10 Mar

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

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2010

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Out of fashion

By Badrya Darwish ll media sources were yesterday preoccupied - be it satellite channels, newspapers, magazines and radio shows - with the International Women’s Day. That topic was the prime news segment on all media outlets. Celebrities were interviewed left, right and centre over the issue of women and women’s liberties and empowerment. A big symposium took place in Kuwait. Naturally, all our MPs and other dignitaries attended the event, whether, between you and me, the attendees agree with what was discussed or not.

Overall, the seminar’s discussions and debates gave the impression that women in Kuwait are totally deprived of their rights.

For a moment I thought I was in Afghanistan, God forbid. May I know what we women in Kuwait are lacking? We are in every corner - ministers, doctors, engineers, nurses, teachers, journalists, opera singers, musicians etc. Then God blessed us with Aseel, Rola, Maasouma and Salwa as MPs and Modhi who is a Minister of Education. Previously we also had other female ministers.

I heard that recently a young Kuwaiti entrepreneur launched a taxi company.

Many of our women run businesses ranging from beauty salons to big investment funds, you name it. Our women participate in the sports and equestrian clubs, fencing, diving and even football lately. Women in Kuwait can wear whatever they want, whether a full veil or a hijab (headscarf), jeans or skirts, shorts or pants. And the list goes on as I do not want to bore you. Look around and you will see for yourselves.

So, why are we exposed by our female MPs as totally deprived as if we are living in the Dark Ages. I find it a pathetic way of canvassing women votes. By the way, many men I know including my sons voted for Aseel and Rola. Don’t women in the West face problems too? What is the percentage of women in the US Congress? What is the percentage of women in the House of Commons in the UK or in any other Western country? Why haven’t we seen a female president in the most liberal and democratic country in the world while we have seen in Pakistan - a Muslim country - a woman prime minister?

The status of women in the Arab world is not far from that one in Kuwait. Women there are also in every field whether it is in Bahrain, Dubai, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria or Sudan. In Egypt, for instance, it is common to see women taxi drivers - even women in menial jobs as mechanics or plumbers.

I think, by now we should not discriminate between men and women. There are problems from both sides. Isn’t it out of fashion to differentiate between men and women? Both are fighting to enhance their way of living and to attain more rights. May I ask, why in every women gathering we have a western MP or an ambassador coming to guide us? I wish to see one of these celebrities worried about the status of women in Palestine and Gaza where their guidance is more needed.

Is the picture in their own countries so rosy that they focus on the Arab world? I do not want to name the problems that occur in the West. I have studied and lived in the West and I felt and lived their problems.

They have enough of them but maybe a bit more different. Life is not easier for them than ours. Each country has its own problems. Don’t get me wrong. I am all the way for human rights whether for men or women. So, let’s get rid of this phobia that the West is trying to impose on us and work together hand in hand with our men to enhance life for all.

Arsenal crush Porto 5-0 to advance in Champions League PAGE 20

MPs slam Israeli policies Israel on no-peace track: FM • Legal panel approves sessions without ministers

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei speaks at a pro-Palestinian gathering at the National Assembly yesterday. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh

Israel approves new settler homes as Biden talks peace US veep assures Israel of total security commitment JERUSALEM: Israel yesterday approved the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in east Jerusalem, announcing the move as US Vice President Joe Biden met top Israeli officials to boost renewed peace efforts.

The controversial move infuriated the Palestinians who consider settlements to be a major hurdle in long-hobbled attempts to reach a peace accord, and who want occupied east Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state. “This is a dangerous decision and will hinder the negotiations,” Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP. “We consider the decision to build in east Jerusalem to be a judgment that the American efforts have failed before the indirect negotiations have even begun.”

The announcement came two days af ter the Palestinians grudgingly agreed to indirect talks after months of US shuttle diplomacy and coincided with the trip by Biden, the highest-level Obama administration official to visit Israel. Biden had earlier pledged

Washington’s “absolute, total, unvarnished commitment to Israel’s security”. “Progress occurs in the Middle East when everyone knows there is simply no space between the United States and Israel. There is no space between the United States and Israel when it comes to Israel’s security,” he said after talks with hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

Biden also stressed Washington’s determination to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and demanded that Tehran stop supporting “terrorist groups,” which he said threaten Israel as well as US interests. Biden said he was “very pleased” with the decision to hold new Middle East talks, despite deep scepticism about their prospects. “We hope that these talks will lead, and they must lead eventually, to negotiations and direct discussions between the parties,” he told Netanyahu.

Continued on Page 14

KUWAIT: The National Assembly yesterday strongly condemned Israel for considering two key holy Muslim sites in the occupied West Bank as part of the Jewish heritage. In a statement, the Assembly called on Arab and Muslim countries and UNESCO to take all necessary actions to confront Israeli aggressions against Palestinians and Muslim holy sites.

The statement also condemned the assassination in Dubai of a key military commander of the Palestinian Hamas group in January, describing it as a terrorist attack and a testimony of Israel’s barbaric behaviour.

MPs also held a rally in support of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem which was a scene of confrontations between Palestinian youth and Israeli police that stormed the holy place.

Speakers at the rally called on Palestinian factions to end their disputes and unite and stressed that jihad was the only language that Israel can understand. Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi said that Israel has been using brutal means in dealing with unarmed Palestinians mainly because no stiff measures have ever been taken against it.

Separately, commenting on US Vice President’s Joe Biden’s tour of the Middle East, Kuwait’s Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah said the Continued on Page 14

KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti man arrested for growing marijuana is seen with fresh and dried cannabis leaves and drug paraphernalia yesterday. — KUNA

Citizen farming cannabis busted 44 overdose deaths in 2009 KUWAIT: Interior Ministry personnel busted a citizen for tending the largest marijuana farm ever found in Kuwait in his home garden in Mubarak Al-Kabeer, the ministry reported yesterday.

A ministry statement said the bust was made after intelligence was received and a secret source verified the accuracy of the tip. Evidence was collected and proper procedures were taken to make the arrest.

The team assigned to the case included junior and senior officers as well as administrative staff to prepare for the raid, and all those who visited the house in Al-Qesoor were tailed Continued on Page 14

Bali mastermind ‘killed’

JAKARTA: This image grab taken from TV yesterday shows the body of a slain man believed to be Dulmatin. — AFP

JAKARTA: Indonesian counter-terrorism forces yesterday killed a man believed to have been one of the masterminds of the 2002 Bali bombings, during a raid in the capital Jakarta, police and reports said. The man was among three people killed in two raids on the city’s outskirts. Police did not disclose the identity of the three, saying “a forensic examination was still being carried out”.

But a police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP one was believed to be Dulmatin, a leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant group and an Al-Qaeda-trained bombmaking specialist for whom Washington is offering a $10-million bounty. It is not the first report of Dulmatin’s death. In 2008, Philippine military officials said they believed Dulmatin’s body had been exhumed on the southern Philippine island of TawiTawi.

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US busts visa ring for Arabs Kuwaiti ‘students’ among suspected clients SANTA ANA, California: Eamonn Higgins has never earned a college degree in his own name, but prosecutors allege that for the past seven years the 46-year-old has been going to school non-stop for dozens of other students. Higgins was charged Monday with operating a ring of illegal test-takers who allegedly helped dozens of Middle Eastern nationals obtain US student visas by passing English-proficiency exams for them - and then helped them hold onto those visas by taking college courses, passing finals and writing term papers in their names.

The allegations outlined in court

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papers reveal a potentially dangerous security breach in the US student visa system and underscore the vulnerability of a tracking process that relies on schools and testing centers to verify the identities of people taking the mandated exams.

Higgins made an appearance in US District Court in Santa Ana, California, on one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud as federal immigration agents arrested 16 of his suspected clients who remained in Southern California. A judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

In one case, authorities said, a

blonde woman working for Higgins was allowed to take an exam using a fake ID that paired her photo with a man’s Arabic name. Authorities have not said any of the clients were engaged in terrorist activity and have yet to determine their motives for hiring Higgins. Six of Higgins’ alleged clients face criminal charges, while the remaining students face deportation proceedings, said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for ICE. Ten additional students were not arrested but will be questioned by agents in the ongoing investigation, Kice said.

Continued on Page 14

CALIFORNIA: Evidence of fake test scores and California identification cards are seen after they were confiscated from a man. — AP

WITTEN, Germany: ‘Islam Style’ fashions are shown by two models at the brand’s headquarters in western Germany Monday. –— AP

Hip Muslim fashion label conquers streets of Europe WITTEN, Germany: T-shirts and hoodies declare “Terrorism has no religion”. A headcovering tunic bears the message: “Hijab.

My right. My choice. My life.” A German fashion label is out to tell the world that Islam isn’t just compatible with Western values of tolerance and free expression - it can be hip, too. The project was born in 2006 as Muslim mobs rampaged across Europe against Danish cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Designer Melih Kesmen became fed up with the anti-Muslim stereotypes that sprang up over the protests as well as the rioters’ attempts to stifle free speech. So Kesmen, a practicing Muslim born and raised in Germany to Turkish parents, decided to express his feelings through fashion.

“I first created a sweater just for myself with the slogan ‘I love my Prophet’ to take a stand as a peace-loving, tolerant Muslim,” said the 34-year-old designer, sporting designer glasses and a black goatee. The reaction was huge: People kept stopping him Continued on Page 14

‘Islam Style’ fashion designer Melih Kesmen reads a book inside a mosque in Witten on Monday.

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Rally held in Jahra industrial area

Rifae rejects accusations of promoting sectarian tension

By Ahmad Saeid KUWAIT: Islamic cleric Fouad Al-Rifae denied accusations of encouraging sectarian tension during a rally held for him in the Jahra industrial area on Monday evening. The rally was attended by a huge crowd of supporters for the cleric, in addition to a number of political activists and representatives of Islamic groups. The speakers condemned campaigns against Al-Rifae’s Wathakker Islamic Center and declared their support of its activities.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah receiving the participants of the Al-Arabi magazine seminar yesterday. —KUNA

Seminar on Arab culture held

By Abdullah Al-Qattan KUWAIT: How a gathering of bright Arab minds can help resolve issues that threaten Arab culture, was the main point of focus at the seminar titled ‘Arab culture overshadowed by modern ways of communication’ held yesterday. It was sponsored by the AlArabi magazine and held under the patronage of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser AlMohammed Al-Ahmad AlSabah.

The event began with a recitation of the verses from Holy Quran, following which a short movie entitled ‘12 G’ was screened. The Minister of Oil and Information, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah delivered a speech on the modern ways of communication and the manner in which information is exchanged at present.

The Editor-in-Chief of Al-

Sheikh Ahmed Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah Arabi magazine, Dr Sulaiman Ebraheem Al-Askari seconded him and said that this particular topic of the seminar was decided upon because of the ‘current leap’ experienced.

“Such extensive means of

communication appear to have shrunken our planet into a small village,” Dr Al-Askari said.

He also added that following the occurrence of such massive changes, slow steps

should be taken for a while and think about where the civilization stands. This can only be achieved by a gathering of bright Arab minds that can discuss the issues that threaten Arab culture along with the modern ways of communication. Al-Askari concluded that such challenges should be embraced, instead of perceived with fear because these are the means that improve the civilization.

In an award ceremony that was held, Founder of Aquaculture Production Joint Program, Abdulmohsin AlBannai was awarded, and Dr Abdullah Al-Ghanim, Head of the Kuwaiti Center for Research and Studies received the award on behalf of the magazine. Bahraini poet Qassim Hadad received an award on behalf of the ‘Poetry Side’ website manager, so did Director Omar Anwar, Head of Al-Neil cultural channel.

In his speech, Fouad AlRifae said that accusations against him were baseless and that all he was doing was reminding Muslims of the importance of Ashora day. He said that those attacking him for doing so are the ones increasing sectarian tension.

“I’ve published a statement saying that I’m ready to kiss their heads if they publicly declare their rejection of considering the companions of the Prophet (PBUH) infidels and reject those who say the Quran was falsified, changed or lessened,” he said. “Does this sound like raising sectarian tension?”

Al-Rifae’s center distributed brochures in December, reminding Muslims to fast on the day of Ashora. The day was celebrated in Islam during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) because it is believed to be the day Allah saved the Prophet Moses (PBUH) from the Pharaoh. Roughly fifty years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the unfortunate murder of AlHussain, the Prophet’s (PBUH) grandson, occurred.

It is considered a day of sadness in Islam and occupies

KUWAIT: MP Muhammad Hayef speaking at the rally. — Photo by Ahmad Saeid special place in the Shiite religion. The brochures were considered insulting by some Shiites and a law suit was filed against Al-Rifae.

The Islamic cleric called on Muslims to accept each other and treat each other with tolerance. “Shiites are our people, we live, buy, sell, and interact with them on a daily basis. We

have to be patient with them, treat them gently, and explain to them what they don’t understand,” he said.

Al-Rifae also called on those who were annoyed by what he said to debate it publically. “I call on them to form a committee of their scientists and clerics, and debate it based on what is written in the Quran

and what the Prophet (PBUH) said. We will excuse everything that is not clear and in strict order of those two sources,” he added.

The rally contained a number of speeches delivered by representatives of various Islamic organizations in favor of Al-Rifae and the role of the Wathakker Islamic Center.

local spotlight

Nepalese in Kuwait: A matter of ambiguity

By Muna Al-Fuzai year ago, we did not have a Nepalese Embassy in Kuwait and a primary issue of concern was the problems suffered

by Nepalese workers, mostly domestic staff, in the country. Although the Indian Embassy here attempted to help these people over the years, this was not enough to really help to end the problems of the Nepalese community here, particularly those who had major legal difficulties which sometimes saw them end up in prison.

So, is there a Nepalese Embassy in Kuwait now? Before I leap in to say yes or no, rumors say that there is and that the Ambassador of Nepal has begun his duties. If this is true, he should know that there are some longstanding problems that he needs to consider, especially those

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related to Nepalese people imprisoned here or awaiting deportation over legal troubles.

He also needs to examine what led them to experience problems with the law and the police; if there is a problem concerning their lack of knowledge of the country’s laws or a failure to respect them, then the embassy should abstain from the fun parts of diplomacy - the receptions and cocktail parties - and get down to work in ending the agonies and problems of those Nepalese people here.

If the embassy is unprepared for beginning its work with the public, including its own citizens, then the issue should be resolved immediately - speculation about the Nepalese community’s role needs clarification!

In the last few days, there have been unconfirmed reports in the local and regional press suggesting that a request was made to the Nepalese government concerning the possible recruitment of 200 Nepalese security staff to secure sensitive and restricted official areas in

Kuwait!

Although the rumors have been denied as false by the Nepalese Ambassador in Kuwait, some local columnists have said that the Nepalese reaction to the reports, whether positive or negative, is irrelevant.

Such a move would not be accepted by many Kuwaitis simply since it would raise the question, why aren’t Kuwaitis being hired to do the job? We have many unemployed Kuwaitis, so why can’t they be hired to fill these positions, especially in guarding secure facilities? Whether or not it’s confirmed, which hasn’t been done yet and looks unlikely, I think the whole idea is outrageous and unacceptable whatever the justification.

The Nepalese already in Kuwait have many issues that require attention and I hope the new embassy will focus more on the needs of those already in Kuwait before even considering bringing any more to the country.

KUWAIT: President of international and Kuwait police sports federations Major General Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf (center) along with other officials.

Shooting tournament organizer thanks MoI KUWAIT: The director of the recent first international police shooting tournament, Major General Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf Al-Sabah, yesterday visited the Ministry of Interior to thank the Assistant Undersecretary for Financial Affairs for his support for the event.

During his visit, Maj. Gen. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf, who is also the chair-

man of both the International Police Shooting Federation and the Kuwait Police Shooting Federation, also met with Maj. Gen. Bader Al-Jer ri, the Director General of the financial affairs department to thank him for ensuring that all the tournament organizing committee’s provision requirements were met.

Both meetings were also attended by Colonel Abdulrahman Al-Haqqan, the Deputy President of the Police Federation, as well as Colonel Adel AlHashash, the director of the federation’s Public Relations Department, and Walid Al-Ghanim and Walid Al-Sane, the federation’s secretar y and treasurer respectively.

Email: muna@kuwaittimes.net.

N Korean embassy threatens lawsuit over flour smuggling report KUWAIT: The North Korean Embassy in Kuwait has denied any connection between a member of its staff and a reported attempt to smuggle Kuwaiti government-subsidized flour out of Kuwait.

The embassy has threatened to take legal action over what it said was the defamation of the country’s consul in the reports linking him to the smuggling attempt.

The customs manager at Shuwaikh Por t, Walid AlNasser, insisted, however, that a man claiming to be a North Korean employee of the embassy had come to the customs department at the port and asked informally for help in facilitating shipment of a consignment of goods to the UAE. Another customs official, the officer in charge of cargo inspection, emphasized that the suspect had shown him a red ID card naming him as the North Korean Consul, adding that the man was accompanied by an Arabicspeaking interpreter.

in the news Chamber of Commerce ‘sharks’ KUWAIT: Chamber of Commerce “sharks” have succeeded in making government comply with their demands to maintain the status quo, said local economist Hajjaj Bukhatour on Monday. Bukhatour further criticized the body which represents local businesses, saying that it should not play the role of a debt collector, taking money from companies without the firms benefiting from the arrangement, reported Al-Shahed. The prominent economist said that it is essential that the Chamber of Commerce revert to performing the role for which it was established, helping in the growth and development of the country’s private sector in order to help support the government in creating an economy with various different income sources.

in company accounts, reported Al-Jarida.

Following this discovery, the MGRP took legal action against these firms, providing the concerned authorities with all the relevant documentation to support their case.

Leak damage assessment

Criminal Court verdict

KUWAIT: Following an oil leak in Abdali last week, the Environmental Public Authority has sent teams to the location to carrying out a preliminary assessment of the situation. The announcement was made by the EPA’s Deputy Director Ali Al-Haider, reported Al-Qabas. The EPA is waiting for the Kuwait Oil Company to finish the necessary maintenance operations for the leak before starting to take soil samples. The goal is to measure the level of contamination in order to propose the necessary measures to contain the situation. It has been estimated that 50 thousand gallons of oil was spilled in the leak.

KUWAIT: The Manpower and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP) will benefit from the Criminal Court’s recent verdict against commercial companies which falsely register workers in exchange for payment, according to a senior MGRP official. Fawzi AlSharida, the head of the program’s legal department, said that the court’s ruling against the companies, which fraudulently take money from the funds paid by the state for Kuwaiti private sector workers, would be a boon to the MGRP, adding that the body would be studying the court’s findings to assess the possibility of utilizing it to deter companies and individuals who violate allowance payment rules. AlSharida explained that the recent court case began two years ago after a local bank discovered that some of the funds intended to help support Kuwaiti workers were being deposited

KUWAIT: Contradictory statements were recently noted in the remarks made by officials on the $9 billion China refinery project. The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) CEO had stated a few days ago that Kuwait may receive an approval from the Chinese government to build the refinery by the end of 2010. Also, the CEO of the Kuwait Petroleum International Limited (Q8) made a statement in which he said that the government-owned Kuwaiti and Chinese oil companies intend to select international partners to enter into a project to establish a refinery and a petrochemical complex, reported Al-Watan. This is following an approval received from the Chinese government before the establishment could begin during the first quarter of 2010.

‘China refinery’ statements

Medical Center’s nightshift aims to avoid overcrowding KUWAIT: The recently inaugurated Saad Al-Abdullah Medical Center in the Jahra Governorate will be opened for patients everyday from 2:00 PM until midnight, reported Al-Qabas.

The clinic was opened in an attempt to avoid the overcrowding of other clinics during the evening hours announced head of the Jahra Medical Directorate, Dr Fahad Al-Khalifa.

The center is the second clinic opened in the Saad AlAbdullah area and a third one is expected to be inaugurated by the end of the year, Al-Khalifa said. The new facility will include six medical clinics for family medicine in addition to maternity, diabetes, and dental clinics he added.

Al-Khalifa noted that the dental clinic has yet to open because the Public Works Ministry did not build the facility properly. A meeting with the ministry and the housing ministry was made in order to make sure that such mistakes would be avoided in the future.

Al-Khalifa also addressed the issue of expanding Jahra Hospital’s parking lot and announced that a ground floor parking lot with a capacity for 300 vehicles will open soon. The plan is part of an expansion project that will offer an additional 1,000 parking spaces and be finished by next June.

NATIONAL

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

3 Women’s Day celebrated at British Embassy

Ongoing struggle for social, civil rights

By Velina Nacheva

KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi receiving the chairman and members of the Science Club yesterday. — KUNA

kuwait digest

Kuwait’s unknown destiny! espite the agreement of the legislative and the executive on the new strategic development plan and approval of the government’s agenda for the first time in decades, the situation is still so foggy nationwide that everyone now wonders about how the plan will be implemented,’ wrote writer, Dr Sami Nasser Al-Khalifa in his Al-Rai column.

He pointed out that despite the social openness and media freedom enjoyed in Kuwait, the way public issues are tackled have made some people wish that Kuwait did not enjoy any kind of freedom.

‘Although we have MPs who represent the people in Parliament, the relation with the government and the performance of both powers under the Parliament’s realm is bewildering and looks as though they were only keen on settling old scores amid a state of absence of constitutional laws

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when compared to tribalism, familial and sectarianism that appeared to be dominant nowadays,’ he added.

He blamed the nature of the ‘Kuwaiti personality’ for all social and political misfortunes. He said that this personality was so confused and schizophrenic. ‘People with such personalities are the ones who talk loyalty, sacrifice, obedience and love to Kuwait while at the same time violate laws in broad daylight.

They talk about the significance of coexistence while they are the first to take sides with certain tribes, families or sects,’ he remarked. He noted that such individuals are so selfish, weird and tough in dealing with public concerns that they do not care about the injustice meted out to the closest people as long as they are fine.

‘The best proof of this is the terrible conditions that thousands of expatriates and bedoons experience. ‘Such unstable

individuals are dressed in religious clothing, start accusing others of infidelity and non-Muslims and once they are liberal, start promoting immorality and deviation from the true Muslim identity,’ he added.

He underlined that the problem in Kuwait was not the lack of development plans, budgets, creative minds, political or economic stability.

‘The problem lies in the dominance of some vicious characteristics over a large segment of the Kuwaiti people; a very greedy one that is only concerned with getting a larger bite of the cake at the expense of the security and stability of the rest.

They are only concerned with blackmailing the government to earn some cheap, immediate gains. Therefore, we can kiss Kuwait goodbye, unless the government focuses on building true citizens who eventually help achieve any development and progress,’ he concluded.

in the news New political bloc established KUWAIT: A new political bloc aims to bring reform to all aspects of Kuwait’s political scene, said its head on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference to announce the formation of the Independent Kuwaiti Gathering (IKG), Bader Malallah, the new bloc’s Secretary General, explained that the bloc supports the Kuwaiti constitution and all legislation that underpins the principles of achieving continuous development and strengthening justice in the country. The members of the IKG include MP Naji Al-Abdulhadi, lawyer Duaij Al-Ajeri, secretary Walid Al-Suraie and spokesperson Dr. Haila Al-Mukaima, among others, reported Al-Jarida.

By-elections law under fire KUWAIT: Objections to the law that criminalizes by-elections continues to persist, as a former parliamentarian recently accused the Cabinet of implementing the law indiscriminately.

“Police patrol vehicles were found regulating traffic at places in which the National Alliance elections were held. Others have raided the areas that violated the law,” former MP Husain AlQuwaian said in a seminar. The Constitutional Court is soon expected to make a final decision on the law, reported Al-Watan.

Several former and current MPs who took part in the seminar severely criticized it, and called for its cancellation. MP, Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabae warned that it could “increase tribal fanaticism.”

Troubled Iraqi returned home KUWAIT: An Iraqi man with various severe mental and physical health problems was arrested by customs personnel after illegally crossing the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. The man was picked up by patrol officers who spotted him near the border fence and took him to the investigation office. Officials there quickly dis-

covered that he had serious medical problems and he was handed over to Iraqi officials shortly afterwards, reported Al-Anba.

In a separate case, an Asian driver attempting to smuggle a tanker full of diesel to Iraq was detained and referred to the relevant authorities while the fuel shipment was confiscated as evidence.

Gruesome suicide attempt KUWAIT: An Indian expatriate banned from leaving Kuwait over unpaid debts who was arrested while attempting to leave the country attempted to kill himself while in detention. Guards found him and rushed him to Farwaniya Hospital where he remains in the Intensive Care Unit, reported Al-Anba. Friends of the man said that he was experiencing psychological problems due to the travel ban, adding that his family back home in India are desperately worried about him and are awaiting his return.

Factory owners meet officials KUWAIT: Owners of west Shuaiba factories that were shutdown for failure to adhere to environmental regulations will meet with officials from the Industrial Public Authority (IPA) and the Environment Public Authority (EPA) today. The latest developments on the issue will be discussed, including the nature of violations, according to which the decision to shutdown was made, reported Al-Qabas. During the meeting, owners will be made aware of the deadlines, within which, violations should be rectified.

KUWAIT: From left, Lamiya Al-Qabandi, Dr Hadeel Saleh, Bedour Al-Shebly, Nour Al-Shebly, Mai AlShebly. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

‘Taste of Kuwait’ expo opens today

By Rawan Khalid KUWAIT: A ‘Taste of Kuwait’ food exhibition opens today at the Al-Lulwa Hall in the Safir International Hotel in Bnaid AlGar. The exhibition, the first of its kind in Kuwait, was announced at a press confer-

ence held yesterday at the hotel. The event, which will see Kuwaiti restaurants participating offering a host of different cuisines, aims to demonstrate the ability of young Kuwaitis to show creativity and a competitive edge in the food, beverages and hospitality business.

A percentage of the profits from the three-day exhibition, which lasts until Friday, will go to the Thalassemia Awareness Red Ribbon Campaign.

Among the restaurants and cafés participating in the event are The Salad Boutique, Seven Seas, Scoop-A-Cone, Living Room, Q Café, Ayyame, Saso,

Meli Melo, The Kitchen, Eighty-Six, Mediterraneo, Little Oven, Mokarmesh, Sushi Club and Toot & Mish.

Twenty different restaurants and over 100 different foodstuffs will be on offer at the expo. For more information or to book a place, you can visit: www.tasteofkuwait.com

KUWAIT: On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, (observed on March 8) the British Ambassador to Kuwait Frank Baker hosted a reception on Monday where prominent women from Kuwait, female representatives of the international community and guests from abroad gathered. British

MP Ann Clwyd who is also the British Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Human Rights, and Kuwait’s Member of Parliament Maasouma Al-Mubarak were the two guest speakers at the event. While addressing the attendees, AlMubarak stressed on some of the highlights in the women suffrage in Kuwait and on women’s struggle for social and civil rights.

This year marks a century of struggle for equality, she noted. “That is a long struggle,” Al-Mubarak said elaborating that in Kuwait, “We are (still) struggling for civil and social rights.”

Al-Mubarak argued that “it is not easy for women to achieve their rights,” regardless of their higher education and growth.

In reminiscence, AlMubarak, recalled her oathtaking and the obstacles she faced when first elected in office. Basing her observation on the international premises of women’s rights, she advised that all women need to share experiences, to join hands and to network in order to reach their goals.

Reflecting on the suffrage in Kuwait, she said that it took 35 years since 1970 for the women to attain their political rights.

On her part, Clwyd said that the International Women’s Day presents an opportunity to reflect on how far women have come in the struggle for equality and ‘how far we have to go.’ In taking her point further, she asserted that women still face difficulty to “get into politics.”

She further congratulated Kuwait’s four female MPs on their election, stressing that their election “is a signal for the whole region,” she said. “I hope that they all understand that sooner or later women will be seen on all platforms.”

Talking to a pack of reporters on the sidelines of the event, the US Ambassador to Kuwait, Deborah Jones said that it is important to reflect on where women stand in the world and “in our efforts to gain entrance in all the spheres of human activity” - the political arena and the domestic sphere.

She added, “It is exciting that women are applying all the things that we have learnt in the home as mothers or teachers.

The same lessons you apply in managing a family, you apply in the workplace as well. You are multitasking; you are listening to needs; you are trying to address those needs.”

She further emphasized that societies are not fully productive until there is an equal participation of men and women.” If men do not support and share this same

manage the scarce resources they have to feed their families to keep that basis of society going.”

In her words, it is important to acknowledge the contributions women and men make at all levels of society not just as an ambassador, as a teacher, as a physician, or as someone working in relief work or charitable fields. “The compassion that women bring to certain fields is so important to make human beings feel connected,” she said.

“Kuwaiti women are second to none in their inde-

KUWAIT: Member of Parliament Maasouma Al-Mubarak (left) and British MP Ann Clwyd are addressing the guests during the reception held at the British embassy on Monday evening.

KUWAIT: Guests and dignitaries seen at the reception. — Photos by Joseph Shagra vision of women being full partners then we will not be fully successful in that,” Jones said.

“Every day is International Women’s Day,” Jones said. Based on her international experience in Africa, the Middle East and the United States, she said that regardless if the women she knew were at home or in the office, “they are women who bring many strengths.” Taking the point further, she stressed, “Many times, even in the poorest parts of the world, it is the women who decide how to

Kuwait to mark Chopin Year 2010 with concerts KUWAIT: Marking the International Chopin Year 2010, the Kuwait Chamber Philharmonia, in cooperation with the Polish Embassy, will hold gala concerts on March 17 and 18 featuring the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.

The event, organized by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, is being held under the patronage of Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

‘The year 2010 was proclaimed all over the world as the Chopin Year on the occasion of the bicentennial anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin’s birthday,’ said Polish Ambassador to Kuwait Janusz Szwedo yesterday.

Speaking at a press conference, he said ‘During his short life, Chopin contributed so much to the whole culture of Europe and that of the world.’

Chopin was born in 1810 near Warsaw to a Polish mother and a French expatriate father. He lived half his life in Warsaw and the other in Paris, where he passed away in 1849.

‘In his life and his music he became both Pole and European,’ said Ambassador Szwedo, adding that the International Chopin Year 2010 ‘provides a very good occasion to offer his (Chopin’s) music to Kuwait and other Gulf countries, to their native and international societies as a way of sharing international friendship and understanding between peoples of the world.’

On his part, Witold Wnuk, the director of Kuwait Chamber Philharmonia, said that these concerts were a part of the worldwide celebrations of the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth, explaining that they formed part of a regional tour by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.

The orchestra will be performing in the Qatari capital, Doha, on March 16, then in Kuwait on March 17-18 before heading will head to Abu Dhabi, UAE, to perform at the opening ceremony of the 6th Abu Dhabi Culture and Music Festival on March 20. He noted that the orchestra, led by conductor Michal Klauza, is one of the world’s leading symphony orchestras, further revealing that the performance will also feature two outstanding piano soloists, Krzysztof Jablonski of Poland and Philippe Giusiano of France. — KUNA

pendent thinking, and their desire to excel and to achieve and to bring their society along and to contribute to their society,” Jones said. She elaborated that the community of women in Kuwait is very dynamic.

On a final note she said, “I hope we will continue to see women in Kuwait serve as judges in the fields that are going to make a real difference in people’s lives and continue to play the roles they play.”

(Excerpts from KUNA were used in this report)

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Inspirational speeches on International Women’s Day

Never give up on dreams, aspirations, women urged

By Hussain Al-Qatari KUWAIT: The National Democratic Youth Association, in cooperation with the Women’s Cultural Social Society (WCSS) in Kuwait held a seminar at the WCSS premises in Khaldiya on Sunday evening to celebrate International Women’s Day. The guest speakers were four successful Kuwaiti women, each renowned in a different field. In the field of medicine, Dr Rana Al-Abdurazzak The inspirational speeches of the four women were welcomed by the audience, most of which were by young men and women.

“I am delighted to see that most of the audience members are in their twenties. We need young, aware men and women these days, we need a generation that understands tolerance and respects the differences in others,” said lawyer Al-Jouan, the first of the speakers.

The role of women, she says, began in the early years of the country’s formation. Women at home were responsible for the upbringing of the men who built the country and participated in its development.

“Women proved to Kuwait and to the whole world that they are equal citizens, as the Constitution says, during the 1990 Gulf War. Women sacrificed their lives for Kuwait and fought side by side with the men for the freedom of their country,” she said.

Al-Jouan noted that women were not given their rights during the early stages of Kuwait’s development because the social circumstances did not allow that.

“There was never a religious debate when it comes to women and their rights. The issue was always social norms and circumstances,” she says, expressing her amazement towards the way people utilize religion nowadays to ‘rob’ women of their rights.

Dr Rana Al-Abdulrazzak, a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) and a blood transfusion expert in the Ministry of Health said that during the late 1980s, when she was a student in university, society’s

KUWAIT: Chairman of the Kuwaiti Union for Tennis Sheikh Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah and Chairman of KAC Hamad Al Falah honoring the participants of the Kuwait Open Tennis Championship. —Photos by KUNA

School conference, exhibition to introduce new construction trends

By Nisreen Zahreddine KUWAIT: With the aim of introducing new trends in decoration and construction of schools, the first exhibition on schools and its faculties will be held in Kuwait on 22 and 23 June. The event will be held under the patronage of the Minister of Education Moudhi Al-Homoud.

Naser Al-Anzi, Head of the preparatory committee for the conference said that it aims to introduce the new trends and benefit from international experiences on this regard.

Al-Anzi added that this conference aims at helping firms that are in charge of executing large-scale educational projects like Al-Shdadiya project, billed at KD 1 billion. This, in addition to the project to build more than 600 schools are being supervised by the

Ministry of Education. The General Authority for Education is proceeding with renovation works on many of the faculties located across several areas in Kuwait. He mentioned that the number of private universities are increasing in Kuwait and that 12 new approvals were granted to start building new universities.

A presentation on the ‘smart classes’ project in Kuwait University will be held. This will be presented by Dr Habib Al-Kandari, Head of the Executive Committee of the project. Microsoft will hold a presentation that showcases its vision for schools in the future and the latest technology.

Al-Anzi pointed out the companies that specialize in offering decoration, construction and preparatory services

like educational centers, furnishing libraries, laboratories and playgrounds and sports halls will display their wares.

He welcomed the participation of local and foreign companies so that they can present their experience and services to decision makers and investors who are willing to invest in educational infrastructure.

Al-Anzi stressed that this conference is the fruit of the loyal efforts made by the Minister of Education Dr Moudhi Al-Homoud to execute the government recommendations that are listed in the development plan. This plan was launched by HH the Prime Minister and approved by the National Assembly to improve the quality of education and improve the quality of the infrastructure used in different educational centers.

Sister-killer arrested

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A 25-year-old Kuwaiti man identified as ‘HR’ has been arrested over allegations that he strangled his elder sister, named as ‘AR,’ to death at the family home in Ferdous. The man, who was arrested while fleeing the scene in his vehicle, has been remanded in custody awaiting trial.

Suspected murder A woman’s body dressed in pajamas was fished out of the gulf after being spotted floating offshore near a popular café in the Seif area. Police investigating the case suspect foul play and an investigation is underway, while the body has been removed for autopsy.

spoke about how she made it during the era of the 1980s when Kuwait was becoming more conservative than ever before. Lawyer Kawthar Al-Jouan talked about the Kuwaiti judicial system and the hardship women had to go through before gaining their political rights. Radio and media personality Amal Abdullah talked about being one of the first female media personalities in the 1960s. Kuwaiti playwright Annaam Saud spoke in brief about the role of women in the literary Kuwaiti scene.

KUWAIT: From left to right: Rana Al-Abdulrazzak; Kawthar Al-Jouan; seminar moderator; Amal Abdullah; and Annaam Saud. —Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh perception of a politically-active girl was quite negative.

“Many girls during the university election campaigns asked not to have their last names printed on posters. This was the situation with many families in Kuwait,” she said reflecting on her own personal experience.

Al-Abdulrazzak said that her success in her career reflected negatively on her social successes. “As women, we are expected to sacrifice our career for the sake of marriage or children,” she said. Speaking about her personal experience, Al-Abdulrazzak considers herself lucky to have met a life partner and a husband who is “not afraid of my success.”

She urged all women to never give up on their dreams and aspirations. “If other women can be successful, why can’t you?” she said conclusively.

Radio host Amal Abdullah’s speech was reminiscent of the old days, during which Kuwait flourish. “During the 1960’s, I remember how books used to be circulated in our neighborhood.

When a neighbor travels to Lebanon or Egypt in the summer, where books are abundant and the culture is rich, they always came back with a novel or a poetry book that we took turns to read,” she recounted to the audience.

In the 1960’s, when Abdullah

began working for the radio for the first time, there were a handful of Kuwaiti women who also worked as radio series actresses and announcers.

“Many were defeated by the social restrictions. Soon, women from other Arab countries were applying for jobs in Kuwait, and Kuwaiti women shunned the opportunities of this thriving business away,” she said.

Television and theater actresses faced the same dilemma; many have embarked on the journey only to stop at an early stage, said Abdullah. “I urge all women to keep fighting. The struggle is ongoing but we are leaving a mark and making histo-

ry,” she said.

Concluding the seminar with the literary scene, playwright Annaam Saud, Creator of the classic Kuwaiti radio series ‘Habbaabah’ praised the attempts of Kuwaiti women at enriching the literary scene.

“Playwrights, poets, short story writers and journalists in Kuwait have contributed a lot, and faced slander and harsh criticism but they continue to write and innovate,” she said.

She noted that while the product of Kuwaiti female writers might be scarce in comparison to that of the Kuwaiti male writers, it leaves its mark and has its audience.

Three die in Kuwait vehicle accidents KUWAIT: A 22-year-old citizen died after his car overturned on Jahra highway.

Rescue teams responded to the emergency and pronounced him dead after a preliminary medical examination.

Meanwhile, an Indian man was fatally injured after being struck by a car driven by a citizen in Rabbiya. Police arrested the driver for further investigation.

In another accident, an Arab man crashed into a water tanker on Wafra Road and was killed immediately. Paramedics pronounced the man dead as a result of the wounds he suffered from the accident.

On a separate note, a woman was injured after her car was hit by another on Fifth Ring Road near Ardiya. The accident caused the woman’s car to catch on fire but she was able to escape the blaze with assistance. An ambulance took her to Farwaniya Hospital and police are still searching for the hit and run driver.

Sexual assault A youngster was kidnapped by a young man who took him to a deserted location in the Farwaniya governorate and sexually assaulted him. He also threatened to harm him if he were to inform the police about the incident. The attacked teenager informed his parents about the incident, who then informed the police. A case was opened against the other youth.

could spread. No injuries were reported in the incident. An investigation was opened to determine the cause of the fire.

Meanwhile, a similar incident occurred in Thahar after an electrical short circuit caused the decoration in a room to catch fire. Firefighters responded to the emergency and extinguished the flames before they could cause further damage. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Drug overdose An Egyptian man died in his home in Mangaf as a result of a drug overdose. The man’s family called the police and informed them that the man was unconscious inside his room. After a preliminary examination the paramedics pronounced the man dead shortly after their arrival.

Thief nabbed Capital governorate investigators arrested an unemployed Syrian man for carrying out 40 thefts in and around the governorate. The arrest occurred when investigators spotted the Syrian trying to break into a parked car. When questioned, the man confessed to stealing items from 40 separate vehicles, and keeping the stolen goods in his car. During a search of his vehicle, police found 40 laptops, 30 cameras, 25 cell phones and several electrical appliances. He was taken to the office of the public prosecutor.

Forgery case A Sri Lankan woman was arrested at the Kuwait International Airport after she arrived from her home country.

She was arrested when customs officers realized she was using a forged passport to try to access Kuwait. She was taken to the Jeleeb AlShuyiukh police station for further investigation.

School fires A fire occurred in the computer lab of a school in Hawally and caused significant material damage. Firefighters responded to the emergency and extinguished the flames before they

Bootleggers held Jahra police arrested four bedoons and one Iraqi for selling imported alcohol in the governorate. One of the gang members was caught in a trap by authorities and, when questioned, informed police about his four accomplices. The other four men were arrested at a campsite, which acted as a headquarters for their operations. While searching the campsite, police found 100 bottles of imported liquor buried three meters underground. The gang members were taken to the proper authorities.

Wataniya Airways celebration KUWAIT: Wataniya Airways, Kuwait’s first premium service airline, celebrated Kuwait National Day in style by attending and supporting a major event organized by the Kuwaiti Consulate in Jeddah. More than 500 guests, including diplomats and prominent businessmen, and various media representatives were welcomed by the Kuwaiti Consul General and other government officials.

The event started with a speech by Ali Al-Hefi, the Consul General. This was followed by dinner and a raffle. Four lucky winners received air tickets to any destination served by Wataniya Airways

from Fahad Bazaraa, Wataniya Airways’ Airport Manager - Jeddah.

“We are honored to be participating in this event and celebrating Kuwait’s National Day in Jeddah, Wataniya Airways is always keen on taking part of any national event taking place anywhere around the world,” said Jassim Al-Qames Wataniya Airways’ Public Relations Manager.

Wataniya Airways offers three flights a week service between Jeddah and Kuwait, the second largest city in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the gateway to visitors and pilgrims to the holy city of Makkah.

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

5 Big wastage in rich countries

Food prices rise due to global warming

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: Skyrocketing food prices worldwide are not the result of the recent global financial crisis but of global warming, according to a prominent local environmental expert. Delivering a lecture at the American University of Kuwait’s (AUK) auditorium yesterday, Dr. Ahlam Alaki said that food prices are connected to global warming since crops are chosen and grown depending on the climate in the country in question. Because crops are dependent on the climate for growth, she explained, climatic instability means that many food-producing nations have been unable to provide plentiful harvests, resulting in major price rises.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah received at Seif Palace yesterday the chairman and Managing Director of the Industrial Bank of Kuwait Abdulmohsen Yousef Al-Hunaif and a number of senior officials from the bank, who presented HH the Amir with a book entitled ‘The dates of currency and coins in the State of Kuwait’. They also presented the Amir with a 1918 model of the gates of Seif Palace. — KUNA

Al-Jafari rejects foreign intervention KUWAIT: Former Iraqi Prime Minister Dr. Ibrahim Al-Jafari has criticized the former US administration’s interference in domestic Iraqi issues, while also rejecting Iranian intervention in the country.

Dr. Al-Jafari ruled out any intervention from other countries in deciding the leadership of his country, saying that this would violate the rights of the Iraqi people to choose their own leaders and that any leadership supported from abroad would not reflect the Iraqi people’s will.

“I’m more concerned with making Iraq a strong fortress that does not allow attempts

at foreign intervention rather than thinking about such intervention itself,” he said in an interview with Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai. The former Iraqi premier praised his country’s longstanding ties with Kuwait, saying that such relations go back a long way and their importance cannot be overestimated.

Interviewed at his office in Baghdad’s Green Zone, Dr. Al-Jafari also lauded the continual support given to Iraq by the Kuwaiti leadership, headed by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and HH the Crown Prince and the HH

Prime Minister. He also expressed gratitude for the great understanding they had shown of the situation and their readiness to help the Iraqi people.

Dr. Al-Jafari proposed the creation of a ‘road map’ to further strengthen KuwaitiIraqi relations, based on his nation’s great respect for Kuwait and a readiness to prevent any assault on it.

He pointed out that both countries had suffered under the dictatorship of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, saying, “Iraq suffered from his dictatorship and Kuwait suffered from his occupation.”

Invasion-related topics taught at all stages: MoE KUWAIT: A senior Ministry of Education (MoE) official has emphasized the ministry’s eagerness to instill patriotic values in students, adding that it has never failed to include subjects such as the 1990-91 Iraqi invasion and occupation of Kuwait in schools’ curricula.

Rejecting claims that the MoE had omitted the subject from academic syllabuses, Dr. Saud AlHarbi, the ministry’s curriculum development manager, said in a press release that the inclusion of the subject in schools’ social studies curricula was indisputable.

“Nobody is entitled to ignore history, especially this particular part of it that developed the highest levels of heroism and national unity,” he asserted.

Dr. Al-Harbi issued his statement after a number of MPs questioned education minister Dr. Moudhi Al-Humoud over what they said was the omission of the subject from school textbooks.

“We really appreciate MPs’ enthusiasm to follow up various educational issues and we’d like to assure them that our national values, the concepts of belonging, loyalty and patriotism, are primary principles in our educational goals,” Al-Harbi continued. He pointed out that school textbooks for pupils at every stage include very comprehensive discussion and coverage of the Iraqi invasion and occupation, along with stories of Kuwaiti citizens’ heroism, examples of solidarity and resistance, the invasion’s environmental impact and the role and wisdom of the Kuwaiti leadership during and after the crisis.

KUWAIT: An exhibition on Thailand was opened at the Kuwait University yesterday. A number of people attended it. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

‘Proposed co-op law a failure’ KUWAIT: The proposed co-operative law, that has been tabled at the National Assembly, will paralyze the co-operative union movement, said Former President of the Co-operatives Societies Union, Mohammad Al-Mutairi. It is widely perceived as a first step toward complete privatization of co-operative societies.

He said there are reasons behind why supporters have rejected the proposed law, including the fact that their opinions were sought during discussions, adding that the MPs should reject it, as it was proposed to fulfill certain goals including the dissolution of the co-operative societies and reforming them according to vested interests, reported Al-Jarida.

Al-Mutairi, was speaking at the gathering organized by Chairman of Co-operative Society in Al-Daher to discuss the amendments made to the proposed law, “Those who draft the law are a group of advisors from the Social Affairs Ministry. They do not pay attention to the economic aspects of the co-operative’s union, and no specialists have participated in writing it. All

unions participate in preparing laws that relate to them. So, with great regret, the co-operative movement was not represented. Only the Social Affairs Ministry which is a superior authority, does not represent the co-operative sector.”

A representative of Jaber Al-Ali co-operative union Faisal bin Hajar said that the new, proposed co-operative law will destroy the co-operative movement, saying that there are those who seek to destroy this prestigious movement that has been active for 50 years. He hoped that the new law can be amended in a way that suits the goals of the co-operative movement.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Nuzha Co-operative Society, Riyadh Al-Adsani said, “We reject the entire law because it does not contain any positive elements. The Social Affairs Ministry should have called the co-operative societies union to discuss the new law’s items as the case was with the press law and KJA.” He demanded that the co-operative union be elected and not appointed. He described the new law to be a failure.

TV owner rejects ‘disturbing’ murder rumors KUWAIT: Former parliamentary candidate Mohammed Al-Juwaihel, the owner of Al-Soor TV, has condemned reports that he was assassinated at his home in Qurtuba. He called the rumors “disturbing,” asserting that “Nobody would dare carry out such a crime in a nation gifted with safety and security under the leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Sabah and the interior minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Khalid AlSabah.” While expressing his faith in the capabilities of Kuwait’s security services, however, Al-Juwaihel warned that the reports of his killing could be “an indication” that an attack against him is planned, reported Al-Watan.

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has announced that it will be launching an investigation to discover the source of the rumors.

“A high temperature can significantly reduce the yield of crops like wheat, rice and grains. Many in the world have noticed this already, and sadly this shortage of food causes hunger and death for many, as we’ve heard here today.”

Despite this, said Dr. Alaki, people in rich nations seem indifferent. As an example of this, she cited the unprecedented waste of food by the people in the richest nations and their failure to consider the empty stomachs of tens of thousands of people from the poorest countries.

“In the latest survey by the BBC, it said that 33 percent of the foods bought by British people are just thrown away into the garbage,” she said.

“My concern is that even in Kuwait, that percentage could be higher, if not double, as we have witnessed large amounts of food being wasted in several houses here, as you may notice at banquets and parties.

Just imagine the waste of food after the party.”

Over the next 40 years, according to Dr Alaki, the human population is set to increase by almost a third, growing from the current 6.5 billion to 9 billion.

This increase in population means additional food consumption, she continued, especially in the emerging economic powers like China

KUWAIT: Amna Ibrahim, student and vice president of MUN-AUK speaking at the Global Forum yesterday whilst other speakers are seated facing the audience. Dr Ahlam Alaki is seated second right. — Photo by Ben Garcia and India.

“If the country gets wealthier, food consumption increased. This is something very relevant to Kuwait; when we are talking about oil, the price of oil plays an important role in the price of food in the market,” she explained.

“Imagine, the price of oil has increased by 400 percent over the last eight years alone [between 2002 and 2010].

Agricultural production is largely reliant on the use of oil for technology, transportation and preservation of products.

But producing and using oil pushes up global warming lev-

els. There are ups and downs and it is interrelated.”

Alaki advised everyone to do their share to save the planet from continuous deterioration due to the impact of global warming. One of the major factors behind the existence of global warming or climate change is people’s reluctance to share the responsibility and play their part in resolving the problems, she said, warning against such selfishness.

“Every person can contribute, every one of us can help save our planet,” she asserted. “Start it with your

family; ask your children to eat all the food on their plates, ask them to conserve light, save energy and water and tell them to be responsible people because, at the end of the day, whatever happens on our planet is partly because of our actions.”

The Global Warming Forum, organized by the AUK’s student organization, was part of the AUK’s fifth annual international week being celebrated from March 7-11. The themes of yesterday’s discussions include the scientific explanation for and social aspects of global warming.

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$2.1m raised for building schools in Afghanistan

Kuwait Embassy holds gala dinner WASHINGTON: The Kuwait Embassy in Washington, with the cooperation of the Kuwait-America Foundation, held lately its annual gala dinner under the theme ‘Journey for Hope,’ where $2.1 million was raised for the benefit of the Central Asia Institute and its founder Greg Mortenson to build schools, especially for girls, in the remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Kuwait’s Ambassador to the US Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said that the “charity efforts of the Embassy are a completion of the goodness of the Kuwaiti Government and people that extend worldwide.”

Lebanese official hails Kuwaiti support KUWAIT: A senior Lebanese official yesterday lauded His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah for his support of peace in Lebanon and the economic and social aspects in the Arab country.

“We highly value the stands and attention accorded by HH the Amir of the State of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and the dear Kuwaiti people to our country and their ongoing support in the fields of peace, reconstruction and economic and social development,” Minister of

State Adnan Al-Qassar said.

Qassar said that Kuwait has and still plays a leading role among Arab countries which helped Lebanon during good and bad times, adding such stands “will be deeply engraved in our hearts forever.”

Qassar, who accompanied Prime Minister Saad Hariri on his visit to Kuwait earlier this week, said talks with Kuwaiti officials were successful at all levels.

He said Kuwait and Lebanon are partners in a wide-range of cooperation agreements in various domains, noting that the

two countries enjoy growing cooperation in the fields of investment, tourism, trade and infrastructure projects. Qassar said, during the visit, Kuwait and Lebanon signed industrial, trade and investment agreements.

The Joint Technical Trade Committee, which convened in Beirut last month, finalized four draft agreements, while two others will follow.

Kuwait is the fourth largest Arab investor in Lebanon with $650 million in 2008. Trade exchange amounted to $368 million in 2009. —— KUNA

Appeal for more support to printed press in Arab world TUNIS: There is a need for more effort to support printed press and media both on global scale and in the Arab region most particular, a Kuwaiti media consultant said here yesterday.

Information Ministry Consultant Khalid Al-Khalfan made the remark after taking part in the final meeting of a seminar on the future challenges facing traditional press and media.

He was attending upon special invitation, and the seminar was inaugurated by Tunisian Minister of Telecommunications Osama Ramadani.

The Kuwaiti figure stressed the main challenge was finding harmony and finding a place for the printed press in the age of new technology and multimedia.

He also stressed the printed press shall remain popular due to its unique “up close” and detailed approach to issues and concerns of laymen.

He said such seminars are vital for interaction among specialists and those concerned with the field in the Arab world and beyond, pointing out the Kuwaiti printed press is very popular across the Arab region and seeks to continue playing a leading and responsible role,

both in Arabic and English, in the future.

The organizers of the seminar seconded this opinion of the Kuwaiti press and noted in particular the rich and varied special reports and features.

Speaking on behalf of the organizing committee, Mansour Mehni remarked the press in the Gulf and in North Africa share the same concerns and face the same challenge. This situation provides a great opportunity and impetus to change the structures and mechanisms of the printed press to utilize technology and entice the new readership. — KUNA

Wataniya Telecom sponsors ‘Watan Annahar’ in London KUWAIT: As part of the jubilant celebration coupled with the pride of nationalism, Wataniya Telecom, a pioneer in the telecom industry in Kuwait recently sponsored Watan Annahar, an annual event in celebration of the National and Liberation day held in London which gathers all Kuwaiti students studying in the UK. The auspicious event was held at Kimberland Hotel from 27th February till 28th February in the presence of the Kuwaiti Ambassador to UK in addition to other prominent figures.

Wataniya’s sponsorship of Watan Annahar is one of the many significant objectives to support and promote the youth of Kuwait in their academic journey.

Wataniya considers this not only as a sponsorship event but also a wonderful opportunity that brings together the youth of Kuwait studying abroad in an aura of nationalism thus giving back to the community the true importance of one’s education and communication in our lives.

Regarding its role of sponsorship of Watan Annahar, Abdol Aziz AlBalool, PR Manager of Wataniya Telecom commented, “The sponsorship of Watan Annahar truly adds value to the profile of our corporate social responsibility. We are proud to be part of such a prestigious event which holds a purpose that goes beyond sponsorship while bringing together our young bright

students in remembrance of the milestone days of our country”.

The festive occasion was marked with a speech by Khaled Al-Duwaisan (Kuwait Ambassador to UK) while the event showcased many current projects and happenings of the Kuwaiti society in UK. On an ending note, Wataniya Telecom marked its presence strengthening its role in the society and reaching out to the people of Kuwait and encouraging the youth in their academic achievements in UK. Wataniya Telecom has yet once again shown and proven its consistency in its efforts to support and to provide the best for the people of Kuwait and promises to always do so.

Kuwait plays major role in Arab charity work DOHA: The State of Kuwait and its people are always keen to support charitable activities across the Arab and Islamic worlds, said a senior Kuwaiti figure in charity work on Monday.

Abdulwahab Al-Houthi, the advisor to the chairman of Kuwait’s International Islamic Charitable Organization, was speaking after his participation at the annual meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC) humanitarian organizations, which concluded its activities here on Monday night.

The official noted the participants at the event had recalled Kuwait’s active and full-fledged support and presence in the field of charity work.

He said that Kuwait’s hosting of the headquarters of International Islamic Charitable Organization upon an Amiri Decree issued by the late Amir, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, had served to further encourage and invigorate charity work in Kuwait and in the Islamic world at large.

On the newly-concluded event, he said it had been a valuable opportunity for bodies in the field to exchange views and expertise to facilitate smoother and more effective aid and charity work. The code of ethics for charity workers approved at the end of the gathering would serve as a building block for stronger charity work, Al-Houthi said, explaining that the document principally focuses on the “pure humanitarian nature of charity work”, and on ensuring transparency in all charitable activities.

The senior official praised the OIC for giving charitable organizations observer status, which in turn has lent their activities international legitimacy and support.

For charity efforts to succeed, one must shun political interests and motivation, he concluded. A number of prominent charity organizations participated in the meeting, including the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS), the International Islamic Charitable Organization and other bodies.

The sessions covered two main themes; cooperation between the humanitarian bodies in disaster preparedness and response in the Islamic world, and strengthening cooperation between the humanitarian organizations and the OIC. — KUNA

He added that the Kuwaiti official and popular aid have reached across the world and in many domains, such as the “health, development and especially the educational fields.”

He affirmed that the major American corporations are “keen on participating in this annual gala dinner due to the status this event enjoys among the American circles and also due to the money that has been gathered in the previous galas as important aid and contributed in elevating the suffering of many persons worldwide.”

Sheikh Salem stressed that the participation of prominent political, economic, media figures and artists in this gala highlights the “credibility and major importance” the Kuwaiti humanitarian and charity efforts enjoy among the various American circles.

He indicated that the participation of a number of officials from the Obama administration and chairmen of major American corporations in this gala is a clear indication of Kuwait’s “important status” to the U.S., “especially that the two countries share strategic vital relations,” and which contribute in maintaining “security and peace in the region.” The Kuwaiti Ambassador added that Kuwait and the US also constantly “coordinate” and hold “consultations” over “important security and international issues.”

Meanwhile, Master of Ceremonies, CNN’s Dr Fareed Zakaria delivered a speech praising the Foundation and the Embassy for hosting this event and its cause and also thanked the companies that donated for this worthy cause, which he described as “noble and serves Afghanistan’s future security and stability.” Dr Zakaria also commended the Central Asia Institute and the “real and tangible” efforts it exerts to educate children in continent of Asia.

Sheikha Rima Al-Sabah, the spouse of the Kuwaiti Ambassador to the US, said that the Embassy here exerts “huge” efforts to achieve “two main goals; the first is organizing gala dinners to gather money for worthy causes,” while the second goal is to reflect on Kuwait’s charity work in helping countries and easing their suffering since and before the discovery of oil in Kuwait.

She indicated that raising $2.1 million is the biggest amount that has been gathered since the Embassy launched its gala dinners six years ago and that she feels “honored and appreciate” that the Kuwaiti Embassy in Washington contributes in a major way in collecting this amount.

She expressed her “happiness” to see the money that has been collected “directly” contribute in “lifting the suffering, educating or treating a group of people who are in dire need to this help.” Sheikha Rima, in a speech she gave at the Gala, thanked the companies that made a donation, saying their “generosity will transform the lives of countless girls and boys in Afghanistan.”

Also, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator John Kerry praised dur-

WASHINGTON: Kuwait’s Ambassador to the US Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and his wife Sheikha Rima Al-Sabah with some of the guests. — Photos by KUNA ing remarks he gave at the Gala the efforts exerted by the Central Asia Institute and its Founder Greg Mortenson for seeking to educate many of the deprived children in Afghanistan.

Kerry shed light on the lessons of Mortenson’s story, saying “they are so simple but yet so powerful,” and that are “important for all of us here.”

He indicated that some of those lessons “build relationships, keep the promises you make, discover what the people actually need, respect the differences and remember there isn’t a society in the world where parents are not afraid for their children.”

He affirmed that the “power of education is the ultimate weapon of peace,” and that it is often said that “teach a girl and you will educate a village.” “Greg’s work reminds us that the ultimate achievement we can make is educating girls,” Kerry noted.

During the Gala, Mortenson, who is 2009 Nobel Peace Prize nominee and author of the international best-seller, “Three Cups of Tea,” was the 2010 Humanitarian Award recipient, where he was presented the award by renowned actor Michael Douglas.

On this occasion, Douglas delivered a speech thanking the Kuwaiti ambassador and his wife, as well as the Kuwait-America Foundation for all the charity efforts they exert every year.

Douglas also voiced his happiness to participate for the second time in the annual Gala dinner held by the Kuwaiti Embassy in Washington and praised Mortenson for his efforts in educating many children in

Afghanistan. As for Mortenson, the Humanitarian Award recipient, he expressed appreciation in his speech for Ambassador Sheikh Salem and his wife, saying he is “touched by the support” they have offered for his cause, which he adopted 17 years ago.

He added that in a few hours he will be making a call to his people in Afghanistan to tell them about the huge amount of money that was raised, saying that in the past 17 years the largest contribution his Institution ever received was $150,000. He indicated that they have 600 request for schools now “so I will be telling them about the amount raised to be able to do this.” “Thank you not for myself but for those precious children around the world where we will be able to put schools for them because of this evening,” he affirmed.

Mortenson, who has helped to build over 135 educational institutions for over 38,000 children in Central Asia, said he finds it “very important we have our schools” in Pakistan and Afghanistan and have the different subjects those children are taught, and also “teach our children five languages by fifth grade, including English and Arabic.”

Mortenson praised the great efforts exerted by Kuwait’s Ambassador to the US, saying his work shows how he understands about relationship building and his ability to bring “such a diverse group together” in Washington, where “everybody here today is celebrating education.”

He indicated that with the $2.1 million raised, they will be able to build around 60 schools and put about 20,000 students in them.

“This is very exciting to me

where, after the call I will be making to the people in Afghanistan and Pakistan, they will be starting the plans for those schools within two days,” Mortenson stressed.

The Gala Dinner was attended by several top senior American officials, including Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, US Attorney General Eric Holder, National Security Adviser James Jones, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman and the Mayor of Washington D.C. Adrian Fenty, in addition to many other prominent officials and figures.

Since 2005, Kuwait’s Ambassador Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Rima Al-Sabah have been holding an Annual Gala Dinner to raise money for a different beneficiary.

Among keynote speakers and guests at the Annual Gala Dinners included US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, actor Leonardo Dicaprio, former US President George Bush in 2008, First Lady Laura Bush for three consecutive years, Michael Douglas, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also for three consecutive years, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Angelina Jolie.

The Kuwait-America Foundation was founded in 1991 with a core mission to boost ties between the people of the US and Kuwait, focusing its resources on educational and cultural exchange programs for youth and disadvantaged persons. — KUNA

DAMASCUS: Director of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Abdul Wahab Al-Bader and the chairman of the Syrian Planning Authority, Amer Hosni signing a treaty between the Kuwaiti and the Syrian governments yesterday. — KUNA

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

7

INTERNATIONAL Maliki’s political bloc leading the count in 9 of 18 provinces

Baghdad holds key as Iraq awaits initial vote results BAGHDAD: Iraq aw aited initial results yesterday from polls touted as a test of its young democracy, w ith Baghdad holding the key as the prime minister’s list and its top secular rival jockeyed for pole position. The election commission had promised to provide initial results by the evening, but it later said it

RIYADH: Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to reporters yesterday. – AFP

Further sanctions on Iran will not yield results RIYADH: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Riyadh yesterday that further sanctions on Tehran over its controversial uranium enrichment programme would bear no fruit.

“I don’t believe that any further sanctions will yield results,” Erdogan told journalists, adding that earlier rounds of sanctions “have never yielded results.”Turkey, which has good relations with its neighbour Iran, has offered to host an exchange of Iran’s low-enriched uranium (LEU) with 20 percent enriched uranium to be supplied by world powers to Tehran as part of a UN-drafted deal.

Tehran and world powers are locked in a stalemate over the deal which envisages shipping out Iran’s LEU to France and Russia for further conversion into higher-grade uranium.

Iran said yesterday it hoped China would not give in to pressure to agree to new sanctions that the United States and its allies hope to win UN approval for over its nuclear programme.

Washington and other Western powers want China to approve a proposed UN resolution imposing new sanctions on Iran, a big source of oil for China, after Iran refused an offer to enrich its uranium abroad. Western powers have been looking for signs of a shift in the position of a country with veto power on the UN Security Council, but both Iran and China have given no ground so far.

“China is a great country which enjoys enough power to pursue its own decisions independently without being pressured by America,” foreign minister spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at a news conference in Tehran.

“Of course our expectations from such a big

country is the same ... to pursue its foreign policies independently and just observe its own national interests,” he said, citing Iran’s close relations with China.

Iran has turned to Chinese firms for investment in its energy and other sectors after Western firms turned away due to Iran’s political isolation and sanctions.

China’s Foreign Minister said on Sunday new sanctions on Iran would not solve the stand-off over its nuclear programme, which Western powers fear will allow Tehran to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran says it is only interested in electricity. “China upholds resolving the Iran nuclear issue peacefully, through dialogue, negotiation and diplomatic means. We think this accords with the interests of all sides,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in Beijing yesterday.

“We also believe that at present, there is still room for diplomatic efforts. Dialogue and negotiations are still the best choice, and cannot be lightly abandoned,” he said.

Beijing has previously resisted calls for harsh sanctions and Yang emphasized his government’s reluctance, though he stopped short of opposing outright any new UN resolution.

Russia, which in the past has stood closely with Iran in the face of Western pressure, has shifted position in recent months, signalling support for a new round of sanctions. A draft Western document proposes restricting more Iranian banks abroad, but does not call for sanctions against Iran’s oil and gas industries. — Agencies

Erdogan to revive Israeli-Syrian talks RIYADH: Israel might accept Turkey as a mediator to restart stalled talks between Syria and Israel, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday.

While Israel has not yet endorsed Syria’s proposal of Ankara as an interlocutor in their frozen peace talks, it is moving in that direction, he told journalists in Riyadh.

“There is an interest in revitalising these talks. Syria wants Turkey as the mediator,” he said. “Israel has been moving on this so possibly

we can restart talks, I hope,” he said.Erdogan spoke in Turkish and his remarks were translated into English. The last round of Turkish-mediated indirect peace talks was launched in May 2008 but collapsed at the end of that year when Israel launched a devastating military offensive in Gaza.

In December 2009, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman dismissed indirect talks with Syria through Turkish mediation, calling instead for direct talks, to be held in Damascus and Jerusalem. — AFP

Prime Minister Nuri alMaliki, a Shiite who helped ease the country’s deadly sectarian strife, emerged Monday as the front-runner, according to estimates AFP obtained from officials across the country.

But he could yet face a tough battle to cling to power after the vote on Sunday that saw millions defy bomb, mortar and rocket attacks which killed 38 people to cast their ballots.

Estimates of early trends in the Baghdad region, which with its 70 parliamentary seats could swing the result of the vote, were not yet available.

But officials said Monday that Maliki’s political bloc was leading the count in nine of Iraq’s 18 provinces.

His State of Law Alliance was ahead in Shiite regions, while Iyad Allawi, a former premier who heads the secular Iraqiya list, led in Sunni areas, according to estimates AFP obtained from officials across the country.

But Iraqiya spokesman Maysun Damaluji said her list was making a very strong showing too.

“We are in the lead in at least four provinces,” she said.

The Kurdistan autonomous region in the north looked set for a minor upheaval in its political landscape.

The upstart opposition party Goran (Change) took several parliamentary seats in a region dominated for decades by the two main Kurdish parties, the PKK and KDP, according to estimates by local officials.

The complete results were expected to be announced on March 18 and the final official results-after any appeals are taken into account-will come at the end of the month.

Months of horse-trading are then likely before a new government is formed.

Early indications were positive for Maliki, however.

A source close to him said it now looked as if his list would secure 100 seats in the 325-seat parliament.

Maliki was appointed premier in 2006 as a compro-

mise candidate, and his administration, with the essential help of the US military, sharply reduced the Sunni-Shiite sectarian strife that killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.

He played down his party’s Shiite religious roots in campaigning for this election and sought to portray himself as the leader who restored security to Iraq, a claim dented by a series of bombings in recent weeks.

Maliki’s main challenger, according to the initial estimates, is Allawi, whose Iraqiya list is a mostly Shiite slate that campaigned on a nationalist and non-sectarian ticket.

The other leading list is the Iraq National Alliance, dominated by two Shiite religious parties-the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council and the movement of radical leader Moqtada Al-Sadr, who led two uprisings against US troops.

Sunday saw Sunni Arabs vote in large numbers, in stark contrast to their 2005 boycott in protest at the rise to power of the longoppressed Shiite majority.

Overall voter turnout on Sunday was officially given at 62.4 percent.

US President Barack Obama, who has promised to withdraw all American troops from Iraq by the end of next year, paid tribute to “the courage and resilience of the Iraqi people who once again defied threats to advance their democracy.” — AFP

had not yet counted the 30 percent of the votes it needed to announce the preliminary findings. Iraq’s complex range of political blocs w ould now have to w ait until today at the earliest for the first official indication of how they fared in the second general election since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein.

BAGHDAD: Iraqi workers at the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) headquarters in Baghdad count votes yesterday, following Iraq’s second general elections since the US-led invasion of 2003. — AFP

Iran officials lash out at ‘thug’ Petraeus TEHRAN: Top Iranian officials lashed out yesterday at US General David Petraeus for his comments asserting the Islamic republic is becoming a “thugocracy”, saying such terms are only used by “thugs.”

“The murderous government of the United States is a government of thugs which has killed thousands of Iraqis, Afghans and Palestinians,” parliament speaker Ali Larijani said in the assembly.

“This exhausted general has insulted the Iranian government by calling it a government of thugocracy. It is understandable why you (Petraeus) utter such comments because the people of the region hate you,” the official IRNA news agency quoted Larijani as saying.

Petraeus, the head of US Central Command, said on Sunday that Iran is becoming a “thugocracy” given its attempts to suppress popular anger over last year’s contested presidential vote results.

“I think you’ve heard it said by pundits that Iran has gone from being a theocracy to a thugocracy,” Petraeus, whose command stretches from Egypt to Pakistan and includes Iran, said on CNN.

Washington has sharply criticised Tehran for its crackdown on anti-government protesters since the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June last year.

Dozens of people have been killed in clashes between security forces and protesters since the election dispute erupted, while hundreds have been put on trial for plotting to topple the Islamic regime.

Foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast too hit out at Petraeus.

“Such language is used by thugs... this attitude is of thugs,” Mehmanparast said at his weekly press conference.

“We feel officials in the United States are furious. We don’t know why they are furious... maybe due to their failure in launching a soft war (against Iran) or that the role of their intelligence services has been revealed in the case of (Abdolmalek) Rigi,” he said. Iran captured top Sunni militant Rigi last month and accused US, Britain and Israel of supporting him in carrying out attacks against the Islamic republic. — AFP

8

INTERNATIONAL

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Centuries-old shipwrecks discovered in Baltic Sea STOCKHOLM: A dozen centuriesold shipwrecks — some of them unusually well-preserved — have been found in the Baltic sea by a gas company building an underwater pipeline between Russia and Germany, Swedish experts said yesterday. The oldest wreck probably dates back to medieval times and could be up to 800 years old, while

the others are likely from the 17th to 19th centuries, said Peter Norman, of Sweden’s National Heritage Board.

“They could be interesting, but we have only seen pictures of their exterior. Many of them are considered to be fully intact. They look very well-preserved,” Norman told The Associated Press.

Thousands of wrecks from medieval ships to warships sunk during the world wars of the 20th century have been found in the Baltic Sea, which doesn’t have the ship worm that destroys wooden wrecks in saltier oceans. Sweden’s most famous discovery, the royal warship Vasa, is housed in a popular museum in Stockholm where visi-

tors can admire the ship’s details, down to the flashing teeth of the carved lions that adorn its elaborate exterior.

The Vasa was raised from the Stockholm harbor in 1961, 333 years after it sank on its maiden voyage. The latest discovery was made during an analysis of the seabed east of the Swedish island of

Gotland by the Nord Stream consortium, which is building a 750-mile (1,200-kilometer) pipeline in the Baltic Sea. Swedish marine archaeology experts analyzed pictures of the wrecks and determined that they could be of a high historic value.

“The content can tell us a lot about everyday life during that

time,” Norman said.

The 12 wrecks are in Sweden’s economic zone, but not in the planned route of the pipeline, the Swedish heritage board said. Nord Stream, which plans to start construction in April, has promised to make sure its activities don’t damage the wrecks, it said.

The heritage board said three of

the wrecks have intact hulls and are lying upside-down at a depth of 430 feet (130 meters).

It’s unclear whether any of them will be salvaged but the board said it hopes they will be explored by divers — though Norman added many of them are at a depth that would require very advanced and costly diving operations. — AP

Relatives of the dead attend funerals, talk of revenge

Christians flee after Nigeria’s massacre JOS: Christian villagers in Nigeria fled their homes following threats of new attacks in the aftermath of a massacre, despite the presence yesterday of troops designed to restore calm to the region. As mass burials for some of the 500 victims of an orgy of violence took place near the city of Jos, condemnation

poured in from world leaders and Acting President Goodluck Jonathan sacked his chief security advisor. But observers warned that the government must tackle deep-rooted poverty in order to combat the underlying causes of the ethnic tensions which have seen thousands killed in the region in recent years.

DOGO NAHAWA: Injured twenty-year-old student Mercy John lies on a hospital bed following the religious violence that killed hundreds in Dogo Nahawa, south of Jos, Plateau State yesterday. Christian villagers in Nigeria fled their homes following threats of new attacks in the aftermath of a massacre, despite the presence today of troops designed to restore calm to the region. — AFP

Russia sees new nuke arms treaty by April MOSCOW: A new treaty limiting US and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals could be signed within two or three weeks, Russian news agencies cited Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying yesterday.

Lavrov spoke as US and Russian negotiators resumed talks in Geneva on a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expired in December. “We would push for a conclusion in two to three weeks,” Lavrov was quoted as saying. “For this there is every chance.” Russian officials have said a main sticking point concerns US plans to build a defensive missile shield in eastern Europe.

Russia has insisted that the new treaty acknowledge a link between defensive and offensive systems, and Lavrov was quoted

as saying that a legally binding provision would be included. The Russian and US presidents agreed during their July summit that the new treaty would contain such a provision, but experts say negotiations had bogged down over the language on the linkage. Romania agreed in January to install anti-ballistic missile interceptors as part of the revamped US missile shield, replacing the Bush administration’s plans for interceptors in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic. President Barack Obama’s decision to scrap the Bush-era missile defense sites was praised last year by the Kremlin, which had fiercely opposed the earlier plan as a threat. But Russian officials have expressed irritation over what they see as US flip-flopping on the missile plans.

Experts have said the new plan is less threatening to Russia because it would not initially involve interceptors capable of shooting down Russia’s intercontinental ballistic missiles. But officials in Moscow have expressed concern that it is still designed against Russia. Other problems in the talks are believed to concern monitoring and verification procedures. Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed in July that warheads should be capped at 1,500 to 1,675 from about 2,200 each side has now.

Michael Parmly, spokesman for the U.S. diplomatic mission in Geneva, confirmed treaty talks had restarted but declined to speculate on expectations for a quick conclusion. “We’re committed to concluding negotiations,” Parmly said. — AP

N Ireland Assembly to vote on next peacemaking step DUBLIN: Northern Ireland lawmakers convened yesterday to approve the next key step in making their Catholic-Protestant government work. But the No. 2 Protestant party confirmed it will vote against the plans amid continuing tensions.

Analysts expect a strong majority of lawmakers to approve the creation of a new Justice Department in the British territory. The British, Irish and American governments long have pressed for former Belfast foes to take this step and cement their partnership as the US-brokered Good Friday peace accord of 1998 intended.

Former President George W. Bush even made a rare venture into international politics last Friday, calling David Cameron, leader of Britain’s opposition Conservative Party, to seek his help in persuading Protestant lawmakers in northern Ireland to vote yes.

A “yes” vote would clear the way for Britain on April 12 to transfer control of the territory’s police and justice system to local hands for the first time since 1972, the worst year of Northern Ireland bloodshed. The coalition’s two essential decision-makers — the British Protestants of the Democratic Unionist Party and the Irish Catholics of Sinn Fein — both back the plan. Moderate Catholics from the Social

Democratic and Labour Party, or SDLP, also say they will vote in favor. But the fourth party in the feud-prone coalition, the Ulster Unionists, insists that its members will vote against the measure to protest wider problems in power-sharing. Ulster Unionist leader Reg Empey said it makes no sense to give more power to local leaders who have spent years deadlocked in other areas, particularly education, already under their control.

The British, Irish and US governments have spent weeks lobbying behind the scenes for a unanimous “yes” vote. Cameron said he and Bush discussed the peacemaking importance of transferring the justice powers to local control but said he could not dictate a result. “We’ve done everything we can to encourage all unionists to back the devolution of policing and justice. Regrettably, in the end, we cannot force people to vote a particular way,” Cameron said Tuesday. Many Protestants oppose giving any Justice Department influence to Sinn Fein, whose leaders previously backed the Irish Republican Army campaign of 1970-1997.

The IRA killed nearly 300 police officers and several judges as part of its failed effort to force Northern Ireland out of the United Kingdom. Sinn Fein began supporting the police only in 2007. — AP

BELFAST: Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams (left), Minister of Agriculture Michelle Gildernew (center) and Sinn Fein Junior Minister Gerry Kelly run up the steps at Stormont Parliament buildings in Belfast, Northern Ireland, yesterday. Northern Ireland faced a crunch vote on policing and justice yesterday, prompting a rare intervention from former US president George W. Bush as leaders scrambled to keep devolution on track. Bush called the leader of Britain’s main opposition Conservatives, David Cameron, in the hope of persuading him to talk his allies the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) out of opposing the deal. —AFP

While troops patrolled the three villages where members of the mainly Muslim Fulani ethnic group embarked on their killing spree, residents of neighbouring villages said they had already received new threats. With a sixmonth-old baby strapped to her back, Patricia Silas, 30, and her two neighbours turned her heels on her village of Tin-Tin, saying she would not hang around to become another statistic.

“We are fleeing our village because we are afraid we might be the next target of attack by these Fulani,” she told AFP. “They have been making phone calls warning they are going to attack. We take these threats seriously, we don’t want to be caught off-guard,” she added. Silas said the threats came from Fulanis previously settled in the village but who left after violence in January in which at least 326 people died.

“They are saying they want to avenge their loss,” said Silas.

Officials said more than 500 people from the mainly Christian Berom ethnic group were hacked to death with machetes, axes and daggers in three villages of Dogo Nahawa, Ratsat and Zot on Sunday morning.

Survivors say the authorities did nothing to prevent the butchery which came at a time when a curfew first imposed after January’s bloodshed was meant to be in place. Thousands have been killed in recent years in strife in and around Jos, which is on the dividing line between the mainly Muslim north and Christian dominated south.

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon was among those calling for calm while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also urged “all parties to exercise restraint”.

However as relatives of the dead attended funerals, talk of revenge hung heavily in the air.

As a group of men huddled in small groups at Dogo Nahawa, one was overheard saying “we will take revenge”.

Raymond Gboum, a Christian clergy organising rescue operations in affected areas told AFP tension was mounting in the villages.

“The Beroms in the area are really aggrieved and now it’s like they are on the attack,” he told AFP. The UN’s human rights chief, Navi Pillay, said she was appalled by the massacre but said the government had to tackle festering poverty.

“Better security is clearly vital,” Pillay said, “but it would be a mistake to paint this purely as sectarian or ethnic violence, and to treat it solely as a security issue. “What is most needed is a concerted effort to tackle the underlying causes of the repeated outbreaks of ethnic and religious violence which Nigeria has witnessed in recent years, namely discrimination, poverty and disputes over land,” she added.

Nigeria’s main opposition Action Congress (AC) accused the federal government of “hypocrisy in its reaction” to the latest unrest. “Concrete action to stop the cycle of impunity, rather than crocodile tears, will end the violence,” it said.

The AC said perpetrators of violence in recent years in Jos and its environs have not been brought to justice.

The weekend violence was just the latest between rival ethnic and religious groups.

Locals said Sunday’s attacks were the result of a feud which had been first ignited by a theft of cattle and then fuelled by deadly reprisals. — AFP

ELAZIG: Earthquake victims mourn as they shelter in a tent in Okcular village in the eastern province of Elazig, early yesterday, hours after a strong earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6, hit eastern Turkey. The quake affected villages near the town of Kovancilar, toppling stone or mud-brick homes and minarets of mosques, officials and media reports said. The worsthit area was the village of Okcular where some 17 people were reported killed and homes crumbled into piles of dirt. — AFP

Survivors struggle to pick up pieces after Turkey quake OKCULAR: Survivors of a killer earthquake in eastern Turkey sought to resurrect shattered lives yesterday as experts warned the disaster was only a warning of worse tremors threatening the country.

Often terrified anew by aftershocks, residents of remote villages in Elazig province, devastated in Monday’s tremor that killed 51, collected any remaining valuables from the rubble of their mud-brick homes. Survivors mourned not only dead relatives, but also the loss of large numbers of livestock, their only livelihood in villages nestled among hills in an impoverished, mainly Kurdish area.

“Stock breeding is the only thing we rely on, but 70 percent of our animals are dead,” said Nurettin Yildirim, the elderman of the Yukari Demirci village.

Several men were seen feeding cows, still trapped under the rubble, with their hands.

Measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale, the pre-dawn tremor razed dozens of mud-brick houses in five villages, killing whole families in their beds.

Survivors spent their first night in tents but few were able to sleep as a flurry of aftershocks continued to rattle the region, the most powerful measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale.

“We were jolted throughout the night. We could not sleep,” said Adil Cicek, as he puffed on a cigarette at a bonfire outside his tent in the village of Okcular.

Almost all the dead were buried by Tuesday as soldiers and Red Crescent workers set up mobile kitchens and distributed relief supplies.

Officials and experts lamented that shoddy construction exacerbated the disaster, as has been the case with other quakes in the past.

Crossed by several active fault lines, Turkey is frequently jolted by earthquakes, but construction quality-crucial to minimize loss of life-remains a major problem. “The magnitude was only 6.0 but 51 lives were lost. The disaster is not in the quake, but in the mud-bricks,” the Radikal daily wrote on its front page.

“The number of deaths is related directly to the construction quality,” said Okan Tuysuz, a geologists from Istanbul University. “Unfortunately, Turkey is a country poorly prepared for earthquakes in terms of building quality.”

Many of the some 20,000 deaths in two powerful tremors that devastated northwestern Turkey in 1999 were also blamed on sub-standard buildings, the result of widespread corruption plaguing the construction sector.

Scientists expect a huge quake to hit Istanbul in the next 30 years, warning of massive destruction in a sprawling city of some 12 million, where migration from rural areas has led also to widespread illegal construction. Tighter building standards were introduced in Turkey after the 1999 tragedy, but millions of old buildings need to be reinforced.

Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas said contingency plans were based on a scenario that a powerful quake in the city would flatten 50,000 buildings. — AFP

NICOSIA: Fotini Papadopoulos, widow of ex-president Tassos Papadopoulos, reads a statement to the media outside her home in Nicosia yesterday after her husband’s stolen corpse was found three months after a grave robbery from his family plot. The body was found at a cemetery less than five kilometres (three miles) from the robbery site, after an anonymous tip-off from a telephone box. — AFP

Cyprus ex-president body found after ‘broken Greek’ tip-off NICOSIA: Ex-president Tassos Papadopoulos’s body was found in another cemetery three months after a grave robbery from his family plot, Cyprus police said yesterday, after a tip-off call in “broken Greek.”

The discovery in a case which has shocked the island sparked a bizarre dispute between Justice Minister Loucas Louca and the Papadopoulos family over whether a ransom was demanded.

“There was a ransom demand” of the wealthy family, the minister told reporters, without disclosing the amount or when it was made. However, “no ransom was paid.” But family spokesman Chrysis Pantelides, within an hour, phoned in to a state television news programme to deny they had received any such demand and reprimanded the minister.

“The Papadopoulos family did not, and I reiterate did not, receive any kind of demand for a ransom,” said an angry Pantelides. “We should all at this moment in time be acting responsibly, especially all those in authority.”

The minister, meanwhile, ruled out political motives or the involvement of Turkish Cypriots on the divided island but would give no clues on the identity of the perpetrators because of an ongoing police investigation.

Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos told state radio that DNA identification within hours of the find on Monday night had confirmed it was the missing remains. The body was found at a cemetery in a Nicosia suburb, less than five kilometres (three miles) from the robbery site, after an anonymous tipoff from a telephone box, the spokesman said.

He did not confirm media reports that Papadopoulos had been reburied.

Family spokesman Pantelides earlier told reporters that the caller “spoke in broken Greek” and had first telephoned the family who redirected him to the police. Investigators have sealed off the village phone booth south of Nicosia from which the tip-off originated to collect fingerprints.

President Demetris Christofias, the successor to Papadopoulos as Greek Cypriot leader, joined the family in expressing “relief and satisfaction” over the discovery. The former head of state’s widow, Fotini, read out a statement to the media at the family estate on the outskirts of the capital, and thanked the police.

“The finding of the body of our beloved Tassos has finally put an end to the ordeal which has overwhelmed us for the past three months and has restored calm to our family,” she said. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

9

Hustler asks for crime scene photos of slain hiker ATLANTA: Authorities said Monday they will not give Hustler Magazine crime scene and autopsy photos of a woman who was slain while hiking, with one Georgia lawmaker calling the porn publication’s request “vile” and “disgusting.”

Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John

Bankhead said his agency would reject the magazine’s “indecent” request for the photos of Meredith Emerson, whose decapitated body was found in January 2008 in the north Georgia woods. The 24-yearold University of Georgia graduate had been beaten to death.

On Feb. 25, Hustler Magazine

reporter Fred Rosen asked for the photos as part of an open records request filed with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, though it was unclear why. A phone call to the magazine’s Beverly Hills, California, headquarters was not immediately returned Monday.

Rosen also did not immediately

return a phone call.

House Speaker David Ralston blasted the request and said he had instructed the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to refuse to hand over the material.

“It’s sickening. I think it’s disgusting. I think it is vile and I think it is very, very hurtful to this fami-

ly,” he told reporters on Monday.

Gary Michael Hilton is serving a life sentence for Emerson’s murder. Authorities have linked him to at least three other slayings.

The request clearly touched a nerve with other Georgia legislators.

State Rep. Jill Chambers intro-

duced legislation Monday to exempt such crime scene photos from the state’s open records law.

Autopsy photos are currently exempt from the state’s open records law. But Ralston, a lawyer, said crime scene photographs of a body fall into a legal gray area.

However, that bill would not apply

to Hustler’s request if passed.

Rosen said in the request that he should have access to the photographs because it has been more than two years since Hilton was sentenced for the crime. Rosen also asked for Hilton’s confession and Emerson’s autopsy report, including the rape kit. — AP

Opposition demanding a review of election results

Top Togo opposition head barred from reaching protest LOME: Riot police blocked the top opposition leader from reaching a demonstration he wanted to lead yesterday, the fourth day of rising tension since the son of the country’s former dictator was declared winner of a disputed presidential ballot. More than 1,000 protesters had gathered to wait

WASHINGTON: El Salvador’s President Muricio Funes speaks during a meeting with US President Barack Obama in the Oval Office of the White House March 8 in Washington, DC. — AFP

Obama praises Salvadoran leader WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama said Monday he had been impressed with attempts by President Mauricio Funes to bridge political divides as he welcomed the Salvadoran leader to the White House.

Funes, a former journalist, who was the first democratically elected leftist leader of El Salvador for more than 20 years, meanwhile said he hoped to forge a “strategic partnership” with Washington. “I have been following the president since his election... and have been very favorably impressed by the steps he has taken to try to break down political divisions within the country and move it forward,” Obama said.

In a sign of the new links Washington is hoping to forge with the Central American nation, Obama’s meeting with Funes was attended by heavy hitters in his cabinet, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Obama said he was committed to building a relationship based on trade and mutual respect with El Salvador, which has been expanding its

diplomatic influence in Central and Latin American since Funes was inaugurated last June.

He said there had been recent progress in Central America, but Washington remained committed to tackling the root cause of drugs trafficking and not just the symptoms.

“We want to assist in any way we can, in making sure that there’s adequate credit and infrastructure and other tools that can bring about the long-term prosperity within El Salvador,” Obama said.

Funes also addressed reporters in the Oval Office and said he wanted his country to form a “strategic alliance” with Washington to improve living conditions in his country and fight drugs trafficking.

“Traditionally, Central America has been seen as a migratory problem for the United States.

“But Central America and then particularly El Salvador needs to generate the opportunities of work, in order to be able to keep the people back in El Salvador.” — AFP

“I was prevented from reaching,” said Fabre, who was reached on his cell phone inside his car minutes after being pelted with tear gas. “They threw tear gas at my car.”Yesterday’s march was banned by the government but Fabre has vowed to march everyday to protest what he says was a fraudulent election.

The angry protesters gathered on one side of a boulevard and stood face-to-face with riot police. The demonstrators hurled insults as helmet-clad security forces pushed them back, ducking behind fiberglass shields. They threw tear gas bombs after the mob began pelting them with rocks. On a side street, demonstrators set fire to a car. Huge orange flames licked out of its sides.

Saturday’s provisional results showed Fabre lost to incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe, who won 60.9 percent of the vote. Thursday’s election was only the second since the death of Gnassingbe’s father, who seized power in a 1967 coup and ruled the country for 38 years only for his son to grab control upon the father’s death in 2005. “Togo is not a kingdom,” said 27-year-

Israeli envoy offers to return to UC Irvine

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou speak to the media after a meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC. Prime Minister Papandreou and Secretary Clinton spoke about relations between Greece and the United States and the current economic situation in Greece. — AFP

Obama still wants US trial for some Gitmo detainees WASHINGTON: White House aides are increasingly convinced that the professed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will not face trial in a civilian court and are trying to cut a deal that would still transfer Guantanamo Bay terror suspects to the United States, where many would face criminal charges, a senior administration official said Monday. President Barack Obama is trying to keep a campaign pledge to close the island military prison, which has attracted criticism from Republicans who say it would jeopardize national security. He also has been under fire lately from people within his Democratic Party who say Obama should not accept any deal that would prosecute Mohammed outside the normal judicial system.

A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations, said the most important goals are closing Guantanamo Bay and ensuring that the government can prosecute some detainees in US courts. To do so, the only option may be to abandon the administration’s original plan to prose-

cute the alleged 9/11 conspirators in civilian courts and instead send them before military tribunals.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is seen as key to the deal.

During the weekend, the moderate Republican expressed willingness to cut a deal that leads to closing Guantanamo Bay. “If we could get Khalid Sheik Mohammed and the co-conspirators of 9/11 back in the military commission, it’d go down well with the public,” Graham said on CBS’s Face the Nation.

The deal is far from done.

The White House does not want to hold military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, a US naval base on the southeastern tip of Cuba. That means the administration would need to reach a deal to close the prison and hold military commissions within the United States.

Graham also wants to set up a new court system to handle detainees who are too dangerous to be released but who, because of evidence problems or other reasons, cannot be successfully prosecuted in either tribunals or civilian courts. The White House does not favor such a plan, so a

compromise would have to be reached. It is not at all clear the administration can muster the votes to pull together that compromise. Normally, the executive branch has broad discretion on how to wage war and prosecute criminals, but Congress has threatened not to pay for any trials inside the United States.

That has forced the White House into a difficult bargaining position. In an election year, every day that passes makes it more difficult to reach an accord.

Republicans have seized several opportunities to criticize the administration as soft on terror, and many Democrats appear loathe to tackle the issue themselves, particularly when the administration appears conflicted and indecisive.

Ben Wittes, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank who recently rallied conservative lawyers to counter a new line of Republican attack directed at lawyers within the administration, said the political debate over terror is “so coarse and stupid” it ignores the complexities of the national security problem. — AP

IRVINEL Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren has offered to return to the University of California, Irvine to exchange views with students who heckled him raucously on campus last month.

Oren made the offer in an open letter to the UC Irvine community published Monday on the Web site of the campus newspaper New University.

Oren was repeatedly interrupted and called “murderer” and “war criminal” by proPalestinian students as he was giving a talk on the Middle East peace process. Eleven students were cited on charges of disrupting a public event after they were requested to refrain from heckling but did not.

The diplomat said he understood the emotional nature of Middle East politics, but said it was also important to observe the decorum of free speech and hear others’ viewpoints.

“I was saddened by the loss of this opportunity to exchange ideas with those who disagreed with me and, at the very least, to introduce them to different perspectives,” he wrote.

Oren noted that the incident underscored the importance of dialogue, and said dialogue was the only way peace in the Middle East would be achieved. He offered to return to the campus as long as the proper decorum of free speech is respected.

UC President Mark Yudof and campus Chancellor Michael Drake apologized for the students’ behavior. The arrest of the 11 students has turned into a political issue on campus, with some students saying the hecklers were unfairly targeted for making a political statement and exercising their own right to free speech. — AP

for Jean-Pierre Fabre on a downtown boulevard where a march was supposed to take place. The opposition is demanding a review of election results, which once again handed victory to the family that has ruled Togo for the past 43 years.

LOME: Supporters of opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre protest in Lome, Togo, yesterday. Riot police blocked the top opposition leader from reaching a demonstration he wanted to lead yesterday, the fourth day of rising tension since the son of the country’s former dictator was declared winner of a disputed presidential ballot. — AP old mechanic Late Lawson, who had come out to march.

“They do not own this country.

And we are not the renters of this nation, we own it too.

We are going to take it back.” The opposition has attempted to hold daily demon-

strations since Saturday, but have been pushed back by riot police each time including on Sunday when a tear gas grenade exploded at Fabre’s feet, spraying his face. On Monday, security forces cordoned off the headquarters of

Fabre’s party, preventing him from entering for more than an hour in a tense standoff.

The elder Gnassingbe came to power after leading the clique of soldiers that killed Togo’s first president, Sylvanus Olympio. Gnassingbe held on

decade after decade, surviving numerous attempted coups and assassination attempts including one by a member of his own guard who shot at him from point-blank range, piercing the notebook he was carrying.

Fabre’s party is led by Gilchrist Olympio, son of the slain president who was disqualified from running in last week’s vote after the government alleged he had improperly filled in his health certificate.

Fabre, whose family had served in the first president’s government, was chosen as Olympio’s stand-in just weeks before the vote, amid confusion inside the party. The European Union’s observation mission in Togo did not mention evidence of ballot stuffing or vote rigging — as the opposition alleges — in a preliminary report released over the weekend.

But the EU mission did say there is evidence the ruling party may have tried to buy off voters by handing out rice to the country’s deeply impoverished people. District by district results showed that in the regions where EU observers saw the rice being handed out, voters overwhelmingly voted for Gnassingbe. — AP

10

INTERNATIONAL

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Japan govt lawmaker denies calling 9/11 a hoax TOKYO: A lawmaker and foreign policy expert of Japan’s centre-left ruling party yesterday denied telling The Washington Post that he suspects the September 11, 2001 attack on New York was a hoax.

In an editorial Monday, the US newspaper said Yukihisa Fujita, a lawmaker of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), had

questioned that the attacks were the work of terrorists.

The newspaper, which recently interviewed the upper house lawmaker in Tokyo, said he “seems to think that America’s rendering of the events of Sept.

11, 2001 is a gigantic hoax.”

In the past, Fujita has called for an independent investigation into the attacks

that killed nearly 3,000 people and he has published a book entitled “Parliamentary pursuit of suspicion over 9/11 terrorism.”

Fujita, the director general of the DPJ’s international department, admitted referring to the attacks “during informal talks” with the Post following an interview that had focused on Japan’s immigration policies.

“But I clearly said I have never concluded that September 11 was a dark plot and never stated that (the collapse) of the Twin Towers was a controlled demolition,” Fujita said in a statement.

“We cannot help but conclude that it’s a seditious report distorting facts.”

Fujita separately told AFP: “I’m puzzled and annoyed. I’m considering how I

should take action to protest against the editorial.”

The newspaper also said: “His views, rooted as they are in profound distrust of the United States, seem to reflect a strain of anti-American thought that runs through the DPJ and the government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.”

Hatoyama’s government took power in

September, vowing more “equal” ties with Washington after more than five decades of almost unbroken conservative rule.

The editorial also warned that ties between the two allies could be severely tested if Hatoyama “tolerates elements of his own party as reckless and fact-averse as Mr. Fujita.” — AFP

Newspapers publish details of laws governing historic vote

Myanmar ruling junta to hand-pick election body YANGON: Myanmar’s ruling junta will appoint the body overseeing the country’s first elections in two decades, state media said yesterday, sparking anger from rights groups at new laws for this year’s polls. State-run newspa-

pers published the details of the first of five long-awaited laws governing the historic vote, which is expected in October or November, although the military regime has still given no firm date.

YANGON: Members of the detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy Party read state-run newspapers carrying military government’s announcement on election laws at the party’s headquarters in Yangon, Myanmar yesterday. Myanmar’s ruling junta will appoint the commission that will have final say over the country’s first elections in two decades, staterun newspapers announced yesterday as the country’s military rulers began unveiling the laws that will govern this year’s balloting. — AP

Japan’s new govt lifts lid on US nuclear pacts TOKYO: Japan’s new centre-left government lifted a veil of secrecy yesterday surrounding nuclear and military deals struck with the United States, formally abandoning decades of denials over the Cold War pacts.

A panel of historians yesterday released a report commissioned by the six-month-old government on the “secret treaties,” confirming previous information from whistleblowers, media leaks and declassified US documents.

The report officially confirmed that, from the 1960s Japan quietly allowed US warships to carry nuclear weapons across Japanese territory and, in the case of an emergency, to take them to US bases on the southern island of Okinawa.

The tacit agreements, previously denied, were reached despite Japan’s pacifist stance and its official “nonnuclear principles” of not making, possessing or allowing on its soil atomic bombs, the panel found.

Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told a news conference: “It is extremely regrettable that this problem for such a long time remained under cover, to the Japanese, even to parliamentary sessions, even after the end of the Cold War.” Okada said he could not rule out that US nuclear weapons had been brought into Japan but said he believed this had not happened since the United States in 1991 announced the withdrawal of tacti-

cal nuclear arms from its warships. Japan, since its World War II defeat by the United States, which dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has maintained a pacifist and anti-nuclear stance, but has relied on the superpower for nuclear deterrence.

The United States has some 47,000 troops stationed in Japan.

US-friendly Conservative parties ruled Japan for almost its entire post-war period but were ousted in landmark elections last August that brought to power the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) under Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

Japan’s new rulers have signalled a less subservient relationship with Washington, and more dovish foreign policy than previous governments, which had sent non-combat troops to support the US war in Iraq.

Hatoyama has angered Washington by saying his government may scrap a previous agreement to relocate a controversial US military base within Okinawa, which still hosts the bulk of the US troops stationed in Japan.

He stressed that it was important the report “would not affect future relations between Japan and the United States,” Jiji Press reported.

Nuclear deterrence “is needed for the Asia-Pacific region as well as the JapanUS security treaty,” he said, but stressed that pacifist Japan remained committed to its non-nuclear principles. The panel of

scholars found that the previous conservative governments of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had for decades deceived the public.

Under another agreement, also long denied, Tokyo allowed US forces to launch military operations from Japan “as needed” without preliminary consultations in case of renewed war on the Korean peninsula, they said.

Former prime minister Eisaku Sato and then US president Richard Nixon also agreed in 1969, as part of talks on the 1972 return of Okinawa, that US forces could bring nuclear weapons on to the island in an emergency.

“For many years, the government repeatedly gave insincere explanations to its people, especially about the issue of nuclear-armed ship transits,” said the historians led by Tokyo University’s professor Shinichi Kitaoka.

Nagasaki mayor Tomihisa Taue immediately criticised the former conservative rules as “deceiving atom-bomb survivors who feel very strongly about the nonnuclear principles,” Jiji Press reported.

After examining 4,423 files from Japanese foreign ministry and US embassy archives, the scholars highlighted 35 documents as proof of the existence of the clandestine agreements, with 331 items open to the public. But they said many classified documents were missing, hinting that they may have been destroyed. — AFP

Arroyo peace accord with rebels no longer possible MANILA: The Philippine government and Muslim guerrillas can no longer strike a final peace accord before President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo steps down in June because of limited time and differences in ongoing peace talks, the country’s chief negotiator said yesterday. The government has focused its effort to forging an interim accord that will primarily commit the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front to continue negotiations with the next president to peacefully settle its decades-old insurrection, chief govern-

ment negotiator Rafael Seguis said.

“We admit we will no longer be able to sign a comprehensive compact at this time considering the time constraints,” Seguis told a news conference. Muslim rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu agreed, saying the chances of forging a peace pact was “zero,” considering the disparity between the government and rebel positions on many issues.

Several demands submitted by the rebels during negotiations brokered by Malaysia in January would require the passage by con-

gress of new laws, including a proposal to drastically strengthen the powers of minority Muslims to run an existing Muslim autonomous region in the country’s south, Seguis said.

The rebel front is the largest of at least four guerrilla groups waging a bloody rebellion in southern Mindanao region for decades.

More than 120,000 people have died in repeated clashes with government troops, and the conflict has held back economic progress in some of the country’s poorest regions.

Government officials and

the rebels resumed talks in December after years of peace negotiations broke down in 2008 when the Philippine Supreme Court declared a preliminary pact unconstitutional.

This led to clashes that killed hundreds and displaced about 750,000 people.

Fighting has subsided since last July, but about 100,000 people remain displaced, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The United States and Australia have backed the talks, fearing rebel strongholds could harbor Al-Qaedalinked militants. — AP

The last elections, in 1990, were won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) but the junta annulled the results and has kept her under house arrest for 14 of the intervening years.

After the government enacted the new laws on Monday, state media yesterday printed the two-page text of the first of the new edicts, the “Union Election Commission Law,” signed by junta supremo Senior General Than Shwe.

The law will “form a union election commission to supervise the practising of the Union of Myanmar people’s rights to elect or stand for election as well as the political parties,” the text said.

But it said that the junta, officially known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), would itself appoint the commission, which will have at least five members.

All members must be over 50 and “shall be deemed by the SPDC to be an eminent person, to have integrity and experience, to be loyal to the state and its citizens and shall not be a member of a political party”.

The commission would have the “final and conclusive” say on all electoral matters, it added.

Critics say the elections are a sham designed to legitimise the ruling generals’ grip on power while Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi languishes in detention. Her house arrest was extended by 18 months in August.

“It obviously does not bode well for the credibility of the elections,” activist Debbie Stothard, a Bangkok-based activist and coordinator of the ALTSEAN-Burma (Myanmar) network, said of the electoral commission laws.

A Myanmar official said the date for this year’s polls was expected to be set by the election commission, not by the government.

“I think that the election commission will have to announce the election date as it is their duty to hold elections.

We cannot say anything right now except to wait for the election commission,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Another official said that political parties “will get about six months to lobby for elections after election laws come out.”

But activists pointed to the fact that the commission will be able to postpone and abolish “elections of the constituencies where free and fair elections cannot be held due to natural disaster or due to the local security situation,” the law said.

This provision could be used to cancel elections in border areas where the government is still fighting its decades-long campaign against ethnic minority rebel groups, they said.

“Basically, the laws will formalise what is already a repressive system leading up to the election,” said David Mathieson, a Myanmar expert at Human Rights Watch.

The NLD has not yet said whether it will participate in this year’s promised elections, saying it will wait until it sees the full details of all the election laws.

Details of the law for the registration of political parties are expected to be released on Wednesday. A new constitution agreed in a May 2008 referendum, just days after a devastating cyclone that killed up to 138,000 people in Myanmar, effectively bans Suu Kyi from standing in the polls. — AFP

BANGKOK: In this April 13, 2009 file photo, soldiers confront Red Shirt demonstrators during riots in Bangkok, Thailand. The Thai government approved the use of a stringent security law yesterday, ahead of a major antigovernment rally this weekend that authorities fear could spark unrest. — AP

Thailand imposes tough security law for protests BANGKOK: Thailand’s government yesterday agreed to impose a tough security law ahead of protests this weekend, vowing to use “all means” to stop violence by backers of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The Internal Security Act allows authorities to deploy troops on the streets during mass anti-government rallies in Bangkok by the so-called “Red Shirts” and also to impose curfews and ban gatherings.

Under the law, to be in force between March 11 and 23, the government also banned farm vehicles from the capital in an apparent bid to block the movement of protesters from Thaksin’s heartland in the rural north.

“The cabinet has approved the imposition of the Internal Security Act and the prime minister has assigned each ministry certain responsibilities,” said Satit Wongnongtaey, a minister attached to premier Abhisit Vejjajiva’s office.

Organisers say they expect up to 600,000 Red Shirts to start gathering in Bangkok from Friday for the main day of protests on Sunday against a court ruling last month that confiscated 1.4 billion dollars of Thaksin’s fortune.

The government predicts that around 100,000 protesters will gather.

Security officials said at least 30,000 troops and police would be deployed or on standby along with thousands more civilian security volunteers, although final numbers had yet to be determined.

The government has also prepared safe houses for senior figures.

The country remains deeply divided between supporters of the populist Thaksin, who was deposed in a military coup in 2006, and those among the Bangkok-based elites who view him as corrupt.

Satit said the transport ministry would ban improvised farm trucks-open-sided vehicles that drive on tractor engines-from entering Bangkok

as they could be used to ferry large numbers of protesters from the countryside.

Thaksin, who made his fortune in telecommunications, has been egging on his supporters from self-imposed exile in Dubai, where he is living to avoid a jail term for graft.

Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij on Monday said the government would take all means within the law to prevent violence.

Korn said Abhisit respected the right to peaceful protest but added that the government also fully intended to “use all means within its powers, within the laws of the country, to make sure that the property and safety of its citizens are protected”.

On Monday Abhisit briefed Thailand’s revered king, who has been hospitalised for the past five months, on the weekend’s planned rallies, dubbed “The Red March” by local media.

Any migrant workers attending the rallies would meanwhile be subject to a five-year jail term and fines of up to 100,000 baht (3,100 dollars), Labour Minister Phaitoon Kaeothong said.

Thailand’s economy relies on workers from its poorer neighbours Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, but in recent months the country has become tougher on immigration and has been accused of widespread mistreatment of migrants.

Senior Reds insist they will protest peacefully, but it promises to be the biggest rally since last April, when up to 100,000 Red Shirts derailed a major Asian summit and ensuing riots left two people dead.

The Philippines yesterday advised its citizens to avoid travelling to Thailand ahead of the protests.

“Filipinos are advised to postpone all nonessential travel to Thailand, specifically Bangkok,” the foreign office said, adding that those in Bangkok had been advised to avoid potential flashpoints and protest spots. — AFP

Indian taxi driver remanded over boy’s death in Australia MELBOURNE: An Indian taxi driver was remanded in custody yesterday over the killing of Indian toddler Gurshan Singh, as the boy’s mother voiced her anguish at losing her “beautiful boy”.

Gursewak Dhillon, who is charged with manslaughter by criminal negligence, did not apply for bail at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court and will appear again on June 29.

Police have alleged that 23-year-old Dhillon, one of six adults who shared a Melbourne home with the Singh family, dumped the boy’s body near the city’s airport on Thursday.

Details of how the boy died have not been revealed but police have accused Dhillon of placing the alive but unconscious child in the boot of his car and driving around for three hours before disposing of the body.

Dhillon’s court appearance came as the boy’s mother, Harpreet Kaur Channa, described her heartbreak over her son’s death.

“Our son was a beautiful boy and he was very loved and he is still in the front of our eyes,” she wrote in a letter to the Herald Sun newspaper.

“Up to this point our grief has been so bad, so deep, so beyond explanation.

“We want to thank the Australian people for their support and the Victoria Police for (making an arrest) so fast.” Gurshan went missing on Thursday afternoon

while his mother was taking a shower and his father was at the library. His body was found 20 kilometres (12 miles) away about six hours later by a council worker. — AFP

MELBOURNE: Sim Kaur, wife of Gursewak Dhillon who has been charged with manslaughter over the death of three-year-old Indian boy Gurshan Singh, leaves the offices of her husband’s lawyers after he was remanded in custody after a short court hearing yesterday. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

11

Sri Lanka’s opposition leader ends hunger strike COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s detained opposition leader has ended a hunger strike after just one day after authorities allowed him to use a telephone again, a party official said yesterday.

Former army chief Sarath Fonseka was arrested a month ago, accused of sedition, after he lost a January presidential election to incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He is detained in a naval complex in Colombo. Only his wife, lawyer and doctors are allowed to visit him. Fonseka began a hunger strike on Sunday after being barred from using a telephone his wife brings.

Tiran Alles, an opposition party official, said that Fonseka stopped his fast Monday night after authorities allowed him to use the phone to talk to his two daughters, who live abroad. He refused to use a phone provided by the military.

Fonseka’s office said his use of a telephone is supported by a court ruling

but the military says it is just a concession from the current army commander.

The army says that Fonseka is only allowed to use the phone to talk to his daughters.

Despite his detention, Fonseka plans to contest a seat in April 8 parliamentary elections at the head of a six-party alliance.

Rajapaksa has faced international criticism for the arrest of Fonseka, who led the army to its victory last year over the long-running Tamil Tiger insurgency before resigning his command and running in elections against the president. The activists and supporters of Fonseka-led Democratic National Alliance held a protest rally on Monday, demanding the government unconditionally release Fonseka. Officials have said he will face a court martial for various offenses allegedly committed before he gave up his army command

last year, including conspiracy to overthrow the government and receiving kickbacks on arms deals.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s outgoing parliament yesterday approved the extension of a state of emergency until after next month’s legislative elections, giving sweeping powers to police and troops.

Parliament voted strongly to extend the laws enacted by President Mahinda Rajapakse earlier this month to deal with anti-government elements after the crushing of Tamil Tiger rebels almost a year ago.

“We are not going to use these emergency laws against the political opposition, but only to deal with the remnants of the Tigers,” Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake told parliament.

The president can extend the emergency for one month at a time, but this

must be ratified by parliament within 10 days. Fresh parliamentary elections are due on April 8, before the expiry of the current extension of the emergency.

Sri Lanka has faced criticism over the use of emergency laws, which were first imposed in 1983 to combat Tamil Tiger separatists who waged a 37-year battle until last May, when they were wiped out by the army.

The government argues that although Tamil guerrillas have been defeated, remnants were trying to make a comeback, a claim rejected by Sri Lanka’s opposition, which says the emergency is being used to suppress dissent.

The emergency law allows the arrest and detention of suspects for long periods without trial. It also allows police and troops to carry out search operations without a warrant from a magistrate. — AFP

Roadside bomb kills three

Sri Lanka’s defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka

India’s women quota bill clears first hurdle NEW DELHI: A landmark law that would reserve a third of all seats in India’s parliament for women cleared its first hurdle yesterday when members of the upper house approved it after a rancorous debate.

The bill won the backing of 186 of the 248 members of the upper Rajya Sabha chamber, more than the two-thirds majority needed for the draft legislation which would result in a constitutional change.

“The bill is a historic step, joyous step forward,” said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “It is celebration of our womanhood.

This is a momentous development in the long journey of

empowering women.”

Women currently occupy 59 seats out of 545 in the lower house and just 21 women in the 248-seat upper house.

An attempt to pass the legislation was first made in 1996 and it has been consistently blocked since by various political groups demanding quotas for women from Muslim and low-caste communities.

Communists and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) united behind the left-leaning ruling Congress party, which faced virulent and occasionally unruly resistance from regional socialist parties.

The bill was again tabled on Monday, International

Women’s Day, but the socialists forced repeated adjournments and at one point ripped up the law, threw shreds of paper at the speaker and grabbed his microphone.

Seven members, who say the bill will lead to high-caste women monopolising the reserved seats, were suspended over the uproar. A parliamentary security team was deployed to keep order on Tuesday.

The bill will now pass to the lower house of parliament and state assembles, where a third of seats will also be reserved for women. If it clears these two stages, it will then require presidential consent. — AFP

Mumbai attacks suspect a ‘depraved murderer’ MUMBAI: A Pakistani man on trial in India over the 2008 attacks that killed 166 people in Mumbai was branded a “conniving, depraved murderer” by the prosecution during final arguments yesterday.

Lawyer Ujjwal Nikam said the case against Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab was overwhelming, as was “voluminous” evidence of Pakistani involvement. Kasab stands accused of being one of 10 Islamist militants who launched an assault against multiple targets in India’s financial capital 14 months ago. The sole surviving gunman, he faces a string of charges, including waging war against India, murder and attempted murder. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. A total of 166 people were killed and more than 300 injured in the attacks, which India blamed on the banned Pakistan-based Islamist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Nikam told a special prison court in the city that the 21-year-old had deliberately tried to avoid responsibility by first denying his role in the attacks, before pleading guilty then saying he was pressured into an admission.

“This lying, conniving, depraved murderer has the moral turpitude to play with the honourable court and try to make a mockery of the Indian judicial sys-

tem,” the lawyer said. “He has done this deliberately to try to mislead the court,” he added. “He did it because it’s part of his training... but we have produced and adduced such a volume of evidence that all his attempts have been foiled.”

Nikam told the court, which included the chief minister of Maharashtra state, Ashok Chavan, that evidence of Pakistani involvement was “voluminous”. A Pakistani army major-general helped equip and train the attackers at LeT camps, while individuals in the military had accessed email and Internet telephone accounts used by the militants, the lawyer said. The gunmen and their handlers had been keen to conceal their true nationality, the court heard.

“It’s very evident that the terror attack... was carried out under the supervision and control of personnel connected with the security apparatus of Pakistan,” Nikam said.

“There’s ample evidence on the record to show that the attack was hatched in Pakistan by people who didn’t want the name of Pakistan to come to the surface.”

The case, which began last April and has heard live evidence from nearly 300 people, was adjourned until today. — AFP

British boy kidnapped in Pakistan safe: Police JHELUM: A five-year-old British boy kidnapped in Pakistan nearly a week ago is alive and police are making progress in the investigation, a police official said yesterday.

Sahil Saeed, who is of Pakistani origin, was abducted last Thursday after gunmen barged into his grandmother’s house, held the family at gunpoint for hours and then left with some valuables and the boy.

“The child is safe. We made some progress and hopefully, we’ll sort out this case soon,” Khalid Mehmood, police superintendent for investigations in the city of Jhelum, told Reuters.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Sunday that police were closing in on the kidnappers and that the abductors appeared to be close to the boy’s family.

Kidnapping is a major problem in Pakistan and many of the crimes go unreported.

Police have said Taliban militants use ransoms from kidnappings to fund their insur-

gency against the US-backed government.

No sign has emerged that the abduction of the boy, who is from the English town of Oldham, was linked to militants.

Police have said the gunmen took away 150,000

rupees ($1,750) and some gold and later demanded a 10 million rupee ($118,000) ransom.

Police said the kidnappers had been tipped off that the boy and his father were planning to fly home to Britain last Thursday after visiting relatives in Pakistan. — Reuters

MUMBAI: Britain’s Prince Andrew, The Duke of York (L) poses holding a solar lantern presented

by Indu Sahani (R), The Sheriff of Mumbai and students of Hassaram Rijhumal College in Mumbai yesterday. The Duke of York is in Mumbai on a day-long visit. — AFP

Gates praises troops in southern Afghanistan FORWARD OPERATING BASE FRONTENAC: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a hard-hit battle unit yesterday that its heavy losses have helped the US begin to push back against the Taleban in southern The latest injuries came Monday night, and the latest death three days ago.

“You all have had a very tough time,” especially at the start of the tour, Gates told members of the 800-soldier unit. “You came into an area totally controlled by the Taleban. You fought for a critical battle space, you bled for it and now you own it.” He told the troops that as the fight shifts toward securing Kandahar itself later this year, they will again be “at the tip of the spear.” Brigade commander Lt. Col. Jonathan Neumann explained one of its missions: securing a highway that locals use to bring crops to market in Kandahar.

“If people can’t move freely on the highway,” Neumann said, “they’ll never feel connected to their government and like they are out from under the thumb of the Taliban.” Neumann said his troops also protect the local population from bandits and extortionists who try to waylay travelers and exact illegal tolls.

He said it can be hard to measure success when it means subtle changes of heart and intention among the locals instead of something dramatic, like taking a city. “The metric that stares you in the face is our casualties,” Neumann said.

Gates later walked a dusty street in Now Zad, where Marines pushed out the Taleban last year with help from some of the first reinforcements ordered by President Barack Obama.

The Pentagon chief stopped to speak to shopkeepers who are among about 2,500 people who have returned to the city.

Now Zad, once the second largest city in Helmand province, sat empty for four years, save for US, NATO and Taliban fighters.

“This place was a ghost town, a no-go zone,” Gates said as he thanked Marines for an operation that served as a model for this year’s battle in nearby Marjah. Gates flew to Kandahar early yesterday for meetings with US and British generals overseeing the military campaign in Marjah. He presented Silver Stars for valor to two Army aviators before his visits with US forces at bases elsewhere in the south.

On Monday, the Pentagon chief said the progress made in the Marjah offensive, launched last month, is encouraging, but he stopped short of saying the war is at a turning point. The Marjah campaign routed most Taleban fighters from a town they once controlled, without a high casualty toll for US troops and the Afghan security forces fighting alongside them.

“People still need to understand there is some very hard fighting, very hard days ahead,” Gates told reporters.

Gates met Monday in Kabul with Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan. McChrystal said preparations have begun for a crucial campaign to assert Afghan government control

over Kandahar, spiritual home of the Taleban.

Gates traveled to Afghanistan to check on the progress of the war’s expansion, directed late last year by Obama. Most of the 30,000 additional US forces Obama ordered will be in place by summer. Without being specific, McChrystal suggested that any heavy fighting in Kandahar will wait until more US and NATO troops are ready.

A roadside bomb killed two Afghan border police and a civilian riding in their vehicle yesterday in southern Afghanistan, police said, as Britain’s defense secretary urged patience in the push to secure the volatile region. — Agencies

Afghanistan. Gates visited a small, remote outpost 30 miles north of Kandahar, where the Fort Lewis, Washington-based Stryker unit has lost 22 men and suffered an additional 62 wounded since arriving here last summer.

NOW ZAD: US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, third right, tours through the town of Now Zad, Afghanistan, yesterday. — AP

OPINION

12

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

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issues

Fernandez aims to tap reserves to boost power

By Kevin Gray

A

rgentina’s president is fighting to use currency reserves to repay debt and avoid cutting government spending, which she fears would weaken her grip on power ahead of a presidential election next year.

President Cristina Fernandez, facing a financing crunch and slumping popularity, is taking on Congress and the courts to use the reserves and vowing to move ahead with the plan despite court rulings against it and fierce lawmaker opposition.

Getting hold of the reserves offers her a chance to free up state resources to stoke economic growth and possibly win back loyalty in Argentina’s ruling Peronist party.

But some economists warn using the reserves could accelerate already high inflation, which some analysts estimate could reach 20 percent this year.

“Distributing state resources to shore up political power has been a key part of the Kirchners’ government,” said Freddy Thomsen, an Argentine political and economic analyst. He was referring to Fernandez’s predecessor and husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, a congressman and driving force behind her government who is expected to run for a second term next year.

Fernandez is also looking to assert herself in the face of an emboldened opposition that took control of Congress after last year’s congressional elections saw her buffeted by a slowing economy, growing accusations of government corruption and a political battle with farmers over export taxes. Her popularity hovers around 20 percent and state coffers are depleted after she increased government spending last year to offset the impact of the global economic crisis and strengthen her chances in the June legislative election.

Argentina’s economy grew 0.9 percent in 2009, the slowest pace since 2002, according to official government figures. However, the data are widely questioned by analysts who say the economy contracted last year. The economic slowdown brought an end to six years of sizzling growth averaging 7 percent a year under the Kirchners that swelled state coffers and enabled them to maintain discipline over the ruling Peronists. Fernandez can choose to transfer money to provinces led by governors allied with her government, helping to ensure their support. In the broader economy, she has raised state worker salaries and pensions and increased expenditure on public works projects to help the economy expand. Now, as some $15 billion in debt payments come due this year, Fernandez faces the poten-

tially politically damaging prospect of having to curb spending and slow growth, said Rosendo Fraga, an Argentine political analyst.

“That’s an option the Kirchners won’t consider,” he said. “They prefer to bet everything on spending to help stoke growth and that way recover their lost popularity.”

Fernandez has publicly said that tapping the reserves is the only alternative to avoid slashing government spending. She has also said it makes more sense for the country to pay debt with central bank reserves than tapping global credit markets paying double-digit interest rates.

Last week, Fernandez surprised lawmakers with her latest move to tap the country’s $48 billion in reserves.

Her initial effort, announced in December, was later halted by a judge after opposition lawmakers challenged it. She also fired former Central Bank President Martin Redrado for refusing to hand over the money. Appearing before Congress, Fernandez announced she was annulling a decree that set aside some $6.6 billion in reserves to guarantee debt payments.

She instead issued two decrees ordering transfers totaling the same amount and bypassing congressional approval of the plan. With a new ally at the head of the central bank, the money was quickly moved to the Treasury.

In a public appearance on Thursday, Fernandez defended the move as proof Argentina “will honor its debts”. The battle over the use of reserves has weighed on prices of Argentine debt recently, but last week investors appeared to welcome her commitment to pay.

Bond prices have also been boosted in recent days on signs the government is moving ahead with a planned swap of $20 billion in defaulted debt, a key move for the country to begin borrowing in international markets again after a 2002 default.

However, some investors are worried about the reserves battle and what might be motivating Fernandez to put up such a tough fight. “The Kirchners seem to do whatever they like and trample on the normal workings of Congress and the Central Bank,” the head of one emerging markets fund that holds Argentine debt said, asking not be named. “The positive signs they send of dealing with the swap and the commitment to pay is balanced out with unorthodox fiscal and monetary policies.” The person added: “If they can borrow from the international markets again, does that mean they are going to borrow more fiscally to help them look better in the elections?” — Reuters

All articles appearing on these pages are the personal opinion of the writers. Kuwait Times takes no responsibility for views expressed therein. Kuwait Times invites readers to voice their opinions. Please send submissions via email to: opinion@kuwaittimes.net or via snail mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait. The editor reserves the right to edit any submission as necessary.

Reflections on life in India today

By Randeep Ramesh

I

n my six years as a reporter there, it was hard not to be infected by the hubris of India - a nation that feels part of history, an essential actor on the global stage. Yet even as I admired a country that had thrived as a democracy despite unbounded poverty, mass illiteracy and entrenched social divides, experiencing India as a reporter was a string of enervating and dispiriting episodes.

Whether I was visiting a rural police station where half-naked men were hung from the ceiling during an interrogation, or talking to the parents of a baby bulldozed to death in a slum clearance, the romance of India’s idealism was undone by its awful daily reality.

The venality, mediocrity and indiscipline of its ruling class would be comical but for the fact that politicians appeared incapable of doing anything for the 836 million people who live on 25 pence a day.

The selling of public office for private gain was so bad that the only way to make poverty history in India would be to make every person a politician.

Last year the wealth of local representatives in the northern state of Haryana rose at an astonishing rate of £10,000 a month. Their constituents were lucky if their income increased by a few dollars. The burden of democracy in India, to borrow from Yeats, the Irish poet influenced by mystical Hindu thought, was that “the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity”. Yet the country continues to confound those who write it off.

I saw India redeemed repeatedly by three quirks of history: a written liberal constitution, religions rendered ethical, and a talent for sabotage. Take the last first. India won independence not through war or revolution but through non-co-operation, protest and the quiet subversion of the economy. Civil society in India has acquired an unrivalled

mastery of such skills, and campaigners have been quicker than politicians to realise that democracy will not prevail unless its proponents show success at governing. Consequently, it was activists who shamed the government last year into enacting a law to make children’s education compulsory.

India’s constitution, the longest in the world, has become a moral compass for justice in a society where violence had been the best measure of one’s power and standing. When homosexual sex was legalised by Delhi’s high court last summer, the judges said the old law criminalising the gay community was in violation of the constitution. By appealing to the highest sense of being Indian, the bench ended years of homophobia.

To claim faith has enabled Indians to come together might seem far-fetched.

British India was rent asunder by religion, and one of my first reporting tasks was to visit Muslim victims of statesponsored pogroms. Yet such violence appeared more political than theological. Indeed, during my time in India it was Europe that appeared unable to embrace religious diversity. While I awoke each day to the sound of the muezzin, the Swiss voted to outlaw the construction of minarets. France’s president Nicolas Sarkozy wants to ban the burka; Britain’s justice minister Jack Straw asks women to remove veils in meetings and the Turks wait, still, to join the EU. Europe’s liberalism looked like a straitjacket of unspoken Christian values.

India’s philosophy emphasised not what you believed but how you behaved. Lead a compassionate, religious life and the state would leave you alone. This thinking meant Indian streets are shared by people who look, dress and pray differently - making them a celebration of the nation’s diversity.

Diverse, yes: but it’s an open question whether the society being created

by these forces is a fair one. India is perhaps the most unequal country on the planet, with a tiny elite engorged on

the best education, biggest landholdings and largest incomes. Those born on the bottom rungs of the social hier-

archy suffer a legacy of caste bigotry, rural servitude and class discrimination. — Guardian

Political posters today are ugly

By Sam Leith

I

n 1909, the British Labour party - then still in its infancy - had a fantastic election poster. The image had as its background a dusty silhouette of the Palace of Westminster, giving way to a horizontal wilderness of factory chimneys, whose smoke spilled into the tan air. In the foreground, a crew of beefy working men, all cloth caps and rolled sleeves and dark tunics, were smashing through the doors of the Lords with battering rams. “Labour clears the way,” ran the slogan.

Nowadays, the only reason Labour would be barging into the British parliament’s upper house would be to check the Pugin wallpaper and to claim their attendance allowances.

But this was back when the Lords were blocking Lloyd George’s redistributive budget, and Labour was still young, in spirit and in fact.

By chance, the rumblings of this year’s election runup have coincided with the People’s History Museum in Manchester reopening after a two-year revamp. Its archive of posters and banners, including Labour Clears the Way, offers an interesting counterpoint. The archive is full of beautiful, intriguing things: a Tory poster showing a glum art deco Britannia presiding serenely over crates of colonial goods being unpacked on the docks; a vorticist-style Ban the Bomb poster with squadrons of red planes dropping exclamation marks; and an ad for the Co-op’s self-raising flour that would give the socialist realism of Stalin’s Russia a run for its money.

The thing is, many of these posters have an appeal as pieces of art, over and above their value as propaganda. The political posters of today seem a poor, sterile thing by comparison. You might put one in your window facing outwards, but you wouldn’t want to hang one on your wall facing inwards. In part, of course, old posters have an element of kitsch in their appeal; they’re a window to a lost world. But mostly, today’s political posters are just ugly. There are three reasons why. The first is an evacuation of ideology or, at least, a move away from it. Few posters now aim to symbolise an abstract idea, be it striking the chains from the workers’ wrists, or the glorious bounties of empire. The second thing is the move towards negative campaigning. My

objection to this is not the traditional one: that it debases politics. It’s that it makes the posters crass and forgettable.

If your poster is a picture of the other guy, you don’t want to make it memorable or beautiful. You don’t want your enemy looking iconic. Hence, perhaps, the failure of the Tories’ 1997 posters. Given a choice between Demon Eyes and Four Eyes, people voted demon.

The third thing is the shift from screenprinting to (digitally altered) photographs. Political posters are not now about trying to establish an icon, a created image; they’re about fakey verite and larky deprecation. Is Thatcher hair on William Hague the most we can aspire to aesthetically?

There are exceptions. Take Shepard Fairey’s posters of Barack Obama: the line of the future president’s shoulders swell upwards from left to right, like his poll ratings. He’s staring up and over the viewer’s shoulder, above the horizon, towards what we can only presume is the future. The colour scheme is red, white and blue. The left side of the face is red, the middle pale, the right blue. There’s an implication - derived from the sunrise campaign logo he’s wearing on his lapel - that the rosy side of Obama’s face is bathed with the dawn towards which he’s looking.

But you could interpret the colour scheme more simply.

This is America. I’m going to win the red states with this half of my face, the blue ones with this half, and the swing states with the end of my nose. Just watch me. What made this such a great modern political poster, though, was the fact that it was not really modern and not really a political poster. It wasn’t commissioned by the Obama campaign although they got behind it when it went viral. It was the work of an artist, not an ad-man.

It was also a notably retro thing: a screenprint with a social-realist flavour. That chin-raised 1,000-yard stare has been a favourite with headscarved, broom-waving women and beefy-armed men ever since the first communist picked up a paintbrush. Fairey’s example points the way forward: ie, back. So how about, this election, the three main political parties raise their game? Each could show its commitment to the arts by allowing an actual artist to design its posters: no fiddling around with Photoshop, no attack posters, just something with oomph and originality. That would get my vote. – Guardian

Lebanon defence strategy much ado about nothing

By Rana Moussaoui

T

alks between Lebanon’s rival political parties focused on Hezbollah’s weapons have little chance of succeeding given the vested interest of key regional players like Iran and Syria, analysts say.

“This dialogue is going nowhere,” said Rafic Khoury, chief editor of the independent daily Al-Anwar, referring to national defence strategy talks that resumed on Tuesday at the presidential palace before being adjourned until March 15.

“Hezbollah, as well as Syria and Iran, clearly stated recently their strategy of resistance against Israel,” he added.

The talks, which were launched in 2006, have repeatedly been adjourned because of the successive political crises that have shaken Lebanon. The last round was held in June 2009. The stated aim is for Lebanon’s Western- and Saudibacked majority and a coalition led by the Iranian- and Syriansupported Shiite militant group to agree on a national defence strategy as concerns neighbour-

Leaders of more than a dozen political factions meet for talks headed by Lebanese President Michel Suleiman (center) at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, yesterday. – AP ing enemy Israel.

But a major stumbling block to reaching agreement has been Hezbollah’s weapons. The group, which sparked a devastating war with Israel in 2006 and is considered a terrorist

organisation by Washington, is the only faction in Lebanon that has refused to surrender its arsenal following the country’s 1975-1990 civil war. It argues that Lebanon’s army is illequipped and as such its

weapons are needed to defend the country against Israeli aggression.

The majority, however, argues that any decision concerning war or peace must be made by the state. “You have

two diametrically opposed views with one side arguing that the new national defence strategy must protect Hezbollah’s arsenal and the other wanting to do away with it,” Khoury told AFP. “They’re going around in circles and each camp is holding its ground,” he added. “It’s like a debating club: you argue but no decision is ever taken.”

Prior to the resumption of the talks yesterday, Hezbollah set the tone by saying its weapons were not open to discussion. For its part, the majority argues that Hezbollah cannot be allowed to become a state within a state. “No one is talking about disarming Hezbollah,” said Ammar Houry, a majority MP. “We want to come up with a solution whereby Hezbollah’s arsenal becomes part of an overall defence strategy overseen by the state.” However, analysts say the majority has little room to manoeuvre given that the issue extends far beyond Lebanon’s border, with regional players Syria and Iran setting the agenda. “This is a complex issue that carries regional ramifications,” said Osama Safa,

head of the Lebanese Centre for Policy studies. “Israel and Syria have a vested interest.

“Dialogue is positive but no one believes that this issue is going to be settled in seven or eight sessions or even a year.”

The daily Al-Akhbar, close to Hezbollah, summed up the situation yesterday with a headline that read “National dialogue: the play,” while An-Nahar daily, close to the majority, said no breakthrough was expected.

The 2006 war left much of south Lebanon in ruins and killed more than 1,200 people, mainly Lebanese civilians, as well as 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers. Israel says Hezbollah has since built up its arsenal, from 14,000 rockets at the outbreak of the 2006 war to 40,000 now.

Last month, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed to unleash the guerrilla group’s military might on Israel’s infrastructure, including Tel Aviv airport, should the Jewish state attack Lebanon. Hezbollah has participated in government since 2005 and has two ministers in the 30-member unity cabinet. — AFP

ANALYSIS

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

13

Myanmar vote unfair but hope for change remains

By Danny Kemp

M

yanmar’s election laws have raised new concerns about fairness, but this year’s polls are a step in the right direction and could still be a catalyst for change, analysts and activists say. State newspapers Tuesday revealed that the country’s military junta itself will handpick the new electoral commission, lending fuel to critics who say the polls are a sham aimed at entrenching the ruling generals’ power. But analysts said that despite regime leader Than Shwe’s iron grip on his position, the vote is creating glimmers of instability in the political system and may even herald a shake-up in the regime’s hierarchy.

“The election itself will be all that people fear it will be, but I’ve been surprised at the degree to which there is doubt and uncertainty (in the regime),” Sean Turnell, a Myanmar expert at Australia’s Macquarie University, told AFP. The playing field for the polls promised by the generals is already tilted, thanks to a new constitution passed in 2008, just days after devastating Cyclone Nargis killed 138,000 people in

A taxi driver reads a state-run newspaper covering military government’s announcement on election laws in Yangon yesterday. – AP Myanmar.

A clause barring anyone from standing for election if they are married to foreigners rules out Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained head of the National League for Democracy, which won the last polls in 1990. Her husband,

British academic Michael Aris, died of cancer in 1999. The regime has also extended Suu Kyi’s house arrest until February 2011, keeping her in detention past the expected election date in October or November.

The constitution furthermore reserves around a quarter of all seats in Myanmar’s new parliament for the military.

Activists said the first of the new electoral laws unveiled Tuesday consolidated the ruling government’s position.

The law says the junta will choose each member of the electoral commission and each should be an “eminent person, to have integrity and experience, to be loyal to the state and its citizens and shall not be a member of a political party.”

“It doesn’t come as a surprise. In the short term I don’t see any sort of meaningful change or improvement,” Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Myanmar expert, told AFP after the details were unveiled.

“Certainly in the medium to long term almost any kind of change from the status quo has to have some kind of positive element to it, just because it’s difficult to imagine, from a human rights point at least, just how much worse things could get,” Zawacki said.

He said the regulations were getting “undue attention” that should be focused on the plight of more than 2,000 political prisoners in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. But other analysts said that even if the elections are fixed it is still a big step for a country that has been without the slightest semblance of democracy for two decades.

“All in all this is a new experi-

ence for Burma, so an election is an important step,” said Aung Naing Oo, a Myanmar political analyst based in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. “Elections are important in the sense that we haven’t had any for 20 years and it’s important for the Burmese to learn to exercise their right. We won’t get democracy overnight for sure, but it will be an important step nonetheless.”

Analysts said the elections also cast some doubt over the future of the junta’s top figures.

The constitution says the State Peace and Development Council - the junta that Than Shwe heads - must hand over power to a new national assembly after the elections. Than Shwe may take over the new presidential position provided for by the constitution to maintain his hold on power, but previous junta leaders have ended up in jail or under house arrest.

“We are in an interesting period in the lead-up because there is a lot more uncertainty than anyone really expected.

There do seem to be some people (in the regime) jockeying around,” said Macquarie University’s Turnell. — AFP

Debt row, Greece feed anti-EU fire in Iceland

By Wojciech Moskwa

I

n the eyes of Icelanders, it seems Brussels can do no right. When it comes to fish, European Union bureaucrats intervene too much. When it comes to debt crises like Icesave or Greece, EU leaders simply don’t do enough. The result is that on an island which has plenty of good reasons to join the bloc, interest in membership is now waning. And that increases the odds that Iceland’s long-term future could be that it slips back into being a rocky outpost on the northern fringe of Europe, with its embattled currency prey to the ebbs and flows of financial markets.

“People are growing suspicious of the EU,” said Gudbjorg Andrea Jonsdottir, director at pollster Capacent. “They see the way Greece is being treated and realise that the type of security they hoped to gain as an EU member may not be there for the taking.” The island nation of 320,000 people sought EU shelter after the collapse of its banks in 2008, seeing membership as a road out of a crisis that has hobbled its small independent currency and plunged the economy into deep recession.

Last month Brussels invited Reykjavik to accession talks. But the EU question has dropped down the list of priorities for the Icelandic government, which is preoccupied with settling $5 billion in “Icesave” debts to Britain and the Netherlands. The Icesave row has prevented International Monetary Fund aid from flowing and deepened Iceland’s economic woes. “The Icesave case has certainly not made the EU more popular,” Finance Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson said. “There are other problems as well ... it is evident that individual EU states are not getting all that much support,” he said, referring to euro zone member Greece’s debt problems.

Historically, Iceland has been wary of the EU. Descendants of the Vikings, Icelanders have always prided them-

selves on their independence. And the country’s influential fishing lobby has cried foul at the idea of Brussels taking control of its fish-rich waters. “Our fish stocks are basically all we have now that our banks collapsed, and much bigger EU states want to get their hands on them,” taxi driver Helgi Jonsson said.

The pain felt from the financial crisis overshadowed these concerns for a while. After a razor-thin vote in parliament, Reykjavik finally applied for EU membership last July. Once entry talks conclude, Icelanders will decide in a referendum whether to join. Opinion polls show EU entry is now supported by less than a third of Icelanders while half are explicitly opposed. Polls released 8 months ago when Iceland submitted its EU application showed a narrow majority in favour of joining.

With entry talks likely to last at least a year - no entry target date has been yet - there is time for Icelandic public opinion to shift again once the “Icesave” row is resolved. “It’s obvious the support for EU membership in Iceland is receding fast - mainly because people tend to link our ongoing dispute with the UK and the Netherlands to possible EU membership,” said Eirikur Bergmann Einarsson, professor at Iceland’s Bifrost University. “But this is nothing new, the sentiment here has always swung wildly,” he said, adding it could easily shift again.

In a referendum on debts on Saturday, Icelanders soundly rejected the last “Icesave” accord, venting anger at local bankers and politicians blamed for the collapse, as well as the “unfair” repayment terms offered by Britain and the Netherlands. Though not part of the negotiations, the EU was also blamed.

“The Icelandic public at large felt the EU was taking sides with the British and the Dutch,” Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson said.

“It was felt that the EU was supporting the British and the Dutch in abusing

the IMF to hand-collect debts.”

Finance Minister Sigfusson said the crisis had convinced many of the benefits of having an independent currency, which can be devalued to make exports more competitive.

The Icelandic crown has stabilised

at around half of its value from 2007 but is only internally convertible with Iceland banning capital account flows due to fears over capital flight. The growing disenchantment with the prospects of EU membership goes hand-in-hand with the realisation by

Icelanders that they themselves must ultimately solve their crisis. “There is no quick-fix for us, that’s become clear.

I am a European, but I’m not sure if EU membership is the solution,” said Albert Olafsson, an auditor in Reykjavik. — Reuters

Hungary left faces crushing defeat

By Krisztina Than

H

ungary’s Socialists face a crushing defeat in an election in April which could lead to two right-wing political parties gaining most votes. The Socialists, who have ruled Hungary for eight years, have seen their credibility shattered by flawed economic policies and corruption scandals. Their fate may mirror the near demise of the Polish left in 2005, analysts said, and they may get even fewer votes than the far-right Jobbik party.

The main centre-right opposition party Fidesz is expected to score a landslide victory in the election on April 11 and 25 on promises of tax cuts, job creation and faster recovery from the country’s deepest recession in almost two decades. The Socialists’ opinion poll reading is 18-22 percent compared with 11-15 percent for Jobbik among decided voters. Analysts said if Jobbik continues to gain, the Socialists might end up behind them as the third force in Hungary’s next parliament.

“Even though this is still not the likeliest option, the ‘Warsaw Express’ could arrive here in a month’s time,” political analyst Gabor Torok of Vision Consulting wrote in his blog on March 7. “I think so for two reasons: partly due to Jobbik’s strengthening, and partly... because the Socialists increasingly seem to be drowning in a swamp of corruption cases.” The Socialists have faced a series of corruption scandals in the past weeks affecting state-owned transport firm BKV and a unit of the defence ministry. Most recently, police began to investigate the sale of the National Post headquarters building.

Poland’s leftist government lost power in 2005 after corruption scandals that exposed murky links between politicians and business stretching back to the fall of communism in 1989. The term “Warsaw Express” was apparently coined when the ex-communist parties first got back into power in Poland in 1993 and a year later in Hungary. In 2005, the once-mighty Polish SLD (Alliance of the Democratic Left), successor party to the communists, won only 11 percent of the vote.

Since then, two nominally centre-right parties - Jaroslaw

Kaczynski’s Law and Justice (PiS), which swept to power in 2005, and Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform (PO), in power since 2007 - have dominated Polish politics. Hungary may be facing a similar change now. Fidesz and Jobbik have promised to clean up the mess which they say the Socialists created over the past years, with Jobbik rapidly gaining gravity on a radical agenda of fighting corruption and what they call “political crime”. Fidesz has ruled out a coalition with Jobbik but analysts said Jobbik could end up as Fidesz’ most vocal opposition in parliament.

A big election defeat could split the Socialist party. “The Hungarian political system could shift to a lasting state of a lack of symmetry with right-wing parties covering most of the voters and the left not being able to recover,” said Peter Kreko, analyst at think-thank Political Capital. “If the Socialists suffer a devastating defeat (ie. get less than 20 percent of votes, end up third (behind Jobbik) or cannot prevent Fidesz gaining two-thirds of votes) it could easily lead to internal conflicts tearing the party apart,” he added.

Hungary’s Socialists have alienated voters by mismanaging the economy during their 2002-2006 term which sent the budget deficit soaring and led to big tax hikes and budget cuts. The party won re-election in 2006, but in a speech leaked to the media later that year, then-prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany admitted to lying about the economy in order to win, which outraged people and led to riots in Budapest. The final blow came from the economic crisis which triggered Gyurcsany’s resignation and resulted in a minority cabinet led by non-party member economist Gordon Bajnai in April 2009.

Bajnai’s tight fiscal policies have managed to rebuild investors’ confidence in Hungary after near financial collapse in Oct. 2008 when the country turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union for rescue. But this will likely not prevent the Socialists’ defeat. “The Socialist ‘breakthrough’ failed to materialize in February yet again: despite the intensive Socialist campaign, not one part of the one and a half million voters lost from 2006 emerged again in the Socialist camp,” think-tank Budapest Analyses said in a note on Monday. — Reuters

‘Closet-Nazi’ in running for Austrian president

By Sim Sim Wissgott

A

far-right candidate for Austria’s presidential election has brought the country’s dark past to the surface once more, after she denounced a law banning Nazi groups and Holocaust denial.

Barbara Rosenkranz, 51, a regional leader for the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) who was nominated last week, looks to be the sole candidate to run against incumbent President Heinz Fischer, a Social Democrat, on April 25. But her comments supporting the scrapping of the tough prohibition law have renewed the debate about a heritage the country, which was under Nazi rule from 1938 to 1945, has never fully come to terms with.

Austrian leaders and the press already fear for the country’s image abroad. Under the 1947 Verbotsgesetz law, anyone who seeks to set up a Nazi organisation, propagates Nazi ideology or denies Nazi crimes can be jailed for up to 20 years.

But Rosenkranz, a mother of 10 and the wife of an outspoken figure in Austria’s far-right scene, insists the law constitutes “an unnecessary restriction” and that, on the contrary, people should be allowed freedom of opinion. In 2003, the European Court of Human Rights already

Austrian Freedom Party (FPOe) candidate for the upcoming president election Barbara Rosenkranz is pictured during a press-conference on Monday in Vienna. – AFP allowed a journalist’s description of her as a “closet-Nazi”, noting that her attitude towards Nazism was ambiguous.

Such comments from a woman running for the country’s highest office prompted scorching criticism from politicians of all colours, civil groups

and the Catholic Church.

Rosenkranz’s own supporters did what they could to limit the damage. “Somebody like this is not eligible for election,” said Vienna’s Archbishop Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, while the Jewish community described her as “an embarrass-

ment for Austria”. “Rosenkranz challenges the Republic’s antifascist foundation, that is unacceptable,” added Social Democrat Defence Minister Norbert Darabos.

Meanwhile, Hans Dichand, publisher of the influential tabloid Kronen Zeitung,

reversed his earlier position and urged Rosenkranz to “distance herself from all national-socialist ideas”, just days after he had called on voters to support her.

On Monday, Rosenkranz issued an affidavit saying, “I condemn outright the crimes of national socialism and categorically distance myself from the ideology of national socialism.”

Nevertheless, she refused to answer journalists’ questions on statements she had made last week in which she affirmed that denying the Holocaust came under “freedom of expression”.

Last week, the leader of the FPOe, Heinz-Christian Strache, attempted some last-minute damage control.

“Nobody in our party is talking about scrapping the prohibition law”, he said. “Nobody in the FPOe approves of anything relating to Nazism”, he added.

Rosenkranz’s comments he said, “could have maybe been worded better.”

While the Austrian president has a mostly ceremonial role and Fischer is widely expected to win a second term, Rosenkranz’s candidacy has been seen as a test for the FPOe’s party program. Strongly anti-EU and anti-immigrant, Rosenkranz also advocates strict family values and traditional gender roles. This image took a beating when her local

priest revealed she had left the Church years ago and that none of her 10 children - who carry old German names like Mechthild, Hildrun, Arne or Sonnhild - had been baptised.

She has also come under fire over her husband’s connections with top figures in the Austrian and German far-right scene.

Horst Jakob Rosenkranz, who was once a member of the now banned neo-Nazi NPD party, still publishes a far-right newspaper called Fakten (Facts). Barbara Rosenkranz has never distanced herself from his activities, but in an interview with the daily Die Presse published Sunday, she insisted: “I have never shown I was close to Nazism. Reports that I favour scrapping the prohibition law are false and misleading.”

She nevertheless maintained: “Those parts (of the law) that deal with expressed opinions are in conflict with the basic right of freedom of opinion.” Commentators already fear the “horror scenario” of a far-right presidential win - especially if turnout remains low as expected - while anti-Semitic comments have already appeared in her support in online forums. “Is that a foretaste of the elections campaign?” asked the Austrian weekly News. — AFP

focus

China military bluster masks toothless bite

By Ben Blanchard

B

ig on spit and polish and parades but short on experience, new technology and force coordination, China’s military has far to go before its bite begins to approach its increasingly loud, and for some fearsome, bark. China has invested billions of dollars in its armed forces and is developing advanced fighters and missiles, considering building its first aircraft carrier and is trying to slim its bloated ranks down to a lean, high-tech military.

The 2010 defence budget unveiled last week was 7.5 percent higher than last year, a modest rise by China’s recent standards, but impressive compared to other big powers.

Those rises have raised alarm in Taiwan, the selfruled island China claims as its own, the rest of the region, and especially in the United States, the world’s only superpower with a military reach that far exceeds China’s.

In a report to Congress published last month, the Pentagon said it was concerned by China’s missile buildup and increasingly advanced capabilities in the Pacific region. Yet while China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) looks increasingly fierce on paper, analysts - and even Chinese army officers - say it will be a long time before the country has the means to effectively challenge US power, if ever.

“What is their readiness level? How effective are these things they’ve developed themselves?” said Drew Thompson, of the Nixon Center, a think tank in Washington. “Is their indigenous technology really working, or does it simply exist like a lot of things in the Chinese system, on paper? I would posit it probably leans more towards the latter.”

After a spike in tension that has stoked nationalist Chinese calls for a hard shove back against US influence, some PLA officers are also trying to discourage chest-thumping.

“There’s no way China can threaten the United States,” Lt Gen Li Dianren, a professor at the National Defence University, told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual session of parliament.

“Anyone with even a bit of common sense knows that our capabilities do not come even close to matching those of the US. In terms of economics, technology and the military, the gap is huge. How can we threaten them?” he added.

To be sure, China’s military is becoming increasingly assertive, as seen by occasional tiffs at sea and in the air, notably in 2001 when a US spy plane made an emergency landing on Hainan island after a collision with a Chinese fighter jet. Last March, the Pentagon said five Chinese ships harassed the US Navy Ship the Impeccable, an unarmed ocean surveillance vessel, in international waters off Hainan. China says the US ship was carrying out an illegal survey.

PLA showmanship is also grand. A military parade last Oct. 1 marking 60 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China featured an array of new weapons, all domestically developed.

“China and the United States are rivals. That’s a fact,” said Liu Mingfu, author of a book calling for China to develop a military

so powerful Washington will not dare challenge it.

“In the past, US presidents didn’t call China a rival, and Chinese presidents never have. But that’s strategic hypocrisy, because each side knows the other is a rival,” he said.

Many practical hurdles could hamper Liu’s goal.

China is hardly renowned for producing high quality goods, as a series of product safety scandals in recent years has shown.

“If you go to the PLA and they show you some fantastic new missile on display at an air show, yes they have a missile system, but does it work?

Does it work repeatedly and does it work in combat conditions?” Thompson said. “Until you know that for sure you simply assume they’ve got one heck of an interesting platform that might do us some harm ... but the reality might be far different.”

One problem is the US and EU arms embargo against China following the 1989 military crackdown on the pro-democracy Tiananmen protests, and there is little sign they will lift it any time soon.

There’s also inexperience.

Unlike the United States, currently engaged in two massive military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, China has not engaged in full battle for three decades. China’s last major confrontation was with Vietnam in 1979, and that was hardly a glorious victory. Chinese forces crossed the border to punish Hanoi for invading its ally Cambodia, but Vietnam’s battle-hardened troops gave the Chinese a bloody nose.

China has made some impressive technological advances. The successful missile “kill” of an old satellite in 2007 represented a new level of ability. In January, China successfully tested emerging technology aimed at destroying missiles in mid-air. Integrating such advances into the country’s vast armed forces could be problematic though. “The (Sichuan) earthquake in 2008 showed their weakness in joint operations,” said Lin Chong-Pin, a strategic studies professor at Taipei’s Tamkang University.

After the massive quake, Chinese soldiers involved in rescue efforts struggled with shortages and bottlenecks magnified by poor coordination between forces and units.

China’s military edge over tech powerhouse Taiwan, a democratic island Beijing has threatened to eventually bring under its control, is growing though.

Even then, not everyone is convinced China could easily overpower Taiwan, despite its advancing weaponry. “The point is to make the US military stay at a distance,” said Hsu Yung-ming, a political science professor at Taipei’s Soochow University, referring to China’s military modernisation. — Reuters

NEWS

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Russians face backlash in Goa MORJIM, India: Russians are facing a backlash in Goa with allegations of organised crime, illegal land deals and even claims that they are “corrupting the minds” of locals in India’s popular resort state. There have been a number of outspoken attacks against them since the start of the year, when a Russian businessman was blamed for killing a taxi driver in Morjim village, in north Goa, sparking public protests.

Others have voiced concerns about a rise in crime, against a backdrop of longstanding fears that the Russian mafia is using the former Portuguese colony as a base for money-laundering, vice rings and arms and drug-running. On the main approach road to Morjim -dubbed “Little Russia” by locals because of the high number of Russians now living there it’s not hard to see the extent to which the new arrivals have left their mark.

A giant advertising hoarding for holiday properties is written entirely in the Cyrillic alphabet. A short scooter ride away down narrow lanes, Russian is a familiar sound on the sandy beaches and in the popular bars and restaurants, where menus are also in the language.

“For us, English is a major problem, as most Russians hardly speak it. It’s really good to see a Russian around,” said Morjim bar owner Andrei Medvedev.

But for native Raju Mandrekar, who runs a small shop in the village, it’s a bind. “They hardly speak English,” he said. “So when they arrive in Goa they search for fellow Russians. All roads lead to our village.” Despite being increasingly reliant on Russian rubles, many locals complain that Russians can obtain licences to run beach-side bars much more easily than Indians and have called for their influence to be curbed. “We will not allow the Russians to run beach shacks from next season onwards,” said Ranakar Shetgaonkar, a sarpanch or village elder.

Lawmaker Shantaram Naik, from the ruling Congress party, backs that stance, saying many Russian businesses have flouted laws restricting the purchase of land and property by foreigners. He has vowed to take up the matter personally with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to prevent Goans being deprived of their livelihoods.

Ralf de Souza, president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, an umbrella group of tour operators, has revived claims about alleged underworld

infiltration which could harm the state’s “family destination” image. “The Russian mafia has not affected the state’s image yet but if it escalates then it will certainly affect the business,” he said recently. Naik even condemned Russian tourists for offending conservative sensibilities in Goan society, which despite its free-wheeling reputation among foreigners can still be straitlaced. “Some Russians move totally naked,” he said after speaking to villagers. “Besides corrupting minds of locals they leave a horrifying impression on schoolchildren.”

Russian authorities in India have not been silent themselves, accusing the

Goa state government and law enforcement agencies of not doing enough to protect their citizens after a string of high-profile attacks. They include alleged rapes of a nine-year-old girl in January and a 25-year-old woman in December.

Goa-based lawyer Vikram Varma, who acts for the Russian consulate in Mumbai, dismissed claims Russians were sullying the tourist destination or involved in serious organised crime. Only 15 Russians were implicated in allegations of illegal land and property deals in 2007 out of a total of 435 cases, while of all the Russians who visited Goa in 2008, only two were arrested for drugs posses-

sion, he said. “The rest of the people who have been charged, maybe 10 to 15, have been facing charges for not wearing helmets, overspeeding or not reporting the loss of a passport,” he said.

Instead, he added, the local economy was being enhanced by the increasing Russian presence. “With 45,000 Russians coming in, they’re making nearly 400 crores ($88 million) for the Goan economy in terms of the tourism sector,” he said. “This percolates down the line - to the cab drivers, the bar tenders and hotel owners, the works. Forty percent of occupants at five-star hotels in Goa are Russian. They just come here to relax and go back.” — AFP

Israel, Syria eye nuke energy PARIS: Israel and Syria each announced plans yesterday to develop nuclear power to meet the energy needs of the volatile Middle East, during a conference hosted by France to promote reactors. Israel said it was ready to build a joint nuclear plant with its Arab neighbours but Jordan flatly rejected the proposal, saying it was premature to discuss such cooperation without first settling the Palestinian conflict. “Nuclear energy can be an area of regional cooperation with the objective of promoting peace,” Israeli Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau told the Paris conference.

Syria, which has been investigated by the UN nuclear watchdog over its alleged attempt to build a secret nuclear reactor, also said it would like to develop atomic energy.

Damascus needs “to consider alternative sources of energy, including nuclear energy,” Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told the gathering of 65 countries and organisations.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy opened the conference on Monday with a call for countries to adopt nuclear power to produce electricity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ease pressure on energy prices. Israel has already chosen a site for the nuclear reactor - its first to be put to civilian energy use - in the northern part of the Negev desert, said Israeli minister Landau. Israel has two nuclear reactors, one near the southeast city of Dimona that is widely believed to be used to produce atomic weapons, and a second research reactor at Nahal Soreq near Tel Aviv.

The Jewish state is widely reported to have nuclear weapons but refuses to confirm or deny this, pursuing a policy of “nuclear ambiguity”. Israeli officials have said the new plant would be a joint project between Israel and Jordan - one of only two Arab countries to have signed a peace deal with Israel - and that France would supervise

and provide technology. “Naturally any nuclear power plant to be built in Israel will be subject to all the international safeguards,” said Landau.

Jordan has announced plans to build its own nuclear plant and yesterday made clear it was not interested in cooperation with Israel. “We had nothing to do with this proposal, and it’s premature to talk about any JordanianIsraeli nuclear cooperation before finding a solution to the Palestinian issue,” the head of Jordan’s Atomic Energy Commission, Khaled Tukan, said in Amman.

Syria’s bid to join the nuclear club will cause more international concern, given the regime’s close ties with Iran and the still unanswered questions over an earlier alleged attempt to build a reactor in secret. The International Atomic Energy Agency complained last year that Damascus had refused to cooperate with its investigation of a remote desert site called Dair Alzour, which was bombed by Israel in Sept 2007.

France is now spearheading moves to bring Syria out of diplomatic isolation and persuade it to distance itself from Tehran’s Islamic regime, which western powers believe is trying to develop and build a nuclear weapon. The Israeli government has also repeatedly accused Iran of plotting to become a “nuclear superpower” with covert activities in atomic energy, a claim Tehran has rejected.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, Egypt decided in 2007 to relaunch its nuclear energy programme developed with Soviet assistance in the 1960s and began carrying out studies on building its first nuclear power station. It has one research reactor at Inshas northeast of Cairo. France has offered to help countries in north Africa and in the Gulf develop civilian nuclear technology, but suffered a setback last year when the United Arab Emirates chose a South Korean consortium to build four new reactors. — AFP

Bali mastermind ‘killed’ Continued from Page 1 The Indonesian security ministry’s counter-terrorism chief, Ansyaad Mbai, told AFP: “If it’s true that it’s him, we will be very grateful that the most wanted terrorist has been killed in Pamulang. It will be a big relief to us.” A spokesman for Dulmatin’s family, sibling Azam Ba’afut, told Indonesia’s Antara news agency yesterday that “we frequently receive the news of Dulmatin’s death... But up until now the fact is still unclear”. “If he is really dead, we must accept it and ask that his body be buried in Pemalang,” he added, referring to Dulmatin’s hometown.

National police spokesman Edward Aritonang told a news conference that one of the three men was killed in a gunfight with counter-terrorism police at an Internet cafe in Pamulang city, west of the capital. Witnesses saw a body bag being taken from the cafe into an ambulance following the gunfight. In a later raid a few kilometres from the first incident, two other people on a motorcycle were shot dead, an AFP photographer witnessed.

A police source involved in the operation, who declined to be identified, told Reuters they “strongly suspect it was Dulmatin”. Sidney Jones, an expert on

Islamist militants at the International Crisis Group think tank, said in a telephone text message: “It looks 99 percent certain it’s him.” Aritonang said the dead man had fired at police and a revolver was found with 5 bullets still inside and 13 spares. Metro TV showed footage it said was the face of the dead man, with short hair and a wispy beard. It also displayed an earlier photograph of Dulmatin from an identity document as a comparison.

Police confirmed that the operation was linked to a counter-terrorism raid in Aceh province in which a militant training facility was discovered. Sixteen suspects have been arrested so far and charged under counter-terrorism laws. The operations come ahead of US President Barack Obama’s planned visit to Indonesia later this month. Believed to be 39 years old, Dulmatin is accused of helping JI plan and carry out the Bali bombings, which killed 202 people on the Indonesian resort island, most of them foreign tourists.

JI is a Southeast Asian extremist group inspired by Al-Qaeda. Its ultimate goal is to unite Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines into a fundamentalist Islamic state, using terrorist attacks to destabilise existing

and their identities investigated, in addition to those living in the house. The raid was made late Monday night after securing the required warrants, and the owner of the house was arrested “under the influence” and in possession of a number of marijuana plants, both in the garden and in dried form. Different planting pots with seedlings and a large quantity of freshly picked plants were also found at the house. The suspect is now facing questioning by the concerned

authorities, the statement said.

Separately, some 183 drug dealing cases, as well as 84 cases of acquisition of narcotics were reported in 2009 in Kuwait, a narcotics expert said yesterday.

These cases led to 44 deaths due to overdose, Dr Ayed Al-Humeidan said during an awareness seminar organized by the narcotics combat general department at the Salama Bin Qeis middle school for boys. Drug smugglers are always coming up with new ways to hide their deadly goods, from secret pockets in car cushions to hiding them in DVD casings, yet

governments. The group has carried out more than 50 bombings in Indonesia since April 1999, according to the Brusselsbased International Crisis Group, including the 2002 Bali bombings and attacks on the resort island in 2005 that killed 20.

The last such attack killed seven people and two suicide bombers in two luxury hotels in Jakarta last July.

Malaysian terror mastermind Noordin Mohammad Top, killed in Sept 2009, allegedly organised the attacks as part of his Al-Qaeda-inspired “holy war” on the West. He was falsely reported to have been killed a month earlier by local media.

The Philippine military said yesterday there was a possibility Dulmatin had returned to Indonesia after some years in the southern part of Mindanao island.

“When I assumed the post in July last year it was possible that he had already gotten out by then. Our border areas in the Mindanao area are porous and so it was possible he was able to slip out and return (to Indonesia),” Major-General Ben Dolorfino, military commander of the southwestern Philippines told AFP. However, he was reserved in commenting about Dulmatin’s possible death. “We have not received any report that says he is dead,” Dolorfino said. — Agencies

men and women of the department managed to crack down on most of these innovative means, Al-Humeidan noted.

Drug cartels are merchants of death and murderers, who do not care less for innocent lives lost due to overdose of drugs, he said. The best means of overcoming drug addiction and its destructive impacts is through counseling, AlHumeidan pointed out, warning young bodybuilding enthusiasts of using substances with suspicious hormones that might lead to mental disorders and physical setbacks. —KUNA

MPs slam Israeli policies Continued from Page 1 Arab League showed good will when they approved the resumption of indirect Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. “The Arab League made its point clear and decided to give a new chance for the peace talks in the coming four months,” he said before his departure for Riyadh for the 114th session of the ministerial council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) later in the day to discuss a range of political, economic and security issues. “We are looking forward to the US forcing Israel to adopt the track to peaceful solution. We deem the current track of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as a no-peace track,” he affirmed.

In another development, the Assembly’s legal and legislative committee yesterday unanimously approved a draft law that allows the Assembly to hold sessions without the presence of ministers, contrary to a decades-old practice that made the presence of at least one minister

a precondition for Assembly sessions to be legal. Rapporteur of the committee MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei said the approval was made on the basis that article 116 of the constitution requires Cabinet members to be present in Assembly sessions as a political requirement and not because their presence is essential for sessions to be legal.

The practice was being implemented since the introduction of democracy in 1962 and has rarely been questioned or challenged. Five MPs submitted the bill last week when the acting speaker was forced to adjourn a regular Assembly session because there were no Cabinet ministers. MPs backing the bill insist that neither the constitution nor the internal charter of the Assembly explicitly state that the presence of Cabinet members is essential for Assembly sessions to be legal.

The bill must be passed by the Assembly and accepted by the government to become effective. But the government is not expected to approve the law even if

Murdoch warns Arabs against tight censorship ABU DHABI: Rupert Murdoch yesterday challenged tight controls on media in the Middle East, calling censorship counterproductive and urging Arab leaders to allow their citizens the freedom to unleash their creativity. The News Corp. chairman and chief executive, whose conglomerate has been increasing its presence in the region, made the comments to media executives and regional political leaders during the keynote speech of a media summit in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi. “In the face of an inconvenient story, it can be tempting to resort to censorship or civil or criminal laws to try to bury it. This is not only a problem here,” Murdoch said. “In the long run, this is counterproductive.”

The comments come against the backdrop of a sharp economic downturn in nearby Dubai, which like Abu Dhabi is one of seven semiautonomous city-states comprising the UAE. Dubai’s ruler has blasted the international media for criticizing his city and its financial downfall, at one point telling critics abroad to “shut up.” The Emirates, like many Arab states, maintains tight controls on domestic media. Legislation approved by federal lawmakers here last year would significantly tighten the penalties against journalists and has been attacked by rights groups.

Underscoring the restrictions that still exist here, organizers of the first-ever Abu Dhabi Media Summit did not allow reporters or news photographers accredited for the conference into the hall where Murdoch was speaking, providing a closed-circuit television feed instead. He did not take questions. Murdoch, a polarizing figure whose company’s properties include Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, drew on his personal experience in dealing with unwelcome criticism to make his case for greater press freedom.

Drawing a parallel with the boomtowns of the fast growing Gulf, the News Corp boss noted that negative media attention was “the price one pays for success,” and that trying to censor it creates risks of its own. “Markets that distort their media end up promoting the very panic and distrust that they had hoped to control,” he said. Murdoch told delegates that Arabs’ creative talents “remained constrained by arbitrary boundaries,” and said the region needs fewer regulations and more incentives to encourage investment by the media private

sector. He characterized the creative industries as a way to create jobs and improve the quality of life. “Your people are eager, talented and young,” he said. “Give them a society that rewards creativity.”

Oil-rich Abu Dhabi is hosting the conference largely to highlight its push into the media sector, which includes investing in Hollywood films and building an office park to house foreign news agencies. Murdoch has shown increasing interest in the growing but fragmented Middle East media market. A division of News Corp, Fox International Channels, announced on the eve of the conference that it would set up some operations in the new staterun media complex in Abu Dhabi.

The broadcaster said Monday it will move the Middle East operations for its online advertising business .FOX to Abu Dhabi’s TwoFour54 media complex. Fox International’s NHNZ division will also set up a production facility in the Emirati capital, and the operations for some of its Middle East satellite channels will relocate there from Hong Kong.

Financial terms of the plan were not disclosed.

Christopher Davidson, a professor at the University of Durham who has written extensively about the UAE, said Murdoch’s challenges reflect a frustration by international media companies aiming for a piece of the youthful and rapidly expanding Arab market.

“They want a piece of the action in what could be one of the fastest growing parts of the world ... but there is not this liberalization of the media economy,” he said.

Fox’s announcement comes weeks after News Corp said it was spending $70 million for a 9.1 percent slice of Arabic media giant Rotana Group, which is headed by Saudi billionaire and key News Corp shareholder Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who sat near Murdoch at the summit.

Rotana, which bills itself as the Arab world’s largest music producer, boasts many of the region’s biggest stars, including Egyptian singer Amr Diab and Lebanese diva Elissa. It also operates a number of music and movie satellite channels and controls a film library of more than 1,500 Arabic movies. Alwaleed is a longtime investor in News Corp, and his company distributes Fox films in the Middle East.

His 7 percent stake in the company makes him News Corp’s biggest shareholder after members of the Murdoch family. — AP

US busts visa ring for Arabs

Citizen farming cannabis busted Continued from Page 1

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

passed by a landslide majority in the Assembly. The government can reject laws passed in the Assembly but MPs can override the rejection with a two-thirds majority in a fresh vote. The government is expected to take the issue to the constitutional court for interpreting the relevant articles in the constitution and this could take several months.

The committee also approved a draft law stipulating to move the investigation department from the ministry of interior to the public prosecution. The committee however added a precondition stating that female investigators currently working in the department cannot be promoted to become judges in the future because only members of the public prosecution, currently all of them male, can be promoted to become judges. Tabtabaei said that the government rejected the draft law as it wants the department to remain under the interior ministry. Dozens of investigators protested in the Assembly yesterday as the committee debated the bill.

C o n t i n u e d f ro m Pa g e 1 A federal magistrate allowed Higgins to go free on $5,000 bail. His public defender, Elizabeth Macias, declined to comment.

Authorities alleged that over a seven-year period, Higgins collected tens of thousands of dollars from foreign students from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, L ebanon, Kuwait, Turkey and Qatar before he or his accomplices took their exams at 10 Southern California community colleges and universities using doctored IDs. Higgins charged as much as $1,500 per student per exam for passing grades on exams needed to obtain their student

visas or to stay current on the visas, authorities said.

Emails discovered during the investigation indicated Higgins also attended classes for his clients. One email exchange with a Saudi student named Mohammed Ali Alnuaim showed Alnuaim and several others were charged a total of more than $34,000 to have others take a full course load for them, according to a court affidavit. US colleges and universities began using a specialized tracking system for foreign students after the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but the current investigation exposed an unexpected loophole, Parker said. The scheme operated from 2002 to 2009 at seven Southern California com-

munity colleges and three California State University campuses.

The investigation into Higgins began when police in Daly City in Northern California discovered seven fake driver’s licenses in a lost wallet, according to court papers. Each of the f a ke l i c e n s e s f e a t u re d a p h o t o o f Higgins’ nephew. A search of law enforcement databases showed the names on the IDs matched students who had entered the country on student visas and studied in Souther n California. A search of Higgins’ home turned up 60 fake IDs, college testing materials and completed exams and payment information from foreign students, court papers said. — AP

Israel approves new settler homes as Biden talks peace Continued from Page 1 “President Obama and I strongly believe the best long-term guarantee for Israel’s security is a comprehensive Middle East peace with the Palestinians, with the Syrians, with Lebanon and leading eventually to full and normalised relationships with the entire Arab world,” Biden said. After meeting the US vice president, Netanyahu underlined the need “to be persistent and purposeful in making sure we get to those direct negotiations that will enable us to resolve this conflict.”

But the announcement of 1,600 new homes in the Ramat Shlomo settlement had been cer tain to anger the Palestinians, who have long said they will not deal directly with Israel until

there is a total freeze on settlement activity. Israel on Monday had already given the go-ahead for 112 new homes in a West Bank settlement in an exception to a partial moratorium on settlement constr uction announced in November which does not include east Jerusalem.

Biden also held talks with President Shimon Peres, who cautioned against premature expectations. “Even in Hollywood the happy ending is at the end,” Peres said at the start of their meeting. Biden heads today to the West Bank city of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and prime minister Salam Fayyad, and he also plans to meet Britain’s former premier Tony Blair, the special envoy for the Quartet of key diplomatic players.

Washington has pushed for months to have both sides resume talks, but direct negotiations have been on hold since Israel launched a devastating 22-day offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in Dec 2008. US envoy George Mitchell has also been in the region to pave the way for the indirect talks, and plans to return next week. Biden, who is accompanied by his wife Jill, also visited the Mount Herzl national cemeter y in Jerusalem, where he laid a wreath at the grave of former premier Yitzhak Rabin who was assassinated in 1995 by a Jewish extremist opposed to a peace deal with the Palestinians. He then headed to the nearby Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and was to visit Jordan tomorrow for talks with King Abdullah II. — AFP

Hip Muslim fashion label conquers streets of Europe Continued from Page 1 in the street to ask where he had found the top. Kesmen quickly realized he’d found a market gap. Together with his wife, Yeliz, he set out to create Style Islam, a brand of hip, casual clothing with Islamic-themed sayings as its focus.

More than three years on, Style Islam offers 35 different motifs that playfully merge Islam and pop culture. Besides clothing, their collection also features bags and posters. “Women love buying rompers with the writing “Mini Muslim” across their chest’,” said Yeliz Kesmen, 30, who wears a brown hijab, or headscarf, and silver nose stud. On its website, Style Islam’s creators explain every motif they sell.

For hijabs they write: “In today’s society, it is not easy for a woman to wear a headscarf. Often she is exposed to discrimination and prejudice ... even though from an Islamic point of view, the headscarf is a symbol for women’s liberation from society’s constraints.” Above all, the brand strives to spread a message of tolerance. One design reads: “Jesus & Muhammad/ Brothers in Faith.” Cotton T-shirts sell for just under €20 ($27), laptop bags and hooded long-sleeve shirts go for around €35 ($47). Style Islam also

offers key chains featuring praying, covered-up Muslim girls.

Through the Internet, the company sells its clothes across western Europe, the US, Canada and Turkey. The next target market is the Middle East. “We’re ... getting a lot of requests from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates or Morocco,” Kesmen said in his sleek white office in Witten, a town nestled in a western region known more for its steel mills than avant-garde fashion. “They all want to buy our products, but we simply haven’t built up the infrastructure yet to ship to the Arab world.” Currently the label sells thousands of items each month and has a team of seven designers, according to Kesmen. Exact sales figures have not been released.

But Kesmen says sales growth has prompted plans for a brick-and-mortar store in Berlin, with other locations likely. Both Melih and Yeliz studied graphic design and worked in advertising before they founded Style Islam. Like her husband, Yeliz was born to Turkish immigrant parents who came to Germany in the 1960s as so-called guest workers.

Kesmen said he’s approaching his work from a European point of view.

“First and foremost we’re European Muslims. We were born here and we’re at

home here,” said Kesmen. “When we go to Turkey, we’re strangers. They call us the German Turks over there.” Kesmen says that Style Islam’s key buyers are young Muslim immigrants, typically between 17 and 35 years-old. Their street wear is proving especially popular among university students. “We want to give people food for thought with our clothes and signal that it’s not a contradiction to be a practicing Muslim and to be modern, witty and critical at the same time,” he said.

Not everyone agrees. The company gets mail decrying its use of Islamicthemed sayings and symbols, typically from devout Muslims who say the fashion label does not promote the seriousness of the faith. Kesmen said they don’t aim to offend. There are no T-shirts bearing images of Muhammad (PBUH), for example, but the brand don’t shy away from controversy, either. One shirt bears the legend “Gaza Stop the Killing Now” with a bloody palm print in red.

Abbas Schulz, a young imam from Berlin, has no problem with Style Islam’s religious messages. “Friends told me about it and I right away ordered a black ‘I Love My Prophet’ hoodie,” Schulz told the AP. “I like the message and the oriental design looks really pretty.”— AP

SPORTS

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

15

Danish badminton great Gade warns of Asian threat BIRMINGHAM: Former world number one Peter Gade issued a warning about the future of professional badminton on the eve of the All-England Open.

Gade, the only Westerner seeded in either singles event of the 100th championship starting today, is concerned that badminton’s shop-window does not shrink into just one area of the globe.

“It’s important to have a lot of different countries in the top game,” said the former world number one from Denmark, who has often taken on the might of China alone.

“It’s too narrow and we need a lot

more players coming forward - we need youngsters from other countries coming up,” added Gade, whose All-England title in 1999 happened in a year when the five titles went to five different countries.

Last year by contrast, all five twent to China for the first time. It was the first time in the three decades of the open era that one country had achieved that.

But even at the age of 33 Gade has not ruled out winning the AllEngland again, and he also offered hope for players of other countries.

“Apart from Lin Dan, all the other Chinese players have been beaten,”

the fifth seed said.

“I have beaten them, and Lee Chong Wei has too. In a few years time when Lin Dan is not there, it will be possible to do well against the Chinese.

“He’s exceptional: he’s one of the best players ever in the history of badminton. Maybe the best. I have lost to him on a number of big occasions. If he had not been there - what might have happened?”

Lin is seeded only second, having missed the first two Super Series tournaments of the year, whilst Lee, the winner in Seoul and Kuala Lumpur, is top seed.

But he was last year too, only to be beaten by Lin in straight games in the final. The Chinese left-hander will be unofficial favourite to confound the seedings again.

If he does, it will be Lin’s fifth AllEngland title in seven years, making him the first men’s singles player to achieve that in the open era, and the first since Rudy Hartono, the legendary Indonesian, in the mid-seventies.

This time though Lee’s coach, Misbun Sidek, thinks the Malaysian will be ready for the challenge, having had him practising regularly against left-handers.

“It’s not the same as playing Lin Dan, but it will help Chong Wei prepare,” said Misbun. “More importantly, Chong Wei must also stay focussed when playing Lin Dan.” Lee Chong Wei may need to be ready earlier than that, for he could face Sony Dwi Kuncoro, the world bronze medallist from Indonesia, in the second round.

If Lee survives that, his quarterfinal opponent should be Jan Jorgensen, the young Dane whom Gade thinks could succeed him at the top level.

Gade himself has a probable quarter-final with Taufik Hidayat, the for-

mer Olympic champion from Indonesia, the winner probably meeting Lee. The two leading Chinese, Lin and Chen Jin, the 2008 AllEngland champion, should meet in the other semi-final.

The women’s singles shows the difference a year makes. Last time Wang Yihan, unseeded and little known, caused a sensation by beating the three-time former champion Xie Xinfang and then defending champion Tine Rasmussen in the final.

Since then Wang has won Super Series titles in Japan, Hong Kong and Switzerland, and is top seeded, though several other Chinese players

look capable of halting her defence.

Among them are Lu Lan, the world champion, Zhou Mi, Singapore Super Series champion from Hong Kong, Xin Wang, Malaysian Super Series champion, Jiang Janjiao, who came within one shot of last year’s All-England final, and Wang Lin, French Super Series champion.

This event is dominated by Chinese, though Wang Lin may have a second round with Rasmussen, still the only prominent European woman. The Dane has however slipped to world number ten, leaving her unseeded in her bid to regain the title.—AFP

Curtain up on glittering F1 season to remember

Brian O’Driscoll seen in this file photo

O’Driscoll poised to win his 100th cap for Ireland DUBLIN: Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll will win his 100th cap on Saturday after coach Declan Kidney named an unchanged team for the visit of Wales in the Six Nations (1430 GMT).

Kidney kept faith with the side that beat England 20-16 last month to keep their title defence just about alive.

Leicester fullback Geordan Murphy, who managed only four replacement appearances during last year’s grand slam, keeps fit-again Rob Kearney on the bench where Andrew Trimble is the only man from 10 days ago to miss out on a place in the squad.

“Geordan was playing well all last sea-

son and he was unlucky in about game four of last year’s Six Nations not to get the nod then and I think he went well enough against England to warrant a second run,” Kidney told a news conference yesterday.

“Rob (Kearney) has worked really hard in getting back in. It’s not like he’s done anything wrong but it just went with Geordan on this one.”

Ireland need top-of-the-table France to suffer an unlikely loss against either Italy or England and make up ground on points difference to stand a chance of winning consecutive Six Nations championships.

The pre-match build up will concentrate on Ireland’s record try scorer O’Driscoll,

who becomes the second Irishman to reach 100 caps after prop John Hayes crossed the century line against England.

“You don’t really look on it as ëoh one day I want to attain 100’, if it comes well and good,” O’Driscoll said.

“At the start you want to get as many caps as possible and then your mindset changes and you want to win as many times as possible and then you get selfish and you want to win trophies. “(But) I have always just played with the thought that the next game you play in a green shirt might be (the) last and I don’t think you can go too far wrong if you have that attitude.” —Reuters

Johnson keeps faith with miss-firing backs BAGSHOT: England manager Martin Johnson, showing the steadfast and unflappable approach that served him so well as a player, retained his entire backline for Saturday’s Six Nations game against Scotland at Murrayfield.

Despite another bluntedged display in the 20-16 home defeat by Ireland two weeks ago Johnson, celebrating his 40th birthday yesterday, made only two changes, both in the forwards and one of those enforced by injury.

Lock Simon Shaw is out with the shoulder injury he sustained in the opening exchanges against Ireland and is replaced by Louis Deacon while flanker Lewis Moody drops to the bench to open the door for Joe Worsley to make his first start of the championship.

Delon Armitage has recovered from a rib injury to start at fullback, with Ben Foden again having to settle for a place on the bench.

The only nod to the future comes among the replacements where exciting 20year-old uncapped Leicester scrumhalf Ben Youngs comes in for Paul Hodgson as cover for Danny Care. He is the son of Nick Youngs, who won six England caps as scrumhalf in the 1980s.

England travel to Edinburgh for the 1700 GMT kickoff desperate to not only get back to winning ways but looking to find some edge to their attack.

Scotland, stinging after defeat by Italy and facing the wooden spoon, will certainly be fired up for the game which is given extra spice as

it is Scotland coach Andy Robinson’s first against the team he formerly coached and played for.

“It was probably the toughest selection we’ve had, not because we lost the last game but because the squad we have now if we lose someone we have someone in that position who can come in and we wouldn’t miss a beat,” Johnson told a news conference at the team’s training base.

“It was a harsh call on Paul Hodgson who has been fantastic for us on and off the pitch but Ben is playing well and deserved his chance.

“With Joe we just felt he is particularly strong over the ball and with his ball carrying, we know what he can do and it’s great to have him back.”

England have lost to Scotland only three times in the last 20 years-though the last of those came in their last trip to Murrayfield in 2008 and Johnson is wary of them.

“We are playing a Scotland team who have lost three games and they could certainly have won two of them,” he said.

“They are an incredibly resilient, tough team.”

Attack coach Brian Smith said: “I’m satisfied we are making progress but not with the outcome. “I’d have liked us to be more clinical and our aim this weekend is that every chance we create we finish. “We’ve threatened every team we’ve played so far and put them under pressure but we have to be smart.” —Reuters

LONDON: The most competitive, exciting and, quite possibly, spectacular Formula One season for two decades will begin in Bahrain on Sunday.

A combination of new driver line-ups, new teams, new rules and a new scoring system have combined to contrive a feast during a 19-race season that embraces a stunning mix of old and new.

From the desert circuit of Sakhir in the Gulf through a truly global series, including races on every continent, and then back to the Gulf for the finale in Abu Dhabi, this F1 title race promises a memorable roller-coaster ride - with drama all the way.

After three seasons in retirement, seven-times champion Michael Schumacher, now 41, is back in an all-Teutonic, Mercedesowned team run by his favourite pit-wall boffin Ross Brawn.

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, the last two consecutive world champions, compete in the same all-British McLaren team.

And Spaniard Fernando Alonso, a double champion with Renault, has joined Brazilian comeback kid Felipe Massa in all-Latin line-up at Ferrari.

As if that were not enough, there is also the return of the great Senna and Lotus names among four new entrant teams, a first Russian driver, refuelling has been banned, narrower slick tyres are back and there is a new-fangled points payout.

But the prospect of great racing between 12 - or possibly 13 - teams (depending on whether USF1 are capable of joining the series after missing the opening four rounds), in 19 races in the 61st championship, is also riddled with questions.

Can Schumacher recapture the greatness of his earlier days before that abrupt retirement in 1996? Will the happy pairing of defending champion Button and former champion Hamilton survive a season of cut-throat competition?

Schumacher has returned, looking super-fit, confident and relaxed, to lead a newlycreated Mercedes Benz factory team, created by buying, and then re-badging, the hugely-successful Brawn operation that took both titles last year.

It is a British team, led by the great manager-designer Ross Brawn, based in Brackley, Northamptonshire, but decorated for a German audience, powered by German engines and running two German drivers, albeit

SPAIN: In this Feb. 10, 2010, file photo, McLaren British driver Jenson Button drives his car during a Formula One testing session at the Jerez race track in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. Button, the defending champion, switched from Brawn to McLaren in January. —AP that Nico Rosberg’s father is the original ‘flying Finn’ Keke Rosberg, the 1982 champion.

Perhaps the most extraordinary fact, in relation to Schumacher’s comeback, is that Rosberg, now 24, was only six years old when the sport’s most successful driver of all time made his debut at Spa-Francorchamps in 1991.

It should be taken for granted that the ‘red baron’ will be just as fit and committed as a ‘silver arrow’ man as ever he was in his youth. Schumacher’s return will not be the only big story this season.

There is the British battle of champions at McLaren and three-way scrap between the British, German and Latin teams, not to mention Red Bull, who nearly took the title last year thanks to Sebastian Vettel.

At McLaren, Button, at 30, is the senior man-more experienced, more worldly in many ways, but lacking the intimate relationship with the

team that Hamilton has enjoyed for a decade after growing up under his mentor Ron Dennis.

In a tight scrap, that kind of extra knowledge converts into a winning edge and for all their efforts to be fair and even-handed McLaren will be stretched to make it transparent that Hamilton has no advantage over the older ‘new boy’.

Form suggests that Hamilton, the hottest driver of the second half of 2009, will be hard to beat whatever Button hopes to do about it.

At the McLaren team’s launch, both stressed the need for teamwork.

Past experiences - and the team’s memory of the ‘war’ between Frenchman Alain Prost and Brazilian Ayrton Senna 20 years before-had informed them.

Much the same message came from Ferrari, stung by last year’s slump in form that also saw Massa survive a ter-

rible accident in Hungary and miss the final eight races and former champion Kimi Raikkonen depart with a year of his contract remaining.

Ferrari’s new car, the F10, simply has to be a winner to save the jobs at Maranello and prove that, for the Italian stable, there really is life after Schumacher.

But in signing Alonso, rejuvenated after escaping Renault, where he was embroiled in so much controversy including the Crashgate affair, to partner Massa, they are courting a classic explosion of temperaments.

The pair have a record of clashes, particularly from 2007, but have pledged to leave past squabbles behind them.

Alonso has also had his fair share of spats with Schumacher and, though he may not say so, would dearly love to secure his third world title at the expense of his old German rival.—AFP

Force India target podiums, points LONDON: After securing their first points in Formula One last season, Force India have set their sights on more than one podium finish in 2010.

“We finished 2009 on a real high note-our firstever points, a podium and one place up in the constructors’ championship,” said team principal Vijay Mallya in a preview for Sunday’s season-opener in Bahrain. “That is enough in itself to set the bar much higher this season, but we’re really determined to take it to the next level.

“Regular points and the odd podium have got to be the aim and we know it is possible. I have a lot of faith in the drivers and the technical staff, I think we’ve got into a very good rhythm together now.”

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, now Ferrari’s reserve driver, finished second in Belgium last year after starting on pole position. Force India ended the season ninth of 10 teams, with that number increased to 12 this year.Germany’s Adrian Sutil, who now leads the lineup with Italian

Vitantonio Liuzzi, backed that up with a fourth place in Italy in September.

Mallya said he had been encouraged by testing results but added that nobody would know the reality until the first qualifying session.

“Certainly however the initial reports from the drivers are encouraging and when that happens it’s worth another three to four tenths. If they feel happy and confident in the car then they can really attack,” said the beer and aviation tycoon.

Sutil said his immediate goal for Bahrain was just finishing in the top 10 while Liuzzi said the new car was the best he had driven in five years in F1.

“It’s the most balanced, and knowing that has made me feel so much stronger and confident,” he said. “Of course you can never know exactly where you are compared to the others but we can go to Bahrain feeling optimistic and positive.” —Reuters

Samsung’s sponsorship reflects commitment to the region DOHA: Born in prehistory, athletics has evolved to include a hugely varied assortment of athletic challenges for men and women of all ages. Events now include track and field, road running races, cross country races, mountain running and race walking events-all of which share the commonality of thriving on the challenge of one’s rivals and the joy of self improvement.

The first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896 where athletics were the key

element of the games, and the competition being divided into track and field events. In 1928 further progressions were made when women were allowed to partake in athletics competitions for the first time.

An international governing body of athletics, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), was established in 1912 which developed a number of international standards, rules and competitions and which has regulated the sport ever since.

Speaking about Samsung’s sponsorship of this year’s IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships, Marco Vocale, Head of Corporate Marketing at Samsung Gulf Electronics said: “Athletics has been around for longer than most other sports, and having this event to be taking place in the region is a testament to the Gulf’s importance in the world of athletics. This too is a region with important significance for Samsung.”

The relationship between Samsung and the

International Asscociation of Athletics Federation started in 2009, when Samsung became the official partner of the World Championships in Berlin, Germany.

The three-year agreement continues to grow throughout the course of this year with the Indoor World Championships in Doha, Qatar and extend into next year with the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

Samsung’s commitment to the IAAF reflects the compa-

ny’s broad investment in building a sustainable society - one that balances increasing reliance on technology with equally robust efforts to promote health and physical fitness. Overall, the IAAF’s activities embody Samsung’s corporate values of fair play, passion for excellence, and building of mutual understanding across different languages, cultures and geographies.

“Samsung’s relationship with sport is one which has been integral to the essence

and culture of the brand for many years. After all it is at the very core of our business, which prides itself on brand values such as co-prosperity, change and excellence. Our sponsorship of this year’s IAAF Indoor Athletics Championships reflects our commitment to the sporting landscape in the Gulf,” he added.

The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) will take place in Doha, Qatar, between the 12-14 March 2010.

16

SPORTS

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Patience proves a virtue for sprint champion RALEIGH: Ivory Williams, America’s newest sprint champion, knows all too well how mental errors can destroy dreams.

A year ago the 2004 world junior champion went to the US indoor nationals primed for victory but a false start left him on the sidelines while training partner Mark Jelks roared to the 60 metres title.

“He was probably physically ready (to win) last year, but he was mentally not ready,” Al Hobson, Williams’s coach, told Reuters in a telephone interview from Kansas City last week.

“The two critical times people could

with a personal best of 6.49 seconds, at the US championships.

The triumph was Williams’s fifth consecutive win of the season and thrust him into a favourite’s role for this week’s IAAF world indoor championships in Doha, Qatar.

“It will be hard to beat me,” Williams said, “but I don’t put it past somebody to; I can be beaten at any time.” British European indoor champion Dwain Chambers, the year’s second fastest man, is likely to be his top challenger.

“He is a good starter and a good finisher also,” said Williams. If Williams has an

have recognised him, there was a goof-up, mental mistakes,” Hobson said of Williams’s false start indoors and slow start at the US outdoor nationals that left him seventh in the 100 metres.

So the coach, who was retired worldrecord holder Maurice Greene’s early tutor, worked on patience, starting and strength with Williams.

The reward came on Feb. 28 in the sprinter-friendly thin air of high-altitude Albuquerque, New Mexico. A solid start, now Williams’s trademark, sent the 24year-old to the year’s fastest 60 metres,

edge, his coach thinks it may be the angle at which the American accelerates out of the blocks.

“It’s just like pushing a car,” Hobson said. “If you want to push a car, you can’t stand up. You can, but if you get a better angle, you can apply more force. The lower you get the more force you can apply to the ground.”

So Williams stays low for as long as he can in a race. “He is just getting to top-end (speed) at 50 metres,” said Hobson. Getting Williams into position to be at the top of his sport has taken much longer.

This is the fourth year the two have worked together. “We changed everything,” said Hobson, even the way Williams walked. “He’s comfortable enough now that he doesn’t have to think about it.”

Both coach and student had been expecting a time faster than Williams’s world leader at the US championships.

“About 45 (6.45 seconds),” said Hobson.

“He was kind of disappointed.” There was a positive side, however.

“If I can run 49, I can run 45,” Williams said. “If I can run 45, I can run 39.” That would equal Greene’s world record. So how

much is Williams like Greene in his Hobson-coached early days before he moved to California to train with John Smith and set world records and win Olympic gold medals?

“Both believe in themselves,” said Hobson. “Secondly, they are very dedicated. Thirdly, they think they are going to be the best in the world.”

With the world’s three fastest men, Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell, not competing indoors, Williams’s best chance of emulating Greene may well come this weekend in Doha. — Reuters

Vonn on verge of 3rd overall World Cup title

WASHINGTON: Mark Fistric No.28 of the Dallas Stars controls the puck against Brooks Laich No.21 of the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center. — AFP

Stars shine over Capitals WASHINGTON: Marty Turco made 49 saves, and Brad Richards had a goal and an assist as the Dallas Stars scored three times in six shots early in the third period en route to a 4-3 shootout victory over the Washington Capitals on Monday.

Washington’s Alex Ovechkin snapped a seasonhigh, six-game goal drought by

scoring twice to match Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby for the league lead with 44.

Ovechkin’s second goal came with 3:16 left in the third period and tied the game.

But Turco stopped Ovechkin in the opening round of the shootout, and the Stars went on to take it 2-1, with Richards and Loui Eriksson beating Semyon Varlamov.

The loss ended Washington’s club-record home winning streak at 13 games.

Kings 6, Blue Jackets 0 At Los Angeles, Michal Handzus and Alexander Frolov scored power-play goals 41 seconds apart during a fourgoal first period as Los Angeles routed Columbus.

Fredrik Modin also scored with the man advantage against

the team that traded him last week, Frolov also equaled a career high with three assists, and the Kings also got goals from Wayne Simmonds, Drew Doughty and Brad Richardson to match their highest-scoring output of the season.

Jonathan Quick recorded his third shutout and seventh of his career while his teammates outshot Columbus 35-11. —AP

NHL results/standings NHL results and standings on Monday. Dallas 4, Washington 3 (SO); Los Angeles 6, Columbus 0. (SO denotes shootout)

Pittsburgh New Jersey Philadelphia NY Rangers NY Islanders

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTL GF 40 22 4 211 38 23 3 169 34 26 4 195 29 28 9 170 26 31 8 169

GA 189 154 173 179 206

PTS 84 79 72 67 60

Buffalo Ottawa Montreal Boston Toronto

Northeast Division 35 20 9 174 36 25 5 181 32 29 6 178 29 24 11 157 20 33 12 168

161 189 185 164 220

79 77 70 69 52

Washington Atlanta Tampa Bay Florida Carolina

Southeast Division 44 13 9 260 28 26 10 194 27 26 11 172 26 28 10 168 27 31 7 182

186 209 196 186 200

97 66 65 62 61

Chicago Nashville Detroit St. Louis Columbus

Western Conference Central Division 43 17 5 217 35 25 5 182 31 22 12 175 30 26 9 177 25 30 11 170

161 187 178 182 215

91 75 74 69 61

Vancouver Colorado Calgary Minnesota Edmonton

Northwest Division 40 23 2 211 37 22 6 192 32 24 9 166 31 28 5 178 21 38 6 162

166 170 165 185 221

82 80 73 67 48

San Jose Phoenix Los Angeles Dallas Anaheim

42 39 39 29 30

160 164 175 206 201

93 83 82 70 68

Pacific Division 14 9 22 5 22 4 24 12 27 8

212 176 200 184 183

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

GERMANY: Lindsey Vonn will head into the final downhill race of the season with a chance to claim the overall World Cup title for the third straight season.

After winning six of seven World Cup downhills this season and earning the Olympic gold medal, the American skier is the overwhelming favorite in today’s race, the first event of the World Cup finals.

“I feel good coming into this week. I am fresher than I thought I’d be, at least mentally,” Vonn said yesterday after finishing fourth in a practice run down the Kandahar course. “Physically, I definitely need a break, but mentally I feel fresh. I am skiing pretty relaxed now and I have a lot of confidence.”

Vonn is coming off a successful weekend in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, where she won a downhill and was runner-up in the super-G in tough conditions. She already has secured season titles in those two events. Vonn won the Olympic bronze in the super-G. “Last weekend was a really fun weekend, it definitely helped me despite weather conditions,” she said. “I had a good time skiing, I think that’s really important.” Vonn is still 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.

“My shin is not going to be better until I take a good chunk of time off but it’s very manageable pain right now,” Vonn said.

As for the finger, “its just broken, not a problem at all,” said Vonn, who wears a special brace and tapes the finger to the glove when she competes.

Vonn has a 245-point lead over her best friend and rival Maria Riesch in the race for the overall title.

BANGLADESH: England cricketers attend a briefing session during a practice session. — AFP

B’desh omit Ashraful for England Test series CHITTAGONG: Bangladesh have omitted veteran batsman and former captain Mohammad Ashraful from the 14-man squad named for the two-test series against England starting in Chittagong on Friday.

Ashraful has failed to register a half-century in his last 13 international innings and skipped the one-day series against the tourists, instead opting to

try and regain his form in domestic first-class matches. However, a string of low scores followed by knocks of one and 30 for Bangladesh A in this week’s warm-up game against England appear to have cost him his place.

Left-arm spinner Enamul Haque Jr returns to a side that also includes batsman Roqibul Hassan, who was overlooked in the one-day series but forced his

way back into the reckoning with an unbeaten century and a fifty in the same warm-up game. England won the one-day series 3-0.

Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Zunaed Siddique, Aftab Ahmed, Mahmudullah, Roqibul Hassan, Naeem Islam, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Abdur Razzak, Enamul Haque Jr, Shahadat Hossain. — Reuters

GERMANY: US Lindsey Vonn skis during the Women’s Downhill training in this file photo at the Alpine skiing World Cup. — AFP If Vonn has a lead of more than 300 points after the downhill, she will have clinched the overall title.

“It’s a good lead and if I ski well tomorrow it could be over,” Vonn said. Riesch thinks it already is.

“Anyone who can count can see it. The overall title is unrealistic for me,” said Riesch, who won slalom and combined gold medals in Vancouver and who is competing in her hometown, which will also host next year’s World Championships.

Fabienne Suter of Switzerland led yesterday’s practice, ahead of Olympic silver medalist Julia Mancuso of the United States and Elisabeth Goergl of Austria. Riesch was 12th.

After the downhill, the women also race the superG, the giant slalom and the

slalom, and a win is worth 100 points. The men have the same program.

Vonn will also be seeking to become the American with the most World Cup wins. She is now tied with Bode Miller with 32. Miller has not competed since winning the combined gold medal in Vancouver. He also won silver in the super-G and bronze in the downhill. He is undecided about coming back for the next World Cup season.

“My goal at the beginning of the season was to get ready for the Olympics and to win races in February,” Miller said on the US ski team’s Web site.

“I feel like I accomplished everything I wanted to this season so it’s nice to just be able to relax.

“I haven’t made any decisions about next sea-

son. At some point, I’ll sit down with Sasha (Rearick, U.S. ski team head coach) and see where we’re at and what kind of program we can put together and I’ll make a plan from there.”

The men also have a downhill late yesterday.

Didier Cuche of Switzerland already has secured that title. Two Austrians, Hans Grugger and Mario Scheiber, led the practice run, followed by Andrej Sporn of Slovenia.

The Austrians will be hoping to end the season with a victory and prevent a shutout for the first time since 199192. Their women also have not own a downhill this season, with Riesch the only one to snap Vonn’s streak. The men’s overall title is still up for grabs, with Benjamin Raich of Austria leading Carlo Janka of Switzerland by 46 points. — AP

Zimbabwe out to regain initiative against Windies KINGSTOWN: Zimbabwe will be looking to edge closer to becoming the latest visiting side to make history in the Caribbean, when the third One-day International against West Indies is contested today at the Arnos Vale Multiplex.

Zimbabwe have never beaten West Indies in a bilateral ODI series, but the conditions, and their opponents’ penchant for self-destruction have combined to enhance their chances of creating their own bit of cricket history.

The five ODI series is currently level at 1-1, after the Zimbabweans won the first ODI last Thursday by two runs, and the hosts rebounded last Saturday to take the second ODI by four wickets.

The pitch at the Arnos Vale Multiplex is notoriously slow and low, and the Zimbabwe spin bowlers should again prosper and continue to put a squeeze on the feeble West Indies batting.

The Zimbabweans have suffered a setback with the news that Kyle Jarvis has been ruled out of the remainder of the series, after suffering a stress fracture in his lower back.

This will hurt Zimbabwe’s plans of fortifying their bowl-

ing attack, since the specialist seam bowlers they have tried in the series have been disappointing.

Shingirai Masakadza almost cost them the first ODI, when West Indies needed 15 from the final over, and he conceded 11 from the first three deliveries, and Christopher Mpofu also failed to impress in the second ODI, when he was easily the least economical bowler. For West Indies, Dwayne Bravo and his younger brother Darren have pushed Andre Fletcher and Dwayne Smith out of the 14member squad.

Ramnaresh Sarwan however, remains on the sidelines, as the West Indies Cricket Board have decided not to rush his return from a back injury.

All-rounder Dwayne Bravo has spent the last two months on the periphery, after breaking a thumb when playing for the Victoria Bushrangers in the Australia Twenty20 Big Bash in January.

His flamboyant batting, steady medium-fast bowling, and livewire fielding should give a boost to the home team which has found it hard to dislodge opponents rated below them in the World rankings.

The younger Bravo was

dropped from the squad, following the T20I between the two sides, when he played an ill-advised pull shot for a firstball duck. The Arnos Vale Multiplex has been kind to West Indies in the 17 matches they have played here.

The home team has won 14 of the matches, but two of their three losses have come in the last two ODIs at the ground, where Pakistan won by 59 runs five years ago, and Australia triumphed by 84 runs two years ago.

Squads: West Indies (from): Chris Gayle (capt), Adrian Barath, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Nikita Miller, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy Zimbabwe (from): Prosper Utseya (capt), Hamilton Masakadza (v-capt), Elton Chigumbura, Charles Coventry, Graeme Cremer, Kyle Jarvis, Greg Lamb, Tim Maruma, Shingirai Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Chris Mpofu, Ray Price, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Brendan Taylor. — AP

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

17

Noh heads British Open qualifying line-up SINGAPORE: South Korean teenager Noh Seung-yul will bid this week to follow his record-breaking victory at the Malaysian Open by securing a place at the 150th anniversary British Open.

The 18-year-old, who became the youngest professional winner of a European Tour event when he triumphed on Sunday, competes in 36hole British Open international final qualifying (Asia) at Saujana Golf Club near Kuala Lumpur today and tomorrow.

“This victory opens up a lot of doors for me so I’ll see where it takes me,” Noh told reporters at the weekend. Seventy-two players from 18 nations will compete for four places in the third major championship of the season at the Old Course, St Andrews from July 15-18.

Also in action at Saujana is Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat who finished third at the Malaysian Open, two strokes behind Noh. The highestranked player in the field is world number 80 Hiroyuki Fujita of Japan.

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour’s dilemma with the controversial grooves rule, highlighted by Phil Mickelson in January, was resolved on Monday when club manufacturer Ping opted to waive its rights as of March 29.

Under United States Golf Association (USGA) rules implemented on Jan. 1, square or U-grooves have been outlawed but a 20-year-old Ping wedge was deemed legal because of a lawsuit won by its manufacturer over the USGA in 1990.

Several players on the 2010 PGA Tour have used the square grooved wedge, most notably Mickelson who was accused of ‘cheating’ by fellow American Scott McCarron at the San Diego Open in January. McCarron later apologised for his comments.

Ping chairman and chief executive John Solheim said his company had acted “in the best interests of golf” and that pre-April 1990 clubs would not be permitted on the U.S. circuit once the March 29 waiver takes effect.

“The problem is solved on the PGA Tour and the integrity of the original agreements is unaffected,” Solheim said in a statement released by the Tour on Monday.

“It levels the playing field on the PGA Tour and resolves a very unfortunate situation that we predicted would happen when the USGA first proposed the new groove rule more than two years ago.

“It keeps in place all of our other rights established ... including ensuring amateurs will continue to be able

to play their pre-April 1990 EYE2s at all amateur events played under the USGA rules of golf.”

The waiver will apply to the PGA Tour, the senior Champions Tour and the satellite Nationwide Tour.

Mickelson, renowned for his short game, has been a consistent critic of the rule change and put the controversial club in his bag at Torrey Pines simply to make a point.

“It was a ridiculous rule change and even worse timing,” said the 39year-old world number three. “It’s

cost manufacturers millions of dollars.

It continues to cost them money as we now have to hire people to scan, document and store data of every groove on every single club.”

Tour commissioner Tim Finchem was delighted Ping had decided to waive its rights under the 1990 settlement, saying: “John Solheim and Ping had a terrific opportunity to do something very positive and significant for the game of golf and we very much appreciate his willingness to take this action.” —Reuters

Boom retains lead, Bonnet wins stage

FRANCE: Yellow jersey of overall leader, Netherland’s Rabobank cycling team’s Netherland’s Lars Boom (center) rides in the pack during the 201 km third stage of the 2010 Paris-Nice cycling race. —AFP LIMOGES: French cyclist William Bonnet recorded his first major stage race success here yesterday when he won the second stage of the ParisNice race, a 201 kilometres ride from Contres. Dutchman Lars Boom held on to the yellow jersey.

Bonnet, 27, beat Slovakia’s Peter Sagan and Spain’s Luis Leon Sanchez in a sprint finish. “This is my first big win, I’ve been waiting a long time for it,” said Bonnet.

“I managed to avoid the collision in the last mile and caught up with Sanchez, who started the sprint with 400 metres to go.” The Spaniard said after the stage that he was going all out for first place but the elements got the better of him.

“I felt great. I decided to get involved in the sprint to try and win the stage,” Sanchez said. “There was a strong headwind, which complicated things but I’m very satisfied with

third.”

Slovenia’s Grega Bole, who finished second in Monday’s race, fell in the final sprint along with Bonnet’s compatriot Jimmy Casper.

Two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador completed the stage without incident after falling on Monday and bruising his leg.

Germany’s Jens Voigt of the Saxo Bank team trails overall leader Boom by just five seconds, while Spaniard

Sanchez is ten seconds behind the Dutch Rabobank rider. The third stage is a 208-kilometre ride between SaintJunien and Aurillac today.

Meanwhile, seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has arrived in South Africa ahead of his appearance as one of 35,000 cyclists in the Cape Argus cycling race.

Armstrong flew into Cape Town late Monday and is set to ride as part

of the world’s biggest peloton on Sunday. The Argus is a one-day, 105kilometer race around South Africa’s Cape peninsula and is the world’s largest individually timed race. It is set to finish near Cape Town’s World Cup football stadium.

Armstrong was already on his bike Tuesday. “Out for a gorgeous ride here in Cape Town,” he said on his Twitter feed. “A nice 3hr ride. I’ve heard many times before that Cape

Town is stunning. That was no lie.

What a place.”

The Team RadioShack rider also marked his arrival in the country on his Twitter page a day earlier. “Well, made it in to SA,” Armstrong said.

“Not the friendliest welcome I’ve ever received but we’ve all seen immigration officers like that.”

The 38-year-old Texan has also said he hopes to meet Nelson Mandela during his weeklong visit. Armstrong

finished a disappointing seventh in the Vuelta de Murcia in Spain on Sunday and Team RadioShack sporting director Johan Bruyneel has said his rider needs more preparation ahead of the Tour de France. Armstrong is set to return to Europe for the Milan-San Remo one-day classic on March 20 and will race in France a week later.

The American will ride in his second Tour later this year since his high-profile return to the sport. —Agencies

Virgin Atlantic Travel Trade holds Bowling Championship in Kuwait KUWAIT: Virgin Atlantic Airways in association with Dnata Travel, their General Sales Agent in Kuwait, held the first-ever bowling tournament for their Travel Trade partners in Kuwait, at the Cozmo Bowling Centre in Discovery Mall, Kuwait last month With 23 travel agencies battling it out to win the cov-

eted Virgin Atlantic Bowling Championship Trophy, the tournament was an exciting and resounding success.

The first round of the competition began at 8pm with all 23 travel agencies competing in teams of 5 players each.

The top ten scoring teams included Barakat Travels, One & Only Travels, Al Ghanim Travels, Al Rashed

International, Medyaf Travel, Mak Travel, Ritz Travel, Ceasar Travel, Al Shamel Travel and Boodai Travel, made it to the second round.

At the end of a thrilling finale, Barakat Travels walked away with the coveted championship trophy, followed by One & Only Travels winning the prize for first-runner up and Al

Ghanim Travels picking up the trophy for second-runner up.

High Game Female and Male awards were won by Huwaida Fadlallah and Adnan Naif respectively, while Krishna Kumar took away the Low Game Male award.

Bimal Jain, Passenger Sales and Contact Centre Manager for Virgin Atlantic Airways - Middle East, along with Maher S Naamani, Sales Manager, Dnata Kuwait, attended the spectacular event and presented winners with their awards.

Speaking on the occasion, Bimal Jain said, “We are very happy to see such an exceptional response to this 1st edition of the Virgin Atlantic Bowling Championship from our Kuwait Travel Trade partners.

It clearly shows that Virgin Atlantic has been successfully accepted and supported by the Trade, which is encouragement enough for us to possibly make this an annual championship and we look forward to the next year’s tournament.”

The exhilarating evening ended with ‘The Steak & Bake Factory’ providing all participants with a sumptuous dinner.

Golden Girls celebrate Kuwait English School Golden Girls celebrate winning the U13 and U15 2010 ISACK Table Tennis Tournament held at New English School 8/3/2010. Coach John Bary praised all the players and said “it was a fantastic tournament with so many more schools taking part this year”.

Klitschko to defend WBC title

Vitali Klitschko

BERLIN: WBC world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko will defend his title against Poland’s Albert Sosnowski in Schalke’s soccer stadium on May 29, the Ukrainian said yesterday.

The 38-year-old Klitschko, whose brother Vladimir will defend his WBO, IBF and IBO titles against Eddie Chambers on March 20, said Sosnowski, 31, would be a tough rival.

“He is experienced, he is fast and he is a tough boxer who will

try everything to take my belt.

But I will not let it happen,” Klitschko said in a statement. “I promise all fans an unforgettable evening.”

Sosnowski, the European Boxing Union heavyweight champion with 45 wins, two defeats and a draw, was due to defend his European title against Audley Harrison in London in April but cancelled to fight Klitschko.

“This is a dream come true,” he said. “I was already training for

the Harrison fight when I suddenly get the chance of a lifetime.

Vitali is way past his peak,” he said.

Meanwhile, Amir Khan will defend his WBA light-welterweight title against American challenger Paulie Malignaggi on May 15 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The British fighter (22-1, 16 KOs) won the title from Andreas Kotelnik and defended it against Dmitriy Salita in December. —AP

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18

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Heartbreak for S Korea as Dutch bag semi spot

NEW DELHI: South Korean hockey player Lee Seung IL (No.2, center) vies for the ball with Netherlands hockey player Ronald Brouwer (right) during their World Cup 2010 match at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium. —AFP

World Cup results/standings NEW DELHI: Results from the 10th day of the men’s field hockey World Cup in New Delhi yesterday: Group A Germany 5 (Christoph Menke 15, Florian Fuchs 28, Philip Witte 47, Moritz Furste 63, Matthias Witthaus 64) New Zealand 2 (Shea McAleese 51, Nicholas Wilson 54) H-t: 2-0 The Netherlands 1 (Ronald Brouwer 1) South Korea 2 (Nam Hyun-Woo 32, Seo Jong-Ho 45)

H-t: 1-1 Argentina 4 (Lucas Vila 29, Matias Paredes 43, Mario Almada 54, Tomas Argento 70) Canada 2 (Scott Tupper 60, David Jameson 65) H-t: 1-0 Final league standings of the men’s field hockey World Cup yesterday (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Group A Germany 5 3 Netherlands5 3

2 1

0 1

19 9 11 15 5 10

South Korea 5 3 Argentina 5 2 New Zealand 5 2 Canada 5 0

1 0 0 0

1 3 3 5

16 9 8 6

8 11 12 28

10 6 6 0

Group B Australia 5 4 0 1 23 6 12 England 5 4 0 1 17 12 12 Spain 5 3 0 2 12 8 9 India 5 1 1 3 13 17 4 South Africa5 1 1 3 13 28 4 Pakistan 5 1 0 4 9 16 3 Semi-final line-up for Thursday: Germany v England; Netherlands v Australia

DHL thrash MAC in IFFK Kuwait League KUWAIT: The weather was unpleasant, yet the spirit of the teams and fans were high on March 5 at the ongoing Indian Football Federation Kuwait League being played on the Daiya Astro Turf grounds.

Three matches of the 14th round were held starting at 7am in the morning.

The first match was between DHL Football Club and MAC. DHL took the lead in the 45th second of the match through Rosario to go 1-0 up, but MAC replied back immediately to equalize through Feroze Peddyakil.

The match was played at a fast pace as both the teams looked to consolidate their positions in the league table. DHL upped the ante and applied sustained pressure on MAC and increased their lead through Roland and went in the lemon break with the score line reading 4-2.

The second half was a one sided affair with DHL all over MAC territory and scored at will as MAC could not control the rampaging DHL forwards led by Rosario who scored a hat trick and midfield led by Roland who scored 5 goals in the match. Cruz completed the rout.

Sahul Vemarath reduced the margin for MAC. The match ended with the score line reading 9-2 in favor of DHL and MAC once again succumbing to a yet another heavy defeat after starting promisingly.

The second match was played between title contenders Skynet and Fahaheel Bros.

Skynet after convincing victory in the previous round were expected to do well in this match. Fahaheel Bros after defeat in the previous match were determined to make amends. Both the teams started positively at a normal pace.

Fahaheel Bros increased the tempo of the match and opened the scoring through Nishant.

Malayil Shafi increased the lead for Fahaheel Bros. Skynet were looking a bit disjointed in the midfield and defence and this resulted in Fahaheel Bros dominating the proceedings. Phillip Ferrao and Shabbir could not find the same rhythm and form as in the previous game.

During lemon break Fahaheel Bros were sitting pretty with a comfortable lead of 2-

0. In the second half Skynet simply gave up and Fahaheel Bros scored at will with Abdul Natukknandi scoring a hat trick and Eranjiyil also sounding the scoreboard. Skynet tried their best, but their effort was simply not enough to contain Fahaheel Bros who by now had got a complete hold of the match.

Towards the later stages of the match Shabbir of Skynet scored the consolation goal and the match ended with a scoreline of 7-1 in favour of Fahaheel Bros.

In the third and final match league leaders AVC took on title contenders Don Bosco Oratory.

AVC suffered a setback before kickoff when Francis Jr (groin) and Majed (knee) were ruled out of the match. DBO on other hand were poised to create an upset and cut AVC’s lead at the top of the table.

The match started in a frantic fashion and AVC almost scored in the 4th minute of the game when Melvy’s header missed a fraction from entering the net after a crisp cross from Kevin.

Melvy was again unlucky as his thundering shot hit the cross bar and went out. Much against the run of play DBO stunned their fancied opponent when Ronny latched on beautifully to a defence splitting pass from Liston and beat Alvaro with a neat finish.

The early goal brought the best out of AVC and Benny’s header almost missed the target. AVC piled up more pressure on DBO and the referee pointed to the dreaded spot when DBO’s goalkeeper Blesson brought AVC’s striker down in the box. AVC’s midfielder Agnelo Miranda equalized from the spot kick.

AVC went ahead with Anthony adding to his tally of 16 goals with a thunderous scorcher when put through by Kevin to go into the lemon break 2-1 up. The second half started with DBO searching for an equaliser and AVC trying to consolidate the lead.

DBO’s Leo with his long crosses created panic in AVC’s makeshift defence, but bold defending by Peter with able

support from Benny kept DBO at bay. Anthony of AVC missed a glorious chance when put in by Jimon, rounded the goalkeeper, but took the ball too deep and DBO survived.

Michael of DBO kept up the pressure on AVC’s midfield and defence, but the forwards Larry and Peter could not capitalize.

Both the teams played competitive soccer, but in the end seasoned campaigners AVC with experience and skill prevailed against DBO. AVC so far has maintained a clean sheet in the league and are in an impregnable position to win the title.

The matches were supervised by M.Crasto, Tony D’Costa, C.Fernandes, Sarto Baptista, D.Sharma, Junifer Rodrigues, C.O. John and Diago Rebello of the famed Indian Football Referees Association (IFRA). The schedule of the 15th round to be played on 12th March 2010 at the Daiya Grounds is as follows: 1st Match Dominic Savio v/s Fahaheel Bros; 2nd Match Skynet v/s Santos United and 3rd Match DHL v/s Veterans.

NEW DELHI: Asian champions South Korea defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in the men’s field hockey World Cup yesterday, but still lost out on a semifinal spot to the Dutch.

Both teams finished the league with 10 points each, one behind group A leaders Germany, but the Dutch ousted the Koreans on a superior goal difference of plus-10 against their rivals’ plus-eight.

South Korea, semi-finalists at the last two World Cups, needed to beat the Dutch by a two-goal margin that would have equalled the goal difference and dislodged the Netherlands on a head-to-head result.

In Thursday’s semi-finals, defending champions Germany will clash with England, while the Dutch will take on group B leaders Australia.

The Koreans, Asia’s lone sur vivors af ter India and Pakistan crashed out early, fought back af ter Ronald Brouwer gave the Dutch an early lead in the 25th second of the match.

Both sides were locked 1-1 at half-time as Nam Hyun-Woo equalised for the Koreans with his team’s first penalty corner three minutes before the interval. The Koreans, who had won their last three meetings against the Netherlands, took the lead 10 minutes af ter resumption through a superb flick by captain Seo Jong-Ho. The Dutch pressed for the equaliser, but found a penalty stroke awarded to them four minutes from the end disallowed by the video umpire.

The Dutch also ear ned a last-second penalty cor ner which Taeke Taekema, the topscorer in the tournament so far with six goals, shot wide.

The Koreans, who finished third in the group, will clash with Spain on Friday to determine the fifth position in the tournament.

“The result was not to our liking, but we are still happy to be in the semi-final,” said Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel.

“It will be important to hold on to the ball in the semi-final.

It is always tough to play the semi-final of a World Cup, but we were only focused for the Korea match.

“We will plan now for the game against Australia. There is a lot of hard work to be done.”

South Korean captain Seo JongHo was distraught af ter the match.

“It is an emotional moment for us that we are not in the semi-finals,” he said. “We drew with Ger many and beat the Dutch, yet we are not in the top four. “Maybe we need to make our own luck.” Germany, seeking a hat-trick of World Cup titles to add to the Beijing Olympic gold medal, outclassed New Zealand 5-2 earlier in the day.

The Germans led 2-0 at halftime through goals by Christophe Menke in the 15th minute and Florian Fuchs in the 28th.

Philip Witte made it 3-0 soon af ter the inter val, but New Zealand hit back with two goals in four minutes from Shea McAleese and Nicholas Wilson.

The power ful Ger mans sealed their supremacy when Moritz Furste and Matthias Witthaus scored twice in as many minutes, both goals coming from rebounds off penalty corners. —AFP

NEW ORLEANS: Hornets guard Marcus Thornton (5) goes up for a shot over Golden State Warriors guard CJ Watson (23) during the first half of an NBA basketball game. —AP

Mavericks top T’wolves MINNEAPOLIS: Shawn Marion had a seasonhigh 29 points and 14 rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks stretched the league’s longest active winning streak to 12 straight games with a 125112 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points and Caron Butler had 23 for Dallas, which has flourished since acquiring Butler and Brendan Haywood from the Washington Wizards at the trade deadline. The Mavericks (44-21) haven’t lost since Feb. 16 at Oklahoma City and have climbed into second place in the Western Conference, behind the Los Angeles Lakers (46-18). Al Jefferson had 36 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota in his return from a two-game suspension because of a DWI arrest.

Cavaliers 97, Spurs 95 At Cleveland, Mo Williams made two free throws with 9 seconds left as Cleveland beat San Antonio without LeBron James.

Williams finished with 17 points for the Cavs, playing their second straight game without the injured James. The NBA’s reigning MVP is nursing a tender right ankle and the Cavs are being extra cautious. Delonte West had 16 points and made a key steal in the final minute as Cleveland became the first team to reach 50 wins this season. Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 38 points to lead the Spurs, playing their first game without guard Tony Parker. He’s out six weeks with a broken hand.

Knicks 99, Hawks 98 At New York, the New York Knicks beat Atlanta for the third time this season when video replay showed Al Horford’s basket came after the buzzer. Wilson Chandler stopped Josh Smith’s drive to the basket with seconds to play and the ball bounced out to Horford in the lane.

Referees originally ruled his short jumper good, but replay clearly showed the light was on above the backboard with the ball still in his hands. Danilo Gallinari scored 27 points and David Lee had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who won for just the third time in 15 games and temporarily avoided a franchise-record ninth straight losing season. Smith had 25 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Hawks. Joe Johnson scored 22 points and Horford finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Hornets 135, Warriors 131 At New Orleans, Darren Collison had 16 points and a career-high 20 assists as New Orleans snapped a four-game losing streak.

Collison’s assists total tied Phoenix’s Steve Nash for the most in an NBA game this season.

Marcus Thornton and David West each scored 28 points for the Hornets.

Anthony Morrow made all six 3-pointers he attempted and had 28 points for Golden State, which tied a team season high with 13 3s. Reggie Williams also scored 28 points, while C.J. Watson had 12 points but missed a 3-point attempt that could have tied it in the final seconds.

NBA results/standings NBA results and standings on Monday.

Cleveland 97, San Antonio 95; NY Knicks 99, Atlanta 98; Memphis 107, New Jersey 101; Dallas 125, Minnesota 112; New Orleans 135, Golden State 131.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L PCT Boston 40 21 .656 Toronto 32 29 .525 Philadelphia 23 39 .371 NY Knicks 22 41 .349 New Jersey 7 56 .111 Central Division Cleveland 50 15 .769 Milwaukee 33 29 .532 Chicago 31 31 .500 Detroit 22 41 .349 Indiana 20 43 .317 Southeast Division Orlando 44 20 .688 Atlanta 40 23 .635 Miami 32 31 .508 Charlotte 30 31 .492 Washington 21 39 .350 Western Conference Northwest Division Denver 42 21 .667 Utah 40 22 .645 Oklahoma City 38 24 .613 Portland 37 28 .569 Minnesota 14 50 .219 Pacific Division LA Lakers 46 18 .719 Phoenix 40 25 .615 LA Clippers 25 38 .397 Sacramento 21 42 .333 Golden State 17 46 .270 Southwest Division Dallas 44 21 .677 San Antonio 36 25 .590 Memphis 33 31 .516 New Orleans 32 32 .500

GB 8 17.5 19 34 15.5 17.5 27 29 3.5 11.5 12.5 21

1.5 3.5 6 28.5 6.5 20.5 24.5 28.5 6 10.5 11.5

Grizzlies 107, Nets 101 At Memphis, Tennessee, Mike Conley and Rudy Gay had 21 points each, and Marc Gasol added 19 points and 13 rebounds as Memphis withstood a second-half rally to defeat New Jersey and snap an eight-game home losing streak. Memphis got help from DeMarre Carroll and Sam Young, who scored 10 points each, ending the Nets’ three-game road winning streak.

Courtney Lee scored a career-high 30 points to lead New Jersey, while Devin Harris added 28.

Reserve Terrence Williams finished with 14, and Brook Lopez scored 10 points. — AP

Rising Stars enter semis KUWAIT: The XVI edition of the prestigious Goa Rolling Trophy sponsored by Bassem Intl. Trading Co, kicked off at the MOH Grounds on March 5, with two pre-quarterfinals and one quarterfinal match. The tournament is organized under the auspices of Kuwait Indian Football Federation (KIFF) and officiated by KIFF Referees.

In the day’s first match, CRC Chinchinim got the better of the young Santos Football

line. With the change of ends, CRC took the lead after 10 minutes.

Edwin once again required tapping in, for the second time.

Four minutes later, Prakash put the match beyond Santos FC, with a long range effort that completely beat Philip under the Santos bar.

In the second match, Kuwait Goan Association edged out Curtocares United by a solitary goal. The all important goal

XVIth GOA Rolling Trophy Club, mostly made up of youngsters. Edwin Gomes gave CRC the lead in the 13th minute with a simple tap in after Prakash did all the hard work of beating the Santos defense and laying on the pass.

The advantage however lasted just two minutes, as Abdulsalam of Santos received a clever pass from Anil Kumar on the break and had only to round the keeper to equalize.

The first half saw the youngsters miss a host of chances for Santos, which could have resulted in a different score

coming off the boots of Alfred in the first half. Curtorcares goalkeeper, Olavo, had an outstanding game as he made some daring saves, off Jimmy, Vitorino and Zelito, to keep the score line down.

But he was helpless against Alfred’s header off Jimmy’s cross. Curtorcares mounted the pressure in the second half, looking for the elusive equalizer but were kept at bay by KGA’s defenders Alex and Pradeep. Had it not been for Olavo’s heroics, KGA might have won by a tennis score.

In the day’s final match, Rising Stars overcame a spirited United Goans Centre by three goals to nil. Rising Stars scored with Dominic’s header in the 28th minute and Fajilu in the 32nd minute. The final goal was netted by Mohd. Rafi in the second half.

Earlier, the Chief Guest, Charles D’sa, General Manager of Bassem International Trading Company, was introduced to both teams by Goan Overseas Association’s President, Mr. Raymond D’Sa. The Draw of this tournament was held at the Village Inn restaurant on Feb 22 in the

presence of KIFF President and KIFF Sports Secretary as well as representatives of all the participating teams. GOA President, Raymond D’Sa welcomed all the guests and reminded everyone of the spirit of Fair Play. After the draw, Tony Correia, VP of GOA and KIFF, proposed a Vote of Thanks.

Quater final matches to be played on Friday, March 12.

Indian Strikers vs. Kuwait Goan Association at 06:45; United Friends vs. CRC Chinchinim at 08:00; GOA Maroons vs. Navelim Youth at 09:15.

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Drought scorches World Cup host Port Elizabeth PORT ELIZABETH: The green pitch at Port Elizabeth’s World Cup stadium has become an island in a sea of brown, exempt from water limits imposed due to a drought that has scorched the land outside.

Five people work day and night to maintain the grass inside the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, designed to resemble a flower that now appears to blossom from the baked earth.

“To reduce our water consumption, we water in the morning at two o’clock. It’s more economical,” said Rob Hitchens, manager at the 46,000-seat stadium that will

host eight World Cup matches.

It’s the only stadium suffering from the drought along South Africa’s southern coast, and authorities are scrambling to find solutions.

“We are now implemented to investigate the possibility of filtering the lake water or storage tankers of water from elsewhere.

Before the World Cup, we will be using reclaimed water,” Hitchens said.

“We want it as soon as possible because we are in a crisis.” Rains failed during the wet season now reaching an end, and the 11 reservoirs that supply the city are falling by

five percent every month.

On March 1, they were at just 39 percent of capacity. The Churchill dam, which also serves two nearby cities, was at just 17 percent.

“During the World Cup, we should be fine. It’s after July that we are running in a very bad situation,” said Barry Martin, director of water and sanitation in Nelson Mandela Bay, the municipality that includes Port Elizabeth.

The surge in visitors during South Africa’s winter will send water consumption five percent higher than the summer peak,

he said. The municipality is working out a “disaster plan” to ensure alternate water supplies, such as tapping underground water or desalinating sea water, he added.

In October, the municipality imposed water limits on its 1.1 milllion residents, and asked businesses and hotels to also reduce their water use.

For residents that means limits on watering gardens, no refilling of swimming pools, and cutting water use to 500 litres per day per household, said George Efstratiou, 50, who runs a fresh produce shop.

“We buy more and more fruits and veg-

gies outside of Port Elizabeth because farmers have problems,” he said.

Without enough water, farm production has been falling along the Garden Route that links the southern coastal towns that host the luxury hotels where Japan, France and Denmark will base their teams.

“Several farms have already shut down,” said Stephan Gericke, chairman of the George Agricultural Association, which is seeking permission to expand reservoirs.

“The problem is to get approval to extend existing dams and build new ones,” he said.

But weather officials say the only real

solution for the shrinking water supply is flooding when the rainy season begins again in September. The last big floods in the Eastern Cape province were in 1981, and to a lesser extent in 2006.

“In Eastern Cape, we don’t have normal rainfall. We have too much rain or too little.

The drought is to be broken by the flood,” said Jarth Sampson, spokesman for the provincial weather service.

“The situation doesn’t look promising for the end of the season. We need a flood to solve the situation. That will make problems too!”— AFP

Wigan inflict painful defeat on Liverpool LONDON: AC Milan’s English midfielder David Beckham ball-watching during a training session on the eve of their UEFA Champions League Group of 16, 2nd leg football match against Manchester United at Old Trafford.—AFP

Payback time for Berbatov as United aim to slay Milan MANCHESTER: Dimitar Berbatov will never have a better opportunity to convince the Manchester United faithful that he was worth the 30.75 million pounds it cost to prise him away from Tottenham.

With Wayne Rooney likely to be sidelined by a knee injury incurred on England duty last week, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is set to place his trust in Berbatov as the English champions attempt to defend a 3-2 first-leg advantage in their Champions League last 16 clash with AC Milan.

Ferguson is acutely aware that he has never got the better of a Milan squad in the competition and, having watched an irrepressible Rooney score twice in the San Siro last month, would have dearly loved to be able to unleash his top scorer once more on Wednesday.

Rooney however is unlikely to play any role in the match after succumbing to a knee injury that Ferguson has blamed on the heavy surface at Wembley, where the striker played 86 minutes for England on Wednesday three days after featuring for United in their League Cup final win over Aston Villa.

With Michael Owen out for the rest of the season, Berbatov is destined for centre stage and the

Bulgarian knows Old Trafford will be an unforgiving place if he fluffs his lines.

Ferguson has verged on the strident in his regular defences of Berbatov’s contribution to the cause but United fans, many of whom are still pining for Carlos Tevez’s hearton-the sleeve contributions, remain unconvinced of his value.

Rio Ferdinand, however, believes that the Bulgarian’s popularity with his team-mates will eventually be mirrored by recognition from the Old Trafford masses.

“If we win the league this year, I think ‘Berba’ will be appreciated for what he has done,” Ferdinand said.

“When you look at the statistics you can see he is one of the hardest runners in our team and that he covers the most ground.

“He is a bit languid but he really puts the effort in. At the training ground, he is always in the gym. It’s just his style of play, which means people see a different side to him.

“But I don’t think that it actually reflects his importance to the team.

He is appreciated by us and that is the most important thing.”

It is not only in attack that United’s options are restricted with, most significantly, Ryan Giggs still sidelined after breaking his arm,

Michael Carrick suspended and England defender Wes Brown having joined an injury list already featuring Brazilian midfielder Anderson, backup centreback Jonny Evans and Irish utility man John O’Shea.

History, in general terms, is on United’s side. They have never been knocked out of the competition when they have returned to Old Trafford with a lead at the half way stage of a tie.

When it comes to the particular however, recent memory is more chastening, Milan having triumphed in the 2007 semi-final thanks to a 3-0 win in the San Siro following a 3-2 first-leg defeat at Old Trafford.

United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar recalled: “They played particularly well in the home leg here when we won 3-2 and Kaka scored two goals.

“Then at the San Siro, Clarence Seedorf was fantastic - he was excellent in both games actually. But we got a good result in Milan and now we need to finish it off with a magic night at Old Trafford.”

Milan coach Leonardo will arrive in Manchester still unsure whether Alexandre Pato will be able to start, following the hamstring injury which kept the Brazilian prodigy out of Saturday’s goalless draw at Roma in Serie A. — AFP

LONDON: Liverpool’s Champions League aspirations suffered a serious blow when they slipped to a 1-0 defeat away to Wigan Athletic on Monday.

Liverpool gave the ball away repeatedly in a shocking first-half display and were punished 10 minutes before the break when Hugo Rodallega struck from close range.

The Anfield club continued to make alarming mistakes in midfield and defence, while Fernando Torres missed the best of their chances when they did manage to threaten.

The result left Liverpool floundering with 48 points in sixth place-a point behind Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City in the race for fourth and a shot at making the Champions League next season.

To compound the problem, Liverpool have played a game more than Spurs and two more than City. Aston Villa, three points behind Liverpool but with three games in hand, are also looming. Wigan climb two places to 14th with 28 points after registering their first win over Liverpool in 12 attempts.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez hit out at his side’s poor attitude. “We have to show more character if we want to be in the top four,” he told ESPN. For a side brimming with talent Liverpool were well below par and had precious few clearcut chances, Spain striker Torres spurning his side’s best opportunity with 15 minutes remaining when, unmarked in the box, he rolled a shot hopelessly wide.

Liverpool now have just nine league games to rescue the situation, but even though their next league game is against bottom club Portsmouth at Anfield Benitez was in no mood to talk about a potential victory. “We cannot guarantee anything without character or attitude,” the stony-faced Spaniard said. The only piece of positive news for Liverpool was the return of England defender Glen Johnson, missing since December after suffering a knee injury against Aston Villa. — Reuters

LONDON: Liverpool’s Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt (right) and Wigan Athletic’s Scottish defender Gary Caldwell (second right) vie for the ball during their English Premier League football match. — AFP

England move to clamp down on ‘bug’ LONDON: Football Association officials are trying to ensure bugged conversations between England players and coaches remain confidential, it emerged yesterday.

It is understood talks involving England manager Fabio Capello and his squad at the team’s hotel ahead of last week’s 3-1 friendly international victory against Egypt at Wembley were taped secretly.

Although there has been no public comment by the FA, English football’s governing body, on the issue, their lawyers have contacted British media organisations warning that publishing the contents of any bugged conversations would be illegal under the Data Protection Act. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said reports of bugging were a worry for England.

The veteran Scottish boss found himself caught up in a similar controversy in 2005 when listening devices were found in the home dressing room at United’s Old Trafford ground after a match with leading English rivals Chelsea.

“It happened to us once before,” Ferguson, speaking yesterday ahead of United’s Champions League last 16 second leg clash against AC Milan, said. “I would be concerned about it. You have to be.

“Preparation involves discretion and secrecy. I haven’t revealed one bit of my tactics ahead of the match tomorrow (Wednesday). I haven’t been asked. And do you know why?

Because I wouldn’t tell anyone.

“Why should I tell anyone?

“Capello may have been discussing some important issues about his team. All of a sudden

someone else has got it.”It is a concern.”

A spokesman for the Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire, north-west of London, where the England team stayed before the Egypt match, told The Times: “We do not know anything about it.

“We have been hosting England for three or four years and provide a very high level of security for them.

“They also bring their own security team. It would surprise me if they had been bugged here.”

Reports of taped conversations are the latest off-field problem to confront Capello after the Italian was forced to strip John Terry of the England captaincy following allegations the defender had an affair with the ex-girlfriend of former Chelsea team-mate Wayne Bridge. — AFP

Pressure on big-spending Real

SPAIN: Real Madrid’s Brazilian midfielder Kaka trains in Madrid on the eve of a UEFA Champions League football match against Olympique Lyon. — AFP

MADRID: A staggering summer outlay of over 250 million euros and home advantage for the final has seen Real Madrid put themselves under immense pressure to win the Champions League this season.

However, the record nine-time European champions first have to come from behind to eliminate French side Lyon who arrive for Wednesday’s last 16 decider at the Santiago Bernabeu holding a 1-0 first leg lead.

Real have been unstoppable in the league at home winning all 13 games but in Europe their dominance has not been as overwhelming losing 3-2 to AC MIlan at home in this season’s group stage while Liverpool and Juventus both won in Madrid last season.

Lyon’s clean sheet in the first leg means a vital away goal would force Real to score three goals to progress as they go all out to reach the final at their Bernabeu stadium on May 22.

“We are up for coming from behind against Lyon,” said Guti, a three-time Champions League winner with Real.

“If they score it will complicate things but with the signings we have made we have to give everything to get through.

“It would be a failure not to get past the knockout stage against a rival like Lyon who are good but not one of the big European sides.”

Lyon, third in their domestic league, may not have the grandeur of Real but they are seasoned campaigners in the

Champions League and have outperformed Real in the last five campaigns reaching the quarter-final stage in 2005 and 2006.

“We really believe in our chances, even if Real (Madrid) remain the favourites,” said Lyon’s Brazilian captain Cris. “It’s just a match with 11 against 11 and we are not worried about their stars.”

Real have been a disappointment in Europe in recent seasons failing to reach the quarter-finals since 2004 and coach Manuel Pellegrini is under pressure to put them back among Europe’s elite particularly after the massive summer spending.

Pellegrini, who guided Villarreal to the semi-finals in 2006, must do without midfielder Xabi Alonso through suspension leaving the door open for the likes of former Lyon old boy Mahamadou Diarra, Esteban Granero and Rafael van der Vaart to stake a claim for a first team place.

French striker Karim Benzema, a summer signing from Lyon, could miss the game against his old club due to a groin strain but Real have the firepower in Brazilian Kaka, in-form Argentine Gonzalo Higuain and Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo who is the Champions League top-scorer with six goals. Real will also be on a high after their dramatic 3-2 win over Sevilla, coming from two goals down to move level on points with Barcelona at the top of the table and

Ronaldo called on his team-mates to stamp their authority over Lyon.

“We need to show that, at the Bernabeu, we are the ones in charge,” said Ronaldo. “We already know Lyon are a strong team, but now we are playing at home and I am confident that we will progress.

“It would be a huge disappointment if we did not progress. We are going to go out with the mentality of winning and scoring goals.”

Real are top-scorers in the Spanish league and start as favourites but Lyon’s Argentine striker Cesar Delgado insists the French giants won’t come to sit back and defend.

“We are not coming with the idea of defending because we are not a team that likes to defend,” said Delgado. “There is no doubt that they have players that can change the game. We have a lot of respect but in football you can’t have fear.”— AFP

Matches on TV (local timings) UEFA Champions League Real v Olympique ................. 22:45 Al Jazeera Sport +4 Man United v AC Milan ....... 22:45 Al Jazeera Sport +5 Al Jazeera Sport +3

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Arsenal turn on style as Bendtner silences critics LONDON: Arsenal swept into the Champions League quarterfinals as Nicklas Bendtner silenced his critics with a hattrick in a majestic 5-0 win against Porto yesterday.

Arsene Wenger’s side had trailed 2-1 from the first leg of this second round tie, but Bendtner overturned that deficit within 25 minutes of the return at the Emirates Stadium to set up a 6-2 aggregate victory.

Champions League

LONDON: Sunderland’s Michael Turner (left) and Sunderland’s captain Lorik Cana (right) vie for the ball with Bolton Wanderers’ captain Kevin Davies (center) during their English Premier League soccer match at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland defeated Bolton 4-0. — AP

Bent hat-trick sinks Bolton relegation zone.

Fraizer Campbell gave the Black Cats a dream start in front of watching American owner Ellis Short by opening the scoring after just 44 seconds.

But it was 10-million-pounds striker Bent who ensured Steve Bruce’s side enjoyed a first top-flight success since November 21 with goals in the 64th, 74th (a penalty after Bolton’s Sam Ricketts was sent-off for a second yellow card) and 88th minutes.

Sunderland settled any nerves among the home supporters with less than a minute played when Campbell turned in Lorik Cana’s looping cross

Sunderland 4

Bolton 0 SUNDERLAND: Darren Bent’s first Premier League hat-trick helped inspire Sunderland to a badly-needed 4-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers at the Stadium of Light here yesterday.

This win was Sunderland’a first in 15 league matches and moved the north-east club six points clear of the

past Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

The Black Cats could have been further ahead before the break but had to wait until midway through the second half when Lee Cattermole played Bent in and the forward outpaced Ricketts before firing past Jaaskelainen.

And the match was over as a contest 10 minutes later when Ricketts, already booked, was sent-off for barging bent to the ground from the spot.

Bent scored the ensuing penalty amd there was still time for him to grab his 18th league goal of the season when he turned in Campbell’s cross. — AFP

EPL results/standings Portsmouth 1 (Kanu 90) Birmingham 2 (Jerome 16, 42); Sunderland 4 (Campbell 1, Bent 64, 74-pen, 88) Bolton 0 Playing today: Burnley v Stoke (1945GMT) English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Man Utd Chelsea Arsenal Tottenham Man City Liverpool Aston Villa

29 28 29 28 27 29 26

20 19 19 14 13 14 12

3 4 4 7 10 6 9

6 5 6 7 4 9 5

67 65 69 50 52 45 37

24 26 32 27 35 29 21

63 61 61 49 49 48 45

Birmingham Everton Fulham Stoke Blackburn Sunderland Bolton Wigan West Ham W’hampton Hull Burnley Portsmouth

28 28 28 27 28 28 29 28 28 28 28 28 28

12 11 10 8 9 7 7 7 6 6 5 6 5

7 8 8 10 7 9 8 7 9 6 9 5 4

9 9 10 9 12 12 14 14 13 16 14 17 19

28 44 32 27 30 36 32 27 36 21 26 29 24

29 40 29 32 45 44 54 53 45 46 59 60 47

43 41 38 34 34 30 29 28 27 24 24 23 19

Birmingham gain revenge for Cup exit Portsmouth 1

Birmingham 2

PORTSMOUTH: Birmingham did their best to make amends for their FA Cup exit at the hands of Portsmouth by sending the crisis club nearer relegation with a 2-1 victory at Fratton Park here yesterday.

Cameron Jerome’s double put Birmingham, beaten 2-0 by Portsmouth in their FA Cup quarter-final at Fratton Park on Saturday, on course for a win that moved the Midlands club up into eighth in the Premier League table.

And a stoppage time header from Nigeria striker Nwanko Kanu, who scored the goal that won Portsmouth the 2008 FA Cup final, came too late for the struggling south coast side.

Defeat left Pompey four points clear at the bottom and with the prospect of falling further behind if a nine-point penalty for entering administration is imposed by the Premier League.

Portsmouth are due to return to the High Court on March 15 to answer a winding-up order brought by British tax authorities. If a judge decides Portsmouth cannot overcome debts said to be totalling 76 million pounds (115 million dollars) they could be liquidated and go out of business completely.

Jerome put Birmingham in front in the 16th minute when he ran onto a through ball from Christian Benitez to shoot under England goalkeeper David James.

The same duo combined again three minutes before half-time, with Jerome scoring after being played in by Benitez’s backheel.

Portsmouth, who failed to make their early pressure count, grabbed a goal back late on when Kanu, on as a substitute, headed in a cross from on-loan Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara but Birmingham held on to all three points. — AFP

LONDON: Portsmouth’s Nadir Belhadj (right) tackles Birmingham City’s Craig Gardner (left) during their English Premier League soccer match at the Fratton Park Stadium. — AP

Rangers extend SPL lead KILMARNOCK: Rangers extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League to 13 points as second-half goals from Steven Whittaker and Kenny Miller sealed a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock.

The runaway league leaders put all talk of a potential takeover to one side as they closed in to within six wins of their second title in a row.

A scrappy first-half at Rugby Park was only memorable for several uncharacteristic errors from Rangers keeper Allan McGregor, who couldnít seem to hold on to the ball.

Jamie Hamill cleared Kris Boydís shot off the line before Whittaker settled any nerves with a goal early in the second period. Miller doubled their

advantage with a poacherís goal minutes later in what is the Ibrox sideís last league game for two weeks due to Scottish Cup action and the League Cup final against St Mirren.

Chances had been few and far between in the first-half. Lee McCulloch grabbed a double at the weekend but his first contribution was to blast a shot well over the bar.

McGregor did well to hold on to Mehdi Taouilís rising shot as he tried his luck from long range.

Frazer Wright picked up a booking for clattering Miller from behind before popping up in the box to block the Scotland strikerís effort as Boyd looked to play him in at the near post.—AFP

French midfielder Samir Nasri put Arsenal in total control with a sublime solo effort in the second half and Emmanuel Eboue added a fourth before Bendtner completed his treble from the penalty spot.

It was a sweet moment of vindication for Bendtner after the Denmark striker came in for some stinging criticism for his poor finishing in Saturday’s victory over Burnley.

While Bendtner’s lack of goals had led some fans to call for him to be dropped, Wenger kept faith in the 22-year-old and got his reward as the Dane helped Arsenal keep alive their bid for a Premier League and Champions League double.

Although Porto arrived with a slender advantage, the Portuguese champions had lost their last six matches in London and, even without injured captain Cesc Fabregas, it was Arsenal who dominated from the start.

When Bacary Sagna looped a cross into the Porto penalty area, Andrey Arshavin was left unmarked at the far post and the tiny Russian’s header drew a good save from Helton.

It was a warning that Porto failed to heed as another header from Arshavin started the move that led to Arsenal’s 10th minute opener.

Arshavin was by far the smallest player on the pitch but he was still able to win a header that found Nasri and he slipped a sublime return pass back towards the Russian.

As Arshavin bore down on goal, Nuno Coelho made a despairing tackle which only succeeded in knocking the ball to Bendtner, who slid across to push his shot into the empty net.

A pair of farcial mistakes from Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski had proved decisive in the first leg at the Dragao Stadium, but it was Porto who shot themselves in the foot in the 25th minute.

Fucile had the chance to clear deep in his own half but tried to play his way out of trouble and instead gifted possession to Arshavin with a careless pass.

Arshavin escaped his markers with a clever flick and whipped over a low cross that Bendtner gleefully prodded past Helton for his seventh goal of the season.

Bendtner has never lacked confidence so his belief must have been sky-high by now and he almost completed his hat-trick with a curling strike which Helton pushed away for a corner.

By the time Abou Diaby’s header was saved by Helton, Arsenal were playing with such verve and imagination that the tie looked all but over already.

Nasri’s elegant play in midfield was more than compensating for the absence of Fabregas and the Frenchman forced a sprawling stop from Helton as Arsenal went for the kill.

Arsenal hadn’t overturned a first leg deficit when they played the return at home for over 30 years and they had a scare early in the second half when Nasri had to clear off the line from Cristian Rodriguez’s header.

But that only served to spark the Gunners back into life and Nasri extinguished Porto’s hopes with a breath-taking goal in the 63rd minute.

Taking possession wide on the right edge of the Porto penalty area, he jinked past three Porto defenders with a mesmerising dribble and unleashed a fierce strike that gave Helton no chance.

Arsenal weren’t finished there and, in the 66th minute, Arshavin sent substitute Eboue galloping clear and the defender rounded Helton before slotting home.

There was still time for one more goal as Fucile gave away a penalty with a foul on Eboue in stoppage time and Bendtner stroked in his hat-trick from the spot. — AFP

LONDON: Arsenal’s Samir Nasri (right) challenges for the ball with Porto’s Ruben Michael during their Champions League soccer match at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. —AP

Bayern lose but scrape past Fiorentina on away goals FLORENCE: Bayern Munich booked their place in the quarterfinals of the Champions League yesterday despite losing 3-2 to a valiant Fiorentina in a topsy-turvy encounter.

The German side, who had won 2-1 in Munich, went through on the away goals’ rule after the aggregate scores finished 4-4. In the end, Miroslav Klose’s controversial goal in the first leg proved decisive.

The home side went two goals up inside 54 minutes through Juan Vargas and Stevan Jovetic before Bayern captain Mark van Bommel’s strike on the hour mark began a flurry of superb goals.

Jovetic grabbed his second with a solo effort but man-of-the-match Arjen Robben broke Viola hearts with a stunning 30-yard strike.

After the late and controversial drama in Munich in the first leg, the match began tentatively with a string of misplaced passes as the sides struggled against a strong gale.

Vargas tested Hans-Jorg Butt after five minutes with an audacious 40-yard free kick but it was the German side who settled better

with Franck Ribery and particularly Arjen Robben causing danger down the wings.

Fiorentina, backed by a vociferous home support as well as the wind in the first half, had created little until the 28 minute when Marco Marchionni picked the ball up 30 yards out and instantly let fly.

A surprised Butt fumbled to Vargas who somehow outmuscled Daniel Van Buyten and, from a tight angle, found the top corner with his favoured left foot.

Bayern should have equalised six minutes later when Bastian Schweinsteiger’s deep header found its way through the heart of the Viola defence to Robben 15 yards out.

The Dutchman’s left foot shot was true but a flying Sebastian Frey threw himself backwards and brilliantly tipped the Dutchman’s shot onto the bar and over. With Bayern needing a goal, the pace noticeably quickened after the break.

Alberto Gilardino had a glorious chance to double the lead five minutes back on the pitch but shot weakly eight yards out allowing Butt to save.

Marchionni had been getting plenty of the ball down the right and from another cross on 54 minutes Gilardino backheeled delightfully into the path of the onrunning Jovetic, who drilled home from 10 yards for 2-0. It set off a flurry of goals.

Ribery, largely anonymous until the hour mark, squared the ball for Mark van Bommel to fire unerringly into the corner from 20 yards for 2-1, to put the aggregate scores at 3-3.

Four minutes later though and Fiorentina were ahead again. The dangerous Jovetic began a run from deep, played a one-two with Gilardino before shrugging off the ineffectual Van Buyten and slipping the ball expertly under Butt for a superb solo goal.

Robben matched the skill after 66 minutes. As brilliant as he had been in the first leg, the Dutchman cut in from the right and let fly from 25 yards, arrowing the ball into the top corner for 3-2 and 4-4 on aggregate.

The Viola tried to react but it was Bayern who looked the more likely to score and used their experience to close the game out. — AFP

ITALY: Bayern Munich’s Dutch striker Arjen Robben reacts after missing a goal opportunity against Fiorentina during their last 16 Champion’s League second leg football match. — AFP

Lexus to unveil ‘CT200h’ at 2010 Geneva Motor Show

22

Toshiba showcases products ideal for digital lifestyle

EADS makes loss but claims outlook visibility improving

23

26

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

www.kuwaittimes.net

EMERGING MARKETS

Assets edge off Jan highs, eyes on Dubai LONDON: Emerging assets eased yesterday from their strongest levels since January set in the previous session, consolidating gains made on renewed optimism over the US economy and prospects for troubled eurozone member Greece.

Emerging markets have come under pressure from concer ns about global monetar y tightening, the strength of the US economy and from risk aversion following debt crises in Greece and Dubai.

However, some of those fears have eased in recent days.

“There is some profit-taking after a pretty good run, which does not change my quite enthusiastic outlook,” said Mats Olausson, emerging markets strategist at SEB in Stockholm.

“The nervousness regarding Greece will gradually fade a bit more. For Dubai, most of the dynamite was probably used last year but there could be some fireworks and explosions.”

Benchmark emerging equities fell 0.52 percent, easing from six-week highs set in the previous session.

Emerging stocks are up more than 100 percent since the global stock market rally began exactly a year ago.

Emerging sovereign debt spreads widened by 1 basis point to 266 basis points over US Treasuries, but remain close to their tightest since mid-January.

Poland set initial guidance on a Swiss franc-denominated four-year Eurobond at 88 basis points over midswaps, according to a source at one of the lead managers. Books close around 1500 GMT, the deal could total more than 400 million Swiss francs and leads are RBS and UBS. Romania and Israel are holding roadshows this week for euro-denominated bonds. With oil trading above $80 a barrel, Russia let the ruble rise to 14-month highs against a euro-dollar basket, shifting the lower boundary of its trading band by five kopeks twice yesterday, to 34.50.

Other emerging European currencies eased, with the zloty dipping from 15-month highs against the euro set in the previous session and the Hungarian forint slipping from 2010 highs.

In Dubai, investors are continuing to watch for debt negotiations at troubled state-owned conglomerate Dubai World, with a deal expected this week, after Dubai World announced a standstill on payments on billions of dollars of debt in November. Dubai five-year credit default swaps rose to 487.4 basis points from 479.6 bps at the US close, according to CDS monitor CMA DataVision.

But Dubai’s stock index ended higher for the fourth straight session after the United Arab Emirates’ finance minister said the federal government would support Dubai and he expected the debt restructuring of Dubai World to be resolved soon. —Reuters

France warns US of ‘implications’ of Airbus cancellation PARIS: France warned the United States yesterday that Europe will study the “possible implications” of a Pentagon decision to skew bidding for a contract to supply tanker jets in favor of a US firm.

US giant Boeing is poised to win the 26-billion-euro defense deal after partners EADS and Nor throp Grumman dropped out, citing changed Pentagon requirements, in a decision that has already provoked EU anger.

France, home to EADS’ subsidiary Airbus that was to have made the planes, added its voice to protests, accusing Washington of foregoing a chance to buy a better and cheaper plane that in 2008 had been frontrunner for the deal.

“We note with great disappointment that the call for tenders made by the Pentagon on February 25 de facto forced the US authorities into a dialogue with a single supplier,” foreign ministr y spokesman Ber nard

Valero said.

Paris said the change in the contract requirements, which penalized the larger Airbus jet in favour of a smaller Boeing one, had been done “to the detriment of competition, guarantor of best capability and best price.” “We regret the US air force has denied itself the capabilities of the Airbus A330 Multirole Transpor t and Tanker, upon which Northrop and EADS’ bid was based, the qualities of which were recognized by the Pentagon in 2008.”

Valero noted that France, Britain, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Araba Emirates had chosen the A330 and would receive deliveries in 2010.

“France, with the European Commission and its European partners will examine this new development and its possible implications,” he warned, implicitly suggestion that Europe could take measures in response. —AFP

UAE govt ready to back Dubai Abu Dhabi aid will come with strings DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates pledged its support for Dubai yesterday but said the emirate had yet to ask for federal help, which analysts said would come reluctantly and with strings attached.

The UAE finance minister said the federal government would support the emirate as it negotiates a plan to restructure $26 billion in debt and said he expected a deal to be finalized soon.

State-owned conglomerate Dubai World is holding informal talks with major creditors, which include HSBC and Standard Chartered, in London this week as it finalizes a deal.

Asked whether the federal government would support Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum said: “Of course. Dubai is part of the federation.” Sheikh Hamdan, who is also deputy ruler of Dubai, said the emirate had not yet approached the federal government for aid.

“The federation hasn’t reached that far, but the Emirates are one entity and things will be resolved soon, God willing,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.

Dubai’s stock market was up for a fourth day yesterday, while Abu Dhabi’s was up for a third on hopes a debt deal might come soon. Five-year Dubai CDS prices stood at 487.4 from 479.6 at the close, according to CMA DataVision.

Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest and largest of the seven members of the UAE federation, bailed Dubai out in December and has an active role behind the scenes in current debt negotiations.

But the emirate, a pivotal player at the federal level, has been pointedly silent on its plans regarding Dubai’s debt restructuring. Analysts expect it to help again but in a modest way, with little fanfare, and in exchange for more centralized control. “It will be calculated interference, and it will come with some conditions,” said a prominent Emirati busi-

NEW YORK: Ainsley Fuhr, with Cuttone & Co, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. —AP nessman in Abu Dhabi.”Abu Dhabi does not want to give the impression that big brother will always be there.”

Bankers familiar with the matter said the size of any financial help from the Abu Dhabi government would determine the size of the “haircut” creditors would have to take.

Abu Dhabi has already put limits on its aid. Last year’s $10 billion bailout-which included $5 billion from two Abu Dhabi-linked banks and came through a Dubai bond issue-is conditional on Dubai World reaching a satisfactory

deal with creditors. About $5 billion of those funds have yet to be released.

Abu Dhabi government officials declined to comment.

The fallout from Dubai’s debt crisis is being felt in Abu Dhabi, with Moody’s downgrading seven governmentrelated entities late last week as they did not have an explicit, formal guarantee of government backing. Abu Dhabi, home to most of the UAE’s oil, dismissed the downgrade, but analysts said it would not be pleased about the impact Dubai’s debt problems were causing.

“Abu Dhabi is aware of the consequences and I suspect it is working out the best thing for the UAE as a whole,” said the head of a western bank in Abu Dhabi, who asked not to be identified.

Dubai World shocked global markets in November, when it requested a standstill on debt linked mainly to its property developers, Limitless World and Nakheel, builder of Dubai’s palm-shaped islands.

Bankers have said the restructuring plan is being delayed by efforts to value the assets of the Nakheel unit.

There is widespread expecta-

Dubai World into default. UAE Economy Minister Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri said yesterday that creditors should reach an agreement with the conglomerate.

“If there is any plug pulling (by the creditors of Dubai World), then Abu Dhabi will come in,” said a Dubai-based risk analyst. “If lenders call default, then Abu Dhabi will want to prevent that from happening. One, there is the issue of the UAE reputation, and two, Abu Dhabi will want to say, if we can help Dubai, rest assured we will look after our own.” —Reuters

Greek PM not looking for aid in meeting with Obama

ATHENS: A man walks past a huge replica of the last edition of the old Greek drachma yesterday in Athens.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, on a visit to the US, is unlikely to ask for financial aid although his hard-pressed Socialist government is facing a mounting barrage of strikes over its austerity cuts. —AFP

Abu Dhabi’s ATIC eyes $2-3bn tech spend ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi governmentowned Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) plans to spend $2 to $3 billion this year in capacity expansion as it eyes a larger share of the global contract chip industry.

Chief Executive Ibrahim Ajami told Reuters on Monday ATIC’s stake in Global Foundries, a US-headquartered semiconductor manufacturing company

tion among creditors that Abu Dhabi will ride to the rescue, as it did in December when it helped Dubai avert an embarrassing default on an Islamic bond linked to property developer Nakheel.

“Abu Dhabi will come in,” said a banker at a Gulf-based creditor. “If anything goes wrong with Dubai World or Dubai, it affects it directly. It may spill over in the region as well and for three, four years who will come and invest in the Gulf?”

But others said Abu Dhabi would only show its hand if it appeared creditors would drag

and joint venture with Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD), would increase to 70 percent soon as part of its plans to take over the entire AMD stake in Global Foundries.

“ATIC’s stake now is 68 percent. It will go up to 70 percent in two to three months,” Ajami told Reuters by telephone, adding that ATIC plans to buy the rest stake through a capital call

process over a period of three to four years.

“The intent is to make sure that Global Foundries is well capitalized and AMD is a buyable player,” he said.

Global Foundries was set up in March 2009 as the world’s first full service semi-conductor foundry when AMD spun off its manufacturing arm into a new firm with ATIC.

Silicon Valley-based Global Foundries has manufacturing operations in Germany, Singapore and a planned facility in New York. ATIC filed an application in January with Germany’s cartel office to buy AMD’s stake.

The nearly $5 billion Saratoga, New York, plant will be ready in the first half of 2012 with initial capacity of 50,000

wafers per month, said Ajami.

The Dresden, Germany, plant’s capacity is 30,000 wafers per month, and seen rising to 60,000 wafers a month by 2012. “We will be doubling capacity in 24 months, spending $2-3 billion for expansion,” he said, adding the firm has cash in its balance sheet, capital and borrowings from export credit agencies. —Reuters

WASHINGTON: Ahead of a meeting with US President Barack Obama, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is stressing that his country’s financial woes are a problem the United States cannot afford to ignore.

Papandreou also says he is not looking for a handout from Washington.

Instead, Greek officials say they want to see the United States impose stricter regulations on hedge funds and currency traders that Athens believes aggravated their crisis.

In his meetings this week with Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Papandreou also is seeking to outline for the US administration the steps that Greece is taking to stem its financial bleeding and reform its economy. Austerity measures announced so far by Papandreou’s government are not going down well with the country’s work force.

Government workers said yesterday they will extend a garbage strike that has led to piles of rubbish in the streets of Athens. The strike is part of the protests by unions that oppose a 4.8 billion euros ($6.5 billion) austerity package that will hike consumer taxes and slash pay for public sector workers by up to 8 percent.

Papandreou’s trip to Washington along with his finance minister, George Papaconstantinou, comes as Greece tries to climb out of a steep economic hole that widened after Papandreou’s Socialist party came to power in October and revealed that its budget deficit was far worse than the previous government had disclosed.

Greece revised its budget

deficit to 12.7 percent of gross domestic product for 2009 from below 4 percent earlier that year.

The trip is part of a four-nation tour aimed at boosting Greece’s financial credibility and winning support for more favorable interest rates for loans. Papandreou says the solution lies with support from European Union countries.

He was in the United States as the Obama administration and the US Congress are considering major changes in the US financial system designed to prevent future activities such as those that caused a major recession in Obama’s first year in office.

Papaconstantinou told The Associated Press that he and his prime minister also were trying to illustrate for the US administration how hedge funds have made the crisis worse by betting on Greece defaulting on its loans, then seeking to make that result more likely.

On Monday, Papandreou compared currency speculators to arsonists. “It is common sense, enforced by insurance regulators, that a person is not allowed to buy fire insurance on his neighbor’s house, and then burn it down to collect on that insurance,” Papandreou said, comparing arsonists to speculators. “If Europe and America jointly step in to shore up global financial regulation, and to finally ensure enforcement of regulations, we can curtail such activities.” Papaconstantinou warned that leading economic powers have not yet implemented the changes needed to avoid another financial crisis.

“The real question that we should be asking ourselves on both sides of the ocean is, ‘Have we learned the lessons of that financial crisis?”‘ he said. —AP

22

BUSINESS

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Capintro Partners releases hedge fund investor survey

Mideast investors may boost allocations to hedge funds DUBAI: Capintro Partners, Ltd (Capintro), an investment research and placement specialist with a focus on introducing global alternative investment managers, to MENA (Middle East and North Africa) investors, released the results of its second Middle East Hedge Fund Investor Survey for 2010.

The survey which covers 66 investors from the six GCC countries, Lebanon and Jordan, showed several interesting findings which include but are not limited to: • The majority of respondents expect to increase or maintain their existing

allocations to hedge funds in 2010 in comparison to an expected decrease in 2009.

• Respondents seek improved liquidity terms compared to the previous year.

• Respondents expect that Emerging Markets, Asia (excluding Japan) and the United States will outperform in 2010.

• Respondents favored strategies for 2010 include: Global Macro, Equity Long Short, and Distressed.

“We are pleased to release the results of our second Middle East Hedge Fund Investor Survey 2010. The survey provides our investors and fund man-

agers with interesting insight into the changing behavioral trends of investors in response to the global financial crisis,” said Mahmoud Al-Khawaja, CEO of Capintro.

The Middle East Hedge Fund Investor Survey 2010 has uncovered several unique findings concerning investor behavior relating specifically to the current environment. Most notably, investors are looking to increase their allocations to hedge funds in 2010 in comparison to 2009 where they were reducing them. The questions in the 2010 survey have been adapted to reflect

VIVA Kuwait’s roaming service is now even better KUWAIT: VIVA will extend its roaming coverage to a total of 176 countries, and more than 420 operators including, but not limited to the USA, Canada, England, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, GCC, Egypt and Lebanon, allowing all our customers to make and receive calls and send and receive SMS’ on the move.

The company also now supports GPRS roaming in 75 countries with more than 123 operators, making it possible for our customers to maximize their enjoyment of data services including BlackBerry usage in locations such as the GCC, MENA, Western Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region.

Najeeb Al-Awadhi, VIVA Kuwait’s CEO, said, “This extension of our mobile Internet roaming service will provide all our customers

Najeeb Al-Awadhi

with maximum connectivity. They will now be able to enjoy Internet, WAP, MMS and other GPRS-based applications such as BlackBerry and the VIVA Data Connect Card while travelling. So, now VIVA customers will never be out of touch - even thousands of miles away from home.

“We will continue to optimize our network in order to deliver the highest coverage, reliability, and service levels in the market,” Al-Awadhi added.

This latest offering builds on VIVA’s superior performance which has the most technologically sophisticated and up to date network in the country. VIVA offers Internet speeds of up to 21.6Mbps, having implemented the most advanced third generation (3G and HSDPA) network in the state of Kuwait.

the environment investors are in and the experiences they have had with their respective fund managers.

“Capintro has successfully built upon the 2009 survey and has produced an excellent source of information for both investors and fund managers. We now use the Capintro survey as an extremely important guide for all our activities in the MENA region” said Michael Azlen, CEO of Frontier Capital Management.

Capintro will continue to publish and improve this research annually in order to better serve its investors as well as global fund managers.

Unicorn near Saudi asset management agreement RIYADH: Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank Unicorn is close to signing a “big” mandate for asset management services in Saudi Arabia, a senior executive said yesterday.

“We hope to sign it in the next days,” said Ikbal Daredia, head of the capital markets, institutional banking and treasury unit at the Manamabased bank. He declined to identify the firm or value of the deal. Asset management is a focus for Unicorn in the kingdom as well as corporate finance, he said.

Unicorn was following a couple of potential mandates in corporate financing, Daredia said, without being more specific.

The bank is also in talks with unspecified Saudi family firms to restructure debt, he said, declining to say more.

Globally, Unicorn wants to arrange Islamic bonds, or sukuk, worth between $1.5 billion and $2 billion this year, among them a sovereign bond in Asia.

“We have four to five mandates in the pipeline,” he said, declining to be more specific.

Unicorn arranged for Saudi real estate developer Dar Al-Arkan a sukuk worth $450 million in February and is also active in Asia through a separate unit. — Reuters

KEO Int’l designs Diyar Al-Kuwait’s mixed-use project in Lusail, Qatar The 70,000 m2 waterfront site will provide 130,000 m2 of office space, 30,000 m2 of retail space and 640 residential units.

Raj Patel, Design Director at KEO describes the design composition as being inspired by traditional courtyard planning and the facades as a response to the environmental conditions.

Three office towers are situated along the northern portion of the site with their address along the Main Street and step from 25 storeys at the northeastern corner to 29 storeys at the northwestern corner of the site. Elevated sky gardens are located in strategic locations of each tower to offer tenants a connection to nature and break up the mass of the building.

The retail mall along the northern portion of the site meanders from the west to the east intricately connecting the office tower lobbies with several ceremonial

drop-off courts to the office buildings and retail mall. The residential buildings for the project are situated along the eastern and southern portion of the site to provide residential units with excellent views of the water. These buildings float above 4 bedroom townhouse units which are located on the podium level.

The facades of the different components are inspired by traditional mashrabiya designs and deal with transformation of patterns, protection from the sun’s rays, and privacy. The office building creates beautifully patterned facades using various sizes of stone and glass. The retail mall has skylights and entrance volumes wrapped in a random lace-like pattern to create shadows that mimic the quality of light found in traditional souqs.

The residential buildings play with an array of stone, metal, and glass to provide maximum views of the water from the units within.

Lexus to unveil ‘CT200h’ at 2010 Geneva Motor Show To be arriving in Kuwait soon KUWAIT: Lexus announces that it will unveil the five-door hybrid “CT200h1”—the first Lexus vehicle in the premium—compact segment-at the 80th Geneva International Motor Show2, to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, for the public from March 4 to 14.

CT200h (European-market version) The CT200h was designed to open the way for a new Lexus era by combining the dynamism of sporty driving performance and styling with outstanding environmental performance, resulting in an experience that captivates driver and passenger alike.

A newly developed high-rigidity body and strong yet flexible suspension, together with Lexus Hybrid Drive, are the basis for exhilarating handling performance and the pursuit of topof-its-class3 environmental performance.

The vehicle has precise response thanks to its easily selectable Sport, Eco and other driving modes, while a sophisticated cockpit offers clear visibility and operability that enhances driving pleasure.

The Japanese launch of the CT200h is scheduled for early 2011.

In addition to the CT200h, Lexus vehicles on display at the motor show will include the “LFA”, “LS600h”, “GS450h”, “RX450h” and “IS250C”.

Vehicle Outline The newly developed high-rigidity body, along with enhanced suspension and a package with a low center of gravity, ensures superior handling and cruising stability as well as a comfortable ride. Also, carefully positioned, low-hippoint seats and other features augment driving pleasure.

The 1.8-liter Atkinson cycle combustion engine4 is combined with an electric motor to

create a hybrid system optimized for the CT200h.

The CT200h offers the standard driving mode that balances power with fuel efficiency as well as different driving modes that modify control of the hybrid system, vehicle stability control and electric power steering, thus transforming both the driving style and the cabin mood.

• Sport Mode offers direct response and quick acceleration, while Eco Mode combines emphasized fuel efficiency with comfortable driving • Gauge illumination turns red in Sport Mode and blue in Eco Mode; tachometer as well as Hybrid System Indicator light up in Eco Mode • Vehicle also equipped with EV (electric vehicle) mode for quiet operation that uses motor only A refined exterior design based on the Lexus L-finesse5 design philosophy evokes the dynamic driving performance of the vehicle.

• Wheels with wide-tread, low-profile tires create striking, road-hugging impression • Forward-positioned quarter pillars express cabin’s forward motion and compactness, while long roof extending to rear of vehicle contributes to aerodynamic performance and rearseat comfort • Lexus’ unique “arrowhead” profile6 expresses depth and air-flow, while lowered grille emphasizes resoluteness The sophisticated cockpit is designed to lessen the need for physical movement and enhance the drivers’ line of vision, and features two distinct zones: an information-filled Display Zone and a function-control Operation Zone.

The Operation Zone controls, including shift knob and Remote Touch, are within easy reach of the driver to enhance operability and create a sporty driving space.

KCCI holds talks with Italian trade delegation on economic relations KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) officials yesterday held talks with Italian trade delegation on ways to strengthen economic cooperation and trade exchanges between the two countries.

The head of the delegation and Vice President of the Italian Federal Industries said the visit aims to promote trade between Kuwait and

Italy. The delegation seriously considers the proposal submitted by KCCI to organize a special exhibition of Italian products for Kuwait consumers, adding that the number of companies represented in the delegation is up to 22 companies, mostly working in the furniture industry, kitchen.

KCCI Vice Chairman Khaled Al-Saqr said KCCI

receives annually more than 100 economic delegations from around the world, to promote trade and economic cooperation.

Kuwait’s imports from Italy amounted to KD314.1 million in 2008 while Kuwaiti exports to Italy stood at KD 6.22 million. Italy ranks 14 among the countries exporting to Kuwait and ranked fifth the in Kuwaiti exports. — KUNA

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Philippine peso Egyptian pounds

.2830000 .4340000 .391000 .2660000 .2780000 .2600000 .0045000 .0020000 .0782480 .7623490 .4020000 .0750000 .7473510 .0045000 .0500000

.2930000 .4430000 .3980000 .2740000 .2860000 .2670000 .0075000 .0035000 .0790350 .7700110 .4180000 .0790000 .7548620 .0072000 .0580000

US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian dollars Danish Kroner Swedish Kroner Australian dlr Hong Kong dlr Singapore dlr Japanese yen Indian Rs/KD Sri Lanka rupee Pakistan rupee Bangladesh taka UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi Riyal/KD Omani riyals Philippine Peso

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2875500 .4361630 .3934670 .2687840 .2800140 .0528700 .0406090 .2620290 .0370440 .2054360 .0031810 .0063540 .0025220 .0034030 .0042130 .0783270 .7631160 .4066730 .0767190 .7472550 .0062850

.2896500 .4392440 .3962460 .2706870 .2819970 .0532440 .0408970 .2638790 .0373060 .2068910 .0032030 .0063990 .0025400 .0034270 .0042430 .0788270 .7679820 .4095540 .0772080 .7520200 .0063290

US Dollar Sterling pounds Swiss Francs Saudi Riyals

TRANSFER CHEQUES RATES .2896500 .4392440 .2706870 .0772080

282.700 188.830 270.500 262.700 287.000 ASIAN COUNTRIES

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash

3.231 6.346 3.414 2.529 3.979 206.830 37.290 4.174 6.316 8.872 0.301 0.292 GCC COUNTRIES

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham

77.150 79.480 751.530 768.300 78.790 ARAB COUNTRIES

Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound Yemen Riyal Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

56.500 52.760 1.343 210.800 408.500 194.100 6.317 35.830 GOLD

20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

219.000 114.500 59.000

Bahrain Exchange Company

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer Euro Sterling Pound

Canadian dollar Turkish lire Swiss Franc Australian dollar US Dollar Buying

289.150 395.300 435.500

COUNTRY Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash

SELL CASH 266.700 768.780 4.410 284.700 567.700 15.800 53.800 167.800 56.300 398.000

SELL DRAFT 265.200 768.780 4.175 283.200

207.800 52.747 398.500

Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

37.920 6.600 0.035 0.296 0.261 3.310 410.370 0.195 88.390 47.400 4.260 206.100 2.183 50.400 750.950 3.560 6.450 79.950 77.190 207.750 41.490 2.777 439.500 41.600 273.200 6.400 9.180 217.900 78.880 289.500 1.390

37.770 6.350

408.630 0.194 88.390 3.990 204.600

271.700 8.020 78.880 289.100

1,220.620

Sterling Pound US Dollar

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. Rate per 1000 (Tran)

US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Jordanian Dinars Syrian Pounds Euro Candaian Dollars

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 437.500 289.100

289.150 3.425 6.350 2.545 4.175 6.350 78.790 77.280 768.250 52.755 449.600 0.0000314 3.930 1.550 410.500 5.750 399.400 288.400

Al Mulla Exchange Currency

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Cyprus Pound Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees

2.520 4.180 6.270 3.240 8.770 5.568 3.922

Currency 750.770 3.420 6.320 79.520 77.190 207.750 41.490 2.527 437.500

GOLD 10 Tola

Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees

289.050 278.515 443.415 400.625 268.420 708.480 766.505 78.675 79.305 77.110 407.980 52.725 6.260 3.405

US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal

*Rates are subject to change

Transfer rate 289.000 395.250 435.450 282.600 3.230 6.349 52.730 2.528 4.175 6.305 3.415 767.680 78.675 77.100

BUSINESS

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

23

Waiting for responses for BTDC, Indonesia government

$600m Indonesia project to continue, says Emaar DUBAI: Dubai’s Emaar Properties said yesterday it had provided recommendations on how it intended to proceed with development of a $600 million mixed-use project in Indonesia.

The largest-listed developer in the Arab world said it was waiting for responses from the Bali Tourism Development Corporation (BTDC) and

Sales consultant from Porsche Centre Kuwait wins regional competition KUWAIT: A sales consultant from Porsche Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company, has won the first Sales Excellence Award initiated by Porsche’s regional office in Dubai. The certificate was handed over to Mohamad El Moussawi by the Regional Operations Manager Christian Goetze. The competition

was based on the total volume of new car sales over a six month period.

Mohamad Moussawi received the first prize which is a personal invitation to a 3-day Porsche Travel Club tour from Saint Moritz, Switzerland through the Alps to Bavaria, Germany.

BYD stands high as Chinese brand ranked among top 3 China Association of Automobile Manufactures (CAAM) recently published their latest statistics on car sales for the month of Dec 2009 wherein BYD Auto hit a historic new high with monthly sales of 60,150 units. As the most popular model of BYD, F3 made a new record sale of 40,000 units in December alone and stands high among the best selling models in China. BYD ranked amongst top 3 vehicle manufactures next to Shanghai GM and Shanghai VW in terms of monthly sales which showed BYD’s strong sales momentum.

BYD is represented in Kuwait by Gulf Contracting & Trading Co BYD was officially launched in Kuwait on the 10th December 2009. The present BYD range comprises of F3, 1.6 litre 4 door Sedan available in Automatic version and F6 an ultra luxury model fully automatic 4 door sedan BYD F3 features a very stylish front grill and Chrome Head lamps. Colour coded bumpers and stylish rear view mirrors give it an elegant and graceful appearance. The car is

powered with a fuel efficient 1.6 litre Mitsubishi engine of MVV technology with 4 speed automatic transmission and power assisted steering, power sunroof, remote control locking and power windows. Stereo system featuring MP3 inputs. Parking rear sensors, Leather seats, Leather steering wheel with audio controls and wood finish interior. It is very competitively priced and a high value for money The BYD F6 a high luxury version features clean aerodynamic lines and a sleek powerful presence. Designed and engineered to perform, this is a car that raises the standards. Powered by a 2.4 Litre engine designed by Mitsubishi and equipped with triptonic transmission, the F6 is a real pleasure to drive.

Both F3 and F6 carries a 2-year unlimited kilometers warranty, two-year interest free or up to 50,000km preventive tree maintenance is offered by the Distributor in Kuwait. The BYD cars are now on display at the distributors AlRai showroom.

in Cosmic Black, with large black keyboard for comfortable typing. The NB300 is equipped with the Toshiba LifeSpace application suite that helps organize everyday projects and activities.

In addition to the Toshiba mini netbook NB300, Toshiba presents the slimmest fully featured multimedia laptop - the Qosmio F60. Designed for those who seek a high performing yet portable laptop, it comes with a striking high-gloss red cover and incredibly thin and light

The builder of the world’s tallest tower pulled out of the project, an Arabic daily had quoted an Indonesian government official as saying on Monday. The project will be retendered internationally, the official was quoted as saying. Emaar signed a deal in 2007 with Perusahaan Pengelola Aset (PPA), Indonesia’s state-owned asset manage-

ment firm, to develop the project. This was followed by a joint venture in 2008 with BTDC, according to Emaar’s website.

The developer’s shares were up 2.1 percent at 3.4 dirhams at 0638 GMT, outperforming Dubai’s bourse which edged 0.4 percent higher to 1,657 points. — Reuters

Wataniya Airways to launch Kuwait-Istanbul flight soon ANKARA: Kuwait’s Wataniya Airways will soon operate scheduled flights from Kuwait to Istanbul, the airliner’s chairman, Abdel-Salam Al-Baher said yesterday. The carrier has already obtained the required approval for the new service from the Turkish side, Al-Baher told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). He added that he had met Turkish officials on the appropriate date for launching the new flight.

The company has already completed all arrangements and preparations for operating weekly scheduled flights from Kuwait to Istanbul Ataturk Airport, but it is only waiting for the right time to go, he asserted.

But, the chairman said the new route is expected to start at the beginning of next summer. He added that the five weekly flights could be boosted later.

“Istanbul has been chosen to become the ninth destination of Wataniya Airways thanks to its distinctive geographical position as a bridge that links the Mideast and West economically,” Al-Baher pointed out.

He affirmed that the carrier will give an added value to flights between Kuwait and Istanbul, especially for tourists, holidaymakers and businessmen. He said that he had earlier told Turkish officials that the new route will be beneficial to economic and investment relations between Kuwait and Turkey. — KUNA

UAE’s Etisalat sees jump in overseas revnues by 2013 DUBAI: Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) sees its revenues from overseas operations reaching as much as 30 percent by 2013 as it continues with acquisitions and international expansion, a company executive said yesterday.

“Our target is in three years (to generate) 25-30 percent of revenues from international operations, but I think it might be faster than that,” Group Chief Strategy Officer Ali Al-Ahmed told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference.

About 10 percent of the group’s revenues currently come from its 18 overseas operations, which include Tanzania, India, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Etisalat, the Gulf Arab region’s second-largest telecommunications firm by market value, has been aggressively expanding outside the United Arab Emirates since its monopoly there was broken by Dubai-based du in 2007. — Reuters

Toshiba showcases latest products ideal for modern digital lifestyle DUBAI: Toshiba Computer Systems Division brings its latest laptop products for the modern digital lifestyle with its newly launched Toshiba mini netbook NB300 and Toshiba Qosmio F60.

The new Toshiba mini netbook NB300 offers an enhanced feature set and improved functionality with an extremely long battery life of up to 11 hours. It targets users who are looking for a secondary ultraportable computing device and boasts light weight and glossy cover

Indonesia’s government.

“Indonesia represents a target growth country for the company,” it said, adding it had submitted an expression of interest to the BTDC in accordance with a tendering procedure recently launched by Indonesia for the Mandalika development on Lombok Island.

design with premium multimedia features.

The Qosmio F60 boasts high performing graphics processing unit (GPU) with 640 GB HDD and Blu-ray rewritable drive. It supports most TV broadcasting formats and comes with an HD web camera and high end stereo speakers providing vibrant audio.

The price for the Toshiba NB300 starts from 1,600 AED and the Qosmio F60 starts at 6,100 AED.

ANKARA: Chairman of Kuwait’s Wataniya Airways Abdel-Salam Al-Baher (right) with a Turkish official in Ankara yesterday. —KUNA

24

BUSINESS GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT

KSE stocks pare losses KUWAIT: The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) reversed Monday’s losses and ended in the green yesterday with all major sectors ending on a positive note. Global General Index (GGI) added 2.82 points (+1.38 percent) during yesterday’s session to reach 207.86 points. The KSE Price Index gained 55.10 points (+0.75 percent) and closed at 7,440.70 points. Market capitalization was up KD461.22mn to reach KD33.98bn.

Market breadth During the session, 141 companies were traded.

Market breadth was skewed towards advancers as 63 equities gained versus 43 that retreated. A total of 101 stocks remained unchanged during yesterday’s trading session.

Trading activities ended on a positive note yesterday as volume of shares traded on the exchange increased by 9.59 percent to reach 509.38mn shares. In addition, value of shares traded gained by 17.73 percent to stand at KD77.87mn. The Investment Sector was the volume leader accounting for 36.52 percent of total market volume. The Services Sector was the value leader with 33.06 percent of total traded value.

International Financial Advisors saw 80.16mn shares changing hands, making it the volume leader. The same company was also the value leader, with a total traded value of KD8.69mn.

In terms of top gainers, Kuwait Metal Pipe Industries & Oil Services Company was the top gainer for the day, adding 9.62 percent and closed at KD0.285. On the other hand, Warba Insurance Company shed 9.09 percent

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Debt hopes, UAE govt support lift bourses MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS

and closed at KD0.200, making it the biggest decliner in the market yesterday.

Regarding Global’s sectoral indices, they mainly ended on a positive note except for Global Insurance Index which was the only decliner in the market. The index ended the day with a loss of 0.34 percent backed by Warba Insurance Company, which was the only decliner in the sector.

In terms of advancers, Global Food Index took the lead with a gain of 1.89 percent. Heavyweight Kuwait Foodstuff Company (Americana), the only gainer in the sector, ended the day up 2.50 percent and closed at

KD1.640.

Global Industrial Index was the second biggest gainer with a 1.76 percent gain backed by National Industries Group (Holding) ending the day up 3.95 percent and closed at KD0.395. In addition, Gulf Cables & Electrical Industries Company also aided the sector by ending with a gain of 2.35 percent to close at KD1.740.

Global’s special indices all ended on positive note with Global Large Cap Index being the top gainer. The index ended the day up 2.05 percent backed by six out the ten scrips in the index ending in the green during the trading session.

Oil news The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $77.86 a barrel on Monday, 8/3/2010, compared with $77.27 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

National Bank of Kuwait will start today distributing a 40 percent cash dividend and 10 percent bonus shares.

Shareholders of record on 07/03/2010, the general meeting date, are eligible for these dividends that will be paid via Kuwait Clearing Co. (KCC).

Updating its previous announcement, dated 16/02/2010, about approving Ahli United Bank to acquire 40

percent of Libya’s United Bank for Commerce & Investment, Kuwait Stock Exchange said the latter’s EGM had unanimously approved a capital increase.

The capital will be raised through issuing shares to AUB as a strategic partner. The meeting has also given a nod to the partnership concluded between both parties.

Accordingly, Ahli United Bank will provide administrative, technical and marketing services to improve the business activities of the Libyan bank. It also approved amending the Articles of Incorporation, as per the previously mentioned decisions.

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi’s bourse rose to a 12-week high and Dubai extended gains yesterday as hopes of an amicable Dubai World debt restructuring and positive comments from the UAE government lifted sentiment.

Other regional markets were mixed, as a blue-chips rally lifted Abu Dhabi’s index 0.7 percent to 2,795 points, its highest close since Dec. 14. Aldar Properties jumped 7.9 percent after selling assets to the government and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank climbed 5.6 percent.

The United Arab Emirates pledged its support for Dubai but said the emirate had yet to ask for federal help, which analysts said would come reluctantly and with strings attached.

“Government intervention is playing a very strong role in improving sentiment in the region,” said Vyas Jayabhanu, head of investments at Al Dhafra Financial Broker in Dubai.

In Dubai, banking and real estate stocks rallied further, offsetting a 8.8 percent drop in shares of National Central Cooling Co (Tabreed), which fell after a $354 million bailout from the Abu Dhabi government.

“We are hoping for an amicable settlement to the restructuring which most probably will take place.

That’s going to be good for the foreign investors too,” Jayabhanu said.

Dubai Financial Market led bluechip gainers, rising

3.3 percent. Emirates NBD rose 2.1 percent and Emaar Properties rose 1.8 percent.

“We are seeing strong turnover in Dubai markets and investor concentration on bluechip stocks which were lagging earlier,” said Marwan Shurrab, vicepresident and chief trader at Gulfmena Alternative Investments.

Saudi Arabia’s index closed down for the second straight session, bucking a positive trend in the region as market heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) fell 0.5 percent.

The index fell 0.4 percent to 6,530 points.

In Kuwait, a 3.1 percent rally in telecom operator Zain and a gain in banking stocks helped the index end a two-day losing streak.

The index rose 0.8 percent to 7,441 points.

“Zain represents about 20 percent of the index so any move in the stock drives the index higher. We are positive on the entire market especially after the Zain announcement,” said Essa Al-Hasawi, dealer at Noor Financial Investment Co. The telecom operator is in exclusive talks to sell some of its African assets to India’s Bharti.

Oman’s index closed down for a second day as National Bank of Oman fell 5.5 percent.

“Market sentiment remains mixed and stockspecific action is seen,” said Ajeev Gopinath, assistant vice president for asset

management at Gulf Baader Capital Markets.

Egypt’s main index ended 1.2 percent lower, weakened by concerns about the health of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, 81, after surgery at the weekend, traders said.

Qatar’s index ended flat at 6,855 points as a 1.6 percent rise in Commercial Bank of Qatar was offset by drop in other banking stocks including Al-Khaliji Bank and Doha Bank Ltd. HIGHLIGHTS ABU DHABI The benchmark rose 0.7 percent to 2,795 points.

DUBAI The index rose 0.8 percent to 1,663 points.

EGYPT The index fell 1.2 percent to 6,691 points.

SAUDI ARABIA The measure fell 0.4 percent to 6,530 points.

KUWAIT The measure rose 0.8 percent to 7,441 points.

QATAR The index inched up 0.2 points to 6,855 points.

OMAN The benchmark fell 0.5 percent to 6,638 points.

BAHRAIN The index eases 0.1 percent to 1,504 points.

— Reuters

BUSINESS

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

25

Demand for oil derivatives ‘uncertain’

Arab refining projects face delay or scrapping: OAPEC Investors ‘Watch & Wait’ Markaz GCC market review KUWAIT: GCC markets saw gains in February, with a high of 14% in Kuwait’s Weighted Index on account of trading up in Blue Chips like Zain and NIG says the recent report published by Kuwait Financial Center “ Markaz”. In Kuwait, the story revolved around the $9 bn sale of Zain’s African assets to India’s Bharti Airtel which pushed up trading in the stock as well as other Kuwait blue-chips like NBK, KFH and NIG. In the UAE, the Dubai World debt restructuring process continued to dominate headlines although investors have calmed somewhat in their responses to news concerning the debt plan. MSCI GCC total return index posted a monthly gain of 4.77% in February, bringing the YTD gain to 6%.

Volume traded in the GCC was down 19% in February while Value Traded contracted 12% to $23.6 bn. Kuwait’s value traded expanded 37% to $5.75 bn. Overall volatility in the GCC was flat as per the Markaz Volatility Index; the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar saw their volatility decline by 25% to 40% in February.

Global markets review Global markets showed mild returns as sovereign debt woes in Greece took center stage.

MSCI World gained 1% in February following a 4% loss in January, bringing the YTD loss to 3%.

On a market cap weighted basis, MSCI UK contributed 0.5% to the loss while MSCI France, MSCI Germany and MSCI Spain contributed losses of 0.4% each.

Global investors turned their eyes to Greece as the European Union grappled with the possibility of its first ever sovereign bailout.

Concerns about Greece’s ability to finance its significant fiscal deficit came to a head in lateJanuary, resulting in the Greek-German spread (which measures the premium that investors demand when buying Greek debt over German bonds) spiking 396 basis points, the highest level since the euro’s inception. European Union members have demanded fiscal austerity from Greece in exchange for a possible $34 bn bailout.

As a result, the Greek government has spent the last two months slashing its fiscal budget deficit by up to $6.6 bn by hiking sales taxes and cutting wages and bonus payments. These measures, coupled with firm statements of support

by EU members, have allayed investor concerns somewhat; despite Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, tossing around words such as “catastrophe” and budget “landmines”.

Economic recovery seems to be strengthening sequentially, with analyst consensus being that the recession ended in June of last year.

The US inflation rate is at 2.6%, which is below average for this stage of recovery. The consensus seems to be that the US will go through a “W” shaped recovery, which should keep inflationary fears at bay. US real GDP grew at a 5.9% annual rate in 4Q09 boosted by slower inventory liquidation. However, economists have been quick to point out that inventory-led GDP growth is a “cyclical phenomenon” which normally follows an economic downturn and is therefore unsustainable, leading to slightly slower growth figures expected in the coming quarter.

NEW DELHI: President and Managing Director Ford India Michael Boneham (left) poses with Group Vice-President Ford Motor Company and President, Ford Asia Pacific and Africa Joe Hinrichsat the launch of the Ford Figo in New Delhi yesterday. Auto giant Ford launched its bid to enter India’s lucrative small car market, unveiling a brand new model to compete with international rivals from General Motors, Volkswagen and Hyundai. — AFP

Inmarsat earnings rise on conflict, disaster demand LONDON: Satellite communications firm Inmarsat posted an 18 percent jump in fourth-quarter earnings on rising demand from conflicts and disaster zones, and said it expects solid growth in 2010.

Chief Executive Andrew Sukawaty also said demand in the group’s main shipping market remained strong, particularly for broadband services, and from smaller vessels.

“We finished the year strongly and continue to see good trading conditions in all our markets,” he told reporters in a conference call yesterday.

“Some of the natural disasters and consequent humanitarian responses combined with the continuing engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan have called heavily on satellite communications.”

The company, whose satellites provide phone and broadband services to ships, aircraft and remote locations worldwide, reported fourth-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of $119.7 million on revenue up 13 percent at $181.5 million.

Sukawaty said entry into the handheld satellite phone voice

market-on track for a June launch-would help deliver solid revenue growth in 2010.

Shares in Inmarsat, which have risen more than 80 percent in the last 12 months, touching a near five-year high of 786.5 pence on Friday, were 2.2 percent lower at 758 pence in light trade by 1042 GMT. Credit Suisse analyst Paul Sidney said revenue growth in company’s land division, up 8 percent in the fourth quarter from 4 percent in the third, was mainly a result of troop redeployments to Afghanistan, while maritime growth also accelerated.

“Inmarsat reported another good quarter in Q409, with accelerating underlying revenue growth in the core business and a 3 percent consolidated EBITDA beat,” he said in a note.

Inmarsat has developed mobile services for use on commercial airlines but take-up of the service has been hampered by the recession. “The slowdown in global travel hit the airline industry particularly hard,” Sukawaty said. “I expect in 2011, 2012 we’ll start to see some material revenues.”

However, Sukawty said the company could benefit if US

regulators relaxed the rules governing spectrum use. At the moment, satellite operators’ spectrum can only be used for hybrid satellite-terrestrial services, but the chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission recently said the FCC needed to unleash more spectrum.

“With the advent of smartphones and the iPhone, huge demand has been put on networks and the hunt for additional spectrum to support those demands has increased in importance,” Sukawaty said.

“I can say for sure the interest (in Inmarsat’s spectrum) has increased, particularly since the Chairman of the FCC’s speech two weeks ago.”

The fourth-quarter helped the group post 4.2 percent higher total group revenue for the year of $1.04 billion, while earnings were up 11.9 percent at $594.2 million.

Analysts expected fourthquarter revenue of $173.3 million and EBITDA of $112.3 million, according to a companysupplied consensus of 12 analysts. It increased its full-year dividend by 10 percent to 33.36 cents. — Reuters

KUWAIT: New oil refinery building and development projects in several Arab countries are locked in obstacles and challenges that could lead to delay or cancellation, the OAPEC said here yesterday.

Such challenges primarily involve uncertainty over future rates of demand for oil derivatives at global markets, something which complicates efforts to estimate the economic risks of investment projects, the Kuwait-based

Organization of the Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) said in its monthly report.

The second challenge is the fluctuation of construction material costs, especially during the period leading up to the global financial crisis (mid-2008), resulting in a major change in initial estimates of project costs, it added. The third challenge is pressure arising from environmental protection laws that some governments and international

environmental organizations seek to enact, given that it usually takes several years to consider the negative impacts of refineries on environment in some countries, the Arab oil cartel said. In spite of great efforts exerted by those who are in charge of Arab refining industry, the pace of development is very slow, it said, pointing out that this industry requires much dynamics and taking the right decision at the right time.

For long decades now, the Arab oil producing countries have been attaching much attention to oil refining industry thanks to its strategic role in the maximization of the added value of oil by exporting its as products on the one hand and fulfilling growing local demand for oil derivatives on the other hand, the organization noted. Oil refining industry began in Arab countries in 1913 when the first Arab oil refinery was opened in Egypt. — KUNA

Toyota hits back at claims of electronic defects LOS ANGELES: Toyota sought yesterday to dispel fears about the safety of its electronics, but was put on the defensive when a Prius went speeding out of control along a California highway.

The Japanese automaker insisted that mechanical fixes it is applying to more than eight million vehicles recalled worldwide are sufficient and that its tests are rigorous.

It empaneled engineers from Stanford University and a top consulting firm to dismiss as “unrealistic” and contrived a study showing crossed wires could send a false signal that would cause Toyota cars to speed out of control. David Gilbert, a professor of automotive technology at Southern Illinois University, told a US congressional investigation last month that some Toyota and Lexus vehicles may have an electronics design flaw.

Toyota dismissed his findings, saying he had re-engineered and rewired the signals from the accelerator pedal in order to create the flaw. “If an electrical system is re-engineered and rewired it’s not surprising that subsequent testing of the system may cause unrealistic results,” Toyota spokesman Mike Michaels told reporters. US regulators said last week that they had received more than 60 complaints from Toyota owners reporting sudden unintended acceleration despite having their recalled vehicle repaired by a Toyota dealer.

Toyota is in the process of investigating those complaints and has found that some of the incidents were a result of incomplete repairs, Michaels told reporters.

“We remain confident that if the modifications to the vehicle are deployed and done properly that they are effective,” he said. Yet just hours after Toyota’s trenchant criticism of Gilbert’s findings, the company was grappling with another public relations nightmare after a runaway Prius drama in California.

James Sikes, 61, was driving on the busy Interstate 8 freeway outside San Diego when he noticed his car was starting to accelerate of its own accord, the California Highway Patrol said.

The terrified motorist was helpless as the car raced along the road at speeds of more than 90 miles (145 kilometers) per hour. Tragedy was only averted after Sikes was able to call police, and officers using a loudspeaker talked the driver through the process of slowing down by using his emergency brake and then turning off the engine.

“I was on the brakes pretty healthy,” Sikes told NBC San Diego.

“It wasn’t stopping, it wasn’t doing anything to it, and just kept speeding up.” Toyota later issued a statement saying a technical specialist had been sent to San Diego “to investigate the report and offer assistance.”

The drama was a chilling echo of the tragic accident last August where off-duty California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor and three family members were killed when the accelerator of the Lexus ES350 they were in got stuck.

Minutes later, the Toyota-made vehicle slammed into the back of a sport utility vehicle at about 100 miles per hour, veered off the freeway, overturned and burst into flames. All four family members died.

Meanwhile, the chairman of a congressional committee sent a letter Monday to Toyota North America President Yoshimi Inaba, ordering the company to turn over a memo in which senior employees reportedly flagged their concerns about the safety of Toyota cars. “If senior Toyota officials ignored important safety concerns raised by their own employees, it calls into question Toyota’s corporate priorities and its commitment to safety,” wrote Edolphus Towns, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in a statement. Towns has given Toyota until Friday to respond. — AFP

NEW YORK: Overhead view of a new trading booth for Cuttone & Company Monday on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Yesterday was the first day of operation for the new booth. — AFP

Dubai utility DEWA to test market with $1.5bn bond Dubai World’s worries raise debt pricing DUBAI: Dubai’s state-owned utility aims to complete a $1.5 billion bond issue in early April, marking the emirate’s first dip into international markets since the start of its debt crisis last year.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) plans a roadshow this month for its bond issuance, which was abandoned after state-owned conglomerate Dubai World said in November it would restructure about $26 billion of its debts.

“We hope to finalize it by the first week of April,” Chief Executive Saeed Mohammed al Tayer told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference.

Asked whether he expected a good response, he said: “Definitely ... but it is a difficult time for everybody everywhere.” The Dubai World debt crisis sent shockwaves through international markets, raising concerns about credit quality in the emirate, and hiked the pricing burden on potential issuers.

The state-owned firm is expected to propose a

Egypt utility to sell bonds totaling $912m next week CAIRO: The Egyptian government’s New Urban Communities Authority will begin selling bonds worth 5 billion Egyptian pounds ($912 million) next week, a Finance Ministry official said yesterday.

The offering will be the first since Egypt changed its laws in December to allow utilities and other quasigovernment organizations issue bonds directly, a move designed to expand the country’s debt market.

The sale will be open for about 10 days after the official announcement is published, said Mohamed Assaad, public debt adviser to the finance minister.

“It should be published in the newspaper on Sunday or by Monday at the latest,” Assaad told Reuters.

Egypt said on Friday it also planned to tap the Eurobond market for $1 billion-1.5 billion within weeks, its first such issue since 2007.

The New Urban Communities bonds will be issued in two tranches, with the first of 2.5 billion pounds maturing in 13 months and a second issue of 2.5 billion pounds maturing in five years. They have not yet been priced, Assaad said.

Lead managers are Egypt’s Commercial International Bank and HSBC Egypt, a subsidiary of HSBC.

By allowing state utilities to issue bonds, the government hopes it will be easier for it to finance infrastructure and other projects.

The New Urban Communities Authority is responsible for developing satellite cities, mainly around Cairo.

In May, the authority securitised 4.65 billion Egyptian pounds of instalments for land it had sold, with the notes maturing in 2017. As quasi-government bodies were not allowed to issue bonds at the time, the authority was forced to raise the funds through a special vehicle established for that purpose. — Reuters

SHANGHAI: An investor looks at a stock price monitor at a private securities company yesterday in Shanghai. Chinese shares gained for a third day yesterday on expectations the government might allow the currency to rise in value. — AP

plan to creditors within weeks. “It will be difficult to access the market competitively without additional information or resolution of Dubai World’s restructuring,” said Mohieddine Kronfol, managing director at Algebra Capital in Dubai.

“The pricing is obviously going to be the criterion,” he added.

Earlier yesterday, DEWA’s chairman told Reuters the utility was working “to get the best rate” and added the bond would be used to cover short-term financing. Chief Executive Tayer said the funds would be used for debt repayment and expansion purposes.

“It is not only for repayment but also for projects. There is growth in Dubai,” he said. The utility of the cash-strapped emirate said in January it wanted to boost private sector involvement in its power and water sector to save costs.

The move marks a policy change for the government, which owns and operates all Dubai’s power plants. — Reuters

India’s Eros to spend $300m over 3 years ABU DHABI: Indian movie distributor Eros International Plc plans to invest $300 million over three years to tap growing demand for Bollywood films at home and overseas, its executive chairman said yesterday.

The AIM-listed company, which produced 80 films last year, is targeting 200 films annually over the next five years and aims to expand its music and publishing businesses too, Kishore Lulla said. “India, the Middle East, the UK and many emerging markets are huge for us and we see these growing fast. We will invest, we will bring more films,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Media Summit.

A rising middle class will spur demand for cinemas in India, where 50,000 screens will be opened over five to 10 years from the present 13,000 and annual ticket sales are projected to climb to 5 billion from 3.9 billion, he said.

Also, the television industry is seeing compound annual growth of about 30 percent along with the fast-growing business of DVDs, online and mobile entertainment. “All these factors will contribute to our growth. The media in India will be what telecoms was 10 years ago,” he said.

Eros earned $100 million before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in fiscal 2008-2009, with 50 percent coming from India and the rest overseas.

Lulla expects 15 to 20 percent growth in EBIDTA in fiscal 2009-2010, with results due out next month. Eros is also planning to raise its presence among the 300 million who live in the Middle East, 50 percent of which is aged below 25 years.

“In the last five years growth is up by 300 percent here. We can see that growing more not because the content is consumed by south Asians, but also by the local population,” he said.

Eros is also increasingly dubbing Indian films into Arabic and other languages, eyeing the online potential as well, he said.

The firm has 2,000 movies in its library, generating 30 percent of its total revenue, and dubs Indian movies into 27 languages.

Last month Eros’s music unit tied up with EMI Music Publishing to tap distribution opportunities for their songs and songwriters and expand into new markets. — Reuters

26

BUSINESS

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Cost overruns, delays hurt plane maker

EADS makes loss but claims outlook visibility improving PARIS: Airbus parent company EADS NV reported yesterday that spiraling costs on its military transport plane and its A380 superjumbo led to losses in the fourth quarter and full year but said its outlook visibility was improving. Paris-based European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co said it lost 1.05

billion euros ($1.44 billion) in the three months to December after booking charges of 1.6 billion euros for the A400M military project and 240 million euros for the A380 in the period. The loss compares to a 490 million net profit a year earlier.

In the full year, the net loss of 763 million euros compares to a net profit of 1.57 billion euros in 2008. EADS has long been grappling with cost overruns and delays to its troubled military program and the A380, both of which are years late. In 2007, delays to the programs also led to a full year net loss.

EADS reached a last-ditch agreement with customer nations on Friday, who agreed to inject another 3.5 billion euros (nearly $4.8 billion) into the A400M project, allowing it to continue.

In total, EADS has taken provisions of 4.2 billion euros for the A400M, for which first delivery is scheduled for 2013. Canceling the project would have cost EADS 5.7 billion euros. EADS CEO Louis Gallois, who had threatened to halt the program if no deal was reached, said in a statement that the project is “now back on track.” But problems remain with the hulking A380, of which 26 are already flying.

Chief Financial Officer Hans Peter Ring said Airbus is “continuing to struggle with the ramp up” and will be losing money on the program for at least another PARIS: European industry giant EADS chief executive officer Louis Gallois (left) and chief financial officer two to three years. Airbus plans Hans Peter Ring (right) are seen before the presentation of the company yearly results in Paris yesterday. —AP to deliver 20 superjumbos this year. Yesterday, EADS shares were down 5.1 percent at 15.08 euros in Paris midday trade.

Christophe Menard, an analyst with European investment bank Bryan, Garnier & Co., said investors are “worried about the A380 and the fact that difficulties continue in 2010.” He also said underlying earnings disappointed because of cost inflation.

The company said it won’t pay a dividend this year to shareBEIJING: An official in charge of China’s for- look for investment. China is the biggest for- huge trade surplus and exchange rate conholders, including the French eign reserves tried to ease American concern eign owner of US government debt and some trols that require the central bank to buy up government and Daimler AG, yesterday about the political impact of American commentators have suggested it foreign currency that flows into the country because of the loss.

Beijing’s huge holdings of US government might abruptly sell Treasurys to express to maintain the stability of its currency, the EADS’ defense division sufanger over Tibet, Taiwan or other strains. yuan. Preliminary estimates show last year’s debt. fered a setback Monday after “This is a purely market-driven invest- Beijing has never publicly threatened such a current account surplus — the broadest meaAmerican partner Northrup ment behavior. I would hope not to see this move, which would be expensive and could sure of trade, taking into account investment Grumman withdrew from a $35 matter politicized,” the chief foreign hurt China by causing problems in a key flows as well — was $284.1 billion, according billion contract to build refueling exchange regulator, Yi Gang, said at a news export market. China’s holdings of Treasury to a report distributed at Yi’s news confertankers for the Air Force, saying securities stood at $894.8 billion at the end of ence. Yi said Beijing is studying the possibilconference. the Pentagon’s guidelines favor He was responding to a question about December, according to the US Treasury. An ity of expanding its sovereign wealth fund, Boeing. The duo were originally concerns among some American lawmakers earlier report showed China dropping behind the China Investment Corp, which was creatawarded the contract, but it was that Beijing’s holdings of US debt pose a Japan as second-biggest Treasury owner, but ed in 2007 with $200 billion to earn better overturned on appeal. political threat to the United States. “China the Treasury said that did not include pur- returns by making commercial investments.

In a statement yesterday, That contradicted earlier reports by the is a responsible investor and we fully believe chases in such places as Britain.

German Economy Minister The Treasury market is “very important” Chinese press that the fund was about to such investments can be mutually benefiRainer Bruederle said he was cial,” Yi said. China’s $2.4 trillion in foreign to Beijing, said Yi, a deputy central bank gov- receive up to $250 billion. “We are still disappointed by the developreserves are the world’s largest and their ernor and director general of the State studying this matter and no decision has been ments in the US and warned the management is closely watched by financial Administration of Foreign Exchange. He said made yet,” Yi said. He gave no details of situation had “signs of protecmarkets, especially as governments raise SAFE buys and sells Treasurys nearly every other possible changes in the fund or its tionism.” “The free market money for stimulus and struggling companies day. China’s reserves are a function of its investments. —AP should not be unilaterally restricted,” he said.

Gallois said yesterday that EADS won’t bid alone, and maintained that the A330 plane makes a better tanker than the Boeing alternative. “We deeply regret that the US Air Force will not get the best available airplane,” he told journalists in Paris.

He said the decision doesn’t change EADS’ intention to boost its presence on the American defense market. EADS has said it wants to boost defense as a share of overall business, making it less reliant on the cyclical airlines business, which currently accounts for around two-thirds of its revenue.

It also wants to be more present in the dollar zone to avoid currency fluctuations, which hurt profits by €2.5 billion in 2009 compared to 2008, EADS said. Airbus sells its planes in dollars, but most of its costs are in euros. Gallois has said that every 10-cent drop in the dollar cuts €1 billion from earnings.

Revenue fell 1 percent in 2009 to €42.82 billion, a figure EADS expects to remain roughly stable in 2010. “We are getting better NECKARSLUM, Germany: An Audi A 6 is tested in the quality control department of the Audi production site visibility,” Gallois said, allowing in Neckarsulm, southern Germany. German carmaker Audi AG says its 2009 net income fell 39 percent to euro Airbus to plan a ramp up in pro1.35 billion ($1.8 billion) as the economic downturn cut demand for its cars. —AP duction of its A320 single aisle plane in December.

Airbus will go back up to the pre-crisis production rate of 36 planes per month, from 34.

EADS called the economy this FRANKFURT: Audi AG saw 932,260 cars in 2009 from just in restoring the pattern of launch its first premium vehicle year “improving but still growth seen in recent years as in the small car class called the 2009 net income fall 39 percent over 1 million in 2008. volatile.” “It’s not euphoria,” Audi is a unit of Europe’s early as 2010.” Audi said it will Audi A1, and that the overall to 1.35 billion euros ($1.8 bilsaid Gallois. But pricing should lion) as the economic downturn largest carmaker Volkswagen boost its deliveries as well as model range will expand. improve from “bottom of the cut demand for its cars, the AG. Audi said despite an revenue in 2010 and 2011. With German revenue fell 8 percent swimming pool” levels in 2009, German automaker said yester- expected slight increase in productivity improvements and in 2009 to nearly 9 billion euros he said. demand for cars in 2010, the strict cost management, the for Audi, while the rest of day.

Airbus expects to deliver the Audi, based in Ingolstadt, European market will stagnate company should also see an Europe saw revenue fall 21 persame number of aircraft this year deteriorate further. improvement in operating prof- cent to €13.2 billion. Europe earned €2.2 billion in 2008. The or as in 2009 and capture between company did not break out However, the company should it, Audi said in its report. benefited from government pro250 and 300 new gross orders. fourth quarter figures. Audi see gains from the emerging “Systematic renewal and expan- grams during the downturn in Earnings before interest and said revenue fell 13 percent to markets of India and its most sion of the product portfolio which new car sales were subsitaxes, or EBIT, in 2010 will be nearly 30 billion euros from 34.2 important foreign market, remain an exceptionally impor- dized. Those programs are set around €1 billion, the company tant aspect,” the company said. to end this year or already have billion euros in 2008. Total vehi- China, it said. said. —AP Audi said it “should succeed As a result, Audi said it will soon finished. —AP cle production fell 9.4 percent to

US assets should not be politicized: China

Audi ’09 net income down 39% to $1.8bn

JOHANNESBURG: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn gestures as he addresses students and academics at The University, Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg yesterday. —AFP

IMF head says may be yuan changes in coming months JOHANNESBURG: China’s yuan is still “very much undervalued”, the head of the International Monetary Fund said yesterday, although he added that a focus on domestic growth could lead to changes “in the coming months”.

“The crisis has been the trigger for the Chinese economy to move to a more traditional model of growth,” IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said during a lecture in Johannesburg.

“What goes with this kind of policy is a revaluation of the Chinese currency,” he said. “We may get changes in the coming months.”

The yuan has been locked in place against the dollar for nearly two years, as Beijing has effectively re-pegged its exchange rate to buffer China’s economy against the ravages of the global financial crisis.

Strauss-Kahn also described increased savings rates by American households since the financial crisis as a “huge change in the global economy” that would start to address the structural imbalances between Asia and the United States.

However, he said the Chinese and other emerging market consumers were still a long way off being the engine of world growth to replace the United States.

“You are not going to replace the American consumer with the Asian consumer just in a few weeks,” he said. “You don’t change the route of a big ship like this one overnight.”

As a result, the world economy was now in uncharted territory, he said.

“We’re not going back to business as usual,” he said. “The growth model of the global economy is basically unknown.” —Reuters

UK trade gap hits widest since August 2008 in Jan LONDON: Britain’s goods trade deficit with the rest of the world unexpectedly widened in January to its biggest since August 2008, raising further concerns about the strength of the country’s broader economic recovery.

The Office for National Statistics said yesterday that after the sharpest drop in exports in over three years, Britain’s goods trade gap widened to 7.987 billion pounds ($11.97 billion) from 7.010 billion in December, and well above the 7 billion forecast by economists.

The figures are likely to further raise policymakers’ concern that the sharp fall in sterling over the past two years has not led to the expected boost in exports-a point reiterated by Bank of England policymaker Kate Barker on Monday.

“It’s a pretty disappointing number,” said Alan Clarke, economist at BNP Paribas.

“Trade is one area where people have been expecting an improvement but it doesn’t

seem to be happening. This is bad news for first quarter gross domestic product.”

Gilt futures and sterling were little moved after the data.

The deterioration in the global trade balance was a result of a 6.9 percent fall in exports, the biggest fall since July 2006. Imports were down just 1.6 percent.

The goods trade gap with non-EU countries also widened unexpectedly to 4.834 billion pounds from 3.428 billion, the biggest deficit since January 2009.Exports to non-EU countries suffered their sharpest fall since January 2009, dropping by 12.5 percent on the month, while imports rose by 1.6 percent.

January was an unusually icy month in Britain, which may have disrupted the transport of goods for export to ports, though the ONS said that Tuesday’s data in itself did not provide firm evidence of that.

The ONS said there was a broadbased fall in exports, with

chemicals exports losing their recent strength. Car imports fell by 215 million pounds, the biggest drop since November 2008, after rising for most of the previous six months due to a government scrappage incentive for old cars.

The weak trade figures contrast with business surveys, which in recent months have shown a strong increase in export orders, giving hope that an improvement in the trade balance may yet appear.

Policymakers have identified net exports as an important driver for future UK growth, as consumer and government spending are expected to remain muted due to high debt levels in both the household and public sector.

“There is clearly a big question mark over whether any improvement in net trade will come through quickly or strongly enough to offset the weakness in domestic demand,” said Vicky Redwood, economist at Capital Economics. —Reuters

China passenger car sales up 55% in Feb SHANGHAI: China’s passenger car sales climbed 55 percent from a year earlier in Feburary, despite a long national holiday, on strong demand for smaller cars and sport utility vehicles, an industry group reported yesterday. Sales of cars, commercial vehicles and SUVs rose to 942,900 units, while sales of all vehicles including trucks and buses rose 46 percent year-on-year to 1.21 million, according to the government-affiliated China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Unlike the US, China’s auto industry does not release monthly sales data adjusted for annual rates. US auto sales rose 13 percent from a year earlier to an annualized rate of 10.4 million, according to Autodata Corp. Tax cuts and subsidies for small-car purchases pushed demand

sharply higher last year, with total vehicle sales leaping 45 percent to 13.6 million, making China the world’s biggest auto market, as American car sales languished.

China appears to have kept that lead so far in 2010, though February is traditionally a slow month for auto sales in both markets. The Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February kept China’s sales well below the 1.1 million passenger cars sold in January, when sales more than doubled from a year earlier.

Analysts have forecast sales growth to slow this year. Some of the strong growth seen in January was from orders booked late last year, said An Yun, a researcher at Changxin Fund in Shanghai. —AP

TECHNOLOGY

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

27

S Korea unveils ‘recharging road’ for eco-friendly buses ‘Of all the world’s electric vehicles, this is the most economical system’

TOKYO: Models display a new Sony 3D television yesterday. — AFP

Sony set to unveil 3D TVs in Japan TOKYO: Sony said yesterday it would start selling 3D televisions in Japan in June, aiming to ride a new wave of interest in the technology thanks to recent movies such as sci-fi blockbuster “Avatar”. The Japanese giant said its first 3D 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. Viewers will wear electronic glasses that open and close rapidly in time with images designed for the right and left eye, creating a three-dimensional effect.

Sony said its overall television business would shift into high gear in the fiscal year to March 2011, targeting sales of more than 25 million liquid crystal display TVs-up two thirds from its forecast for this year. It aims for 10 percent of the sets to be capable of viewing 3D images. The next 12 months are “really a year when we think we can attack,” Yoshihisa Ishida, senior vice president in charge of Sony’s home entertainment business, said at a press conference.

Sony has been caught off guard in recent years by innovative new products such as Apple’s iPod and Nintendo’s Wii, but it has high hopes for 3D televisions. The TVs are key to chief executive Howard Stringer’s goal of converging Sony’s strengths in electronics, such as Bravia televisions and PlayStation game consoles, and content generated by its movie studio and music label.

Blockbusters such as James Cameron’s science fiction 3D opus “Avatar” have fuelled the buzz around images that appear to jump out of the screen.

But many experts think consumers are unlikely to rush to buy the premium-priced 3D TVs due to the need for special glasses and because many people have already upgraded to high-definition sets in recent years. Sony is lagging behind some rivals. Panasonic plans to launch a 3D TV in the United States today, ahead of its rollout in Japan, as it goes head-to-head with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics. Sony has not yet announced a launch date for 3D TVs outside Japan. — AFP

SEOUL: South Korean researchers yesterday launched an environmentally friendly public transport system using a “recharging road”-with a vehicle sucking power magnetically from buried electric strips. The Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV), towing three buses, went into service at an amusement park in southern Seoul. If the prototype proves successful, there are plans to try it out on a bus route in the capital.

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), which developed the system, says OLEV needs a battery only one-fifth the size of conventional electric vehicles and eliminates the need for major recharging.

It also avoids the need for overhead wires used to power conventional trams or trolley buses. Guests including Seoul mayor Oh Se-Hoon and KAIST president Suh Nam-Pyo were given a 2.2-kilometre (1.4-mile) ride yesterday around the zoo at Seoul Grand Park. Recharging strips have been installed in four segments totaling some 400 meters along the route. Pick-up equipment underneath OLEV collects power through non-contact magnetic charging from strips buried under the road surface. It then distributes the power either to drive the vehicle or for battery storage.

If the system is used on Seoul bus routes, underground power lines would have to be installed on only 20 percent of the route at places like bus stops, parking places and intersections, KAIST said in a statement. The technology was first developed in a project involving the University of California (Berkeley) but KAIST said that produced no tangible results. The state-funded institute says it has applied for more than 120 patents in connection with OLEV, which it describes as safe, clean and economical.

“Of all the world’s electric vehicles, this is the most economical system,” Suh told reporters, adding the operating cost is only about one-third of ordinary electric vehicles. “The potential for application (of this technology to public transport systems) is limitless. I dare say this is one of the most significant

GWACHEON: Cameramen take video footage on the Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV), towing three carriages, at an amusement park yesterday. — AFP technical gains in the 21st century,” Suh said. Suh said KAIST plans to use OLEVs to shuttle delegates at the G20 summit which Seoul will host in November.

Project director Cho Song-Ho said technical breakthroughs included an improved way of transmitting power to the pickup device on the vehicle chassis.

Cho said a gap of at least 11 centimeters (4.4 inches) was needed to take account of bumpy roads, while OLEV can suck power across a gap of up to 25 cm.

Given a normal gap, the vehicle can turn more than 70 percent of the charge into energy for the vehicle, he said. — AFP

IBM creates eco plastic from plants SAN FRANCISCO: IBM researchers yesterday said they have discovered a way to make Earth-friendly plastic from plants that could replace petroleumbased products tough on the environment. The breakthrough promises biodegradable plastics made in a way that saves on energy, according to Chandrasekhar “Spike” Narayan, a manager of science and technology at IBM’s Almaden Research Center in Northern California. Almaden and Stanford University researchers said the discovery could herald an era of sustainability for a plastics industry rife with seemingly eternal products notorious for cramming landfills and littering the planet.

“This discovery and new approach using organic catalysts could lead to welldefined, biodegradable molecules made from renewable resources in an environmentally responsible way,” IBM said in a release. The “green chemistry” breakthrough using “organic catalysts” results in plastics that could be repeatedly recycled, instead of only once as is the case with petroleum-based plastic made using metal oxide catalysts. Plant plastics could also be made “biocompatible” to improve the targeting of drugs in bodies, such as cancer medicines aimed at killing cancer cells but sparing healthy ones, according to IBM. “We’re exploring new methods of applying technology and our expertise in materials science to creating a sustainable, environmentally sound future,” said Almaden lab research director Josephine Cheng. IBM is working with scientists at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia to put the discovery to work in the recycling of plastics used in food and beverage containers. “We are really starting to scratch the surface of what we can do with it,” Narayan said of the process that has been demonstrated in the lab.

Plant plastics for things such as car parts could be made at lower costs than petroleum-based plastics while materials of soda bottle quality are “competitive,” according to Narayan. Details of the work are in a paper published this week in the American Chemical Society journal Macromolecules. — AFP

technology briefs 2K mobster videogame gets old Playboy touch SAN FRANCISCO: 2K Games on Monday announced a deal with Playboy to use some of the iconic magazine’s vintage covers and centerfold photos to set the mood in its “Mafia II’ videogame. “While most mob-inspired games’ emphasis is solely on action, ‘Mafia II’ features a deep and compelling narrative that is embellished with a sophisticated, era-evoking atmosphere,” said 2K president Christoph Hartmann. “In partnering with Playboy, we are able to add a unique element of authenticity to the game by using vintage images from the magazine that illustrate the power of Playboy’s influence on the attitudes and culture of that generation.” 2K will weave cover and centerfold shots into the mobster videogame, which plays out in a fictional US city of Empire Bay, described as combining aspects of New York City and San Francisco.

The game is set in a “dark and unforgiving world of the Mafia” in the 1940s and 1950s, according to 2K. As players guide characters through the game they will be able to collect virtual versions of Playboy, a magazine for men that Hugh Hefner founded in late 1953.

“For more than 55 years, Playboy has been a part of America’s pop culture landscape, engaging its readers with insightful features, interviews and fashion spreads, as well as pictorials of some of the world’s most beautiful women,” said Playboy editorial director Jimmy Jellinek. “Mafia II is set when Playboy first came into vogue and features characters whose style and attitudes mirror content from our early issues.” The mobster videogame sequel by 2K is slated for release in the second half of this year.

Google tests TV search service

Tom Skwerski (left) of the Field Museum, and Daniel C Fisher, curator of paleontology at the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, position the remains of a 42,000-yearold wooly mammoth baby for a three-dimensional X-ray. — MCT

Scans become a mammoth project Lyuba was not typical of the subjects Jason Polzin examines with X-ray, CT or MRI machines at GE Healthcare. She had slightly shriveled skin the color of infield dirt.

Her eyes were frozen shut, her trunk curled. Her 110-pound body carried a faint whiff of formaldehyde. In truth, she looked quite good for a 42,000-year-old, especially one who apparently died after sinking into mud and suffocating. To her admirers in the scientific world, Lyuba is the best-preserved mammoth ever discovered. To Polzin’s two children, she was of considerably greater interest than the human volunteers and containers of fluid Dad had examined in 15 years at GE. “I think every kid growing up is interested in dinosaurs and mammoths, that kind of thing,” Polzin, GE Healthcare’s chief technology leader, said Thursday. “My kids think this is the coolest thing I’ve ever done since I’ve been at GE.” Lyuba, a month-old baby at the time of her death, was discovered in 2007 by a reindeer herder searching for firewood in far northwestern Siberia. The herder spotted Lyuba in frozen soil and named her after his

wife.

With an abundance of sophisticated equipment, GE Healthcare in Waukesha, Wisconsin, offered a unique opportunity last week for the scientists who have been pouring over the mammoth on loan for seven months to Chicago’s Field Museum.

It would be difficult to reserve time with the CTs and MRIs at hospitals, but for the mammoth’s one day in Waukesha she had the machines to herself.

As an X-ray scanned Lyuba’s modest frame, a dozen people watched through an observation window; cameras flashed and video cameras recorded the scene. And Daniel Fisher, a University of Michigan professor who has studied mammoths for 30 years, marveled at her. “There’s a sort of awe-struck feeling to see her,” he said.

“For years I worked on skeletons and teeth and tusks, always having to infer what the full shape was. And then - there it is!”

When Fisher first viewed Lyuba she did not smell as terrible as one might imagine.

“A little sour,” was how he described her.

“A little off.” Although her soft tissue had

dried somewhat, the mammoth was surprisingly well-preserved. “When we opened her up in St Petersburg (Russia), we saw inside her stomach,” Fisher said.

“Her stomach was filled with her mother’s milk.”

Granted 42,000 years can take a toll on milk, and what they found in Lyuba’s stomach was “chemically more like fine curd cottage cheese,” Fisher said. So far, scientists have found evidence from Lyuba that mammoths had something called brown fat at the back of the neck. While typical white fat helps allow calories to be stored, brown fat serves a purpose closer to coal in a furnace. When the body senses cold it sends a signal to the brown fat, Fisher explained, and the brown fat starts a metabolic sequence that produces heat and warms the blood.

The scientists studying Lyuba also have been trying to determine what caused her death. As best they can tell, she became trapped in mud along a river bank. As she struggled, her trunk filled with silt. Death appears to have been accidental. —MCT

WASHINGTON: Internet giant Google is testing a new television programming search service with Dish Network Corp, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The newspaper, citing “people familiar with the matter,” said the service runs on TV set-top boxes using Google’s Android operating system. It said it allows users to search content from Dish, which has some 14 million satellite TV subscribers, as well as Web video like YouTube and to personalize a lineup of shows. The Journal said users can search by typing on a keyboard instead of using a remote control. It said Google hopes to link the TV search service with its TV ad-brokering business, Google TV Ads. This would allow the Internet giant to target ads to individual households based on viewing and TV search data, the newspaper said. The Journal said the test began last year and is limited to a very small number of Google employees and their families. It said the test could be “discontinued at any time.” Google currently makes the vast majority of its revenue from online advertising. Google last year dropped two other advertising initiatives, its Print Ads program, an attempt to auction off space in newspapers to bargain-seeking advertisers, and its radio advertising service.

US YouTube video views up by 50 percent in Jan SAN FRANCISCO: Industry tracker comScore on Monday reported that US online video viewing at YouTube climbed 50 percent in January as compared to the same month a year earlier. More than 173.3 million US Internet users watched video online in January, tuning into a total of 32.4 billion videos. The duration of the average online

video was slightly longer than four minutes.

Google properties were the top online venues, serving up 12.8 billion videos during the month. Google-owned YouTube accounted for 99 percent of that tally, tending to 135.4 million viewers. Each YouTube visitor watched an average of 94 videos, comScore reported. Hulu was the second most popular online viewing spot, with visitors watching 903.1 million videos in January, according to comScore. Websites owned by US technology titan Microsoft ranked third, with 491.8 million videos viewed, followed by Yahoo! which showed 435.5 million videos to online visitors, comScore reported.

HP says pilfered inkjet cartridges peddled SAN FRANCISCO: Hewlett-Packard on Monday said it is suing a Taiwan-based firm for peddling inkjet cartridges made from parts swiped from the US technology giant’s facilities in Asia. HP has called on the International Trade Commission to investigate whether its patents were infringed by ink cartridge manufacturer Microjet Technology, and has filed a lawsuit in a US District Court in California, the company said in an email response to an AFP inquiry. The lawsuit “includes allegations related to the distribution and sale of products, which HP believes to have been stolen from HP facilities in Asia,” the HewlettPackard said. “HP asserts that the sale of these products constitutes conversion of HP property and unfair competition. There are not any allegations of manufacture or sale of counterfeit products.” A spokesman for Microject Technology, based in Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan, declined comment yesterday. “We don’t know anything about the lawsuit. So far we’ve not received any legal documents and will not respond to the allegations from HP,” he said.

Techmeme launches new site, Mediagazer WASHINGTON: Popular technology news aggregator Techmeme said Monday it was launching a new site focusing on media news, Mediagazer.com. Mediagazer editor Megan McCarthy said the site will use the same format as Techmeme, publishing links to the latest media-related stories and blog posts on a single page. With the media business in “tumult,” McCarthy said, “keeping up with these changes is time-consuming, as essential media coverage is scattered across numerous websites at any given moment.”

“We collect relevant takes on an issue and package them together in a comprehensive group of links,” she said in a blog post. “You get the big picture.” Mediagazer “will focus on the content production and distribution business, organizing topics as wide as journalism, blogging, video production, e-books, and digital distribution technologies,” added Techmeme founder Gabe Rivera. Like Techmeme, Mediagazer will be put together by a combination of automatic aggregation and human editors. Techmeme has also launched two other sites, WeSmirch, a celebrity news site, and Ballbug, a site about baseball, but they have not enjoyed the popularity of Techmeme.com

HEALTH & SCIENCE

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Haiti urgently requires hurricane alert system MIAMI: Haitians desperately need a new hurricane alert system because communications were largely destroyed by January’s devastating earthquake, experts warned Monday. Scientists from 30 countries focused on how to improve meteorological services in Haiti to prevent further disasters as they began three days of meetings in Bermuda. “One of the areas they will

be looking at will be better communications and dissemination possibilities,” Robert Masters of the World Meteorological Organization told AFP by telephone as the hurricane committee convened.

Masters said about 80 percent of Haitians would normally be informed of any imminent hurricane or storm threat by turning on their televisions or tuning in on their radios. “But

now with the earthquake this was reduced to 20 percent because people don’t have electricity, don’t have television and radios,” he said. “So it’s important to find new ways to disseminate information to be sure people are warned in the face of severe weather.”

The scientists are expected to recommend, when the meeting wraps up on Wednesday, that gov-

ernments providing aid to Haiti seek to create a storm alert system to ensure new disaster is averted.

Haiti, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic is often hit by storms during the June to November hurricane season.

The Western hemisphere’s poorest nation, Haiti is also poorly equipped to deal with hurricanes

because massive deforestation has left it with few moisture-absorbing tropical forests. International aid groups have for weeks warned about the onset of the Caribbean’s rainy season, which begins in earnest late April, followed by the potentially disastrous hurricane season.

Violent storms could turn fields where homeless Haitians are camping out into unsanitary pools of over-

flowing sewage and trigger mudslides and flooding that would threaten precarious post-quake settlements made of tents and flimsy plastic. In the 2008 hurricane season, Haiti was pounded by four storms that left more than 800,000 people homeless and devastated its agriculture.

Last year, Haiti, the Caribbean, and the US mainland were spared

any major storms during a relatively calm hurricane season. But the devastating earthquake that struck the country January 12 flattened most of the capital Port-au-Prince, killing more than 220,000 people and destroying half the nation’s economy, according to government estimates. Another 1.3 million people have been left homeless since the quake. —AFP

World could soon shield most newborns from HIV Mother-to-child transmission could be eliminated through medicines JOHANNESBURG: Within five years the world could shield all newborns from HIV, while making strides in reducing deaths from malaria and tuberculosis, the Global Fund to fight the three diseases said Monday. But those gains depend on the world continuing to ramp up health spending to maintain the

current rate of progress, the Global Fund said in its annual report, released ahead of a funding meeting in the Netherlands later this month. “A world where no children are born with HIV is truly possible by 2015,” said Michel Kazatchkine, head of the Global Fund, launching the group’s annual report.

“It is also possible now to imagine a world with no more malaria deaths, since already an increasing number of countries have been reporting a reduction in malaria deaths of more than 50 percent over the past couple of years,” he said. “No other area of development has seen such a direct and rapid correlation between donor investments and livesaving impact as these investments in fighting AIDS, TB and malaria.”

Programs supported by the Global Fund have provided anti-retroviral drugs to 790,000 pregnant women with HIV, which dramatically reduces the chances of their babies being born with the virus. That represents about 45 percent of the women who need such treatments, the Fund said, adding that reaching the goal of 100 percent depends on ongoing donor commitments. Kazatchkine said in Africa more than 400,000 babies were born with HIV last year, compared to four in France, saying that mother to child transmission could virtually be eliminated NEW YORK: A woman walks by an advertisement for a vitamin water soft drink, March 8, 2010. —AFP with effective drug regimens.

UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibe said a few years ago in Africa, less than 50,000 people were on anti-retroviral treatment, but currently 3.5 million people were on treatment. Despite progress on the prevention and treatment of HIV, the fight against the disease was not over, he said. “There are 7,400 new infections every day, and we NEW YORK: New York leaders Michael Bloomberg, well known so that the government can try. Leading companies, includhave more than 5,000 people are pressing for a so-called fat for his anti-smoking crusade in effectively price people away ing Coca-cola and PepsiCo, dying every day with HIV tax on the soft drinks industry, the city, also touted the idea in from their bad habits. The soda joined former president Bill and every time we put two saying that sweet beverages are his weekly radio address Sunday. industry dismisses the ciga- Clinton in announcing the inipeople on treatment we have “In these tough economic rettes parallel and has lobbied tiative, saying that 88 percent responsible for an upsurge of five new infections,” said obesity across the United States. times, easy fixes to our problems hard-successfully so far-against less calories were now sold in Sidibe. drinks compared to 2004.

State Health Commissioner are hard to come by,” he said. the levy.

Sidibe said underfunding “It’s a brand new day in J Justin Wilson, senior Richard Daines took up the issue “But the soda tax is a fix that just of the organization would Monday, speaking of a “golden makes sense. It would save lives, research analyst at the soft America’s schools when it result in people stopping industry-connected comes to beverages,” the head opportunity” to create the tax. it would cut rising health costs.” drinks their treatment, resulting in “The dramatic underpricing of Nearly 20 percent of US children Center for Consumer Freedom of the American Beverage more deaths. The Global sugar-sweetened beverages, between the ages of six and 19 accused the government of Association, Susan Neely. “Our Fund was established as a their widespread availability, and are estimated to suffer from obe- using spurious health argu- beverage companies have public-private partnership in the ceaseless marketing of these sity, which can encourage dia- ments to sneak in a new tax on slashed calories in schools as 2002, and has become the products constitute a stumbling betes, heart disease and other businesses. “If the city or state full-calorie soft drinks have world’s main vehicle for block to good health and are a grave problems. Health experts is out of money, then they been removed. The beverages financing schemes to combat clear and present danger to the blame insufficient exercise, but should own up to it, rather than available to students are now AIDS, malaria and tuberculofuture of our children,” Daines also the habit, particularly among trying to hide taxes in a whole lower-calorie, nutritious, smallsis. About 10 billion dollars the poor, of washing down fast slew of new fees,” he told AFP. er-portion choices.” said. has been disbursed by the Wilson, at the Center for “They should own up to their He called obesity “the food with extra-sugary soda.

Fund as of December.

The crisis has fed ballooning financial mismanagement and Consumer Freedom, accused the biggest public health challenge of Kazatchkine said the government of denying people this and the next few decades.” public costs — 7.6 billion dol- raise income taxes.”

Fund would seek at least 13 The industry scored a rare their guilty pleasures, or, as he Public officials in New York and lars in annual obesity-related billion dollars from donors other states are echoing that call, medical bills in New York state piece of positive publicity put it, deciding their own “balduring the talks later this eyeing the tax as a chance both alone-much of which are cov- Monday when it announced ance of enjoying life and life to influence diets and to replen- ered by taxpayers. Tax propo- huge voluntary reductions in extension.” “They’re punishing month. Activists are alarmed ish tax coffers depleted by the nents say that soft drinks the amount of high-sugar drinks people for enjoying a little life that donors could decide to recession. New York Mayor should be treated like tobacco sold to schools across the coun- once in a while,” he said. —AFP turn their money to other public issues at the expense of AIDS programs. “We’re starting to see worrying signs that donors have actually thrown in the towel and PARIS: Men are more than twice as likely as group of the 75- to 85-year-olds, 70.8 percent of there were also intriguing questions, she said. are starting to shift their women to be sexually active in old age but good men rated their sex life as of good quality, com- If the study’s measure of “sexually active life attention and accordingly expectancy” is credible, American men generhealth is the key for both to feeling naughty, pared with 50.9 percent among women. ally stop having sex around the age of 70, about Why such a difference? says a study published yesterday by the British their resources to other It could be partly explained by opportunity, eight or nine years before their death, accordMedical Journal. Doctors looked over two big areas,” said Paula probes into the health of the American popula- say the investigators. Around three-quarters of ing to demographic life expectancy. For Akugizibwe of the AIDS and tion. One survey covered 3,000 people aged 25- men across all age groups said they had a part- women, “sexually active life expectancy” Rights Alliance for Southern 74 who filled in questionnaires in the mid- ner. Among women, though, only two-thirds of would ended around 65, yet their demographic Africa.

1990s as part of an investigation into midlife. respondents between 25 and 54 had a partner. life expectancy was around 82 or 83.

“We call on donors to “The measure sheds no light on the The other survey, focusing on old age, was car- For women aged 75 and beyond, fewer than ensure that the Global Fund ried out a decade later among a similar number four in 10 had a partner-a figure reflecting intriguing-and still poorly understood-question is replenished and that globwomen’s longer lifespan and the tendency of of why, even though they enjoy fewer years of of volunteers aged 57-85. al funding for HIV is susa sexually active life, many women do not perAt the age of 55, men have on average men to marry younger women. tained and increased.” The Good health, too, was vital for sexual well- ceive this as a ‘problem’,” said Goodson. almost 15 years of sexually active life ahead of them, and women 10-and-a-half years, the being, said the study. An individual in sound “Neither does the measure provide details on report said more than four researchers found. They also discovered a health is almost twice as likely to be interest- how women and men manage, attempt to million people were curmajor gap between the genders on sex lives. ed in sex and can expect to enjoy around six enhance, or deal meaningfully (and uniquely) rently on anti-retroviral “Overall, men were more likely than women to more years of sexual activity compared to a with their ageing sexuality.” The survey cardrugs worldwide and around be sexually active, report a good-quality sex life peer in poor health. Authors Stacy Tessler ried out in 1995-6 defined sexual activity as six million with active TB and be interested in sex. These gender differ- Lindau and Natalia Gavrilova, from the having had sex with at least one partner in prewere treated in 2009. In ences increased with age,” according to the University of Chicago hope the findings will vious six months, whereas the survey from Africa, the three diseases 2005-6 defined it as having sex with at least help end a taboo. paper online. account for 52 percent of “Doctors rarely address sexual concerns in one partner in the previous 12 months.

The biggest gap was among 75- to 85-yeardeaths among women of olds, where 38.9 percent of men said they were older adults, particularly in women,” they say. Respondents who had sex two or three times a sexually active, compared with 16.8 percent of In a commentary, Patricia Goodson, a profes- month or more were defined in both surveys child-bearing age. Among women. Another 41.2 per cent of the men were sor at Texas A&M University, said the news as having sex regularly. Between 95.0 and 97.8 children, malaria alone interested in sex, compared with 11.4 percent that US adults can enjoy “many years of sexu- of respondents described themselves as hetaccounts for up to 18 perof the women. Within the “sexually active” al activity beyond age 55” was good news. But erosexual. —AFP cent of deaths. —AFP

VILLAFRANCA DE CORDOBA: This file picture shows a lynx being released during the first experimental reintroduction of two Iberian lynxes. —AFP

Disease poses threat to endangered Iberian lynx MADRID: The Iberian lynx, the world’s most endangered feline species, is under renewed threat from a disease affecting animals born in breeding centers in Spain, the conservation program said yesterday. Three of the 72 animals in captivity have died since December from Chronic Kidney Disease, the most recent last week, the lynx Conservation Program said in a statement.

More than one third of the animals in the two breeding centers have also shown symptoms of CKD, which only affects those in captivity. Veterinarians from the program “are working and consulting with experts to try to find the possible origin of the CKD, as well as trying to put in place measures that could prevent the emergence of new cases.

“For now, the focus is on maintaining and providing palliative care to the high percent-

age of the population affected by this disease.” The program, launched in 2003, is aimed at producing enough lynxes in captivity so they can be reintroduced to the wild, a project that was to start this year. Barely 200 Iberian lynxes are believed to remain in the wild, mostly in protected areas of southern Spain. At the start of the 20th century there were around 100,000 in Spain and Portugal.

But urban development, hunting, and most of all a dramatic decline due to disease in the number of wild rabbits, the lynx’s main prey, have sharply reduced the numbers of the spotted cats, which can grow to about one meter (three feet) in length. The International Union for Conservation of Nature now lists the species as “critically endangered”-the highest category of risk for a wild animal. —AFP

NY seeks ‘fat tax’ on sodas to combat rising US obesity Health experts blame fast food with extra-sugary soda

Men enjoy sex in old age more than women

GENEVA: Picture taken shows scientists reacting as they stand in front of a screen at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) control center of the ATLAS detectors during the restart of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). —AFP

German fails to demonstrate atom-smasher will end world BERLIN: A German woman fearing that Earth would be sucked into oblivion in a black hole failed yesterday in her court attempt to halt the world’s most powerful atom-smasher. The Constitutional Court in the western Germany city of Karlsruhe threw out the woman’s appeal because she was “unable to give a coherent account of how her fears would come about.” “The overwhelming scientific opinion is that the experiments carried out at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) present no dangers,” the court added.

CERN scientists are looking to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to mimic the conditions that followed the Big Bang and help explain the origins of the universe. Housed inside a 27-kilometre (16.8-mile) tunnel straddling the Franco-Swiss border, the col-

lider was started with great fanfare in September 2008, only to break down after nine days for the next 14 months.

It was shut down again in December, this time to ready it for collisions at unfathomed energy levels which began last month. The scientists’ Holy Grail is to find a theorized component called the Higgs Boson, commonly called the “God Particle”, which would explain how particles acquire mass. The woman, who has not been named and who lives outside Germany, failed with an injunction with a Cologne court seeking to oblige the German government to stop the project.

Other opponents have also sought to stop the collider, fearing either a black hole whose super-gravity would swallow the Earth or a theoretical particle called a strangelet that would turn the planet to goo. —AFP

Chile quake relocates city CHICAGO: The massive earthquake which struck the west coast of Chile last month moved the entire city of Concepcion more than three meters (10 feet) to the west, scientists said Monday.

Preliminary measurements drawn from global positioning stations showed that Concepcion, Chile’s second largest city, is now 3.04 meters

further west than it was prior to the 8.8-magnitude quake which struck February 27. It was the fifth most powerful quake recorded since instruments have been available to measure seismic shifts and there have been hundreds of aftershocks, several exceeding magnitude 6.0. The Chilean capital of Santiago also shifted 27.7 centimeters (11 inches) to

the west, according to measurements gathered by a team of Chilean and US scientists and released by Ohio State University.

On South America’s east coast, Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires moved nearly four centimeters (1.5 inches) to the west and significant displacements were recorded as far away as the Falkland Islands. —AFP

WHATʼS ON IN KUWAIT

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Announcements

Jordanian Engineers Syndicate enjoys open day

TODAY AWARE announces “Peace Circle Taster” today by Asiya Mohammed, 6-8 pm. Are you interested in changing the world? Or better yet, changing yourself? Join us to experience the very first peace circle in Kuwait to learn how peace is created, how it is destroyed and how to ‘be the change you want to see in the world”. Asiya is a recent graduate from the London School of Economics with her Masters in Comparative Politics. Please note; this is a women’s only forum. Seating is limited. Reservations required. For reservations contact AWARE by Tel: 2-5335280 or visit us online at www.aware.com.kw emails may be sent to info@aware.com.kw AWARE Address: Surra, Block 3, Surra St, Villa 84.

nder auspices and with the attendance of the Jordanian ambassador to Kuwait, Jum’a Al-Abbadi, the Jordanian Engineers Syndicate-Kuwait branch recently organized an open day activity for Jordanian engineers working in Kuwait and their families at the Defense ministry employees camp in Mina Abdullah. The function was also attended by the Jordanian embassy staff and members of the Jordanian community in Kuwait who all enjoyed having lunch in the open and taking part in various recreational competitions for all ages.

U

KES drama department visits London

oli, the popular Indian festival of colors, was celebrated with much fun and gaiety on March 1 by Bhavna Club, the Indian Embassy spouses association.

Children and grown-ups played Holi with dry colors and squirt guns, and danced to traditional songs and music. The participants later enjoyed a festive vegetarian lunch of

H

KES students outside Buckingham Palace. uring the recent Liberation Day and National Day holidays, a group of 30 students went on a drama study-visit to London. The group was led by Tara Ellie and Marie Naylor and accompanied by Donna Clarke and Paul Naylor. The purpose of the visit was to enable GCSE, AS and A2 students to experience live theatre in London’s West End which they have to write about for their examinations and also to sample some of the spectacular tourist attractions which London has to offer. Students watched a wide variety of performances: The Woman in Black (a Victorian thriller), The

Warhorse (a moving drama concerning the First World War), Thriller (a tribute to the late Michael Jackson), Blood Brothers (a musical starring Mel C of the Spice Girls) and Billy Elliot. Students also participated in drama workshops and dance classes. Besides the drama aspect of the visit, the KES students managed to squeeze in visits to the Emirates stadium, Covent Garden and Camden market.

Undoubtedly the highlight of the visit was when students were outside Buckingham Palace and managed to glimpse Her Majesty the Queen as she left on an official engagement.

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” KUWAITI DIWANIYA TOUR Guided Tour 6-9 pm: Join us on this firsttime 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.

Students visit Arsenal’s Emirates stadium.

Women enjoy open sports day T he Kuwait Sports Club in cooperation with Touche development company and fencing champions Balsam and Luluwa Al-Ayoub organized an open sports day in the premises of the Kuwait Sports Club in Kaifan last Sunday. The event

aims at raising awareness among girls and women on the importance of sports and the vitality of healthy eating. Over 140 ladies attended the event, which included various sports games and competitions, as well as healthy snacks and refreshments.

NPIS celebrates Hala February Funfair 2010

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special dishes traditionally prepared for Holi.

Indian Ambassador Ajai Malhotra noted that Holi is celebrated across the length and breadth of India with tremendous gusto and enthusiasm. He extended warm greetings and good wishes for prosperity and happiness to all on the auspicious occasion of the Holi festival.

TOMORROW 7pm AT AWARE Muhammad (PBUH): Legacy of a Prophet.

This documentary film tells the life story of the seventh century prophet who changed world history in 23 years and continues to shape the lives of more than 1.2 billion people. Three years in the making, the film takes viewers not only to ancient Middle Eastern sites where the Prophet’s story unfolds, but into the homes, mosques and workplaces of some of America’s estimated seven million Muslims to discover the many ways in which they follow the Prophet’s example. “a candid, thoughtful, flowing, visually stunning film...that is as timely as documentaries get” - Howard Rosenberg, Los Angeles Times. For details contact AWARE

by Tel: 2-5335280 or visit us online at www.aware.com.kw emails may be sent to info@aware.com.kw

spectacular and memorable annual Hala February Funfair was celebrated on the school premises on February 24, 2010. The Kuwait National Day and the Liberation Day were inspirationally associated and celebrated as the Hala February Funfair to magnify the rapture of the occasion. The students exhibited unbound enthusiasm and enjoyed it

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to the maximum. The Hala Funfair started at 9:00 am and provided the children and their families unforgettable moments of pleasure till 5:00 pm. Food stalls, DJ, games and variety shows captivated the visitors. The hallmark of the occasion was the Lucky Draw which enabled many to win valuable gifts like laptop and LCD TV.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

WHATʼS ON IN KUWAIT

31

Fauchon takes ‘Chaine Des Rotisseurs’ members to ‘Paris’ his time, the Chain Des Rotisseurs had an unforgettable dinner taking them directly to feel the Paris nights. At the French ambassador’s residence, Jean Rene Gehan, the French Ambassador and his wife Sophie were the perfect hosts.

France is where the Chaine Des Rotisseurs was first conceptualized; Fauchon represented the uniqueness of its delights and elegance and bedazzled its patrons with its latest masterpiece - The Dinner. The ceremony started with a menu filled with enjoyable gourmet warm and cold appetizers including the classic French delicacy -foie gras then served a vibrant and refreshing lemon and strawberry sorbet on an artistic platter made of chocolate and sugar.

This was followed by the main course which was the highlight of the evening and included a perfectly cooked Kobe Beef fillet and a variation of duck a l’orange. The session had reached the finish line with a spectacular dessert buffet aptly named ‘Love at first Sight’ which was the perfect conclusion to a splendid evening of dining which was love at first sight for the guests.

Complementing the lavish dinner was the decoration and ambiance of the place which turned the French ambas-

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Jean, Ibrahem Shohaybar, Somaya Al-Azem, and Sadeq Al-Motawa.

Motaz Al-Rafee, Mamdoh Abdelhadi, Mr and Mrs Kafafi, Sherif El Rafee, Jean, Daniel, Mohammed Najiya, Faisal Al-Manay, and Kafafi.

A group picture.

Mr and Mrs Jean Reane, and Mr and Mrs Zerard Asfar. sador’s residence to reflect the passionate spirit of Paris with a valentine twist in Kuwait. The tables were uniquely arranged with captivating colors of red and white crowned with authentic flower

arrangements. The chef created an artistic design of a chocolate made menu which gained the invitees admiration.

The live music performance throughout the night

played a great roll in adding pleasure to all the invitees. All members of the Chaine Des Rotisseurs enjoyed the sentimental dinner and expressed their deep appreciation to Mohammed Bseiso, Director

of Operations, Fauchon Chefs Thierry and Chef Krishna along with their teams for their great efforts in serving such a luxurious dinner at the French Embassy outside of their restaurants.

Ghada Makarem, Mohammed Najiya, Jean, and Emad Makarem.

Jean Rene

rtech Cricket Club, Kuwait won (2-1) the first Rezayat 20-20 Cricket Tournament for NCC Cup, a tri series tournament sponsored by Rezayat Group here in Ahmadi.

Three match series was organized between NCC and Artech CCK, of which the first match was snatched by the NCC with the help of a superb knock by Ali (93) to make their team home safely. NCC made a commanding 183/5 in their allotted 20 overs. In reply Artech CCK could reach only 160 against the decent bowling of NCC granting a 23 runs victory to the opponents.

However, Artech CCK came back in the next match amazingly to grab an almost unreachable score of 222 in twenty overs piled up with brilliant knocks from Nicholas (73) and Sujjad (43). Determined Artech batsmen were not willing to give up. A breathtaking innings from captain Anfar who made 126 not out to swift Artech to reach 224/5 in just 17.2 Overs. An outstanding batting support by Rahmathullah helped the captain to shear the disciplined bowling of NCC. The final match was equally poised but

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Artech came with a military disciplined bowling restricted NCC’s talented big hitters to 139 all out in 17.2 overs. Special thanks to the bowling performance from Rahmathullah, Ziyad and Abullais and brilliant fielding efforts from Nizam, Dipu and Firosh. Artech boys reached the target convincingly by losing only their opener Mohammed Nishad (15) in 16.4 overs to kiss the first Rezayat cup in style.

Artech opener Girish (30 not out) extended a superb support to the captain Anfar (71 not out) in the second wicket partnership to grab the victory - a 9 wickets win.

Winners got a specially designed NCC Cup and cash prize of US Dollar FIVE hundred Sponsored by M/s Rezayat Group. Anfar selected as the Man of the series. Shaji Jose from Rezayat Group distributed the prizes and congratulated both the finalists. He also promised that Rezayat Group, will be conducting the cricket matches next year eventfully and in style. He also pointed out how cricket keeps people united and energetic.

Krishna Kumar from Artech management delivered the vote of thanks.

IIS celebrates Kuwait’s National and Liberation Day

Artech Cricket Club wins Rezayat 20-20 Cricket Tournament

ndia International School celebrated the 49th National Day and the 19th Liberation Day of Kuwait. The school conducted special assembly to highlight the importance of these days. The children were in patriotic fervor as many of them were wearing the dresses matching with National Flag of Kuwait. The children sang patriotic songs and wished all Happy National Day and Liberation Day.

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The Principal Anis Ahmad congratulated not only the Kuwaitis but also expatriates as they are very much part of this beautiful country, and they do contribute to the development of the country. He asked the children to follow the rules and keep the country neat and clean. Towards the end of the assembly there was prayer for the well being, peace and prosperity of Kuwait.

TV PROGRAMS

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Orbit / Showtime Listings

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

14:20 NEXT X U.S SHORTS 14:30 Jimmy Two-Shoes 15:00 American Dragon 15:30 Yin Yang Yo 16:00 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 16:30 Kid vs Kat 17:00 Power Rangers Jungle Fury 17:30 American Dragon 18:00 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 18:30 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 19:00 Iron Man: Armoured Adventures 19:25 Kid vs Kat 20:00 Zeke & Luther 20:30 K9 ADVENTURES 21:00 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 21:30 Pokemon DP: Battle Dimension 22:00 Phineas & Ferb 22:25 Iron Man: Armoured Adventures

ER Prison Break Inside the Actors Studio Murdoch Mysteries Prison Break Burn Notice Damages ER Dollhouse Flash Forward Inside the Actors Studio Murdoch Mysteries Damages Burn Notice Inside the Actors Studio Prison Break Dollhouse Flash Forward ER Damages Lie to Me Law & Order Burn Notice True Blood

00:50 Shark After Dark 01:45 Animal Cops Houston 02:40 Untamed And Uncut 03:35 Cell Dogs 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 Shark After Dark 09:45 The Jeff Corwin Experience 10:40 Britain’s Worst Pet 11:05 All New Planet’s Funniest Animals 11:30 All New 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 Shark After Dark 17:25 All New Planet’s Funniest Animals 17:50 All New Planet’s Funniest Animals 18:20 Britain’s Worst Pet 18:45 Animal Battlegrounds 19:15 Journey Of Life

01:05 A Year At Kew 01:35 A Year At Kew 02:05 Space Race 03:05 The Inspector Lynley Mysteries 04:00 Cherished 05:35 A Year At Kew 06:05 A Year At Kew 06:35 Bargain Hunt 07:20 Balamory 07:40 Fimbles 08:00 The Roly Mo Show 08:15 Tikkabilla 08:45 Yoho Ahoy 08:50 Little Robots 09:00 Balamory 09:20 Fimbles 09:40 The Roly Mo Show 09:55 Tikkabilla 10:25 Yoho Ahoy 10:30 Little Robots 10:40 Bargain Hunt 11:25 A Year At Kew 11:55 A Year At Kew 12:25 Space Race 13:15 The Weakest Link 14:00 Eastenders 14:30 Doctors 15:00 Bargain Hunt 15:45 Cash In The Attic 16:15 Red Dwarf 16:45 Red Dwarf 17:15 The Weakest Link 18:00 Doctors 18:30 Eastenders 19:00 The Inspector Lynley Mysteries 20:00 Antiques Roadshow 21:00 The Weakest Link 21:45 Doctors 22:15 Eastenders 22:45 Love Soup 23:15 Love Soup 23:45 Casualty

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 10 Years Younger 05:15 Cash In The Attic Usa 05:45 Hidden Potential 06:15 Living In The Sun 07:10 10 Years Younger 08:00 Antiques Roadshow 09:00 Cash In The Attic Usa 09:25 Hidden Potential 09:45 Gary Rhodes’ Local Food

Shake Hands With The Devil on Show Movies Heroes 10:30 Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes 11:30 Living In The Sun 12:20 Antiques Roadshow 13:15 Bargain Hunt 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 21:35 Come Dine With Me 22:00 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 22:50 The Clothes Show 23:35 The Naked Chef

01:15 03:15 05:00 07:00 09:00 10:45 12:45 15:00 17:00 PG15 19:00 21:00 23:00

Danse Avec Lui-PG15 Sexy Beast-PG15 What Rats Won’t Do-PG15 Calendar Girls-PG15 Stolen Summer-PG Max-PG15 Terms Of Endearment-PG15 I Love You, I Love You Not Girl With A Pearl Earring-

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 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00

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 2008 Destroyed In Seconds How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? Smash Lab Breaking Point Mythbusters

Kiss Of Life-PG15 Inventing The Abbots-PG15 Arlington Road-18

00:15 Green Wheels 00:40 World’s Biggest Airliner - A380 01:30 Ipod Revolution 02:20 Build It Bigger: Rebuilding Greensburg 03:10 Green Wheels 03:35 Green Wheels 04:00 Beyond Tomorrow 04:50 Ten Ways 05:45 How Stuff’s Made 06:10 Green Wheels 06:40 One Step Beyond 07:10 Ipod Revolution 08:00 Thunder Races 09:00 Ten Ways

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 21:20 21:45

00:00 00:20 00:45 01:10 01:35 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

Sci-Trek How Stuff’s Made Stuntdawgs Ipod Revolution Green Wheels One Step Beyond Ten Ways Sci-Trek Engineered How Stuff’s Made Thunder Races Brainiac World’s Biggest Airliner - A380 How It’s Made How It’s Made What’s That About?

How It’s Made How It’s Made

My Friends Tigger And Pooh Handy Manny Special Agent Oso Imagination Movers Lazytown 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 Gotta Kick It Up Phineas & Ferb Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Replacements American Dragon Hannah Montana

07:00 Yin Yang Yo 07:25 Iron Man: Armoured Adventures 07:50 Kid vs Kat 08:15 Power Rangers Jungle Fury 08:40 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 09:05 American Dragon 09:30 Kid vs Kat 10:00 Pokemon DP: Battle Dimension 10:30 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 11:00 Phil Of The Future 11:30 Jimmy Two-Shoes 12:00 Kid vs Kat 12:30 Phineas & Ferb 13:00 Aaron Stone 13:25 Power Rangers Jungle Fury 13:50 Pokemon DP: Battle Dimension

00:15 Streets Of Hollywood 00:40 E!es 01:30 25 Most Stylish 02:20 Sexiest 03:15 Ths 05:05 Dr 90210 06:00 20 Best And Worst Celebrity Plastic...

07:45 Style Star 08:10 Style Star 08:35 E! News 09:00 The Daily 10 09:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 09:50 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 10:15 Ths 11:05 Ths 12:00 E! News 12:25 The Daily 10 12:50 Fashion Police 13:40 40 (more) Crimes Of Fashion 15:25 Style Star 15:50 Style Star 16:15 Style Star 16:40 Style Star 17:10 Fashion Police 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 Bank Of Hollywood 22:10 E! News 22:35 The Daily 10 23:00 Fashion Police

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 14:15 14:40 15:30 16:20 17:10 18:00 18:50

01:40 03:35 05:25 07:00 08:35 10:00 11:40 13:15 14:50 16:40 18:20 20:20 22:00 23:45

Dr G: Medical Examiner Fbi Files Dead Tenants Deadly Women Undercover Forensic Detectives Crime Scene Psychics Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghosthunters Ghosthunters Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Fugitive Strike Force The Prosecutors Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Solved Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls Royal Inquest Forensic Detectives Fbi Files Fugitive Strike Force The Prosecutors Forensic Detectives

The Innocent The Hunting Party Marshal Law Some Girls The King And Four Queens The Black Stallion Returns Beach Party Doc Just Between Friends The Hillside Strangler Hair From Noon Till Three Tortilla Soup Sweet Lies

00:00 Scrubs 00:30 Will and Grace 01:00 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 01:30 The Colbert Report 02:00 Late Night with Jimmy Fallon 03:00 Reno 911 03:30 State of the Union 04:00 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson 05:00 Scrubs 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 Will and Grace 13:30 Tyler Perry’s House of Payne 14:00 Home Improvement 14:30 Malcolm in the Middle

15:00 Coach 15:30 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Drew Carey 17:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 17:30 Frasier 18:00 Eight Simple Rules 18:30 Til’ Death 19:00 Community 19:30 10 Things I Hate About You 20:00 Best of Late night with Jimmy Fallon 21:00 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Reno 911 22:30 State of the Union 23:00 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:00 03:00 04:00 04:30 05:00 Leno 06:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 Leno 23:00

00:30 02:30 04:15 06:15 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:15 22:15

The Martha Stewart Show 10 Years younger S3 Eat Yourself Sexy The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Monique Show Huey’s Cooking Adventures Fresh The Tonight Show with Jay GMA (repeat) GMA Health What’s the Buzz The Martha Stewart Show Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The View The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show 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

Shake Hands With The Devil Adoration-PG15 A Plumm Summer-PG15 Mostly Ghostly-PG No Reservations-PG15 The Old Curiousity Shop-PG Valkyrie-PG15 Leatherheads-PG15 No Reservations-PG15 The Prestige-PG15 Valkyrie-PG15 Prom Night-PG15

01:00 Hotel California-18 03:00 The Art Of War III: Retribution-PG15 05:00 Linewatch-18 07:00 H.I.T.-PG15 09:00 Kung Fu Hustle-PG15 11:00 Palermo Shooting-PG15 13:00 Smokey And The Bandit-PG 15:00 Kung Fu Hustle-PG15 17:00 The Shepherd-PG15 19:00 The Disappeared-18 21:00 Dark Island-PG15 23:00 Hell Ride-R

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Down To Earth-PG15 In Memory Of My Father My Name Is Bruce-PG15 Class Act-PG More Of Me-PG15 Much Ado About Nothing Sabrina-PG Home For The Holidays-PG Down To Earth-PG15 Mystic Pizza-PG15 The Scout-PG15 Bob Roberts-18

01:00 Hoot-PG 02:30 Scooby-Doo And The Loch Ness Monster-FAM 04:00 Curious George: Follow That Monkey-PG 06:00 Dennis The Menace Strikes Again-PG 08:00 Flintstones: I Yabba Dabba Do!-FAM 10:00 Scooby-doo And The Loch Ness Monster-FAM 12:00 Daffy Duck’s QuackbustersFAM 14:00 Hoot-PG 16:00 Yogi’s Great Escape-PG 18:00 Labou-FAM 20:00 Clockstoppers-FAM 22:00 Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters

00:00 01:00 02:00 02:30 03:00 04:00 05:00 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00

C.S.I: NY C.S.I: NY Sex and the City Sex and the City Smallville C.S.I Frasier My Name is Earl Emmerdale Coronation Street Sons of Anarchy Frasier

08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

My Name is Earl Smallville (TBA) C.S.I Emmerdale Coronation Street Frasier My Name is Earl C.S.I: NY C.S.I: NY Sons of Anarchy Smallville Emmerdale Coronation Street Grey’s Anatomy Private Practice The Murdoch Mysteries Sons of Anarchy Janice Dickinson

01:00 Premier League 13:00 Fut Brasil 13:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 14:00 Premier League 16:00 Premier League 18:00 Premier League 20:00 Goals Goals Goals 20:30 Premier League 22:30 Premier League

01:00 Futbol Mundial 01:30 Super League 03:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 04:00 Super 14 06:00 World Sport 06:30 Futbol Mundial 07:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 07:30 Portuguese Liga 09:30 Goals On Monday 11:00 Weber Cup Bowling 12:00 Super League 14:00 Super 14 16:00 Premier League Classics 16:30 Futbol Mundial 17:00 Weber Cup Bowling 18:00 Barclays Premier League Highlights

00:00 FIH Hockey World Cup 06:00 Portugol 06:30 Premier League Classics 07:00 World Sport 07:30 Super 14 09:30 Fut Brasil 10:00 Futbol Mundial 10:30 World Sport 11:00 Premier League Classics 11:30 Premier League Classics 12:00 Barclays Premier League Highlights 13:00 Portuguese Liga 15:00 Futbol Mundial 15:30 Premier League Darts 20:00 Guinness Premiership 22:00 Mobil 1 22:30 Premier League World 23:00 Futbol Mundial 23:30 European Tour Weekly

01:00 03:00 04:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:30 11:00 12:00 13:00 15:00 15:30 16:30

NCAA Basketball UFC Unleashed UFC - The Ultimate Fighter WWE Vintage Collection FIM World Cup Ironman NCAA Basketball Bushido WWE Vintage Collection FIA GT FIM World Cup Ironman NCAA Basketball

08:20 Ice Road Truckers 2 09:10 Deep Sea Detectives 10:00 The Korean War 10:55 The American Revolution 11:50 Battle Stations 12:40 Battlefield Detectives 13:30 Dogfights 14:20 Ice Road Truckers 2 15:10 Deep Sea Detectives 16:00 The Korean War 16:55 The American Revolution 17:50 Battle Stations 18:40 Battlefield Detectives 19:30 Dogfights 20:20 Ice Road Truckers 2 21:10 Deep Sea Detectives 22:00 Dead Men’s Secrets 22:55 Beyond The Moon: Failure Is Not An Option 2

00:00 01:00 02:00 02:30 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 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 19:30 20:00 21:00 22:00 22:30 23:00 23:30

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 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 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane Split Ends Clean House Dress My Nest Style Her Famous Ruby Ruby

01:04 01:45 02:00 02:45 05:04 06:04 08:04 09:00 09:24 13:04 13:50 16:04 16:45 18:00 18:45 19:00 20:04 20:45 21:00 22:00

French Only Playlist Urban Hit Playlist Focus Playlist Hit US Code Compilation Playlist Urban Hit Playlist Sound System Playlist Urban Hit Guest Star Playlist RNB Playlist Legend Playlist

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00

Globe Trekker Angry Planet The Thirsty Traveler Taste Of The Caribbean Chef Abroad Chef Abroad

03:30 Essential 04:00 Inside Luxury Travel-varun Sharma 05:00 Globe Trekker 06:00 Swiss Railway Journeys 07:00 The Thirsty Traveler 07:30 Angry Planet 08:00 Globe Trekker 09:00 Essential 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 Chef Abroad 16:30 Chef Abroad 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 Inside Luxury Travel-varun Sharma

00:00 01:00 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

Music For The Masses Best Of Charts Vh1 Rocks So 80’s Greatest Hits Vh1 Music Chill Out Vh1 Hits Vh1 Music Aerobic Top 10 The Best Of Grunge Music For The Masses Vh1 Pop Chart Vh1 Music Vh1 Weekly Album Chart Vh1 Music Vh1 Viewer’s Jukebox Vh1 Viewer’s Jukebox Top 10 The Best Of Grunge

00:30 01:30 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00 05:30 06:30 07:30 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 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 19:30 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00 23:30

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet Bondi Rescue Destination Extreme Surfer’s Journal Treks In A Wild World Madventures Chasing Time Don’t Tell My Mother...

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet Bondi Rescue Destination Extreme Surfer’s Journal Treks In A Wild World Madventures Chasing Time Departures Jailed Abroad Jailed Abroad Bondi Rescue Destination Extreme Surfer’s Journal Treks In A Wild World Madventures Chasing Time Departures Jailed Abroad Jailed Abroad Bondi Rescue Destination Extreme Surfer’s Journal Treks In A Wild World Madventures Chasing Time Departures

01:00 Expired-18 03:00 Cadillac Records-18 05:00 Things That Hang From Trees-PG15 07:00 Dog Days Of Summer-PG 09:00 For The Love Of Grace-U 10:45 Tennessee-PG15 12:30 Frame Of Mind-PG15 14:15 A Shine Of Rainbows-PG15 16:15 For The Love Of Grace-U 18:15 Australia-PG 21:00 Fired Up!-18 23:00 The Kite Runner-PG15

01:15 02:55 05:00 08:00 09:40 11:05 12:50 14:35 16:40 18:30 20:45 23:00

The Men’s Club Poltergeist Mutiny On The Bounty Blackboard Jungle The King And Four Queens Butterfield 8 After The Fox Man Of La Mancha The Glass Bottom Boat Lost Horizon The Prize Where Eagles Dare

00:40 01:30 02:20 03:10 04:00 04:55 05:50 06:40 07:30

Battlefield Detectives Dogfights Ice Road Truckers 2 Deep Sea Detectives The Korean War The American Revolution Battle Stations Battlefield Detectives Dogfights

Expired on Super Movies

Star Listings (UAE Timings) STAR Movies 20:45 22:20 23:50 01:25 02:55 04:30 06:00 07:35 09:15 12:30 13:50 16:00

The Banger Sisters Phantom Racer The Perfect Assistant City On Fire The Banger Sisters Phantom Racer The Perfect Assistant What Happens In Vegas Titanic Garfield Gets Real Rain Man The 82nd Annual Academy Awards

STAR World 20:00 American Idol 22:00 Boston Legal 22:50 Married With Children 23:00 American Idol 01:00 Boston Legal 01:50 Married With Children 02:00 Grey’s Anatomy 03:00 [V] Tunes 04:00 [V] Tunes 05:00 [V] Tunes 06:00 7th Heaven 07:00 The Goode Family

07:30 08:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:50 15:00 15:50 16:00 17:00 19:00

The King Of Queens Stone Undercover American Idol American Idol The King Of Queens The Bold And The Beautiful 7th Heaven Different Strokes Grey’s Anatomy Married With Children [V] Tunes American Idol Stone Undercover

Granada TV 20:30 Strange But True? (Series 4) 21:00 New Homes From Hell 22:00 Emmerdale 22:30 Coronation Street 23:00 New Homes From Hell 00:00 Parkinson (Series 7) 01:00 The Crunch 02:00 Romance Wednesday: Bob And Rose (Double Bill) 04:00 ...And Proud 05:00 Emmerdale 05:30 Coronation Street

06:00 Parkinson (Series 7) 07:00 The Crunch 08:00 Romance Wednesday: Bob And Rose (Double Bill) 10:00 ...And Proud 11:00 Emmerdale 11:30 Coronation Street 12:00 Parkinson (Series 7) 13:00 Coach Trip (Series 1) 14:00 Romance Wednesday: Bob And Rose (Double Bill) 16:00 Emmerdale 16:30 Coronation Street 17:00 Parkinson (Series 7) 18:00 Coach Trip (Series 1) 19:00 Romance Wednesday: Bob And Rose (Double Bill) Channel [V] 22:00 [V] Plug 22:30 The Playlist 23:00 Loop 00:00 Backtracks 01:00 Double Shot 02:00 [V] Plug 02:30 The Playlist 03:00 Loop

04:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00

[V] Countdown Double Shot Backtracks Loop [V] Plug Double Shot Backtracks [V] Tunes [V] Plug The Playlist Loop Parental Control Double Bill [V] Tunes Backtracks [V] Tunes [V] Plug The Playlist Loop Parental Control Double Bill [V] Tunes

Fox News 20:00 Happening Now 22:00 The Live Desk 00:00 Studio B with Shepard Smith Live 01:00 Your World with Neil Cavuto 02:00 Glenn Beck with Glenn Beck

03:00 Special Report with Bret Baier 04:00 The FOX Report with Shepard Smith 05:00 The O’Reilly Factor 06:00 Hannity 07:00 On the Record with Greta Van Susteren 08:00 The O’Reilly Factor 09:00 Hannity 10:00 On the Record with Greta Van Susteren 11:00 Glenn Beck with Glenn Beck 12:00 Fox Report 13:00 Special Report with Bret Baier 14:00 The O’Reilly Factor 15:00 FOX & Friends First Live 16:00 FOX & Friends Live 18:00 America’s Newsroom 19:00 America’s Newsroom National Geographic Channel 20:00 Megastructures -Super Pipeline 21:00 Long Way Down -Gentlemen,Start Your Engines 1 22:00 Cruise Ship Diaries -Inspectors On Board 2 23:00 Theme Week -Inside : Air Force One 00:00 Seconds From Disaster -The Bali

Bombing S2-8 01:00 ABOUT ASIA -Samurai Sword 02:00 Carrier -Groundhog Day S1-6 03:00 Deep Jungle : Monsters Of The Forest 2 04:00 Grizzly Cauldron 05:00 ABOUT ASIA -Samurai Sword 06:00 Lockdown -Inside Maximum Security 07:00 Built For The Kill -Sharks 08:00 Carrier -Groundhog Day S1-6 09:00 Wild Detectives -Bear Meeting 09:30 Food Lovers Guide To The Planet Daily Bread 3 10:00 Theme Week -Inside : Marine One 11:00 Seconds From Disaster -The Bali Bombing S2-8 12:00 ABOUT ASIA -Samurai Sword 13:00 Wild Wednesday -Lizard Kings 14:00 Wild Wednesday -Monster Fish : Mongolian Terror Trout 15:00 Theme Week -Inside : Marine One 16:00 Inside: FBI Stake Out 17:00 Seconds From Disaster -The Bali Bombing S2-8 18:00 Wild Wednesday -Lizard Kings 19:00 Wild Wednesday -Monster Fish : Mongolian Terror Trout

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

33 ACCOMMODATION 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: 66110593 or 24313908. (C 20430) 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 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 & kitchen central A/C flat near Emirates hotel Abu Halifa with Keralite Christian family. Contact: 97612421. (C 20427) 10-3-2010 Sharing accommodation available with a Keralite family for Keralite couples in a two bedroom C-AC

flat near Integrated Indian school Abbassiya. Please contact: 99255235.

(C 20426) Sharing accommodation available in Kuwait City.

Please call: 97527233.

(C 20425) 9-3-2010 Sharing accommodation available for Keralite or Indian bachelor in Sharq Kuwait City with all facilities. Contact: 97964063.

(C 20419) Sharing accommodation available in Farwaniya from 1st April in a flat with facilities kitchen, A/C, cupboard, satellite, buses convenient. Contact: 66021273/97449273, 24751664. (C 20418) Flat for rent with furniture 2BR, 2 toilet + kitchen, hall, 2 balconies, new building with reserved car parking decent location very close to Salmiya RC Church & Takkar Bhelpuri shop. Contact: 66764062.

(C 20424) Single room with separate toilet wanted for an executive preferably with decent Christian family. Contact: 66764062. (C 20423) 8-3-2010 Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya for Keralite Christian couple/working ladies in a CAC 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom flat, near Rainbow center/Eden store from March 25. Contact:

97143449. (C 20417) Sharing available in studio room with Mangalorean Catholic bachelor close to Khaitan cinema Garnatha. Contact: 66036893.

(C 20416) 7-3-2010 Sharing accommodation available in Sharq near Amiri hospital, in 2BHK CAC separate bathroom with Keralite family, for family, working ladies or executive bachelors. Contact: 97675851.

6-3-2010 Abaraq Khaitan, single room available for executive bachelor / lady opp Kuwait clinic beside the main road, new building, from 1st April. Contact: 97523316/ 24745162. (C 20411) 5-3-2010 Sharing accommodation available for couples or working ladies in Abbassiya. Please contact: 66538532. (C 20404) Accommodation available for non-smoking bachelor in 2 BR CA/C flat in Abbassiya near Integrated School. Contact: 97199124.

(C 20407) Sharing accommodation available for Indian bachelor to share with other Indian bachelors at Salmiya behind Apollo hospital in CA/C building. Contact: 97961405. (C 20405)

Room available to share with a working lady at Salmiya, close to Indian Community senior school, working ladies/girls. Contact: 66231580. (C 20408) 4-3-2010 Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya for Keralite couples only KD 50/month.

Contact: 97145592. (C 20402) Sharing accommodation (fully furnished room) available for an executive bachelor with Keralite family, near Classic typing center, Abbassiya. Call 66829585.

(C 20401) Sharing accommodation available with food for 2 Goan or Manglorean bachelors to share with a Goan family in Abbassiya. Contact: 66269035. (C 20399) Nangangai langan 2 pilipinang bed spacer sa Salmiya, likod ng Gulf Mart. tumawag sa 99101530 or 99132471. (C 20400)

FOR SALE 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 Items for sale in a 2 bedroom central AC flat in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, it in adjacent to Integrated Indian School and Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan.

Contact: 66482318.

(C 20414) 7-3-2010 Audi TT 2008 convertible black and red turbo mileage 40,000 km with best condition, special order from Al Ghanim. Tel: 99983300.

(C 20410) Furniture and household items, flat with two bedroom sitting dining balcony two full toilets extra kitchen table and cabinet, central A/C available near City Center Salmiya.

Contact: 97201151. (C 20413) 5-3-2010 1997 Mercedes Benz Class for sale, insurance up to 14th Feb 2011. Please contact: 99256044.

Corolla 1.8 2003 model, totally maintained by Al Sayer, all 4 tyres new top condition, price KD 1800. Phone: 97848077. (C 20403) 4-3-2010

MATRIMONIAL 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 (C 20415) 7-3-2010 Proposals invited for a well qualified Marthomite boy, 28 years and working as an HR - officer at a hospital in Kuwait. BSc nurses working at MOH or any other professionals preferred. Interested candidates may contact with full details and photo to: anishvarghese_81@yahoo.co.in (C 20412) 5-3-2010

CHANGE OF NAME I, Santokh Singh Tung Pritam Singh, holder Indian Passport No: G2644269 hereby change my name to Santokh Singh Tung.

(C 20409) 5-3-2010

BABY SITTING Baby sitting available near Carmel School, Khaitan, with motherly care, and flexible timing.

Contact: 66434840, 66436458, 55283525. (C 20422) 8-3-2010

SITUATION VACANT

Live-in Indian driver required for an Indian family with transferable residence 18 or 20.

Contact: 22406645. (C 20406) 4-3-2010

No: 14663

Flight Schedule Airlines JZR GFA DHX THY UAE ETD QTR KAC FC JZR CLX JZR JZR BAW KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY QTR ETD IRA FC GFA WAN IRC JZR JZR JZR JZR WAN MEA AQU IRM MSR KAC SVA WAN JZR MSR KNE JZR JZR WAN KNE SVA KAC KAC

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 10/03/2010 Flt Route 0263 BEIRUT 211 BAHRAIN 370 BAHRAIN 1172 ISTANBUL 853 DUBAI 0305 ABU DHABI 0138 DOHA 802 CAIRO 201 DUBAI 0503 LUXOR 792 LUXEMBOURG 0527 ALEXANDRIA 0529 ASSIUT 0157 LONDON 412 MANILA/BANGKOK 352 COCHIN 382 DELHI 302 MUMBAI 676 DUBAI 344 CHENNAI 284 DHAKA 362 COLOMBO 855 DUBAI 0121 SHARJAH 0132 DOHA 0301 ABU DHABI 603 SHIRAZ 203 DUBAI 213 BAHRAIN 1121 BAHRAIN 6791 MASHAD 0447 DOHA 0165 DUBAI 0425 BAHRAIN 0113 ABU DHABI 1021 DUBAI 404 BEIRUT 061 BAGHDAD/BASRAH 5066 MASHAD 610 CAIRO 672 DUBAI 508 RIYADH 2301 DAMASCUS 0171 DUBAI 621 ASSIUT 745 JEDDAH 0525 ALEXANDRIA 0257 BEIRUT 2001 CAIRO 703 RIYADH 500 JEDDAH 562 AMMAN 552 DAMASCUS

Time 00:05 01:05 02:15 02:15 02:35 03:00 03:25 4:45 5:25 5:35 05:45 06:10 06:30 06:40 06:45 07:40 07:50 07:55 08:10 08:10 8:15 08:20 08:30 08:55 9:00 09:35 09:40 10:30 10:45 10:45 10:55 11:00 11:05 11:10 11:20 11:20 11:55 12:00 12:55 12:55 13:25 13:30 13:35 13:35 13:55 14:00 14:05 14:10 14:20 14:25 14:30 14:35 14:40

JZR QTR KAC KAC RJA LMU GBB UAE GFA ETD SVA JZR JZR ABY JZR WAN JZR ALK UAL JZR WAN DHX WAN IYE KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC IAC KAC JAI OMA JZR WAN GFA MEA QTR UAE WAN JZR JZR GBB JZR JZR JZR JZR KAC SAI AXB DLH

0457 0134 544 546 800 109 061 857 215 0303 510 0493 0239 0125 0367 2101 0497 227 982 0427 2003 473 1025 824 502 542 618 674 166 0177 786 614 774 575 102 572 0647 0459 2103 217 402 0136 859 1129 0449 0429 081 0117 0433 0185 0695 548 441 393 636

DAMASCUS DOHA CAIRO ALEXANDRIA AMMAN ALEXANDRIA/ASSIUT BAGHDAD DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI RIYADH JEDDAH AMMAN SHARJAH DEIREZZOR BEIRUT RIYADH COLOMBO/DUBAI WASHINGTON DC DULLES BAHRAIN CAIRO BAGHDAD DUBAI SANAA/DOHA BEIRUT CAIRO DOHA DUBAI PARIS/ROME DUBAI JEDDAH BAHRAIN RIYADH CHENNAI/GOA NEW YORK/LONDON MUMBAI MUSCAT DAMASCUS BEIRUT BAHRAIN BEIRUT DOHA DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA BAHRAIN BAGHDAD ABU DHABI MASHAD DUBAI SHIRAZ SHARM EL SHEIKH/LUXOR LAHORE KOZHIKODE/COCHIN FRANKFURT

14:45 5:00 5:30 15:30 15:40 16:25 16:50 16:55 17:05 17:15 17:15 17:30 17:35 17:40 17:45 17:50 18:00 18:05 18:15 18:15 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:40 18:45 18:50 18:55 18:55 19:00 19:05 19:10 19:20 19:30 19:30 19:35 20:05 20:20 20:40 20:55 21:05 21:20 21:35 21:40 22:00 22:10 22:15 22:20 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 22:55 23:05 23:15 23:30

WAN BBC WAN PIA Airlines JZR AXB UAL IAC PIA DLH DHX THY UAE ETD QTR JZR JZR WAN JZR JZR GFA JZR VOS KAC JZR CLX KAC BAW KAC KAC KAC JZR JZR ABY UAE QTR KAC ETD IRA WAN GFA FC IRC KAC WAN JZR JZR JZR KAC MEA KAC AQU

2201 045 1029 215

AMMAN DHAKA/DOHA DUBAI KARACHI

Departure Flight on Wednesday 10/03/2010 Flt Route 0528 ASSIUT 390 MANGALORE/KOZHIKODE 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 994 MUMBAI/CHENNAI 206 LAHORE 637 FRANKFURT 371 BAHRAIN 1173 ISTANBUL 854 DUBAI 0306 ABU DHABI 0139 DOHA 0164 DUBAI 0524 ALEXANDRIA 2000 CAIRO 0112 ABU DHABI 0446 DOHA 212 BAHRAIN 0422 BAHRAIN 094 DUBAI/KANDAHAR 545 ALEXANDRIA 0256 BEIRUT 792 HONG KONG 543 CAIRO 0156 LONDON 671 DUBAI 551 DAMASCUS 561 AMMAN 0456 DAMASCUS 0170 DUBAI 0122 SHARJAH 856 DUBAI 0133 DOHA 117 NEW YORK 0302 ABU DHABI 602 SHIRAZ 2002 CAIRO 214 BAHRAIN 204 BAGHDAD 6792 MASHAD 541 CAIRO 2100 BEIRUT 0492 JEDDAH 0366 DEIREZZOR 0238 AMMAN 103 LONDON 405 BEIRUT 501 BEIRUT 060 BASRAH/BAGHDAD

FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161

23:40 23:40 23:45 23:55 Time 00:05 00:30 00:40 00:50 01:10 01:20 03:15 03:15 03:50 04:10 05:00 07:00 07:20 07:30 07:35 07:40 07:45 07:55 08:00 08:30 08:35 08:45 08:50 08:55 09:00 09:10 09:15 09:25 09:30 09:35 09:40 10:00 10:00 10:20 10:40 11:30 11:40 11:45 11:55 12:00 12:05 12:15 12:20 12:25 12:30 12:55 13:00 13:30

KAC MSR IRM KAC JZR SVA MSR KNE JZR KNE JZR JZR KAC KAC SVA KAC KAC RJA QTR JZR LMU GFA ETD UAE ABY JZR SVA JZR JZR JZR GBB JZR ALK WAN WAN IYE JZR KAC KAC KAC JAI OMA GFA DHX KAC KAC MEA KAC FC QTR KAC UAE JZR JZR KAC JZR

785 611 5065 673 0496 509 622 746 0176 704 0426 0458 617 547 501 773 613 801 0135 0432 110 216 0304 858 0126 0262 511 0184 0116 0448 092 0428 228 1128 1028 824 0694 283 343 331 571 0648 218 171 801 675 403 203 102 0137 301 860 0636 0526 415 0502

JEDDAH CAIRO MASHAD DUBAI RIYADH MEDINAH ASSIUT JEDDAH DUBAI MEDINAH BAHRAIN DAMASCUS DOHA SHARM EL SHEIKH/LUXOR JEDDAH RIYADH BAHRAIN AMMAN DOHA MASHAD ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DUBAI SHARJAH BEIRUT RIYADH DUBAI ABU DHABI DOHA BAGHDAD BAHRAIN DUBAI/COLOMBO BAHRAIN DUBAI SANAA SHIRAZ DHAKA CHENNAI TRIVANDRUM MUMBAI MUSCAT BAHRAIN BAHRAIN CAIRO DUBAI BEIRUT LAHORE BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI DUBAI ALEPPO ALEXANDRIA KUALA LUMPUR/JAKARTA LUXOR

13:40 13:55 14:15 14:30 14:40 14:45 14:50 14:55 15:05 15:10 15:25 15:30 15:35 15:40 15:45 16:10 16:20 16:25 16:30 16:55 17:25 17:55 18:00 18:10 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:50 18:50 19:00 19:15 19:15 19:30 19:40 20:00 20:15 20:50 21:00 21:10 21:20 21:55 22:00 22:00 22:10 22:20 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:50 23:20 23:25 23:45 23:50

SPECTRUM

34 CROSSWORD 923

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Calvin Aries (March 21-April 19) Don’t be too quick to

jump toward a new financial opportunity—there could be further negotiations necessary. Talk to someone today that will not be afraid to give you suggestions for adjustments—if there is any. You have a desire for beauty and harmony and finetuning your talents and using your imagination is the most fun thing to do right now. Your job may be in stage sets or design. It may also be in some other craft. Whatever the case, be aware that it is easy to be disillusioned and accept change with your usual good attitude. This is a good time to get rid of any unrealistic thinking. Long distance travel is advisable after the twenty-fourth of this month. To combat negative emotions, go with the flow. Enjoy a little exercise.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Irrational actions could

occur if you allow outside influences to rule your feelings. You must drop that continuous worry over someone else’s opinion. This could be a stressful day, but you will find a way to change it into a more positive one. Also, there are many great opportunities to double your money. Allow yourself time to think through a situation before making a decision. Then, try to remove your emotions before expressing how you want to proceed with a business, technical or personal plan. This can be a great time to be with others and to work together. Relations with a friend or business partner are on solid ground. Expressing affection should come easily this evening and can do much for your disposition. Your powers of creativity are great.

Pooch Cafe

ACROSS 1. Fiddler crabs.

4. A person active in party politics.

7. United States writer (born in Poland) who wrote in Yiddish (1880-1957).

11. A quantity of no importance.

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

13. Offering fun and gaiety.

14. (computer science) A measure of how densely information is packed on a storage medium.

15. A light touch or stroke.

16. An independent ruler or chieftain (especially in Africa or Arabia).

17. (architecture) Forming or resembling an arch.

20. Alternative names for the body of a human being.

21. Sluggish tailless Australian arboreal marsupial with gray furry ears and coat.

24. Being one more than fifty.

25. The capital of Croatia.

26. 1,000,000,000 periods per second.

27. (Apocrypha) Jewish heroine in one of the books of the Apocrypha.

29. Immense East Indian fruit resembling breadfruit of.

30. A telegram sent abroad.

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

37. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

38. An ugly evil-looking old woman.

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

44. A rotating disk shaped to convert circular into linear motion.

45. In or relating to or obtained from urine.

46. Having undesirable or negative qualities.

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

48. A quantity of no importance.

DOWN 1. A member of a Turkic people of Uzbekistan and neighboring areas.

2. An oral antibiotic (trade name Cipro) used against serious bacterial infections of the skin or respiratory tract of urinary tract or bones or joints.

3. Situated at an apex.

4. A genus of Ploceidae.

5. Leaf or strip from a leaf of the talipot palm used in India for writing paper.

6. A workplace for the conduct of scientific research.

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

8. South Asian deer with three-tined antlers.

9. (Greek mythology) The Muse of history.

10. Not easy.

18. A Hebrew prophet in the Old Testament who opposed the worship of idols.

19. A small fragment.

22. A type of submachine gun that is designed and manufactured in Israel.

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

28. A monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles.

31. An oil port in southern Iraq.

32. Long-winged web-footed aquatic bird of the gull family.

33. Any plant of the genus Erica.

35. A small cake leavened with yeast.

36. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism.

39. An anxiety disorder characterized by chronic free-floating anxiety and such symptoms as tension or sweating or trembling of light-headedness or irritability etc that has lasted for more than six months.

40. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the pilot is talked down by ground control using precision approach radar.

41. An implement used to propel or steer a boat.

42. A typical star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Today and tomorrow are this month’s best times for beginning a diet, or at least, giving it a boost. Be careful not to encourage your friends to adopt the same diet methods that you choose for yourself—everyone has their own special needs. Steam baths and good masseurs will help keep that motivation high-keep your up your water intake. Today you will be able to tackle tasks that require real discipline. Whether you are male or female, the family chores can become quite tedious and boring. Cooperation in redistributing domestic responsibilities among family members builds a family based on a teamwork attitude and frees everyone to some personal time later. Emotional security, a sense of belonging and nurturing are felt instinctively.

Non Sequitur

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Sometimes you feel that by the middle of the day you have become involved in too many people and too many subject matters. Stop and take a moment to get away from the crowd or to step up above the view so that you can see things in a different light. It might be good to make a list of first-things-first. Learn to execute some stress relief techniques. This will be easier if you have a place in which you can retreat for a few moments during the day. If you are working away from home, perhaps you could have a lunch time that is creative and nature oriented. This year you will give more thought to having a place of your own. This private place could be an area with lots of light for your drawings, art or music. Enjoy the opportunities to express your talents.

Leo (July 23-August 22) This is a great time to reflect and understand your own situation, just how you feel about yourself. Emotions in particular, or the feelings of those around you, may be very clear. You feel good and so does everyone else. Since this year is about your own development in the career and personal areas, love may not be your focus.

This does not mean it won’t be good, or even great—just not the main focus. Travel or a study could bring a new friendship interest. You are tempted to move into many different projects. This could mean providing a place for foster kids or creating some sort of meeting place for round-table discussions or a planning committee. You are feeling very warm, generous and outgoing and are a motivation to many.

Zits

Virgo (August 23-September 22) You will find that more changes happen in the career market today. It also appears that an organizational shuffle will affect you and could open up new opportunities. There could be fast changes and surprise events and you will need to be able to become flexible in your ideas and methods of working.

A family member, perhaps one that has been ill, is in need of a visit this afternoon. Visiting with this family member would be a good idea. A feeling of being at peace and stable on the emotional level comes to importance just now. Stability and permanence satisfies a deep emotional need. Music is also likely to play a more important role in your life. Romance is possible this evening, especially with your efforts in mending fences.

Libra (September 23-October 22) You may be sought after as just the person for a particular job. Your management and directional abilities are in high focus.

A new method of working may have you and your coworkers with your heads together in deep concentration. People are ready to help each other and that is the way it ought to be. Take heed to other people’s advice. Friends at work may be talking about family matters today. Fondness and appreciation for the past and for your roots in life take on greater importance for you. This afternoon, some form of team sports is invigorating and you enjoy the camaraderie among friends. Love is in full blossom—it certainly makes it easier to put the past behind you. You may find yourself dancing cheek-to-cheek.

Mother Goose and Grimm

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Business is

completed quickly today and you may be able to go home early or plan your weekend activities during the afternoon.

Nonrestrictive discussions and reading material may bring insights. Emotional security, a sense of belonging and nurturing are the issues felt instinctively now. You may intuitively know the weakness of your competition so planning a sales pitch, an advertisement gimmick or some other technique that will get you ahead in the long run may be where your attention is most focused this afternoon. You make good use of your time, no matter what the subject matter. You have enough personality and popularity to be a leader and may give some thought to a political station in your town. Advertising your name will be easy.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Your creative mind may not have an opportunity to kick in today as there are lots of people trying to gain your attention and you can become distracted; patience is a virtue. There is a genuine love of experiencing new things and you may go out of your way to find the new and exciting.

Compromise is paramount in all of your choices. You may want to just get out and walk or exercise after work this afternoon. This evening a young child may need homework guidance. You can demonstrate great understanding and sensitivity and it is easy to lend guidance, but perhaps not the answers. You enjoy pleasant surroundings—your environment reflects your mental peace of mind. Animals are your friends-a time of serenity.

Yesterday’s Solution

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Hard

yester

Yesterday’s Solution

to

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

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

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

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

Word Sleuth Solution

work is the mode for this day. You enjoy the work and take pride in finding the right answers in a quick amount of time. Your timing should be perfect today and others will take your guidance well. Look around for ways in which to strike a balance in your life. This will help you feel the peace of mind that you strive to achieve now. Finances are strong all month and opportunities to invest may come across you path often. There are plenty of opportunities this month to improve on a relationship. Lots of evenings will be spent in the arms of a sweetheart or with your many friends. Take this evening to rest, catch up on your reading and refurbish your energies. A little cross-word puzzle or a rented movie would also work.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You are at your mental best with sharp ideas and clear thoughts. This is an excellent time to make decisions and take care of mental work. You may have problems holding onto money, through bad investments or unpaid debts, which may surface now. This problem of holding onto money could also be because of the charities or causes that solicit your support. It would be good to be cautious and discriminate between those who really need your help financially and those who engage in rip-offs. Communication and getting your message across to others is at a high just now. Your timing should be perfect. You have an intuitive way about you in knowing when your loved one has needs. This is a good time to share with a loved one.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Communication with authority figures is enhanced. Your communication abilities are in full swing. This is an excellent time to sway others to your way of thinking. Be careful though, from taking it to extreme in trying to find the logical reason for every event that occurs, especially the action of loved ones. If you are not traveling physically, you certainly will be mentally. Why not consider a trip for the weekend? Your great fulfillments this month are in areas of moneymaking, image-creation and family interests. This is the opportune time to enhance all of these areas; ask for input from all involved. In the money-making area, it is the creative talents that are shaping up quite nicely. They will bring rewards—photography, carpentry, paint forms, etc.

INFORMATION

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

35 FIRE BRIGADE Operation Room 777 Al-Madena 22418714 Al-Shohada始a 22545171 Al-Shuwaikh 24810598 Al-Nuzha 22545171 Sabhan 24742838 Al-Helaly 22434853 Al-Fayhaa 22545051 Al-Farwaniya 24711433 Al-Sulaibikhat 24316983 Al-Fahaheel 23927002 Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh 24316983 Ahmadi 23980088 Al-Mangaf 23711183 Al-Shuaiba 23262845 Al-Jahra 25610011 Al-Salmiya 25616368

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25622444 25752222 25321171 25739999 25757700 25732223 25732223

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT): Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners: Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists: Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Plastic Surgeons: Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272

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22617700 25625030/60

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Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr.

Zahra Qabazard Sohail Qamar Snaa Maaroof Pradip Gujare Zacharias Mathew

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25655535 Dentists:

Dr Anil Thomas

3729596/3729581

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22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

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22561444

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22619557

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22525888

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25653755

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25620111

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Internist, Chest & Heart: DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Tel: 25339667 Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Consultant Cardiologist Tel: 2611555-2622555 Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324 Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

Internists, Chest & Heart: Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939 Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300 Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004 Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515 Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446 Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3

Physiotherapists & VD: Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291 Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288

25345875

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22636464

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22633135

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25658888

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr

25329924

Psychologists/Psychotherapists Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688 info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Ph.D. 2290-1677 Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg, M.A. 2290-1677 William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

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SPECTRUM

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Peter Andre considered suicide

36

celebrates Oscar win with a burger Dame Helen Mirren, Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe and Meryl Streep - in her acceptance speech, singling out ‘Julie and Julia’ star Meryl, calling her “my lover” in reference to their shared kiss at the People’s Choice Awards. She also jokingly thanked all the Hollywood stars who had been nasty to her in the past, including George Clooney, who she said had once thrown her in a swimming pool. Despite making the audience at Los Angeles’ Kodak Theatre laugh with her speech, she then became tearful as she thanked her late mother Helga D Meyer. She said: “Thank you for not letting me ride in cars with boys until I was 18. And for reminding her daughters that there’s no race, no religion, no class system, no color, nothing, no sexual orientation that makes us better than anyone else. We are all deserving of love.”

he actress - who picked up the Best Actress accolade for her role in ‘The Blind Side’ admitted she was overwhelmed by winning her first-ever Academy Award and was longing to go home. She joked: “I just want to eat! I just want to sit down and take my shoes off, and take my dress off, and eat a burger - and not worry that my dress is going to bust open. “Sorry that’s all I can give you, but I just want to eat! And take a nap.” The 45year-old star - who picked up Worst Actress for her role in ‘All About Steve’ at the Golden Raspberry Awards the evening before - was watched by her tearful husband Jesse James when she picked up her Oscar.

Dismissing his emotions, she said afterwards: “It was because the dancers kicked up a lot of dust.” Sandra paid tribute to her fellow Best Actress nominees -

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Efron thinks Pattinson is ‘amazing’ he ‘High School Musical’ actor is a big admirer of the ‘Twilight’ hunk and is particularly impressed with the way the 23year-old British star is handling his fame.

He said: “He’s absolutely amazing. I think he’s making great choices. I think he’s handling it all really well, but you know, he’s a superstar. He really deserves all this.” The 22-year-old actor arrived at the Academy Awards without girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens, but says she wants his support when she picks up the ShoWest Star of

Victoria irritates Gerard at the Oscar

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erard Butler reportedly got irritated with Victoria Beckham at the Oscars . The Scottish actor - who presented an award alongside Bradley Cooper at the Academy Awards ceremony at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood reportedly got so infuriated with the former Spice Girl causing a hold-up on the red carpet he ignored waiting photographers and headed straight into the event.

Victoria, also known as Posh Spice, made her arrival at the same time as the ‘Ugly Truth’ actor and spent ages posing for photographers, pushing Gerard’s patience over the edge. According to the Mail Online website, he turned to a friend and said: “Oh, I’ll be here for half an hour, let’s go in.” The Hollywood heartthrob had previously admitted he was a little disappointed his appearance at the awards show would be to present a gong and not win one. He said: “I’m going to record the show so I can play it backwards and pretend I’m accepting the award instead of giving it to someone else.” Victoria, 35, later attended Sir Elton John’s afterparty and spent the evening catching up with a host of her celebrity friends, including supermodel Heidi Klum and singer-and-actress Jessica Simpson.

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Tomorrow Award in Las Vegas later this month. However, Zac is unsure whether he can trust himself in the city, which is famed as a gambling and partying haven.

He told US TV show ‘Access Hollywood’: “She’s trying to get me to go to Vegas. I’ve not been to Vegas legal yet, since turning 21. I feel like I might get into trouble.” Zac was among a number of young presenters at the 82nd Academy Awards, with ‘Hannah Montana’ star Miley Cyrus and ‘Twilight’ actor Taylor Lautner also working on the night.

Shields’ fame drug

eter Andre considered suicide after suffering crippling panic attacks. The ‘Behind Closed Doors’ singer whose marriage with glamour model Katie Price ended in May last year - admitted the frequent attacks got so bad, he thought about ending his life and credits the love of his family for saving him. He said: “Did I think about ending my life? You can have thoughts like that and I’m not going to lie, there were times when it was so bad that I thought, ‘Am I better off?’ But you have to look at what’s around you. My family were my entire life and I thought, ‘How are they going to live the rest of their lives?’

That’s what stopped me.” The 36-year-old star ended up in hospital after suffering a breakdown 10 years ago, but this only made him worse because he convinced himself he was even more ill. He explained to Britain’s OK! magazine: “They didn’t know what was wrong with me, but they soon realized that all I

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had was a breakdown. “There was nothing wrong with me but I started to think this was because of the people around me. One woman in there had been tripping from an acid pill from the 70s. Another guy was in a straight jacket all day long and others had tried to commit suicide.” Despite sometimes still suffering from the panic attacks, the reality TV star who has children Junior, four, and Princess Tiaamii, two, with Katie - insists he won’t let himself fall so low again.

He said: “The last time I had a panic attack was three months after my break-up and the stress just built up and hit me.

You think you’re having a heart attack. No matter how many times you’ve had it, every time you think, this is it, I’m going to die. “Because of my kids these days I can’t be anywhere I can’t control. “I won’t go back to hospital because I’ve got children, they need me and I will always be there for them. I will never go back. I’ve got such a great family.”

Robbie Williams was ‘dying’ three years ago

symptom of a problem personally for me, for my own make-up. And also professionally for me rooke Shields says being famous is like a “drug”. being a devoted working mother, wife and daughter can be where I was, with the The 44-year-old beauty spent much of her childquite challenging. She said: “I’m greedy. We were walking people that I was with and how we were hood acting and modeling and while she enjoyed to school yesterday and my daughter said, ‘Mom, I want being looked after.” it, she will never let her two daughters, Rowan, you to be a class However since a trip six, and three-year-old Grier, follow in her mom.’ I laughed to rehab in 2007 footsteps because she also knows the pitin her sweet Robbie - who is falls. She said: “It’s a high like you can’t little face and engaged to actress imagine. It’s like a drug. “But no, I said, ‘You want Ayda Field - has been don’t want them involved. Every day me to be a class getting his life back on you’re told what you are not: You’re not mom?’ I said, track, although he short enough, you’re not thin enough, ‘I’m a classy admits he did pile on you’re not pretty enough. You’re always mom. Isn’t that the pounds last year losing out.” Brooke also revealed her enough?’ “ because his overuse of heartache at watching her own mother the drug cannabis, known as weed, made suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and the him constantly hungry. effect the illness - a form of dementia - has He told Radio Times magazine: “Did on her children. She told the Ladies Home you see me last year? Have a look at Journal magazine: “I’ve dealt with her alcolast year. Year of the munchie, 2009. holism for years, but this is so new to me.

Weed, it’s such a lovely drug. It is such I’m confident in my own mothering, I’ve a lovely drug. But it doesn’t mix well been making all my own decisions for a with me - at all. It doesn’t take long time, but after all these years, I want much to trigger- I mean, I’ll my mom. “My oldest is uncomfortable get psychosis from a cup anesbecause she knows more. One day she of tea! Seriously. The sa Paradis is the said, ‘Mom, are you gonna be crazy like caffeine in that is new face of Chanel Coco Toots when you grow up?’ I was like, ‘Oh, enough!”

Cocoon handbags. The God.’ “ But Brooke - who is married to French actress and singer, who has previously fronted both liptelevision writer Chris Henchy - admits stick and perfume campaigns for the famous fashion house, was one of the front-row guests at the Chanel show at Paris Fashion Week yesterday along with Lindsay Lohan and Alexa Chung. Vanessa, the long-term partner of American actor Johnny Depp, is a close friend of Chanel’s chief designer and couturier Karl Lagerfeld, and began working with the brand in 1991 where she throwing her a 22nd birthday party. A source he ‘Russian Roulette’ hitmaker was placed inside a giant birdcage covered in black said: “It was so sweet and she was really surreportedly flew back to the US from and feathers to advertise a perfume. In 2009 Berlin, Germany, at the weekend just prised. She looked just beautiful.” Matt orgaChanel confirmed Vanessa would front their camnized Caribbean food to be served to Barbadosto attend Matt Kemp’s Ante Up for paign for Rouge Coco de Chanel because of her born Rihanna and also reportedly bought her a Autism charity fundraiser, where she mingled “modern elegance, boldness of character and custom-made diamond necklace. The party was with his friends and relatives. A source told E! power of emotion”. In December, Vanessa made an extra-special for Rihanna as she cancelled her online: “Matt was happy she came. It was an appearance in Shanghai, China for the presentation 21st birthday celebrations last year in the afterawesome show of support. “Rihanna fit right in of Chanel’s Metiers d’Art collection. Chanel is not math of her assault at the hands of thenas if they all knew each other. It was comfortthe only brand Vanessa has modeled for in the boyfriend Chris Brown early in February 2009. able.” The L.A. Dodgers baseball star - whose past, she was also the face of Miu Miu for The source added: “Matt really wanted to do brother is autistic - recently surprised Rihanna Autumn/Winter 2008. something nice for Rihanna this year since she by didn’t have much of a 21st birthday last year. It was just her closest friends, good Jamaican food, a photo booth, dancing and a nice cake.” Matt, 25, has been linked to Rihanna since they were seen holidaying together in Mexico in January, but he has played down romance rumors. He said: “Rihanna is just a friend, a good friend of mine. We went down to Mexico and had fun together.”

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he ‘Bodies’ singer admits his spiral into addiction had got so bad that he was close to death in 2007 - and didn’t care about it. He said: “I was not in a good place. I was dying. I got to a point where I really, genuinely didn’t care.

“I’d just got fat and depressed before.

Then this one was like, you might die, now. Cool!” Robbie, 36, claims his addiction to drugs began in 1993, when he first took cocaine given to him by an unnamed 80s pop star. He said: “I’d already tried speed, ecstasy and acid but never cocaine. I think it was a

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Rihanna meets boyfriend family

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Vanessa Paradis’ handbag role

— BangShowbiz

SPECTRUM

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

37

Music & Movies Pink Floyd battles EMI in online royalties case ritish rock band Pink Floyd yesterday launched legal action against record label EMI in a case that centers around royalty payments and how music is sold in the digital age. The group, which signed with EMI over 40 years ago and whose back catalogue has been outsold only by that of the Beatles, is disputing how online royalty payments and the marketing of their music are calculated, the Press Association reported.

The band, whose albums include “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall,” is also challenging EMI’s ability to “unbundle” their albums and sell individual tracks online. Robert Howe, Pink Floyd’s lawyer, told the High Court in London that a contractual clause “expressly prohibited” such “unbundling,” or the selling of tracks other than in their original configuration whether in physical or digital form.

He added that EMI’s position was that the prohibition “applies only to the physical product and doesn’t apply online.” But that “makes no commercial sense” and was contradicted by the conditions used in the agreement with EMI, Howe argued.—Reuters

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US actress Geraldine Chaplin poses with German actress Joana Fee Wuerz and Dutch singer and actress Willemijn Verkaik after the Premiere of the musical ‘Wicked - Die Hexen von Oz’ (Wicked, the witches of Oz) at the MetronomTheater in Oberhausen, western Germany. The show is a worldwide success with more than 21 million spectators all over the world. —AFP

Phantom of Opera sequel opens amid ‘phan’ disquiet he sequel to “Phantom of the Opera”, one of the biggest musicals of all time, opened in London yesterday amid disquiet among die-hard “phans” who have been posting opinions online since previews began two weeks ago.

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber was sufficiently worried about the internet chatter-much of it negativeto criticize it in a recent newspaper interview, although he remained confident that “Love Never Dies” would have a happy ending.

The main forum for debate has been the website of theatre publica-

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tion What’s On Stage. Over 850 messages have been posted since Feb. 22, when “Steve 10086” described the musical as “boring”.

Not all of the contributions have been negative, however, and many authors had not been to see the show. The West End Whingers’ blog retiled the show “Paint Never Dries”. Lloyd Webber, who recently underwent treatment for prostate cancer, described those already attacking the new production as belonging to a “sad culture” of people “who live only by the old Phantom of the Opera.”

On the musical’s own website, one blogger summed up the mood among many “phans”: “Not great, well there will never be anything as good as Phantom, that’s for sure! “I went in with an open mind but felt like I was watching a rough cut of the actual thing.”

Cats would have closed Lloyd Webber, creator of a string of hit musicals including “Evita”, “Starlight Express”, “Cats” and “Jesus Christ Superstar”, believes some of his biggest shows may have struggled to survive in the internet age of instant reaction. “If anybody

Vocalist James Hetfield and bassist Robert Trujillo of US rock band Metallica perform in San Jose. Fans packed into the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium in San Jose to see Metallica live in concert on their World Magnetic tour. —AFP

Lil Wayne begins year jail term in NYC gun case fter saying goodbye on concert stages and online video streams, Lil Wayne had nothing to add as he was sentenced Monday to a year in jail for having a loaded gun on his tour bus. The Grammy Award-winning rapper delivered only a brief bow to fans and supporters as he was led out of a courtroom in handcuffs to start serving his sentence. With that, Lil Wayne headed off to face his punishment in a case that had shadowed him as he became one of music’s most prolific and profitable figures in recent years. Arrested in July 2007, he pleaded guilty in October to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He admitted he had the loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun on his bus.

His lawyer, Stacey Richman, said the rapper was resolute as he was taken away.

“He knew what he had to do, and he’s doing it,” she said. Lil Wayne will serve

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his sentence in the Rikers Island jail complex. Richman said she expected he would be held in protective cus-

Lil Wayne performs during the Grammy Show at the 52nd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California on January 31, 2010. —AFP

tody, but the city Correction Department said it was still deciding on that. Protective custody is given to inmates who, for a variety of reasons including notoriety, require separation from the general prison population. The 27year-old rap star could be released in about eight months with good behavior.

Lil Wayne, born Dwayne Carter, is going behind bars with his career in full throttle. His “Tha Carter III” was the best-selling album of 2008 and won a Grammy for best rap album. His latest album, “Rebirth,” was released last month.

He made a point of leaving fans with fanfare, from a “farewell tour” in recent months to a series of videos on the Web site Ustream on Sunday. “Law is mind without reason ... I’ll return,” he wrote on his Twitter account Monday morning.

Dozens of fans jockeyed with photographers waiting on the courthouse steps

Monday afternoon, cheering as Lil Wayne, fellow rapper Birdman and others arrived.

Shouts of “Oh, man” and “Keep your head up, Weezy!” — a nickname he often uses-erupted in the courtroom as he was sentenced. Although Lil Wayne had agreed to go to jail, a number of roadblocks kept him from starting his sentence in recent weeks.

First, his sentencing was postponed in February so he could undergo surgery on his bejeweled teeth. Then, a fire shut down Manhattan’s main criminal courthouse while he was on his way there last week. He told Rolling Stone for a story last month that he planned to keep working while behind bars. “I’ll be still rapping in there, have a gang of raps ready when I come back home,” he said. As for listening to music, inmates are allowed to buy AM/FM radios at the jail commissary. —AP

(with access to the internet) had seen the first preview of Cats I think it would have been closed,” he said.

In some ways Phantom is the hardest act to follow, having broken records with more than 9,000 performances in London alone, the longest run in Broadway history and performances before more than 100 million people since it opened in 1986. Yet it also received some poor reviews early on, including The Sunday Times which called it “masked balls”, and Lloyd Webber told the Independent recently: “Musical theatre history is littered

with bad reviews for now classic pieces.”

Love Never Dies opens at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End and will hit Broadway in November and Australia in 2011.

The new musical continues the story of The Phantom, who has left his lair at the Paris Opera House and, 10 years later, is haunting the fairgrounds of New York’s Coney Island.

The production team described the new show as a “rollercoaster ride of obsession and intrigue in which music and memory can play cruel tricks.” —Reuters

Tom Jones dubbed workshy by job centre

Guns Nʼ Roses plan ʻsecretʼ shows in South America

uns N’ Roses will play three private shows in Brazil and Argentina during the band’s current tour of South America, the organizer said on Monday. The shows are set for undisclosed locations in Sao Paulo tomorrow and Buenos Aires on March 20.

Plans are also in the works for a show in Rio De Janeiro.

Organizer Jamison Ernest said each venue will hold about 150 people. He declined to reveal too much information for fear of riots by uninvited guests. He will co-host the Sao Paulo show with Brazilian model Ana Beatriz Barros.

The 11-date tour, the band’s first trek around the continent since its heyday in 1992, began on Sunday in Brasilia. Dates are on tap through April 1 in Quito, Ecuador. The band will also

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play Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Colombia.

Ernest, a friend of Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose, also runs a clothing company and has a band, both named Yellow Fever. He previously organized three secret Guns N’ Roses shows, two in New York City and one in London.

Rose is the only remaining member left from the band when its popularity peaked during a decade spanning the 1980s and 1990s. The other members were either ousted or quit.

Even though its 2008 album “Chinese Democracy,” its first release in 17 years, was a major flop, the band remains a strong concert draw. Rose and his new crop of bandmates were last in Brazil to play the Rock in Rio festival in January 2001. —Reuters

A handout image obtained yesterday from Mullock’s auction house shows the employment history of Welsh singer Tom Jones then known as Thomas Woodward in the early 1960s. —AFP elsh singer Tom Jones was branded workshy by job centre officials who recommended him for work “which wouldn’t dirty his fingernails” before he became a worldwide superstar, documents said yesterday. Jones, then known as Thomas Woodward, did factory work while he was in a band trying to hit the big time in the early 1960s.

But officials at the labor exchange in his native south Wales thought his love of music was putting him off settling into a proper job.

“It would seem that Mr Woodward’s little hobby is highly lucrative and this would also account for his non-enthusiasm in securing employment. “Consider and submit as soon as possible to anything which wouldn’t dirty his fingernails!” they wrote in December 1963.

A year later, he was talking about signing a professional contract with record label Decca. But officials not-

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ed: “He is still signing the UR (unemployment register) and not autograph books. Jones, whose early hits included “Delilah”, “Green, Green Grass Of Home” and “It’s Not Unusual”-followed more recently by “Sex Bomb” and a version of Prince’s “Kiss”-has sold millions of records worldwide and is now worth an estimated 130 million pounds (143 million euros, 255 million dollars).

The notes are being sold by auction house Mullock’s in Shropshire, western England, on April 15 and are expected to fetch thousands of pounds. Richard Westwood-Brookes of Mullock’s said officials “obviously didn’t believe Tom Jones had any future”. “What it really shows is the clash of cultures that existed in the 1960s between the older generation who felt young people should be getting their hair cut and getting a proper job, and the young generation that wanted to get involved in rock’n’roll,” he added. —AFP

Lebanese composer Ziad Rahbani talks to reporters after a press conference yesterday in the Egyptian capital, ahead of his participation in the 2nd Cairo Jazz Festival. The festival, organized by Agwa productions, opens with a concert by Rahbani tomorrow. The 54year-old musician, known for his Jazz-influenced works, is the son of Lebanon’s renowned diva Fairuz and the late composer Assi Rahbani. —AFP

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Fashion

Paris waxes retro with Kenzo, Valli collections aris pulsed with retro energy on Monday, as the French capital’s fall-winter 2010-11 ready-to-wear shows moved into day six with Giambattista Valli’s feather-light display of 1960s elegance and a boho chic ‘70s collection from Kenzo. Yves Saint Laurent designer Stefano Pilati was also channeling a bit of a seventies vibe, though he subjugated it to a stark, almost Puritanical aesthetic, topping off razor-cut black skirt suits with starched Pilgrim collars and nunnish bonnets.

Valli-an Italian whose sophisticated, ladylike designs have won him dedicated followers among the international jet set-delivered a collection of trapeze dresses and drop-waisted cocktail dresses in a frothy patchwork of sheer silks, fabric petals, tulle and furs. Kenzo’s genial Italian designer, Antonio Marras, also looked toward a bygone era, reveling in the free, bohemian spirit of the seventies-when the 40-year-old label was founded. The collection of long light dresses and voluminous sweater-coats couldn’t have been cooler if it tried, (which of course it wouldn’t because trying is, by definition, uncool.)

French heritage label Leonard also raided its archive, sending out kaftans and little Aline dresses in a New Age-y, seventies feather print with suede appliques. Another heritage label, Emanuel Ungaro, made yet another attempt to resuscitate the now-flailing house after last season’s grand publicity stunt-hiring Lindsay Lohan as “artistic adviser” — crashed and burned spectacularly. The label’s then-designer quit just weeks before the show and young Spanish designer Estrella Archs rushed in to prepare a collection that was ravaged by the critics.

Monday’s collection, an endless parade of tiny bustier dresses, will likely fare no better. On Tuesday, Paris’ ready-towear shows enter day seven with the displays by French eccentric Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, romantic label Chloe and luxury superpower Chanel-one of the most highly anticipated shows on the French capital’s calendar.

row perch, adding “I’m definitely not a fashion connoisseur, though. It all looked very high fashion to me.” Other celebrity guests at the show included longtime YSL customer and the label’s one-time muse, French actress Catherine Deneuve, and Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue, who braved the frigid temperatures and icy winds in a silk blouse, a pair of high-waisted leather shorts and fishnet stockings-signed YSL, naturellement.

Emanuel Ungaro

YVES SAINT LAURENT What is it about the Pilgrim aesthetic that Pilati finds so beguiling? The Italian designer sent out structured black skirt suits hung with the wide round collars or, stranger yet, exaggerated epaulettes in clear plastic, like what raincoats are made from. A white poplin peasant shirt was paired with a highwaisted black skirt and round black collar with dangling plastic flaps. Another black pencil skirt and ample poplin shirt was worn with a multitiered black bonnet like those worn by certain orders of Catholic nuns.

Odder still, many of these rigorous, almost ascetic looks were worn with massive gold chains and dangling cutouts of people in profile.

It was an unsettling but not entirely unappealing performance by Pilati, whose uncompromising aesthetic has won him flocks of devoted followers though his recent collections have garnered mixed reviews.

Even among the A-list guests at Monday’s show, held beneath the lofty glass-and-steel ceiling of the Grand Palais, reaction was divided. Porno-chic photographer Terry Richardson pronounced the collection “beautiful-super sexy and chic.” “I think Yves would be happy,” he told The Associated Press in a post-show interview, referring to the label’s founder, who died in 2008 at age 71. But, in the interest of full disclosure, Richardson added “I have to say that I’m a fan of a big floppy hat, always. It kills me, it’s always amazing.” Maria Shriver, on the other hand, was less convinced by the exercise.

The first lady of California and wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger said “I’m not sure where I would wear that.”

“It’s not really my lifestyle,” she told The AP from her front

Antonio Marras for Kenzo

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KENZO A bohemian spirit infused Kenzo, as designer Marras looked back to the early ‘70s, when the label was founded, serving up long, light gypsy dresses paired with boxy menswear staples. Marras delivered jumpers in oversized floral prints, vests that glinted with embroidered mirror-work, fur accents and maxi-sweater coats in the madcap stripes and polkadot knits that have come to define the Paris-based label’s patchwork aesthetic. Airy dresses in sheer flower prints, with low waists and long flowing skirts, were worn with boxy pinstriped boyfriend blazers. And because it was a winter collection, the looks were layered with printed scarves and crazy, cozy knitted scarves and shrugsitems the brand consistently excels at.

Models, decked out in oversized shades and fedora hats, ate up the catwalk with long, swinging strides of their extra-tall platform boots. They wove in and out of the set of wooden poles hung with tangles of raffia as a soundtrack of Rolling Stones and Neil Young songs boomed overhead. The sober palette of plums, dusty browns, teals and grays, was pure 1970s chic, in homage to the era when the brand-which is celebrating its fortieth anniversary this yearwas founded.

Marras, an Italian who also has his own signature line, said he was inspired not only by the aesthetic of the period, but also by its reigning spirit of freedom.

“This is about fashion with no limits, with inspiration coming from all different themes,” Marras told reporters backstage.

“It’s the idea of fashion as a melting pot, which is the style that Kenzo was the first one to create,” he said, referring to the label’s founder, the Japaneseborn Kenzo Takada. Highlights of the ravishing collection included a vest heavy with silver flower appliques, a boxy blazer with sleeves in sparkling leopard print and an ankle-length tent dress in blood orange flower print.

If this is freedom, give us more!

EMANUEL UNGARO The brand’s trademark color is fuchsia, but its future looked black. Designer Estrella Archsthe latest in a series of designers

who’ve tried unsuccessfully to reverse the label’s fortunesserved up acollection that had some strong pieces-like the flamenco-influenced looks in emerald and toreador red and swingy coats in a clever polka-dots-cumleopard print-but sadly consisted mostly of uninspired bustier dresses in ruched bands, no different than what can be found at any high street retailer at a fraction the cost. Coming on the heels of the young Spanish designer’s disastrous collaboration with Hollywood bad girl Lindsay Lohan last season, Monday’s display was felt like a missed opportunity for Archs to

The “Freaky Friday” star didn’t deign to attend Monday’s Ungaro show-although she did attend British madcap John Galliano’s riotous display on Sunday evening and the Kenzo display later Monday.

Last season, the Ungaro presentation culminated in a near-riot, as hundreds of jour-

Stefano Pilati for Yves Saint Laurent shine.

Archs threw last season’s collection together in a matter of weeks following the departure of the then-designer, one-time wunderkind Esteban Cortazar, who reportedly quit in a huff after the label’s then-president Mounir Moufarrige informed him of Lohan’s appointment as “artistic director.” In the latest chapter of the dramatic saga of the house of Ungaro, Moufarrige-a Lebanese businessman who has made a career of resuscitating dusty old labelsstepped down late last year.

Lohan, it was reported, remained under contract with the house, although news reports Monday quoted Ungaro’s owner as saying the label has no further ties with the actress.

nalists and TV crews descended on the backstage to interview Lohan, who waxed poetic about her taste in clothes and just how much the collaboration meant to her. Without Lohan, Monday’s was a very different scene, with just a handful of reporters sticking around to interview Archs.

If the brand’s revolving door of designers in past seasons is any indicator, Archs’ position at Ungaro-which has been bleeding money since the 2004 departure of its founder-looked anything but secure. Even with time on her hands-and evidently without any interference from LohanArchs’ performance this time around was disappointing. —AP

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

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John Galliano fashion collection

Fashion

Models wear creations by British fashion designer John Galliano as part of his Fall-Winter ready-to-wear fashion collection 2010, presented in Paris, Sunday. —AP

Climate change chic at Chanel with fur skirt suits ith global warming, the icebergs are melting, the seas are rising and global catastrophe looms. But for Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld, that’s no excuse not to looks one’s best. Amid a monumental set of massive bergs — made out of hunks of real ice-L agerfeld sent out models in fur-covered tweed skirt suits splashing in shaggy cavewomen boots through puddles of Arctic melt at yesterday’s fall-winter 2010-2011 ready-to-wear show.

Four models in head-to-toe coffee-colored yeti suits huddling among icebergs, like refugees of the global warming-induced apocalypse, opened the display. After milling about in a daze, they dispersed, and L agerfeld’s parade of climate change chic commenced. Fur panels dressed up the hemlines of the classic Chanel skirt suits and the label’s blockbuster chainstrapped handbags, and fur trousers were paired with little tweed jackets. Most but not all of the fur was fake. Fancy knit sweaters glinted with beadwork, like icicles. Angora sweater dresses shone icily in an Arctic palette of white and powder blue.

The models kicked up a spray of droplets as they tromped the watery catwalk, and the hemlines of their ankle-length rock star coatsworn with cocktail dresses with delicately beaded bodices — were soaked. It was a strong display that highlighted not only Lagerfeld’s ability to reinvent Chanel’s trademark looks season after season, but also fashion’s capacity to appropriate the hot-button issues facing humanity and turn them into fodder for trends-even using the issues that scare us most. —AP

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Models wear creations by German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel as part of his Fall-Winter 2010-2011 ready-to-wear fashion collection presented at The Grand Palais in Paris, yesterday. —AP

www.kuwaittimes.net

(Left) Newly crowned 2010 Miss Universe Japan Maiko Itai celebrates her win with other contestants after the 2010 Miss Universe Japan final competition in Tokyo yesterday. The winner of the contest will compete representing Japan at Miss Universe 2010 pageant later this year.

—AFP

A stitch in time while doing time in Britain ushions delicately embroidered with roses compete for attention with bedspreads covered in playful kittens. The loving work of a doting grandmother?

In fact, they were made by hardened prisoners. Inmates in British prisons — mainly men — have taken up embroidery to pass the interminable hours behind bars, and many have soon found themselves engrossed by their new hobby.

Some even claim that stitching has helped chase away suicidal thoughts.

“It gives you a purpose. And some pride,” said Richard, one of the prisoners who has benefited from Fine Cell Work, an organization which gives inmates lessons in needlecraft and sells the products they make. Richard — under British prison rules, his real name cannot be revealed — likes nothing more than settling down in his cell with the balls of thread and needles

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An undated handout picture obtained on February 12, 2010, shows a prisoner making a quilt in a prison cell in Britain. —AFP

Man convicted for Crawford extortion A

donated by the organization. He soon found that his new interest grew into a passion. “When I started something, I had to get it done,” he told AFP in a phone interview.

Richard and his fellow inmates were delighted when their handiwork was selected to feature in an exhibition of embroidery opening this month at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London: “We thought: wow!” Even tattooed “big blokes” are soon lost in concentration if they volunteer for Fine Cell Work’s lessons, Richard said, adding in a faintly mocking tone: “They look tough enough but they do some beautiful stuff.”

In a letter to the organization, a man serving a life sentence recounted how he had unexpectedly discovered the joys of embroidery when a fellow inmate who often helped him obtain cigarettes and tea pleaded with him for help. “He explained how he’d broken his glasses and

Germany:

German man has been convicted of blackmailing supermodel Cindy Crawford and been sentenced to two years in jail. The court in the southern German town of Kirchheim unter Tech said yesterday that Edis Kayalar was found guilty of extorting money from Crawford by threatening to release a photo showing Crawford’s then seven-year-old daughter gagged and tied to a chair.

Kayalar turned himself in to German police in November 2009. The German news agency ddp reports Crawford paid Kayalar $1,000 in 2009 and got a print of the photo. But the man came back asking for more and demanded a total of $100,000. According to court papers, the girl says a former nanny took the picture as part of a “cops and robbers” game. Court documents say Kayalar stole the photo from the nanny. —AP

Two of oldest people in US die at 114 and 113 wo of the oldest people in the world have died on the same day. Mary Josephine Ray, who was certified as the oldest person living in the United States, died Sunday at age 114 years, 294 days. She died at a nursing home in Westmoreland but was active until about two weeks before her death, her granddaughter Katherine Ray said.

“She just enjoyed life. She never thought of dying at all,” Katherine Ray said. “She was planning for her birthday party.”

Ray died just hours before Daisey Bailey, who was 113 years, 342 days, said L. Stephen Coles, a director of the Gerontology Research Group, which tracks and studies old people and certifies those 110 or older, called super centenarians.

“It’s very rare that two of our super centenarians die on the same day,” Coles said.

Bailey, who was born March 30, 1896, died in Detroit, he said.

She had suffered from dementia, said her family, which claimed she was born in 1895.

Ray, even with her recent decline, managed an interview with a reporter last week, her granddaughter said. Ray was the oldest person in the United

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Mary Josephine Ray

Daisey Bailey States and the second-oldest in the world, the Gerontology Research Group said. She also was recorded as the oldest person ever to live in New Hampshire.

The oldest living American is now Neva Morris, of Ames, Iowa, at age 114 years, 216 days. The oldest person in the world is Japan’s Kama Chinen at age 114 years, 301 days. Ray was born May 17, 1895, in Bloomfield, Prince Edward Island, Canada. She moved to the United States at age 3. She lived for 60 years in Anson, Maine. She lived in Florida, Massachusetts and elsewhere in New Hampshire before she moved to Westmoreland in 2002 to be near her children.

Ray’s husband, Walter Ray, died in 1967. Survivors include two sons, eight grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

Morris, the Iowa woman now believed to be the oldest U.S. resident, lives at a care center.

Only one of her four children, a son in Sioux City, is still alive.

“She has some hearing deficiencies and a visual deficiency, but mentally she is quite alert and will respond when she feels like it and isn’t too tired,” said her 90-year-old son-in-law, Tom Wickersham, who lives in the same care center. Wickersham said he visits his mother-in-law — who plays bingo and enjoys singing “You Are My Sunshine” — nearly every day.—AP

needed to finish a pattern he was sewing for the in-cell charity course. “Although I class myself as being very butch and sewing is so very feminine, I figured I owed him, so I agreed to help him finish his work. “He showed me what it was I had to do, I made him promise not to tell anybody and I hid it in a cupboard in my cell.

‘They’re busy and occupied’ “About nine o’clock I got it out and started sewing. Before I knew where I was they started unlocking us for breakfast, a whole night had come and gone with no thoughts of suicide, and no tears of melancholy.”

Fine Cell Work was the brainchild of Anne Tree, who had the idea when she a prison visitor in the 1960s.

The organization’s executive director Katy Emck said up to 3,000 inmates in 26 prisons have taken part in its courses since they were launched 12 years ago.

Many prisoners are locked in their cells for 17 hours a day and around half are even denied the pleasure of reading to pass the time because they are illiterate. So it is perhaps hardly surprising that the embroidery initiative “immediately took off”, Emck said.

She recalled her first meeting with prisoners. “I was quite nervous. There were 30 men in the room and I asked them: ‘who would like to do tapestry?’ And all the hands went up. ‘Yeah, we want to do it!’ I was kind of amazed.”

Some 80 percent of the participants are men and each ‘stitcher’ spends 20 hours a week embroidering, but that can rise to 40 hours.

The inmates get a share of the profits from the sale of the items they make, although it amounts to no more than “a few pounds a week on average”, Emck said, but most argue that money is not their motivation.

“I would have undertaken the

piece for free, because it gave me a feeling of making a positive contribution,” explained one prisoner busy at work on cushions with a pattern based on a 12th century design.

“Making something good can help them feel themselves not as criminals but as creators, as worthwhile people,” Emck said.

She said prisoners would not be allowed to take part “if they are considered a danger to themselves or others”, but the courses are run on a voluntary basis and “there has never been a problem”. Emck said participants in the Fine Cell Work scheme behave well in prison. “(They) don’t get into trouble, they’re busy and occupied, they stop fighting when they start doing this.” Just in case, the embroidery teachers are equipped with a whistle to alert the guards if an emergency arises while they are giving their lessons. But none have ever had to use it. —AFP

Miss Captive Beauty 2010 Cecilia Juarez, an inmate of the prison at Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico smiles after being crowned as “Miss Captive Beauty” during a beauty contest in the framework of the International Women’s day. She has been imprisoned for two months on drug charges and awaits sentencing.

—AFP photos

Inmates of the prison at Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico appear on stage.

Inmates of the prison at Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico get ready for the “Miss Captive Beauty”.