play, setting up the goal that put France through 2-1 on aggregate.

However Cumming said statistics he recently saw had exposed the flaws of using extra officials. He also cites the case of the additional official at Fulham’s Europa League match against Roma in November who nearly got the wrong player sent off before the referee was corrected by the Fulham players. “They devalue the refer-

ee’s role because the referee then has other influences who can pass on information to him,” Cumming said. “And the referee’s movement pattern changes with extra assistants, so he doesn’t move so far forward or so far wide.

“You have changes that are very subtle changes, but are very technical changes in terms of refereeing.” IFAB will also be updated today on developments on goal-line technology - despite Blatter’s resistance.

Cairos Technologies has been developing a microchip-imbedded ball with Adidas that transmits a signal to the referee’s watch, alerting him if the ball has crossed the line.

FIFA has also put on the agenda the question of whether players who concede penalties should also be sent off. The current triple-punishment means that a player who denies the opposing team a goal-scoring opportunity is often red-carded, handed a suspension and the opposition is awarded a penalty.

But FIFA medical committee chairman Michel D’Hooghe wants dangerous tackles to still be punished with dismissals. “They can discuss the severity of the sanction,” D’Hooghe told the AP. “But if there is a foul in the penalty area and it is a brutal foul and someone breaks his legs then of course it

must be a red card even if it’s in the penalty area.” FIFA also wants the custodians of the rules to look at the issue of feinting in the run-up to take penalties, which is currently allowed if it just confuses an opponent rather than amounting to unsporting behavior. The Scottish FA has proposed allowing players to be treated on the pitch for injuries inflicted by an opponent to prevent giving teams a numerical advantage. IFAB is made up of the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and northern Ireland, who each have won vote, and FIFA, which has four. It requires six votes for a rule to be changed. — AP

United’s Ferguson counting on character to deliver title Arsenal’s French manager Arsene Wenger

Gunners aim pole position LONDON: Arsenal can return to the Premier League summit today, underlining the growing credibility of a title challenge that has looked forlorn at times this season. The Gunners, who have a much easier run-in than either of their rivals, can move level on points with leaders Chelsea, who are on FA Cup quarterfinal duty this weekend, by beating Burnley at the Emirates Stadium today. If they do so by four goals or more they will regain first place, although that will last only a few hours unless second-placed Manchester United are beaten at struggling Wolves later in the day.

Whatever happens at Molineux, Arsenal’s resilience this season has been nothing short of remarkable When they were beaten 3-0 at home by Chelsea at the end of November it left them 11 points adrift yet a run of results allied to their rivals dropping points saw them top the table seven weeks later. Comprehensive defeats by Manchester United and Chelsea pushed Arsene Wenger’s side nine points adrift at the start of February but again they bounced back and are in contention for their first title since 2004.

“People were saying we were not good enough but we kept the confidence really high because we know we have the players and the quality to do it,” said defender Gael Clichy. “Of course, when you find yourself 11 points behind the leaders you ask yourself: ‘It’s going to be really difficult. Are we capable of doing it?’ and a few weeks later you find yourself back in the title race and that’s a good feeling. “So that shows you the character in the squad and, once again, with the players we have, I’m sure we can do it.

“Everyone wants to be the champion and it’s

always difficult to be the champion, but to be the team who hasn’t won anything for several years, it’s even harder because you feel the pressure of winning something. “It’s a good pressure because you want to do well for the fans and for yourself and win a trophy.

We’ve played good football for five years and we know that we are a real side.” That resilience was on show at Stoke City last week when Arsenal sealed a 3-1 victory after having seen 19-year-old Aaron Ramsey suffer a double-leg break in a challenge by Ryan Shawcross.

Ramsey won’t kick a ball again this season but Wenger was confident the Wales international could still win a medal. “The title race will be tight until the end but this group is so strong mentally and have a unity so Aaron’s injury will give us one more reason to fight until the end and do it for him,” Wenger said.

Burnley have other concerns as they are fighting against relegation and travel to London with 13 defeats and a draw from their 14 away games this season and Brian Laws, the manager, has presided over just one win since Owen Coyle, who had led the Clarets to promotion, left for Bolton in January. Last week they lost at home to bottom club Portsmouth and though Laws admitted he understood why the Turf Moor faithful had not been impressed he insisted the cause was not lost. “It’s not like it’s our last game of the season with no comeback,” he said. “There’s a lot of games to be played and a lot of points at stake. If we can’t pick our points at home we have to pick them up away. “Just let’s hope when the season ends we’ve achieved our aim and maybe look back with a smile rather than regret. We’re competing against teams who have got four or five times the salary we have.

But are we good enough? Yes.” — AFP

EPL lead set to change with Chelsea’s FA Cup LONDON: The Premier League lead could change yet again this week when Manchester United and Arsenal seek to take advantage of Chelsea’s continuing participation in the FA Cup. Top spot has changed hands four times in the past six weeks and both defending champion United and Arsenal have the chance to make it five today.

United could take first place for the first time in a month with a draw or win at Wolverhampton Wanderers, with any slip up giving Arsenal the chance to leap two places - if it beats visiting Burnley by four goals or more. But both clubs have selection problems to contend with. Arsenal now has Aaron Ramsey on the sidelines along with the injured William Gallas and suspended Alex Song, while United may have to persist with its reliance upon Wayne Rooney after Michael Owen was ruled out for the season.

“We have to assess Wayne because he played almost 90 minutes for England the other night at Wembley, which I was disappointed in,” United manager Alex Ferguson said. “When you are playing on that pitch for almost an hour on Sunday and then nearly a full game on Wednesday it’s far too much.

“Now he is a doubt for Wolves.” Rooney was set to rest last weekend but was forced into action when Owen limped off with the hamstring injury that has ended his season.

Ferguson must now decide whether to further risk fatigue or field Dimitar Berbatov alone up front.

United got some good news with defender Rio

Ferdinand set to return from a back injury that kept him out of the past two games and England’s midweek win over Egypt. And England midfielder Owen Hargreaves is finally close to returning after 16 months out, with a reserve appearance scheduled for Thursday. Arsenal is expected to recall Andrei Arshavin and Denilson from injury absences, while Abou Diaby may return from a knee problem.

“Arshavin could be available and there is a little, little chance that Diaby could be available again too,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “I am convinced that Denilson and Arshavin will be OK but for Diaby it is 50:50. “If we have good news from the other players coming back we should still have a strong squad out.” Chelsea hosts Stoke on Sunday as the only one of the Premier League’s so-called big four left in the FA Cup. Tottenham and Aston Villa play their FA Cup quarterfinals this weekend knowing that they’re unlikely to get a better chance of winning the famous trophy.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal have won 13 of the past 14 FA Cup finals between them but Tottenham is at Fulham today having won the last of its once-record eight FA Cup finals in 1991, while seven-time champion Aston Villa without a title since 1957 is at Reading tomorrow. Reading is the only second-tier club left in the FA Cup, world football’s oldest tournament. Sunday’s match is a welcome distraction from the Royals’ grueling battle against relegation from the League Championship. —AP

Matches on TV (local timings) English Premier League Arsenal v Burnley.........................18:00 ShowSports1 ShowSports1 West Ham v Bolton........................18:00 ShowSports1 ShowSports2 Wolves v Man Utd.........................20:30 ShowSports1 ShowSports2 FA Cup Portsmouth v Birmingham..............15:30 Aljazeera Sport +5 Aljazeera Sport +3 Fulham v Tot tenham...................20:20

Aljazeera Sport +5 Aljazeera Sport +3 Italian League Fior ent ina v Juventus....................20 :00 Aljazeera Sport +1 AS Roma v AC Milan......................22:45 Aljazeera Sport +1 Spanish League Deportivo v CD Tenerife ...............20:00 Aljazeera Sport +4 UD Almeria v Barcelona................22:00 Aljazeera Sport +2 Real Madr id v Sevilla ..................00:00 Aljazeera Sport +2

WOLVERHAMPTON: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson feels his team’s character will give them the edge in a three-way fight for the Premier League title with Chelsea and Arsenal. Chelsea let United and the Gunners off the hook last weekend with their surprise 4-2 home defeat to Manchester City.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side are in FA Cup action against Stoke tomorrow and United could move two points clear of the Blues with a victory over Wolves at Molineux.

Arsenal will also be strong favorites to pick up three points as they entertain struggling Burnley at the Emirates Stadium, setting the stage for a hard-to-call climax to the season. United responded from their sixth Premier League defeat of the campaign, a 3-1 loss at Everton a fortnight ago, with a 3-0 victory over West Ham and a 2-1 win in the League Cup final against Aston Villa. Ferguson feels that Arsenal have the most straightforward of the run-ins, with their next three matches seeing them come up against three bottomhalf teams.

But the United manager, who is looking to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title, thinks that his team’s mentality will give them the edge in the final weeks of the campaign.

Ferguson said: “Arsenal are bang in the frame now. They have the easiest program on paper and it will be an interesting run-in. “Chelsea losing (to Manchester City) was a good result for us, but there are a lot of hard games left. “You have to focus at the turn of the year and make sure you don’t make mistakes. “We lost to Everton and we were a bit tired. But we recovered against West Ham and we recovered again.

“We have shown time and time again that this football club has determination. “They don’t give in and that is a good quality.

You will see that in the remainder of the season. We won’t give in.”

United will be without Michael Owen at Molineux due to a hamstring problem sustained in the League Cup final, while Rio Ferdinand is also set to miss out with a back problem. Ryan Giggs is not ready to return from a broken arm but United can console themselves with the fact that Wayne Rooney is in the best form of his career.

Rooney has already scored 28 goals this season and club captain Gary Neville feels the England striker can deal with the extra attention coming the his way.

Neville said: “Wayne can handle all the praise and accolades, and any criticism. “He is important to us. We have two months of important matches now and we need him fit for them. “He’s done the lot - playing in European Cup finals, FA Cup finals, World Cups and European Championships.

“He is maturing now and going through a peak time in his career. He looks dangerous whenever he plays and can score lots of goals.” Wolves are only outside the relegation zone on goal difference but midfielder Dave Jones is still confident that the strugglers can pull off a shock against the champions. Jones came through the ranks at United and feels that Ferguson is the key reason for their sustained success. He said: “We faced them in the League Cup and in the league at Old Trafford. I think it will be different at home and we have to believe we’ve got a chance.

“If we put in a good performance as we’ve done in previous weeks and with the crowd behind us then we’ve got a chance of picking something up. “Sir Alex is the type of manager that just wants to keep going and get success. While he’s been at United there have been changes in the teams. —AFP

LONDON: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson (left) shakes hands with English player Michael Owen after substituting him against Aston Villa during the 2010 Carling Cup final at Wembley. —AFP

Pompey seek FA Cup solace

BURNLEY: Portsmouth’s manager Avram Grant looks on during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Portsmouth at Turf Moor.— AFP

PORTSMOUTH: Jamie O’Hara believes the FA Cup can help salvage some pride from Portsmouth’s wretched season of financial chaos and show the rest of English football the ailing south coast club is still alive and kicking.

O’Hara is on loan from Tottenham so at least his future is assured when he returns to White Hart Lane at the end of the season but for his Portsmouth team-mates the next few weeks remain uncertain.

Portsmouth meet Birmingham at Fratton Park today in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a place at Wembley the incentive for the winners. As it stands, Portsmouth’s season could hardly be worse. They are bottom of the Premier League and are expecting to lose nine of their 19 points as punishment for going into administration last week.

The club’s fate is still hanging in the balance. The administrator believes Portsmouth’s debts to be around 76 million pounds ($114 million) and a third High Court appearance on March 15 to answer a winding-up order brought by the tax authorities could signal the end for the 2008 FA Cup winners. Against this desperate background optimism survives and O’Hara is convinced that if Portsmouth go down, they will go down fighting. “The club is in a lot of trouble and there are things going on which are a major worry to us,” O’Hara said. “But we have got to play out the season and show our determination and will to succeed.

“We could go on a Chelseastyle winning run in our remaining ten or 12 league games but realistically that is not going to happen and the FA Cup is going to be our priority because we are relegated. “Avram Grant, our manager, has been brilliant in

telling us to stick together and that is all we can do. “We owe it to the fans who have been brilliant to me and to every player in the seven years we have been in the Premier League to try to win the cup.

“We have had a great run so far and the win at Southampton (Portsmouth’s bitter south coast rivals) in the fifth round galvanized us all. “It would be nice after all that has happened to end the season with something positive to show for it.” Birmingham have been one of the surprise sides of this season’s Premier League but their immediate concern was whether or not they would get their share of the gate receipts from the trip to Fratton Park.

City manager Alex McLeish, assured their money was guaranteed, is well aware of Portsmouth’s fierce determination to reach Wembley for the second time in three years.

“Portsmouth are like a wounded and cornered animal and that makes them dangerous,” he said.

“They may be bottom of the table but they are not as bad a team as that would suggest. “They will have a loyal and vociferous crowd behind them and they will be wanting to show a few people that they are fired up for this. “This is going to be a proper test of our progress this year. We have come on tremendously and our league position is no fluke. “At the start of the season if you had said we would have 40 points by the end of February, I would have bitten your hand off. But that is where we are. “To reach a Wembley semi-final would be a terrific bonus and who knows what happens if we get that far? “But first we must overcome a very passionate Portsmouth and that will not be at all easy.” — AFP

www.kuwaittimes.net

NBA results/standings NBA results and standings on Thursday.

Memphis 105, Chicago 96; Miami 114, LA Lakers 111 (OT); Utah 116, Phoenix 108.

(OT Denotes Overtime) Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L PCT Boston 38 21 .644 Toronto 31 28 .525 Philadelphia 22 38 .367 NY Knicks 21 39 .350 New Jersey 6 54 .100 Central Division Cleveland 48 14 .774 Milwaukee 31 29 .517 Chicago 31 30 .508 Detroit 21 40 .344 Indiana 20 41 .328 Southeast Division Orlando 42 20 .677 Atlanta 39 21 .650 Miami 31 31 .500 Charlotte 28 31 .475 Washington 21 37 .362 Western Conference Northwest Division Denver 40 21 .656 Utah 39 22 .639 Oklahoma City 36 24 .600 Portland 37 27 .578 Minnesota 14 48 .226 Pacific Division LA Lakers 46 16 .742 Phoenix 39 25 .609 LA Clippers 25 36 .410 Sacramento 21 40 .344 Golden State 17 43 .283 Southwest Division Dallas 41 21 .661 San Antonio 34 24 .586 Memphis 32 30 .516 New Orleans 31 31 .500 Houston 30 30 .500

Kobe shines before Heat stifles Lakers in OT

GB 7 16.5 17.5 32.5 16 16.5 26.5 27.5 2 11 12.5 19

1 3.5 4.5 26.5 8 20.5 24.5 28 5 9 10 10

MIAMI: Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) shoots as Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom (7) defends during an NBA basketball game in Miami. The Heat won in overtime, 114-111. — AP

Jazz overcome Suns

NBA PHOENIX: The Utah Jazz piled on 41 points in the fourth quarter to overhaul a 12-point final period deficit and beat the Phoenix Suns 116-108 in the NBA on Thursday. Deron Williams scored 13 of his 27 points in the last, and Mehmet Okur added 24 for Utah, which trailed 98-86 early in the fourth quarter, then reeled off 12 straight points,

capped by a 3-pointer by Okur to tie the game.

They took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Williams with 1:36 remaining that made it 109106. The game was reminiscent of the teams’ first meeting this season when the Jazz came back from a 17-point deficit to win. Carlos Boozer had 15 points and 15 rebounds for Utah, which moved

Tennis

India overpowered by mighty Russia

back within a game of Northwest Division leader Denver. Amare Stoudemire scored 30 points for the second consecutive game for Phoenix.

Heat 114, Lakers 111, OT In Miami, the hosts overcame a huge game by Kobe Bryant to beat Los Angeles in overtime.

Dwyane Wade had 27 points and 14 assists and Quentin Richardson scored a season-high 25 for Miami in a game which set a new high for lead changes this season at 31. Bryant scored 39 points, including the overtime-forcing basket for the Lakers, who got 14 points from Derek Fisher.

It still wasn’t enough, as the Heat was 4 for 4 from

the field and 7 for 8 from the foul line in overtime.

Grizzlies 105, Bulls 96 In Chicago, Memphis fought back from a big firsthalf deficit to beat Chicago. Zach Randolph scored 31 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who trailed by 17 in the second quarter and finally

Classy Dutch outclass Canada New Zealand douse South Korea’s hopes

France leads Germany 1-0 in Davis Cup MOSCOW: India were outclassed by two-time champions Russia on the opening day of their Davis Cup World Group first round clash yesterday. Igor Kunitsyn battled from a set down to clinch a 67 (6/8), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-4 win in three hours 35 minutes over Somdev Devvarman, recording his third win over the 25-year-old Indian in as many meetings. Mikhail Youzhny, currently 13th in the world, then won 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in just one hour 43 minutes against Rohan Bopanna on the hardcourts of Moscow’s Luzhniki Small Sports arena.

“Of course I’m upset,” said Devvarman. “Especially when you feel like you have a chance to put India 1-0 up.” “I had him where I wanted to and we both played a pretty good first set. Things started to go my way, but I wasn’t able to close it out as I would have liked to.” Kunitsyn was delighted with his efforts after coming into the team as a late replacement for the injured Igor Andreev.

“It was really hard to win today,” said Kunitsyn. “I won our two previous meetings with Somdev but also in very tough matches. “I didn’t think I would have to play today. I came here to support my teammates and found out that Igor injured his knee. It was really hard to get my head around playing today. “I played very nervously from the start and missed my chances to take the opening set. In the second I found my normal tennis and managed to level. “In the third and fourth it was still hard to get past him but luckily I found the way to win the match.”

Youzhny was delighted to get through after a busy start to the year. “I feel myself a bit exhausted after a series of serious tournaments,”

Youzhny said. “I’m not in my top physical form. But anyway I’m trying to perform at full strength here.” “My rival failed to keep the tempo throughout the match. He produced too many mistakes, making it much easier for me.” Bopanna, 416th in the ATP rankings, began the match confidently, peppering Youzhny with aces from the start.

But Youzhny was playing tennis of a much higher class, stifling his opponents’ attacks and broke halfway into the first set to gain a 1-0 lead in 37 minutes. The second set was almost a carbon copy of the first with just a slight distinction. This time Youzhny produced two breaks to take the set in 30 minutes for a 20 advantage. In the third Youzhny eased up, but nevertheless he broke his opponent’s serve twice to record the win in his first head-tohead meeting with Bopanna.

In another development, Gael Monfils defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (5) to give France a 1-0 lead over Germany in the Davis Cup first round yesterday.

Monfils, who claimed his maiden victory in the team competition, served 15 aces and broke his opponent five times. He closed out the match in two hours and 45 minutes on his second match point when Kohlschreiber fired a forehand wide.

Monfils, who made his debut in last year’s World Group playoffs, stretched his unbeaten run over Kohlschreiber to three matches. “With this win we put the pressure on the German side,” Monfils said.

Monfils got off to an explosive start and won five consecutive games to claim the first set but struggled on his serve early in the second. —Agencies

took control with an 8-0 run late in the fourth that gave them a 97-90 lead. OJ Mayo scored 10 of his 20 points in the final quarter as Memphis extended its franchise-record road winning streak to six and sent Chicago to its third straight loss. The Bulls wasted a solid performances by Luol Deng, who got 23 points despite nursing a knee injury. — AP

NEW DELHI: New Zealand hockey player Steve Edwards (left) dives unsuccessfully to play a stroke as South Korean hockey player Jang Jong Hyun (right) looks on during their World Cup 2010 match at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in New Delhi yesterday. —AFP

NEW DELHI: Rogier Hofman and Taeke Taekema scored two goals apiece as the Netherlands routed lowly Canada 6-0 for their third successive win in the men’s field hockey World Cup yesterday. Ronald Brouwer and Rob Reckers were the other scorers as the three-time champions hit top gear in the second session, after the first had ended 0-0 at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

The Netherlands, who lead group A with nine full points, must win one of their two remaining games against world champions Germany on Sunday and South Korea on Tuesday to qualify for the semi-finals. New Zealand have six points, while Germany will move to seven if they beat Argentina later today.

Meanwhile, New Zealand stayed in contention for their first-ever appearance in the semifinals with a 2-1 win over South Korea. Both goals for the Black Sticks came in the first half as Andrew Hayward converted a penalty corner in the fifth minute, before captain Dean Couzins

pushed in a penalty stroke in the 22nd. South Korea reduced the margin in the final minute through a stroke by Lee Nam Yong. New Zealand, who have not finished higher than seventh in the World Cup, must win their last two games against Argentina on Sunday and Germany on Tuesday to book a semi-final spot.

South Korea, the Asian champions, are virtually out of the race with just four points in the bag.

Korean coach Shin Seok-Kyo blamed his team’s poor display in the tournament so far on the lack of proper preparation. “We should have trained better for the World Cup, but the cold weather at home did not help,” he said. “It is not a good feeling now because we are almost out of it.” New Zealand’s Couzins said the 3-1 win over South Korea in the Beijing Olympics boosted his team’s confidence. “We have a good record against them and that helped,” he said. “We are still in the fight for the semi-finals because we have played quite well.” — AFP

Formula One braces for battle of the champions LONDON: Michael Schumacher is back, fired up and ready to take on three other champions on a starting grid that also boasts Ayrton Senna’s nephew and a reborn Lotus team. The new Formula One season that kicks off at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit next week has all the makings of a classic contest. There are more rivalries and subplots than a mechanic could shake a spanner at, starting with Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton at McLaren in a British team of champions against Schumacher’s all-German Mercedes.

There are new teams, such as Malaysian-owned Lotus Racing whose name brings back memories of the great marque led by the late Colin Chapman, and a new scoring system handing the winner 25 points. Adding to the retro feel is a ban on refueling stops, taking the sport back to where it was nearly two decades ago when Schumacher had still to win the first of his seven titles.

In a mixture of new and old, a fistful of rookie drivers are joined

Schumacher puts his legacy on the line by veteran Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa who might have thought his time was past. Schumacher’s return with the new Mercedes team, previously known as champions Brawn GP, at the comparatively old age of 41 and after three years in retirement, is the headline news. The questions keep flowing. Is he still a winner? Can he beat the new crop of talent in a very different era to the one he dominated with Ferrari? Can he take that record eighth crown and add to his tally of 91 wins?

FERRARI FASTEST Over in the red corner, his previous nemesis Fernando Alonso will be out to stop him with the Italian team that the German once considered his own.

With Renault, the Spaniard won the last two championships Schumacher competed in and he now intends to chalk up a third title with Ferrari. Brazilian Felipe Massa, Schumacher’s best friend

MONTMELO: Mercedes German Michael Schumacher gestures in the pits during a training session at Catalunya’s racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona. — AFP on the racetrack and now Alonso’s team mate in an all-Latin line-up, will try to beat both men on his return from the life-threatening head injuries he suffered last July. Ferrari have already

looked the team to beat from preseason testing, with Red Bull and McLaren close behind and followed by Mercedes.

“In terms of the drivers, you’ve got Felipe, Fernando,

Jenson, probably (Red Bull’s Sebastian) Vettel and Mark Webber because obviously they’ve got a quick car, Michael and Nico (Rosberg),” Hamilton said recently. “It’s really difficult to say who is the most competitive out of all of them, but at the moment the Ferrari looks the fastest I think.” Everywhere there are changes from last season, with only 2009 runners-up Red Bull fielding the same two drivers among the top teamsAustralian Webber and Germany’s Vettel. Button has taken the number one with him from Brawn to McLaren, where he faces the challenge of his life against 2008 champion Hamilton.

FIRST RUSSIAN Rosberg has jumped ship from Williams to Mercedes, partnering Schumacher, while Poland’s Robert Kubica arrives at Renault where he will be partnered by Russia’s first driver Vitaly Petrov.

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, Button’s Brawn team mate last year, is starting over at Williams along with German rookie Nico Hulkenberg. Toyota and BMW have departed, although the latter’s name lives on for the time being at Sauber, while the grid has expanded from 10 to 12 teams with the arrival of Virgin Racing, Lotus and Spanish-based HRT. Virgin, owned by Richard Branson, will be taking on the Lotus team of Airasia owner Tony Fernandes in a battle of aviation entrepreneurs. Bruno Senna, nephew of the late triple champion, has signed up for the HRT team with Indian Karun Chandhok. The calendar has been expanded to 19 races from 17, with Canada returning and South Korea making its debut. “This year I would say it’s been fantastic, because of the publicity we’ve had, with world champions in competitive cars, new teams coming in,” said Button. “I can’t wait for the first race. I think it’s going to be a very special season.”

— Reuters