12 Mar 2010

Kuwait Times

March 12, 2010

NO: 14665

FREE

INSIDE

Deeply indebted to luxury PAGE 4

Mexican Slim becomes ʻWorld richest personʼ PAGE 16

Dual citizenship snowballing

By B Izzak

Louis Vuittonʼs womanhood celebration closes Paris PAGE 56

Classy Germany end Englandʼs World Cup dream PAGE 64

KUWAIT: The controversial issue of dual citizenship triggered by the interior minister threat that he will withdraw Kuwaiti citizenship from people holding two nationalities, has heated up yesterday with conflicting positions.

Dual citizenship is totally banned under Kuwaiti law and when a person is naturalized he or she is obliged to drop the original citizenship. No Kuwaiti is allowed to hold a second citizenship under any circumstance.

The issue was raised during the run-up to last May’s general elections when MP Ali Al-Rashed called on the interior minister to apply the law regarding the issue. At the time, he was strongly criticized as being racist.

When the new Parliament started its term, Rashed sent a question to the interior minister asking him if any of the members of the cabinet or MPs has got a second nationality.

In his response, the minister said he was unaware that any minister or MP holds a second nationality.

The issue was reopened last week when Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Khaled Al-Sabah said he will apply the law against Kuwaiti citizens who hold a second citizenship by withdrawing the Kuwaiti nationality from them.

The statement came following reports that the council of ministers has received information from several countries especially Gulf states about people with dual citizenship and that the council has asked

Lawmakers ask if any minister or MP holds another nationality

the interior minister to apply the law.

Reports in the local media have long indicated that many Kuwaiti citizens at the same time hold Saudi citizenship and many others hold US or European nationalities.

The sensitive issue was discussed in details by former National Assembly candidate Mohammad AlJuwaihel who, in December, caused an uproar during an interview at his own Al-Soor TV channel. Juwaihel bluntly said that he has the names of thousands of Kuwaitis who hold dual citizenship whom he described as not true Kuwaiti.

Yesterday, tribal Islamist MP Khaled Al-Adwah asked the interior minister to supply him with a copy of a government report on dual citizenship and the replies Kuwait has received on the issue from foreign countries, particularly the Gulf Cooperation Council states.

Adwah asked the minister about the measures the ministry has taken against Kuwaitis who hold US or European nationalities.

Also, tribal MP Mubarak Al-Khurainej asked the minister to confirm or deny that a woman MP has a second nationality. He however did not give the name of the lawmaker.

Previously, MP Rola Dashti was cited for holding the Lebanese nationality because her mother is Lebanese, but she categorically denied that and said she was prepared for any investigation.

On her part, liberal MP Aseel Al-Awadhi supported the interior minister move, saying that the law should be implemented.

LOCAL

Page 2 FRIDAY SPOTLIGHT

Why is the Arab world so resistant to change?

By Muna Al-Fuzai

‘A

Kuwaiti MP recently proposed that every Kuwaiti woman should be paid KD 250 per month to encourage them to stop working.’

I believe there are several factors that make the Arab world simply unchangeable. These are not necessarily negative factors and, indeed, are sometimes good ones, yet change is a problematic subject that is hard to achieve easily in the region. Here’s why:

First, Arabs in general are largely subjective, guided to a strong degree by their sentiments, emotions and powerful feelings in every area, including those concerned with their own talents and abilities. They believe that the eyes are the best witnesses, but this is not true or accurate all the time, especially when it comes to an objective analysis of nations’ policies and the secrets of leaders’ behavior and international decision-making! Take, for example, the call for an Arab leader for jihad against a civilized country - why?! What would result from pursuing such a call in reality? There are many reasons behind issuing such an emotive call, appealing to the naiveté of the public or winning the support of small-minded people. It is questionable whether or not we should trust

IN MY VIEW

recently proposed that every Kuwaiti woman should be paid KD 250 per month to encourage them to stop working while also assuring them of an income. Such suggestions are incredibly trivializing and shallow - should we send our daughters to the best colleges in order to force them thereafter to sit and home and receive KD 250 for doing so, instead of making a decent salary and building a life by making their way in public life?

Such calls, whatever the justification, are dangerous and unchanging. We would do well to remember the wise words of former British leader Sir Winston Churchill: ‘We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.’ muna@kuwaittimes.net

Graffiti Park: Let them be

By Fouad Al- Obaid ver the past several years, I have clashed with many people that don’t share my curiosity for discovery, my passion for trial and experimentation!

Numerous were the verbal skirmishes I engaged in, with people from various backgrounds. Some issues were trivial, others deeply rooted in substance. I debated life, and discussed death. Overall, the conversation seemed to revolve around the various perceptions of reality and what they entail. Much of the discourse was political; does one control the masses through various means of religious indoctrination? Such was the fundamental thesis.

In Kuwait, liberalism seems to be negatively connoted with an individual that is void of Islamic morals and belief. In the mind of many ‘conservatives,’ such a conception of the liberal is so deeply entrenched that there is no need to debate it - regardless of the fact that for the most part ‘most’ conservatives are unaware of why they engage in many things. Like sheep, they follow the leader.

Truthfully, having evolved in a milieu that is international, living abroad and attending many international schools and events. It became very early clear to me that there is a problem when everyone claims that they are the holders of the righteous path, the ones we ought to follow or else...

Interacting with children emanating from different faiths is a rewarding experience if one can absorb and reflect on the issues at hand. One can debate in an open environment with the aim of understanding the concept brought up by various parties. However, one is under no obligation to accept such ideas as being true. I cannot acknowledge that a person can believe that the ‘divine’ being is a statue created from clay, revered as God lunatics to say the least. However, if one expands one such theory: Does the concept of God as three distinct individuals fused into one, make sense?

As humans, we sometimes have an interesting perception of things, and often, there are matters that are best not to be brought to the fore for discussion. The majority of people are incapable of dwelling on highly complex philosophical questions. When such is the case, it is perhaps best to avoid conflict with them, for it may lead to nowhere.

Nevertheless, in Kuwait, where the Constitution is the charter that regulates the interaction between the State and the people, and between people themselves, it is sad to see that some people believe that they are the custodians of the people and the guardians of their morals. To such individuals, the concept of individual freedom is non-existent. Freewill is nothing but a mere fantasy, and it is their way or, their way!

Addressing the misconception, a liberal in Kuwait is a person that believes in the separation of mosque and the State. The former regulates afterlife, the State regulates this one. Furthermore, since God will judge people on an individual basis, it is up to the individual to decide what he wants for him or herself. It is not for a bearded man to decide, based on his whims. fouad@kuwaittimes.net

such calls, all of which aim to appeal directly to people’s emotions concerning an issue that can and should be resolved at the diplomatic table.

A call for violence in a volatile region like the Arab world only shows that Arabs rely on their feelings to determine which direction they should take or who to follow!

Then we come to the anti-woman statements! These are frequent and continuous, not limited to any particular time or season; there is nowhere else globally like the Arab world for reading and hearing calls for women to give up work and stay at home to focus on having and raising children! Are those issuing these calls assuming that all women should marry and have babies? What should those who don’t marry and who have no kids do? One Kuwaiti MP

IN MY VIEW

Defining Kuwaiti liberalism

O

Friday, March 12, 2010

By Joy Abdulhadi

W

hat do you think when you hear the word graffiti? Do troubled teens cross your mind or the defacement of private property or rubbish?

When I think of the word graffiti, I think of the term: “self-expression.” I think of young artists trying to explore their hidden talents. I feel that teens and young adults are misunderstood.

You may feel that they carelessly and intentionally damage private property with their expressions of graffiti art, but try instead of thinking of it as a form of creativity. Why should we stifle their need to create and explore their talents?

Some adults are furious when they see graffiti, while many teens and

young adults will probably say it is cool.

How can we please those adults who complain relentlessly about this “socalled rubbish” polluting our buildings and schools, and still let the graffiti artists enjoy their individual expression of artistic creativity?

I believe that these young and talented graffiti artists need a place of their own to create freely in a safe, secure, and less disparaging environment. They desperately need a graffiti park of their own. So, is there anyone out there willing to donate the funds to create such a park for these inquiring young minds?

The park could be called, “The Great Graffiti Park of Kuwait’ or the artists themselves could be allowed to choose its name.

A gigantic wall could be built around the venue to protect the art, with trees

giving it a relaxing atmosphere inside.

White walls could be placed at different angles inside the venue to provide both security and ‘canvases’ for the young artists, with a list of rules for all those wanting to use the facility posted at the entrance. The young artists could have their own membership cards, with the owner inviting local newspaper reporters in once a week to take pictures of the top five artists for that period.

Each week, the winner of the first prize could be crowned Graffiti King or Queen for a day and have their picture taken with the owner and put in the local papers. Now, I ask you, doesn’t this sound more reasonable than condemning the artwork of these teens and young adults?

You be the judge.

KUWAIT DIGEST

The government writers

F

KUWAIT: As Kuwait enters the season of truffles a vendor is seen demonstrating some uncooked truffles. The price of a kilo in Kuwait could go up to KD50. — KUNA

or the past six months, the phrase ‘government writers’ has been the talk at journalists’ gatherings, regardless of whether they meet at a café, diwaniya or place a telephone call, wrote Thaar AlRasheedi in his column that appeared in Al-Anba. The writer reports having heard the phrase more than twenty times over the past 60 days, and during different occasions. The creators of this phrase, have used it to describe at least ten writers.

‘Personally, I have no proof that any of the ten writers accused are ‘government writers.’ But logic ultimately leads to the truth. There is no compass that points towards this path which states that every writer who takes up government cases without reason, attacks the Opposition and defends it,’ he wrote. Al-Rasheedi feels that this is especially the case, when the so-called article contains no matter except praises lavished on the government or attacks on the Opposition. Both the Opposition and government enjoy a healthy relationship and to keep a balanced viewpoint, the writer should follow his own gut instinct. However, offering blind support to the government and severely criticizing the Opposition is not acceptable.

‘There is nothing wrong with adopting a pro-government stance. It is shameful to be a staunch pro-government supporter and act as its mouthpiece without any regard for what is right or wrong,’ Al-Rasheedi wrote.

‘If you want to know how “government writers,” work, then look around, and read the names of those who write in favor of the government, and you can fish them out easily before they are grilled,’ the writer concluded.

LOCAL

Friday, March 12, 2010 HalluciNations

‘Bystander effect’ and... Israel!

By Ahmad Saeid

D

uring the last week, I became familiar with a weird concept called “Bystander effect”. It basically means that as the number of bystanders increases the likelihood of a bystander helping someone in distress decreases.

Coincidently, during the same week, I witnessed two situations that proved such a concept to be true. Both are, in a way, related to Israel.

Many of us witnessed the unfortunate incidents in Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem last Friday. Somehow dozens of young Palestinians became the only defenders of a place that is considered a holy site for one and a half billion Muslims worldwide.

The huge number of Muslims in the world is working against the interests of Muslims. Everyone thinks “we are too many, and the cause can spare an individual effort”, so a person allows himself to be passive about it. Everyone assumes that Israel will not dare to do anything to the holy mosque just because Muslims are too many. The truth couldn’t be further from that.

The reality is, Israel deviously managed throughout its history to establish relations with certain Muslim and Arab countries. In some places, it even man-

aged to tie the very existence of those regimes to the presence and even to the dominance of Israel in this region. But that’s just the easy part. The real tricky one is that it has also managed to divide Palestine into two entities, and then divide Palestinians themselves into clashing fractions. Always managing to minimize the number of its ‘active’ enemies, Israel sorts out any other group that can be handled otherwise.

Call me insane, but I have to say that although I hate and despise pretty much everything that Israel is doing, I do admire it occasionally. I mean you got to give it to them, it is mean and low, but it’s witty!

Some people might think that Israel is managing to do all that not solely because of its cleverness, but rather thanks to the support it manages to lure from super powers. I agree, but then that’s exactly the deviousness I’m talking about.

It leads us to the second incident that also stresses the correctness of the “Bystander effect”.

This week also, 23 members of the US Congress’ foreign affairs committee signed a bill that will consider as genocide the killing of 1.5 million Armenians in the beginning of 20th century. This action drove Turkish Prime Minister Rajab Tayeb Erdogan furious. The chairman of the committee, Howard Berman, who is an American Jew, urged the Congress to approve the bill. All the seven Jewish members of the committee

voted for the bill.

Call me naive, but the timing of this bill, and the people who pushed it and signed it simply can’t be a twist of fate, especially, after Turkey’s position regarding the Israeli war on Gaza and the deterioration of relations between the two countries that followed it.

It might not necessarily be a conspiracy theory — these efforts don’t have to be organized on a higher level, it can simply be attributed to team spirit. When Israel, or the Jews, or the Holocaust, or anti-Semitism is attacked by anyone, (or anything else related to the Jewish identity for that matter), every one of them does everything he can to confront it.

They don’t underestimate the impact of a single person’s effort like we, the Muslims do.

As odd as it sounds, almost 15 million Jews are so far managing to occupy a land that is holy for 1.5 billion Muslims! The rate is one to a thousand! Being one of the smallest religious groups on this planet is not representing an obstacle for the Jews to stand their ground. The effect that is paralyzing us as Muslims and keeping us from jumping to help our Palestinian brothers, or even to stand for our holy sites, is not effecting them. Even those Jews who are against Israel’s policies or even existence are vocal and active about it, sometimes even more than many of us!

This is certainly something for us Muslims to learn from our cousins. saeid@kuwaittimes.net

KUWAIT: With the onset of the spring season, flowers are seen in full bloom at a park near Ahmadi. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

IN MY VIEW

Of spotlights and repetitive speeches

By Nisreen Zahreddine

T

he past week was marked by celebrations to observe International Women’s Day. A slew of seminars, celebrations, and gatherings were held.

Speeches were delivered. However, the real meaning of this day was never realized.

Women held gatherings as if it was just another social event. They struggled to appear well-dressed with the apparent aim of lending strength to fellow women so that they can act as equal counterparts to men.

Many women have struggled for ages; having been forgotten by society and the media. They have fought hard to ensure a better life for their families and children. They suffered ill-treatment at the hands of their husbands, siblings, and sometimes from the society at large.

To them, life has never been anything short of swimming against the current.

Some of them died trying. Others succeeded in protecting themselves from

the ‘wolves’ who tried to take advantage of the fact that they are physically and emotionally weaker. Despite suffering abuse, they managed to maintain their dignity, standing against the test of time and during difficulties. These women have never been interviewed by the media or been invited to attend private parties. Maybe they aren’t appropriately dressed enough for the blinding lights of the shutterbugs! However, they have made a large difference similar to a lit candle in the dark tunnel.

When you enter an office, you see lots of female employees. Some serve the firm with complete loyalty and dedication. Others managed to procure positions through ‘invisible quota’ that stipulates ‘We should hire women and appear as if we are striving to integrate more women into society.’ Maybe, there is another motive to this practice- wanting the world to see an upwardly mobile, improved image of Kuwaiti women in the Gulf. Whatever the theory may be, certainly, placing unqualified women at

certain positions cannot be justified.

Candidates should not be hired only because they are women. On the contrary, their skills and competence should determine their appointment.

Any society which does not allow its daughters to be educated, strive and prove their skills and qualifications should not place women in the job environment. In my opinion, women should strive towards being treated equally, claim the fundamental rights and fulfill obligations in a society. They should not be discriminated against, merely because they are women. Dinners, gatherings, celebrations, and repetitive speeches are not what Kuwaiti women or women around the world need. They need to be provided with a conducive atmosphere and granted freedom to be educated properly at par with men. Their ambitions should not be quelled along the fault lines of society. In order to lay claim to any job position, they should be able to prove their credentials first. nisreen@kuwaittimes.net

Page 3 CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Green card to heaven

By Badr ya Dar wish

I

noticed lately in Kuwait that there are always disputes on matters that are of less concern to the people. The government and the Parliament are turning into a cartoon movie, Tom and Jerry, with all due respect. Every time we have a serious issue to discuss, they come up (either the government or the MPs), with something of less importance to the nation. They threaten each other with a grilling or the other side hits back with a certain issue, which in their own thinking might cause harm.

The latest fashion is to talk about the dual citizenship. Many Kuwaitis have enjoyed having dual citizenship for years and nobody bothered to mention it.

It is a normal way of life in this world. Most of the countries on Earth allow their citizens to hold dual nationality. Most of these people who have dual nationalities have acquired it due to certain circumstances. For example, their mothers originate from one country and they automatically become citizens.

Or they have businesses for long time in certain countries, and these countries offer them citizenship. That is the case all over the world. Let’s start with the biggest nations. The USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Russia; they all allow dual nationality and I am sure that the rest of Europe does too.

Let’s jump to the Asian continent, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and most of the neighboring countries also allow, except for India, Pakistan and China, which does not strip you of your nationality but doesn’t recognize your acquired nationality, which sounds fair. If we move to Africa, most of the African countries allow dual nationality. Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and South Africa allow their citizens to hold two passports. Coming to the Middle East, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. They definitely allow it, too. Except for us in the Gulf. We have a different mentality and different concept of offering someone our nationality or allowing our citizens to have another nationality.

Talking about the citizenship issue in the Gulf, they make it sound like a green card to heaven. Even the seventh heaven which all of us Muslims pray to God that we will end up there, hopefully (Inshallah).

By the way, I do not have a second nationality. I am not defending myself here. So, if I am stripped of my Kuwaiti nationality I will end up in no man’s land. Please, guys think twice or thrice about stripping someone of his nationality; this is not as easy as it sounds. It is not high treason if the Gulf people have a second nationality. It doesn’t mean that they do not love their country and are not loyal to their country. The ones who do not acquire a second nationality does not make them any more loyal. For God’s sake, stop this child play and let’s sit down and talk business, for a change.

Have a good weekend! www.badr yadar wish.com

LOCAL

Deeply indebted to luxury

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Friday, March 12, 2010

‘Where do people acquire the hefty amount of money needed to maintain an expensive lifestyle?’

By Abdullah Al-Qattan

P

eople who arrive in Kuwait or have been living in Kuwait for a short period of time describe it as a ‘tiny oil-rich country’ of the Gulf region. But what you see when you live in the country long enough, or if you’re one of its highly-pampered citizens, is a country whose people are deeply in debt.

A walk in the mall on the weekend might show that people in this country are not to be messed around with, when it comes to buying a new line of luxurious Brand X or the new Brand Y purse! These stores are considered to be high-end, especially for those mid-level income earning groups.

So the question that we are facing now is, where do people acquire the hefty amount of money needed to maintain an expensive lifestyle and make a transformation from reality into a materialistic world? One way of looking at finding the answer to that question, is tracing the source of money to a bank.

Banking circle Usually banks are monitored by the Central Bank of Kuwait, but what has changed in the past three years, is that the Central Bank has started

enforcing strict rules and regulations to oversee other banks’ activities, especially in the loans and credit card departments.

In a tie-up between commercial banks and the Central Bank of Kuwait, certain laws were enforced to put things back into perspective in order to gain control once again.

The solution came in a number of steps: the main two were, limiting the percentage of debt on a working person to 40 percent and 30 percent for a retired person. As for credit cards, now it’s nearly impossible for people to take advantage of the system and start ordering Visas and MasterCards until they max out, unless they are salaried.

One questions persists, though: If the Central Bank is doing its job properly, then why do we have the ongoing problem of debt in this country?

Even in any normal bank’s policy that abides by laws and regulations, there are always some flaws that lay hidden between the lines. But thanks to the conditions under which some banks are in these days and the way they operate, it’s not hard to assume how debt has become so common in this society.

The way it works On one hand, we have a bank that has a certain target for new accounts, loans and credit cards which they have to reach by the end of each month. On the other hand, the general rule that is enforced by both the bank and the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) clearly states that loans are only to be granted for serious cases house repair, funding college education up to a reasonable amount. Now on paper, both these rules are fully followed. In reality, some people actually admit that the reason behind applying for a loan, is in fact to buy a luxury car or to take a vacation in the Caribbean.

Four loan managers in different banks identify the problem to stem from two reasons. First, employees don’t quietly ask for the reason behind the loan. Secondly, the bank worker always suggests other reasons that may have a better chance of receiving an approval when delivered to the loan approval committee by each bank. And the reasoning, clerks explains, is that ìthe employee wants to meet his/her target.î People might think that this is all a big scam perpetrated by the banks, and that the victims are citizens and expats who don’t know any better.

But the fact of the matter is that people in Kuwait aren’t fully aware of the meaning of consumer mores because they were not raised with it, one clerk said.

Loan-takers confirm the clerks’ words and claim they feel trapped between the availability of loans and the facility they offer.

Maha Al-Dowaisan, 26 years old, has taken two minor loans already.

She says that banks usually don’t ask why the money is needed, and with the benefit of being able to renew a loan, it becomes easier to renew than to apply again. “So now, I have one loan and I can afford living and paying off my first loan,” she says. Jassim Burahamah, who is a bank employee himself, says that “people who apply for KD 40,000 loans just to be able to buy a fancy car aren’t in need of it. I am one of them.”

Hanan Al-Shatti says that she has been in debt, after taking out loans from four banks since she began working as a high school teacher three years ago. She also added that banks should take into consideration the life style that people are trying to live by.

Murad Al-Shakks sees loans as a necessity. He opines that loans have become a must to start a family today

LOCAL

Friday, March 12, 2010

Page 5

‘The recession has had a heavy impact on households that never needed to ask for assistance in the past. LISTEN is their safety net as it does not rely on state or federal funding.’

By Sunil Cherian

T

he worn-out man showed up just before the community dinner at the LISTEN (Lebanon In Service To Each Neighbor) a community service center at Lebanon, a town in America’s New Hampshire. The man explained that he had lost his job, and that he has a family that is entirely dependent on him. Worse, the electricity connection had just been disrupted since he failed to pay the bill. Could LISTEN, the local service center, famous for supporting the Upper Valley individuals’ critical needs, be of help?

Stephanie Kalina, one of the crisis counselors at LISTEN smiled at him and said, “For a moment, leave your worries and join us for the community dinner.”

The man had dinner along with 50 other strangers without realizing that they too had similar sorrows and stories. Also, he did not realize that Stephanie would check his details, confirm what he said was true, contact the electricity department and arrange to pay for his bill.

Stephanie was in Kuwait last week for a short visit.

“I’m not rich enough for a travel to Kuwait, but I had to come here to see my daughter and a couple of friends who have helped us,” she said.

Stephanie was only cheerful to talk about LISTEN, which was established back in 1972 near Dartmouth College by a few low-income earning Americans who come together to help the needy.

In her own words, “When students finished the Dartmouth College, they left behind what they had bought during the course.

One of the founders suggested that they sell these used clothes for a cause. LISTEN was set up and it derived its acronym from the name of the town.

LISTEN has three thrift stores in and around Lebanon. People donate clothes which are sorted out, labeled and put up for discount. The money collected goes to charity, especially to single mothers, veterans and the disabled.

“Sometimes food stores and bakeries give us food that is nearing expiry date,” explained Stephanie.

“So we hold community dinner five days a week for about 50 people. Food is often prepared by volunteers and some bring food from their own home.”

Stephanie also recounted accounts of people who are generally perceived to be affluent.

“We had once a father who said he goes with his children to the woods to pick up sticks to burn because they didn’t have money to buy fuel to warm themselves, or cook. There are people who come to eat with us, not necessarily for food, but to spend some time socially. This is because that’s the only time they are with some human beings.”

She confessed that her own lower middle class background and the pains surrounded with it prompted her to choose her career as a charity worker. “And I’ve a personal reason too. It was at LISTEN that I met my husband. He still is a volunteer worker,” she said.

Stephanie works eight hours a day at the center.

“Sometimes volunteers, people from all walks of life, come. We’ve many people who give their heart out because they really want to,” she said.

Stephanie’s Kuwaiti friends would rather prefer not publicize the good work they continue to do.

“Charity has no difference, of color and creed,” Stephanie added.

Stephanie Kalina

LISTEN to stories untold

LOCAL

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Friday, March 12, 2010

From crawly iguanas to slick BlackBerrys web shopping forums in Kuwait sell ‘em all

Online ‘Friday Market’ clicks with buyers

By Hussain Al-Qatari For sale: a vintage American car; a pregnant Persian cat; a used Jet Ski; a brand new video game CD. Wanted: A threebedroom apartment for rent; a 1990’s navy blue 4x4; and a hink about it as a trip to the Friday market - only this time it is any day of the week, any time you choose. All you have to do is a few clicks and you’re there. One online shopping forum, mazadq8.com (mazad being a transliteration of the word ‘auction’) lists over 5,000 registered users. I logged in to the website to see the statistic page, and it had over 1,400 users who were logged in on a Tuesday afternoon.

Ali Boland, a 32-year-old who frequents the website, said that what makes him spend hours there is the fact that it is more convenient than going to a market. “If you’re buying something you’ll eventually go and see it in person, but browsing on the Internet is more convenient because we all spend a long time on the web every day,” he says in response to a question this reporter posted on the forum’s message feature.

Boland’s interest is in exotic pets: lizards, snakes, iguanas.

“My experience buying pets on the website is much more positive than when in a store. The stores in the Friday Market that sell pets don’t take proper care of the animals. They don’t know how to deal with them most of the time,” he writes. With online users who are enthusiasts about this hobby, Boland finds tips to share and more things to discuss than with a shop keeper.

When shopping on the Internet, it is easy to move from one

TT

video game console. With the help of the Internet, buying and selling has become easier than it ever was. In Kuwait, a number of online forums have become very popular for announcing property, items, gadgets, vehicles and job vacancies.

‘store’ to the next with a few clicks on the mouse. Tariq AlJady, a 28-year-old who buys and sells mobile phones as well as laptops and personal computers says that this specific feature made him take the online shopping business seriously. “I don’t make much; what I do is that I offer what I have, let’s say, a mobile phone, on an auction and wait to see what price it reaches. Sometimes you get lucky and you find an enthusiastic person who is willing to pay 50 percent more of the price you bought the phone for, and sometimes you find no one who is interested in the device. It really depends, you have to know what people want but you have to also know how available it is in the market,” he says.

For example, now that Kuwait has the BlackBerry craze, one might think a BlackBerry is the right product to make money out of. Al-Jady says that through experience, he learned that it is not true; you can’t compete with the big phone companies. What he does is find smart phones that are similar to the BlackBerry in terms of features, but are not as widely available. “You’d be surprised at how people really keep up with the technology here, and how a lot are willing to pay money just to try a phone that they might not actually like,” reveals Al-Jady. Having thought of opening a business, the 28-year-old now thinks of going online. It is easier to manage, and costs way too less.

Abu Bader, a 45-year-old bird keeper turned trader says that

what makes an online website more suitable is the clients who choose to browse through an online store in comparison to those who go to an actual shop.

He says: “When someone logs on a website and chooses a specific page for birds, chances are they know how to deal with birds. So when they post inquiries about the price and the bird’s features, you know that once you sell the bird they will take good care of it.”

Abu Bader buys birds often, and with time he has to give away one or two. Instead of giving the bird away merely to someone willing to take it, or putting it in a pet shop for people to come and buy it, Abu Bader likes the tech-savvy option of placing it on a forum for people who know how to look after birds.

“Birds make wonderful pets but you have to know how to deal with them. Most of the people I see in the pet market don’t even know how to hold a bird properly. I wouldn’t want to sell a bird I have to someone like that,” he says. But selling online comes with its flaws, too. Abu Bader says he scheduled meetings with numerous people on various occasions, but they would cancel on him last minute.

For that, he placed a notice on his personal page asking that people only schedule a meeting if they are seriously interested in buying. For those who want to look at the bird, Abu Bader has pictures and videos of the parakeets and parrots he owns.

Friday, March 12, 2010

LOCAL

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LOCAL

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Friday, March 12, 2010

US Embassy celebrates National Day

KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh, Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Sabah (left) and, US Ambassador to Kuwait Deborah K. Jones (right) are pictured cutting the cake on the occasion of the US National Day. The reception was held on Wednesday evening at the US Embassy in Bayan. Sheikh Mohammad and Ambassador Jones are seen during the official part of the event.

By Velina Nacheva KUWAIT: Kuwait relies on the American ‘equal justice under law’ principle in addressing the release of the Gitmo detainees, including those from Kuwait, says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah. Sheikh Mohammad was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the US National Day celebration held at the embassy’s premises in Bayan on Wednesday evening.

Asked to comment on the development of the release of the two Kuwaiti Gitmo detainees, Sheikh Mohammad said that Kuwait is hopeful that the US principle of ‘Equal Justice Under Law’ will include all the detainees.

Reflecting on the occasion of the US National Day, Sheikh Mohammad expressed his joy at celebrating the 234th anniversary of what he termed ‘the birth’ of the United States.

Describing the US as a great country known for serving humanitarian principles and justice to all he further stressed that one of the turning points in the American history was the abolishment of slavery. This country, he observed, was capable of creating an image for democracy and said “we

are proud of our friendship with the US.” Providing an example with the American hospital that was established in Kuwait last century, Sheikh Mohammad further stressed on the historically good relations shared between Kuwait and the US. US Ambassador to Kuwait Deborah K Jones addressed the attendees at the reception stressing on the choice of themes the National Day celebrations have had in the past years.

These themes, she observed, are having to do with America’s ongoing effort to live up to its foundational ideals, to bring about the fundamental changes in the country’s laws “as well as our attitudes.”

She said, “The Declaration of Independence proclaimed what our Founding Fathers believed to be “a self-evident truth,” that is that, ‘all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, [and] that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.’”

In her words, “the American experiment is based upon this empowering premise, this great Article of Faith, that there are inherent rights granted to the people by their Creator, and that governments exist to secure those rights,

deriving their powers from the consent of the governed.”

Stressing that the experiment “remains a work in progress” she took the point further by saying that “Americans have spent the last 234 years in pursuit of this ideal.” “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, as stated in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, places an enormous responsibility upon our citizens to be informed, to be active - to debate, to disagree, to engage in conflict, and through that process to decide on how they wish to be governed,” she said.

“Democracy is not easy, and its work is never done; it is as organic and mutable as the societies it represents,” she said elaborating that “the brilliance - and the challenge - of this experiment in representational, democratic, governance is its acknowledgment that societies will evolve and change over time - and that such growth is critical to the vitality of any system to prevent inertia and stagnation.”

She further said, “as we reflect on America’s acceptance of a responsibility to struggle for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” we congratulate the people of Iraq for their courage in conducting successful elections in the face of

MSAL forms panel to respond to rights’ reports KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL) has announced that it is to form a higher committee to respond to human rights organizations’ reports.

The creation of the new committee, which will comprise not only of senior MSAL staff, but also representatives of other government bodies, namely the defense, interior, justice, health and education ministries, will ensure the accuracy of the data collected and avoid the issuing of conflicting statements by different bodies. It is hoped that it will help to restore Kuwait’s positive image with regard to human rights issues.

The ministries involved have already agreed on the roles and duties that each will play in their work with the committee, with the MSAL handling cases involving expatriate workers, in addition with being responsible for drafting official statements. The foreign ministry, meanwhile, will act as a link between the MSAL and international organizations by co-ordinating to deliver the ministry’s response directly to these bodies, reported Al-Qabas.

The defense ministry will be required to clarify its humanitarian role in the military sphere, while the interior

ministry will handle issues related to domestic workers, bedoons and human rights. The Ministry of Justice will advise on the courts’ role in protecting rights, while the education ministry will focus on protecting the educational and other rights of children and the health ministry will provide evidence of the quality of medical services provided to citizens and other residents.

The committee’s formation was deemed necessary during a period when Kuwait has already come under fire from some international organizations and faces further critical reports from human rights bodies, following the introduction of several items of legislation dealing with issues such as domestic violence against women and children, along with the recent private sector labor law which omitted to extend the same rights to domestic staff as to other private sector workers. One of the main points which the committee will focus on is stressing the effects of the 1990-91 Iraqi invasion and occupation of Kuwait on the country’s economic and social development and the role played by Kuwaiti women in the progress made in this field.

Kuwait denies claims on Iran’s oilfield proposal KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti oil official dismissed here yesterday recent Iranian reports on an Iranian offer to Kuwait on a production mechanism for some offshore oil fields.

“Kuwait has not received any offer in this respect, and any upcoming negotiations will be restricted to the delineation of the eastern boundary of the submerged area which is adjacent to the divided area, rather than the issue of production,” Assistant Undersecretary of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Oil for Technical Affairs Ali bin Sabt told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

Some Iranian newspapers have recently quoted Iranian Offshore Oil Company Chairman Mahmood Zirakchianzade as alleging that Iran had offered Kuwait a mechanism for production of some offshore oilfields. — KUNA

threats and violence; we wish them well as they form a new government and hope for their prosperity and security.”

She further added, “We also acknowledge the achievement and example of our Kuwaiti friends — who as citizens of an active democracy can relate to our past, present, and future.” She expressed her country’s gratitude to “our Kuwaiti partners for their continued hospitality and friendship, and their shared commitment to peace, stability and security throughout the region and beyond.” On a final note she said, “I cannot say often enough that the State of Kuwait has been an indispensable ally and friend in a region of utmost strategic importance to the United States and indeed to the world.”

Kuwaiti dignitaries, MPs, members of the diplomatic corps and officials as well as journalists, artists and guests attended the event. The pleasant tunes by the Kuwait Jazz Collective band entertained the guests throughout the evening. Upon entering the event, a passage of posters portraying distinctive moments of US history took the visitors on a trip back in time when the citizenry had vocalized and acted upon their demands for changes.

crimes Human trafficker arrested KUWAIT: Detectives have arrested an Egyptian wedding party organizer on charges of involvement in human trafficking and vice. The arrest followed an investigation into the man’s activities, during which it was discovered that he was persuading expatriate maids to leave their sponsors’ employment by promising them a job. When they did so, however, he would traffic them to third parties, with some of the women ending up working as prostitutes. The Public Prosecutor has ordered that the man, who confessed to his actions during questioning, should be deported.

Guard stabbed by thieves Police are investigating a theft at a campsite in Mina Abdullah which resulted in a security guard being rushed to the local

hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in a serious condition after being viciously attacked and stabbed three times by the thieves as he attempted to stop them. Police are hunting the culprits, who apparently intended to clean out the campsite of everything movable, escaping with a power generator and other goods.

Bad date While the language of love transcended other communications difficulties for an Asian domestic worker and her boyfriend, an Iranian blacksmith, her sponsor was less enchanted with their multilingual romance after finding them together in the maid’s room in his family’s home in Saad Al-Abdullah. He immediately called police, keeping the couple under guard until officers arrived to arrest them.

Friday, March 12, 2010

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INTERNATIONAL

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Friday, March 12, 2010

Uproar sparked by Israeli plan for new settlements

Biden implores Israelis, Palestinians to make peace

TEL AVIV: US Vice President Joseph Biden gestures as he speaks at Tel Aviv University, in Tel Aviv, Israel yesterday. —AP

Ex-nuclear chief condemns Egypt security beatings CAIRO: The former UN nuclear chief turned Egyptian reform advocate yesterday strongly condemned the beating of one of his supporters, allegedly by State Security agents, adding that the tactic would not silence calls for change.

Mohamed ElBaradei said in a statement received by The Associated Press from his group that the beating is a blatant violation of all laws and called for bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Taha Abdel-Tawab, a 36-year old physiotherapist, attempted to organize a rally last week in support of ElBaradei in the oasis province of Fayoum. The gathering was stopped by security and he was detained, interrogated and beaten, according to his lawyer. “I condemn in the strongest words the barbaric assault this innocent citizen has been subjected to,” ElBaradei said in a statement from South Korea, where he is visiting. “These actions will not under any condition scare, terrorize or silence our people.” “Such uncivilized methods are a blatant violation of all laws and customs and the perpetrators should be held accountable before local and international courts,” his statement added.

ElBaradei, a Nobel laureate, is supported by disparate coalition of youth activists, opposition politicians and reformists who see him as a potential challenger to President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt for the last 29 years.

Last month, ElBaradei formed a group calling for constitutional changes to allow for freer elections. Lawyer Mustafa Mahmoud said Abdel-Tawab was called in for questioning by State Security on Sunday. The officer interrogated him about his role in organizing the rally and his support for ElBaradei. He was then badly beaten all over his body and kicked in the groin before being locked in a small room for hours, the lawyer added. Abdel-Tawab

was released the next morning and then hospitalized. He then began a hunger strike demanding that his interrogators be brought to justice and was moved to intensive care unit, his lawyer said. The lawyer filed a report to the prosecutor complaining of torture and unlawful detention.

“This is the beginning of the repression campaign against those supporting ElBaradei,” Mahmoud said. “Taha is the first victim.” Local media reported Egypt’s prosecutor general ordered a swift investigation into the incident. The Arab Network for Human Rights Information, however, said in a statement Wednesday that the investigation has stalled. A security official denied Abdel-Tawab was detained or interrogated. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said Abdel-Tawab was protesting because he was denied an unpaid leave from the hospital where he works.

Respected worldwide and untouched by the corruption tainting much of Egypt’s current regime, ElBaradei has focused on promoting electoral reforms and constitutional amendments that would allow a credible rival candidate to run in next year’s presidential election. He said only if a mass reform takes hold, and changes are instituted, would he run for president. Egyptian officials, including Mubarak, have rebuffed ElBaradei’s campaign, saying no changes to the constitution are necessary. Mubarak urged him to run for presidency under the current conditions.

ElBaradei said he offers his “unlimited” support for Abdel-Tawab, who is “like the majority of Egyptians are calling for political reform, with my backing.”

International and local rights activists allege that police brutality is widespread in Egypt’s police stations. —AP

TEL AVIV: US Vice President Joe Biden yesterday implored Israelis and Palestinians to move beyond a diplomatic spat that has marred his trip to the region, urging the sides to waste no time in resolving their decades-old conflict despite daunting obstacles. Biden used conciliatory language as he wrapped up a three-day visit to the area in an apparent attempt to get past the uproar sparked by an Israeli plan for new settlement construction in disputed east Jerusalem. The Israeli announcement, seen as a slap in the face to Biden drew a sharp condemnation from the vice president as well as a Palestinian threat to withdraw from US -mediated peace talks before they even begin. The 22-nation Arab League, which gave Abbas the backing to resume talks with Israel, has recommended withdrawing support for indirect talks in the wake of the Israeli settlement plan.

Biden’s speech appeared aimed at not letting the row with Israel derail the Obama administration’s latest drive for Mideast peace. However, the vice president’s effusive praise for the Jewish state, saying the US has “no better friend” than Israel, could disappoint those who had hoped he would talk tougher in the wake of the new settlement plan.

Speaking at Tel Aviv University, Biden said the sides must get down to the business of making peace. “To end this historic conflict, both sides must be historically bold,” Biden said. “If each waits stubbornly ... this will go on for an eternity.” The vice president’s trip had been meant to repair strained ties between Israel and the Obama administration. However, the Israeli plan to build new homes in east Jerusalem , the section of the city claimed by the Palestinians for a future state, quickly overshadowed the visit.

Traditionally strong US relations with Israel have been strained recently precisely because of Israeli settlements.

Biden reiterated his condemnation of the building plan, urging both sides to avoid acts that could undermine the negotiations.

“I, at the request of President Obama, condemned it immediately and unequivocally,” he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has apologized for the announcement’s timing, saying he had no intention of embarrassing Biden, though he has refused to scrap the plan.

He also said the project must clear additional bureaucratic hurdles and construction would not begin for years. —AP

CAPE TOWN: This file photo made available by Dr Laura Martin, daughter of Paul Martin, on Sunday, Feb 28, 2010 shows British journalist Paul Martin in Cape Town, South Africa in December 2006. —AP

Brit journalist released from Hamas custody GAZA CITY: Gaza’s Hamas rulers yesterday released a British journalist they had held for a month amid allegations that he endangered the Palestinian territory’s security.

Paul Martin said he was arrested because of his work as a journalist and called his release, with the help of the British and South African governments, a “great victory for the freedom of the media.”

He said he “has gone through a lot” in the past month but did not elaborate.

A smiling Martin gave a thumbs-up after Hamas handed him over to British diplomats who drove him out of Gaza. In London, his wife Anne said she was “extremely relieved” and expected her husband home by the weekend. Martin, a freelance journalist who has produced reports for the British Broadcasting Corp. and The Times of London, was the first foreigner to have been seized since Hamas overran Gaza in 2007.

His detention raised concern among news organizations and international

agencies with staff in the territory that Hamas was adopting a more confrontational approach, after initially going out of its way to avoid friction with foreigners.

Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas leader, said Martin was suspected of serious security offenses and would not be able to return to Gaza. No charges were filed against him. Zahar suggested yesterday that Martin’s activities as a journalist brought about his arrest.

The Hamas leader alleged yesterday that Martin “was working on defaming the image of the Palestinian people by saying that they smuggle weapons through tunnels,” Zahar said, referring to hundreds of border tunnels that bypass the blockade of Gaza imposed by Israel and Egypt.

The tunnels bring in commercial goods, but are widely believed to be a conduit for cash and weapons as well.

Zahar complained that Martin was also working on a story about the alleged use of civilians as human shields by Hamas. —AP

3 protesters killed in Yemen SANAA: Three protesters were killed and four injured in clashes with security forces during anti-government demonstrations in south Yemen, officials said yesterday.

Two of the protesters were killed early in the day in AlBaaha and one in Dhali’a, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Thousands of opposition members also demonstrated in the capital Sanaa and other cities yesterday in a show of support for the southern separatist movement.

Opposition parties called for the demonstrations to protest an ongoing government crackdown on southern separatists. Some 250 southern activists have been arrested this week in a government crackdown, the officials said. South and North Yemen merged in 1990 but southerners say they are marginalized and separatist calls remain prevalent. The south has seen several bouts of violence since the unification. —AP

INTERNATIONAL

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Weeks of talks to form new govt loom

PM Maliki leads Iraq vote in two provinces BAGHDAD: Preliminary results from Iraq’s national election began to trickle in yesterday, show ing Shiite Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki ahead in the country’s largely Shiite south.

Prelim ina ry results from the electora l commission, the first to be released, show ed Maliki ahead in Najaf and Babil provinces south

ABU DHABI: This image provided by the Department of Defense shows Defense Secretary Robert M Gates visiting the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates yesterday. — AP

Gates: Iran support for Taleban ‘pretty limited’ ABU DHABI: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates yesterday downplayed Iran’s influence on Afghanistan, but the war of words escalated, with Iran’s president promising that the region’s people would “cut your hands off of the Persian Gulf oil.” Visiting a military base that houses an air refueling wing serving Afghanistan, Gates said Iranian support for the Taleban in Afghanistan is “pretty limited” , so far. Gates noted his public exchange of barbs with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this week over which country is doing harm in Afghanistan.

He had accused Tehran of undermining US and NATO efforts by helping the Taleban. “I have talked about Iran playing a double game in Afghanistan, wanting a good relationship with the Afghan government and wanting to make our lives harder,” he said. “At this point the level of their effort I think is not a major problem for us,” Gates said.

“The level of their support for the Taleban, so far as best we can tell, has been pretty limited. I was just trying to express the hope that it wouldn’t get any worse.” The Pentagon asked press traveling with Gates not to name the military base.

In Riyadh on Wednesday, Gates asked Saudi leaders for help winning wide backing for strong economic penalties against Tehran. Ahmadinejad responded yesterday, saying, “The Iranian nation will not allow the world power (the US ) to corrupt and create chaos in the Persian Gulf.” “You are wrong if you think that you will be able to dominate the oil of Iraq and the Persian Gulf through deploying military forces,” Ahmadinejad said.

“The young people of the region will cut your hands off of the Persian Gulf oil.” “Pakistanis, Afghans, the Persian Gulf states should be watchful,” Ahmadinejad told a crowd at the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.

“They do not serve anybody.”

Yesterday, making the last stop of a

weeklong trip to Afghanistan and the Middle East, Gates was sitting down with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Zayed al Nahyan. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE, although flashy Dubai is better known in the West.

First, Gates toured an Abu Dhabi mosque that is the third largest in the world. The sprawling white building was built with the vast oil wealth of the United Arab Emirates.

The US defense chief usually skips tourist attractions when he travels, but his visit to the Sheik Zayed mausoleum and mosque was meant as a gesture of respect to one of the United States’ most steadfast friends in the Arab world. “For many years the United States and the United Arab Emirates have been close partners,” Gates said outside the mosque. His meetings yesterday are part of “the deep and long-standing friendship between our two nations,” he said.

UAE is also friendly with Iran, although the Shiite state’s rising influence and expanded ballistic missile capability are a source of growing unease. The Emirates sit just across the Persian Gulf from Iran, and they have vast trade with Tehran even as the predominantly Sunni Arab Middle East , and Persian Gulf nations in particular, are wary of the rising influence of the Shiite republic. Arab states warn of the potential for a nuclear arms race in the Gulf region if Iran develops a bomb, and see Iran’s expanding missile capability as an even more immediate threat.

The United Arab Emirates is one of four Gulf countries that host US Patriot missile batteries, US military officials said on condition of anonymity because some aspects of the defensive strategy are classified. The Patriot missile systems, which originally were deployed in the region to shoot down aircraft, have now been upgraded to hit missiles in flight, such as those that Iran might one day fire. — AP

Officials at Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said full initial results, which are to be made public when 30 percent of the vote is counted, may be released later yesterday. Final results may take weeks. They are anxiously awaited by foreign oil companies making plans to invest billions of dollars and vault Iraq into the top echelon of global producers, and by Washington policymakers as the United States prepares to formally end combat operations by the end of August and leave the country before 2012.

The IHEC results showed Maliki’s State of Law coalition with 124,734 votes in the two provinces with at least 30 percent of votes counted, followed by 103,583 for a mainly Shiite rival, the Iraqi National

of Baghdad. But full initial results from across Ira q’s 18 provinces, including a rea s w here support is expected to be strong for Maliki’s rivals, w ere still unknow n four days after a national election Iraqis hoped w ould bring stable government and help end years of sectarian conflict as US troops ready to leave.

Alliance. A secular, cross-sectarian list headed by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi got 40,916 votes. That list is expected to do well in Sunni areas in north and western Iraq. A clear victory by any of the blocs is unlikely and negotiations to form a coalition government could take months, leaving the possibility of a dangerous political vacuum.

Sixty-two percent of Iraq’s nearly 19 million voters turned out at the polls on Sunday despite death threats from the Al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and a spate of election-day attacks by Sunni Islamist insurgents that killed 39 people. Maliki’s State of Law coalition, an alliance of his Dawa party and some Sunni tribal leaders, Shiite Kurds, Christians and independents, led in Baghdad, the

biggest electoral prize with about 8 million people, according to informal tallies. State of Law was the big winner in January 2009 provincial elections and campaigned on a platform of improved security and strong central government.

Even if Maliki allies make up the biggest bloc in Iraq’s next parliament, they will have to unite with one or two other coalitions to form a government, and Maliki may face challenges from coalition partners opposed to giving him a second term.

Final results may take several weeks. Ad Melkert, the UN special representative to Iraq, lauded the vote count on Wednesday as an “honest process” and urged candidates and parties to accept the results. — Reuters

Women in charge in West Bank’s district RAMALLAH: At 35, Leila Ghanem is the first woman to become a Palestinian governor, the latest in a group of trailblazing women leaders who are slowly winning acceptance in this traditional society. Ghanem, a former intelligence agent, joins a cluster of women in senior positions in the West Bank district of Ramallah, a political and economic hub known for its relatively liberal social attitudes, where she was appointed governor earlier this year. The mayor of the district’s main city is a woman, as are four ministers in the Palestinian Cabinet, two Islamic court judges and the head of a Palestinian financial oversight agency. Ghanem is a woman of few words who is proud of her reputation as a no-nonsense official.

“There’ll be people who’ll say I’m pretending to be tough to prove herself,” Ghanem said. “But you have to be firm all the time , but you have to know when to be tough, and when to ease up.” As governor, Ghanem’s role crisscrosses between ribbon cutting at project openings and resolving disputes between warring tribes in this deeply clannish society. She also has a say over security matters, including Abbas’ ongoing crackdown on his Hamas rivals.

Yesterday, Ghanem sidestepped what would have been her biggest political pitfall yet: the planned unveiling of a Ramallah traffic circle named in honor of a female fighter who led a 1978 bus hijacking in Israel that killed 38 people. The woman, Dalal Mughrabi, was killed in the attack.

At the last moment, the ceremony , which faced vociferous opposition from Israel , was indefinitely postponed. Naming the site after Mughrabi appears to have been a local initiative, but as governor, Ghanem is ultimately responsible and said she supports the idea.

“We honor our martyrs,” she said. An official in Ghanem’s office said the cancellation was “due to pressure,” but declined to elaborate. The official refused to be identified because he was discussing a confidential matter.

Ghanem’s appointment as governor is part of a conscious effort by Abbas and his prime minister, Salam Fayyad, to promote women into senior positions, said Abbas aide Sabri Saidam. The rise of women leaders in

ABU DHABI: This image provided by the Department of Defense shows Defense Secretary Robert M Gates visiting the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates yesterday. — AP the West Bank, run by Abbas’ secular Fatah party, contrast with a deepening conservatism in the Hamasruled Gaza Strip, where the Islamic militants promote some of their female activists but also impose a strict brand of Islam that restricts women. —AP

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AU peacekeepers use tanks to help govt beat insurgent attack

43 Somalis die in capital after 2 days of warfare MOGADISHU: Heavy fighting between Somali insurgents and pro-government troops has killed at least 43 people over two days, as African Union peacekeepers used tanks to help the beleaguered government beat back an insurgent attack, officials said yesterday. Militants attacking from the north on Wednesday reached to within a mile (2 kilometers) of the presidential place in the heart of the capital, Mogadishu, before African Union peacekeepers in tanks reinforced government troops, residents said. Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu’s ambulance service, said he saw 40 bodies lying in the streets over the two days of fighting Wednesday and yesterday. Nearly 150 were wounded, mostly civilians, he said.

MOGADISHU: Somalis assist a wounded civilian injured during heavy clashes in northern Mogadishu in which more than 20 civilians were killed yesterday in a second day of intense fighting between Somali government troops and insurgent forces in the capital Mogadishu. —AFP

UK court grants bail to ex-Bosnian vice president LONDON: Britain’s High Court yesterday granted bail to former Bosnian Vice President Ejup Ganic, who was arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport on a Serbian war crimes warrant earlier this month.

The 64-year-old was arrested March 1 for his alleged role in the 1992 death of Yugoslav army troops in Bosnia. Belgrade accuses Ganic of ordering an attack on retreating soldiers in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo. Bosnia argues the allegations are designed to minimize Serb guilt for the 1992-1995 war that tore the Balkans apart. The dispute has strained relations between Bosnia and Serbia, which had improved since the war ended in a US-brokered peace agreement in 1995. Lord Justice John Laws said it was fair to grant Ganic bail “subject to stringent conditions.” He added that Ganic’s lawyers had put forward “substantial argument to show that the prospective request for extradition of the claimant to Serbia ... is motivated by essentially political factors.” The accusation relates to an attack on a convoy of Serb-led Yugoslav soldiers who retreated from Sarajevo in May 1992 taking President Alija Izetbegovic with them as a prisoner.

Ganic was acting president during the less than two days that Izetbegovic was held. Belgrade first accused him of ordering the killing of over 40 Yugoslav soldiers during the attack on the convoy but then reduced the number to 18. The UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague dismissed the allegations that war crimes were committed during the attack on the convoy.

Ganic is likely to be released from London’s Wandsworth prison later yesterday. He has been ordered to live at a specified London address,

report daily to a police station and observe a curfew. Judge Laws said the Bosnian government had promised not to issue him travel documents.

Ganic’s lawyer, Clare Montgomery, said a 300,000 pound ($450,000) security had been put up by an anonymous well-wisher described as “a lady of substantial means.” Ganic’s son and daughter hugged each other in the courtroom after the decision was handed down.

His son Emir said the move was “a small victory for us.” “This is obviously a first step,” he said. “Now in front of us is the much bigger picture of dealing with the extradition request.”

He said his father was holding up well in prison.

“Being in prison is nothing for him compared to being shelled by the Serbs in Bosnia for three years,” he said. Ganic is due back in court on April 13. Lawyers for the Serbian government said 400 pages of documents to support the extradition request were still being translated into English so they could be passed to British authorities. Outside the court, about a dozen critics of the former Bosnian leader waved placards reading “Ganic: Blood on his hands” and “Gotcha Ganic.” After an earlier hearing last week, thousands of angry Bosnians demonstrated outside the British embassy in Sarajevo.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband met Bosnian leader Haris Silajdzic yesterday and discussed the case. The Foreign Office said he had stressed that Ganic’s arrest “is a judicial matter, which in no way amounts to a diplomatic or political statement by the British Government or any UK point of view on past events in the western Balkans.” —AP

“The fighting was heavier than that of yesterday,” said Muse. “Our ambulances are sometimes caught in the crossfire. Our ambulance crews use dangerous streets and they have to dodge mortars and bullets.

Sometimes it takes us hours to reach injured civilians and because of that they bleed to death.” Three of the wounded brought in Wednesday died overnight, said Abdi Mahad, a doctor at Medina Hospital. “A mortar shell has just fallen into the house next to me. We can hear neighbors crying and can see smoke over their building, but I do not know if there is a casualty,” Sahra Haji Abdulle said by phone from her home in northern Mogadishu. “We could hardly sleep last night.

The sky was lit up by shelling all night. We have nowhere to escape.” More than half of those living in Somalia’s seaside capital have fled.

Those remaining are mostly too poor to move or fear being attacked as they leave.

Compounding their dilemma, an Islamist group issued a series of demands at the beginning of the year that caused the UN’s World Food Program to pull out of much of southern Somalia. Soon families fleeing into the countryside may find nothing to eat.

Neither the Islamists or the UN-backed government can take and hold enough ground for a decisive victory. The government is supported by around 5,300 African Union peacekeepers, whose tanks and armored vehicles help them to outgun the insurgents. The insurgents favor mobile hit-and-run attacks, using snipers and mortar fire to make it hard for the government’s poorly trained and irregularly paid soldiers to hold their position.

The peacekeepers used tanks to help government forces when the insurgents got within a mile of the presidential palace, said resident Omar Salad. Other residents confirmed his account.

The insurgents, the government and the peacekeepers have all been criticized by human rights groups for indiscriminately firing into and shelling residential neighborhoods. But the criticism has had little effect. —AP

JOS: A man detained by police after violence in Jos, Nigeria, shows reporters his burns, Wednesday. —AP

Tapestry of violence haunts central Nigeria JOS: Christians and Muslims once shared their lives together in Nigeria’s fertile central belt, buying each other’s goods in mixed neighborhoods and cultivating each other’s farms across a sun-baked plateau. But growing religious hatred, political and ethnic rivalries and increasing poverty have led to two outbursts of savage violence this year in which men, women and children and even babies were butchered, and that harmony seems lost forever.

Now, many people carry weapons and man impromptu road blocks, fearful of the military, the police and each other.

Various factors have been weaving a tapestry of violence here but Sunday’s bloodshed, the more recent, was mostly about revenge. Christian villages near the city of Jos were attacked before dawn, less than two months after Muslims were targeted and a mosque torched, with hundreds killed, their corpses stuffed into wells and sewage pits. Witnesses say Sunday’s pre-dawn silence was broken by gunfire. Simple, oneroom houses were set ablaze, the flames illuminating villages that have no electricity. People ran from their burning homes.

Assailants with machetes were waiting. Many of those who were cut down were children. At least 200 people died.

One 20-year-old man arrested for allegedly taking part in Sunday’s attacks said his family members died at the hands of rioters in January. Of those who were attacked on Sunday, he said: “There are some people that kill all our parents. We went to avenge what they did to us.” Nigeria, a nation of 150 million people, is almost evenly split between Muslims in the north and the predominantly Christian south.

The recent bloodshed has been happening in central Nigeria, where dozens of ethnic groups vie for control of the nation’s fertile “middle belt.” “Jos is a mini-Nigeria. All segments of Nigeria are here,” said state police commissioner Ikechukwu Aduba. National leaders appear to have little control over this region in Africa’s most populous nation. The police and army

failed to prevent these horrific massacres. Acting President Goodluck Jonathan promised security forces will bring the city and outlying areas where 1 million people live under control, but many Christians fear the Muslim-dominated police force and military. Local youths armed with kitchen knives and machetes have formed self-protection gangs in neighborhoods and scrutinize each passing vehicle.

Sixty kilometers (38 miles) from Jos, in the village of KuGot, men armed with machetes, homemade swords, slingshots and bows and arrows stand guard amid arid cornfields.

Barricades made of boulders and cacti manned by frightened locals block many roads.

Nigerian security forces rarely, if ever, patrol these areas. They’re usually beyond cellphone range and there’s no electricity. “It’s clear these people are unprotected here. If you have to carry a bow and arrows in your own town, you are unprotected,” said Mark Lipdo, who leads a Christian foundation in Jos. Despite once working on farms belonging to the Muslim Fulani ethnic group, the people of Ku-Got now look out over the silhouetted mountains and worry that armed Fulani herders will be coming down the ridge.

Villagers say they buried two old women killed by Fulani raiders Sunday. The attackers razed their homes, broke a glass pulpit at the Christian church and destroyed the community’s only satellite television receiver.

“They want to inherit the land,” said the Rev. Joshua T. Dafom, who preaches at the church. “They want to wipe us out to inherit the land to graze their animals.” For their part, the Fulanis now watch over their herds of cattle in groups of armed men numbering into the dozens, instead of going alone, unarmed, to watch over the animals as they once did, said Fulani community leader Sale Bayari. The men now fear a “guerrilla war” against the ethnic group that left many of them dead during the January rioting but are prepared, Bayari said. “My people have an instinct for survival,” he said. —AP

INTERNATIONAL

Friday, March 12, 2010

Page 13

Abductions believed to have been carried out by drug gangs

8 reporters kidnapped in Mexican city: Press group MEXICO CITY: Eight journalists w ere kidnapped in a northern Mexican border city over a period of tw o w eeks in a w ave of abductions unprecedented in the Western Hemisphere, the Inter-American Press Associa tion reported. The group sa id Wednesda y tha t only three of the journa lists kidna pped betw een Feb 18 a nd Ma rch 3 in

HAVANA: Cuban dissident Felix Bonne talks by phone at a house in Havana on Wednesday. Bonne announced he will begin a hunger strike if dissident Guillermo Farinas —who is now under a 13-day hunger strike in Santa Clara — dies. — AFP

Brazil leader rapped for stance on Cuba dissidents BRASILIA: Brazil’s president came under withering criticism Wednesday at home and in Cuba for his deference to the island’s communist government over political prisoners and hunger strikes for human rights.

A Cuban dissident on hunger strike to demand the release of ailing political prisoners accused President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of complicity with “the tyranny of Castro.” Brazilian pundits also criticized Silva and a political ally called the president’s words disappointing. In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Silva said that “we have to respect the decisions of the Cuban legal system and the government to arrest people depending on the laws of Cuba, like I want them to respect Brazil.” Silva said hunger strikes should not be used to free people from prison, despite the fact that he himself engaged in a hunger strike as a union leader during his resistance to Brazil’s military dictatorship.

Brazil’s media and critics focused most on a statement by Silva that they interpreted as comparing Cuba’s dissidents with criminals in Brazil’s largest city who run lucrative drug rings from behind bars and orchestrated a wave of killings on the streets in 2006.

“I don’t think a hunger strike can be used as a pretext for human rights to free people. Imagine if all the criminals in Sao Paulo entered into hunger strikes to demand freedom,” Silva said in the interview. In late February, Silva met in Cuba with Fidel and Raul Castro just hours after Cuban dissident Orlando Zapata died from a prolonged hunger strike.

At the time, Silva told Brazil’s privately run Agencia Estado news agency that he “deeply regretted” Zapata’s death. Silva did not meet with opposition groups in Cuba.

Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas, who started his twenty-third hunger strike the day after Zapata’s death, says Silva should take a stand against Cuba’s regime instead of stating he had to respect the government’s decisions.

“With that statement, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva shows his commitment to the tyranny of Castro and his contempt for the political prisoners and their families,” Farinas

said in an interview with columnist Flavia Marreiro of Brazil’s Folha de S. Paulo newspaper. “A majority of the Cuban people feel betrayed by a president who was once a political prisoner.” Silva led worker strikes against Brazil’s military regime and was imprisoned for 31 days in 1980 for his political activities.

“I’ve been on hunger strikes and I would never do it again,” Silva said.

“I think it’s insane to mistreat your own body.” Silva also said he thought there was hypocrisy at play in the criticism of Cuba.

“It’s not just in Cuba that people died from hunger strikes,” he said.

Silva didn’t mention his comments to the AP in a speech he gave Wednesday, but Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim defended Brazil’s stance on Cuba’s dissidents.

“It’s one thing to defend democracy, human rights, the right to free speech,” said Amorim. “It’s another thing to be supporting everything that is dissident in the world. That is not (our) role.” Amorim said Brazilian trade and its infrastructure development projects in Cuba are helping Cubans. He added that it is up to the US to bring the quickest changes to Cuba by ending a 48-yearold trade embargo against the island.

“If someone is interested in creating political evolution in Cuba, I have a quick prescription: End the embargo.” Columnist Merval Pereira wrote in Wednesday’s edition of the Brazilian newspaper O Globo that “the comments of president Lula are worrying because they denote that he made a terrible confusion between democratic regimes and dictatorships, treating them equally.”

Cuba has blasted foreign press coverage of Farinas’ hunger strike as part of a campaign to discredit the island’s political system.

In Brazil, a lawmaker from the ruling Workers Party, which Silva founded, told the Globo television network he was disappointed with the president’s words, though he suggested they were just a slip. “The president expressed himself poorly or he was misunderstood,” said Mauricio Rands, a federal deputy with the party. “We don’t accept that somebody can be detained just because they have disagreements with the government.”— AP

Aguirre called the abductions “serious and without precedent in the Western Hemisphere.” The kidnappings are believed to have been carried out by drug gangs in the Gulf coast state of Tamaulipas, where Reynosa is located.

State prosecutors in Tamaulipas and the federal Attorney General’s Office in Mexico City could not immediately confirm the report.

The press association said those close to the victims had been too afraid to report the abductions. The reporters work for print, radio and other news media outlets. Reynosa and several other cities in Tamaulipas have suffered a wave of shootouts attributed to turf battles between the powerful Gulf drug cartel and its former allies, a gang of hit men

Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas, have reappeared: Tw o w ere released alive and one w as found dead w ith signs of torture. Five are still missing. “The Mexican government must act w ith urgency a nd w ith due force to rescue these journalists alive,” said IAPA President Alejandro Aguirre.

known as the Zetas. The press group cited “IAPA sources who declined to name the victims or file formal complaints with the authorities out of fear of retaliation or further endangering the victims’ lives.” The level of intimidation has been such that most Mexican news media did not even report on the Reynosa kidnappings.

The Mexico City newspaper Milenio mentioned one , but in an opinion column, not a news article. The column, penned by journalist Ciro Gomez Leyva, said that one of the newspaper’s reporters and a cameraman had been briefly abducted in Reynosa and released.

The kidnappers appeared to be cartel hit men, who told the reporters, “Don’t come and stir things up on our turf,” Gomez Leyva wrote.

The two journalists left Reynosa, deciding that “nothing more should be known or told ... and we obeyed,” Gomez Leyva wrote, concluding, “Journalism is dead in Reynosa.”

Several international news-media watchdog groups have named Mexico the most dangerous country in the Americas for journalists. Some Mexican media have toned down their coverage of drug-gang violence, or stopped reporting it altogether, out of fear for reporters’ safety.

Authorities have confirmed the slayings of at least three Mexican journalists so far this year. Twelve reporters were killed in 2009. All together, 60 journalists have been killed in the country since 2000, according to the Mexican National Human Rights Commission. — AP

Obama meets Preval, warns Haiti situation WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama said Wednesday that Haiti’s plight was still “dire” after its earthquake and warned after meeting Haitian President Rene Preval of a possible new humanitarian disaster. The US leader expressed fears that looming spring rains in Haiti could pose a severe threat to 1.3 million vulnerable people left homeless after the January quake which killed more than 220,000 people.

“The situation on the ground remains dire and people should be under no illusions that the crisis is over,” Obama said, in a poignant joint appearance with Preval in the White House Rose Garden. Preval thanked Americans for their solidarity in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, and all foreign governments, aid organizations and donors who responded in a “commensurate” way to Haiti’s tragedy.

He strongly backed the concept of a United Nations “red helmet” rapid reaction force of experts, firefighters and other relief workers to manage humanitarian efforts within hours of a massive natural disaster. He said long-term rebuilding aid and efforts to improve health care, education and unemployment should include rural areas, in order to avoid new migratory flows into the devastated and impoverished capital Port-au-Prince.

“We must draw the lessons from what occurred in Haiti. These are lessons for all of mankind,” Preval said. “The massive, spontaneous, generous help was a good response to the disaster. However, its effectiveness must be improved, because effectiveness depends on the quality of coordination.”

Preval also said that hoped-for donor funds gathered at a United Nations conference in New York later this month should be administered by a single trust fund to ensure they were spent wisely.

In the past, given pervasive corruption in Haitian society, and a volatile political situation, the full impact of some development aid has not been felt, leaving some donors questioning future funding. Obama said there remained a “desperate need” for humanitarian aid in Haiti, describing the quake as “one of the most devastating natural disasters ever to strike our hemisphere.”

“The challenge now is to prevent a second disaster,” Obama said, hours after former president Bill Clinton, now a UN special envoy to Haiti, warned that a new wave of deaths could be caused by poor sanitary conditions. Obama described his talks with Preval as “very productive” and said the Haitian

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama speaks to the press as Haitian President Rene Preval looks on Wednesday in the Rose Garden following a meeting at the White House in Washington. — AFP leader offered an update on the “awful scale of Haitian loss.” “No nation could respond to such a catastrophe alone,” Obama said, adding that the UN donors conference would allow the world to keep its commitment to help Haiti rebuild. “This pledge is one that I made at the beginning of this crisis, and I intend for America to keep our pledge,” Obama said.

“America will be your partner.” Obama however conspicuously avoided detailed mention of Haiti’s political situation, a day after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined Preval to call for new elections as soon as possible.

The US leader also said he was “extraordinarily proud” of each of the 20,000 US military and civilian personnel who flocked to Haiti in the aftermath of the disaster to help with the relief effort and provide much-needed security. —AFP

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INTERNATIONAL

Friday, March 12, 2010

Party’s landslide win in last polls formally invalidated

Law bars Myanmar’s Suu Kyi from voting YANGON: Not only is Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi barred from running in upcoming elections, but she will not be allowed to vote , and her opposition party’s landslide win in the last polls has been formally invalidated, according to laws published yesterday. Suu Kyi’s opposition party, the National League for Democracy, condemned the latest laws, but vowed to survive. “They have been slowly trying to decimate the party and now they are doing it with utmost force. But the NLD will never collapse,” said the party’s deputy chairman, Tin Oo. The date for the election has not yet been announced.

It will be the first poll since 1990, when Suu Kyi’s party won a landslide victory. The junta ignored the results of that vote and has kept Suu Kyi jailed or under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years.

She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

The junta enacted five election-related laws Monday that set out the rules for the next polls. So far, it has made four of the laws public , two of which were unveiled yesterday and pertain to the election of candidates to parliament. Also yesterday, the junta announced the makeup of the Election Commission, which will oversee the polls and be headed by a former highranking army officer. Like the election laws announced earlier in the week, the latest included more provisions that ban Suu Kyi from the political scene.

They stipulate that anyone of a crime , as Suu YANGON: Nyan Win, spokesman of detained pro-democracy leader Aung convicted Kyi was in August for the first San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), speaks at the party time , is barred from running headquarters yesterday in Yangon, Myanmar. —AP or voting in the elections for the upper and lower houses.

The two laws also formally invalidated the 1990 elections results, saying the 1989 election law under which those polls were held was repealed by the new legislation. It comes as yet another blow to the NLD, which has been demanding BEIJING : China will Communist theories of There have been also the results be recognized for toughen requirements for journalism say media problems with reporters the last two decades. reporters by launching a should serve the demanding payment for An election law announced new certification system leadership and not positive news coverage or Wednesday prohibits anyone that requires training in undermine its initiatives, a to bury a story, and convicted of a crime from Marxist and communist stark contrast to the instances of reporters being a member of a political theories of news, a media independent government fabricating news. party, making Suu Kyi official said, citing watchdog role many “Comrades who are going ineligible to become a candidate in the elections , or problems with the current democracies embrace. to be working on even a member of the party crop of mainland Government censors keep journalism’s front lines she co-founded and heads. journalists.

The South a tight grip on news must learn theories of One of the strongest reactions China Morning Post content and routinely ban socialism with Chinese came from the Philippines, a reported yesterday that Li reporting on issues characteristics and be partner with Myanmar in the Dongdong, deputy director deemed too politically taught Marx’s view on 10-nation Association of of the General sensitive or destabilizing, news, plus media ethics Southeast Asian Nations, Administration of Press and many media outlets in and Communist Party whose members rarely voice and Publication, said some China serve as discipline on news and criticism of each other. reporters were giving mouthpieces for the state. propaganda,” Li told “Unless they release Aung Chinese journalism a bad But recently some have Xinhua on Monday.

A San Suu Kyi and allow her and name because they hadn’t become more freewheeling senior editor with the her party to participate in been properly trained. She since newspapers and Beijing-based Economic elections, it’s a complete farce and therefore contrary to their didn’t give any specific broadcasters began relying Observer said this week he roadmap to democracy,” examples.

Similar increasingly on advertising had been punished for coPhilippine Foreign Secretary comments by Li were instead of just Communist authoring an editorial that Alberto Romulo told The posted on the Web site of Party patronage for their urged the government to Associated Press. The United the official Xinhua News survival. Some have run scrap an unpopular States and human rights Agency. It was not clear afoul of the government for household registration groups warned that the junta how such training would be reporting accurately on system, saying it was running out of chances to administered, but foreign stories that officials didn’t discriminated against the make the elections appear journalists are exempt. want publicized. poor. —AP credible. —AP

China orders reporters trained in Marxist theory

HONG KONG: In this Dec 25, 2009 photo, prodemocracy legislator Lee Cheuk-yan, right, a veteran union organizer and frequent protester, shouts slogan during a demonstration against the sentence handed down to mainland dissident Liu Xiaobo at China’s liaison office in Hong Kong. —AP

Hong Kong arrests six for protests at Chinese office HONG KONG : Six activists who stormed the grounds of a Chinese government office in December to protest a dissident’s punishment were arrested yesterday by Hong Kong police in what critics say is part of growing political persecution in the former British colony. Unlike the rest of China, Hong Kong is promised Western-style civil liberties like freedom of protest.

Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997 but retained separate political and economic systems. The six sneaked into the grounds of the Chinese liaison office when its main gates opened for a car on Christmas Day. They scuffled with security guards, but eventually left on their own.

The protesters were demanding the release of prominent Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. The literary critic was sentenced that day to 11 years in jail after co-writing an unusually direct appeal to the government calling for expanded political freedoms.

Richard Tsoi said he and his five fellow protesters were charged with unlawful assembly and released on bail of 500 Hong Kong dollars ($64). Unlawful assembly carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail. Both Tsoi

and an independent human rights activist questioned if the arrests were justified.

“We staged a peaceful assembly that day. This is pure political persecution,” Tsoi said. “It is clear the Hong Kong government is bending to pressure from the Chinese government to suppress prodemocracy movements.” “To press charges against the protesters is absurd. Hong Kongers should have the right to express their opinions. It only goes to show the low level of political tolerance in Hong Kong,” Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor Law Yuk-kai said.

Hong Kong police spokesman Michael Kwan said he didn’t have immediate comment on the allegations of political persecution. One of the other arrested activists, pro-democracy legislator Lee Cheuk-yan, a veteran union organizer and frequent protester, told Hong Kong’s radio RTHK it was the first time he has ever been charged with unlawful assembly since entering politics 30 years ago.

Also arrested was Leung Kwok-hung, a legislator who resigned with four other opposition colleagues in January as part of a new push for political reforms in Hong Kong. —AP

S Korea issues travel advisory for Russia following attacks SEOUL: South Korea yesterday issued a temporary travel advisory for Russia following suspected racist attacks that left one South Korean student dead and another seriously injured.

The foreign ministry said on its website it has decided to place the country under a level one travel alert until May 31, meaning Korean tourists and visitors are advised to take extra precautions.

Ministry officials quoted by Yonhap news agency said the temporary warning was inevitable due to the possibility of hate crimes by ultra-rightists against foreigners before and after April 20, Adolf Hitler’s birthday. On Tuesday the ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to complain about the attacks. Last month a 22-year-old South Korean student was killed by a group of youths in the Siberian city of Barnaul.

On Sunday a 29-year-old South Korean student was critically wounded in an attack by two masked people on the street in Moscow. South Korean media have said the Siberian incident seemed to be racially motivated and they suspected the Moscow attack was as well.

A posting on the ministry website urged Koreans to take care in Russia and not to go out in the streets alone. —AFP

INTERNATIONAL

Friday, March 12, 2010

Page 15

Rivals Pakistan and India compete for influence

We don’t want proxy wars in Afghanistan, says Karzai

NEW DELHI: Suspended lawmakers of India’s upper house of parliament protest their suspension in front of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the entrance of the parliament house in New Delhi, India yesterday. —AP

Indian govt backs quota for women lawmakers NEW DELHI: Despite days of parliamentary chaos and harsh condemnation from its allies, India’s ruling party said yesterday it will push ahead with a constitutional amendment to reserve onethird of federal and state legislative seats for women.

The quota, an attempt to empower the oftenmarginalized women of India, is seen as a signature initiative of Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi.

The powerful lower house of Parliament, the Lok Sabha, briefly discussed the issue yesterday, before protests by lawmakers forced the house to adjourn. Two days earlier, a bill to amend the constitution was overwhelmingly approved by the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, in a raucous session that included a walkout of some legislators and the ejection of others.

Under Indian law, constitutional amendments require approval of both houses of Parliament and then half of India’s 28 states before taking effect. Because of breaks in the parliamentary calendar, the measure is unlikely to be brought to a vote in the lower house before mid-April. Congress party spokeswoman Jayanthi Natarajan said her party remained firmly committed to the bill. “We have shown that we mean business by getting it passed in the Rajya Sabha, by withstanding all the challenges and obstacles,” Natarajan told NDTV television station.

First proposed 14 years ago, the bill has never made it this far. But Congress’ Socialist allies strongly oppose it and in recent days have hinted they could withdraw their support for the government if it is approved. They want to amend the bill to ensure that

some of the reserved seats go to the country’s Muslim minority and to low-caste communities, or Dalits, who are their core supporters.

“Include the Dalit and Muslim women in the bill, this will create equality in society,” said Mulayam Singh Yadav, leader of the Samajwadi Party.

Sonia Gandhi responded that the parties should simply nominate women from the minority groups to run as their candidates.

Many political leaders also worry that their maledominated parties would have to completely reinvent themselves to maintain power. Opposition from the Socialist parties could reduce the government’s support in Parliament and create problems for future legislation. Gandhi - the Italian-born widow of slain former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi - has refused to back down in her support for the plan.

“Of course our party is committed or we wouldn’t have taken the first step,” she told the NDTV station hours after Tuesday’s vote. Though some women have held top positions in government, Indian women have long suffered discrimination and are among the most marginalized groups in the country. There have been some gains in recent years with women assuming powerful political positions, such as Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar and President Pratibha Patil. While the government has lost support from some of its allies, it has gained the support of the main opposition parties, including the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party and communist groups, which supported the bill in the upper house. —AP

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan does not want a proxy war eight years after the Taleban were ousted. Karzai said he between Pakistan and India or anybody else fought on its did not want any country using Afghanistan against soil, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said yesterday another. His visit comes after Pakistan has intensified during a visit to Pakistan. Nuclear-armed rivals India and efforts to fight militancy, winning US praise. “The bottom Pakistan are vying for influence in Afghanistan, line is, Afghanistan does not want any proxy wars on its complicating US-led efforts to end an intensifying Taleban territory,” Karzai told a news conference with Pakistani insurgency and bring stability to Afghanistan more than Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani. leaders in Pakistan, including “It does not want a proxy top military strategist Mullah war between India and Abdul Ghani Baradar, has led Pakistan in Afghanistan, it to speculation Pakistan is does not want a proxy war changing its position on the between Iran and the United militants in anticipation of States in Afghanistan,” he some sort of peace process said. India has developed and the departure of Western close relations with Karzai’s forces. government while ties Pakistan has said very between Afghanistan and little about the arrests, only Pakistan have been fraught officially confirming the arrest with tension over recent of Baradar. Gilani said he and years, mostly over Afghan Karzai discussed an Afghan suspicion Pakistan is quietly request for Baradar’s helping the Taleban. extradition. “We have our own Analysts say Pakistan sees judiciary ... we are consulting the Afghan Taleban as a tool the legal experts too, and to promote its interests in we’ll sit with them and Afghanistan, where it wants discuss it and get back to the to see a friendly government honorable president,” Gilani in power and to limit India’s told the news conference. influence. While India accuses A Pakistan court late last Pakistan of backing militants month barred the government who attack its interests in from sending captured Afghan Afghanistan, Pakistan accuses Taleban leaders abroad. The India of using its diplomatic Pakistani interior minister missions in Afghanistan to had earlier said Baradar was help separatist militants in its being investigated for crimes southwestern province of in Pakistan and would be tried Baluchistan. there in the first instance.

Karzai said India was a Ties between Afghanistan and very close friend and had Pakistan have been uneasy given much support but Pakistan’s Pakistan was like a brother. ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s President Hamid since “India is a close friend of Karzai speaks at a joint news conference with independence in 1947 but Afghanistan but Pakistan is a Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, have warmed since a civilian brother of Afghanistan. unseen, at the prime minister’s official residence government came to power in in 2008. At times, Pakistan is a twin brother ... and office, in Islamabad, Pakistan yesterday. —AP Islamabad Karzai and former Pakistani we’re conjoined twins, there’s military leader Pervez no separation,” he said. “We Pakistan, and without its or peaceful,” he said. in Afghanistan are fully aware cooperation in Afghanistan, The recent arrest of Musharraf were hardly on and recognize that without Afghanistan cannot be stable several Afghan Taleban speaking terms. —Reuters

Bomb kills four children near NATO outpost in Afghanistan KABUL: Four children and another civilian were killed yesterday in a bomb blast near a NATO-run outpost northeast of the Afghan capital Kabul, a military official said. The bomb, similar to those used by Taleban militants in their attacks on military targets, exploded near a security post run by French troops operating under NATO. The incident occurred two kilometers (1.2 miles) north of Tagab, Kapisa province, close to the main NATO-run Bagram Air Field, which has been troubled by attacks blamed on the Taleban and other insurgents.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said that the deaths were caused by an improvisedexplosive device.

“The explosion killed five civilians, including four children, and injured three children,” the force said in a statement, blaming insurgents. The three injured children “were evacuated by French choppers to Kabul French hospital,” said Jacky Fouquereau, a French military spokesman. The Taleban were in power between 1996 and 2001 before being toppled by a US-led invasion, and the hardline group is now waging an insurgency against the Kabul government and foreign troops in Afghanistan. —AFP

Lanka to try former army chief next week COLOMBO: The court martial of defeated Sri Lankan presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka will begin next week on charges of engaging in politics while army chief and procurement malpractices, officials said yesterday.

Fonseka was arrested by the military on Feb 8, prompting opposition street protests in the Indian ocean island nation.

“There are seven charges against him in two courts martial, one on participating in politics while in active service and the other is on contravening military procedures on procurement,” military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe told reporters.

Samarasinghe said the first court martial would begin on March 16 and the second on 17 March. He could not give a timeframe for the

proceedings, which he said would be closed to the public and media. Fonseka and President Mahinda Rajapaksa worked together in ending a 25-year war against Tamil Tiger separatists last year, but fell out soon after.

Fonseka lost by an 18 percentage point margin to Rajapaksa in the January poll, after which he accused the president of rigging the vote.

Protests after the arrest of Fonseka dragged down the island nation’s share market but stocks have since recovered, event though foreign investors have been net sellers. Street protests, strikes and labor unrest could have a ripple impact on Sri Lanka’s $40 billion economy, which is forecast to grow more than 6 percent this year. Sri Lanka is to hold legislative elections on April 8. —Reuters

BUSINESS

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Friday, March 12, 2010

NEW YORK: These recent file photos show seven of the world’s richest billionaires, according to Forbes magazine, which published its annual rich list on March 10, 2010. From left are: Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim; Microsoft Corporation chairman Bill Gates; Wall Street investor Warren Buffett; Oracle CEO Lawrence J. Ellison; Bernard Arnault, head of French luxury group LVMH; owner of the Zara clothing chain Zara Amancio Ortega; chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani. — AFP

Mexican Slim becomes ‘World richest person’ Slim knocks Microsoft founder Gates into second spot NEW YORK: Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim is the world’s richest person, knocking Microsoft founder Bill Gates into second spot, as the wealth of the world’s billionaires grew by 50 percent over the last year, Forbes magazine said on Wednesday. It is only the second time since 1995 that Gates has lost the crown, the magazine said, estimating Slim’s net worth at $53.5 billion, compared to Gates’s $53 billion fortune, while investor Warren Buffett came in at No. 3 with $47 billion.

The trio regained $41.5 billion of the $68 billion they had lost the previous year, Forbes said.

The number of billionaires around the world has nearly recovered in 2010 after dropping by a third last year during the global financial crisis. There are now 1,011 billionaires, compared with 793 last year and 1,125 in 2008. The net wealth of those

represented on the Forbes list with billionaires from Pakistanclothing exporter Mian Muhammad Mansha-and Finland-manufacturing mogul Antti Herlin-making an appearance for the first time, while Turkey, Russia and India regained billionaire numbers lost last year.

There were 164 billionaires returning to the list in 2010, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is also the world’s youngest with a $4 billion fortune at the age of 25.

The second-youngest self-made billionaire is Japan’s Yoshikazu Tanaka, 33, who made $1.4 billion from social networking firm Gree. The oldest is 99year-old Walter Haefner from Switzerland who has $3.3 billion.

The sixth-richest man is Oracle Corp Chief Executive Larry Ellison with $28 billion.

At No. 7 is the richest man in Europe, Bernard Arnault, CEO

billionaires grew to $3.6 trillion from $2.4 trillion last year, but is still down from 2008’s $4.4 trillion, according to the 24th annual Forbes list, which took a snapshot of wealth on Feb 12 to compile its ranking.

The average billionaire is now worth $3.5 billion, up $500 million from last year. And the number of women on the list rose to 89 from 72 last year.

“The global economy is recovering and it’s reflected in what you see in the list this year,” Steve Forbes, chief executive of Forbes, told a news conference. “Financial markets have also made an even more impressive comeback from the lows of just about a year ago, particularly in emerging markets.” “Asia is leading the comeback,” Forbes said. The number of billionaires in the Asia-Pacific region grew by 80 percent to 234 and their net

Forbes top 20 richest people in the world NEW YORK: Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim is the new richest person in the world, knocking Microsoft founder Bill Gates into second spot, Forbes said on Wednesday. It is only the second time since 1995 that Gates has lost the crown, said the magazine. Here is Forbes ranking of the 20 richest people in the world: Carlos Slim (Mexico) - $53.5 billion, telecommunications Bill Gates (USA) - $53 billion, Microsoft Warren Buffett (USA) - $47 billion, Berkshire Hathaway Mukesh Ambani (India) - $29 billion, petrochemicals, oil and gas Lakshmi Mittal (India) - $28.7 billion, steel Larry Ellison (USA) - $28 billion, Oracle Bernard Arnault (France) - $27.5 billion, LVMH Eike Batista (Brazil) - $27 billion, mining, oil Amancio Ortega (Spain) - $25 billion, retail Karl Albrecht (Germany) - $23.5 billion, supermarkets Ingvar Kamprad & family (Sweden) - $23 billion, Ikea Christy Walton & family (USA) - $22.5 billion, Walmart Stefan Persson (Sweden) - $22.4 billion, Hennes & Mauritz Li Ka-shing (Hong Kong) - $21 billion, diversified Jim Walton (USA) - $20.7 billion, Walmart Alice Walton (USA) - $20.6 billion, Walmart Liliane Bettencourt (France) - $20 billion, L’Oreal S. Robson Walton (USA) - $19.8 billion, Walmart Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud (Saudi Arabia) $19.4 billion, investments David Thomson & family (Canada) - $19 billion, news and information company Thomson — Reuters

MEXICO CITY: Mexican businessman Carlos Slim arrive to inaugurated a private, nonprofit health institute in Mexico City. On March 10, 2010, Forbes announced that Slim claims the title of world’s richest person with a net worth of $53.5 billion. — AP worth almost doubled to $729 billion, which the Forbes ranking attributed to the area’s “swelling stock markets and several large public offerings during the past year.”

Two Indians round out the top five richest people in the world-Mukesh Ambani, with a petrochemicals, oil and gas fortune of $29 billion, and steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who is valued at $28.7 billion. The biggest gainer on the list was Brazilian mining magnate Eike Batista, 53, with $27 billion, up from $7.5 billion. He made his riches through the initial public offerings of several companies. He is planning to take his shipbuilding and oil services firm OSX public next week in an expected $5.6 billion offering, which would be Brazil’s second biggest ever IPO.

UNITED STATES, EUROPE LAGGING Of the 97 billionaires making their debut on the Forbes list, 62 are from Asia, while for the first time China is now home to the most billionaires outside of the United States. “The United States still dominates, but the United States is lagging,” Forbes said. “It is not doing as well as the rest of the world in coming back.” “The global boom that we experienced from the early 80s ... which was temporarily derailed in 2007, now looks like it is beginning to get back on track. But Asia and a handful of others are surging, relatively the United States and Western Europe are lagging.”

The top homes to billionaires are New York with 60 and Moscow with 50, followed by London with 32.

There are 55 countries

of luxury goods group LVMH, who has a fortune of $27.5 billion. “The bling is back,” said Forbes Senior Editor Luisa Kroll of Arnault’s wealth.

Rounding out the top 10 is Spanish clothing retailer Inditex founder Amancio Ortega with $25 billion and German supermarket king Karl Albrecht, who is valued at $23.5 billion. While Gates’s and Buffett’s fortunes far exceed most others in the top 10, Forbes Senior Editor Matthew Miller said their fortunes would be far greater if they hadn’t given away a lot of their money.

“They would be far richer today if it wasn’t for their tremendous philanthropy,” he said. “Buffett would be worth at least $55 billion ... and Gates’ net worth would exceed $80 billion had it not been for his philanthropy.”

The Forbes ranking of the world’s billionaires can be seen at www.forbes.com/billionaires.

— Reuters

Interesting numbers from Forbes rich list Middle East, Africa have 65 billionaires with fortune of $181 billion exican tycoon Carlos Slim is the new richest person in the world, knocking Microsoft founder Bill Gates into second spot, Forbes said on Wednesday. Here are some numbers from the Forbes 2010 ranking of the world’s billionaires: There are 1,011 billionaires around the world in 2010, up from 793 last year. Of those 89 are women, up from 72 in 2009.

• There were 611 billionaires who increased their wealth in the past year. The fortunes of 62 fell, while 77 stayed even.

• There are 403 billionaires in the United States with a net worth of $1.3 trillion; this is up from 359 in 2009 and a value of $1.1 trillion.

• There are 248 billionaires in Europe with a net worth of $1 trillion, up from 196 billionaires last year with a fortune of $665 billion.

• In the Asia Pacific region there are 234 billionaires worth $729 billion, compared with 130 billionaires in 2009 valued at $357 billion.

• The Middle East and Africa have 65 billionaires with a fortune of $181 billion, up from 58 last year worth $156 billion.

• The Americas (excluding the United States) accounts for 61 billionaires with a net worth of $304 billion, compared with 50 billionaires last year valued at $175 billion.

• There are 97 billionaires making their debut in 2010.

• Thirty people have dropped off the list from last year, another 13 died, and 164 returned to the billionaire ranking. — Reuters

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Kuwait inflation eases SPC proposes merging state oil firms KUWAIT: Annual inflation in Kuwait eased to 3.74 percent in July 2009 from 4.2 percent in the previous month, delayed official data showed yesterday. Kuwait’s consumer price index stood at 136 points at the end of July compared with 131.1 a year earlier, Kuwait’s statistics office data showed. The office delayed inflation data releases last year.

The global crisis slashed growth rates across the Gulf Arab oil producing region, reducing consumer price growth from 2008 record peaks, with some countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, experiencing deflation in 2009. Housing prices held steady month-on-month in July, while food prices rose slightly by 0.7 percent. Transport prices fell 0.3 percent in July. A Reuters poll in January showed analysts forecasting Kuwait’s inflation at 4.3 percent for the full year of 2009, down from 10.6 percent in 2008. On the month, consumer prices were flat in July for the second month in row after rising by just 0.22 percent in May from a month earlier.

In another development, Kuwait’s Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC), the country’s highest oil policy body, has proposed merging state oil firms into one entity, a newspaper reported yesterday. At present, Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) is the umbrella firm for a number of units handling different parts of the industry in the OPEC member-the world’s fourth largest oil exporter.

“Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) will study a proposal by the SPC to merge its (KPC’s) ten subsidiaries under one huge company called Kuwait Petroleum Company,” local daily Al-Anbaa said citing oil sources. The new firm will include the four sectors of exploration, refineries, joint services, and transportation and marketing, the paper said. The proposal could take between three and five years to be executed, it said. —Agencies

Bahrain’s Ithmaar Bank plans $400 m capital rise $200 million rights issue sale at 25 cents a share DUBAI: Bahrain-based bank Ithmaar plans to raise $400 million to boost its balance sheet and drive expansion, hoping its shareholders will back it by subscribing for shares above their market price. The bank plans to raise up to $200 million by selling equity to existing shareholders at $0.25, compared with $0.195 where they were trading yesterday. It will also sell a mandatory convertible Islamic bond for the remainder.

Jithesh Gopi, head of research at investment bank SICO, noted that under Bahrain market rules, companies cannot price capital hikes below the par value of their stock, which in Ithmaar’s case is $0.25. “We don’t know the offering details yet, but if you are a retail investor you would rather buy the stock in the market at a lower price,” Gopi said.

Other market participants also said the capital raising looked difficult because of market conditions. “I feel it is a difficult situation to raise capital.

From a market perspective, we see it as a challenge but they (Ithmaar) have a strong shareholder base, so you never know,” said one fund manager from the Gulf Arab region who did not want to be named.

Ithmaar has been trying to recapitalize after posting a $235 million loss for 2009 due to bad loans and lower asset valuations.

It also plans to convert itself into

a retail bank by integrating its fully owned Shamil Bank, a Bahraini retail bank.

“The capital increase is to support Ithmaar’s reorganization and expansion plans after it was affected by the financial crisis,” said Gopi. “Ithmaar reported a significant loss last year and so the proposed merger with Shamil Bank will hopefully make the group stronger.” Debt capital markets in the Gulf Arab region have remained mostly shut to the private sector over the past months, as confidence has been hit by corporate defaults and the debt crisis in Dubai, the region’s business and tourism hub.

In February, Saudi home builder Dar Al-Arkan, raised a lower-than-expected $450 million from a sukuk sale that was priced at 10.75 percent, the first issue from the region since Dubai’s debt problems jolted markets. “We decided the size of the offering after carefully considering various factors, including the bank’s reorganisation plans and our long-term strategy,” said Ithmaar Chief Executive Mohamed Hussain in a statement. The bank was not immediately available for further comment.

Ithmaar has appointed Shamil as the receiving bank and KPMG as the issue registrar, it said. The share issue is due to take place between March 16 and March 25. — Reuters

CALIFORNIA: Chevron gas prices are seen on a sign in Los Angeles, Calif. Oil prices edged up to near $82 a barrel Wednesday, March 10, as surging trade figures in China and a weaker dollar helped offset an inventory report providing mixed evidence about US crude demand. — AP

Oil near $82 as traders eye weak US demand NEW YORK: Oil prices hovered around $82 a barrel yesterday in Europe as traders weighed stagnant US crude demand against a gradual global economic recovery. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for April delivery was up 20 cents to $82.29 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 60 cents to settle at $82.09 on Wednesday.

Crude prices have hovered in the low $80s this week - after jumping from $69 early last month - on investor optimism that sluggish US oil demand will eventually reflect a growing global economy. Crude prices briefly reached an

eight-week high of $83.03 on Wednesday after OPEC predicted world oil demand would grow by 900,000 barrels per day this year but it warned its forecast depended on a sustained global economic rebound, particularly in the US. Markets are “still hesitant and for now we are still more or less at the same flat price levels as at the end of last week,” said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland. Investors also have an eye on events next week, when OPEC ministers are due to meet to discuss output. Some analysts are concerned economic growth in developed countries may slow in the second half as massive government stimulus spending peters out, making

commodity demand even more dependent on growth in emerging markets such as China and India.

“We have actually become more worried about the outlook for the global economy,” London-based Capital Economics said in a report. “The boost from policy stimulus will soon fade. The recovery looks fragile in the UK and may already have stalled in the euro-zone.” In other Nymex trading in April contracts, heating oil was up 0.15 cents to $2.1177 a gallon, and gasoline dropped 0.15 cents to $2.284 a gallon. Natural gas declined 2.6 cents to $4.533 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude was down 15 cents at $80.29 on the ICE futures exchange. — AP

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Friday, March 12, 2010

UK retailers see tougher times ahead John Lewis profit up 10 percent, pays 15% bonus to staff LONDON: Britain’s top retailers expect trading to get tougher this year as taxes rise and public spending falls to bring down government debt, but are optimistic of coping after cutting costs and focusing on cheaper products. John Lewis, the employee-owned retailer that runs department stores and upmarket grocer Waitrose, underscored its confidence by paying out a bonus worth 15 percent of salary to its 70,000 staff, or “partners”.

Wm Morrison, Britain’s fourthbiggest grocer, hiked its dividend to shareholders by 41 percent and unveiled plans to step up its expansion over the next three years.

Despite the deepest recession in over 60 years, consumer spending has held up better than store groups expected, thanks to big interest rate cuts and government stimulus measures.

The British Retail Consortium said on Tuesday the value of sales

last month was 2.2 percent higher than a year ago on a like-for-like basis. But retailers fear trading could get tougher after a national election which must be held by June, as the incoming government takes steps to reduce a huge deficit. “The likely withdrawal of monetary stimulus, higher taxes, the possibility of increased interest rates and the implications of public spending cuts make for an uncertain outlook which is likely to impact on consumer confidence,” John Lewis said.

“We anticipate more challenging trading conditions in 2010, particularly in the second half of the year.” John Lewis was confident of coping, however, having adapted its offering to the times with a new “value” range at its department stores and similar “essentials” products at Waitrose. Profit before partnership bonus and tax rose 10 percent to 306.6 million pounds ($457.4 million) in the year ended Jan. 30 on a 6.5 percent rise in sales

to 7.4 billion. The 15 percent staff bonus is worth 151.3 million pounds and up from 13 percent last year.

MORE OF THE SAME FROM MORRISON Morrison, whose new chief executive Dalton Philips starts this month, posted a 21 percent rise in profit before tax and one-off items to 767 million pounds for the year to Jan. 31, driven by its focus on low prices and fresh foods. That beat analysts’ average forecast of 757 million in a poll by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Estimates.

Morrison, which runs over 420 stores, also lifted its dividend by 41 percent to 8.2 pence a share, and showed its confidence in the future by unveiling plans to open around 1.5 million square feet of selling space over the next three years. That is up from the approximate 1 million square feet it opened over the past three years and would include about 60 large format stores, Finance

Director Richard Pennycook said.

Some analysts, though, were disappointed that the group did not announce a new plan to replace a three-year drive to improve distribution and operating systems which ended in January and has been a key force in recent profit growth.

They also want to hear whether the new CEO will follow rivals into markets like household goods, services and online. “Good, but just more of the same,” was the verdict of Collins Stewart’s Greg Lawless, and Morrison shares were down 1.8 percent at 298.8 pence by 1050 GMT. NO CLARITY Home Retail, Britain’s biggest household goods retailer, added to the good news by raising its profit forecast for the year ended Feb. 27 to 290 million pounds from 285 million.

That was despite a bigger-thanexpected 9.4 percent drop in like-forlike sales at its catalogue-based Argos stores for the last eight weeks

of the period, as severe winter weather kept shoppers away from its often own-of-town centre stores.

The upgrade was helped by a betterthan-forecast performance from the group’s Homebase do-it-yourself chain, where like-for-like sales fell just 0.6 percent over the eight weeks.

Home Retail said it was planning cautiously, given an uncertain economic outlook, and Shore Capital analyst Kate Calvert said this lack of clarity could haunt retail shares. “We believe the key to investor sentiment on Home Retail, like for the sector, is understanding the underlying sales trend, and this update provides no clarity,” she said, noting that analysts’ 2010-11 profit forecasts for the group ranged from 250 million to 350 million pounds.

Home Retail shares, which have fallen 12 percent over the past three months and underperformed rivals, were up 1.7 percent at 272.4 pence by 1050 GMT. — Reuters

European Monetary Fund debate: The main points BRUSSELS: Intensive debate on proposals mainly from Germany to create an emergency fund to rescue eurozone economies has posed more questions than answers so far. Here are the main points agitating political and market players: WHY HAS THE DEBATE COME UP? The leading economies among the 16 countries forming the eurozone, with Germany to the fore, do not want the Washingtonbased International Monetary Fund poking its nose into their affairs, which would be perceived as failure for the decade-old European monetary union. But the Greek debt crisis, and threats from Athens to ask the IMF for help if Europe does not help it ward off pressure on bond markets, has forced new ideas out into the open.

IS A EUROPEAN VERSION OF THE IMF NEW? No — similar, regional insurance funds are being set up elsewhere, notably among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus China, Japan and South Korea. ASEAN groups Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

This fund would hold 120 billion dollars (90 billion euros) in the event of major liquidity issues for subscribers. Latin American countries also want to create a regional alternative to the IMF through their Bancosur lender, launched in 2007. An African fund is likewise under consideration.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A MONETARY FUND (EMF)?

Not to help Greece, because even the scaffolding for proposed

EMF models could take months, if not years, to erect. Paris, as a result, believes that the idea is not an immediate priority. Other splits are also emerging: while some are placing the emphasis on the EMF as a lender of last resort, the Germans especially see it as a mechanism to strengthen budgetary discipline within the European Union, with strict penalties for lax countries built in.

WHAT IS THE LEGAL BASIS FOR AN EMF? German Chancellor Angela Merkel says EU treaties, which currently forbid eurozone countries from coming to the financial rescue of another, must be changed. That could prove laborious in the extreme, going by the years of referendums and special exemptions required to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, which took effect only in December.

France has little appetite for new treaty negotiations. Other expert voices, though, suggest it would be possible to create a fund using existing treaty scope for strengthened cooperation between countries. However, the European Commission could be expected to see this as unwelcome as the entity would fall outside its control.

HOW IS IT TO BE FINANCED? The debate has only just begun. Would an EMF be restricted solely to the eurozone, or would it encompass all 27 EU countries?

Two economists, Daniel Gros and Thomas Mayer, have suggested that this fund operate as an insurance scheme based on eurozone country premiums. The less disciplined a country is in budgetary matters, the more it would pay in. —AFP

ATHENS: Protesters run to avoid tear gas during clashes in central Athens yesterday. — AP

Greek workers strike as anger at austerity grows ATHENS: Greek public and private sector workers went on strike yesterday, grounding flights, shutting schools and halting public transport in the second nationwide walkout in two weeks in protest against austerity plans. Athens’ streets echoed with loud-speakers blaring slogans calling for the rich to pay for a severe debt crisis, as thousands marched against cuts in civil servants’ income, tax hikes, a pension freeze and increase in the retirement age.

“No sacrifice for the rich!” protesters chanted, beating drums and holding banners reading: “Where did the money go?” Under pressure

from European Union partners and markets to do more to stem a crisis that has shaken the euro, the government last week unveiled a 4.8 billion euro ($6.51 billion) austerity package to slash spending and raise taxes.

But the 24-hour strike was unlikely to derail the plan. Although most ordinary Greeks agree measures were necessary, the package is largely viewed as hitting the wrong people in a country with widespread corruption and tax evasion. “The measures are unfair ... we cannot make it, we have children, families. We need to find the money to support them,” said 60-year

old health sector worker Odysseas Panagopoulos. “Banks and rich people should pay for this crisis.”

Last week’s austerity package, aimed at reassuring markets that Athens can handle a 300 billion euro debt mountain, came just 5 months after the socialists won an election on a promise to help the poor face Greece’s first recession in 16 years.

The level of participation in the strike and protests will be watched closely outside Greece. EU policymakers, rating agencies and financial markets welcomed the latest measures but want to see them implemented quickly and smoothly. —Reuters

Friday, March 12, 2010

Dollar steadies after China data LONDON: The safe-haven dollar steadied against rival currencies yesterday after Chinese economic data raised fears of soaring inflation, dealers said. In late morning deals here, the European single currency stood at 1.3657 dollars, unchanged from its level late in New York on Wednesday. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar edged up to 90.52 yen from 90.49 yen on Wednesday.

“Fears about the withdrawal of stimulus measures in China were reinforced today after Chinese inflation hit a 16-month high, industrial production rose and new bank loans came in ahead of forecasts,” said analyst Michael Hewson at financial betting firm CMC Markets. “The inflation figures more than anything else are a concern, with predictions of a rise through three percent, the government’s target rate, by next month. These fears about a rise in Chinese rates could well underpin the dollar and pare back risk appetite in the short term.”

Chinese consumer prices rose for the fourth month running in February while new lending slowed sharply, official data showed yesterday, as the government campaigns to tame inflation in the booming economy. Analysts said the jump would not trigger a kneejerk response from policymakers in the world’s third-largest economy but the figures raised the prospect of more drastic tightening measures later in the year. The consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, rose 2.7 percent year on year in February, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

Officials insisted the increase was manageable and in line with the three percent target for 2010 put forward by Premier Wen Jiabao last week in his opening speech to China’s annual parliamentary session. “We believe this year’s price rises will be mild and controllable,” NBS spokesman Sheng Laiyun told a news conference. “Judging from the current situation, investment, consumption and foreign trade are better coordinated, so we don’t see any signs of economic overheating.”

In the past week, senior Chinese officials have been at pains to ease fears about inflation, with the chairman of the banking regulatory commission saying it was unlikely price increases would be “more than moderate”. In London yesterday, the euro was changing hands at 1.3657 dollars against 1.3657 dollars on Wednesday, at 123.62 yen (123.60), 0.9102 pounds (0.9117) and 1.4611 Swiss francs (1.4611). The dollar stood at 90.52 yen (90.49) and 1.0700 Swiss francs (1.0696). The pound was at 1.5002 dollars (1.4976). On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold fell to 1,108.70 dollars an ounce from 1,124.50 dollars an ounce on Wednesday. — AFP

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FTSE off 0.4 percent; China tightening fears hit miners Banks, oils fade following recent gains; OPEC meeting eyed LONDON: Britain’s leading share index fell 0.4 percent by midday yesterday as heavy falls in miners, weighed by fears of monetary tightening in China, outpaced gains in general retailers and some defensives. At 1203 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 23.20 points at 5,617.37, having closed 0.7 percent higher on Wednesday, a 20-month peak. Chinese consumer inflation rose more than expected in the year to February, while factory output and retail sales data for the first two months showed the economy started 2010 with a strong head of steam. “The fear with Chinese growth is that they may have kept the oven cooking for a little too long and it may be time soon to switch it off with future rate hikes before inflation burns out of control,” said Nick Serff, market analyst at City Index.

“The limited news this week is giving this fear greater impetus.” Miners were the heaviest fallers, dragged down as raw material prices retreated on fears that monetary tightening in China could hit future demand. Fresnillo, Xstrata, Lonmin, Randgold Resources and Rio

Tinto were among the worst performers, down 1.6 to 2.4 percent. But Antofagasta bucked the trend, up 1.2 percent, helped by upgrades from Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank.

Energy issues pared some recent gains as oil stagnated around $82 a barrel ahead of OPEC’s March 17 meeting with expectations that OPEC countries will pump above quotas in the second quarter, and with the Chinese economic data weighing. Oil majors BG Group, Royal Dutch Shell, and BP shed 0.1 to 0.5 percent. Oil explorer Tullow Oil fell 1.3 percent, extending the previous session’s losses, which came on the back of its 2009 results. Banks were also the subject of some profit taking. HSBC, Standard Chartered and Barclays fell 1 to 1.5 percent.

DRUGMAKERS FALL Drugmakers continued their recent seesaw ride. GlaxoSmithKline, Shire and AstraZeneca dipped 0.2 to 0.5 percent, having been gainers on Wednesday. Smith & Nephew shed 2.4 percent as the loss of a wound care products

patent case in the US dented sentiment in the British medical devices group. Wm Morrison Supermarkets fell 1.8 percent and life insurer Old Mutual fell 2.9 percent after reporting their respective results. On the upside, Home Retail, Britain’s biggest household goods retailer, rose 2 percent as it nudged up its year profit guidance for the second time in three months.

Other general retailers rallied too, with Next, Marks & Spencer, and Kingfisher up 1.7 to 2.8 percent.

Travel firm Thomas Cook gained 2 percent as brokers returned in a positive mood following an Investor Day. Oil services firm Petrofac climbed 3 percent, topping the risers list and extending recent gains, after positive broker comment followed upbeat results on Monday. Investor interest was also on some defensive issues, which are perceived to be safer bets when the market falls. British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco rose 0.4 and 0.8 percent respectively, while mobile communications giant Vodafone added 0.6 percent. — Reuters

GENEVA: BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer presents the new BMW 5 sedan at the Geneva Motor Show in this file photo. — AP

BMW 2009 profit falls 36 pct to $286 million FRANKFURT: German carmaker BMW AG said yesterday its 2009 net income fell 36 percent to $286 million because of lower demand for its cars and motorcycles during the economic downturn as well as a higher tax rate. BMW, the world’s biggest luxury car maker, said it earned 330 million euro in net income in 2008. Revenue last year was down nearly 5 percent to 51 billion from 53 billion euro in 2008.

The automaker, based in Munich, also builds motorcycles and the Mini and Rolls Royce car brands. It did not release fourth quarter figures

but is scheduled to report full results March 17.

Production for the year decreased nearly 13 percent to 1.26 million cars from 1.44 million in 2008, the company said. The BMW brand saw a 13 percent decline, Mini a 9 percent decline and Rolls Royce a 35 percent decline. The motorcycle division reported a 21 percent drop in production to nearly 83,000 bikes. Despite the setbacks caused by the economic downturn, BMW said it was cautiously optimistic for the current year. It said it expected to grow profitably due to new models and a gradual global

economic recovery, but didn’t give a specific forecast for earnings.

“Our new models will provide us with a tailwind over the course of the year,” Norbert Reithofer, the company’s chief executive, said in the report. “We fully intend to remain the world’s leading provider of premium cars in 2010 and plan to increase sales within the single digit percentage range to over 1.3 million vehicles” he said. Shares of BMW were about three quarters of a percent higher at §32.50 in Frankfurt afternoon trading.— AP

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S Korea central bank keeps interest rate at record low Institution prepares for a leadership change SEOUL: South Korea’s central bank left its key interest rate at a record low yesterday amid international sovereign debt concerns and as the institution prepares for a leadership change. The Bank of Korea said it kept the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate at 2 percent. The decision came at the last monetary policy meeting chaired by outgoing Gov Lee Seong-tae. The bank’s monetary policy committee painted a largely positive picture of South Korea’s economy, saying in a statement it continues to recover amid rising exports and a steady increase in domestic demand.

“There still, however, remains uncertainty as to the economic growth path due to the problems of excessive government debt in some countries,” the committee said, apparently referring to Greece and a few other members of the European Union mired in red ink. Greece is battling public debt higher than its total economic output and a budget deficit more than

four times the EU limit. The country’s woes, along with worries about Spain, Portugal and Ireland, have sparked fears of a global sovereign debt crisis and have caused the euro to decline against the dollar.

The bank has also come under consistent political pressure from the government to keep the rate low.

Minister of Strategy and Finance Yoon Jeung-hyun told reporters Monday that it was too early to raise borrowing costs. The BOK’s decision was widely expected. Sixteen economists at 17 financial institutions surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap news agency, predicted that the committee would vote to keep the rate frozen. The bank slashed the benchmark rate six times from October 2008 to battle the global economic downturn.

The bank lowered the rate to its current level in February 2009. Asia’s fourth-largest economy has recorded four straight quarters of growth. But the expansion slowed in the final quarter of last year on

weakness in manufacturing, construction and exports, raising concerns the country’s strong recovery was losing steam. The jobless rate surged to a nine-year high of 5 percent in January. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has yet to announce a new central bank governor to succeed Lee Seong-tae, whose term expires at the end of this month.

Besides low interest rates, South Korea has also benefited from other stimulus measures. From late 2008 through 2009, the government pumped nearly 50 trillion won ($44 billion) into the economy through extra spending and tax cuts, joining authorities around the world in an attempt to revive growth. So far in the Asia-Pacific region only Australia and Malaysia’s central banks have felt confident enough in the economic outlook to increase the cost of borrowing. The Reserve Bank of Australia this month raised its key interest rate for the fourth time since October. — AP

ANKALESHWAR: Workers fit gloves at Marvel Gloves Industries, a company which produces 3 million pairs of gloves a month mostly used in industrial production in India. India’s Finance Ministry in an economic survey released in last month made an assertion that India could soon overtake China’s growth rates and become the fastest growing economy in the world within next four years. — AFP

India aims to be world’s fastest growing economy MUMBAI: Just how fast can India grow? Ask Manal Farooq, who can’t make gloves quickly enough. “We are facing a major problem,” said Farooq, a senior executive at Marvel Gloves Industries, which produces 3 million pairs of gloves a month, most used in industrial production in India. “Despite importing gloves we are not able to meet demand.” The run on gloves began five months ago, said Farooq, whose customers include Ford and Nissan. It’s been driven by a record rebound in manufacturing, spurred in part by government stimulus, which has led India out of the Great Recession faster than many imagined possible.

So abundant is the optimism that India’s Finance Ministry, led by Pranab Mukherjee - not a man given to hyperbole - has made a bold assertion: India could soon overtake China’s growth rates. “It is possible for India to move into double-digit growth and even become the fastest growing economy in the world within next four years,” the Ministry said as part of an economic survey released in February. The catch: bridging the chasm between the possible and the probable.

Given the growing productivity of Indian workers and large working age population, it’s certainly possible for India’s economy to speed up, say economists and businesspeople. But in practice,

overtaking China would require fundamental changes in the way India does business. Creaking or nonexistent infrastructure and cumbersome government bureaucracy are drags on businesses large and small. And few think the bureaucratic and political hindrances that make it hard to execute even the best-laid plans will be removed anytime soon.

Also in doubt is how much faster growth will benefit the mass of Indians who’ve seen little or no gain from the country’s much lauded economic rise since liberalization began in the early 1990s. So far, the economic makeover has worsened income inequality in India, and despite five years of near nine percent growth, over 450 million people struggle by on less than $1.25 a day. A similar problem of widening inequality also blights China, which has grown an average of 9.7 percent a year over the past three decades.

But higher levels of business investment in the past decade have raised profits and wages and in turn produced a large pool of corporate and household savings that was unimaginable in India 10 years ago.

“The productive capacity of the economy has gone up,” said former International Monetary Fund economist Renu Kohli. “My only caveat is that as far as implementation and execution of projects and policies

is, India is a slow mover. It doesn’t move at the speed China does.” Financing isn’t the problem, nor lack of good ideas, she said.

“The constraint lies in procedural issues, land acquisition and the capacity of even private participants to execute those projects without delays,” she said. “For that to change, it’s not entirely clear what a budget or change in policies can bring about.”

India’s top spending priorities in its new budget, released Feb. 26, are social programs and infrastructure. Next fiscal year, the government plans to spend 1.37 trillion rupees ($30 billion) on social programs and 1.7 trillion rupees ($37.9 billion) on infrastructure. The mix reflects the ruling Congress party’s general approach - ramp up economic growth with pro-market policies and then redistribute the spoils through a massive hodgepodge of social spending, subsidies and employment guarantee programs.

Many say that to sustain growth in the long-run, the nation must do a better job of enriching millions of people at bottom of the heap. India’s fortunes are less coupled to global markets than export-dependent China’s, but they are linked to the rural economy.

Putting more money in the hands of the poor and nearpoor has helped bolster domestic demand.—AP

Friday, March 12, 2010

China’s inflation accelerates BEIJING: China’s inflation spiked higher in February, adding to pressure on Beijing to prevent overheating and keep the recovery in the world’s third-largest economy on track.

Consumer prices rose 2.7 percent in February over a year earlier, up from January’s 1.5 percent increase, the National Bureau of Statistics reported yesterday. Driven by a 6 percent jump in food costs, it exceeded most analysts’ forecasts and came close to the government’s target of 3 percent inflation for 2010.

A spike in inflation over the past four months is forcing Beijing to divide its focus between boosting growth and preventing overheating. Communist leaders have imposed curbs on bank lending but avoided raising interest rates, which could slow growth and affect China’s trading partners by denting demand for imports.

“There are lots of signs that price pressure is building in the Chinese economy sooner than expected, and that’s going to be a concern for the government,” said Tom Orlik, an analyst in Beijing for Stone & McCarthy Research Associates. Orlik and others said the inflation data were unlikely to provoke an immediate hike in interest rates. But many expect Beijing to raise rates as early as the next two months as it eases back on its stimulus. This year’s official growth target is 8 percent, down from the 10.7 percent rate in the final quarter of 2009.

Some doubt China’s efforts to prevent overheating will have any impact on Beijing’s trading partners because its target level for growth should continue to drive demand for imports. “All these measures about lending controls and rate hikes are to engineer a soft landing,” said UBS economist Tao Wang. “If people are expecting 9 to 10 percent GDP growth from China, then a rate hike or two won’t change that prospect at all.” China’s imports in February surged 44.7 percent from a year earlier as domestic demand picked up, the government reported Wednesday.

The central bank reported yesterday that Chinese bank lending in February fell to 700 billion yuan ($102 billion), down by half from January’s level after credit controls were tightened in mid-January. In an illustration of the galloping economy’s effect on prices, the American Chamber of Commerce in Southern China said yesterday its member companies face higher labor costs as they compete with stimulus-financed construction projects for scarce workers.

“Many of our companies are facing severe difficulty with employees not returning” after last month’s Lunar New Year holiday, said chamber president Harley Seyedin. “People are also demanding higher wages.” Still, the chamber said its members plan to boost investment in southern China by 40 percent this year to $9.4 billion. “Our companies believe the recovery is well on its way,” Seyedin said.

Chinese leaders worry the flood of stimulus money and bank lending is fueling a dangerous bubble in prices of stocks and real estate.

Inflation is politically sensitive in China because it can erode economic gains on which the Communist Party bases its claim to power.

The statistics bureau blamed the latest price jump on bad winter weather that hurt food production and said pressure should ease once spring harvests come in. “So far there is no overheating in the economy,” said a bureau spokesman, Sheng Laiyun, at a news conference. “Although February CPI rose faster than before, it is still mild to moderate.”

Still, the data showed February’s wholesale inflation accelerating to 5.4 percent, up from January’s 4.3 percent, which could lead to more retail price hikes. Housing price inflation also accelerated in February, with costs in 70 Chinese cities rising by 10.7 percent over a year earlier, up from January’s 9.5 percent rate, the government reported earlier. “Inflation is expected to trend higher in the next several months before peaking around midyear,” said Jing Ulrich, JP Morgan’s chairwoman for China equities, in a report. — AP

BUSINESS

Friday, March 12, 2010

Page 21

Indian IT firms seek global platform TCS, Infosys, Wipro play catch-up to compete with international giants here is a new buzzword in the Indian information technology (IT) industry platform that reflects the desire of large companies here to compete with multinational IT firms such as International Business Machines Corp, (IBM) and Hewlett-Packard Co (HP).

T

Large Indian IT services firms are looking to offer business solutions that integrate hardware and software to create technology platforms capable of running entire business processes.

India’s largest IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) has 14 clients on

India’s leading IT firm Infosys Technologies has created four technology platforms capable of running entire business processes.

Large Indian IT services firms are looking to offer business solutions that integrate hardware and software to create technology platforms capable of running entire business processes.

Led by chief executive S Ramadorai, TCS was a pioneer of the outsourcing of software services to India, an industry that is now worth more than $30 billion.

such technology platforms while the second largest, Infosys Technologies Ltd, has four “and a good pipeline”.

HCL Technologies Ltd declined to share the exact number of clients on such platforms, but claimed to be a first mover in the space. A Wipro Ltd spokesperson did not respond to Mint’s queries.

Analysts say given that multinational firms such as IBM and HP have been offering such integrated technology solutions for some time, Indian IT firms are playing catch-up.

The Indian firms, however, see the issue differently.

Anubhav Kumar, vicepresident, global marketing, infrastructure services, HCL, claims that customer feedback reveal that services offered by larger multinational peers lacked flexibility that customers sought.

“We go beyond just offering the customer a black-box and sending them an invoice every month,” Kumar said. In contrast, he added, “we gave them multiple tools to monitor and evaluate the performance of the entire platform on a continuous basis”.

IBM declined to comment to Mint’s queries.

Irrespective of its success, the move to platforms indicates a clear shift in the strategy of Indian IT firms that have traditionally remained hesitant to own assets on behalf of customers-which is essentially what the model involves.

Chandrashekar Kakal, global head of enterprise solutions division at Infosys, said his company completely owns the platform and will provide services to customers much like a utility does.

The software that forms the core of the platform could be developed by the IT services firm; or it could be business software from companies such as Oracle Corp. or SAP AG customized for industries, even customers.

“For horizontal services (such as accounting, payroll or human resources) TCS believes that there are wellestablished ERP products, which can provide the coretechnology,” a TCS spokesperson said in an email.

“The way it is structured, we may not build everything from scratch, we have taken the best of the packages available in the market and built a solution around it,” said Infosys’ Kakal.

As the IT services firm customizes the platform, it adds its own applications to itbuilding intellectual property (IP).

IP is the key to building a platform, said Surjeet Singh, chief financial officer of Patni Computers Ltd. “We (Indian IT industry) focused on (cost)

arbitrage, we focused on solutions and we are now focusing on intellectual property. Without intellectual property, we can’t have true platform,” Singh added.

There is demand for such service offerings, but they aren’t exactly new, said an expert. The move to platforms “is being driven from a risk perspective by the end customer who wants one person to handle the entire IT investment and wants to ensure that things do not fall into cracks between the IT hardware provider, the software license provider and the SI (system integrator or company that puts it all together)”, said Rajarshi Sengupta, executive director and head of technology

integration practice at advisory Deloitte and Touche Consulting India Pvt. Ltd. The IT firms themselves see other benefits in the shift.

Infosys’ Kakal said profitability of platform-based efforts would increase once more clients came on board with the service provider being able to serve many of them from the same platform.

“This model, so far used by larger multinational players, gives the service provider leverage when it comes to buying software licenses or data centre space in bulk,” said Abhijeet Ranade, associate director, technology advisory services, at consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd. Customers themselves are still not entirely

comfortable about delegating control of key functions to service providers and, according to Eric Simonson of the US outsourcing advisory, Everest Group, there is a fair degree of apprehensiveness over handing the entire business processes to a single service provider.

Still, a compelling reason for companies to adopt such a model is that it allows them to move from an upfront capital expenditure (capex) model to an ongoing, operational expenditure (opex) model, or what service providers call a “pay-as-you-go” model.

“The capex to opex proposition is a very strong incentive for customers, especially SMEs,” Ranade said. —MCT

CAREERS

Page 22

Friday, March 12, 2010

How to find your dream job B

efore we begin let’s just agree on one thing. There are no quick answers to how to find your dream career.

Finding your dream career is a process. How lengthy this process is depends on how sincere you are with yourself. It also depends on how much you are willing to sacrifice in pursuit of your dream career.

Is your work just leaving you worked up?

1 The toughest part: Know what you want The toughest part about finding your dream career isn’t about finding the dream career. It is about finding yourself. Do you know what you want? This is the first question you need to ask yourself. It is a seemingly easy question many answer by mentioning what they don’t want instead of what they want. But that is not the answer that will ensure you to find your dream job.

Knowing what you don’t want does not mean you easily arrive at what you want. Unfortunately, the process of elimination does not work in finding your dream career. You can go through a thousand “don’t wants” and still not hit it.

How to find your dream career? Start by knowing what you want!

2 Know your values If you feel a little lost with finding what you want, start by knowing your values. Ask yourself, what do you really value? Time?

We all want more time for ourselves and family. So, if you value time then you know the dream career you are looking for must offer more time. Is that all? List a set of values you treasure. Then things will begin to fall in place. You have defined what it is that will fit in these criteria.

3 Know how much you are willing to sacrifice Do you have the knowledge and skill set that fit the needs of your dream career? If you do not, how much are you willing to sacrifice in order to add those skill set in your repertoire? How to find your dream career is easy. How much you are willing to sacrifice in order to achieve it is tough to answer.

4 Do it for the right reasons The trigger to how to find your dream career should never be money. It should not be because you are currently unhappy with your salary and hence you want a dream career that

pays you an enormous amount of money. Money should never be the motivation. Make passion a motivation but never money.

5 The easiest part If you know what you want, what you value and you do it for the right reasons - then this is the easy part. Here are your “3 Steps Guide to How To Find Your Dream Career”

so to speak. Do your research. Find out about the industry. Do you have friends in the industry?

Find out what are the expectations, the knowledge and skills needed. The Internet is also the perfect place to start. You can read books focused on your dream career or check out sites offering career advice on certain industries. For example, the site - Job

Application and Interview Advice is a compelling site written to help people snag a job every day. It covers all aspects of how to snag a job including job applications forms, resumes, cover letters and interview questions and answers.

6 Network with people in the industry Get to know people in the industry so you get a feel of what it is like

upfront. This also sets you up for potential short-term work when the opportunity arises for some hands on experience before you make that leap. I have personally allowed friends based on recommendations to visit us after office hours. This allows them to see what it is like in our industry and to speak in depth with staff from various departments in order to understand our line.

7 Create a plan to pursue your dream career Now that you know how to find your dream career, create a plan to achieve it.

How do you plan to add new skill sets? How do you plan to apply for the job? When would be able to get practical training, if that’s a requirement? Develop a plan and act upon it! www.career-success-fornewbies.com

Turn a seasonal job into a career t can take some juggling but for those who want variety, flexibility, fun, and even adventure in their life, a mix of seasonal jobs can be an ideal way to build a work (and life) experience that matches their interests.

I

How to explore seasonal job options Don’t quit your day job - at least not yet. You’re going to need to

consider how you can make enough money to pay the bills and how you are going to get health insurance coverage, if you need it. Most importantly, you’re going to need to decide what it is you want to do.

Don’t limit your options Just because you’ve been an accountant, for example, your whole life, doesn’t mean that you need to stay one.

Be creative Dream a little - or dream a lot.

First of all, think about your dream job. Is it feasible? Is it a remote possibility? Could it work?

If the answer to any of those questions is yes, you have a starting point. Consider how much income your dream job will generate, what the schedule will be like, then work your other job options around it.

Try before you buy Or at least try before you commit.

Temporary agency positions are available in just about every career field and location. In many cases, you can apply online to the temp agency of your choice. Many seasonal jobs are flexible, as well. You may be able to take a job on a short-term basis, then extend the time frame, if it’s working out for you and for the employer.

TECHNOLOGY

Friday, March 12, 2010

Page 23

Siemens Xelibri X8

Nokia 3650

Samsung’s P318+

Samsung P520

Lucky Dragon Phone

Clamshell Samsung SGH-L310

Motorola’s Motojewel

Nokia 7500 Prism

Techno faux pas: Worst fashion phones F

ashion phones stand for great looks, style and high chic quotient. Sadly, not all! There are a flurry of fashion phones, some from best brands and designers, who have been trashed on these very things.

T3 recently released a list of what it terms ‘Worst Fashion Phones’. So, here’s over to the worst in fashion phones.

1: Sporting a pear-like design with rounded corners, Siemens Xelibri X8 tops the list of worst phones. Measuring 9.1 x 5.6 x 2.3 cm, the phone weighs 67 grams. The phone features a 12-bit color screen.

As for features, the phone packs voice dialing, voice memo, integrated FM stereo radio, four system-wide themes and a slew of polyphonic ringtones for personalization.

According to reviews, the phone’s 5-way directional pad that replaces keypad makes it difficult to operate the phone.

2: At No 2 on the list of worst phones is Nokia 3650. Measuring 130 x 57 x 26 mm, the phone features built-in camera, video recorder and voice-activated dialing.

However, the phone doesn’t offer radio support. For connectivity, the phone packs Bluetooth but doesn’t support EDGE and 3G connectivity.

According to reviews, there is no side buttons to adjust volume. The phone’s circular keypad is also said

Motorola’s RAZR V3i to be a big turnoff.

3: Launched during Beijing Olympic 2008, Korean giant Samsung’s P318+ is at No 3 on the list of worst fashion phones.

Sporting a 1.9-inch display, the phone packs a 2 megapixel camera, integrated media player supporting MP3, AAC, AAC+, 80MB internal memory and a microSD card slot.

The phone comes in an 18 carat gold casing.

4: Fashion mogul Giorgio Armani’s phone too figures among the worst fashion phones at No 4. Measuring 3.44 x 2.14 x 0.41 inches, Giorgio Armani Phone — also called Samsung P520 — sports a touch sensitive 2.6inch display with QVGA resolution.

Surrounded by dark-colored area covered with one-piece glass, the phone is equipped with a 3.15 megapixel digital camera featuring a LED flash and a 4x digital zoom.

According to reviews, the phone doesn’t pack impressive specs sheet.

The phone’s touch screen too cannot compete with the likes of iPhone and LG Viewty.

5: Lucky Dragon Phone designed

by Feng Shui writer Lillian Too is among the top 10 Worst fashion phones at No 5. The phone sports a jewel encrusted Dragon at the back.

The dragon encrusted with 288 zirconia gems with big red gems for eyes and a pearl near the mouth. The phone comes with the number 8 trinket which signifies wealth in Chinese. It’s only available in red because the “fire element ensures financial success.” The phone also includes 12 Chinese Zodiac wallpapers, 6MB of built-in user memory expandable via a microSD card slot, 2 megapixel camera and 176 x 220 resolution screen.

6: Clamshell Samsung SGH-L310 designed especially for fashion conscious audience figures at No 6 on the list of worst phones. Featuring a 1.9-inches display, the phone offers Bluetooth connectivity, 2 megapixel camera and MP3/AAC playback. The handset comes with black and gold color in cosmetic product-like design.

7: Motorola’s Motojewel, a lightweight handset with borderless, touch-sensitive external display is at No 7 on the list of Worst phones. The phone has a 3D crystal-cut and mirror finish with a jewel-like design

Motorola KRZR K1 and a purple keypad. Motojewel is equipped with a 2 megapixel camera having features that include multishot feature, video capture and playback and a light and landscape viewfinder. Other features include Motorola’s CrystalTalk technology, Bluetooth with A2DP and Push Email capability. The phone also has touch-sensitive media keys for controlling the music player. The music player is capable of synching with Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 for updating the music library on the device. According to reviews, phone scores low on battery though it promises three-and-a-half days battery life. Also, the phone comes with mere 20MB of onboard memory but can be added up to 4GB via microSD card.

8. Another worst phone from Nokia’s camp is candybar 7500 Prism at No 8. Measuring 109 x 43.9 x 14.4

mm, Nokia 7500 Prism features 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, voice recording, 30MB of internal memory expandable up to 2GB. According to a CNET review, Nokia 7500 Prism has a clunky navigation controls and keypad buttons. Also, the phone’s battery life is weak and call quality uneven with low volume.

9: Motorola’s designer edition Dolce & Gabbana’s (D&G) RAZR V3i ranks at No 8 on the worst fashion phones list. The gold version of the V3i comes with a slew of D&G wallpapers, screensavers, sounds to a special video clip. The quadband GSM gold V3i features Bluetooth, 1.3 megapixel camera with video capture, and a microSD memory slot.

According to CNET review, Motorola Razr V3i D&G lacks iTunes support, and call quality and music player performance could be improved. Also, the phone lacks EDGE compatibility.

10. At No 10 on the list is Motorola KRZR K1. Measuring 103 x 42 x 16 mm, the phone features 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth with A2DP, USB port and 20MB of internal memory. However, the phone lacks 3G support and external music controls. The phone is also criticized for its poor camera quality.

According to reviews, the phone’s top half catches fingerprints quite easy. Also, the main display has low resolution. www.infotech.indiatimes.com

Page 24

BEAUTY

Friday, March 12, 2010

Home remedies for dry hair

O

ily hair is a drag, but dry hair is no picnic, either. Dry hair is dull hair, and it looks the same after you wash it as it did before.

Everyone has bad hair days, but with dry hair you may have those days more often than not.

Along with dry hair, you may also have a dandruff problem. Although it’s more often a condition associated with oily hair, people with dry hair get dandruff, too. Common dandruff is simply a layer of skin shedding from your scalp. When the skin cells get trapped on your scalp by your hair and clump together, you have dandruff. And dandruff can make your hair look dull.

Dry hair can result from external factors, such as exposure to harsh chemicals, or from internal causes, such as an illness.

These are the primary external factors for those lackluster locks: • • • • • • • •

Harsh shampoo Shampooing too often Hair dye Hair perms Chlorine in swimming pools and hot tubs Overuse of the blow dryer or curling iron Too much exposure to sun and wind High mineral content in local water supplies External factors are easy to remedy. You just need to be careful about how you treat your hair, cutting back on activities that cause it to become dry. Switch products.

Wear a cap when swimming. Cover your head when you’re outside in the sun for prolonged periods. And use the kitchen cures in this profile.

Internal factors, though, don’t have quite such a quick fix. Internal factors that cause dry hair include: • Cancer treatment • Certain medications • Nutritional deficiency • Prolonged illness Before you start to panic, go to the next page and read all the simple home remedies

for dry hair. Chances are you’ll find something that will put the luster back in your locks.

1: Be Careful With Shampoo Shampooing too often is one of the most common causes of dry hair. Many people believe that squeaky-clean hair is healthy hair, so they wash it one or more times

3: Pour on the Conditioner Strawlike hair needs conditioning. Look for products that contain little or no alcohol, which will dry out hair even more. Reading labels will help, but it might be simpler just

4: Use Hot Oil Hair-care professionals often recommend hot-oil treatments to repair dry, damaged hair. Over-the-counter hot-oil products are available that you heat and place on the hair for 5 to 20 minutes (according to package instructions). Wear a plastic bag or shower cap over your hair while the hot oil is on, then wash the hair thoroughly with a gentle shampoo.

5: Brush Less Despite what you may have heard, too much brushing can actually fracture the hair, causing it to fall out.

Fragile, dry hair is even more vulnerable to excessive brushing. Always brush hair gently and never when it is wet (use a comb, carefully, when hair is wet).

The type of hairbrush you use is important, too. Boar-bristle brushes or “vent” brushes are good choices, since their rubberized tips don’t pull the hair excessively.

every day. But shampoos often contain harsh cleaning agents that can strip away your hair’s natural oils, which help hold in moisture. On the other hand, a gentle shampoo will stimulate the oil glands, so you probably shouldn’t go longer than three days without a good lather.

The ideal shampoos for dry hair have a pH of between 4.5 and 6.7, but here’s a good rule of thumb: Don’t use any hair cleanser that you wouldn’t put on your face. Some people recommend baby shampoos, but their pH is usually far too high; such alkaline shampoos dry out the hair. Acidic shampoos are better for your hair.

2: Be Kind to Your Hair Dry hair is the most fragile type of hair and is subject to breakage, so it must be handled with care. When lathering, be gentle. Avoid any pulling or yanking on your hair in any way, which strains the hair shafts.

Don’t scrub with your fingernails, which can not only break the hair but irritate your scalp. Work up a lather using your fingertips, instead. Gently rubbing your scalp with your fingertips will also stimulate the oil glands.

shower cap) and rinse off in the morning.

6: Hold the Heat Using hot combs, hot rollers, and blowdryers is asking for dry hair. Hot rollers are the worst because they stretch the hair while the heat shrinks it. Hot combs also tend to stretch the hair while exposing it to heat. If you must use artificial heat, keep your blow-dryer on a low setting and avoid pulling or stretching the hair while drying.

to take a whiff before you buy: Conditioners with little or no fragrance tend to be low in alcohol or contain none at all. If your hair is really dry, consider using an overnight conditioner, which you apply before going to bed (you sleep wearing a

7: Pace Your Hair Treatments If you perm on Tuesday, dye your hair on Thursday, and put it in hot rollers on Saturday, your hair is destined to be dry and damaged. You don’t have to abandon styling practices such as dyes, permanent waves, or hair straightening if you have dry hair. Just keep in mind that it’s important to space those treatments out as much as possible.

8: Try Vinegar There are several ways you can help your dry hair with vinegar. Vinegar is a

Friday, March 12, 2010

BEAUTY

Page 25

great conditioner and can improve cleanliness and shine. Just add 1 tablespoon vinegar to your hair as you rinse it. Keep a travel-size plastic bottle of vinegar in your shower for this purpose, and take one when you travel, too. Since dandruff can make your hair look dull, use vinegar to make dandruff disappear.

Massage full-strength vinegar into your scalp several times a week before you shampoo. Or, a brief soak in vinegar and water before you shampoo can help control dandruff as well as remove the dulling buildup from sprays, shampoos, and conditioners.

Add 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar to a small basin of water and drape your hair into it. As an alternative, you can put the concoction in a spray bottle and apply it to your hair. A conditioner that controls dandruff and gives your hair a healthy shine can be made by mixing 2 cups water and 1/2 cup vinegar. Apply the conditioner after rinsing out your shampoo, and let it stay on your hair for a few minutes before rinsing thoroughly with water. If you need a stronger treatment for dandruff control, use this same method, but keep the rinse on your hair for 1 hour, covered with a shower cap. Then rinse it out. This vinegar rinse will also help control frizziness in dry or damaged hair.

9: Use Eggs for Shine To clean hair and give it a super shine, whip an egg into tepid water (not too hot or you’ll be dealing with a poached egg), then lather it into your hair. Rinse it out with tepid water or that egg will poach right on top of your head. To deep-treat damaged hair, give it a healthy sheen, and cure dryness right down to the roots, use this pre-shampoo conditioning treatment: Mix together 3 eggs, 2 tablespoons olive oil or safflower oil, and 1 teaspoon vinegar. Apply it to your tresses, cover with a plastic cap, and leave it on for 30 minutes. Then shampoo as usual.

10: Look in the Cupboard Nuts and seeds. Try snacking on some seeds and nuts. They contain essential fatty acids that can pop that sheen right back into your hair.

Avocado and banana. Mash a little overripe banana and avocado together, spread in your hair, and leave it there for up to an hour. Then rinse with warm water.

Mayonnaise. You’ll need the full-fat kind, not a diet or low-fat version. Slather 1 tablespoon or so onto your hair, rub it in down to your scalp, then cover with a plastic cap and wait about 30 minutes.

Rinse it out thoroughly or you’ll be craving tuna salad the rest of the day.

Oil. Rub a little oil into your scalp.

Olive oil works well, as does coconut oil.

After you rub it on, cover your hair with a cap and leave it on overnight, then shampoo and rinse the oil out in the morning.

— www.health.howstuffworks.com

Lavender/Rosemary Hair Oil 1 oz. oil of Rosemary 1/8 oz. oil of Lavender Quantity: Enough for about 6 months of use.

To Make: Simply mix the two oils together and store in the dark or in a small amber or light-proof bottle.

To Use: Put a few drops of the oil on your palm, brush your palm against your hairbrush and then brush your hair.

Tip: Proper Hair Brushing: Every

day, rain or shine, men and women should thoroughly brush the hair.

Brushing dislodges dirt and distributes the natural hair oils. Bend at the waist (this increases circulation to the scalp) and massage the scalp with fingertips.

Then brush hair starting at the nape of the neck with long easy strokes from nape to ends. Follow each of the brush strokes with your other hand to eliminate static electricity. Brush about 100 strokes in this upside down position.

This is guaranteed to give new life to your hair.

HEALTH

Page 26

Friday, March 12, 2010

How to take easy steps to improve health nutritionally E

ven when we want to make positive changes for our health, we don’t follow through. Sometimes it is because of busy lifestyles but if we plan ahead and make it a habit, it becomes easy. By taking steps to improve nutrition, health is also improved. avoids the risk of mental dysfunction and prevents arterial clogging.

The following are easy actions that will turn into good, effortless habits.

Step 7

Step 1

Decrease the amount of sugar and salt consumed. Switch to natural sugars such as stevia and avoid products with lots of sugar included. Usually products labeled as “low fat” have added sugars.

Processed products contains a lot of salt, much more than the daily serving.

Limit the amount of meat consumed.

Red meat has been linked to many types of cancer and autoimmune diseases. Limit meat to 1-2 servings per week.

Step 2 Eat more fruits and vegetables Fruits and vegetables contain many nutrients especially antioxidants which have shown to have an immense variety of health benefits. Some health benefits even target certain areas of the body, such as carrots protecting the eyes. The suggested amount is 7-9 servings and this is easier done than it sounds. By making a smoothie with 2-3 fruits, a quota of 2-3 servings will be met.

Fruits can be added to yogurt, cereal etc.

Vegetables can be added to a dish (avocado or tomatoes on a sandwich) along with a side serving of vegetables. Juices can also be made with mixtures of fruits and vegetables; for those who have juicers.

Step 3 Consume an adequate amount of fish Have 2-3 servings of fish per week. Fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel are best. Studies show that they protect health by retarding heart disease, overall inflammation, and brain disorders because of the omega-3 content.

Step 4 Cookies, margarine contain trans fats.

Avoid trans fats at all costs.

These fats are almost everywhere.

Although, many manufacturers are taking it out of their products because of the publicity that these fats have received, it is important to read ingredients. Many packages labeled “no

Step 8 Decrease unhealthy snacks. Decrease the amount of junk food.

Replace snacks (potato chips, doughnuts, chocolate bars) with nuts, fruits, whole wheat crackers etc.

Step 9

trans fats” actually have it listed in the ingredient list. The ingredient will be listed as “hydrogenated oil” or “partially hydrogenated oil”. Trans fats are made to protect foods, not humans and actually clog arteries.

bread and pasta, brown rice, beans, whole grain cereals. Add nuts and adequate servings of fruit and vegetables. Fiber helps to reduce the risk of heart problems, cancer, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and controls weight gain. It is a natural broom for your body.

Step 5 Step 6 Include more whole grains daily. Include 25-30 grams of fiber in your diet daily.

Fiber is another important nutrition factor.

Include fiber by switching to whole wheat

Drink more tea. Have 3 servings of tea a day. Green tea has more antioxidants than black tea but both are good. Tea fights inflammation, reduces the risk of cancer, retards the growth of cancer cells when cancer is already present, fights viruses, discourages weight gain and dental cavities,

Decrease amount of food on plate. Eat less at meals.

Decrease portions by 1/3. Grab a smaller plate than usual and don’t continue to eat until you feel full. This takes getting used to but if practiced daily you won’t feel hungry when your meal is over. Optimally, we should eat 6 small meals instead of 3 larger meals.

Step 10 Drink more water. Add fluids to your body.

It is easy to dehydrate without even knowing it. Dehydration causes headaches, sluggishness, fatigue. It doesn’t necessarily have to be water, but it shouldn’t be sugary drinks such as soda. Tea and natural fruit juices count also but 6-8 glasses of water should the first choice.

Step 11 Include more nuts. Add nuts to your daily nutritional regimen.

Nuts contain a wealth of nutrients such as minerals, omega-3, fiber, and B-vitamins which have been known to combat cancer, heart disease, weight gain and increase cognitive function.

— Ehow

HEALTH

Friday, March 12, 2010

Page 27

Health benefits of Epsom salt baths

Improve your health while you relax

M

any of us are deficient in magnesium, and by simply soaking in a bath with magnesium-rich Epsom salt we can boost our levels of this important element. “Magnesium?” you might wonder, “what’s the big deal?”

We all know about the importance of iron and calcium, but what about magnesium? It is the secondmost abundant element in human cells and the fourthmost important positively charged ion in the body.

Surprisingly, it helps the body regulate over 325 enzymes and plays an important role in organizing many bodily functions, like muscle control, electrical impulses, energy production and the elimination of harmful toxins.

According to the National Academy of Sciences, most Americans are magnesium deficient, which the academy says helps to account for high rates of heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, arthritis and joint pain, digestive maladies, stress-related illnesses, chronic fatigue and a number of other ailments. Who knew?!

Americans’ magnesium levels have dropped by half in the last century due to changes in agriculture and diet. Industrial farming has depleted magnesium from soil and the typical American diet contains much less magnesium than that of our forefathers. And in fact, the modern American diet with its fat, sugar, salt and protein actually works to speed up the depletion of magnesium from our bodies.

Interestingly, our focus on getting enough calcium is another factor in decreased magnesium levels. In a delicate dance of balance, calcium depletes magnesium yet calcium functions best when enough magnesium is present. Studies indicate that taking a calcium supplement without enough magnesium can increase the shortage of both nutrients. Researchers have found that many Americans have five times as much calcium as magnesium in their bodies, although the proper ratio for optimum absorption of both minerals is two to one.

With such widespread magnesium deficiency one might think that magnesium supplements would be called upon, but studies show that magnesium is not easily absorbed through the digestive tract. The presence of specific foods or drugs, certain medical conditions, and the chemistry of a person’s stomach acid can render magnesium supplements ineffective.

This brings us to Epsom salt. Known scientifically as hydrated magnesium sulfate, Epsom salt is rich in both magnesium and sulfate. While both magnesium and sulfate can be poorly absorbed through the stomach, studies show increased magnesium levels from soaking in a bath enriched with Epsom salt!

Magnesium and sulfate are both easily absorbed through the skin. Sulfates play an important role in the formation of brain tissue, joint proteins and the proteins that line the walls of the digestive tract. They stimulate the pancreas to generate digestive enzymes and are thought to help detoxify the body of medicines and environmental contaminants.

Researchers and physicians suggest these health benefits from proper magnesium and sulfate levels, as listed on the web site of the Epsom Salt Industry

Council: • Improved heart and circulatory health, reducing irregular heartbeats, preventing hardening of the arteries, reducing blood clots and lowering blood pressure.

• Improved ability for the body to use insulin, reducing the incidence or severity of diabetes.

• Flushed toxins and heavy metals from the cells, easing muscle pain and helping the body to eliminate harmful substances.

• Improved nerve function by electrolyte regulation.

Also, calcium is the main conductor for electrical current in the body, and magnesium is necessary to maintain proper calcium levels in the blood.

• Relieved stress. Excess adrenaline and stress are believed to drain magnesium, a natural stress reliever, from the body. Magnesium is necessary for the body to bind adequate amounts of serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that

• • • • •

creates a feeling of well being and relaxation.

Reduced inflammation to relieve pain and muscle cramps.

Improved oxygen use.

Improved absorption of nutrients.

Improved formation of joint proteins, brain tissue and mucin proteins.

Prevention or easing of migraine headaches.

All this from a bath, hurray! While there are many different brands of Epsom salt, they are all the same product chemically, and can be found at most drug stores. Add two cups of Epsom salt and soak for at least 12 minutes. Do this three times weekly.

If you are pregnant or have any health concerns, check with your doctor before using Epsom salts.

— www.care2.com

PETS

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Friday, March 12, 2010

Couple dream of making movie on rare equine breed ot long ago, a couple in rural Chester County, Sue Rathbone and Ed Fitts - finished making a movie about their pet. OK, maybe that’s a bit of an understatement. Let’s start with “the pet”: a horse named Odd Job Bob of the rare Gypsy Vanner breed, marbled in black and white, with a flowing mane and unusual feathered hooves that give a sense of flight as he gallops among the couple’s 200 acres near Coatesville, Pa. Then there’s “the movie”: Fitts and Rathbone spent from $8 million to $10 million on a feature film starring Brooke Shields, Aidan Quinn, and Kris Kristofferson, with a 14-yearold pixie named Sammi Hanratty in the title role of “The Greening of Whitney Brown.” The project was the ultimate impulse satisfaction for a couple who have indulged a few whims since meeting 10 years ago - thanks to the fortune that Fitts piled up manufacturing paper packaging for fast-food restaurants.

“We just thought it would be cool to do,” said Fitts, an industrial engineer who owns El Brio Vanner farm in Chester County, where he and his partner breed and sell Gypsy Vanners. For a couple who once vacationed in California’s Napa Valley and decided - like that! - to start a winery there, it’s almost as though making a big-time film about their favorite horse was no biggie.

So, can anyone with a pile of cash get into the movie business these days? “An extraordinary amount of people talk about making films,” said Justin Moore-Lewy, a Southern California producer who worked on the project. “The difference between Ed and most people, he does what he says he’s going to do.”

The movie was shot over six weeks in the fall in Georgia, with Fitts and Rathbone spending 14- to 16-hour days on the set, wrangling horses, and watching in awe as everyone went through the paces. “Most of these people don’t work together, but they know their jobs so well. It’s amazing to watch,” Rathbone said.

As for their stars, “Brooke Shields was very, very nice to work with. ...

Kris Kristofferson as the grandfather is amazing.” But the human actors were really the supporting cast. “Bob is going to get a best-actor award,” she joked. For Fitts and Rathbone, it’s all about the horse.

It’s always been that way for the couple, especially Rathbone, who said she was a “horse-crazed little girl” in New Jersey and would grow up

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to train race horses. In 1995, a chain of coincidences that sound like they could happen only to an on-screen Julia Roberts connected Rathbone with Fitts. On a visit to a resort in Sedona, Arizona, famed for its supposedly mystical vortexes, Rathbone went for a private ride on a memorable horse, a Peruvian Paso palomino stallion.

Five years later, she visited again with her son and asked to ride the same horse, only to learn he’d been sold to a man from Pennsylvania. It was Ed Fitts, who had ridden the horse the month before, his first time in the saddle. He was so smitten with the Pasos that he bought a half-dozen of them.

The woman who sold Fitts the horses told Rathbone about him and suggested they get in touch. One thing led to another and Fitts invited Rathbone to his Coatesville property, and, as she now says, “I never left.”

Soon, Fitts and Rathbone had a new equine love, the Gypsy Vanner, a powerful and compact wagon horse that is a smaller version of Budweiser’s famous Clydesdales.

“We were looking for a horse that was different, kind of unique, a little on the rarebreed side, and we kept going back to this breed,” Rathbone recalled.

“They were absolutely beautiful.”

The couple bought their first Gypsy Vanners, two babies, in 2000. But they were eager to begin riding, which is how they ended up buying Odd Job Bob, a 6-year-old, the next year. The couple became

American evangelists for the breed, not only taking Bob to horse shows but also launching a breeding operation at El Brio in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania veterinary school. The horses sell for $8,000 to $45,000.

But the couple had a bigger ambition for Odd Job Bob: the silver screen. The idea started three years ago when a screenwriter who also loved Gypsy Vanners showed them a script he had written in which a horse helps nurse an autoaccident victim back to health.

Fitts and Rathbone liked the idea but thought it was a little too serious.

So they hired producers Moore-Lewy and Charlie Mason as consultants, and a new screenwriter, Gail Gilchriest of “My Dog Skip” fame.

The story was set in Philadelphia and built around a family who loses everything in the recession but learns what’s really important when, after moving to the country, the daughter befriends a horse.

“We did an outline of what we thought this movie should be like, gave her the bullet points,” Fitts said. Among those points: the story had to have a happy ending, it had to teach a life lesson, and, most important, the horse could not die.

They lined up a director, who happens to live in Bryn Mawr, P and was a friend of one of the producers. Peter Odiorne, 38, had been behind the camera for hundreds of commercials but had never

Odd Job Bob runs through a snow-covered field at El Brio Vanner farm near Coatesville, Pennsylvania. — MCT guided a feature film before.

Odiorne said he was just about giving up on his 20-year dream of making a feature “when Ed and Sue, who are angels,” called. It was quite a learning experience for the novice director. “All those names you see at the end of the

movie - now I know what everyone does,” he said.

Another eye-opener was working with his four-legged cast. “They don’t understand English,” he joked. Because of that, Bob spent nearly a year with a trainer learning tricks, such as bowing down, pushing

Ed Fitts (left) and Sue Rathbone, of Chester County, Pennsylvania, pose for portrait with their horse, Odd Job Bob.— MCT

a swing with his nose, and lying down and pretending to be hurt.

“He had to be totally bombproof,” Rathbone said. “He was in downtown Atlanta with cameras and people all around.” Like any star, Bob had two stunt doubles. Good thing, because when it was time to film a scene in which Bob had to run alongside a moving train, he refused.

“Not in his contract; get the stunt doubles,” Rathbone said and laughed. “He was afraid of it.”

Now comes one final hurdle, lining up a distribution deal. Fitts and Rathbone are talking to major studios and exploring the options with the goal of a release by early next year. In the meantime, they have converted one more apostle to the beauty and grace of the Gypsy Vanner. The young actress, Hanratty, received one as a surprise after filming was completed.

Rathbone now hopes a national audience will agree with the couple that this rare breed of horse is, in her word, “magical.” “It’s the look, the appeal of all the hair, to be around them, they’re a little different than most horses,” she said.

“It’s a quiet breed, not one to jump all over you or do anything unexpected.” Except, maybe, star in a major motion picture.— MCT

Friday, March 12, 2010

RELATIONSHIPS

Page 29

Laurie Flanagan (left) holds her 19-month-old son, Kade, as her husband Michael holds their three-year-old daughter, Kelsey, while they talk about their lives at the family’s home in Clovis, California. — MCT

Swap of breadwinner roles strains A

cross the country, a growing number of married women are becoming the primary breadwinners for their families as more husbands lose their jobs. Over the last two years, federal labor figures show, the unemployment rate has risen much faster for men than for women - reaching 10.5 percent, compared to 7.9 percent among women. The dynamic creates not only financial turmoil for households, but emotional stress as wives and husbands cope with a reversal of traditional roles.

Laurie Flanagan of Clovis, California, knows that stress all too well. Flanagan, a respiratory therapist at St Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, California, has been supporting her family since her husband Michael’s business selling embroidered promotional apparel went bust last December. “I just thought, my gosh, what are we going to do?” Laurie Flanagan recalled after two of her husband’s biggest clients went out of business and spending by other customers virtually dried up. “Thank goodness for my job ... (but) we were still spiraling downward.”

Her paychecks weren’t enough to avoid losing their home to foreclosure and filing for bankruptcy. Now the couple and their two children - daughter Kelsey, 3 1/2, and son Kade, 1 1/2 - live in a rental home in a quiet neighborhood. “I’m lucky because the medical field is one that’s stable,” Flanagan said.

But the strain isn’t far below the surface. “It’s hard for me,” she said. If Kade is asleep when she goes to work or comes home from her 12- to 14-

hour shifts, “sometimes I’m away 48 hours without holding him.” She also worries about her emotions rubbing off on the children. “They’re smart kids,” she said. “If you’re under stress, they know it. ... It tends to build up, so you have to make time to unwind and get away from it.”

The US Department of Labor reports that in the last two years, the number of unemployed men in the workforce rose by more than 5 million - nearly double the number of women who became unemployed in the period.

California doesn’t track unemployment by gender at the state or local level. But of about 20,000 jobs lost in the last two years in Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties, 16,000 were in agriculture, construction, manufacturing and transportation - industries that federal labor officials say are historically dominated by men.

Same is happening nationwide “As husbands lose their jobs, family earnings plummet, and the role of wives’ earnings often becomes critical to keeping families afloat,” University of New Hampshire sociology professor Kristin Smith said in a report issued last week by the university’s Carsey Institute.

“Job loss and unemployment are expected to rise for the next year, alongside the growing importance of wives’ earnings to family stability,” Smith said. “This increased reliance on wives as breadwinners will continue to shine a spotlight on changing gender roles in the family, equity in the workplace and work/family tensions.” For Teresa and Jeff Douglass of

Visalia, California, challenges came after he was laid off in August from his job as a welder for a company that manufactured fruit-packing equipment About a month later, Teresa Douglass lost her job as a newspaper photographer. She was out of work for three months before she landed a part-time job with a nonprofit agency. “When Jeff lost his job, I was working full time,” Teresa Douglass said. “Then I got laid off. It was hard, but I think each of us had more empathy for what the other was going through.”

“We’re at a time in our lives when we should be working hard and putting away money, but we can’t do that now,” she added. Financial stress is only one issue facing families in which the responsibilities have shifted, said Dr Sue Kuba, a professor of clinical psychology at Alliant International University in Fresno. Each family is different, Kuba added, and cultural differences can affect how a family deals with the upheaval.

In some families, “shame and doubt may keep a couple from talking about the changes in a conscious way,” Kuba said. “There may not be clear communication about the need to shift those roles and responsibilities.”

A wife who has to work more hours to make up for a husband’s lost income “may feel guilty about not being able to be with the children and the other things that she finds emotionally rewarding, or feel that she needs to try to do everything,” Kuba said. “He may try to make up

for some of the things she’s always done at home, and she feels intruded upon.”

In the workplace, a woman whose husband has lost his job may become more afraid for her own job as well. “She may become less assertive and have more fear,” Kuba said.

Women also may increasingly experience things that traditionally have been associated with men, she said, such as cardiac disease or ulcers.

The stress can also express itself in alcohol or substance abuse, she said.

Communication is an important tool “They have to make a conscious decision that they need to solve these problems together,” Kuba said. That’s how the Flanagans are approaching their situation. Michael Flanagan is launching a publishing company with a book inspired by complications the couple had when Laurie was pregnant with son Kade. The book details different couples’ problem pregnancies from both the husband’s and wife’s point of view, along with a doctor’s explanation of the medical issues. “It’s exciting because it may be able to help other couples who are having problems with their pregnancies,” Laurie Flanagan said. And its success, she added, “would be lovely” to ease the financial and emotional burden. “I look at it like this: I supported her in college and early in our relationship,” Michael Flanagan said. “This is just a downturn in which I can’t contribute financially as much to the team - but we’re still parents as a team.” — MCT

FOOD

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Friday, March 12, 2010

By Sawsan Kazak

Everyday cooking

ometimes it is fun to go to a restaurant and only order a variety of appetizers and no main dish. This way you are able to taste more items and not feel tied down to one big main dish. Well why not have one of those nights at home. Instead of making one heavy dish, why not make a variety of small finger foods that will satisfy your hunger and tantalize your taste buds at the same time.

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Please send suggestions to: sawsank@kuwaittimes.net

Spicy almonds

Parmesan puff pastry straws

1 puff pastry sheet, thawed according to package directions 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch 2 cups whole unsalted almonds 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons olive oil 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Directions Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a bowl. n a small bowl, stir together the cumin, garlic, cayenne pepper and salt. Heat the oil in the

I

skillet over medium heat. Stir the spices into the oil and cook, stirring until warm, about 30 seconds. Add the almonds and cook, stirring frequently, until the nuts are warm and the spices are evenly distributed. Add the hot pepper sauce and stir to distribute. Remove the almonds from the pan and allow them to cool before serving.

reheat oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle half of the cheese over your work surface. Roll out the puff pastry square on the cheese.

Then combine remaining cheese with paprika and cornstarch and sprinkle on the pastry. Keep rolling the cheese mixture into the

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dough, turning a few times, until the dough is about 1/8” thick.

Using a sharp knife or a pastry cutter, cut into 1/2” strips. Then cut the strips in half so they are about 5-6” long. If they are any longer they break too easily. Then carefully place the strips on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 13-16 minutes until they are browned and crisp. Cool five minutes and remove carefully from baking sheets to cool completely on wire racks.

Store in airtight container.

FOOD

Friday, March 12, 2010

Page 31

Easy sausage rolls reheat oven to 200ÂşC. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until tender. Add sugar. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until caramelised. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Cut each pastry sheet into 4 squares. Place 1 square on workbench. Brush 1 edge with egg. Spread 1 tablespoon onion mixture over pastry. Top with 1 sausage. Roll up pastry to enclose sausage, with eggbrushed edge on top. Press to secure. Place, seam side down, on tray. Repeat with remaining pastry, egg, onion mixture and sausages. Brush tops with egg. Score with a knife. Sprinkle with pepper.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until sausages are cooked through and pastry is golden.

Serve with chutney and salad.

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1 tablespoon olive oil 2 red onions, halved, thinly sliced 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 sheets frozen ready-rolled puff pastry, partially thawed 1 egg, lightly beaten 8 thick beef sausages tomato chutney and salad greens, to serve

300g (about 6-8) zucchini 1 onion, grated 250g haloumi cheese, grated 75g (1/2 cup) plain flour 2 tsp grated lemon rind 2 eggs 1 tbs chopped fresh dill Light olive oil, to fry Sea salt, to serve Aioli*, to serve

Fried chicken strips 4 chicken breasts, boned & skinned 2 eggs 3 c. buttermilk 2 c. flour 1 tsp. salt ash chicken; cut into strips. Sprinkle salt over strips. Beat eggs; add to buttermilk and salt. Pour over chicken. Place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes, if possible. If you don’t have time, it is okay to go to immediate frying. Take strips out of milk mixture, one at a time, and roll in flour. Drop into grease (a deep fryer) and cook until brown. Take out of grease and put on plate with paper towel to drain any excess grease.

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Zucchini & haloumi fritters

oarsely grate the zucchinis, then squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Place in a bowl and add the onion, haloumi cheese, flour, lemon rind, eggs and dill. Season with salt and black pepper and stir to combine. Form the zucchini mixture into about 25 bite-size patties. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry, in batches, for 1-minute each side until golden. Drain on paper towel. Serve the fritters warm with the aioli and a little sea salt.

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Spicy oven fries 1 1/4 lbs. russet potatoes (2 lg.)

1 1/2 tbsp. oil 1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. oregano 1/8 tsp. onion salt 1/8 tsp. pepper 1/8 tsp. chili pepper 1 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese Dash cayenne pepper 1 tsp. paprika

o not peel potatoes. Cut into lengthwise strips, about 1/2 inch thick. Spread in single layer on 10 x 15 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with oil, turning to coat evenly. Combine remaining ingredients and sprinkle half of mixture over potatoes. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes.

Turn potatoes with spatula and sprinkle remaining seasoning mixture over top. Bake 12 to 15 minutes longer, or until tender. Makes 3 to 4 servings.

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THEY ARE THE 99!

99 Mystical Noor Stones carry all that is left of the wisdom and knowledge of the lost civilization of Baghdad. But the Noor Stones lie scattered across the globe - now little more than a legend. One man has made it his life’s mission to seek out what was lost. His name is Dr. Ramzi Razem and he has searched fruitlessly for the Noor Stones all his life. Now, his luck is about to change - the first of the stones have been rediscovered and with them a special type of human who can unlock the gem’s mystical power. Ramzi brings these gem - bearers together to form a new force for good in the world. A force known as ... the 99!

THE FASCINATING STORY OF THE 99 Baghdad lies in ruins, destroyed by the marauding armies of Hulagu Khan. The brave librarians of the great Dar Al-Hikma rush to save the glory of the ancient world’s

www.the99.org

accumulated wisdom, little knowing that centuries later their efforts will bear strange fruit. While the Noor Stones were created to save the library, their power has transcended that task and in our own time has provided extraordinary abilities to an international

The 99 ® and all related characters ® and © 2010, Teshkeel Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

group of young people, the world’s newest superheroes known as… The 99.

TRAVEL

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Friday, March 12, 2010

Travel Picks

10 famous movie hotels Top Top 10 W

hile most travelers can only dream of getting an Oscar or being on the silver screen, anyone can pretend to be star at U.S. hotels where countless movie scenes have been shot. Travel firm TripAdvisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com) has come up with a list of the top 10 famous movie hotels, according to its editors. This list is not endorsed by Reuters. “While many travelers enjoy in-room movies as part of a relaxing hotel stay, these star-studded properties offer guests an actual connection with some classic movie scenes and famous characters,” Christine Peterson, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor, said in a statement.

1.

2.

3.

4.

The Fairmont San Francisco, San Francisco, California This grand hotel, set atop the steep incline of Nob Hill, has reached equally great heights on the silver screen. Ever since Alfred Hitchcock shot “Vertigo” at the Fairmont in 1958, the hotel has become an iconic part of San Francisco and many movies, including “Towering Inferno”, “Sudden Impact”, “Junior” and “The Rock”, in which Sean Connery’s character enjoys a lavish suite at the property.

Biltmore is a true Hollywood scene-stealer. The hotel’s guestrooms have made appearances in “Mission Impossible 3” and “The Bodyguard”, while “Spiderman”, “Wedding Crashers”, “Dreamgirls” and “Pretty in Pink” have also brought their all-star casts into the hotel.

5.

Bellagio Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada Boasting almost 4,000 guest rooms and suites, a renowned casino and worldfamous dancing fountains, this hotel is no stranger to the silver screen. The fountains alone have made countless Hollywood cameos and the hotel may be most famous for its parts in both “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Ocean’s Thirteen”.

The Plaza, New York City, New York This New York landmark hotel boasts sweeping views of Central Park, as well as impressive movie credentials. The Plaza’s Oak Room was featured in Hitchcock’s classic “North By Northwest” (and remains unchanged to this day), and the hotel has also served as the place where Crocodile Dundee swapped the Australian outback for a luxurious room, and starred in scenes in “The Way We Were”, “Home Alone 2”, “Bride Wars”, and more.

Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California Having been featured in more than 100 movies, the Millennium

Beverly Wilshire Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills, California Set just steps away from Rodeo Drive’s renowned boutiques, this luxurious property will thrill shopaholics and “Pretty Woman” fans alike. This hotel should attract men too, as it’s been the backdrop for scenes in the “Beverly Hills Cop” movies and “Bulworth”. “There is a glorious sense of old-time Hollywood glamour about the place,” notes one TripAdvisor traveler.

6.

Renaissance St. Louis Hotel Airport, Saint Louis, Missouri While numerous hotels were used in the filming of the movie “Up in the Air”, the guestrooms at Renaissance St. Louis Hotel Airport were not only graced with George Clooney’s on-screen presence, but also receive top marks for being quiet and close to the airport.

7.

The Roosevelt Hotel, New York City, New York Boasting a rich history and prime location near Grand Central Station, The Roosevelt Hotel has seen its share of famous faces over the years. Jennifer Lopez’s “Maid in Manhattan” landed a job at this hotel, while Michael Douglas’s famous “Greed is good” scene in “Wall Street” was also shot at The

Roosevelt.

8.

Fountainebleau Miami Beach, Miami Beach, Florida The Alist status of this hotel, a former vacation spot for iconic stars such as Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Jerry Lewis, has been upheld by its many movie appearances. In “The Bodyguard”, Whitney Houston put the Fountainebleau on a high note; “Goldfinger” added the Midas touch to the property; and the “Scarface” famous pool scene was also shot here.

9.

Timberline Lodge, Timberline Lodge, Oregon Standing at an elevation of almost 6,000 feet (1,900 metres_ within the Mount Hood National Forest, Timberline Lodge is a popular ski retreat, which famously provided chills in “The Shining” as the exterior of the fictional Overlook Hotel. While the interior scenes were shot on a movie set, and Stephen King’s inspiration for the nerve-jangling tale came from a trip to The Stanley Hotel, Colorado, it’s Timberline Lodge’s looming presence that remains a true scene-stealer.

10. Mountain Lake Hotel, Pembroke, Virginia “Dirty Dancing” fans might just have the time of their lives at this property, which featured as the fictitious Kellerman’s Resort in the cult classic movie. Nestled in the New River Valley of the Appalachian Mountains, the hotel offers stunning scenery, as well as Dirty Dancing weekends featuring karaoke, dance lessons and a film location tour. — Reuters

Friday, March 12, 2010

TRAVEL

Page 35

Disney turns to ‘storybook’ themes to fill hotel rooms here was a time when Trinidad South, one of the six themed “villages” that make up Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort at Walt Disney World, was the least popular part of the hotel. The rooms were farthest from the sprawling resort’s central food court and main swimming pool, and guests who wound up in them frequently asked to be moved.

So Disney decided to turn the rooms over to pirates.

In an eight-month overhaul completed just under a year ago, construction crews removed the rooms’ conventional furniture and replaced it with bed frames shaped like pirate ships and dressers made to look like stacks of crates and treasure chests. They ripped out carpet and installed fabric designed to look like a wooden deck. They hung paintings of Captain Jack Sparrow, the fictional pirate famously portrayed by actor Johnny Depp in Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies.

Today, Disney says, the 384 rooms in Trinidad South have supplanted those in the villages immediately adjacent to the dining hall as the most-requested rooms at Caribbean Beach. They are in such demand that Disney recently raised their price to $30 above the resort’s standard nightly rate , up from the $25-a-night premium it had been charging.

The pirate-themed rooms are the first example at Disney World of a concept the company has dubbed “storybook” hotel rooms, which feature more-elaborate themes than the resort’s conventional rooms and are linked to specific stories and characters.

Disney says it has been so pleased with the performance of the pirate rooms that it intends to expand the storybook concept to more hotels, both in Orlando and at its resorts around the world.

The approach reflects Walt Disney Co.’s corporate strategy of focusing on key franchises , from pirates and princesses to “Toy Story” and “Cars” , that can be leveraged across its film, television, theme park and merchandising divisions.

“We’re trying to take what we are so great at , storytelling , and take it right to the room,” said Mark Rucker, vice president of lodging for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Rucker said Disney’s Imagineering attraction-design unit is currently studying “at least” three new storybook proposals and that the company has identified the next Disney World hotel to get the storybook treatment, though he declined to identify either the hotel or the concepts under consideration.

The plans come amid a trying period for Disney’s hotels. Occupancy at Disney World’s 24 company-owned hotels and time shares fell to 81 percent during the final three months of 2009, down from 85 percent a year earlier.

While that was significantly better than other Orlando hotels , region-wide occupancy, excluding Disney hotels, bounced between 50 percent and 60 percent during a similar time period , it was the lowest level Disney World has reported since early 2004.

Disney began toying with the storybook concept several years ago, with a piratethemed suite that opened at Disneyland in 2006. But when it decided to test the concept on a wider scale, it turned to Disney World, where it has approximately 25,000 rooms.

The 2,112-room Caribbean Beach hotel proved an ideal fit. The property was scheduled for routine renovations, so rooms were already going to be temporarily unavailable for rent.

Further, the resort’s tropical theme meshed seamlessly with one of Disney’s most profitable franchises: “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Disney’s

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Rick Allen, general manager of Disney’s Caribbean Beach and Pop Century Resorts, talks about the “storybook” theming of select rooms at Caribbean Beach, at Walt Disney World. —MCT three Pirates films , a fourth will be released next year , have grossed approximately $2.7 billion worldwide, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, and fueled sales of everything from video games and action figures to pirate makeovers in the Magic Kingdom.

As part of the project, Disney had its Imagineers custom-design pirate-themed furnishings. Most striking: Beds with headboards shaped like a ship’s bow , including extensive rigging and reading lights that look like lanterns hanging from a mast , and footboards resembling the stern.

They added smaller touches. The main

portion of the room can be separated from the bathroom area by a curtain with a skull and crossbones; when the lights are turned off in the main room but left on behind the curtain, the pirate logo appears to glow.

Disney declined to say how much it spent renovating the rooms, but Rick Allen, general manager of both Caribbean Beach and Disney’s Pop Century Resort next door, said it was “significantly more” than it would have spent as part of a typical renovation. “They’re not off-the-shelf ships,” he said.

Since the rooms opened last March, Disney says feedback from surveys and focus groups

“Storybook” theming of select rooms is featured at Caribbean Beach, at Walt Disney World. —MCT

has been uniformly positive. The findings helped soothe early concerns that the rooms, while they were certain to appeal to boys, might repel girls.

“The boys love it primarily because it’s pirates. The girls connect it to the movie,” Allen said.

Disney’s storybook concept resembles the approach used at Nickelodeon Suites Resort, a 777-room hotel just beyond Disney World property that incorporates popular characters from cartoons such as “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Rugrats.” Universal Orlando and Loews Hotels have also tried the concept, with a handful of Jurassic Parkthemed suites in Royal Pacific Resort and a Dr. Seuss suite in Portofino Bay Hotel.

While Disney plans to add more storybook rooms in the near future, the timing depends in part on aligning the work with existing hotel-rehab schedules. Disney’s hotels typically undergo “soft” renovations, in which bedding, curtains and other fabrics are replaced every six years, and more-extensive “hard” renovations, including new furniture, every 12 years.

There is some risk. A hotel that is inextricably linked to a specific character or story, rather than relying on a broader theme, could become vulnerable if the popularity of those characters wanes following, for example, a weak movie.

“If you pick something that you think is going to be a hit and then you invest all this money into these themes and it just doesn’t come through for you, then not only are you not going to get a return on investment, but you are also trying to promote a weak product,” said Scott Smith, a lodging professor at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

Rucker, Disney’s vice president of lodging, said the company takes steps to minimize such risk. Disney has already plotted out a research schedule to test the appeal of the concepts under consideration for the next wave of storybook rooms. “We’re making sure that it’s going to be a home run,” Rucker said. — MCT

BOOKS

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Friday, March 12, 2010

A conversation with bestselling author Joshua Ferris Now 35, living outside of Hudson, New York with his wife and child, Joshua Ferris entered a very small club of young, accomplished novelists on the basis of his critically acclaimed first novel, Then We Came to the End. When he learned that his debut had been nominated for a 2007 National Book Award, Ferris already had “a full head of steam” on his second book, which has just been published. he Unnamed is the story of an affluent Manhattan attorney w ho suffers from a mysterious recurring disease that compels him to w alk. He w alks, no matter the w eather, until his body is so exhausted that he drops to the ground in a heavy sleep. He insists the affliction is not in his head, yet it can’t be controled he has to be physically constrained to stop w alking. Inventing a w holly fictional disease for Tim, Ferris has used the skeleton of a medical mystery to build in inquiry into larger questions of illness, of family, of suffering and of w hat it means to be human.

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Q: Tim is an affluent, driven attorney at a high-powered firm in Manhattan. Do you see him as a particularly New York character?

A: I suppose that the trappings of life indicate that he is a particular type of character that may be only found in New York, or might have counterparts in London or other places. He clearly has all of the status markers of somebody who exists most fervently in New York. I would say it was a deliberate construction of that character. Everything is at a high level.

Life is lived at as an aggressive, successful pitch as possible.

Q: But he’s not so focused on his work that he hasn’t picked up other trappings, like his family. He has a beautiful wife, Jane, who is devoted to him A: I would hope that that undercuts what you might think of as a stereotypical character. He has been, for the most part, a devoted family man, in contrast with a couple other characters in the book, that manage to be as high-octane as he is, but don’t do so well on the family front. He’s the exception they’re limited to one child, but he’s done his best with her, and he’s still as successfully married as one can be after 20 years. That’s an important counterbalance to the overriding professionalism that defines, more or less, his identity. It presents a fuller picture than the one we might consider when we’re walking past someone, on 50th Street or Fifth Avenue, who looks like he fits the bill as a high-powered attorney in New York City.

Q: The illness in the book interrupts his ability to be a successful attorney.

Where did the shape of that condition come from?

A: One of the things that I aspired to was to write something with a fantastical premise, but to always keep it very well

rooted to the real world. Everybody knows what it means when you say “magical realism” - there’s nothing magical realist about The Unnamed, but I would say it is, to some extent, a realist magic. I wanted the book to be very believable - but at its heart, it is high-concept invention. I had to work very hard to establish the ground rules in order to make believable this walking disease, which doesn’t exist in the medical literature, or anywhere except in my head. The ground rules were important, establishing a texture, a tone that was very respectful of the disease, yet at the same time, pressing hard on him, through the people in his life, to try to confront the possibility that the disease was a mental breakdown of sorts. I could then have a debate about disease in general, about the extent to which a disease is physical, mental or a combination of both. That was important to me, and that was intriguing. But what was most important was to find the right tone with which to tell a fanciful conceit about real people.

Q: Much of Tim’s trauma is played out in how it affects his family. In that way, it’s a detailed domestic drama like we might find in Cheever or Yates, even though the pressure is supplied by this unreal disease. Were you consciously bringing together different literary genres?

A: I was thinking very much about it. I think it’s an overriding preoccupation. I was not interested in writing merely a domestic drama, and I wasn’t interested in writing simply the story of a medical mystery. The combination that emerged as I was writing became a far more compelling path to take than what I had initially conceived. It was very one note for a long time, and trying to figure out all of the ways in which sickness especially one that remains

unresolvable, like Tim’s - ricochets across a man’s life, that became the real source of the book’s animating force.

It seems at every turn, when you’re talking about disease, or reading about it in an article, everyone is obsessed with finding the physical underlying cause of any given disorder. Even if you were able to do that, it doesn’t take away its mystery, and it doesn’t take away the essential nature of the suffering that the victim experiences.

Take a disease like schizophrenia. We now have medicines for it. It can be remedied, to some extent, and the sufferer be made better and functioning. That medicine is working on a physical level. So a disease that we typically think of as a mental disorder is a more refined physical disorder. We’re finding out that if you inhibit certain neural transmitters, or supplement the brain in some way, then you get what we call “normal” or “functioning” behavior. I started thinking, “What about a disease that can’t be reduced to any kind of physical solution?”

By inventing a disease and making it uncurable and undiagnosable, I was able to strip away the expectations that the reader might have if I had given them an identifiable disease, and talk on a much more fundamental level about the Platonic notion of disease and the way in which it affects people’s lives. Not only with respect to other people namely their family, friends - and their professional lives, the way they’ve constructed themselves, how they think of themselves, their identity. But also the ways in which it really starts to mess with one’s head; it could very easily lead one to become mad.

So often, diseases happen, and then, as a corollary, you get depressed. This is called co-morbidity, in medicalese. And you have to think the reason for the depression is because the disease, the

illness, whatever it might be, is very destructive. Even if it’s not a death sentence, it’s disruptive. Ultimately, what it came down to was if you can’t reduce everything to the physical, you can start talking about things like the soul, and God, and where does punishment come from, and relief. If you’re made to act in ways you don’t want to act because your body is rebelling, for untold reasons, where do you find solace? What kind of character do you need to contend with unforeseen forces that could, easily destroy your life. It became a much larger question, and those larger questions played into the smaller questions of the domestic drama.

Q: Major books by nonfiction writer Oliver Sacks and novelist Richard Powers, among others, identify many aspects of human personality with brain chemistry. How does your book fit in with recent literature of science and the brain?

A: That literature typically presupposes a reductionist view, a physicalist view of the mind and the body. In some cases, it’s highlighted in red. In other cases, with Oliver Sacks I think, you have to read him enough to understand that underlying every point he’s making is the death of the traditional notion of the soul. It can be very dismaying. The advances that have been made, and the alleviation of suffering that has resulted from those advances, are positive and good. But a strictly reductive and positivist notion of the body and of the mind can be dismaying to the humanist.

To somebody who believes, or at least wishes to believe, that a human being is a more complex and serious creation than a diagram of some aspect of brain chemistry.

A lot of this is informing me as I’m writing about someone with a disease. Because I resist that reductionist notion. I don’t

BOOKS

Friday, March 12, 2010 necessarily think it’s wrong, but I think we need a robust defense of at least the mysterious experience of illness. It seems to me that when a scientist or a medical doctor or a philosopher says, well, Descartes is over, the mind/body problem has been solved and we know that everything is located in the brain and we should celebrate, it seems to have missed the point. We don’t yet have subtle enough tools to alleviate all suffering, and the mystery is far too great - the confoundedness of disease; it brings me back to the soliloquy in Hamlet, “What a piece of work is man.”At the end of it, he says, “to me, what is this quintessence of dust?”

There are two poles — one says we’re just this machine, and the other says, what a piece of work is man. I did not want to come down on one side or the other. It’s possible that this poor guy, with enough research and enough time, could have solved his problem — but essentially, the mystery at the heart of his entire being can never be solved.

Q: At some levels, his illness is a puzzle, and a plot force. And it’s also kind of a metaphor for his struggle to be who he is; it’s been there and he has to come to a peace with it, in one way or another. He has to find a way to be the person who can live with this illness, which can serve as a metaphor to how we must reconcile ourselves to our own most unwelcome characteristics.

A: This is the reason that he is where no man wants to be. He has professional obligations and duties, and obligations to his family, and he’s hanging out behind grocery stores, because that’s where the walk ends. I was with a friend the other day who said, “I think it’s really important to say yes to life, but with serious reservations.” I think that’s true, and I think those serious reservations have come home to roost in this particular man, and they’re put into relief because he has on paper a very successful and happy life. And in a man who is accustomed to getting his way, who has a lot of resources at his disposal, and a lot of support from his family, this man is ultimately forced to leave all of that by something out of his control — that relevant question is burning.

That was my greatest hope for the book - that it came to a place where the most pressing questions about what it means to be human, what it means to be heroic in the face of evisceration, and whether or not this particular character could muster the resources to do something in spite of his illness. All of these things became pertinent. I kept going back to the quote by Albert Camus, “One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” That was a kind of challenge, as I was writing the book, because clearly this is kind of Sisyphean disease — its very recurrent nature makes it such. I had to wonder, Is this particular man going to find a way to be happy? And what is it going to be about - his career, his physical comfort, his family?

Q: While you’ve been talking about big ideas, it’s also a brutally physical book.

One of the remedies for Tim’s illness has been to bind him to a bed, so he can’t get up and walk away, and it’s terrible for him and everyone around him. As a writer, what’s it like to put your characters through that?

A: By forcing him into the worst physical circumstances, you not only recognize the dramatic turn his life has taken, but you also recognize that he has to ask very tough questions. Even as far removed as many Americans are from having to tend to the basic necessities of life, like shelter and food - this is a man that is reduced to those essential questions: where is my shelter going to come from, where is my food going to come from, will I be protected from the elements? Those questions are the most urgent ones to ask of humans - for a writer, for me, because they lead to the questions of meaning, death, the other even larger questions. So I had to take him to extremes. I had to go there.

He has to make a certain decision about how to live a compromised life.

When you have a compromised life, how do you make room for the more mundane domestic obligations that made up your prior life?

Q: As the book moves into its later sections, his travels take him further and further from New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey, where it began; he’s searching for ways to be

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human and finds some genuine beauty.

Did your own travels, such as your stay at the writing colony Ucross in Wyoming, inform those that Tim takes?

A: Not only was Ucross there to provide a total contrast - Ucross, the little travel I did Wyoming and Idaho - so sterling, so clean, a very different experience from everything I’d ever had. Such a beautiful part of America. Every other day I want to move out there on a permanent basis.

But I had also moved out of New York - I had moved upstate, about two hours, and I found a small house that was wonderfully secluded. I had started to write fairly aggressively. Winter moved in - the Hudson had frozen with various creaking ice flows, the branches had all gone cold, very crystalline ... I was struck by the silence, in particular - especially compared to the noise and the grit of the city. It was important as I moved Tim through increasingly grim, homogenized America, that I not forget that there still existed these beautiful places, these little havens of silence, a kind of exaltation. That was the geographical ambiguity of the book, that happily matched the ambiguity of the disease.

Q: While it’s Tim’s story, his travails are also his family’s, particularly his wife, Jane’s. His illness eventually affects her as deeply as it affects him.

A: If she had not been given voice, I think she would have just been another longsuffering wife. She struggles not only with his sickness, but with the extent to which she wants to sacrifice her life on the altar of it. She emerges, I think, as the person who is really struggling with the tension between duty and freedom. That’s something that Tim doesn’t have the choice to make - or if he does, he isn’t really aware of it. She is aware of it, and the degree to which she chooses one over the other is always in flux. She gave me more license to write about free will than Tim. Tim is, more or less, going to do what Tim’s body tells him to do. She has freedom to stand up and walk out.

Q: You’ve talked about humanism, free will, the soul - what do you think fiction can do in exploring these issues? In our

contemporary culture, I wonder if we don’t explore them quite enough.

A: My guess is that we don’t. The corollary to that is that there are those writers that do. Only there can we find the ambiguity and the palpable experience, the curiosity, that the culture - especially the scientific culture - wants to close out. Ambiguity is the enemy of science, but it is the predominant emotional factor - and very frequently, the predominant physical factor - in our lives. It’s that which fiction captures unlike anything else. And it’s that which makes fiction continually relevant. It is why we go to fiction, it is why we admire fiction writers who are able to capture the world and fix in on the page in a sustained, thought-provoking, moving way. It is a contrarian impulse, that a fiction writer has, against the culture, against other fields whose entire goals is to remove equivocation and drain mystery out - so that either medicine can be on the market, or a produce can be advertised to assuage whatever itch you might have. This is, in large part, fiction’s purpose, as it goes mano-amano against the culture. I think its first and foremost purpose is to experience joy, but it also does this important work.

Q: What writers explore this ambiguity in ways that inspire you, that feed the ideas you’re dealing with in The Unnamed?

A: John Haskell did it in American Purgatorio; Rivka Galchen did it in Atmospheric Disturbances - ambiguity and being human are constantly at the forefront of these books. One of the greatest examples of this is Don Delillo’s White Noise. And the questions can be traced back to the Romantic poets, to Wordsworth, asking “What is God? What is the mind? What is this body that I have, and what is it used for?” Delillo asks a lot of questions about transcendence, and death, the ultimate meaning of life.

Those are a couple of examples; there are so many others - Edward Jones, George Saunders, able to capture every experience in 5,000 words. That’s a small miracle.

— BN.com

BOOKS BY FERRIS The Unnamed

Then We Came to The End o one knows us quite the same way as the men and women who sit beside us in department meetings and crowd the office refrigerator with their labeled yogurts. Every office is a family of sorts, and the ad agency Joshua Ferris brilliantly depicts in his debut novel is family at its strangest and best, coping with a business downturn in the time-honored way: through gossip, pranks, and increasingly frequent coffee breaks.

With a demon’s eye for the details that make life worth noticing, Joshua Ferris tells a true and funny story about survival in life’s strangest environment—the one we pretend is normal five days a week.

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oshua Ferris’ debut novel Then We Came to the End was both heralded by critics and a New York Times bestseller, and marked the arrival of a startlingly talented young writer. With THE UNNAMED, Ferris imagines the collision between one man’s free will and the forces of nature that are bigger than any of us.

Tim Farnsworth walks. He walks out of meetings and out of bed. He walks in sweltering heat and numbing cold. He will walk without stopping until he falls asleep, wherever he is. This curious affliction has baffled medical experts around the globe—and come perilously close to ruining what should be a happy life. Tim has a loving family, a successful law career and a beautiful suburban home, all of which he maintains spectacularly well until his feet start moving again.

What drives a man to stay in a marriage, in a job? What forces him away? Is love or conscience enough to overcome the darker, stronger urges of the natural world? THE UNNAMED is a deeply felt, luminous novel about modern life, ancient yearnings, and the power of human understanding.

J

CHILDREN

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Sudoku for Kids

Friday, March 12, 2010

Solution

Friday, March 12, 2010

CHILDREN

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OPINION

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Friday, March 12, 2010

Obama’s bodyguards Keeping Barack Obama alive is the greatest challenge the US secret service has ever undertaken. But who wants to kill him? And how likely are they to succeed?

By Ed Pilkington

T

he Southern Poverty Law Center began life in 1971 as a tiny law firm specialising in civil rights cases. It took on the might of the Ku Klux Klan, and was duly rewarded by having its offices razed and its senior lawyers targeted for assassination. But it kept on going and grew to be one of the most respected monitoring groups of rightwing extremism in America today.

Recently it brought out a report called Terror From the Right, which identifies, in chronological order, the serious homegrown plots, conspiracies and racist rampages that have been cooked up in America since the Oklahoma City bomb in 1995. The list runs to 10 pages of closely printed type and itemises 75 domestic terrorism events, from plans to bomb government buildings to attempts to kill judges and politicians.

Each of the incidents aimed to change the political face of America through violence, courtesy of groups with such titles as Aryan People’s Republic, The New Order and The Hated. But in the summer of 2008 the chronology takes on a sharp change of tack.

Entries, which had been running at one or two per year, start coming faster. And instead of a variety of different targets, one name crops up time and time again: Barack Obama.

The first such entry is for 8 June 2008. Six people, linked to a militia group in rural Pennsylvania, are arrested with stockpiles of assault rifles and homemade bombs. One of the six allegedly tells the authorities that he intended to shoot black people from a rooftop and predicts civil war should Obama, who five days previously had cleared the Democratic nomination for president, be elected to the White House.

Next entry: 24 August 2008. The day before the opening of the Democratic convention in Denver at which Obama was nominated, three white supremacists are arrested in possession of high-powered rifles and camouflage clothing.

They are talking about assassinating Obama.

24 October 2008: Less than two weeks before the election, two white supremacists are arrested in Tennessee over a bizarre plan to kill more than 100 black people, including Obama.

21 January 2009: The day after Obama’s inauguration, a white man is arrested in Massachusetts, having allegedly killed two black immigrants and injured a third. He says he was “fighting for a dying race”.

10 June 2009: James von Brunn, aged 88, walks into the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington and shoots dead a security guard.

Von Brunn, who died last month in jail awaiting trial, left a note that read: “Obama was created

by Jews.”

In the 13 months that Barack Obama has been the occupant of the Oval Office he has been the subject of an extraordinary outpouring of emotion from the American electorate. At the start it was largely adulatory, though more recently the adoration has been drowned out by a cacophony of criticism from tea party activists, birthers, global-warming deniers and viewers of Fox News. At the same time, largely hidden from view, there has been a layer of antagonism towards Obama that lies well beyond the boundaries of reasonable political debate.

That has been a fact of life for Obama and his family since long before they took the keys to the White House. On 2 May 2007, fully 18 months before election day, he was assigned a

secret service detail - much earlier than any other presidential candidate in American history.

The precise reasons for the move have never been disclosed, but there was certainly a mood in the air sufficiently palpable to disconcert Michelle Obama. A senior US official in the State Department has told the Guardian that before he decided to run for the presidency, Obama had actively to win Michelle over to the idea by assuaging her fears about the potential of an attack on him, her and/or their two daughters.

Michelle would have been aware of the backstory here: that Colin Powell had declined to run for the 1996 Republican nomination partly because his wife Alma feared his assassination at the hands of white supremacists. Over the course of the long presidential race, Michelle spoke openly about her anxieties and how she had determined to overcome them, telling 60 Minutes that she had decided to fling herself into the race because “I am tired of being afraid”.

According to John Heilemann and Mark

Halperin’s new account of the 2008 election, Game Change, she eventually felt relaxed enough to crack sardonic jokes about the subject. “I’ve already gone out and increased our life insurance on [Barack],” she quipped. “You just can’t be too careful!” But as the Southern Poverty Law Center survey shows, the issue of safety and the 44th president remains anything but a laughing matter. “Virtually every domestic terrorist event we have identified since June 2008 - when it became obvious that Obama was going to win - has been directly related to him,” says the author of the report, Mark Potok.

Risks Apart from the Obamas themselves, the burden of such a threat falls primarily on the shoulders of the US secret service, and as Joseph Petro, head of global security for Citigroup, puts it, the challenges facing the service today are unlike any period that has gone before. On top of all the usual risks associated

US President Barack Obama greets people at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania March 8, 2010, after speaking about healthcare reform. – AP

with guarding the world’s most powerful politician, there is now the added, explosive ingredient of his race. “As the first black president he creates a whole other set of issues for the secret service to deal with,” he says.

Petro can claim to be something of an expert in this area: he spent 23 years as a special agent in the service, four of them, from 1982 to 1986, as the man who stood beside Ronald Reagan. He knows what it’s like to be the last line of protection, how it feels to be in a milling crowd in which you are surrounded by thousands of potential assailants, what it is to live with the constant knowledge that any mistake - a split second taking your eye off the ball - could be fatal. Petro has a formula for measuring the potential dangers for any particular incumbent of the White House. You take the general atmosphere of the times in which they are in office and combine it with the specific personality that the president brings to the job.

In both regards, he says, Obama presents a huge task. “In Obama, we have a president with a very unique personality who likes to be out with the people. Put that together with the political atmosphere of these times that is highly partisan and vitriolic, then include race, and we’ve got a big challenge. There’s no margin for error.”

Petro’s point about the role the president’s personality plays in his own safety is ably illustrated by the single most disastrous failure in the secret service’s history - the event that every incoming trainee agent spends hours and hours studying until it is drilled into his or her bone marrow. Judged by modern security standards, the shooting of John F Kennedy in Dallas on 22 November 1963 should for several reasons never have happened.

The parade route Kennedy took was publicised in advance - a cardinal sin by the rule book of today. Lee Harvey Oswald had a relatively easy line of fire from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, which would these days have been thoroughly swept and sealed off. But it was the orders given by Kennedy himself that did for him - the president asked for the bullet-proof glass bubble to be taken off his limousine and for agents not to ride on the back of the car, thus leaving himself utterly exposed.

In the last analysis, as Kennedy proved at his own cost, a president can only be as safe as he allows himself to be. Agents can advise the commander-in-chief what is best for his security, but they cannot give him orders. “The secret service would want to take the president to Camp David straight after the inauguration and keep him there out of any contact with the public for the next four years. But they know that’s not possible,” Petro says.

During his presidential campaign, Obama would regularly mingle among crowds of astonishing size. But since his inauguration he has clearly responded to the guidance of his protecting agents, detaching himself considerably from direct public engagement. To some extent, that is only normal - he is no longer running in an election. But for a president who promised to break down barriers between politicians and people, it is noticeable how sparingly he is seen in public these days, and how the events he does appear at are almost invariably staged indoors.

Devices Over the years, the secret service has developed a range of technological devices for improving security. Petro recalls asking Reagan

Friday, March 12, 2010

on several occasions to wear a bulletproof vest.

(Reagan would grumble and groan but usually comply.) Over the last decade, such innovations have come thick and fast. A whole new array of gadgetry has been added to the service’s armoury, from face-recognition technology to a new generation of armoured vehicles. Obama rides in a Cadillac with military grade 20cm thick doors; on election night in November 2008 he gave his victory speech to a crowd of almost a quarter of a million people from behind bulletproof glass walls designed to foil sniper attacks.

But gadgetry is only as effective as the people who use it. In the last analysis, the human factor remains supreme, as was illustrated last November when two reality show hopefuls gatecrashed a White House function, penetrating the inner core of the building and shaking Obama’s hand. As it happened, they had no malice towards the president. But in the mindset of the mortified secret service that didn’t matter; they could have done.

Which on some level is the nature of the beast: being president of the United States is a high-risk enterprise, as Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John Kennedy all found out the hard way. Danger can come at a president from any number of directions. It can come from the lone deranged gunman. It can come too, theoretically, from international terrorism of the Islamist variety.

But Al-Qaeda experts point out that the closest the group has come to a direct attack on the president was 9/11 itself. “From Al-Qaeda’s view, to assassinate the president would be very desirable,” says Yehudit Barsky, a terrorism specialist at the American Jewish Committee.

“But it would be difficult for them to go after him not because they don’t want to but because their capacity is so impaired.”

Which is why in the overall assessment of

OPINION

risk to Obama, so much attention is settling on rightwing extremist groups who are already operating inside America, are armed and ideologically motivated, and in some cases potentially capable of desperate acts. This brings us back to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has been tracking the activity of potentially violent militia groups since the last great wave in the 1990s when the so-called Patriot movement ballooned in proportion to rising rightwing anger towards Bill Clinton and fears of impending gun control. That wave of opprobrium culminated in the Oklahoma bombing in which 168 died and 680 more were injured.

Plot The centre’s latest report, released last week, records an astonishing mushrooming in extremist anti-government Patriot groups who see the Obama administration as a plot to impose “one-world government” on libertyloving Americans. The numbers leapt from 149 groups in 2008 to 512 groups in 2009, of which 127 were classed as paramilitary groups.

“We know there has been a spike in activity across a broad range of things, particularly with regard to the notion that this government is illegitimate,” says Brian Levin, a criminologist who heads the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University. Levin says the phenomenon is evident in rural areas around the Appalachian mountains and Great Lakes and into the west and Pacific north-west, where new armed militia groups are spontaneously emerging; and he has no doubt about why this is happening right now: “We’ve always had people who hate the president, we’ve always had conspiracies, but the fact that we have a black president at a time of economic tumult makes these conspiracies much more

volatile among a far wider group of people.”

Chip Berlet, an analyst of rightwing extremism at the Massachusetts-based group Political Research Associates, estimates that there have been nine murders by individuals who have white supremacist, xenophobic or anti-Semitic leanings since the inauguration of Obama. Berlet sees similarities in the current foment to the militia agitation of the 1990s.

“Anger is spilling over from people who believe Obama is coming to remove their liberties, seize their guns, enslave the white American nation.

What’s new is that they can now recruit and communicate online, and that makes it very much more dangerous for the president.”

Montana is one of the rural states where resurgent extreme rightwing activity can be detected. Travis McAdam has been tracking such activity for the last two decades on behalf of the Montana Human Rights Network, so has a unique vantage point for what is going on today.

“The hatred that’s there is very real. It’s more than a gut-level hatred of having an AfricanAmerican as president, it’s also ideological these people see black people as sub-human.

Groups are popping up that have a new message and are using Obama to recruit new members.”

White supremacist forums that provide closed talking shops for members only have been abuzz with anti-Obama rhetoric since the presidential election. In one such talkboard, monitored by a watchdog group, a correspondent writes: “if we want to see the overthrow or the cleansing of society then we should support Obama being where he is! I believe in the coming war. With this Nig as President he will just speed up the process. He’s a cataylist! Isn’t this what we want?” Another says: “Our backs are really against the wall now. We need progressive activism and we need to be solution orientated. For a Whiter future for our children.”

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A third says: “I never thought I’d ever see the day when a monkey ran my country & I’m 34. I weep for our children.”

Vitriol For McAdam, the crucial question is how to sort this body of vitriol into its constituent parts - to separate out those individuals and groups who may be offensive and repulsive in their choice of words but are essentially harmless, from those that have the potential to be truly violent. He likes to think of it as a funnel, at the top of which are many people drawn to radical right groups for all sorts of reasons - gun rights, taxation, Obama-as-alien, or whatever.

Most never go further than that level, but some do. “As they dig into the subject, going down into the funnel, they start to lose connection with the social networks around them that keep them tied to normality. Down, down they go, and eventually out the other end of the funnel emerges the Oklahoma bomber, Timothy McVeigh, who says, ‘Our country is under attack, I must do something about it.’”

It’s the thought that some may be emerging from the end of the funnel at this politically charged moment, McAdam says, that bothers him so, and makes him think that “violence against President Obama is a real concern”.

McVeigh, executed in June 2001, is a name that crops up frequently among the extremism monitors.

It comes up again when Mark Potok gives his last word on the threat to Barack Obama. The white supremacists and anti-government militia who are out to get the president should not be underestimated, he says. “These groups aren’t Al-Qaeda. Most of them look vastly more bumbling than effective.” But then he adds: “It only takes one to get through. Timothy McVeigh taught us that.” — Guardian

SPOTLIGHT

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Friday, March 12, 2010

Elvis Presley:

The return of the King Elvis Presley left the army 50 years ago last week, to suggestions that the music he pioneered had died in his absence.

The truth turned out to be a little different. n the morning of 3 March, 1960, after a flight from Germany broken by a refuelling stop at Prestwick Airport, 30 miles south of Glasgow (the only time he set foot in Britain), the DC7 jetliner carrying Elvis Presley landed at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, amid the remnants of a light blizzard. Forty-eight hours later, Presley was given just over $100 in “out pay” - for travel, food and clothing - and, at the age of 25, discharged from the US Army, his two-year commitment fulfilled. He had been waved off from Wiesbaden

by Priscilla Beaulieu, the 14-yearold stepdaughter of a US air force colonel; he was met and escorted away from military life by Nancy Sinatra, the 19-year-old daughter of a man who had once described Presley’s music as “a rancidsmelling aphrodisiac”.

By the start of a new decade, however, Frank Sinatra had given up trying to repel the forces of rock’n’roll, whatever his private feelings. And if you couldn’t hold back the future, he may have thought as he sat in his suite in the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach, waiting for Elvis Presley to arrive, you might as well make

O

money from it.

Presley’s first professional commitment in his new civilian life was to spend two days in a studio in Nashville, recording material to be rushed out for sale to the 1,275,077 people who had placed advance orders for his new single while he was still in Germany, before the songs had even been selected. Once that task was complete, he, his musicians and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, boarded a train that would take them, with frequent stops to greet crowds of fans carefully alerted in the small towns of half a dozen states, to Miami, where he would perform both sides of his new single, Stuck on You and Fame and Fortune, as the guest star on Sinatra’s regular television show, which had been retitled for this special edition: “Frank Sinatra’s Welcome Home Party for Elvis Presley.”

Seventeen years later, when told of Presley’s death, John Lennon who had once proclaimed, “Before Elvis there was nothing” - spoke for the purists when he said: “Elvis died the day he went into the army.”

And even Presley seemed to agree that his early rock’n’roll incarnation had been consigned to the past

when, barely out of his 32nd Tank Battalion uniform, he told a reporter from Life magazine: “I want to become a good actor, because you can’t build a whole career on just singing. Look at Frank Sinatra. Until he added acting to singing, he found himself slipping downhill.” The reporter added his own verdict: “He is now a decent, God-fearing, country-loving all-American. He tells reporters he will sing rock songs only if his fans want to hear it.”

Thus was Presley’s metamorphosis from tearaway to all-round entertainer apparently confirmed. He was bound not for glory, but for Hollywood, and the endless wasteland of such movies as Blue Hawaii, Kissin’ Cousins, Roustabout and Girl Happy. Never lacking self-awareness, he recognised his plight as early as 1962, when he told a reporter from Parade magazine: “I have people say to me all the time, ‘Why don’t you do an artistic picture?’ I would like to, I’d like to do something someday where I feel that I’ve done a good job as an actor in a certain type of role.” But Colonel Parker had plotted a path that honoured sensible showbusiness precedents,

and would provide the comforting promise of an extended career structure to legions of young rock’n’rollers whose managers never expected the fad for the music to outlast their proteges’ teenage years.

Rumours of the music’s imminent demise had circulated among Tin Pan Alley cynics ever since Bill Haley’s Rock Around the Clock had hit No 1 in May 1955. And four incidents that took place while Presley was doing his military service suggested that its time might already be up.

First, two months after Elvis was drafted in March 1958, came the notorious British tour during which Jerry Lee Lewis, still hot with Great Balls of Fire and one of the performers tipped to usurp Presley, was unmasked as having undertaken a bigamous marriage to his 13-year-old cousin. “Age doesn’t matter back home,” a chirpy Myra Lewis told reporters. “You can marry at 10 if you can find a husband.” But Fleet Street felt it had revealed the true libidinous decadence of this ghastly teenage music, the tour was cancelled and Lewis’s career never fully recovered.

The lights dimmed further when the private plane carrying Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper crashed in Iowa in February 1959. Holly, although only 21, had already suggested ways in which the music might expand itself and thrive. But somehow his demise underlined the belief - fostered by Rebel Without a Cause and the popularity of such “death discs” as Endless Sleep and Tell Laura I Love Her - that rock’n’roll and the cult of the teenager might be a thing of short life, and short, doomed lives.

There were also more earthly problems. That October, the pioneering disc jockey Alan Freed was forced to resign from the powerful New York radio station WABC upon being accused of accepting inducements to play records on the air. At a live show a year earlier, Freed had been charged with incitement to riot after telling his young audience: “The police don’t want you to have fun.” The Payola scandal gave the authorities their revenge. Found guilty of accepting bribes, Freed was given a fine and a suspended jail sentence, and his name no longer appeared on the songwriting credits of Chuck Berry’s Maybelline, from which he

SPOTLIGHT

Friday, March 12, 2010 had received royalties in return for plugs. His career was ruined.

The fourth nail was hammered into the putative coffin in December 1959, four months before Presley’s demobilisation. It was on a visit to Juarez, Mexico, that Berry, the most influential of all African-American musicians on the new generation of white would-be rockers, met a 14year-old Apache girl whom he invited to work as a waitress at his club in St Louis, Missouri. Later that month, having left the premises after a row with Berry, Janice Escalanti was arrested on a prostitution rap, and Berry was charged under the Mann Act with transporting a minor across a state line for immoral purposes. At a trial with strong racist overtones, he was sentenced to three years in jail. So now rock’n’roll was morally bankrupt and commercially discredited in equal proportions.

It would not, of course, be kept down. A host of pretenders attempted to replace Presley, such as Ricky Nelson and Ral Donner in the US and Cliff Richard and Marty Wilde in the UK. Their managers followed Colonel Parker’s pattern, demonstrating a lack of faith in the music’s power to endure. Within months of scoring their first hits, Cliff and Marty could be found appearing in Christmas pantomimes. And, as Nelson remarked, “When Elvis returned from the army, the competition was rather tough for all young male singers.”

In Presley’s absence, the mood of the music had begun to change.

Raw, rockin’ rhythm and blues was giving way to the softer sounds of high-school pop: the Teddy Bears’ To Know Him Is to Love Him, Frankie Avalon’s Venus, the Fleetwoods’ Come Softly to Me and Mark Dinning’s Teen Angel were topping the US charts. The Twist and Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound were on the horizon: great pop music, but built on the contrivance of spontaneity. Something of the original spirit was kept alive by Eddie Cochran’s Summertime Blues and the Everly Brothers’ Bird Dog, but gradually the music was being repossessed by the professionals who had been pushed aside by the first wave of rock’n’roll.

Not that this was necessarily bad news. Some of Presley’s finest prearmy records, including Hound Dog and Baby I Don’t Care, had been written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, a pair of smart young Los Angelenos who mastered the art of creating black music for a white audience. After Presley’s return, the gifted team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman gave him a series of funky r’n’b-inflected pop songs, including the pairing of His Latest Flame and Little Sister, perhaps the greatest two-sided single in pop history. They symbolised the success with which the New York song factories of the Brill Building and 1650 Broadway, created to feed the public’s appetite for musical theatre, were in the process of adapting themselves to the new teen culture.

Wields The wilder side of rock’n’roll, represented by Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, may have lost its edge, and the death in a car crash of Eddie Cochran, following that of Holly, represented a costly loss, but pop music neither stood still or regressed while Presley was out of action. As he re-emerged, Leiber

and Stoller were writing and producing There Goes My Baby and Save the Last Dance for Me for the Drifters, Carole King and Gerry Goffin were about to give the Shirelles the first ever No 1 hit for a black girl group with Will You Love Me Tomorrow, and Burt Bacharach and Hal David were beginning the collaboration that would produce a string of classics for gospel-trained singers. And in Detroit, Berry Gordy Jr was using his earlier experience as a worker with the Ford Motor Company as he went about the business of building the pop-music assembly line that became Motown Records. No one could look back at this and judge it to be anything other than a miniature golden age.

Style Elvis’s own output, despite the need to churn out dismal soundtrack albums to accompany his films, continued to include the occasional gem, particularly for listeners prepared to accept his own breadth of musical taste. His first album, with its famous cover image of the young rocker in full flight, featured a Broadway standard and country ballads, and a group of songs captured on a home tape recorder in Germany during his army service includes a version of Mona Lisa that is closer to Nat King Cole’s suave cocktail-hour version than to the various rockabilly revisions, a straight rendering of Jim Reeves’s I’m Beginning to Forget You, and a gospel song, I Asked the Lord, which prefigured his many official recordings of sacred material. And he was clearly enjoying himself with each of them.

Elvis Is Back, the album resulting from the instant postdemob recording sessions, went some way towards re-establishing his credibility with his old fans through a compelling version of the bluesman Lowell Fulson’s

Reconsider Baby. In the summer of 1960, however, he released a single that created as permanent division among his following. It’s Now or Never was an ornately orchestrated rewrite of the classic Neapolitan ballad O Sole Mio, an awfully long way from what purists believed to be his roots in the vernacular music of dirt-poor Tennessee.

It prefigured Kitsch Elvis - the Presley of Are You Lonesome Tonight, Wooden Heart, Surrender,

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Bossa Nova Baby and Viva Las Vegas - and thereafter his music tended to be a highly personal mixture of Nashville, New York and Naples (and occasional detours to Nazareth).

Barely two years after Presley’s re-emergence, the Beatles and a generation of skiffle-trained British rock’n’rollers came along to inspire the wholesale rediscovery of pop music’s disruptive edge and unruly spontaneity, wresting it back out of

the hands of the Brill Building songwriters. But nothing had really died when Elvis got his army haircut, and if Lennon is up there somewhere and has a little time on his hands, he might take a listen to the utterly committed, all-stops-out version of Berry’s Promised Land that Presley cut with an ace band in the Stax studio in 1973 - still, even in the midst of his Vegas years, the fulfilment of all the promises rock’n’roll ever made.—Guardian

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Friday, March 12, 2010 CROSSWORD 925

Word Sleuth Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

ACROSS 1. A federal agency established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products.

4. (Scotland) A small loaf or roll of soft bread.

7. A commercial leavening agent containing yeast cells.

11. The syllable naming the sixth (submediant) note of a major or minor scale in solmization.

12. Earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something.

13. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

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

15. Fiddler crabs.

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

17. Used as a Hindi courtesy title.

20. The compass point that is one point east (clockwise) of due north.

22. (Sumerian) Evil storm god represented as a black bird.

25. South American wood sorrel cultivated for its edible tubers.

26. An independent agency of the United States government responsible for collecting and coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence activities abroad in the national interest.

27. Indian tree having fragrant nocturnal white flowers and yielding a reddish wood used for planking.

29. Tropical starchy tuberous root.

33. A colorless and odorless inert gas.

35. A master's degree in education.

40. Being six more than fifty.

41. A decree that prohibits something.

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

43. A healthy capacity for vigorous activity.

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

45. God of love and erotic desire.

46. The 7th letter of the Greek alphabet.

DOWN 1. Loose or flaccid body fat.

2. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

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

4. A unit of heat equal to the amount of heat required to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit at one atmosphere pressure.

5. Constructed with or in the form of an arch or arches.

6. 100 pyas equal 1 kyat.

7. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

8. A large fleet.

9. A large quantity of written matter.

10. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.

18. An agency of the United Nations responsible for programs to aid education and the health of children and mothers in developing countries.

19. That is to say.

21. Broken husks of the seeds of cereal grains that are separated from the flour by sifting.

23. A youthful male person.

24. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy.

28. Of or relating to or involving an area.

30. Turn up, loosen, or remove earth.

31. A crane-like device (usually one of a pair) for suspending or lowering equipment (as a lifeboat).

32. (Jungian psychology) The inner self (not the external persona) that is in touch with the unconscious.

34. A metabolic acid found in yeast and liver cells.

36. A nucleic acid consisting of large molecules shaped like a double helix.

37. Inquire about.

38. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the pilot is talked down by ground control using precision approach radar.

39. Thigh of a hog (usually smoked).

Yesterday’s Solution

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Friday, March 12, 2010

COUNTRY CODES

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY A r i e s ( M a rc h 2 1 - A p r i l 1 9 ) Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) was called "the most famous actress the world has ever known." She did a few films in the early days of the cinema, but most of her work was in the theater. At age 70, she played the role of the 13-yearold Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. I commend her on her refusal to act her age, and recommend that you make a comparable effort in the coming weeks. For example, if you're in your twenties, try something you thought you wouldn't do until you were at a very ripe age. If you're over 50, be 25 for a while. It's an excellent time to do this kind of time-traveling.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You might have to use primitive means to accomplish modern wonders. It may be necessary to hearken back to what worked in the past in order to serve the brightest vision of the future. Take your cue from Luis Soriano, a saintly teacher who carries a library of 120 books on the back of a donkey as he meanders around the back country of Colombia, helping poor kids learn how to read.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Humans have been baking and eating bread for at least 5,000 years. But it wasn't until the 20th century that anyone figured out a fast and easy way to cut it into thin, precise pieces.

Then Otto Rohwedder, who had been working on the project for 16 years, produced a machine that cut a loaf into individual slices. I bring him to your attention, Gemini, because I think you are in a phase of your life when you could very possibly create an innovation that would be as intimately revolutionary as Rohwedder's was for the masses. In fact, why aren't you working on it right now?

Cancer (June 21-July 22) In order to heal deep-seated problems, people may need to engage in long-term psychotherapy, patiently chipping away at their mental blocks for many years. But some lucky sufferers get their neuroses zapped virtually overnight, either with the help of a monumental event that shocks them out of their malaise or through the work of a brilliant healer who uses a few strokes of kamikaze compassion to creatively destroy their deluded fixations. I think you're now a candidate for this type of correction, Cancerian.

L e o ( J u l y 2 3 - Au g u s t 2 2 ) To discover the most useful truths, you will have to peek behind the curtains and root around to see what's cloaked in the dark and maybe even explore messes you'd rather not touch. What complicates your task is that the fake truths may be extra loud and shiny, distracting you from the down and dirty stuff with their relentless come-ons. But I have confidence in your ability to outmaneuver the propaganda, Leo. You shall know the hype, and knowing the hype will set you free.

Vi rg o ( Au g u s t 2 3 - S e p t e m b e r 22) The evil geniuses of the advertising industry are hard at work in their labs dreaming up seductive new mojo to artificially stimulate your consumer lusts. Meanwhile, the media's relentless campaign to get you to believe in debilitating fantasies and divert you from doing what's really good for you has reached a fever pitch. And here's the triple whammy: Even more than usual, some of your relatives and cohorts are angling to convince you that what pleases them is what pleases you. So is there any hope that you will be able to hone in on what truly excites you? (It's especially important that you do so right now.) The answer, in my opinion, is a qualified yes -- IF you're willing to conduct intensive research into the idiosyncratic secrets of what makes you happy; and IF you're not scared to discover who you are when you're turned on all the way.

Libra (September 23October 22) If you were living in Greece in the fifth century B.C., I'd urge you to bathe in the healing spring at the shrine of Asklepios in Athens. If you were in 19th-century France, I'd recommend that you trek to the sacred shrine at

Lourdes -- being sure to crawl the last half-mile on your hands and knees -- and sip from the curative waters there. But since you're a busy 21stcentury sophisticate and may have a limited belief in miracles, I'll simply suggest that you visit the most interesting tree you know and spill a bottle of pristine water over your head as you confess your sins and ask the sky for forgiveness and sing songs that purify you to the bone.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) It's quite possible that the nature of consciousness is in the midst of a fundamental transformation. The human race seems to be getting more empathetic, more compassionate, and even more psychic. Many of us are having experiences that were previously thought to be the province of mystics, such as epiphanies that give us visceral perceptions of the interconnectedness of all life. Even as some traditional religions lose members and devolve into cartoony fundamentalism, there are ever-increasing numbers of intelligent seekers who cultivate a more discerning spiritual awareness outside the decrepit frameworks.

If you haven't been on this bandwagon, Scorpio, now's a good time to jump on. If you're already on board, get ready for an accelerated ride.

Sagittarius (November 22D e c e m b e r 2 1 ) This week you'll be working overtime while you sleep. Your dreaming mind will be playing around with solutions to your waking mind's dilemmas.

Your ally, the wild conjurer in the ramshackle diamond-encrusted sanctuary at the edge of the deep dark forest, will be spinning out medicine stories and rounding up help for you. So of course you should keep a pen and notebook by your bed to record the dreams that come. I suggest that you also try to keep the first part of your mornings free of busy work so you can integrate the full impact of the nights' gifts. And don't despair if you can't actually remember any of your nocturnal adventures.

Their tasty after-images will remain with you subliminally, giving your logical mind an intuitive edge.

Capricorn (December 22J a n u a r y 1 9 ) There'll be an abundance of unambiguous choices for you to make in the coming days. I'm not implying they'll be easy, just that the different alternatives will be clearly delineated. To get you warmed up for your hopefully crisp decisions, I've compiled a a few exercises. Pick one of each of these pairs: 1. exacting homework or freeform research; 2. pitiless logic or generous fantasies; 3. precise and disciplined communication or heedless self-expression; 4. grazing like a contented sheep or rambling like a restless mountain goat.

Aquarius (January 20February 18) Among Eastern religions, some traditions preach the value of getting rid of your desires.

To be righteously attuned to current cosmic rhythms, however, I think you should rebel against that ideal, and instead cultivate a whole host of excellent desires. Use your imagination, please!

Here are a few I highly recommend: a desire for a revelation or experience that will steer you away from becoming more like a machine; a desire for a fresh blast of purity from a primal source; a desire for an imaginary pet snake that teaches you how to be more playful with your libidinous energy; and a desire for a jolt of unexpected beauty that reminds you how important it is to always keep a part of your mind untamed.

Pisces (Febr uar y 19-March 20) I used to have an acupuncturist who, as she poked me with needles, liked to talk about her understanding of Chinese medicine. Once she told me that every human being needs a "heart protector," which is a body function that's "like a holy warrior who serves as the queen's devoted ally." But the heart protector is not something you're born with. You've got to grow it by building your fortitude and taking care of your body. I think the heart protector will be an apt metaphor for you to play with in the coming weeks, Pisces. It's going to be an excellent time for you to cultivate any part of your life that gives your heart joy, strength, peace, and integrity.

Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antiga Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Cyprus (Northern) Czech Republic Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador England (UK) Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Holland (Netherlands) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Ibiza (Spain) Iceland India Indian Ocean Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait

0093 00355 00213 00376 00244 001264 001268 0054 00374 0061 0043 001242 00973 00880 001246 00375 0032 00501 00229 001441 00975 00591 00387 00267 0055 00673 00359 00226 00257 00855 00237 001 00238 001345 00236 00235 0056 0086 0057 00269 00242 00682 00506 00385 0053 00357 0090392 00420 0045 00246 00253 001767 001809 00593 0020 00503 0044 00240 00291 00372 00251 00500 00298 00679 00358 0033 00594 00689 00241 00220 00995 0049 00233 00350 0030 00299 001473 00590 001671 00502 00224 00592 00509 0031 00504 00852 0036 0034 00354 0091 00873 0062 0098 00964 00353 0039 00225 001876 0081 00962 007 00254 00686 00965

Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Liberia Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Majorca Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar (Burma) Namibia Nepal Netherlands (Holland) Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Nigar Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Ireland (UK) North Korea Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts Saint Lucia Saint Pierre Saint Vincent Samoa US Samoa West San Marino Sao Tone Saudi Arabia Scotland (UK) Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tanzania Thailand Toga Tonga Tokelau Trinidad Tunisia Turkey Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay

00996 00856 00371 00961 00231 00218 00370 00352 00853 00389 00261 0034 00265 0060 00960 00223 00356 00692 00596 00222 00230 00269 0052 00691 00373 00377 00976 001664 00212 00258 0095 00264 00977 0031 00599 00687 0064 00505 00227 00234 00683 00672 0044 00850 0047 00968 0092 00680 00507 00675 00595 0051 0063 0048 00351 001787 00974 0040 007 00250 00290 001869 001758 00508 001784 00684 00685 00378 00239 00966 0044 00221 00284 00232 0065 00421 00386 00677 00252 0027 0082 0034 0094 00249 00597 00268 0046 0041 00963 00886 00255 0066 00228 00676 00690 001868 00216 0090 00688 00256 00380 00976 0044 00598

WHAT’S ON

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Friday, March 12, 2010

ABCK’s ‘Defense Focus Group’ meeting BCK held its third Defense Focus Group on March 8, 2010, sponsored by AGT (American General Trading & Contracting Co). The meeting was led by ABCK Board member, Gregg Stevens, into a panel discussion on the Newly

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Approved Kuwait Labor Law on Feb 21, 2010. The Attorneys present at the meeting were able to answer questions raised by the ABCK Corporate membership representees. The lawyers were from Al-Twaijri Law Firm, Denton Wilde Sapte, and Al-

Otaibi & Partners. Attendees included US Embassy section heads and US companies. ABCK will launch a series of followon sectoral round tables or focus groups to promote Kuwait-US business, open to members and their guests.

Joyalukkas opens showroom in Kancheepuram he world’s favorite jewelry retailerJoyalukkas opened their latest showroom in Kamarajar Street, Kancheepuram on March 7, 2010. The glittering showroom was inaugurated by the Joyalukkas brand ambassador, Madhavan, in the presence of VIPs and other dignitaries.

The Joyalukkas Jewelry showroom in Kancheepuram is another signature showroom of the global jewelry retail chain within Tamil Nadu. The showroom displays traditional, chic and contemporary designs, from India and abroad, that are bound to appeal to discerning residents of Kancheepuram. The showroom will feature all the Joyalukkas world-class jewelry brands such as Sparx, tre’stelle, Perfekt, Spring, Florentina, Resham, Trisha, Aamira, Madhubani, teens & twenties and Zenina, plus a host of Platinum, precious Stone jewelry collections and Silver items and jewelry. Globally, Joyalukkas has set benchmarks for quality, service and choice and is one of the most trusted jewelry retailers in the world.

“Our Kancheepuram showroom located on Kamarajar Street like all Joyalukkas showrooms promises to bring an exceptional shopping experience to its residents, and we are glad to be a part of this wonderful city. We are targeting the quality, tradition and design conscious woman of Kancheepuram who demand quality and want to choose from a wide range of traditional and contemporary jewelry. Our vision is to make jewelry shopping more convenient and hence we intend to be in every main area within Tamil Nadu. With an expertise spanning over five decades, we are sure that our distinctive designs, quality and service will be welcomed by the

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ARABIC COURSE The AWARE Center is glad to announce that the Spring 1 Arabic course will begin on March 14th, 2010 until April 22nd, 2010 (Introductory Arabic begins on March 14th till April 15th, 2010). The AWARE Center offers Arabic classes on a regular basis from Introductory Arabic to level 4. AWARE Arabic classes are designed with the Expat in mind. Our Arabic Language courses offer a relaxed approach to communicating in basic Arabic for those who wish to learn Arabic for travel, for better understanding the Culture of the Arabs, for conducting business or for simply feeling more involved while residing in Kuwait. Whether you are a teacher, a traveler, or work in the private business sector, AWARE Arabic courses introduce Arabic language basics that will offer you a start into the skills that will better prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic. For more information, call 25335260/80, ext 105 or e-mail: Htaware.hassan@gmail.com or log onto: www.aware.com.kw”

residents of Kancheepuram” said Joy Alukkas, Chairman of Joyalukkas Group.

The Joyalukkas Kancheepuram showroom is consistent in design with the rest of the Joyalukkas showrooms and offers exclusivity and a welcoming feel. The showroom is conveniently located within the city to ensure ease of access for customers.

“Our aim is to appeal to women of all nationalities who love jewelry and are looking for chic, contemporary and wide choice in jewelry. The Joyalukkas standard of product, price, choice and service is assured to the residents of Kancheepuram.” added Joy Alukkas.

Madhavan, the brand ambassador for

Free course he Enlightenment into Islam Center (Revival of Islamic Heritage Society, Qortuba) announces a free course (for women only) in eight languages: Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Hindi/Urdu, Indonesian, Sinhali, Tagalog and Mindanao. The name of the course is ‘The Key to Paradise’ and will begin from March 15 and go on till April 26. The timings are from 5 - 7:15 pm. Learn about the meaning of La ilaha illallaah, its conditions and its virtues. For more information, please contact: 97743327, 99507076, 25329259.

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Announcements

Joyalukkas said, “I feel proud to be associated with a brand of Joyalukkas’s stature because it stands for trust, value, choice and exceptional service. Rest assured with Joyalukkas you will be dealing with a jewelry chain that truly understands your needs and has the international experience to introduce you to jewelry trends around the world”.

Joyalukkas’s competence in the jewelry business is evident from the unique patterns and styles that have won the hearts of customers and gained accolades from various renowned bodies across the globe.

The ISO certified jewelry chain currently has 75 showrooms in eight countries around the world.

Bangladesh Embassy notice he Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait will remain closed on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 on the occasion of 90th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The Embassy will host a discussion meeting on Wednesday, 17 March 2010 at 8:30 am to mark the 90th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Chancery.

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KUWAITI DIWANIYA TOUR Guided Tour 6-9 pm: Join us on this first-time tour to an elite Kuwaiti diwaniya after visiting the organization which plans for the complete application of Islamic Law in the State of Kuwait, known as “The Supreme Consultative Committee on the implementation of the provisions of Muslim sharia law.” On March 15. Seating is limited. For reservations contact AWARE by Tel: 2-5335280 or visit us online at www.aware.com.kw AZERBAIJAN CULTURAL EVENING Join us as the Azerbaijan Embassy share the history, culture and geography of this most remarkable country. Experience the tastes, sights and sounds of Azerbaijan on Wednesday, March 17 from 6-9 pm. For further details, contact AWARE by Tel: 25335280 or visit us online at www.aware.com.kw emails may be sent to info@aware.com.kw IMA FAMILY DESERT PICNIC 2010 Indian Muslim Association is organizing a spectacular picnic for families and bachelors on Friday March 19, 2010 from 7 am to 5 pm in a Desert Camp at the outskirts of Kuwait City. Picnic spot is located at 85.5 Milestone on King Faisal Motorway at Road No: 30. Free bus service is available to reach the location.

For entry passes, bus routes and other information, please visit www.imakuwait.org. or call97494266, 66037944 & 99379283.

WHAT’S ON

Friday, March 12, 2010

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Visions 2010 wows guests at BSK

he British School of Kuwait presented Visions Interactive 2010 the third art/design technology exhibition. The exhibition was opened on by the British Ambassador Frank Baker who made his first visit to the school since he took up his posting. Classical music from La Camerata, recent winners of The Young Musician of the Gulf Competition for the fourth year in a row, added to the enchantment of the opening as guests viewed the magnificent exhibits in the various internal and external areas of the gallery.

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The exhibition featured work of students at BSK aged from five to eighteen. All students study art, design and technology as part of the curriculum. This nurtures the creativity and examines the merging of artistic intentions and visualization techniques that create a powerful medium for artists and designers. This was definitely evident in the work that was shown throughout the exhibition. On display were two and three dimensional pieces, selected pages from sketchbooks, journals, ceramics and visual responses to structured tasks.

Working model exhibition

International Women’s Day celebrations

anitha Vedi, Kuwait celebrated International Women’s day and its 10th anniversary at United Indian School, Abbassiya. The Indian Ambassador Ajai Malthotra in his inaugural address portrayed the history of women’s empowerment in India since Independence and reaching to a stage where three women are holding the nation’s top most positions today that of Indian President, UPA Chairperson and speaker of the Parliament.

Right from freedom struggle Indian women has proved their mettle and contributed to the welfare of the nation immensely and excelled in every sphere of life.

He acclaimed the women’s representation in the local bodies which unleashed the energy of thousands of women hither though confined to the four walls of their obscure homes; in the nation building process and he told that the passing of Women’s Representation Bill be will be an epoch making event in the history of independent India.

He congratulated Vanitha Vedi for its humanitarian and charitable works in the last 10 years of its existence. Vanitha Vedi President Sajitha Skaria presided over the

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uwait Indian School in Abbasiya held a working model exhibition which was appreciated by parents and visitors alike.

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This year for the first time visitors took part in the exhibition by participating in interactive installations around the exhibit enabling them to influence its creation.

By the end of the show the exhibition had grown twice its size with the extra input from visitors. Interactive Visions 2010 was held in the stunning Lowry Gallery which was opened by Baroness Morris, a member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom, in February 2009. It runs until the end of March and full details are available on www.bsk.edu.kw.

function. Felicitations were given by IWA representative Razia Shoukath, Kala president J Albert and advisory board member R Ramesh. Santha R Nair gave the Women’s Day message.

A send-off was given to senior children of Vanitha Vedi family Anjali Anna Thomas, Diana Merlin Sam, Yedu Aniyan and Glen Sylvester who are leaving for India to pursue their higher studies. Apsara Muhammed presented them with mementos.

It was followed by a seminar on the subject “Family Harmony & Security for Social progress”.

Dr Mumtaz Shukoor, John Thomas, Dr Sajana A Mohamed and Dr Vasanthi S Nair respectively presented papers and slides on marital values, parents response to young adults, sexual diseases and prevention and role of women in family security.

Treasurer Shirley Ajith handed over their 10th anniversary programs schedule calendar to the Indian Ambassador who released it by presenting to Kala Gen Secretary of J Saji.

Vanitha Vedi Gen Secretary Valsa Stanley welcomed gathering and joint secretary Shoba Suresh proposed vote of thanks. Binu Rani Albert compeered the function.

Page 48

Friday, March 12, 2010

FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161

FLIGHT SCHEDULE

“IN CASE YOU ARE NOT TRAVELLING, YOUR PROPER CANCELLATION OF BOOKINGS WILL HELP OTHER PASSENGERS TO USE SEATS”.

Arrival Flights on Friday 12/03/2010 Airlines Flt Route Jazeera 0263 Beirut KLM 0447 Amsterdam/Bahrain Wataniya Airways 1129 Bahrain Gulf Air 211 Bahrain Ethiopian 620 Addis Ababa Turkish A/L 1172 Istanbul DHL 370 Bahrain Emirates 853 Dubai Etihad 0305 Abu Dhabi Qatari 0138 Doha Jazeera 0637 Aleppo Falcon 201 Dubai Jazeera 0503 Luxor Jazeera 0527 Alexandria Jazeera 0529 Assiut British 0157 London Kuwait 412 Manila/Bangkok Kuwait 352 Cochin Kuwait 206 Islamabad Kuwait 382 Delhi Kuwait 302 Mumbai Kuwait 676 Dubai Kuwait 284 Dhaka Kuwait 362 Colombo Emirates 855 Dubai Arabia 0121 Sharjah Qatar 0132 Doha Etihad 0301 Abu Dhabi Kuwait 344 Chennai Wataniya Airways 1121 Bahrain Gulf Air 213 Bahrain Jazeera 0447 Doha Jazeera 0165 Dubai Jazeera 0425 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 1021 Dubai Middle East 404 Beirut Airquarius 061 Baghdad/Basrah Iran Aseman 6521 Lamerd Egypt Air 610 Cairo Jazeera 0171 Dubai Wataniya Airways 2301 Damascus Nas Air 745 Jeddah Jazeera 0525 Alexandria Jazeera 0257 Beirut Wataniya Airways 2001 Cairo Saudi Arabian A/L 500 Jeddah Kuwait 552 Damascus Jazeera 0457 Damascus Qatari 0134 Doha Kuwait 548 Luxor Kuwait 546 Alexandria Kuwait 678 Muscat/Abu Dhabi Royal Jordanian 800 Amman Emirates 857 Dubai Kuwait 118 New York Gulf Air 215 Bahrain Etihad 0303 Abu Dhabi Saudi Arabian A/L 510 Riyadh Jazeera 0493 Jeddah Jazeera 0239 Amman Arabia 0125 Sharjah Jazeera 0367 Deirezzor Wataniya Airways 2101 Beirut Sri Lankan 227 Colombo/Dubai

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

United A/L Wataniya Airways DHL Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Indian Kuwait Jet A/L Oman Air Jazeera Wataniya Airways Gulf Air Middle East Qatari Emirates KLM Wataniya Airways Jazeera Jazeera Global Jazeera Tunis Air Pakistan Luthansa Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways

982 2003 473 1025 502 542 0177 618 674 786 614 744 774 575 104 572 0647 0459 2103 217 402 0136 859 0445 1129 0449 0429 081 0185 327 239 636 2201 1029

Washington DC Dulles Cairo Baghdad Dubai Beirut Cairo Dubai Doha Dubai Jeddah Bahrain Dammam Riyadh Chennai/Goa London Mumbai Muscat Damascus Beirut Bahrain Beirut Doha Dubai Amsterdam Bahrain Doha Bahrain Baghdad Dubai Tunis Islamabad/Sialkot Frankfurt Amman Dubai

18:15 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:45 18:50 18:55 18:55 18:55 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:30 19:35 20:05 20:20 20:40 20:55 21:05 21:20 21:35 21:40 21:55 22:00 22:10 22:15 22:20 22:40 23:10 23:20 23:30 23:40 23:45

Departure Flights on Friday 12/03/2010 Airlines Flt Route Jazeera 0528 Assiut India Express 390 Mangalore/Kozhikode United A/L 981 Washington DC Dulles Indian 982 Ahmadabad/Chennai Pakistan 206 Peshawar/Lahore Bangladesh 044 Dhaka Lufthansa 637 Frankfurt KLM 0447 Amsterdam Ethiopian 620 Bahrain/Addis Ababa Turkish A/L 1173 Istanbul DHL 371 Bahrain Emirates 854 Dubai Etihad 0306 Abu Dhabi Qatari 0139 Doha Jazeera 0164 Dubai Wataniya Airways 1020 Dubai Jazeera 0524 Alexandria Wataniya Airways 2000 Cairo Jazeera 0446 Doha Gulf Air 212 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 1120 Bahrain Jazeera 0422 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 2300 Damascus Kuwait 545 Alexandria Jazeera 0256 Beirut Kuwait 677 Abu Dhabi/Muscat British 0156 London Kuwait 551 Damascus

Time 00:05 00:30 00:40 01:05 01:10 01:15 01:20 01:25 02:30 03:15 03:15 03:50 04:10 05:00 07:00 07:00 07:20 07:30 07:40 07:45 07:50 07:55 08:10 08:30 08:35 08:40 08:55 09:10

Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera Arabia Emirates Qatari Etihad Wataniya Airways Gulf Air Kuwait Kuwait Wataniya Airways Jazeera Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait Middle East Kuwait Airquarius Iran Aseman Kuwait Egypt Air Wataniya Airways Kuwait Nas Air Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait Saudi Arabian A/L Kuwait Kuwait Royal Jordanian Qatari Kuwait Gulf Air Etihad Emirates Arabia Jazeera Saudi Arabian A/L Kuwait Jazera Wataniya Airways Jazeera Global Jazeera Wataniya Airways Sri Lankan Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Jet A/W Oman Air Gulf Air DHL Middle East Falcon Kuwait Kuwait Qatari Kuwait Emirates KLM Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

547 0456 0170 0122 856 0133 0302 2002 214 165 541 2100 0492 0366 0238 103 405 501 060 6522 785 611 1024 673 746 0176 0458 617 501 773 613 801 0135 743 216 0304 858 0126 0262 511 543 0184 2200 0448 082 0428 1128 228 1028 283 331 571 0648 218 171 403 102 381 203 0137 301 860 0445 0526 0502 411

Luxor Damascus Dubai Sharjah Dubai Doha Abu Dhabi Cairo Bahrain Rome/Paris Cairo Beirut Jeddah Deirezzor Amman London Beirut Beirut Basrah/Baghdad Lamerd Jeddah Cairo Dubai Dubai Jeddah Dubai Damascus Doha Jeddah Riyadh Bahrain Amman Doha Dammam Bahrain Abu Dhabi Dubai Sharjah Beirut Riyadh Cairo Dubai Amman Doha Baghdad Bahrain Bahrain Dubai/Colombo Dubai Dhaka Trivandrum Mumbai Muscat Bahrain Bahrain Beirut Bahrain Delhi Lahore Doha Mumbai Dubai Bahrain/Amsterdam Alexandria Luxor Bangkok/Manila

09:15 09:25 09:30 09:35 09:40 10:00 10:20 11:30 11:40 11:45 12:00 12:05 12:15 12:20 12:25 12:30 12:55 13:00 13:30 13:35 13:40 13:55 14:25 14:30 14:55 15:05 15:30 15:35 15:45 16:10 16:20 16:25 16:30 16:40 17:55 18:00 18:10 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:50 18:50 19:00 19:15 19:15 19:30 20:15 21:00 21:10 21:20 21:55 22:00 22:20 22:30 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:50 22:55 23:25 23:50 23:55

CLASSIFIEDS

Friday, March 12, 2010

ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for a family in a new building with two rooms and two toilets behind United Indian School, Abbassiya from April 1st onwards. Please contact: 66772421, 66552412. (C 20431) Sharing accommodation available for Indian working ladies, couple, family, in a 2 bedrooms, CA/C flat in Maidan Hawally opp 4th Ring Road. Call: 99325130, 25649970. (C 20435) Abraq Khaitan, single room available for executive bachelor/lady. Opp Kuwait clinic beside the main road, new building. Contact:

97523316/24745162 from 1st April. (C 20411)

66110593 or 24313908. (C 20430)

One furnished room with separate bath in a new building flat for a family/working ladies/bachelors with another family in Abbassiya close to Paradise hotel from April first. Contact: 99698501, 66558927, 66720897. (C 20433) 11-3-2010

An Indian lady (Kerala) looking for an Indian lady for sharing in a fully furnished central AC flat having Internet, telephone & dish facility, rent KD 35, Amman Street, near Apollo hospital Salmiya. Contact: 97919485. (C 20429)

Sharing accommodation available in studio room with Mangalorean Catholic bachelor close to Khaitan cinema Garnatha. Contact: 66036893. (C 20416) Sharing accommodation available for 1 Catholic bachelor at Abbassiya near Unique store no 2 from 1st April 2010.

Contact:

Sharing accommodation available for couples or working ladies or single bachelor with Keralite family, from April 1st 2010 at Abbassiya near Neethi store (fully furnished room with mini split A/C).

Contact: 66944127. (C 20420) Sharing accommodation available for a small family in a 2 bedroom, hall &

No: 14665

Page 49

kitchen central A/C flat near Emirates hotel Abu Halifa with Keralite Christian family. Contact: 97612421. (C 20427) 10-3-2010

FOR SALE Furnished double bedroom flat in Jleeb near Integrated Indian School with or without household goods rent KD 135 (including water and electricity).

Contact: 99763183.

(C 20438) 12-3-2010 Mitsubishi Magna 2002 model, excellent condition, owner leaving Kuwait.

Contact: 99928863, 55824279. (C 20434) Household items for immediate sale, with or without flat, close to Carmel school and in front of bus stop. (Bedroom set, dining table with 6 chairs, sofa set, refrigerator & ACs).

Contact: 55863074. (C 20436)

11-3-2010 Toyota Corolla 1.6, white color, 2009 model, very low mileage, excellent condition, wanted price 3,750 KD. Contact 66050484 (interested person call only).

(C 20428) 10-3-2010 2002 model GMC Envoy, white, sunroof, full options very good condition, KD 1,650. Contact: 99098766.

(C 20421) 8-3-2010

SITUATION WANTED Indian female (MBA in HR), 10 years experience in HR/administration, specializing in recruitments, PMS, MIS reports & overall Admin functions. Proficient in MS Office. Good communication skills. Contact: 66634322. (C 20439) 12-3-2010

SITUATION VACANT Required English speaking maid for a family living in Mangaf. Preferably Indian.

If interested, please contact 60055305 or 23741548.

11-3-2010

MATRIMONIAL Proposals invited for Orthodox girl, MBA (Fin), 27/160, working as business development executive in a reputed firm in Kuwait. Contact: gegekutty@hotmail.com (C 20432) Keralite Jacobite boy, 28/172, B.Com working as Junior Accountant, invites proposals from parents of

girls working in Kuwait.

Contact email: babypaily@hotmail.com (C 20437) 11-3-2010 Orthodox parents (in Kerala during April) invite proposals for their son 27/172 cm, M.Com PGDBA employed in MNC at Kuwait from parents of Orthodox/ Jacobite/ Marthoma girls suitably qualified and employed at Kuwait. Contact email: thekalloors@gmail.com

CHANGE OF NAME I, Santokh Singh Tung Pritam Singh, holder Indian Passport No: G2644269 hereby change my name to Santokh Singh Tung.

(C 20409) 5-3-2020

BABY SITTING Baby sitting available near Carmel School, Khaitan, with motherly care, and flexible timing. Contact: 66434840, 66436458, 55283525. (C 20422) 8-3-2010

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists: Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 5622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 5752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 5321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 5739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 5757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 5732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 5732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT): Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz

4555050 Ext 510 5644660 5646478 5311996 5731988 2620166 5651426

General Practitioners: Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi Dr. Yousef Al-Omar Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem Dr. Kathem Maarafi Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae

4555050 Ext 123 4719312 3926920 5730465 5655528 4577781 5333501

Urologists: Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 2641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 2639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 2616660

Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 5313120 Plastic Surgeons: Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari Dr. Abdel Quttainah

2547272 2617700 5625030/60

Family Doctor: Dr Divya Damodar

3729596/3729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

2635047 2613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians: Dr Adrian Harbe Dr. Verginia s.Marin Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly Dr. Salem soso

3729596/3729581 572-6666 ext 8321 2655539 5343406 5739272 2618787

General Surgeons: Dr. Abidallah Behbahani 5717111 Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 2610044 Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 5327148

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra Dr. Mobarak Aldoub Dr Nasser Behbehani

5728004 5355515 4726446 5654300/3

Paediatricians: Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed Dr. Zahra Qabazard Dr. Sohail Qamar Dr. Snaa Maaroof Dr. Pradip Gujare Dr. Zacharias Mathew

5340300 5710444 2621099 5713514 3713100 4334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada) 5655535

2639939 2666300

Endocrinologist: Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 5339330 Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 5658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 5329924 Physiotherapists & VD: Dr. Deyaa Shehab Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

5722291 2666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 5330060 Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 5722290

Dentists: Dr Anil Thomas Dr. Shamah Al-Matar Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

3729596/3729581 2641071/2 2562226 2561444 2619557 2525888 5653755 5620111

Internists, Chest & Heart: Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman 2636464 Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 5322030 Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 2633135

Neurologists: Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 5633324 Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 5345875

Internist, Chest & Heart: DR.Mohammes Akkad 4555050 Ext 210 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Tel: 5339667 Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Consultant Cardiologist Tel: 2611555-2622555

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Friday, March 12, 2010

TV Listings Orbit /Showtime Channels

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 21:00 22:00 23:00

Starter Wife Prison Break Inside the Actors Studio Murdoch Mysteries Prison Break Sons of Anarchy Damages Starter Wife Without a Trace Ghost Whisperer Inside the Actors Studio Murdoch Mysteries Damages Sons of Anarchy Inside the Actors Studio In Plain Sight Without a Trace Ghost Whisperer Starter Wife Tess of the D’urbervilles Without a Trace Survivor The Closer True Blood

00:50 Killer Jellyfish 01:45 Animal Cops Houston 02:40 Untamed And Uncut 03:35 Living With The Wolfman 04:00 Living With The Wolfman 04:30 Animal Cops Philadelphia 05:25 Animal Precinct 06:20 Monkey Life 06:45 Shamwari: A Wild Life 07:10 Vet On The Loose 07:35 Rspca: Have You Got What It Takes?

08:00 Wildlife SOS 08:25 Pet Rescue 08:50 Killer Jellyfish 09:45 The Jeff Corwin Experience 10:40 Britain’s Worst Pet 11:05 All New Planet’s Funniest Animals 11:30 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 11:55 Monkey Life 12:20 Shamwari: A Wild Life 12:50 Animal Precinct 13:45 Vet On The Loose 14:10 Pet Rescue 14:40 Animal Cops Philadelphia 15:35 Wildlife SOS 16:00 Rspca: Have You Got What It Takes?

16:30 Killer Jellyfish 17:25 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 17:50 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 18:20 Britain’s Worst Pet 18:45 Animal Battlegrounds 19:15 Night 19:40 Night 20:10 Great Ocean Adventures 21:10 Animal Cops Houston 22:05 Untamed And Uncut 23:00 Night 23:25 Night 23:55 Animal Cops Philadelphia

00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:50 04:20 04:50 05:20 05:50 06:20 06:50 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

Nighty Night Nighty Night Little Britain A Year At Kew A Year At Kew Paradise Or Bust Green Green Grass Extras Nighty Night Nighty Night A Year At Kew A Year At Kew Cash In The Attic Balamory Fimbles The Roly Mo Show Tikkabilla Yoho Ahoy Little Robots Balamory Fimbles The Roly Mo Show Tikkabilla Yoho Ahoy Little Robots Bargain Hunt

11:25 11:55 12:25 13:15 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:45 16:15 16:45 17:15 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 21:45 22:15 23:45

A Year At Kew A Year At Kew Paradise Or Bust The Weakest Link Eastenders Doctors Bargain Hunt Cash In The Attic Red Dwarf Red Dwarf The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders 2 Point 4 Children Green Green Grass Antiques Roadshow The Weakest Link Doctors Cherished Hustle

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 03:15 Antiques Roadshow 04:15 The Week The Women Went 04:40 The Week The Women Went 05:15 Cash In The Attic Usa 05:45 Hidden Potential 06:15 Living In The Sun 07:15 The Week The Women Went 07:40 The Week The Women Went 08:00 Antiques Roadshow 09:00 Cash In The Attic Usa 09:25 Hidden Potential 09:45 Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes 10:30 Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes 11:30 Living In The Sun 12:20 Antiques Roadshow 13:15 The Week The Women Went 13:40 The Week The Women Went 14:00 Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes 14:50 Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes 15:40 Daily Cooks Challenge 16:15 Daily Cooks Challenge 16:45 Cash In The Attic Usa 17:15 Hidden Potential 17:45 Antiques Roadshow 18:50 Antiques Roadshow 19:45 Daily Cooks Challenge 20:15 Daily Cooks Challenge 20:40 Masterchef Goes Large 21:10 Come Dine With Me

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 14:45 PG15 16:30 19:00 21:00

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

City Of Ghosts-18 The Juror-18 A Thousand Acres-PG15 Teknolust-PG15 Hardball-PG15 L’age Des Tenebres-PG15 Mean Creek-PG15 Only The Strong SurviveJacquou Le Croquant-PG15 Heights-PG15 Elite Squad-18

Untamed & Uncut Miami Ink Street Customs 2008 American Chopper Beetle Crisis Campervan Crisis Mythbusters How Do They Do It? Dirty Jobs Man Made Marvels Asia Beetle Crisis Campervan Crisis Street Customs 2008 How Do They Do It? Mythbusters Ultimate Survival American Loggers How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? American Chopper Miami Ink Mythbusters Dirty Jobs American Loggers Street Customs Berlin

19:30 Destroyed In Seconds 20:00 How Do They Do It? 20:30 How Do They Do It?

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

00:15 00:40 01:30 02:20 03:15

Extreme Engineering Science Of Beauty The Future Of...

Mission Implausible Beyond Tomorrow Ten Ways How Stuff’s Made Green Wheels One Step Beyond Science Of Beauty Thunder Races Ten Ways The Future Of...

How Stuff’s Made Stuntdawgs Science Of Beauty Mean Green Machines One Step Beyond Ten Ways The Colony The Colony How Stuff’s Made Thunder Races Brainiac Extreme Engineering Sci-Fi Science Sci-Fi Science Weird Connections Weird Connections How It’s Made How It’s Made Mythbusters Sci-Fi Science Sci-Fi Science Weird Connections

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 Higglytown Heroes 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 Suite Life On Deck Replacements American Dragon Hannah Montana Kim Possible Fairly Odd Parents Jonas Replacements Phineas & Ferb Kim Possible Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Sonny With A Chance Sonny With A Chance Hannah Montana Hannah Montana Go Figure Phineas & Ferb Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Replacements American Dragon Hannah Montana

Streets Of Hollywood Ths 25 Most Stylish Sexiest 15 Most Shocking Acts Of

Violence 05:05 Dr 90210 06:00 15 Most Infamous Child Star Mugshots 07:45 25 Most Stylish 08:35 E! News 09:00 The Daily 10 09:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 09:50 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 10:15 Ths 12:00 E! News 12:25 The Daily 10 12:50 Fashion Police 13:40 50 Cutest Child Stars: All Grown Up 15:25 Behind The Scenes 15:50 Behind The Scenes 16:15 E!es 17:10 Leave It To Lamas 17:35 Leave It To Lamas 18:00 E! News 18:25 The Daily 10 18:50 Streets Of Hollywood 19:15 Battle Of The Hollywood Hotties 19:40 Ths 20:30 Ths 21:20 Fashion Police

01:30 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal #2: Teams TBA 04:00 Champions Tour Highlights Toshiba Classic 05:00 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal #3: Teams TBA 07:30 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal #4: Teams TBA 10:00 Golf Central International 10:30 The Golf Channel - TBA 13:00 PGA Tour: Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular Rd.1 Rio Grande, Puerto Rico 15:00 Golf Central International 15:30 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal #1: Teams TBA 18:00 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal #2: Teams TBA 20:30 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal #3: Teams TBA 23:00 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal #4: Teams TBA

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 21:20 22:10 23:00 23:50

Dr G: Medical Examiner Fbi Files Dead Tenants On The Case Crimes That Shook The World Forensic Detectives Crime Scene Psychics Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghosthunters Ghosthunters Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Csu The Prosecutors Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Diagnosis: Unknown Solved Mystery Er Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Csu The Prosecutors Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Diagnosis: Unknown Solved Mystery Er Undercover Fugitive Strike Force

01:15 Stigmata 02:55 Gothic 04:20 Howling II: Your Sister Is A Werewolf 05:50 Getting it Right 07:30 Napoleon 08:50 The Fantasticks 10:15 Miracle Beach

300-on 11:40 13:10 14:40 16:30 18:05 20:25 22:00 23:30

Mannequin Ski School Of Mice And Men A Doll’s House F.I.S.T Crusoe Catch the Heat Breaking In

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 03:00 08:00 09:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00 23:30

(P) The Osbournes (P) The Osbournes Fist Of Zen 2 Lick Shots Headbangers Ball   Music Mix Starter Mtv Breakfast Club Alarm Mtv Top 10  Nelly Furtado Music Non Stop Lunchbox Made Made Made Mtv Icon Linkin Park Worldchart Express Music Non Stop This Is The New Sh*T Dancefloor Chart Most Wanted The Osbournes The Osbournes

Show Movies

00:00 Modern Family 00:30 New adventures of old Christine 01:00 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 01:30 The Colbert Report 02:00 Late Night with Jimmy Fallon 03:00 Family Guy 03:30 Entourage 04:00 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson 05:00 Modern Family 05:30 Late Night with Jimmy Fallon 06:30 Tyler Perry’s House of Payne 07:00 Home Improvement 07:30 Malcolm in the Middle 08:00 Coach 08:30 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 09:00 The Colbert Report 09:30 Drew Carey 10:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:30 Frasier 11:00 Til’ Death 11:30 Eight Simple Rules 12:00 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

13:00 New adventures of old Christine 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 Two and a half men 20:00 Best of Late night with Jimmy Fallon 21:00 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

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

Bondi Rescue - Bali Bondi Rescue - Bali Bondi Rescue - Bali Surfer’s Journal Bondi Rescue Destination Extreme Surfer’s Journal Treks In A Wild World Madventures Chasing Time Which Way To...

Bondi Rescue - Bali Bondi Rescue - Bali Bondi Rescue - Bali Surfer’s Journal 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 Treks In A Wild World Madventures Chasing Time Perilous Journeys Long Way Down

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:00 03:00

What’s Good For You 10 Years younger S3 Look A Like S2 The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Monique Show

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Friday, March 12, 2010 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 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 Leno 23:00

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Never Trust A Skinny Cook 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 What’s Good For You Never Trust A Skinny Cook Fresh GMA Live GMA Health What’s the Buzz Look A Like S2 10 Years younger S3 The View The Ellen DeGeneres Show Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The Tonight show with Jay The Monique Show

Special Agent Oso Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Imagination Movers Chuggington Chuggington Chuggington Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Special Agent Oso Imagination Movers My Friends Tigger And Pooh Chuggington Special Agent Oso Little Einsteins Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Little Einsteins My Friends Tigger And Pooh Special Agent Oso Little Einsteins Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jo Jo’s Circus Jo Jo’s Circus Higglytown Heroes Higglytown Heroes My Friends Tigger And Pooh Chuggington Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Special Agent Oso Chuggington Chuggington Imagination Movers Handy Manny Special Agent Oso Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Handy Manny Chuggington

00:00 Things We Lost In The FirePG15 02:00 Every Second Counts-PG 04:00 Bedtime Stories-FAM 05:45 Ocean’s Thirteen-PG15 08:00 Nights In Rodanthe-PG15 10:00 Sarah Landon And The Paranormal Hour-PG 12:00 The Incredible Hulk-PG 14:00 Bolt-FAM 15:45 Nights In Rodanthe-PG15 17:45 Speed Racer-PG 20:00 Hotel For Dogs-FAM 22:00 300-18

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On The Doll-18 Smokin’ Aces-18 New Town Killers-PG Player 5150-PG15 Enough-PG15 Midnight Bayou-PG15 Redline-PG15 Enough-PG15 Revolver-18 Punisher: War Zone-18 Alien Raiders-18 Eden Lake-18

00:00 Taking A Chance On Love02:00 Deep In The Valley-PG15 04:00 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star-PG15 06:00 Skills Like This-PG15 08:00 I Me Wed-PG15 10:00 Twins-PG 12:00 Heavyweights-PG 14:00 Be Kind Rewind-PG15

16:00 Taking A Chance On LovePG15 18:00 How To Be-PG15 20:00 The Immaculuate Conception Of Little Dizzle-PG15 22:00 Jackass: The Movie-18

13:04 13:50 16:04 16:45 18:00 18:45 19:00 20:04 20:45 23:00 23:45

01:00 Mighty Joe Young-PG 03:00 Space Buddies-PG 04:30 The Ant Bully-FAM 06:00 Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs-FAM 08:00 Babar: King Of The Elephants 10:00 Space Buddies-PG 12:00 Yogi Bear And The Magical Flight Of The Sp-PG 14:00 Mighty Joe Young-PG 16:00 Tommy And The Cool Mule 18:00 Space Chimps-PG 20:00 Wonder Woman-PG15 22:00 Yogi Bear And The Magical Flight Of The Sp-PG 23:30 Babar: King Of The Elephants

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00:00 Globe Trekker 01:00 Angry Planet 01:30 The Thirsty Traveler 02:00 Essential 02:30 Travel Today 03:00 Distant Shores 03:30 Wild At Heart 04:00 Julian And Camilla’s World Odyssey 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 Dream Destinations 10:00 Distant Shores 10:30 Distant Shores 11:00 Chef Abroad 11:30 Entrada 12:00 Planet Food 13:00 Globe Trekker 14:00 Chef Abroad 14:30 The Thirsty Traveler 15:00 Feast India 15:30 Entrada 16:00 Essential 16:30 Travel Today 17:00 Globe Trekker 18:00 Skier’s World 18:30 Hollywood And Vines 19:00 Chef Abroad 19:30 The Thirsty Traveler 20:00 Globe Trekker 21:00 Globe Trekker 22:00 Intrepid Journeys 23:00 Angry Planet 23:30 Photoxplorers

Bones Dollhouse Janice Dickinson Beauty and the Geek The Murdoch Mysteries Parkinson Emmerdale Huey’s Cooking Adventure Life on Mars Parkinson Beauty and the Geek (TBA) The Murdoch Mysteries Emmerdale Huey’s Cooking Adventure Parkinson Bones Dollhouse Life on Mars Beauty and the Geek Better off Ted Billable Hours Burn Notice Burn Notice The Murdoch Mysteries Life on Mars Janice Dickinson

01:30 Premier League World 02:00 Goals Goals Goals 02:30 Barclays Premier League Highlights 03:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 04:00 Premier League World 06:00 Premier League Classics 06:30 Premier League Classics 07:00 Premier League World 07:30 Fut Brasil 08:00 Premier League 10:00 Barclays Premier League Highlights 11:00 Premier League Classics 11:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 12:00 Premier League World 12:30 Live NRL Premiership 14:30 Premier League 16:30 Barclays Premier League Highlights 17:30 Fut Brasil 18:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 18:30 Premier League 20:30 Goals Goals Goals 21:00 Premier League World 21:30 Live Barclays Premier League Preview 22:30 Futbol Mundial

02:00 FIH Hockey World Cup 04:00 FIH Hockey World Cup 06:00 Futbol Mundial 06:30 European Tour Weekly 07:00 Premier League Darts 11:00 ICC Cricket World 11:30 Live NRL Premiership 13:30 Mobil 1 14:00 Premier League World 14:30 Barclays Premier League Highlights 15:30 Premier League Darts 19:30 European PGA Tour Highlights 20:30 European Tour Weekly 21:00 Futbol Mundial 21:30 Premier League Preview Show 22:00 Premier League World

Urban Hit Playlist Africa Playlist Urban Hit Playlist Trace Video Mix New Playlist Club 10 Playlist

Rocknrolla on Super Movies 21:00 Yes Man-PG15 23:00 The Other Boleyn Girl-PG15

00:00 Futbol Mundial 00:30 Portugol 01:00 SPL Highlights 01:30 Weber Cup Bowling 02:30 Premier League Darts 06:30 World Sport 07:00 PGA European Tour Highlights 08:00 European Tour Weekly 08:30 Mobil 1 09:00 World Sport 09:30 Live Super 14 11:30 Live Super 14 13:30 Premier League World 14:00 Live FIH Hockey World Cup 16:00 Live FIH Hockey World Cup

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Live NCAA Basketball WWE NXT Live NCAA Basketball NCAA Basketball Live NCAA Basketball Live NCAA Basketball

00:00 Rocknrolla-18 02:15 Forgetting Sarah Marshall-18 04:30 Greetings From The Shore06:45 Bride Wars-PG15 09:00 High School Musical 3: Senior Year-PG 11:00 Asterix Aux Jeux Olympiques13:00 Eavesdrop-PG 15:00 High School Musical 3: Senior Year-PG 17:00 Mr. Magoriums Wonder Emporium-FAM 19:00 The Secret Life Of Bees-PG15

00:50 02:55 05:00 07:30 08:00 09:35 11:30 13:30 15:05 Fair 16:50 19:10 20:45 22:35 23:00

Sweet Bird Of Youth Slaves Of New York 2001: A Space Odyssey The Screening Room Angels With Dirty Faces Now, Voyager The Yellow Rolls-royce Code Name: Emerald It Happened At The World’s

00:40 01:30 02:20 03:10 04:00 04:55 06:40 07:30 08:20 09:10 10:00 10:55 12:40 13:30 14:20 15:10 16:00 16:55 18:40 19:30 20:20 21:10

How the Earth Was Made The Universe 3 Human Weapon Modern Marvels Life After People Ape To Man How the Earth Was Made The Universe 3 Human Weapon Modern Marvels Life After People Ape To Man How the Earth Was Made The Universe 3 Human Weapon Modern Marvels Life After People Ape To Man How the Earth Was Made The Universe 3 Human Weapon Modern Marvels

2001: A Space Odyssey Canadian Bacon Butterflies Are Free The Screening Room Get Carter

22:00 Ax Men 2 22:55 Tunnellers 23:50 The Universe

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 10:30 11:00 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 22:30

Clean House Peter Perfect Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane Dallas Divas And Daughters How Do I Look?

Split Ends Dr 90210 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane Area How Do I Look?

Style Star Style Her Famous My Celebrity Home Style Star Dress My Nest Peter Perfect Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

Ruby Giuliana And Bill Clean House Clean House Comes Clean Dress My Nest How Do I Look?

Split Ends Dallas Divas And Daughters Style Her Famous Running In Heels Split Ends Clean House Dress My Nest Style Her Famous

01:04 02:00 02:45 08:04 08:45

Hit US Urban Hit Playlist French Only Playlist

02:00 02:30 03:00 04:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Vh1 Rocks So 80’s Greatest Hits Vh1 Music Chill Out Vh1 Hits Vh1 Music Aerobic Top 10 On The Road Music For The Masses Vh1 Pop Chart Vh1 Music Music For The Masses Vh1 Music Vh1 Viewer’s Jukebox Rock Vh1 Viewer’s Jukebox Rock Top 10 On The Road

00:15 Out Of Jimmy’s Head 00:40 Chop Socky Chooks 01:05 Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends 01:30 Cramp Twins 01:55 George Of The Jungle 02:20 Adrenalini Brothers 02:45 Eliot Kid 03:10 Ed, Edd N Eddy 03:35 Class Of 3000 04:00 The Powerpuff Girls 04:15 Robotboy 04:40 The Secret Saturdays 05:05 Chowder 05:30 Ben 10 05:55 Best ED 06:20 Samurai Jack 06:45 Cramp Twins 07:10 Eliot Kid 07:35 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 08:00 My Spy Family 08:25 Chowder 08:50 Best ED 09:15 Chop Socky Chooks 09:40 Ben 10: Alien Force 10:05 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 10:30 Alien Force 60 11:30 Squirrel Boy 11:55 Robotboy 12:20 Camp Lazlo 12:45 The Powerpuff Girls 13:10 Class Of 3000 13:35 Ed, Edd N Eddy 14:00 Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends 14:25 Codename: Kids Next Door

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obert Pattinson uses his films as therapy. The ‘Twilight’ actor looks for roles that will help him with his life, which is why he was attracted to new movie ‘Remember Me’, in which he plays Tyler Hawkins a rebellious young man living in New York city and trying to cope with the suicide of his brother. He said: “I try and pick roles that will help me develop as a human being and I think I was going through a similar kind of experience as my character Tyler, which I guess you could call being rebellious.

I thought just doing the film would actually help me to think about and discover things that would help me in my life.

I was

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kind of using it as a therapy exercise.” The 23-year-old heartthrob also admitted he is still grieving the death of his beloved dog Patty last year as he felt he had lost a family member. He told Parade.com: “I keep talking about my dog all the time. It was an incredible dog, and I said in an interview recently he was the most important person in my life. My family went crazy with me for saying that. But, however ridiculous it may seem to some people, my relationship with my dog was a defining moment.

Having the dog die was, literally, like the worst day of my life. It was like losing a family member.”

Lohan leaves Ungaro indsay Lohan has confirmed she’s left Emanuel Ungaro. The ‘Mean Girls’ actress ended months of speculation about her future at the French fashion house - of which she was artistic advisor - by announcing she no longer works for them. When asked why she wasn’t at Ungaro’s show at Paris Fashion Week, Lindsay replied: “Because I don’t work for them anymore. There’s legal things going on; I can’t really discuss it.” Earlier this week, the brand’s owner Asim Abdullah revealed Lindsay was “not involved” with the latest collection. Last year, Ungaro’s

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then CEO Mounir Moufarrige slammed rumors Lindsay was to be axed after her debut collection was a critical flop. He said: “As we speak, she is in New York in shoots with Ungaro. The decision to appoint her was controversial, but then fashion is controversial anyway, and you need some novelties and you need to test some new ideas.” Lindsay - who has her own fashion line 6126 - has previously admitted being associated with her can have negative consequences. The 23year-old star said: “I’m the first to say that in certain situations, my name will cheapen things because that’s what people have made of it.”

ady Gaga could fall in love with a woman. The ‘Bad Romance’ singer - who has previously admitted to be being bisexual - insists she has no boundaries on her relationships but views love and sex as two very separate things. When asked if she could see herself falling for a woman, she said: “Of course.

There are no rules or limits when it comes to love. But I see love as separate from sex. “And I happen to love male sexuality. Men have something I lack, but that I really value.” Gaga claims the search to find love fuels her creativity but admits she is worried her career will be over if she settles down. She added: “Love is about danger, always. Love jumps off cliffs, love is irrational. It keeps you alive and it destroys you. The search for love provides nourishment for your artistic soul. I’m afraid that as soon as you really find love, there won’t be anything left to write songs about.” Despite her fame, the 23-year-old star whose real name is Stefani Germanotta - admits she feels lonely on the road, so throws herself into her work. She told Now magazine: “I’m not looking at all. But I’ve got enough muses. “When you’re on tour you’re totally focused on your performances and you don’t notice much else.

And you spend a lot more time in hotel rooms than people think. I often sit up and compose so that I can remain in contact with my creative core.”

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Lady Gaga could fall for a woman

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Owenʼs 10 affairs ark Owen has admitted to having 10 affairs. The Take That singer - who wed his long-term partner Emma Ferguson last November - has confessed to being a serial cheat since they first started dating five years ago and admits he has been “an idiot”. He said: “She loves me and I let her down. I’m really sorry.

I have been an idiot, a d***head, a k***head. All of the above and more.

It’s about me, my mistakes. Nobody else is to blame. I don’t know how many girls there were in all. Maybe 10.” The 38-year-old star - who has two children with his wife, Elwood, three, and 14-month-old Willow Rose admitted one affair with Neva Hanley, an accounts manager, continued for almost five years even though he

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always knew Emma was the one he would marry. He said: “In my head there was never a time I was doubting getting married. It was a chance for me to put it all behind me and not make the mistakes I had made in the past. “When I have been in a bad way Neva has been there for me. All the other girls were one night stands.

When I was on tour, away from home on wild nights out, which was every night. I’m not in contact with any of them.” The pop star - who claims he has been faithful since his wedding last year - wishes he’d come clean with Emma sooner but admits he hasn’t always been easy to live with. He confessed: “I have been living with the guilt. It has always been there - you carry it around with you. It held me

Butler is ‘paranoid’ about having sex he Scottish actor - who has been romantically linked to his ‘Bounty Hunter’ co-star Jennifer Aniston in recent months - admits he is afraid anyone he sleeps with will go on to sell their story so is much more cautious about his behavior. Referring to golfer Tiger Woods - whose extra-marital

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affairs have been recently made public he said: “I get laid less now than I used to, because I’m way more paranoid now.

Look at f***ing Tiger Woods! “I mean, I’m nowhere near as naughty as I used to be, partly because I did a lot of that when I was drinking.” However, the ‘P.S. I

Love You’ star hasn’t curbed his behavior completely - he is just more discreet. He told Men’s Health magazine: “I’m not saying I’ve cut that part out. I’m certainly no angel. There’s no smoke without fire. But here’s the thing: While they’re accusing me of that, I’ve probably been off somewhere else doing damage with someone else. I’m pretty smart like that.” The 40-year-old star also feels he is addicted to “anxiety” and can’t help but create stressful situations for himself. He said: “I was born into a world of anxiety... I am slightly addicted to anxiety. When I’m feeling anxious, I’ll create more anxiety for myself. “Like I might call all these people about what’s fun to do tonight and end up with four different options, which in itself would put me into a blind panic; but then I’ll make another four calls just to make it 10 times more anxiety-ridden.”

Johansson’s gain pain carlett Johansson is willing to suffer for beauty. The stunning actress - who is the face of Spanish fashion label Mango - knows looking good can take hard work but says it’s worth it in the end. She said: “When I was little

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my mum always said, ‘Pain for beauty.’

That made me realize that, although the process of getting ready for an event is tedious, in the end it’s worth investing the time to have the look you’re happiest with.” The 25-year-old beauty - famed for her old-school glamour look - also says it’s important to dress in outfits that you feel comfortable in, not whether they’re in fashion or not. She told Britain’s Hello! magazine: “I think the most important thing is to look comfortable in yourself and in your own skin, whether you’re w e a r i n g something crazy, high fashion or casual. As long as you own the look, that’s the most important thing.” While she loves clothes, Scarlett admits to being a shoe addict. She said: “I love shoes. I don’t wear heels a lot, but I love them, and have a ton of them. Shoes are so beautiful - I love the way they are made and the way they make you feel.”

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Sandford consoled by Aston Merrygold

rankie Sandford has reportedly grown increasingly close to JLS singer Aston Merrygold. The Saturdays star has turned to the ‘Everybody In Love’ hitmaker for a shoulder to cry on following her split from McFly bassist Dougie Poynter, and Aston is said to be keen to take things further with the brunette beauty. A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “It’s still early days but there’s so much chemistry between them. “Frankie and her bandmate Rochelle Wiseman were backstage at the JLS show in London cheering on their boys and screaming incredibly loudly. “At a party a few days later Frankie took Aston by the hand and was leading him around. He was looking at her like a love sick puppy and hung on to her every word. “He didn’t want to let her go.

They looked so cute together - easily the best-looking couple in the place.” Despite the fact she is still upset over the end of her year-long romance, Frankie, 21, is determined to find love again soon. The source added: “Work commitments tore Frankie and Dougie apart. Aston has been so sweet by offering her support. She’s now looking for love. She wants to get back out there and find her Mr. Right.” Aston’s bandmate Marvin Humes is currently dating another member of The Saturdays, Rochelle. —Bang Showbiz

back in my relationship. “Life was hard, I guess. I let Emma down. I was selfish and stubborn. If we ever argued, it was down to me. “I have noticed a change since I stopped drinking, but I am quite difficult. It wasn’t the sunshine Emma was hoping for but it is better. I have always liked a drink and I am a party man.” The ‘Patience’ hitmaker hopes Emma will forgive him but accepts the fact his confession may spell the end for his marriage. He added in an interview with The Sun newspaper: “Emma is a strong girl. She has to do what is right for her and the kids. And I am here if she wants me. “She is the best thing that has happened to me. I want us to grow together and be together - but let’s see what happens.”

Cleese dates a jewelry designer

ohn Cleese is reportedly dating jewelry designer Jennifer Wade. The ‘Monty Python’ star was pictured enjoying coffee and a shopping trip in Jennifer’s home town of Bath, South England, after flying from Los Angeles to visit her. Although this is the first time they have been seen in public together, John and Jennifer - who grew up in the US - have reportedly been secretly dating for three months, after they were introduced by pals. A friend said: “Jenny is a really lovely and kind woman.”

John, 70, has had a turbulent love life recently, after his divorce from third wife Alyce Faye Eichelberger, 64, resulted in a court ordering him to pay a settlement of £12.28million. Of the 2008 divorce he said: “That I, at my age, would have to plan my life anew to pay her all the money she is to get for the next seven years - well, it irritates me. “I’d rather have been drinking coffee, reading books and writing. I can’t afford that now.” More recently John dated US comedian Barbara Orr, who claimed to be 27 and was later revealed to be 45. They split after two months because he was tired of her making fun of his age and revealing personal details about him such as his hair plugs. At the time Orr said she “kept picturing him naked wondering what someone that old looks like, and would I actually sleep with them”. She also joked: “For his birthday, I was thinking about buying him a Zimmer frame.” Orr did, however, publicly praise the comic actor’s lovemaking abilities - calling him “athletic” in the bedroom and a “great kisser”.

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Friday, March 12, 2010

Lifestyle

Barbie goes mad for ʻMad Menʼ been a hit on the AMC cable TV network with its tale of ad men who work along New York City’s Madison Avenue in the 1960s. The men, and women, on the show are notoriously scandalous, getting involved in all sorts of business problems and love affairs.

They also have become highly successful on TV, winning the top award in the United States, the Emmy, for

ook out Ken, there’s a new man in Barbie’s life. In fact, there are two of them, and they are “Mad Men”. The makers of Barbie on Wednesday said they are launching a new line of collectible dolls based on characters in acclaimed television drama “Mad Men,” including sexy executive Don Draper and his advertising agency partner Roger Sterling. The TV show has

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best TV drama and luring millions of viewers to AMC. Barbie’s no slouch in the fan department, either, and there is no doubt her makers at Mattel Inc. know a thing or two about publicity and advertising-just like the “Mad Men.” Since her first appearance in 1959, the trimfigured doll adored by girls around the world has had numerous careers, from astronaut to race car driver,

British singer Doherty handed driving ban abyshambles singer Pete Doherty was handed a 12-month driving ban and fined 500 pounds ($750) yesterday after admitting he allowed his manager to use his car without insurance.

A lawyer entered a guilty plea on Doherty’s behalf during a hearing before magistrates in Lowestoft, Suffolk, according to the Press Association.

In February the rock star’s manager Andrew Boyd was given a 12-month jail term after a court heard he ran into a pedestrian delivering local newsletters then drove off at speed in the car. Boyd, 42,

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admitted a string of motoring offences including dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and driving without a license or insurance during a hearing at Ipswich Crown Court on Feb 24.

The pedestrian suffered “catastrophic” brain injuries and was left in a coma, the court heard. Yesterday’s ruling was the latest setback for Doherty, 30, who once dated supermodel Kate Moss. In January he was fined after being caught with heroin in his pocket at a December court hearing for a case related to careless driving. —Reuters

Jack Neo has the support of his wife

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Pete Doherty

42,000-year-old baby mammoth on display in Chicago

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ome 42,000 years after scientists say she fell into mud near a river and suffocated, an intact baby woolly mammoth from the Ice Age is to go on display for the first time in the United States at The Field Museum.

Scientists say the mammoth calf, named Lyuba, is the best preserved and most complete mammoth specimen known.

She was found in 2007 by a reindeer herder in northern Siberia’s remote YamalNenets autonomous region and named for his wife.

“Her preservation, her really lifelike qualities allow you to form a better impression of what the past was really like,” said Dan Fisher, a University of Michigan paleontologist and the museum’s exhibit curator.

“It becomes more immediate.

It’s real.” In the exhibit that opens Friday, visitors can see the folds and creases in Lyuba’s skin, the bottom of

he wife of disgraced filmmaker Jack Neo, 50, Mdm Irene Kng has been a sea of calm and forgiveness since news his two-year extramarital affair with a woman less than half his age surfaced over the weekend. The 46year-old, who’s been married to Neo for 27 years, has four children aged six to 19 with him.

Her composed reaction shocked freelance model-actress Wendy Chong, 22, when she went to the couple’s Paris Ris semi-detached home last Friday.

Mdm Kng, who knew of the affair a year ago, has expressed that she had already forgiven her straying husband and will continue to support him during the scandal. She added that their family would not be affected by it. She said that she “did not care who Jack was involved with, as long as she loves him.”

She became aware of their affair when a family friend spotted the two together.

Neo, Singapore’s

her foot and small patches of hair on her ear and leg. At 45 inches (114 centimeters) long, Lyuba weighs about 92 pounds (42 kilograms) and if fully grown could have measured 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall at her shoulder and weighed between 3 tons (2.7 metric tons) and 4 tons (3.6 metric tons), Fisher said.

Lyuba has been a boon for scientists, who have done MRIs, CT scans and DNA testing among other analyses on the baby mammoth. “The things you can learn from a fleshy specimen like this that you can’t learn from studying a skeleton,” said Tom Skwerski, The Field Museum’s project manager for the exhibit. “It’s as if all of a sudden you’ve been given this great gift to be able to reaffirm a lot of your theories.” Scientists have analyzed Lyuba’s stomach contents, including her mother’s milk. —AP

most commercially successful movie director and producer admitted to his infidelity a day after a Chinese evening daily broke the story last Saturday. The paper said that Chong, who has a role in Neo’s film Being Human currently in cinemas, became

The three then left to carry on the meeting at Changi Airport’s Crowne Plaza hotel which allegedly lasted four hours and were subsequently joined by Chong’s father and sister as well as Neo’s pastor, church friend and manager. Neo’s family has moved out of their

Pete Doherty enraged that the actorcomedian did not answer her calls last Friday. She went to his home around 3pm and waited for him to return. She told him she wanted to see his wife which he obliged by calling Mdm Kng to come downstairs, surprising Chong.

Pasir Ris home temporarily to avoid media attention. He has claimed that he had been unable to end the affair with Chong because she threatened to harm herself.

Chong first knew Neo when she had a small role in his Money No Enough 2. — sg.news

and her friends have included all types of people.

Ken, her “friend” since 1961, has been by her side through it all, and if Don or Roger come between he and Barbie, there is hope. Along with the two men in the “Mad Men” collector series, come two women: Draper’s wife Betty and bombshell office manager Joan Holloway. The new dolls will be priced just under $75. —Reuters

Pink Floyd wins UK court battle with EMI label ritish rock band Pink Floyd yesterday won a court battle with EMI in a ruling that prevents the record company from selling single downloads on the internet from the group’s concept albums. The outcome of the other element of the legal tussle in London’s High Courtconcerning the level of royalties paid to the band by the label-was unclear, as that part of the judgment was held in secret, the Press Association reported. The ruling is the latest blow to EMI, the smallest of the four major record companies which is seeking new funds to avoid breaching debt covenants.

Pink Floyd signed with the label over 40 years ago and its back catalog has been outsold only by that of the Beatles. The band, whose albums include “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall,” was challenging EMI’s ability to “unbundle” their albums and sell individual tracks online. Judge Andrew Morritt accepted arguments by the group that EMI was bound by a contract forbidding it to sell its records other than as complete albums without written consent.

The judge said the purpose of a clause in the contract was to “preserve the artistic integrity of the albums.” Pink Floyd alleged that EMI had allowed online downloads from the albums and parts of tracks to be used as ringtones. The record company had argued that the contract related only to physical records and not to online distribution.

EMI successfully applied to the court for the royalties aspect of the case to be kept secret for reasons of “commercial confidentiality.”

Lawyers said it was the first time a royalties dispute between artists and their record companies had been held in private, excluding the media and public. The judge ordered EMI to pay Pink Floyd’s costs in the case, estimated at 60,000 pounds ($90,000), and refused the company permission to appeal.—Reuters

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Lifestyle

From left, Taboo, apl.de.ap, Stacy ‘Fergie’ Ferguson and will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas perform during a mini-concert in Times Square. —AP

Samsung unveils world’s first 3-D LED TV sets W

ith the star power of hip-hop group The Black Eyed Peas and “Avatar” director James Cameron, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics giant late Wednesday unveiled the world’s first 3-D TV technology aimed at revolutionizing the home viewing experience. At a glitzy ceremony in New York’s Time Warner Center, the leading consumer electronics maker announced the launch of a broad lineup of new sets, beginning with 46-inch and 55-inch C7000 models this month, showcasing the LED-lit TVs’ 3-D picture quality

with incredible depth and perfect clarity.

Viewers are to wear electronic glasses that open and close rapidly in time, with images designed for the right and left eye, creating a threedimensional effect. Samsung also announced the expansion of its strategic alliance with DreamWorks Animation, the US maker of “Shrek,” “Kung Fu Panda” and other hit movies to speed up the worldwide deployment of in-home 3-D to mainstream consumers. This will include a first-time feature-length, 3-D Blu-ray version of DreamWorks

Animation’s 2009 release, “Monsters vs Aliens.

Growth of 3-D has been slow because of a lack of programming, the need to wear special glasses and the higher prices of 3-D sets, but the recent release of science fiction blockbuster “Avatar,” a 3-D film by “Titanic” director Cameron, has renewed interest in the medium. “3-D is more than just a groundbreaking technology - it’s the future of television, and we are committed to bringing this total viewing experience to consumers everywhere with the best picture quality in 3-D

content possible,” said Yoon Boo-Keun, president of Visual Display Business Unit at Samsung Electronics.

Rapper Will.i.am and his three partners The Black Eyed Peas were on hand to promote Samsung’s new 3-D TV technology. “This is going to enrich how you view sports, movies and TV at home,” he told reporters. Also present at the launch ceremony were US magnate Donald Trump and Cameron, who has played a key role in promoting the development of 3-D content.

Samsung officials say they hope to sell around two million 3-D TV sets this

year worldwide. Prices are expected to range from around 2,000 dollars for 40inch models to around 7,000 dollars for 55-inch LED C9000. Meanwhile Samsung’s Japanese rival Sony said Tuesday said it would start selling 3-D TV sets in Japan in June, but it has yet to announce a launch date for overseas.

Sony said its first 3-D liquid crystal display TV models would hit the Japanese market on June 10, with a price tag of about 350,000 yen (3,535 dollars) for a 46-inch version. Japan’s Panasonic Corp. is also to unveil its new 3-D technology shortly. —AFP

Mexico women to wed in first for Latin America “W

e don’t have anything ready apart from what we’re wearing,” said Judith Vazquez, a Mexican who married another woman in Mexico City yesterday in a first for Latin America. After years of activism, Mexicans Lol Kin Castaneda and Judith Vazquez were taken by surprise when the region’s first gay marriage law came into force last week in the Mexican capital. Shortly after they

signed their names in the city’s civil register, they learned they would be the first of five couples to pass before a city judge yesterday.

Mexico City’s left-leaning legislature approved gay marriage and opened the way for adoptions on December 21, provoking a wave of uproar from religious groups in the Catholic nation and conservatives including President Felipe Calderon.

The attorney general has lodged an

Lol kin Castaneda and her partner Judith Vazquez show their wedding dresses, during a interview with AFP in Mexico City, on March 9, 2010. —AFP

appeal against the move at the Supreme Court, and a string of states are seeking to apply measures to specifically prohibit gay marriages.

Meanwhile many Mexico City residents are enjoying a new freedom, which sets the sprawling capital another step apart from the rest of the country, after the city’s legislature approved first trimester abortions three years ago.

Mexico City is still a far cry from gay centers like Amsterdam or San Francisco, but it has one of the few openly gay populations in Latin America. Two men were recently married in Buenos Aires, the country’s second gay marriage, after a judge approved the union ahead of possible legislation in Argentina. After weeks instead of months of planning, Mexico City’s first female couple will marry wearing ivory dresses designed and donated by a Mexican stylist.

“I’m worried about the reception, about making a good speech,” said Lol Kin Castaneda, whose first name means “Sunflower” in the Mayan language. “My commitment (to the cause) means not speaking about myself but about a reality of putting a situation of historically-denied rights in political terms.” —AFP

Andy Garcia, Dominik Garcia-Lorido, Raymond De Felitta Pictured from left to right, film director, Raymond De Felitta, Andy Garcia and his daughter Dominik Garcia-Lorido, as they arrive to the premiere of the film City Island, in New York, Wednesday. —AP Egyptian actress and belly dancer Fifi Abdo poses in front of her poster during a press conference to announce the new television series ‘lifeline’ in Cairo. —AFP

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Fashion

Louis Vuittonʼs womanhood celebration closes Paris designer, continued to churn out red carpet fabulous for his preferred client base, actress, with a collection of asymmetrical column gowns in lace, ruched chiffon bands and glinting, jewel tone sequins.

For his first ready-to-wear collection with the label, Cerruti’s new designer, British-born Richard

fter a week of shows dominated by the rail-thin teens who are ubiquitous on today’s catwalks, Paris fall-winter ready-to-wear 2010-11 displays concluded Wednesday with a sensual celebration of women in all their curvaceous glory at Louis Vuitton. Supermodels Elle Macpherson, Laetitia Casta and

A

Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton Holland’s Lara Stone-a whopping size 4 — sizzled in 1940s New Look-inspired skirtsuits with nipped waists, full skirts and tight halter-tops that strained to contain their overflowing cleavage.”I feel like a real woman who is glamorous, who’s taking care of herself, who’s not afraid of her body,” one of the show’s models, Karolina Kurkova told The Associated Press in a backstage interview, adding that Wednesday’s was among her first shows since giving birth to a baby boy four months ago. She looked ravishing in a dusty blue wool skirtsuit.

Still, it was business as usual on other catwalks, where wispy adolescents with bizarre, leaningback postures and jerky gaits were de rigeur. At Vuitton’s cross-town rival, storied saddle maker and luxury powerhouse Hermes,

gender-bending English dandies strutted in leather trenches and crocodile blazers that underscored the label’s traditional savoir faire, leatherwork. Elie Saab, Hollywood’s favorite Lebanese

Nicoll delivered a commercially oriented show of wearable layered looks in a pretty blue palette.

Prada second line Miu Miu sent out a ravishing collection of short cocktail dresses in thick wool felt that resembled nothing else seen all week. The show itself, too, was unique, with models that kept losing their way on the meandering catwalk. The wandering, panickedstruck models added an extra element of drama to an already dramatic collection.

Other outstanding shows this week included a kinky ski-meetsscuba collection at Givenchy, where designer Riccardo Tisci continued to refine his sophisticated, slightly S&M aesthetic, and at Lanvin, where modern-day Cleopatras sported exaggerated, sharp-shouldered jackets and slim, finely draped cocktail dresses and matching blunt, black, bobbed wigs.

Layering emerged as a major

trend in Paris, where labels like quirky Kenzo piled on rich knit sweaters, jackets, coats, scarves and shawls. A bohemian, 1970s spirit infused many other Paris collections, from heritage French house Leonard to Yves Saint Laurent to Chloe-where designer Hannah MacGibbon hit her stride with a collection of high-waisted pants and cozy camel sweaters.

Fur, a major trend on fall-winter runways in New York and Milan, was largely absent from Paris’ collections. Notable exceptions included Viktor & Rolf’s performance art show, where the Dutch duo stripped a pup-tentsized model stacked with fur coats like a Russian doll.

Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld also updated the storied house’s iconic skirtsuits with panels of scraggly fur that looked like it had been made from “Star Wars” Wookie Chewbacca-though the uberdesigner assured it was all fake.

Paris’ shows were tinged with sadness following the death by apparent suicide last month of Alexander McQueen. The wildly inventive British designer was meant to show this week, but the display was scrapped and pieces from his final collection were shown to an elite cadre of fashion insiders on Tuesday and Wednesday. Following parties hosted by Valentino and emerging French designer Anne Valerie Hash, as well as the opening of a major retrospective of the work of Saint Laurent on Wednesday night, the fashion glitteratti will disperse, reconvening in the French capital in early summer for the menswear and rarified haute couture displays.

LOUIS VUITTON Let there be no doubt that at age 46, Australian top model Elle Macpherson still merits her nickname, “The Body.”

Macpherson was joined at the Vuitton show by a host of other former and current tops including Laetitia Casta and Kurkova, the new mother, as well as Lara Stone, the size 4 over whom rivers of ink have been spilled debating whether or not she’s “too fat” to model.

The vintage models rocked the sober, ladylike skirtsuits supple wools and subtle prints. The collection borrowed heavily from Christian Dior’s “New Look,” the extravagant style that revolutionized women’s fashion in the wake of the lean years of World War II. The smash lineup of curvier models was a welcome change from the rail thin teenagers who dominate today’s catwalks.

The girls at Vuitton were the picture of refined elegance, strolling leisurely around a fountain in the middle of the set. Light streamed in through the plastic sheeting of the roof of the venue-a tent set up in a courtyard of the

Louvre Museum. After a week of unseasonably nippy weather in Paris, the crowd of fashion insiders finally thawed out in the hothouselike tent.

HERMES Paris got its own Savile Row with Hermes’ collection of genderbending looks fit for a dapper English gentleman. The Paris luxury house, which started off more than 160 years ago as a saddle maker, sent out leatherheavy looks that draw on their long history of technical savoir-faire with the material: trenchcoats in supple leather, croc-skin trousers and microfiber parkas with crocodile epaulettes. Little leather skirts were worn with menswear blazers and peacoats with extrawide crocodile belts. Bowler hats

topped off all the looks, and the other accessories-monocle necklaces and extra-long umbrellas-looked as if they’d been swiped from wardrobe of an oldschool London dandy. Some of the models also sported rolled-up copies of The Times of London in their Kelly bags-the iconic handbags that are a major cash cow for the label. French designer Jean Paul Gaultier, the one-time enfant terrible who showed his signature line earlier this week, said the collection was “very English, inspired by The City, bankers clothes revamped for the women who work there” and by that timeless symbol of British elegance, James Bond. “It’s a kind of Mrs Bond, a Bond-ette,” Gaultier told reporters after the show. —AP

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Fashion

Madonna, Lourdes to launch ‘Material Girl’ line M adonna and her 13-year-old budding fashionista daughter Lourdes are to launch a new line in teen clothing called “Material Girl” in the US this August. The mother-daughter collection, which will be exclusively available at Macy’s stores, will focus on affordable back-to-school clothes but will include footwear, handbags and jewelry and aims to add a fragrance in 2011.

The line is a joint venture between

Madonna and her daughter Lourdes. —AFP

Models present creations by French designer Jean Paul Gaultier for Hermes during the autumn-winter 2010/2011 readyto-wear collection show in Paris. —AFP

Madonna and the Iconix Brand Group, which purchased the Badgley Mischka brand in 2004 and includes other leading labels such as Mossimo and Ed Hardy.

“The “Material Girl” collection was inspired and designed in collaboration with Madonna and her daughter Lourdes, along with Iconix Brand Group’s in-house fashion department,” a press release from Iconix said.

As part of the hook-up, Macy’s will

retain the right to launch additional brands with the MG (Material Girl) icon in the future. “We are excited to announce the first in a series of new brands that will be developed under our partnership with Madonna,” said Iconix CEO and chairman Neil Cole. “‘Material Girl’ has a powerful retail partner in Macy’s and we look forward to working together to deliver an innovative launch for our consumers.” —AFP

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Justine cruises at Indian Wells INDIAN WELLS: Justine Henin says her 2004 Indian Wells triumph seems a long time ago, but on Wednesday she made it look like yesterday with a dominant first-round victory in the WTA hardcourt tournament.

The former world number one needed just 68 minutes to dispatch Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova 6-2, 6-2 and book a second-round clash with 31stseeded Argentinian Gisela Dulko.

“It’s a very good feeling,” Henin said of her return to Indian Wells, where she is playing her third tournament since coming out of retirement this year.

Against Rybarikova she played aggressive and efficient tennis, building a 4-0 lead in each set and finishing off the match with a love game capped by a service winner.

While her comeback hasn’t yet progressed far enough to earn the 27-year-old Belgian seeded status, she has shown she again figures to be a force in the women’s game by reaching two finals in two events-in Brisbane and at the Australian Open, where she fell to Serena Williams in the championship match.

Henin said she had benefitted from her long break since the Australian Open, but now she’s eager to build her confidence with more matches.

“I have to win matches and feel confident,” said Henin, who said she thinks she has already improved.

“In Australia, I wasn’t powerful enough in my first step. Already I’m stronger,” said Henin, whose training in February was disrupted for a week by a sore hamstring that she says is now behind her.

Despite the immediate disappointment of her three-set loss to Williams in Melbourne, Henin said that, upon reflection, her Australian Open performance showed she had plenty to build upon.

“When I came back home, I was really proud of what I did,” said Henin, who could face a third-round encounter with fifth seed Agneiszka Radwanska of Poland.

Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva—who fell to Henin in a second-round epic at the Australian Open—is also in the Belgian’s quarter of the draw.

Henin is one of six former champions in the field, along with defending champion Vera Zvonareva, 2008 titlist Ana Ivanovic, 2006 winner Maria Sharapova and two two-time champions Daniela Hantuchova (2002, 2007) and Kim Clijsters (2003, 2005).

Top-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova is trying to improve on her two runnerup finishes here in 2007 and 2008.

“I like playing here. Maybe one day I can win the trophy,” Kuznetsova said. “I’m playing well, but I need some matches to get myself going.” —AFP

Nadal to play at Queen’s

INDIAN WELLS: Patty Schnyder of Switzerland serves to Tathiana Garbin of Italy during the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells. —AP

Svetlana seeks French Open lift INDIAN WELLS: Having finally broken her French Open jinx last year, Svetlana Kuznetsova is banking on a similar breakthrough at the Indian Wells WTA tournament where she has twice finished runner-up.

Russian Kuznetsova is the number one seed for the high-profile event in the California desert and she has targeted a 13th WTA Tour title to bury memories of a stuttering start to this

season.

“I prepared pretty well for this year and I know I am playing well but I need some matches to get myself going,” Kuznetsova told reporters at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Wednesday.

“So far, this year has not been very nice. I think I overdid my weight training and it was so hard for me to move at the start of this season.”

The Russian world

number three has advanced no further than the fourth round in her three WTA appearances this year and she blamed her fitness coach for an excessive lifting programme during the offseason.

“My (fitness) coach was wrong so I have switched coaches again,” Kuznetsova said. “I didn’t think I was supposed to do all that and for me to bring up my speed this season was hard.

“So I am working a lot on speed now. For me, without movement, it’s pretty hard to play.” Kuznetsova is making her seventh appearance this week at Indian Wells where she was runner-up in 2007 and 2008.

Asked if she felt the venue now owed her a trophy, she replied: “I don’t know. I just like playing here. When it’s not windy, like it was yesterday morning, it’s perfect here. —Reuters

Yelena ready to reach new heights in Doha DOHA: Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva hopes to treat athletics to its first individual world record of the year when she competes in this weekend’s IAAF indoor championships.

“That is my goal,” the 27-time world record holder told a news conference ahead of the three-day meeting. “I am in Doha for the first time in my life and I would like to make my competition unforgettable,” said the Russian, who set the current world indoor record of 5.00 metres in 2009. Her best this season is 4.85 metres.

She and Ethiopian 3,000 metres seasonal leader Meseret Defar are bidding for fourth consecutive global indoor titles.

That would help make up for her failure to win the world outdoor championship last year in Berlin when she no-heighted.

“I still use it like a huge motivation,” said the world indoor and outdoor record holder. “I will never forget my defeat in Berlin.”

Top flight competition is also expected in the the men’s 60 metres hurdles, the men’s 3,000 metres as well as the women’s high jump, pentathlon and 60 metres.

The hurdles race will bring together Cuban outdoor world record holder Dayron Robles, American two-time former winner Terrence Trammell and recovering Chinese former Olympic champion and record holder Liu Xiang.

“People want to see the three of us compete with no one injured. I don’t think we’ve really had that to actually occur,” said Trammell, who has the year’s leading time of 7.41 seconds.

Liu, the defending champion, will be making his first global championship appearance since an Achilles injury forced him out of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Although the Chinese team’s technical leader said it would be almost impossible for Liu to win, Trammell said he expected Liu to be a contender. —Reuters

DOHA: Russia’s world record holding pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva listens to a question, as a colored light shines on the top of her head, during a press conference for the 13th IAAF World Indoor Championships. —AP

LONDON: Rafael Nadal will return to Queen’s this year after he was unable to defend his title at the grass-court tournament in 2009.

In 2008, Nadal was the first man to win at the French Open, Queen’s Club and Wimbledon in the same year, but his persistent knee problems prevented him from defending his titles on grass at Queen’s and Wimbledon last year. The Spaniard said Thursday there was now more motivation for him this year.

“I always look forward to coming to England to play at the Queen’s Club and Wimbledon but this year there is even more motivation because I could not defend my titles last year,” Nadal said.

Two years ago, Nadal followed victory at Queen’s with his first triumph at Wimbledon, ending Roger Federer’s dominance at the All England Club in an epic five-set final. But injury meant he could not return for the grass-court season a year later.

“No one was more disappointed than me that I couldn’t play because I love those tournaments,” Nadal said. “Queen’s is a big, important tournament ... and it was an amazing feeling to win it in 2008 and then to fulfill my dream by winning Wimbledon.

“To not defend my Wimbledon title last year was one of the toughest decisions in my career, but this is a new year and now I have the chance to go back to England and to compete on the grass again.”

Nadal’s injury problems in the middle of 2009 signaled his slide from the No. 1 ranking. After winning the 2009 Australian Open, Nadal lost a match at the French Open for the first time when he fell to Robin Soderling in the fourth round.

Nadal’s last appearance on court was when he retired, with more knee problems, in his quarterfinal match against Andy Murray at the Australian Open in January.

The 23-year-old lefthander is set to return to action at this week’s Masters tournament in Indian Wells, California.

US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has also announced his intention to play at Queen’s.

The traditional Wimbledon warm-up event is scheduled for June 7-13. —AP

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The name’s Schumacher, Michael Schumacher MANAMA: Lewis Hamilton may dream about being cast in the role of James Bond, but seven-times Formula One champion Michael Schumacher said on Thursday the role was already his.

“I am probably James Bond because I did my seventh title in the 700th grand prix,” the German, returning to Formula One at the age of 41 and after three years out, told a Mercedes news conference when asked what movie role he might fill.

“So that means 700 — 007.”

Hamilton, McLaren’s 2008 world champion who has yet to race against the most successful Formula One driver of all time, told Reuters on Wednesday that he had always dreamed of being cast in the role of the British secret agent.

With Mercedes fielding an allGerman team of Schumacher and Nico Rosberg against McLaren’s reigning champion Jenson Button and Hamilton, the season has already been scripted as an AngloGerman battle.

However, Schumacher warned that it could take time for Mercedes, who have taken over 2009 champions Brawn led by his longtime friend and former Ferrari ally Ross Brawn, to get up to speed.

“The most important point is that probably we won’t be able to win straight away,” he said.

“If possible, great. But I don’t think that is the key factor for the season. For me obviously, the goal is

BAHRAIN: (From left) McLaren Mercedes driver Jenson Button of Britain, Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso of Spain, Mercedes Grand Prix driver Michael Schumacher of Germany and McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain pose during a news conference at the Formula One Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. —AP the end of the year result and that means not to lose too much ground at the beginning. “Where exactly we are going to be, I don’t know.”

The German, who won his five most recent titles with Ferrari and has a record 91 wins to his credit, is returning at a very different time to the one he dominated before retiring at the end of 2006.

There are four world champions on the starting grid and the top four teams all harbour realistic title ambitions in what is shaping up as the most competitive season in years.

“I think you see four teams that have been very close over winter testing,” said Schumacher. “The last test showed McLaren quite strong, so was Red Bull and all winter Ferrari was very strong and we believe we are strong.”

The German said he could not wait for the challenge, with his wife Corinna joining him in Bahrain and fully supportive of his return.

“I mentioned when I announced the contract that I felt like a little boy of 12 years. I have grown a little bit since then but not much,” he declared.

Schumacher said he was not focusing on new opponents, such as Hamilton and Red Bull’s young German Sebastian Vettel, but more on the challenge of driving itself.

The oldest man on the starting grid recalled how he had felt on his debut in 1991, when he was racing against the ‘old guys’ like Brazilian Ayrton Senna, Britain’s Nigel Mansell and Frenchman Alain Prost.

“It’s a good comparison,” he said.

“When I arrived in Formula One, it was so far away that my biggest expectations were far off what I finally did. I didn’t think I would be

able to play on the same playing field.

“But when I arrived I understood that they all cook with the same water we all do. They are all humans, with special abilities but so did I have.

“The same way round, I have the greatest respect for all the other guys that are around. I know I have been very successful and success is lots of details that make it. I will work very hard on those and so do the other guys. “That’s why I respect and expect a tough fight.” —Reuters

Hoelzl wins giant slalom title GERMANY: Olympic silver medalist Tina Maze of Slovenia won the final giant slalom race of the season yesterday and Kathrin Hoelzl of Germany clinched the World Cup title in the event by finishing second.

Maria Riesch of Germany placed third to cut Lindsey Vonn’s overall World Cup lead to 165 points with two races remaining. Vonn, seeking her third straight overall title, fell in the first run of the giant slalom and did not earn any points. A victory is worth 100 points.

Vonn’s skis locked, she

spun in the air and crashed into the safety netting. The American then skied down the slope and was taken away from the race area for medical evaluation.

According to U.S. ski team medical director Richard Quincy, Vonn has a small bone bruise on the outside of her right knee but expects to be prepared to race in Friday’s super-G. “I’m going to race tomorrow,” Vonn said. “I’m not going to back down from this and at this point, I’m used to fighting through pain.” Vonn, the Olympic downhill champion, is still

GERMANY: Germany’s Kathrin Hoelzl kisses the trophy of the alpine ski, Women’s World cup giant slalom discipline title, in Garmisch Partenkirchen. —AP

nursing a sore right shin and a broken little finger on her right hand.

She bruised the shin before the Olympics and broke the finger in a spill in the Olympic giant slalom.

Hoelzl, who is also the world champion in the giant slalom, won three of seven giant slalom races to collect 471 points for the title.

“I am still overwhelmed,” Hoelzl said. Her only rival, Kathrin Zettel of Austria, placed ninth and finished with 394 points. Hoelzl became the first German to win the title since Martina Ertl 12 years ago.

Maze trailed Hoelzl after the first heat but put in the fastest second run to edge the German by .03 seconds in the combined time.

Maze’s aggregate time was 2 minutes, 10.72 seconds and earned her the ninth victory of her career.

Riesch was .21 seconds behind. “That’s how we agreed to do it — she wins today, I do it Saturday,” Riesch said of Hoelzl.

Riesch, racing on her home slope, beat Vonn in Wednesday’s downhill and is hoping to clinch the slalom title tomorrow.

Olympic champion Viktoria Rebensburg, another German, finished fourth. —AP

GERMANY: Canada’s Erik Guay is airborne on his way to win an alpine ski, Men’s World Cup super-G. —AP

Guay clinches final race and super-G cup GERMANY: Canada’s Erik Guay won the final super-G of the season to snatch the Alpine ski World Cup title yesterday.

Guay leapfrogged Michael Walchhofer and Aksel Lund Svindal in the standings after a dramatic finale on a snowy, foggy day.

Austria’s Walchhofer began the day with a 46-point lead and needing only a top-eight finish to clinch the trophy but blew his chances when he could manage only 15th place, while Norwegian Svindal was third.

Swiss Carlo Janka finished joint 11th to stay top of the overall World Cup standings

but his lead over Benjamin Raich was cut when the Austrian finished sixth.

“I don’t know what happened,” Walchhofer told Reuters. “I felt pretty good at the start; I made a couple of mistakes but I cannot really analyse what happened.

“It wasn’t quite just enough for the title.

Obviously I’m really disappointed but now everything is behind me.” Guay told reporters: “I had to go for it, I knew I had to win and that I had only a small chance of winning the trophy. “I fought as hard as possible and made some mistakes but I kept pushing all the time.” —Reuters

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Blackhawks stop Kings in OT CHICAGO: The Chicago Blackhawks moved equal top of the NHL’s Western Conference with a 3-2 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. Patrick Sharp scored his second goal of the game 2:08 into overtime to secure the win that put Chicago level on points with San Jose.

Dave Bolland picked off an errant pass at center ice and made a long pass to Sharp, who skated in and beat goalie Jonathan Quick.

Sharp opened the scoring for Chicago in the first period, and Kris Versteeg added a goal. Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown scored for the Kings.

Coyotes 4, Canucks 3 In Glendale, Arizona, Phoenix edged Vancouver in a shootout, putting the two Western Conference contenders level on points.

Adrian Aucoin scored in the sixth round of a shootout, and Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov then deflected Mason Raymond’s final attempt for Vancouver high over the net. Lee Stempniak scored twice and Taylor Pyatt added a goal to help the Coyotes finish their four-game post-Olympic homestand with three straight victories. Henrik Sedin had a goal and an assist, and Mikael Samuelsson and Christian Ehrhoff also scored for the Canucks.

Capitals 4, Hurricanes 3 In Washington, Tomas Fleischmann scored on a one-timer from the right circle 3:20 into overtime to lift Washington over Carolina.

The NHL-leading Capitals have earned a point in 15 straight home games and haven’t lost at home in regulation in 2010.

Defenseman Mike Green scored twice and Alexander Semin got his 31st of the season for the Capitals.

Jussi Jokinen scored his 27th goal, and Patrick Dwyer and Tuomo Ruutu also scored for the Hurricanes, who had won eight of their previous nine to climb out of the Eastern Conference cellar.

Sabres 5, Stars 3 In Buffalo, New York, Buffalo reclaimed top spot in the Northeast Division by beating Dallas. Rookie defenseman Tyler Myers had a goal and three assists, Thomas Vanek scored the go-ahead goal in the second period, and Jason Pominville, Mark Mancari and Derek Roy also netted as Buffalo won its third straight to move clear of Ottawa. Jamie Benn had a goal and assist, and Steve Ott and Toby Petersen also scored for the Stars.

Devils 6, Rangers 3 In Newark, New Jersey, Rob Niedermayer, Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Rolston, Zach Parise and Travis Zajac each had a goal an an assist in New Jersey win over New York.

The victory provided an immediate return from a team meeting called in the wake of a loss at Calgary and then being shut out by cellar dwellers Edmonton.

Bryce Salvador and Zach Parise and Travis Zajac added goals for the Devils, who matched a season high in goals.

Vinny Prospal, Erik Christensen, and Brandon Prust scored for the Rangers, who have lost four straight. — AP

GLENDALE: Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov No.30 of the Phoenix Coyotes protects the net as Jim Vandermeer No.2 defends Kyle Wellwood No.42 of the Vancouver Canucks during the NHL game. — AP

NHL results/standings NHL results and standings on Wednesday.

Buffalo 5, Dallas 3; New Jersey 6, NY Rangers 3; Washington 4, Carolina 3 (OT); Chicago 3, Los Angeles 2 (OT); Phoenix 4, Vancouver 3 (SO). (OT denotes overtime win; SO indicates shootout victory) Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF GA PTS Pittsburgh 40 22 4 211 189 84 New Jersey 39 23 3 175 157 81 Philadelphia 35 26 4 198 175 74 NY Rangers 29 29 9 173 185 67 NY Islanders 26 32 8 171 209 60 Northeast Division Buffalo 36 20 9 179 164 81 Ottawa 37 25 5 185 190 79 Montreal 33 29 6 183 188 72 Boston 29 24 12 160 168 70 Toronto 21 33 12 172 223 54 Southeast Division Washington 45 13 9 264 189 99 Atlanta 28 27 10 195 211 66 Tampa Bay 27 27 11 175 201 65 Florida 27 28 10 171 188 64 Carolina 27 31 8 185 204 62 Western Conference Central Division Chicago 44 17 5 220 163 93 Nashville 36 25 5 184 188 77 Detroit 31 23 12 177 182 74 St. Louis 30 26 9 177 182 69 Columbus 26 30 11 175 217 63 Northw est Division Vancouver 41 23 3 220 174 85 Colorado 37 23 6 196 176 80 Calgary 33 24 9 170 167 75 Minnesota 31 28 6 180 188 68 Edmonton 21 39 6 163 225 48 Pacific Division San Jose 42 14 9 212 160 93 Phoenix 40 22 5 180 167 85 Los Angeles 39 22 5 202 178 83 Dallas 29 25 12 187 211 70 Anaheim 30 28 8 185 206 68 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L)

Noh earns Open place KUALA LUMPUR: South Korean teenager Noh Seung-yul booked a place at his first major championship when he finished tied for second at the British Open international final qualifying (Asia) yesterday.

The 18-year-old fired a four-under-par 68 to finish the 36-hole event on 10 under, a shot behind winner Hiroyuki Fujita of Japan at the Saujana Golf and Country Club in the Malaysian capital.

“I’m really happy but honestly it hasn’t settled in yet,” Noh said in an Asia Tour news release. “It has been a great two weeks for me but I’m not going to let it get to my head.”

Noh, who became the youngest professional winner of a European Tour event when he won the co-sanctioned

Malaysian Open on Sunday, will compete at the Old Course, St Andrews, from July 15-18 in the 150th running of the championship. “I’m more experienced now after last week and that has certainly carried over to this week. I treat every tournament the same and I’m looking forward to playing against the world’s best,” Noh said.

Danny Chia of Malaysia finished joint second alongside Noh, with South Korean amateur Eric Chun holing a fourfoot birdie putt on the last to complete the four qualifiers from the 78-man event. “I have never been so nervous in my life,” Chun said in reference to his putt on the last which broke a tie with three others. “I’m just happy it worked out well.”— Reuters

Laura leads Australian Open MELBOURNE: Defending champion Laura Davies shot a 5under-par 68 yesterday to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Women’s Australian Open.

The English veteran had six birdies and a bogey on the tough par-73 Commonwealth layout where fewer than 25 golfers in the 150-woman field broke par.

There was a six-way tie for second: Yang Soo-jin of South Korea, Giulia Sergas of Italy, Jenni Kuosa of Finland, England’s Felicity Johnson and Rebecca Flood of Australia and her amateur compatriot Alison Whitaker, all with 70s. Alexis Thompson, the 15year-old American amateur who played in the U.S. Open at the age of 12, shot 71 and was in a group tied for eighth.

Karrie Webb, who won last week’s Australian Ladies Masters and is a four-time Open champion, shot 73. Playing the tougher back nine first, Webb had three bogeys before making the turn and then posted four birdies and a bogey to

Laura Davies in action in this file photo remain even on the day.

Former amateur star Amanda Blumenherst, who led the Australian Masters after the first two rounds, shot 77 while fellow American Christina Kim had a 78.

Davies said her round was highlighted by strong putting and subsequently two good par saves.

“Luckily I putted really well today,” Davies said.

“Today we had two eight- or nine-footers for par and they both went right in the middle of the hole.

That’s the sort of thing that really keeps you going. Then on nine (her last), hoping to two-putt and you roll a 35-footer in so that was a real bonus.” Davies has won the Australian Open twice — last year at Metropolitan and in 2004 at Concord in New South Wales. — AP

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Grizzlies thrash Celtics, Thunder dislodge Hornets BOSTON: The Memphis Grizzlies notched a franchise-record seventh straight road win by thrashing the Boston Celtics 111-91 in Wednesday’s NBA action. Rudy Gay scored 28 points and O.J. Mayo added 17 to lead Memphis to its first victory over the Celtics in seven tries since 2006.

Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo scored 17 points apiece for the Celtics, who suffered their equal heaviest defeat of the season.

Thunder 98, Hornets 83 In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 29 points to lead Oklahoma City over injury-depleted New Orleans. Russell Westbrook added 17 points and came up just shy of a triple-double for the Thunder.

The Hornets got off to a hot start in their latest return to the arena they called home for two seasons following Hurricane Katrina, but it was short-lived with Peja Stojakovic (lower abdominal strain) joining All-Star point guard Chris Paul on the injured list. David West scored 33 for the Hornets.

Jazz 115, Pistons 104 In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Utah beat Detroit for the 10th straight time. Deron Williams had 18 points and 12 assists to lead seven Jazz players in double figures. Former Pistons center Mehmet Okur also finished with 18 points. Detroit also had seven players score at least 10 points, led by Charlie Villanueva’s 19, but couldn’t avoid its seventh loss in eight games.

Spurs 97, Knicks 87 In San Antonio, the home team inflicted a defeat that ensured New York will have a franchise-worst ninth consecutive losing season.

Manu Ginobili scored 28 points and Tim Duncan had 18 for the Spurs, who have won five of six.

David Lee led the Knicks with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Heat 108, Clippers 97 In Miami, the hosts extended their longest home winning streak of the season to four, downing Los Angeles. Dwyane Wade had 27 points and eight assists and Jermaine O’Neal finished with 19 points and nine rebounds for Miami. Former Heat forward Rasual Butler scored 31 points, two off his career best, for the Clippers, who lost their fifth straight.

Los Angeles is 2-20 on the road since Dec. 19.

Nuggets 110, T’wolves 102 In Minneapolis, Chauncey Billups scored 25 points and got a huge lift from role players Chris Andersen, Nene and J.R. Smith in Denver’s victory over Minnesota. Andersen had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Nene had 17 points and nine boards and Smith scored 15 as the Nuggets got their act together in the second half to deliver their fourth straight win.

Al Jefferson had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who lost their seventh straight game.

Bobcats 102, 76ers 87 In Philadelphia, Charlotte made it four successive wins, defeating Philadelphia. Gerald Wallace scored 28 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the field and Stephen Jackson added 24 points and 10 rebounds as the Bobcats boosted their hopes of a first-ever postseason. Rodney Carney led the Sixers with 14 points.

Kings 113, Raptors 90 In Sacramento, California, Tyreke Evans recorded his first career triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, leading Sacramento over Toronto.

Beno Udrih had 24 points and eight assists for the Kings, who scored 43 points in the third quarter and snapped a three-game losing streak. Andrea Bargnani scored 20 points for the Raptors, who have lost three straight.

Mavericks 96, Nets 87 In Dallas, the hosts matched the longest winning streak in the NBA this season, notching win number 13 against hapless New Jersey.

Jason Kidd had 20 points and nine assists, and Caron Butler added 16 points for the Mavericks, who drew level with Cleveland’s 13-game streak in January-February. New Jersey led by as many as 18 in the first half before the Mavericks fought back.

Former Mavericks guard Devin Harris scored 21 points for the Nets. —AP

SAN ANTONIO: New York Knicks’ Al Harrington (left) passes the ball away from San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan during the second half of an NBA basketball game. San Antonio won 97-87. —AP

Qatar Super Globe to feature top team in world handball DOHA: The Organizing Committee of the 2010 Super Globe in Qatar launched the logo for the prestigious International Handball Federation (IHF) competition last week, which will be held in Qatar for the second time from the 17th to 21st of May this year.

Bringing together the best six handball clubs from each of five continents, as well as a team from the host nation, the fourth edition of the tournament promises spectacular handball action with the very best teams and players in the world heading to Qatar to display their skills.

The 2010 International Handball Federation (IHF) Super Globe in Qatar will see the participation of the top handball teams featuring the best players from around the world when the competition gets underway in May at the Al Sadd Sports Club.

With the continental Champions League winners of Europe, star-studded Spanish side BM Ciudad Real already qualified alongside Asian champions Sulaibikhat Club of Kuwait, Pan American winners Unopar Fel / Sercomtel, and Oceania representative AHF Southern Stars, the only remaining team is the African representative

which will be discovered through a qualification process in the coming month.

Under the new deal with IHF, signed by the IHF President Dr Hassan Moustafa and Vice President of Al Sadd Club, HE Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Super Globe will be organized annually in Qatar from 2010 to 2013 at Al Sadd Sport Club. “In making this magnificent event a yearly competition we are bringing together in Qatar all of the top teams in the world for a competition which further assists the development of handball around the world. I am sure that we will witness a fantastic tournament which will emphatically portray the region’s handball passion to the world once more,” said

Jassim Al Romaihi, Secretary General of the Al Sadd Sport Club.

“I believe this exciting competition has found a wonderful host city for the next four years. We have a fantastic track record of hosting top class sporting events in Qatar, and we are committed to developing handball in Qatar and across our region. I strongly believe this tournament of the best teams in the world will generate a great deal of excitement in our country and help to develop the next generation of handball players from the Middle East. We have excellent sporting facilities to offer and we are looking forward to providing spectators and players alike with an extraordinary sporting event.” Local side Al Sadd Club will be looking to add further silverware to their glistening collection when the competition comes to their home stadium in May, having already won the same tournament in 2002 to add to their 5 Asian Champions League trophies, the last of which came in 2005. The Qatari club also has nine Qatari league titles to its name and will be looking to get off to a good start in a competition which also features the continental champions of Asia, Oceania and Pan-America.

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Corinthians snatch late draw, Flamengo win 3-1

BOGOTA: Brazil’s Corinthians’ Ronaldo (left) vies for the ball with Colombia’s Deportivo Independiente Medellin’s Anselmo de Almeida at a Copa Libertadores soccer game. —AP

Schalke ready to take leading role BERLIN: Schalke 04 have ridden the Bundesliga slipstream all season but now look poised to emerge from their position just behind the leaders to take over at the top.

Coach Felix Magath nevertheless still staunchly refuses to talk about winning back-toback championship medals, despite steering VfL Wolfsburg from a similar position to a surprise title last season.

“Of course the table does not lie but it only says how good we are after 25 matches,” the 56year-old told reporters ahead today’s match against VfB Stuttgart (kickoff 1930 GMT).

The game against seventh-placed Stuttgart is the start of what Magath has described as “the weeks of truth”, with Hamburg SV, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich to follow.

“Only after this series of top matches we have coming up can we see if we are really heading towards a Champions League spot,” Magath said. “At the moment, I am just happy that we have reinforced our position in the standings.”

Magath’s words look to have been lifted directly from the same stage of last season, when

Wolfsburg were second with the coach insisting they had no aspirations other than a top five finish.

Wolfsburg took over the lead on the 26th matchday and never looked back in a stunning run to their first title.

Going into the this season’s 26th matchday, Schalke are in second place on 51 points-two behind leaders Bayern Munich — and a victory over Stuttgart would send them top, albeit only provisionally.

Magath will be happy to hear that Brazilian defender Marcelo Bordon and Peruvian striker Jefferson Farfan are available again, having recovered from minor injuries.

He can also count on a string of rejuvenated players with striker Kevin Kuranyi eager to add to his 13-goal tally as he eyes a spot in Germany’s World Cup squad, and Brazilian midfielder Rafinha in outstanding form.

Bayern Munich are in action tomorrow at home to Freiburg (1730) while Bayer Leverkusen, in third place on 50 points, will have a tougher task when they host fourth-placed Hamburg SV on Sunday (1630). —Reuters

Crouch named comedy king LONDON: England footballer Peter Crouch was named the funniest man in British sport, topping a poll out yesterday of the best oneliners and comedy football moments of all time.

The gangly Tottenham striker was asked “What would you be if you weren’t a footballer?”. Crouch quipped: “A virgin”.

The six feet, seven inches (2.01 metres) tall forward also topped a separate poll of the funniest men in British sport, with 24 percent voting for his 2006 “robot dance” premiered after scoring for England in a pre-World Cup friendly match.

BBC commentator John Motson won the best sporting gaffe vote for stating: “For those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all-yellow strip.”

British ski jumper Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards’ woeful efforts at the 1988 Winter Games was voted the funniest Olympic moment of all time. Motor racing’s Murray Walker was voted the wittiest commentator, followed by Motson.

US boxing legend Muhammad Ali was voted the biggest sports personality in the world, with British boxer Frank Bruno topping the domestic poll. —AFP

BUENOS AIRES: Substitute Dentinho scored an 86th minute equaliser as Corinthians, looking to win the Libertadores Cup for the first time in their centenary year, drew 1-1 away to Independiente Medellin on Wednesday.

Fellow Brazilians Flamengo, who lifted South America’s top club trophy in 1981, won 3-1 away to FC Caracas with two goals from Vagner Love, his first a penalty.

Corinthians lead Group One with four points from two matches. Flamengo, without the dropped Adriano and down to 10 men for 37 minutes after Toro was sent off for a second booking, lead Group Eight with a maximum six points.

Dentinho shot from outside the box on the left and his dipping effort found the top far corner of Paraguayan goalkeeper Aldo Bobadilla’s net to cancel out Cesar Valoyes’s goal for the Colombian champions.

Medellin went ahead in the 75th minute after left back Juan Valencia crossed low into the middle for Corinthians captain Chicao, who missed the ball but substitute Valoyes darted in to finish past keeper Felipe.

The goal came two minutes after an ineffectual, overweight Ronaldo had been substituted by Corinthians.

In a Group Six meeting between the champions of Argentina and Uruguay, Colombian teenager James Rodriguez scored twice to give Banfield a 2-2 draw away to Nacional at Montevideo’s Centenario stadium.

Striker Gustavo Varela gave Nacional an early lead before 18-year-old midfielder Rodriguez struck twice, heading a 17th-minute equaliser and converting a penalty in the 35th, after he had been brought down, to put the Argentine side ahead.

Mario Regueiro pulled Nacional level just before halftime when he tapped home the rebound after Uruguay central defender Sebastian Coates had headed a free kick onto the bar.

Alianza Lima, the team that humiliated holders Estudiantes 4-1 three weeks ago, beat Juan Aurich 2-0 in an all-Peruvian match to lead Group Three with a maximum nine points.

Alianza are five points ahead of the second-placed Argentine side.

Mexican champions Monterrey hung on for a 1-1 draw away to Once Caldas in Colombia in Group Two after having two players sent off in the second half. —Reuters

LONDON: Arsenal’s Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas seen in this file photo. —AFP

Fabregas to miss Hull clash LONDON: Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is set to miss tomorrow’s Premier League clash at Hull with a hamstring injury. Fabregas suffered the injury in the first half of last weekend’s victory over Burnley and was ruled out of the midweek Champions League victory over Porto as a result.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had rated the Spain midfielder’s chances of facing Hull as 50-50, but his creative talisman looks certain to absent from the trip to the KC Stadium.

Wenger also has fitness doubts over Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky, who has a groin strain, and French defender Bacary Sagna, who has an ankle problem.

“At the moment, Cesc is out of Saturday’s game,” Wenger said yesterday.

“His chances of playing are 0.5 percent - that means unless a miracle happens, he will not play.

“We have a little doubt about Tomas Rosicky, who has a groin injury, but we will check that on Friday morning. “Nobody else is back, but we will lose Alex Song because he is suspended.

“Sagna has an ankle problem and we will assess that. We know we have 48

hours to prepare for this game and it is quite needed.”

Wenger’s side, who are just two points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United, will also be without France defender William Gallas as he continues to recover from a calf injury.

Gallas is out of contract at the end of the season and is free to talk to any clubs, with Roma reported to be tracking the 33-yearold. Wenger admits he doesn’t know if Roma have made contact with Gallas but he is confident the former Chelsea centreback will remain at the Emirates Stadium.

“I am not concerned. He is under contract until June 30. We have not found an agreement yet. I meet his agents again next Thursday and we will try to find a solution,” Wenger said.

“I would like to keep all that secret. I feel I have to respect both parties and not to come out about the details of negotiations.

“I do not know if he has spoken to Roma, but he is out of contract and can talk to whom he wants.

“William is speaking to us and our desire is to keep him here. I think he wants to stay here.” —AFP

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Casillas wants fresh Real start after Europe exit MADRID: Real Madrid must immediately put Wednesday’s shock Champions League exit out of their minds if they are to take their only chance of silverware this season and win La Liga, according to goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Eliminated from the King’s Cup by third-tier Alcorcon in November, Real climbed above champions Barcelona on goal difference last weekend and play at struggling Real Valladolid in Sunday’s late kickoff after Barca host third-placed Valencia.

Real’s dream of winning a 10th European title in May’s final at their Bernabeu stadium was shattered by visiting French side Olympique Lyon, who snatched a 1-1 draw to progress to the quarter-finals 2-1 on aggregate.

“We have to remain calm and think about the team,” Spain captain Casillas told reporters after the defeat, the sixth straight season Real have failed to make the last

eight of Europe’s elite club competition.

“We can’t let it hinder the good form we are on in the league,” he added. “This championship is all we have left. We need to make a fresh start.”

Barca, level on 62 points with Real, will almost certainly be without striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the Valencia clash, which pits top La Liga marksman Lionel Messi (19) against secondhighest scorer David Villa (17).

Ibrahimovic was sent off in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Almeria and Barca are waiting on the result of an appeal against both the Swede’s dismissal and the referee’s decision to send coach Pep Guardiola off the bench.

If the appeal is rejected, Guardiola could bring in teenage striker Bojan Krkic or out-of-sorts France captain Thierry Henry as a straight swap or move Argentina forward Messi in from the

right where he is typically deployed.

Valencia, who play their Europa League last 16, first leg at home to Werder Bremen later on Thursday, are 15 points behind the top two in third, four ahead of Sevilla, who host sixth-placed Deportivo Coruna on Saturday.

Sevilla’s Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano should be available to coach Manolo Jimenez after he missed last weekend’s 3-2 defeat at Real, and Mali forward Frederic Kanoute said on Wednesday he was getting back to full fitness.

“I have been a bit out of form this year but I am not worried because I know I can get back to my best level,” Kanoute told a news conference.

“The (Deportivo) match is extremely important after last Saturday’s disappointment,” he added.

“We are playing a direct rival and if we win we’ll be more relaxed.” —Reuters

MADRID: Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal reacts during the second leg of the first knockout round Champions League soccer match against Lyon. —AP

Palermo eye Champions League slot ROME: Palermo’s strong form has much of Sicily dreaming of Champions League football, but one man not getting carried away before Sunday’s visit to Udinese (1400) is coach Delio Rossi.

Rossi has taken Palermo from the mid-table to fourth, which is good for a place in the Champions League preliminaries, after replacing Walter Zenga in the dugout in November.

His side hold a two-point advantage over fifth-placed

Juventus, who were assembled with a far higher budget, but Rossi is determined not to let complacency set in.

“In cycling you get prizes for winning stages, but unfortunately in football you don’t,” the softly spoken former Lazio boss told reporters. “You either get there or you don’t.”

His side’s success so far has been based on high tempo football with incisive well drilled movement from his players that has won

plaudits for artistic merit as well as points.

This style of play has brought the best out of inventive forward Fabrizio Miccoli, who thinks he should be considered for an Italy recall before the World Cup, although he is not optimistic after winning his last international cap in 2004.

“I don’t understand why no one ever talks about me for the national team,” said the 30-year-old, whose former clubs include Juventus,

Fiorentina and Benfica. “I think I’m out of time (for the World Cup). I’m a little sorry about that, I admit it.”

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho will serve the final part of a threematch touchline ban when the leaders visit Catania on Friday (1945) before next week’s Champions League match at Chelsea.

Mourinho, handed the ban for a controversial handcuffs gesture in a draw with Sampdoria last month, will be without suspended defender

Walter Samuel as his side try to put some shaky form behind them, after four draws in five league games.

AC Milan, who are four points behind in second, face Chievo Verona at home on Sunday (1945) after the humiliating 4-0 defeat at Manchester United on Wednesday ended their Champions League campaign in the last 16.

Third-placed AS Roma face lowly Livorno away on Sunday (1400), when Juventus entertain bottom side Siena. —Reuters

Bordeaux’s lean spell spices up title battle

FRANCE: Bordeaux’s Yoann Gourcuff controls the ball during his French Division One soccer match in this file photo. —AP

PARIS: Girondins Bordeaux’s drop in form has eased fears among fans of other Ligue 1 clubs that the French title fight was a foregone conclusion.

Eight points clear at the top less than two months ago, the champions are now level on points with second-placed Montpellier, who host Auxerre tomorrow (1800 GMT).

Bordeaux looked below par in a 1-1 home draw with Montpellier last Sunday and frustrated their supporters even more when they lost 2-1 to Auxerre at their Chaban-Delmas stadium on Wednesday.

“We cannot afford to pick up just one point from two home games,” Bordeaux defender Mathieu Chalme told reporters after the game. “For a team fighting for the title, it is simply not good enough.”

Bordeaux, who visit Monaco on Saturday (1800), still have a game in hand but it is now obvious that they have dangerous rivals and will have to work to defend their crown.

Surprise package Montpellier are not the only team to have moved within reach.

Auxerre are in third place, one point back, and fourth-placed Olympique Lyon are two points off the pace.

Lyon, welcoming neighbours St Etienne on Saturday (2000), are full of confidence after taking 20 points from a maximum 24 this year and knocking out Real Madrid to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

“Bordeaux losing is good news to us but we must concentrate on what we need to do,” Brazilian defender Cris, the Lyon captain, told reporters. “Bordeaux are still the leaders and even if we are looking good, we have not won anything yet.”

Bordeaux also need to watch out for fifth-placed Olympique Marseille, who are only three points adrift and have a game in hand. Marseille, who have not won a title since their Champions League triumph in 1993, visit Toulouse on Sunday (2000). —Reuters

www.kuwaittimes.net

NEW DELHI: Australian hockey player Liam De Young (No.2, right) attempts to score against the Netherlands during their World Cup 2010 semifinal match at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium. —AFP

Classy Germany shatter England’s dream NEW DELHI: Australia defeated the Netherlands 2-1 yesterday to qualify for a third successive final against defending champions Germany in the men’s field hockey World Cup. The Kookaburras recorded their 10th win in a row over the Dutch in major competitions to set up tomorrow’s title clash between the top two teams in the sport.

Luke Doerner and Glenn Turner scored once in each half, before Taeke Taekema converted a penalty stroke 12 minutes from the end to narrow the margin.

Doerner and Taekema, the two leading penalty corner specialists, head the goal-scorers list in the tournament with seven goals apiece.

Germany won the last two World Cup finals against Australia in 2002 and 2006, before adding the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

The Germans, hoping to become the first team in history to bag a hattrick of titles, outclassed England 41 in the other semi-final to avenge their defeat in the European Cup final last year.

Germany took a 2-0 lead by the 11th minute as Jan-Marco Montag

Australia face Germany in World Cup final converted a penalty corner and Oliver Korn deflected in a pass from the right. England, playing their first World Cup semi-final since 1986, made it 1-2 in the 19th minute with their lone penalty corner of the match when Richard Smith scooped the ball into the net.

Martin Haner and Linus Butt

scored on either side of the break to seal the emphatic win for the champions. The Germans, with just three players who helped win the last World Cup at home in Moenchengladbach in 2006, remain the only unbeaten team in the current tournament with four wins and two draws.

“It was a tough match, the scoreboard does not reflect what happened on the field,” said German coach Markus Weise.

“We were clinical, but then a coach is not always pleased. If we had not scored two early goals and England had scored one, it would have been a different game.”

Pakistan entire team announce retirement KARACHI: Pakistan’s entire World Cup squad have announced their international retirement after finishing last at the 12-team tournament in India.

Pakistan lost 3-2 to Canada yesterday which condemned them to 12th place, their worst ever showing at the tournament.

“The players including captain Zeeshan Ashraf have announced their retirements and intimated this to the Pakistan Hockey Federation president,” a federation spokesman said.

“All the players in the team accept their responsibility for the humiliating performance in the

World Cup and have decided to retire,” Ashraf told Geo News channel from New Delhi.

Earlier, the PHF said it had sacked coach Shahid Ali Khan as well as the team manager and selection committee. “I have sacked the team management and the national selection committee because of our shameful performance in the World Cup,” PHF president Qasim Zia told Reuters.

Hockey is the national game of Pakistan but the national side’s fortunes in recent years have been in decline with the team having to qualify for the World Cup last year. —Reuters

England coach Jason Lee said his team’s lack of experience told in the end. “Germany has played in 11 World Cup semi-finals and this was only our second,” he said. “We lagged in experience, but we will learn from our defeat.

“Going 2-0 down softly was the turning point. The semi-final did not do justice to the way we played in this tournament.”

Earlier, four-time champions Pakistan slumped to an embarrassing 3-2 defeat by Canada yesterday to finish last for the first time in the sport’s premier event.

Scott Tupper scored a golden goal two minutes before the end of extratime in the play-off for the 11-12 positions to hand Canada their first win in the 12-nation tournament.

The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) reacted to the defeat by sacking the team management, including manager Asif Bajwa and coach Shahid Ali Khan, and the selection committee.

In a separate statement, the PHF’s media manager Shahzad Malik said the entire 18-man squad had offered to “retire from international hockey”. —AFP