19 May

ON IP TI SC R SU B

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

Assad defiant as US sanctions bite deeper

Telecoms in Gulf bet on data as growth ebbs

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JAMADI ALTHANI 16, 1432 AH

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Hollywood stars turn out for farewell Oprah show

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www.kuwaittimes.net

Falcao fires Porto to Europa League glory

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DISGRACEFUL! Sunni, Shiite MPs trade verbal, physical blows from the editor’s desk

Max 41 Min 29 Low Tide 06:52 & 19:52 High Tide 01:33 & 12:08

Rumble in the jungle

National Assembly or National Zoo!?

By Dr M Ziad Al-Alyan

By Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan

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myopinion@kuwaittimes.net

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isgraceful is the only way one can describe the scenes that took place in parliament yesterday without stooping down to their level.

The National Zoo, sorry I mean Assembly, witnessed MPs taking matters into their own hands literally, as they started throwing punches and whipping each other with the traditional headgear (egal). The issue being discussed was Kuwaiti detainees in Guantanamo. The government of Kuwait is trying its best to free them and has taken every opportunity to speak to US government officials about this subject.

MP Al-Qallaf, who seems to enjoy patronizing Sunni Islamists, condemned the two captives and branded them as terrorists. Now everyone is entitled to their own opinion but MPs are meant to represent the people, so when two Kuwaitis are held prisoner with not enough evidence to convict them, the last person to condemn them should be a Kuwaiti MP. However, it is not a surprise in Kuwait if MPs do not represent the people because most of them do that job during elections only.

Anyway, Al-Qallaf decided not to represent the people in his opinion and that made MP Mohammed Hayef Al-Mutairi feel compelled to reply in the most diplomatically correct manner of shouting. The debate got heated and all hell broke loose as Sunni and Shiite MPs started a royal rumble in the center of parliament. Perhaps next time we should invite the famous US ring announcer Michael Buffer to be the speaker of parliament.

The sad part is that the MPs who started this fight are both religious Sunni and Shiite Islamists. I wonder if their followers watched their behavior and compared it to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)? I’ve said this before and I will repeat it again - Islam is innocent of these behaviors and the fact that these MPs claim to be the champions of Islamic ways is just a hypocritical massacre of the true meaning and teachings of Islam. I don’t recall one incident of the Prophet (PBUH) or his companions acting in such a way even when the Prophet (PBUH) was being attacked with impolite words.

It’s about time the government lifts the political immunity our MPs enjoy and holds them accountable for their behavior in front of the nation. They are the ones who should be questioned over their intentions and their failure to achieve anything of benefit to Kuwait over the past decade. The irresponsible behavior of our MPs is a threat to Kuwait’s unity and economic stability. In one corner, we have Sunni extremists who want to turn Kuwait into a Talebanrun state; and in the other corner we have Shiite extremists who want to turn Kuwait into a Khameneirun state and the rest is for the government of Kuwait to understand and deal with.

KUWAIT: Sunni and Shiite MPs fight during a heated debate over inmates in the US Guantanamo detention centre in the National Assembly amid rising sectarian tension in the state. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

By B Izzak KUWAIT: A number of Shiite and Sunni MPs physically clashed in the National Assembly yesterday during a debate over Guantanamo inmates, prompting Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi to suspend Assembly sessions until May 31. In an unprecedented incident during Kuwait’s 50 years of parliamentary democracy, MPs threw punches at each other with Shiite MP Hussein Al-Qallaf using a cane in the scuffle. Shiite MP Adnan Al-Mutawwa received a cut under his eye and was treated at the Assembly clinic while MP Salem Al-Namlan received bruises in the face and neck.

Khorafi described the scuffle as “shameful”, while Prime Minister HH Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad AlSabah expressed deep regrets over the fight and called for restraint. MP Jamaan Al-Harbash, who took part in the fight, held the government responsible for heightened sectarian tension in the country.

Early on, everything seemed quiet in the Assembly as it began debating the US’ rejection to release the remaining two Kuwaiti inmates from the Guantanamo prison in Cuba. Qallaf said that the US would not have kept the two Kuwaitis in Guantanamo had they not been “terrorists” and charged that they belonged to Al-Qaeda. At this point, several Islamist MPs protested vehemently and called on acting speaker Abdullah Al-Roumi to stop Qallaf.

Then MPs exchanged strong words, with Qallaf insulting MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei. Roumi was forced to adjourn the session temporarily until order was brought to the floor.

MP Harbash then approached Qallaf and they again exchanged strong, derogatory words. Harbash then pushed Qallaf to the ground after he pointed his cane at

Kuwait, Iran to return ambassadors after row KUWAIT: Kuwait and Iran have agreed to return their ambassadors, Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said yesterday, signalling an end to tensions that have soured ties between both countries. “It has been decided for the ambassadors of both countries to quickly return to their missions,” Salehi told reporters in Kuwait.

The countries’ “high joint commission will also meet to discuss bilateral relations and means for improving relations between the two neighbours and friends”, he added.

Salehi’s visit comes amid allegations of an Iranian spy ring operating in the Gulf state which severed relations between the two countries and saw them engage in titfor-tat expulsions of diplomats early April. Kuwait has expelled three Iranian diplomats it accused of working for an Iranian spy ring, reportedly since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. Iran in response expelled “several” Kuwaiti diplomats.

Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah meets Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi at Bayan Palace yesterday. — KUNA

him. Several other MPs got involved in the scuffle and several others jumped onto the floor from the audience watching the proceedings. “A Kuwaiti from any sect can make mistakes, but the government and the country should provide him with a fair trial,” Tabtabaei told reporters. “This is a national issue, but unfortunately Qallaf wanted to break national unity and started calling them (Guantanamo detainees) terrorists and members of AlQaeda,” he said.

Later, MP Mutawwa said he will lodge a complaint against a number of MPs and their secretaries for assaulting him, adding that he has a medical report. He accused Sunni Islamist MPs of not believing in democracy, saying attacking opponent MPs physically “is a form of terrorism”.

Sources said that Qallaf was going to file another complaint, claiming he was assaulted. It was not immediately known if the Sunni MPs involved in the clash, Harbash, Tabtabaei, Falah Al-Sawwagh, Mohammad Hayef, Saad Znaifer and Salem Al-Namlan were planning to file complaints at police stations.

During the debate, Islamist MPs called on the government to press the United States to free the two Kuwaiti inmates or complain to the International Criminal Court.

The United States had already released 10 Kuwaitis from Guantanamo but has rejected all appeals from its staunch ally Kuwait to free the remaining two. Kuwait on Dec 1 disowned comments attributed to its former interior minister calling for the death of its nationals held at Guantanamo Bay. Former interior minister Sheikh Jaber was quoted by WikiLeaks as telling the US ambassador that his country did not want to see the return of the Kuwaiti suspects and Continued on Page 13

Qaeda names Adel as temporary chief DUBAI: Al-Qaeda has appointed an Egyptian militant as temporary leader and named a new head of operations following the killing of Osama bin Laden

by US commandos, AlJazeera said yesterday, citing Pakistani security sources. The Arab satellite channel said Saif Al-Adel was named interim leader and Mohammed Mustafa Al-Yemeni, whose surname hints he is from Yemen, would direct operations. “According to the sources, the decision (on the appointments) was made at a meeting on May 10 on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border,” said the channel, which was the main conduit for bin Laden to release messages to the media.

Continued on Page 13

esterday Kuwait and the world witnessed a disgraceful scene in the house of parliament. It was indeed a scene straight from the World Wrestling Federation. Our parliamentarians displayed their hidden talents. I have to stand corrected when I previously accused them of being good for nothing - they are value for money when it comes to entertainment.

I believe it is about time to rid us of this embarrassment. I implore His Highness the Amir to use his constitutional right and dissolve the parliament. Many including myself have been quiet for a long time. The public have put up with a lot of nonsense from these so-called respected parliamentarians. Absolutely nothing positive has been achieved by parliament in the last five years or so. In fact, quite the opposite has been done. I have sat with many of Kuwait’s poor and rich, CEOs and tea boys - they all believe that parliament has directly crippled the Kuwaiti economy in the last few years.

Unlike subtle economic issues that are only understood by a few economists and politicians, the case in Kuwait is far more clear. I had an 18-year-old boy wanting to buy my motorbike for a mere KD 1,200. He cancelled the purchase last week and when asked why, he replied, “I don’t know what’s going on in the country. I think I’m gonna hold on to my cash for now.” My local video store owner, a small business in Jabriya, is constantly complaining that recently he has had a significant drop in clients because people are afraid to spend!

These are not CEOs of multibillion-dollar corporations - these are simple everyday people who can see the unrest caused mainly by actions in parliament that are debilitating the economy. We as newspapers and publishers have seen tens of advertising campaigns being cancelled recently, all for the same reason. The same refrain is being heard in diwaniyas daily: “God knows what’s coming soon!” There is a sense of fear and unrest within Kuwait. At a time when oil prices are rocketing due to international events, our economy is facing its worst days. I am not even going to make a reference to foreign investors coming to Kuwait.

I say it’s about time to make changes. I am not asking for a revolution. In fact I’m saying that democrac y is not for all. In order for democracy to work, we need a relatively educated population. Unfortunately, we in Kuwait were never ready for democracy. Democracy will work when people vote for candidates based on merit and not religion, ethnic origin or tribal affiliation. Democracy works when women aren’t forced to vote the way their husbands want. Parliament works when there are strict rules that must apply for membership, for example a recognized education, not a PhD bought in Egypt!

Through the last few years, I have witnessed many grillings of various ministers and the prime minister himself. Not one topic was relevant to everyday people or to everyday life. Not once was the minister of health questioned for the quality of medicine in Kuwait or for the fact that we haven’t had a general hospital built since 1984. Instead, he was questioned for a party that some hospital staff had for the New Year. Not once was there a questioning of the minister of education about the falling level of education at public schools - instead they questioned the minister about the transfer of a staff member from one office to another. Petty questioning by petty people, who only serve their own personal agendas. What do you expect from a nobody who suddenly becomes an MP because he has a lot of cousins voting for him?

Look at me, I am questioning the prime minister.

With great respect to the few, I must conclude by once again sending a plea to His Highness. Rid us of these uneducated hypocritical few that are tearing the fabric of our society.

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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

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New tactic helps Cabinet confront detractors Police on alert ahead of protest KUWAIT: The Cabinet has devised a new political tactic to face opposition in the Parliament. Many analysts who observed the parliament session on Tuesday agreed the tactical move has been put into force, saying that the new Cabinet formation provided elements that enable it to confront the opposition more effectively. The Minister of Oil and State Minister of Parliament Affairs Dr Mohammad Al-Busairi maintained composure while responding to oppositionist lawmakers, newcomer Minister of Cabinet Affairs Ali Al-Rashid surprised many with the rather blunt manner in which he addressed lawmakers.

Ahmad Al-Mulaifi, New Minister of Education and Higher Education provided a balanced approach in ensuring that he supports his arguments while replying to detractors by quoting regulations and the Constitution, reported Al-Rai. Many pundits have speculated on how the Cabinet plans to manage the grilling motion filed against Sheikh

Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of Development and Housing.

The general belief is that the Cabinet cannot inquire about the constitutionality of the grilling motion.

The grilling motion filed against him is actually a revival of an interpellation motion that was filed against him before the previous Cabinet resigned.

Al-Fahad expressed willingness to attend the debate session. The Constitutional Court has set May 30 as the date to release the verdict regarding the constitutionality request made by the cabinet regarding the grilling motions filed by lawmakers Ahmad AlSaadoun and Abdurrahman Al-Anjari against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah.

Meanwhile, security forces are on high alert following calls on Facebook by youth political groups, who are planning protests tomorrow against the decision to send grilling motions

to the Constitutional Court.

A source from the M inistr y of Interior said that all unlicensed gatherings will be barred. In the meantime, constitutional exper t and Kuwait Universit y professor Dr Mohammad Al-Feeli has weighed in on the subject. He explained that the Constitutional Court’s duty is not to see whether a grilling motion is constitutional or not, but rather to interpret the constitutional articles which govern the process. “This means that the grilling can still be debated in accordance with the parliament’s regulations, but these regulations also enable the cabinet ministers facing the grilling to request for the debate to be postponed,” he added.Dr AlFeeli further stated that the court’s ruling in this subject isn’t obligatory, meaning that it only pertains to interpreting certain articles, after which the parliament will make its decision based on that interpretation.

South Africa marks Freedom Day

KUWAIT: Health Minister Dr. Hilal Al-Sayer yesterday toured Farwaniya hospital accompanied by a number of top ministry officials where he inspected work progress and the availability of providing patients with proper medical services.

KUWAIT: On the occasion of celebrating South Africa’s 17 years of freedom, we reflect on the attainment of South Africa’s democracy, national reconciliation, unity and the restoration of human rights and dignity.

Today, we celebrate freedom and democracy that was achieved through the sacrifices made by true freedom fighters, ordinary South Africans and freedom loving Delarey Van Tonder people in Africa, including the international community. We extend again our gratitude to the government and people of Kuwait who supported our struggle for freedom and broke down the walls of Apartheid.

Today, we also salute and pay tribute to all South Africans who contributed to the establishment of a solid, sound, stable and functional constitutional democracy. We are proud to say to the world that South Africa’s democracy is unique as it was home grown. It was through the will of the people and it was inspired by visionary and principled leadership.

South Africa’s democratic order faces many challenges. We see our democratic revolution not as an event but as a continued process. In this respect, we should all be reminded of the words of Nelson Mandela when he said, “I have walked the long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk has not yet ended.”

The South African Embassy is also proud to announce the exhibition of a collection of visual images entitled ‘South Africa’s 2010 legacy.’ The creator of these magnificent pictures recorded during the 2010 Soccer World Cup held successfully on the African continent last year is one of Kuwait’s eminent photo journalists Baha’a Al-Din Al-Qazweeni. He has captured the spirit of our nation, and our collective support and vision for ‘A better South Africa, in a better Africa and a better World.’

At the same time, the South African Embassy on behalf of the government and people of South Africa wishes to pay tribute to Nasser Al-Kharafi, one of the great sons of Kuwait whose legacy remains on our continent through his contribution to the construction of some of the finest soccer stadiums in our country; enabling us to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup in such an effective and efficient manner. May God bless his soul.

Delarey Van Tonder South African Ambassador State of Kuwait

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

LOCAL

News director faces grilling over ‘shmagh’

Local Spotlight

Parliamentary showdown

‘Only part of a bigger problem’ KUWAIT: The Minister of Information and Communication Sami Al-Nisf has decided to subject the Information Ministry’s Undersecretary Assistant for the news and political programs affairs Yousuf Mustaf to questioning over complaints filed against him by a large number of employees in the ministry’s news department. Mustafa has been under fire following a recent incident, in which he allegedly instructed male newscasters to refrain from wearing shmagh (red headdress).

According to the report, the newscasters were told to wear the white color instead - which ‘is close to the Kuwaiti culture’.

A petition signed by nearly 80 staff members from the news department however indicates that this incident is only part of a bigger problem, hinting that Mustafa is involved in a campaign aimed at “limiting the

influence of Bedouins on the news department”.

Meanwhile, sources believe that this case is part of an organized campaign aiming to oust Mustafa from his post for personal reasons, while playing the ‘sectarian card’ “which have proven to be effective on the parliamentary scene”.

On his part, Mustafa said he is willing to cooperate with any procedure that the new minister believes is better. “All Bedouin and Hadar (urban) are respected”, said Mustafa as he warned on the effect of playing ‘sectarian card’ on the social unity.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior is coordinating with the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs on the possibility of coordinating the religious teachings in the Central Jail, and the MAIA’s Holy Quran teaching and memorizing programs.

The Rashad (guidance) Holy Quran center was shut down briefly by the Interior Ministry following the escape of a prisoner who was later apprehended.

Investigations are ongoing regarding the manner in which he escaped from jail. The center was opened later after no evidence were found to prove that it was involved in the case.

Recently, the Undersecretary Assistant for Correctional Institutions Affairs at the Ministry of Interior, Major General Anwar Al-Yassine met with the MAIA’s undersecretary assistant for the Holy Quran and Islamic studies affairs Abdullah Barrak, and they talked about boosting cooperation between the two ministries in regards to the religious guidance services that the MAIA provides to inmates at different correctional facilities.

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Shiite and Sunni MPs fight during a heated debate over inmates in the US Guantanamo detention centre in the parliament yesterday amid rising sectarian tension in the country. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei speaks to the press after a fight between Shiite and Sunni MPs that erupted during a heated parliament debate yesterday.

In my view

This is the punch line

By Hussain Al-Qatari

hussain@kuwaittimes.net

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he situation in Kuwait cannot get any worse. There is no way anyone can sugarcoat this truth: we are in deep trouble.

Yesterday, our Parliament turned into a wrestling ring as parliament members failed to have dialogue and decided to use their hands instead.

What sparked the fight was sectarian comments made by a Shiite parliament member. In retaliation, a group of Sunni Islamist members decided to let their hands do the talking and let loose some punches. Meanwhile, extremist hooligans continue to spray-paint offensive comments on the walls of mosques, destroying the sacredness and sanctity of this holy place.

The stench of dirty politics has invaded everything - mosques, universities, homes.

Many politicians in Kuwait proved to us repeatedly that they are incompetent, selfish, ill-mannered, and intolerant. What is more shocking is the fact that many of them continue to be elected by people. Do we really enjoy their uncivilized behavior?

Nothing can stop parliament members from acting the way they did yesterday. The sectarian and racist tension in Parliament is a reflection of the overall tension in the country, and the Parliament is sadly making it worse.

Parliament members are supposed to be wise and charismatic men and women, who have the ability to influence the masses positively. Instead, they are fueling the fire, and they are doing it amazingly, to the applause and approval of the people.

There are no signs of a better future today.

We need to make a better future ourselves. We need to speak up against the disgusting intolerance of parliament members and politicians.

If we don’t, then we should give up on the idea of a better future.

Arab media forum kick-starts DUBAI: The 10th session of the Arab Media Forum kicked off here under the sponsorship and in the presence of Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

In a keynote speech, Maryam Bint Fahad, Executive Director Dubai Press Club, expressed appreciations on behalf of the journalists and Arab Media people to the Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai for his patronage of the Arab Media Forum and Media people in the Arab world.

Calling for Arab media development, she said the development of Arab media represents a push for more efforts to maintain excellence in order to fulfill the aspirations of Arab media figures.

Egypt’s Minister of Culture Emad Abou Ghazi also delivered a speech greeting the Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and conveyed the greetings of Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf to the participants.

He also praised Dubai Press Club for organizing this forum regularly. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and the attendees watched a documentary film about “Arab Journalism Award” and “Arab Media Forum” in promoting role of Arab Media.

The opening session was attended among others by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Aviation Authority and Chairman of Emirates Group Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in addition to journalists and media leaders in the country. — KUNA

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

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hameful scenes unfolded in the National Assembly yesterday. It is the place where leaders who represent the nation frame laws that govern the country. We claim to be proud of it and want to preserve it for what it represents; as citizens and a society. Differences in opinion about Kuwaiti prisoners in Guantanamo prison prompted some Shiite and Sunni Islamist MPs to come to blows.

One could not tolerate the other’s opinion. One MP vehemently asserted that the detainees are terrorists who should not return to Kuwait. The problem now is that Kuwait is home to suicide bombers and terrorists. The anti-social elements who believe in violence and power form the real security threat.

They want to see it being implemented in every part of society. The fact that MPs used physical force to pummel their own colleagues into silence indicates that brute strength is the only language that is practiced.

Whatever happens on the street, school yard or mosque was replicated in the National Assembly. The dictionary of violence does not know what respect means. No respect is shown to anything or anybody. Is this the new language that we need to learn? Why don’t we shut down schools and stop educating our children? Let’s resort to the law of the jungle instead, if this is the manner in which we deal with our differences!

Whatever has happened in the National Assembly is not only wrong, but is a horrendous mistake. For how long will our hopes, as citizens, be manipulated?

When will all the bickering and fist fight come to an end? I doubt if that will happen any time soon, with MPs behaving in this erratic, uncivilized manner. We did not elect MPs so that they can demonstrate live violent shows. Thank you MPs, your performances are not wanted at all.

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Arab Parliament hits hard at violence against protesters Ordinary session to be held on Sunday

KUWAIT: Al-Sager with the trainees of the Summer Internship Program in a group photo

NBK launches Summer Internship Program KUWAIT: In light of the tremendous success of the Summer Internship Program in the past years, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the best bank in the Middle East, is launching the first in a series of the 2011 Summer Internship Program on June 12. The two-week courses are specially designed for high school & college students aged between 15 and 20 years.

Isam Al-Sager, NBK Group Deputy CEO said that NBK views the Summer Internship Program as an extension of its educative initiatives

as part of it social responsibility.

Over the past 12 years, NBK has trained more than 3000 student during summer.

“This annual program demonstrates the NBK’s long-standing social involvement as well as its national commitment towards providing the young generations with the appropriate opportunities to experience how the actual professional banking issues and transactions are handled and processed”, Al-Sager added.

The Summer Internship Program

consists of 5-hour daily sessions and features a mixture of theoretical and practical training dedicated to providing the interns with invaluable knowledge on a variety of subjects such as; the teamwork, creative thinking, means of self expression and modern banking, in addition to helping them to have greater exposure to daily banking work procedures. Online registration for the Summer Internship Program is open until May 31st through nbk.com and through NBK official page on Facebook and Twitter.

Fast cars and smart phones

By Lisa Conrad

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pon arriving to Kuwait, one of the most noticeable, attention grabbing features of the country are the beautiful cars. You don’t have to know anything about cars to appreciate the vehicles here. However, the incredible amount of gleaming, luxury cars are being paralleled by an abnormally high rate of car accidents and, even worse, high fatality tolls. When I arrived, just two weeks ago, I was so taken by the beauty of the cars that I didn’t initially notice that the majority of the drivers were also on their cell phones. Or applying make-up. Or smoking.

Or eating. Multi-tasking is a great skill, but not in all scenarios.

Comparing to Lebanon, it’s easy to assume that there would be the same horn-honking and aggressive driving here in Kuwait, but it’s just not the case it seems. The roads are wider and well-planned, so it’s just not as hectic in general. But the main problem seems to be distraction. Of course there are the highway surfers who weave in-and-out of traffic at incredible speeds, but they are far less common than the distracted drivers. In two weeks I’ve passed around three accidents, one that looked especially bad.

The driving habits are only daunting to begin with, however, according to 26-year-old Kuwaiti, Sara: “When you start driving here it’s terrifying, you’ll find yourself in the middle lane of the highways, too scared to even consider moving. But you get used to it, you adapt.” When asked if she uses her cell phone whilst driving, she laughs: “Of course I do. Everyone is complaining now that using your cell phone when you are with friends or family is rude or insulting, so using it in the car is ideal. I try to stick to calls instead

of messages though.” The infamously high rate of car accidents, including those caused by the seemingly innocent multi-tasking that Sara described, has the government working on a remedy. A report by the Ministry of Interior found that accidents had tripled between 1995 and 2006, but action is being taken it seems. The UNDP worked with the government to form the “National Traffic and Transport Sector Strategy for Kuwait 2009-2019”, with the plan currently being implemented with a four year project ending in 2013.

The project intends to “... improve planning and design process; reduce the severity, frequency, and cost of road accidents to the community; alleviate congestion; optimize movement of people and goods; enhance public transport service; strengthen law enforcement; and contribute to the reduction of gases which contribute to climate change.” The intention is there, but can the problem be fully eradicated if distraction whilst driving remains? The US Bureau of Consular Affairs describes driving in Kuwait as “extremely hazardous” and lists distraction and inattention as two key aspects.

Combating distraction whilst driving depends on regulations. The cars are beautiful, the roads are spacious and well organized, so the only factor taking away from it all is the frequency of the accidents. At the least, campaigns should raise awareness, and at the most laws should address the issue. When asked how she would react if cell phone use whilst driving was illegalized, Sara commented: “I’d be annoyed. It would be inconvenient of course but I would understand. I’ve managed to avoid having any accidents in all my years driving, so I’m sure I could avoid using my cell phone.”

KUWAIT: The Authority of the Amiri Guard held yesterday an exercise in cooperation with the Interior and Health Ministries to evacuate Seif Palace. The exercise aimed at boosting cooperation amongst security and health personnel in case of emergency.

Kuwaiti conducts 3 catheter surgeries KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti medical consultant will carry out three complicated heart catheter surgeries on the main stem through a Kuwaiti invention that was scientifically registered, and will be transmitted on air through satellites to the biggest cardiac catheter conference in the French capital of Paris.

Dr. Ibrahim Rashdan, head of the heart catheter unit at the Chest Diseases Hospital, and member of the teaching staff at Kuwait University who will conduct the three surgeries, said that the EuroPCR 2011 Cardiovascular Conference is held every year, and it is a main source of information and progress made in catherization surgeries as it draws the participation of a large number of medical centers and medical specialists from all over the world. Rashdan added that contributions to the conference take many forms including the submission of research papers, giving lectures, or holding debates, noting that Kuwait’s Chest Diseases Hospital has taken part in all these different aspects.

Further, he said that such scientific contributions will reach its climax tomorrow with an instant transmission of three surgeries conducted at Kuwait’s Chest Diseases Hospital at the request of the conference. — KUNA

CAIRO: Arab Parliament Speaker Ali Salem Al-Diqbasi declared yesterday that the first ordinary session of the Arab Parliament in 2011 will be held at the Arab League’s headquarters here next Sunday, and will last till next Monday. Al-Diqbasi made clear, in a statement that was circulated today, that Arab Parliament’s standing committees including foreign affairs, political, national security as well as those of economic affairs, legislative and legal affairs, human rights, and social and cultural affairs, and women and youth affairs will convene from next Friday, and for two days to discuss topics on the agenda.

He also noted that this will be preceded by a meeting held by the Parliament’s bureau next Thursday, adding that parliament will discuss at the opening of its session an array of key topics including latest developments in Syria, Yemen, and Libya.

Al-Diqbasi also said that, “Arab Parliament cannot keep silent on the acts of violence committed against protesters in the abovementioned Arab countries, and it will discuss the ways of addressing such situation according to the

document of development and modernization that was adopted by the Arab summit in Tunis in 2004.”

He added that, “at the forefront of these principles adopted by the document are the consolidation of democracy, the promotion of freedoms, the respect of laws, the boosting of human rights, and achieving Arab economic integration.”

Al-Diqbasi also said that topics which will be mulled by the parliamentary session include the latest Arab effor ts made on the Arab national security strategy in light of international and regional variables, and Iran’s occupation of the three islands belonging to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), namely Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa.

He added that the Arab Parliament will continue to mobilize international support with the aim of recognizing the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital along with putting pressures on Israel to release the Palestinian prisoners, taking upon itself the task of raising the issues of these prisoners at international and regional parliamentary gatherings,

and exposing the Israeli practices.

Al-Diqbasi also said that the Arab Parliament will also raise at regional and international gatherings the issue of the detention Marwan Al-Barghouti, member of the Palestinian National legislative Council, along with other MPs who are hunkering down at the Israeli jails.

The Arab Parliament will also thrash out developments of the situation in the Syrian occupied Golan Heights as well as those in Sudan’s Darfur, Somalia, and the French occupation of Mayotte island which belongs to the United Republic of Comoros.

He concluded by saying that the Arab Parliament will discuss relationships with European Parliament, and African Parliament alongside the challenges facing the modernization of the Arab agreement on organizing the refugees’ conditions in the Arab world, and setting a template Arab draft law for combating human trafficking, and the Arab agreement on protecting AIDS patients and those who live with them, in addition to deliberating women, children, and youth issues. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Lt Gen Ghazi Al-Omar, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior paid a visit to Al-Dhaman Vehicle Testing Company recently. He emphasized that Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior has instructed that companies interested in performing vehicle tests should be provided with necessary assistance, provided their facilities are well-equipped.

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KUWAIT: Dr Ahmad Al-Shatti, Director, Occupational Health Department Ministry of Health, left, and Dr Bader Al-Enezi, Gastroenterology and Hepatology specialist (second left) at the ëHepCareí launch yesterday. —Photo by Joseph Shagra

Al-Sayer launches ‘HepCare’ free treatment for employees ‘Silent but dangerous disease’

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: “People with hepatitis B or C might show no symptoms and the only way to uncover the health problem is through testing,” a medical expert said yesterday. The AlSayer Group, in cooperation with Roche and Kuwait ’s Ministr y of Health announced its free-testing and treatment for all its employees.

The launch of ‘HepCare-Get tested’ was held yesterday at Al-Sayer headquarters located at the FreeTrade Zone, Shuwaikh.

Dr Ahmad Shatti, Director of the Occupational Health Department of the Ministry of Health and Dr Bader Al-Enezi, Gastroenterology and Hepatology specialist at Jahra Hospital presented a lecture about hepatitis to enlighten the public on what they termed as ‘the silent but dangerous disease which could lead to death’. Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ commonly caused by viral infection.

The condition can be self-limiting, healing on its own or can progress to acute liver infection and worse, cancer. Hepatitis B and C are two such chronic cases responsible for approximately one million deaths per year.

The World Health Organization says that some 500 million people around the world are infected with chronic hepatitis B or C viruses.

Based on unofficial study in the country, at least 1.5 to 2 percent of Kuwaiti population may have been infected with the hepatitis virus, Dr Al-Enezi said.

“The figure may have been higher if the expatriate populations are included. So what we have been doing right now is to encourage people to undergo tests so as to understand and determine the number of people infected with the virus,” Dr Al-Enezi said. “We don’t have clear statistics of the entire population but I advised everyone to undergo test. People infected with hepatitis virus can sometimes appear to having no signs at all, but the fact is they are active carrier of the virus,” he added.

Al-Enezi mentioned that hepatitis B is a curable disease while hepatitis C vaccine are yet to be discovered, but it could be easily prevented, if the population are aware of it.

Some common causes of Hepatitis include over-consumption of alcohol, blood transfusion and drugs.

People vulnerable to hepatitis are those living with multiple sex partners, the families with infected members and people who share needles-for drugs or blood [transfusion/use], razor blade, contaminated foods, toothbrush, unsterilized medical equipments, health workers and mother to their babies.

“I suggest vaccination. Kuwait has already been implementing compulsory vaccination to all chil-

dren born in Kuwait, free of charge.

Adults can also visit our health centers all over Kuwait to get the vaccine with a minimal charge,” Dr Al Enezi advised. Al-Enezi mentioned that the initiative of Al-Sayer is a good example for others to follow.

Kuwait campaign against Hepatitis was launched by the government in 1992, registering rare incidence or a decline of hepatitis virus from group ages 20 and below. The vaccine is being offered to expatiate babies born in Kuwait.

Other signs and specific symptoms of person with hepatitis are malaise, muscle and joint aches, fever, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, and headache. Other symptoms include profound loss of appetite, aversion to smoking [for smokers], dark urine, yellowing of the eyes and skin (jaundice) and abdominal discomfort.

Engineer Nehad Al-Haj Ali, AlSayer Assistant M anager (Environment, Health and Safety) revealed, the campaign HepCare covers all the Al-Sayer Group of Companies employees and their families. “We launched this program as part of our social responsibility and to encourage other companies to do the same. Our employees are part of the society, they are our valuable assets and we care for them,” he added. The free testing for all their employees will be conducted at all six-showrooms located all over Kuwait.

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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

Years

LOCAL Kuwait Digest

Attack is best form of defense

By Abdulmuhsin Jamaal

A

lot of talk has been going on about the suitability of grilling motions filed by MPs, regardless of its constitutionality. The talk was fueled after MPs Ahmad Al-Saadoun and Abdurrahman AlAnjari filed a grilling motion against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad AlSabah during the same session.

Speculations were made on its correctness, from a constitutional standpoint. Its timing has been viewed at by many as being hasty, underlining the fact that Al-Anjari co-presented it without coordinating with fellow National Action Bloc (NAB) members.

Either way, the grilling motion was not really unexpected. Its initiators had exercised their constitutional right when they filed it. Since lawmakers cannot be denied this right, the Cabinet must accept this situation and devise a strategy to handle the successive motions that should be filed in the near future.

In order to find a mechanism that can successfully contain grilling motions, the Cabinet should adopt a couple of strategies that prepare them to face unwanted developments. First, they should send grilling request to the Parliament’s legislative committee or the Constitutional Court.

This is to verify its constitutionality, in case it is questioned. Secondly and most importantly, the Cabinet must face interpellation motions, especially since people question the reasons behind the ministers’ reluctance to face the grilling motion. It should not be the case if ministers have nothing to hide or be afraid of.

Agreeing to enter a grilling debate and being able to defend one’s stance, is a necessity. If realized, it can secure the continuation of the current Cabinet.

This approach would prove more effective in containing interpellation motions, especially if the Cabinet is able to convince the public with its arguments.

On the other hand, running away from interpellation motions would only make lawmakers more determined to place more pressure on the Cabinet.

This is because they regard this escape as a sign of weakness, and a chance for them to keep attacking.

Whereas, if the Cabinet defends itself every time a grilling motion is proposed, the strength of the attacks will eventually diminish. This parliamentary tool will no longer be abused for political gains.

The Cabinet also has the chance to request for a grilling motion that will be debated in a confidential session. A lot of citizens, however, hope that all motions be debated in open sessions. This is so that MPs who are not able to provide evidence to support their claims, can be exposed.— Al-Qabas

News

in brief

Scholarship budget KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti government has allocated an estimated budget of KD 11 million to pay for scholarships. College studies and training courses will be held for employees at 26 different state departments for the fiscal year 2011/2012. At least KD 2 million has been allocated to conduct 745 training courses. This was announced by the manager in charge at the Civil Service Commission Jassem Buhindi. He indicated that the number of scholarships to be covered by this year’s budget has touched 464, reported Al-Qabas. Of this, at least 319 were internal. Meanwhile, the budget also covers a total of 1,081 paid leaves that can be taken by state employees. This includes 256 leaves taken to conduct studies outside the country.

Marriage loan to increase The marriage loan provided by the government to Kuwaitis is set to be increased from KD4000 to KD6000, said a source from the Saving and Credit Bank (SCB). The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that the proposal was approved by the majority of board members, noting that an official decision is likely to be made next week. He added that the citizens would only be required to pay back KD4000 of the loan’s value, with the remaining KD2000 being given as a grant.

Study on real estate Kuwait’s parliament recently approved a proposal filed by 20 lawmakers demanding the parliamentary financial and economical committee to study the mechanism of running a billion-worth local real estate. Earlier, the MPs had requested clarification on whether the government had studied the options of supporting real estate sector. The inquiries also focused on whether the Central Bank had been consulted and the best ways to invest the portfolio funds.

Water import from Iran The Ministry of Electricity and Water is not expected to revive talks with Iran over the importation of water. This was confirmed by ministry sources commenting on rumors which hinted that this subject might be on the table during the meeting between the visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Dr Mohammad Al-Sabah. In another development, the ministry is currently reviewing the lists of employees who are on selective promotion processes, before they are sent to the Civil Service Commission for them to be accredited. Names of nearly 4000 ministry employees are expected to be announced within a couple of weeks.

Youth in custody for stabbing drunk man Missing sheikh found KUWAIT: Police arrested a young man in Salwa who stabbed a drunk man inside a Salmiya cafe following a dispute.

Investigations had been ongoing following a report about a stabbing incident that took place in the coffee shop. The victim was admitted inside the intensive care unit of the Mubarak Hospital. During interrogation, the man explained that the attack was provoked by the drunk man’s verbal assaults.

Foul play suspected Ahmadi investigators are tr ying to uncover the mystery surrounding an 18year-old girl who allegedly fell from the second floor of a building in Jaber Al-Ali, as they suspect a foul play. The girl was hospitalized with broken bones after falling from a window of her family’s house. Her family members have been questioned, but none of them was with the girl when the incident happened.

Suspicious activities A citizen was detained after he couldn’t explain why he was carrying inflammable materials as well as light weapons on his way to a main control center of the Ministry of Electricity and Water. The suspect raised suspicions when he arrived at the location in a car-carrying three containers, two of them were empty while the third contained fuel, in addition to sharp objects and rods. The suspect has been referred to the State Security department for questioning.

Meanwhile, security officers were sent to the American embassy building in Bayan, after security personnel there reported a

suspicious vehicle near the premises.

Following examination, nothing was found in the car.

Farwaniya crackdown Farwaniya police arrested 67 Asian nationals with residency violations and absconding cases.

Bootlegger in custody An Asian man was arrested in Firdous after he was busted offering alcohol for sale at the parking lot of a local cooperative shop.

The man was caught red-handed by Farwaniya police while he was handing plastic bags to another man, which turned out to be containing homemade liquor. He confessed during interrogation that he brewed the alcohol in his home.

Missing sheikh Security officers have found a young member of the ruling family, who was reported missing by his mother 13 days after he mysteriously disappeared. The saga ended when the missing sheikh switched on his phone which was off ever since he was reported missing. Police immediately contacted him and he explained that he was taking some time off and didn’t realize that his family and the police were looking for him.

Fugitive nabbed A fugitive was arrested in Salmiya after traffic police discovered while checking his ID that he is wanted for a money-related case for which he was sentenced to 4 years in prison.

Tap water unsafe?

KUWAIT: Tap water in Kuwait could be unsuitable for human consumption, the results of a test recently carried out by the Ministry of Health indicated. Test samples taken from Al-Farwaniya governorate showed high levels of bacteria.

The tests that took place in the Ministry of Health laboratories, were carried out on samples taken by municipality inspectors from a police station, post office, a restaurant and a food distribution company within the Farwaniya governorate.

One of the test results indicated that a sample contained a 19.123 microgram per liter percentage of bromite - a lot

Al-Tijari sponsors AUK conference KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait sponsored the Gulf Corporate Governance Challenge Conference organized by the Gulf Studies Center of the American University in Kuwait on Monday. It is worth mentioning that this conference discusses important topics of concern to the GCC and the neighboring countries and addresses all life related aspects and areas.

On this occasion, Ramzi Al-Sabboury, Executive Manager - Marketing and Sales Unit at the Bank, said that participation in this kind of academic conference assists in spreading political and cultural awareness among the coming generation and widen the horizons of their thoughts for building a prominent and successful society capable to bolster progress in all areas in Kuwait.

CBK sales team was present throughout the conference for assistance and support by explaining the privileges the Bank enjoys including the retail banking services and marketing the Bank products. AlSabboury added that CBK aims at building the spirit of loyalty, cooperation and ambition in this outstanding generation by developing business in private and public sectors; specifically in banking sector which obviously contributes to serving the community and also aims, through these distinct chances, to attract all the society segments and provide all services in addition to its focus on building aware and outstanding generation for serving this community and encouraging them to work in the private sector, especially in banking sector.

higher than the maximum allowable percentage which is set on 10 micrograms per liter.

Meanwhile, a sample of Zbaidi fish taken from a food company was also found unsuitable for human consumption. These serious information were included in a letter sent by director of the Kuwait Municipality’s branch of Far waniya governorate Ahmad AlHuzaim, to the assistant manager for the Far waniya and Ahmadi governorates’ affairs at the Kuwait Municipality, informing him about the situation and demanding that actions be taken in accordance.

Kuwait submits private servants draft law to GCC RIYADH: Kuwait has submitted a draf t law regarding private servants during the 26th meeting of general directors of passports departments of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which concluded yesterday. Director of the General Department of Immigration at the Ministry of Interior Brig Kamel Al-Awadi said that the draft would “allow private servants to enter any of the GCC states once they obtain a visa, and to permanently cancel it upon leaving the country.”

Participants of the meeting asked Kuwait to submit a detailed visualization of this suggestion to circulate its results and its implementation process to the rest of the GCC countries. Al-Awadi noted that the meeting shed light on the security circumstances in the region, stressing that the GCC state members should apply stricter security measures on some of the incoming nationalities and exchange information on suspected individuals. — KUNA

High alert at oil facilities KUWAIT: The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation has increased its security alert level to stage two after an incident in which a pickup truck carrying small amounts of highly explosive materials was stopped in front of the Shuaiba Port.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah has reportedly submitted a detailed report regarding the incident to the Cabinet. Under the stage two level, KPC personnel are required to carry their identifications all the time inside any of the company’s premises, and they are instructed to inform authorities immediately whenever they detect suspicious material or activities. Meanwhile, search procedures at oil facilities’ entrances will be intensified.

Meanwhile, new updates have emerged following the interrogation process with members of a security company operating at the Shuaiba Port.

According to sources, officials from the company claimed they were aware of the materials that the pickup truck was carrying, and that they were trying to examine the capability of safety and security services in detecting any potential threat in the form of smuggling suspicious materials inside the port.

The driver of the truck, an Asian national, had denied k nowledge of the explosive material attached to his vehicle, indicating that his job is to transfer shipments from state departments to the port, without knowing what those shipments contain.

Kuwait envoy, Syrian PM discuss cooperation DAMASCUS: Kuwait’s Ambassador to Damascus, Aziz Al-Dihani and Syria’s Prime Minister Adel Safar discussed cooperation between the two countries.

The talks dealt with collaboration of both states and ways to enhance and expand relations in different fields, AlDihani said.

The meeting also touched on issues

of cooperation in economy and commercial as well as increasing Kuwaiti investments in Syria and implementing the co-op works, it added.

The meeting came before the visit of Kuwaiti investment delegation to Damascus. The delegates includes; the Board Chairman and Managing Director of Kuwait Syrian Holding Company,

Mahmoud Al-Nouri, Deputy Director General of the Al-Kharafi Group and Chairman of Americana, Marzouq Nasser Al Kharafi and Businessman and investor, Masoud Hayat. The Kuwaiti delegation will meet with top Syrian officials to exchange talks in investment in Syria and problems investors face in Arab countries. —KUNA

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

Medvedev warns of Cold War over missile defense

Wen says China friends ‘forever’ with Pakistan Page 12

Page 10

Gaddafi fighters shell western mountains UN official appeals for global assistance

AJDABIYA: Rebel fighter Safi Ali, 25, prays in front of a line of rebel vehicles at a checkpoint in Ajdabiya, Libya Tuesday. —AP

TRIPOLI: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s forces intensified their campaign to take strategic heights in a western mountain range and targeted a road that many people have used to flee the fighting in Libya, forcing the temporary closure of a border crossing to Tunisia. Much of the fighting centered around the town of Yafrin, and residents and rebel fighters said yesterday that Gaddafi forces were using Grad missiles and rockets in their nearly month long siege. Residents, trapped in their homes, were cut off from food and medical supplies, they said.

To the west of the contested Nafusa mountain range, which is home to ethnic Berbers, Libyan shelling forced the closure late Tuesday of the so-called Wazen passage, which is a route people fleeing Libya have used to get to neighboring Tunisia. Jaber Naluti, a volunteer who has been trying to assist people in the area, said seven rebels were killed. Reports from the area said that some of the shells fell inside Tunisia. Tunisian jet fighters flew over the area but didn’t fire, witnesses said. They said the passage was reopened yesterday. Although Gaddafi’s forces control most of the west, rebels have linked up with the minority Berbers to keep his forces out of the highest points of the Nafusa mountains, denying them a military advantage.

Gaddafi, who has ruled Libya for more than 40 years, has been using his military and militias to try to put down an uprising that began in February to try to remove him from power. Rebel forces has taken control of much of eastern Libya, operating out of headquarters in the coastal city of Benghazi.

They also have been fighting to keep the town of Misrata, the opposition’s only major stronghold in western Libya.

BelJassem, a citizen-turned-fighter from a

Berber village near Yafrin, which is 75 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of Tripoli, said Gaddafi forces were shelling the town repeatedly.

“We dig trenches and hide in there at night,” says BelJassem, who gave only his first name for fear of reprisals. On the eastern front, rebels engaged in an hours-long firefight with Gaddafi loyalists, said Dr. Suleiman Refadi, who works at the Ajdabiya Hospital.

He told The Associated Press that the rebels killed 14 of Gaddafi’s fighters and captured 30 near the oil town of Brega, which is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Ajdabiya. Refadi said he treated five wounded rebels. Refadi said the rebels were helped

by NATO airstrikes, which destroyed eight vehicles carrying heavy artillery. There was no way to independently confirm the report because journalists are not allowed beyond a checkpoint on the outskirts of Ajdabiya.

Also yesterday, a U.N. official appealed for global assistance for some 2 million people displaced by the fighting. The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Libya said some 1.6 million people inside the North African country need aid because fighting has disrupted basic services and depleted food and medical stocks. Coordinator Panos Moumtzis, who is based in Geneva, an additional 500,000 who have crossed borders to Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the region also need humanitarian assistance.

Moumtzis said he was asking international donors for $408 million to fund aid for Libya through September. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court prosecutors warned Libyan officials they will be prosecuted if they attempt to cover up crimes by forces loyal to Gadhafi. Prosecutors issued the warning in a letter to Libyan Foreign Minister Abdelati al-Obeidi.—AP

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

US tells Assad to lead transition or step down Washington slaps sanctions on Syrian president

GOLAN HEIGHTS: Land mines are detonated by Israeli soldiers, at the border near the village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, on the Israel-Syria border yesterday. — AP

Peace prospects bleak for Netanyahu US visit JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes to Washington on Friday to rally opposition to a Palestinian bid for UN recognition of statehood. There is little indication the rightwing leader will, or can, offer new peacemaking ideas to persuade Palestinians not to take a detour at the UN General Assembly in September around the brick wall that the US peace efforts have run into.

A unity deal between Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement and the Islamist group Hamas has further dampened chances of a breakthrough. The accord signed this month, dealt a “tremendous blow ” to peace, Netanyahu said. In the run-up to the five-day visit, which begins with talks with President Barack Obama on Friday, Netanyahu made clear he would not negotiate with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas, whose founding charter calls for Israel’s destruction.

Adding to a cloudy outlook, aides to Obama, who have watched an “Arab spring” blossom and Israeli-Palestinian negotiations freeze soon after they resumed eight months ago, said the president had no plans to roll out a new initiative. The US capital will be Netanyahu’s latest stop, after visits to Germany, France, Britain and the Czech Repubic, in a diplomatic push against unilateral Palestinian steps to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

He will meet Obama, who opposes the Palestinians’ UN move, on the morning after the president delivers a speech on the Middle East that is widely expected to focus on the political upheaval sweeping the Arab world. Speaking on Tuesday, Obama said “despite the many changes- or perhaps because of the many changes that are taking place in the region-it’s more vital than ever that both Israelis and Palestinians find a way to get back to the table”.

Netanyahu has voiced concern over the Arab unrest, saying it could bolster Iran’s influence in the region as it pursues a nuclear program that Israel calls a threat to its existence. Iran denies Western accusations it seeks nuclear weapons and says its program has only peaceful civilian aims.

Putting pressure on Netanyahu, who will address the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC on Monday and a joint meeting of Congress on Tuesday at the invitation of his Republican supporters, could be politically risky for Obama as he seeks reelection in 2012. Obama has already had strained relations with Netanyahu over Israeli settle-

ment building, cited by Palestinians as the reason they abandoned the peace talks. He will make his own speech on Sunday to AIPAC’s annual assembly, a forum where US politicians usually voice strong support for Israel. “(Netanyahu) will tell the world, ‘why are you rushing (to recognise a Palestinian state) in September, when you won’t know until January what (Palestinian) government will be elected,’” Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom, a member of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, said yesterday.

Israel says its critics have an “automatic majority” in the General Assembly and a statehood vote would pass easily, though it is trying to persuade key players to oppose the move. While Israeli military occupation of the West Bank would continue after the vote, Abbas said this week that UN recognition would pave the way for Palestinians to pursue claims against Israel at the United Nations and the World Court.

In a speech to parliament on Monday widely seen as a dress rehearsal for his Congressional address, Netanyahu hinted at flexibility on territorial issues should the Palestinians drop their rejection to his opening demands-primarily a call to recognise Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. He spoke of “painful concessions” involving “tracts of our homeland”, a reference to the occupied West Bank to which many settlers stake a Biblical right.

Angering Likud legislators and settler leaders, Netanyahu also said Israel would retain settlement blocs in any future peace dealseeming to signal he was prepared for smaller, isolated settlements to go.

Some political commentators were sceptical, saying the comments, which Netanyahu said reflected a broad, national consensus, were a tactical move to avoid any accusations of intransigence as he prepared for his high-profile US visit. “No European or American leader would swoon with excitement on hearing Netanyahu’s willingness to give up isolated settlements.

They probably wouldn’t even believe him,” columnist Yossi Verter wrote in the leftwing Haaretz newspaper.

A game-changer could be any acceptance by Netanyahu of the concept of a Palestinian state based on the frontiers that existed before Israel captured the West Bank in a 1967 war. His predecessor, Ehud Olmert, unsuccessfully negotiated with Abbas along those lines, envisaging an Israeli pullout from almost all of the West Bank and swapping territory in Israel for settlement blocs.— Reuters

Egypt’s military rulers deny Mubarak amnesty plans CAIRO: Egypt’s military rulers denied local media reports they plan to grant amnesty to deposed President Hosni Mubarak following a wave of popular criticism and calls for new protests.

The denial, issued late Tuesday, followed unconfirmed reports that Mubarak would be pardoned in return for an apology to the nation for any wrongdoing and would also hand over his assets. The reports claimed the ousted leader would release an audio recording appealing for amnesty. The statement by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said the country’s judiciary has the sole authority in Mubarak’s case. The media reports sparked a wave of criticism and prompted calls for a “Friday to Reject the apology,” rally in Tahrir Square. Several youth groups warned that granting amnesty to Mubarak would spark a new revolution in Egypt. Calls also spread on Facebook and Twitter for rallies on May 27 under the banner, “I have not felt the change, I am going back to Tahrir,” referring to the central Cairo square that was the center of the protests that brought down Mubarak. They reflected disappointment with the way the military council, which took over from Mubarak, is running the country.

Mubarak stepped down on Feb. 11 and transferred power to the council after 18 days of a popular uprising. He has been in custody in a hospital since last month over allegations of killings of protesters and corruption. Mubarak’s 70-year-old wife, Suzanne, was released on Tuesday after she relinquished assets and property valued at some $4 million.

The move aimed to settle corruption allegations against her, but it was unclear whether she still faces trial.

Mrs Mubarak was hospitalized over the weekend after she fainted and complained of chest pains during interrogation. She had been expected to be transferred to a women’s prison after medical treatment.

Anti-corruption prosecutors have claimed that Mubarak’s wife has millions in bank accounts in Egypt and owns a villa where she and her husband lived. It is not clear how much money the Mubaraks may have abroad. Some estimates range into the tens of billions of dollars. Many Egyptians have criticized the ruling military council for being reluctant to restore security while cracking down violently on peaceful protests and sending thousands of civilians to be tried by military courts. Most recently, a 17-year-old youth was sentenced to death by a military tribunal on charges of kidnapping and sexual assault of a young woman. The sentence was condemned by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, which called it “deeply troubling” and called for it to be overturned. Meanwhile, Egypt’s largest Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, announced it had officially applied for political party status. The party will be active starting June 17 unless the Committee for Political Parties issues an objection.

A top party official, Mohammed elKatatni, noted that 978 women and 93 Christians are now among the party’s founders, an apparent attempt to show the group’s moderate stance following previous assertions that women and Christians are not eligible to run for the presidency because that would violate Islamic Sharia law. The group also appointed Rafik Habib, a Coptic Christian, as deputy party leader. —AP

DAMASCUS: The United States told Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad yesterday to lead a transition in his country or step down, and slapped him with sanctions in its latest effort to press him to end deadly violence against his people. The news came as Syrian forces were accused of killing at least eight people in a besieged border town and as Assad said the two-monthold revolt against him had been mishandled by the authorities but was now drawing to a close. “It is up to Assad to lead a political transition or to leave,” according to US government talking points distributed by the State Department.

Until now, Assad has personally been spared sanctions, and a US official told AFP the new ones are part of “an effort to increase pressure on the government of Syria to end its violence against its people and begin transitioning to a democratic system.”

In late April, after a month of deadly protests, Assad ordered the scrapping of a state of emergency, abolished the state security court and said citizens would be allowed to hold peaceful demonstrations.

But he has continued the deadly crackdown, claiming that unrest was being caused by “armed terrorists.”

On April 30, President Barack Obama imposed asset freezes and restrictions on financial transactions, notably against Maher AlAssad, the powerful brother of the president, who commands Syria’s feared Fourth Armored Division.

Also named were Ali Mamluk, director of Syria’s Intelligence Directorate, and Atif Najib, the exhead of intelligence in Daraa province, the epicenter of the recent political violence.

Yesterday, Washington also imposed sanctions on two Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders.

Syria and Iran are closely allied and there have been accusations in the

DAMASCUS: In this March 30, 2011 file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, addresses the Parliament, in Damascus, Syria. US officials said yesterday that the Obama administration will slap sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad and six others for human rights abuses over their brutal crackdown on anti-government protests. — AP past that Assad was getting help warned on Tuesday of a “massacre” from Tehran. The US Treasur y and dozens injured in the streets.

Department identified the two as An opposition group said dialogue Qasam Soleimani, commander of was the only way to end the viothe Iranian Islamic Revolutionary lence that has killed more than 850 Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF), people and seen 8,000 others and Mohsen Chizari, a senior IRGC- arrested in a crackdown on proQF officer responsible for opera- democracy protests, according to rights watchdogs. tions and training.

Assad said the unrest was comHuman rights activists told AFP at least eight people died and sev- ing to an end and acknowledged eral more were wounded under wrongdoing on the part of security shelling and automatic weapons services at a meeting in Damascus, fire in Tall Kalakh, whose residents according to Al-Watan, a newspa-

per close to his government.

“President Assad gave assurances that Syria had overcome the crisis it went through and that events were coming to an end,” the private daily quoted him as saying, without giving a date for the meeting. “The role of the security services is to gather information, analyse it and hand it over to the proper authorities,” a delegation member quoted the president as saying.

In Vienna, the leader of a Syrian opposition group said dialogue was the only way to end the violence in one of the most autocratic states of the Middle East. Assad is the “only one who can push Syria out of this crisis,” notably by engaging reforms, said Marc Hussein, cofounder of the Reform Party of Syria, a US-based opposition party created in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. Despite the brutal crackdown, Syria’s opposition has pushed on with pro-democracy protests and defiantly called for a general strike across Syria yesterday.

Schools, shops and public transport operated normally in Damascus and other cities, but an activist told AFP that a normally busy district of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, was affected as was the university campus.

He said 2,000 people were also demonstrating in early afternoon in the town of Ifrin, north of Aleppo.

His account could not be verified.

In the northern city of Homs, where all stores were closed bar a few owned by regime supporters, protesters marched before security forces and police appeared in vehicles and pressed shops to reopen using loudhailers, activists said.

In Daraa, the southern town at the centre of the protests, the strike was widely observed and all stores were shut, as was the case in Banias, another flashpoint town, until security forces showed up and forced shops to reopen. —AFP

Yemen political deal agreed in principle, snags emerge SANAA: Yemen’s president and opposition, pressed by Western and Gulf mediators, agreed in principle yesterday to sign a transition of power deal to end the rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh within a month, an opposition official said.

But in a familiar twist, last-minute snags appeared to be holding up the deal that would grant Saleh immunity from prosecution, allowing him a dignified exit from power in the Arabian Peninsula state that he has ruled for nearly 33 years.

“After American, European and Gulf efforts, there was agreement by the president on the Gulf initiative after simple changes, and the signing will be today,” opposition official Yahya Abu Usbua said. Al Arabiya television quoted an adviser to Saleh as confirming the signing would take place yesterday. Sources close to the negotiations later said Western and Gulf diplomats were engaged in shuttle diplomacy to try to overcome differences over who would sign and when and where. They said diplomats were insisting the deal be signed yesterday.

The United States and oil giant Saudi Arabia, both targets of foiled attacks from al Qaeda’s Yemen wing, are keen to see an end to Yemen’s political stalemate, fearing continued chaos could give the militant group more room to operate freely. Some political analysts doubt whether the deal, which would help end three months of street antiSaleh protests that have paralysed Yemen’s economy, would actually be carried out. Two previous near-deals fell through at the last minute.

“I won’t believe it until I see it, that’s what we learned in Yemen ... Everyone thought that the deal was done a few weeks ago but Saleh found a way to back out in final hours and days.” said Shadi Hamid, analyst at the Brookings Doha Centre. “Saleh is notoriously stubborn. If he signs maybe we’ll actually see a conclusion to the crisis in Yemen and that’s what people have been waiting for.”

Abdullatif al-Zayani, who heads the Gulf Cooperation Council of Yemen’s wealthy oil-exporting Gulf neighbours, has been in Sanaa since Saturday trying to persuade the sides to sign the Gulf-led deal, with help from US and European diplomats. Qatar, a key member of the six-state bloc, had earlier backed out of the Gulf initiative, citing stalling and “lack of wisdom”.

Saleh, a shrewd political survivor who has outlasted previous opponents’ attempts to challenge his power, indicated in April he would sign the Gulf-brokered deal, but refused to put his name to it in the final hours. He said at the time he would only sign in his capacity as ruling party leader, not as president. The opposition, whose coalition includes Islamists and leftists, said there had been minor modifications to the Gulf initiative agreed yesterday, including changes in who would sign for each side and in what capacity.

“The president will sign for the government in his capacity as president of the republic and as head of the ruling party,” the opposition’s Abu Usbua said. Negotiations were still ongoing on who would sign on behalf of the opposition, with the sides disagreeing on the matter, opposition sources said.

Protesters, frustrated that their daily rallies have failed to dislodge Saleh, want the 69-year-old leader out immediately and have said they will step up their campaign by marching on government buildings, a move that brought new bloodshed last week as security forces fired to stop them. “This agreement will annihilate the revolution because Saleh will not implement it,” Sanaa activist Meshaal Mujahid said of the new deal. “If it took over a month to sign, how much time do we need for Saleh to submit his resignation?” Yemeni political analyst AbdulGhani al-Iryani said the deal would reduce tension that could erupt into clashes between military units loyal to Saleh and those backing the protesters. —Reuters

SANAA: Yemeni doctors gesture while chanting slogans during a demonstration by anti-government protesters demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen yesterday. — AP

Bahrain court adjourns Shiite death sentence appeal DUBAI: A special security court in Bahrain postponed yesterday the appeal hearing of four Shiites sentenced to death and three others jailed for life for killing two policemen.

“The Appeal National Safety Court postponed the case of murdering two policemen Kashif Ahmed Manzur and Mohammed Farouk Abdulsamad to 22nd of May to issue its final verdict,” said an English-language statement on state news agency BNA. The national safety court of first instance had issued its verdict on April 28 drawing a condemnation from Amnesty International which urged Bahrain to block the executions.

The court was set up under the state of national safety, a lower level of emer-

gency law, was declared by King Hamad in mid-March, a day before an all-out crackdown on a month-long Shiitedominated protest demanding political reforms. On Tuesday, BNA reported the same court had sentenced a woman, Fadila Mubarak Ahmed, to four years in prison for “assaulting a police officer and participating in anti-government demonstrations.”

Meanwhile, Mohammed Qassem Hussein of Iran was sentenced to two years in prison followed by expulsion from the country after he “took to the streets with the purpose of committing crimes and violating the country’s security,” it said. Six other defendants were sentenced to terms raging between one and four years in prison. —AFP

Qaeda ‘military leader’ in Iraq arrested: ministry BAGHDAD: The Iraqi army arrested the alleged military leader of Al-Qaeda’s offshoot in Iraq, Mikhlif Mohammed Hussein al-Azzawi, and three of his acolytes in a raid yesterday, the defence ministry said. The arrests come less than three weeks after the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a raid by US special forces in Pakistan, and just a day after Iraq announced that “collaboration” contributed to a mutiny by suspected insurgents being held in a Baghdad jail that killed six policemen.

The accused insurgent, also known as Abu Radhwan, was detained along with three other suspected leaders of the Islamic State of Iraq, spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari told AFP. “These are four major leaders of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and they are four of the most dangerous, most

wanted figures in Al-Qaeda,” Askari said.

Askari said the operation to detain the group was carried out by the Iraqi army at around 1:30 am yesterday, west of Samarra, 110 kilometres (70 miles) north of Baghdad. The others arrested were Mohammed Saad Muzzaham al-Daraji, the suspected head of the Al-Qaeda branch’s assassinations unit, Fawzi Abbas Ali alBadri, who is also known as Abu Abdulrahman and who Askari said was primarily charged with kidnapping soldiers with a view to killing them and burning their bodies.

Soldiers also detained Qassim Mohammed Taha, who is wanted in connection with a brazen March 29 attack in the city of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, in which 58 people were killed, the deadliest attack in Iraq since August. —AFP

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Years

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

CIA used new drones to monitor Bin Laden Obama to offer thanks to CIA

CHIAPAS: In this handout photo provided by Chiapas State Attorney General, migrants from Latin America and Asia stand in line after after being detected by an X-ray equipment inside two trucks that were heading to the US at a checkpoint near Tuxtla Gutierrez, in Mexico’s southern Chiapas state, Tuesday. —AP

Mexico police find 513 US-bound migrants in trucks TUXTLA GUTIERREZ: Police in Mexico’s southern Chiapas state found 513 migrants on Tuesday inside two trailer trucks bound for the United States, and said they had been transported in dangerously crowded conditions. Some of the immigrants were suffering from dehydration after traveling for hours clinging to cargo ropes strung inside the containers to keep them upright as the trucks bounced along from the Guatemalan border, and allow more migrants to be more crammed in on the floor.

The trucks had air holes punched in the tops of the containers, but migrants interviewed at the state prosecutors’ office said they lacked air and water. The trucks were bound for the central city of Puebla, where the migrants said they had been told they would be loaded aboard a second set of vehicles for the trip to the US border. “We were suffering, it was very hot and we were clinging to the ropes,” said Mario, a 23-year-old

Honduran migrant who identified himself only by his first name, for security reasons. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission says thousands of undocumented migrants are kidnapped and held for ransom by drug gangs in Mexico each year.

None of the migrants would say whether any drug gang had been involved in the mass smuggling scheme broken up early Tuesday when Chiapas state police discovered the migrants while using X-ray equipment on the trucks at a checkpoint in the outskirts of city of Tuxtla Gutierrez. The migrants said the smugglers were charging them about $7,000 apiece to get them into the United States. A Guatemalan migrant who identified himself as Juan said remaining in his hometown in Guatemala was not an option, noting “a lot of us are Indians, and we can’t stay in our homes.

There is no work, and there’s nothing to eat.” An agent for the National

CONNECTICUT: US President Barack Obama delivers the commencement address at the US Coast Guard Academy graduation in New London, Conn yesterday. —AP

Obama seeks clarity in ‘Arab Spring’ speech WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama will today seek to sketch a plausible policy response to the sudden, complex and often contradictory demands thrown up by an “Arab Spring” of popular revolt. In a major speech, Obama will seek to quell domestic criticism and uncertainty in the Middle East and North Africa about the exact nature of US policy. Obama sees “an opportunity to sort of step back and assess what we’ve all witnessed, the historic change we’ve seen,” spokesman Jay Carney said. “He’ll talk specifically about ways that we can best support that positive change while focusing on our core principles: nonviolence, support for human rights and support for political and economic reform.”

Carney said that the speech would make “news” and promised some “specific new ideas” about new US policy towards the region.

What Obama will not do, it appears, is use the speech to relaunch his stalled drive for Israeli-Palestinian peaceeven though Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday called the struggle the “core” regional issue. Though Obama hopes to focus on Arab uprisings, simply restating failed approaches to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could undercut his message, causing some analysts to question the timing of the speech. “The metric by which many in the Arab world will continue to view the United States is what we do on the Arab-Israeli conflict,” said Steven Cook, of the Council on Foreign Relations. “There really doesn’t seem to me to be a tremendous opportunity here to strike out on a different course that’s going to be productive.”

From the first murmurings of discontent in Tunisia to the revolt that toppled Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, the crackdowns in Syria and Bahrain, and the full-scale war in Libya, Obama has struggled to frame a coherent US message. The breathtaking speed, historical scope and complexity of change sweeping the region caught Washington, like the leaders it challenged, unawares. “I would give the United States a B-plus in how they have handled the Arab Spring-they have stayed out of it,” said Rami Khouri, a newspaper columnist and academic at the American University of Beirut. “But (US policy) has been hesitant, it has been erratic, it has been inconsistent.” If the US response was contradictory and complicated it only mirrored the unpredictable revolts cascading across the Arab world. — AFP

Immigration Institute who was not authorized to be quoted by name said it was the largest shipment of migrants detained in Mexico in recent years.

Police also arrested four people accused of smuggling the migrants, who are from Central and South America and Asia, Chiapas state prosecutors said in a statement. The alleged smugglers tried to escape police but were chased down and captured, prosecutors said. The immigration institute said in a statement that 410 of the migrants were from Guatemala, 47 from El Salvador, 32 from Ecuador, 12 from India, six from Nepal, three from China and one each from Japan, the Dominican Republic and Honduras. There were 32 women and four children among them. In January, Chiapas state authorities discovered 219 migrants squeezed into a trailer truck. Most of those migrants were from Central America but six were from Sri Lanka and four from Nepal. — AP

WASHINGTON: The CIA flew new stealth drone planes on dozens of secret missions deep into Pakistan to monitor Osama bin Laden’s compound before US commandos killed him, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. Citing current and former US officials, the Post said the Central Intelligence Agency used the highly sophisticated unmanned planes to fly undetected at high altitudes and provide high-resolution video months before bin Laden was killed in a dramatic May 2 assault by US special forces.

“It’s not like you can just park a Predator (drone) overhead-the Pakistanis would know,” a former US official told the newspaper, noting the aircraft provided more enhanced surveillance than other available tools. But the CIA was also using satellites, eavesdropping equipment and agency operatives based at a safe house in the garrison town of Abbottabad where bin Laden is believed to have lived for about five years until he was found, according to the Post.

The move would highlight the growing mistrust between the

United States and Pakistan, two uneasy allies in the fight against terror.

The US raid has further strained ties with Islamabad, which has already received about $20 billion in US aid over the past decade.

Pakistani military and intelligence officials are also coming under fire at home for having allowed the US operation seen as a breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty. The stealth drones provided imager y that President Barack Obama watched with his national security team as the nighttime raid unfolded, the Post said. The aircraft can also eavesdrop on electronic transmissions so that US official could listen in on Pakistan’s response.

Another stealth aircraft, a Black Hawk helicopter with specially designed cladding to dampen noise and avoid detection, was also used in the Abbottabad operation.

But US forces destroyed it after a crash landing during the raid, leaving only a tail section behind. US officials noted that Predators and other non-stealth surveillance aircraft could have been detected by

Pakistani radar and other systems at military and nuclear facilities near bin Laden’s compound. The drones, which the Post suggested may have been Lockheed Martin’s RQ-170 Sentinel model, can film at steep angles in all directions and so would not need to hover directly over their target.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama plans to visit CIA headquarters tomorrow to thank intelligence officers for helping to hunt down and kill Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the White House said yesterday. US Navy SEALs killed bin Laden, mastermind of the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, in a May 2 raid on his fortified compound in Pakistan, ending a long manhunt for the world’s mostwanted militant. Obama will go to the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia “to meet with a broad range of the intelligence community to thank them for their work to keep America safe and for the excellent work in tracking down Osama bin Laden,” the White House said. — Agencies

Cuban oil rig set to cause waves in US LA JOLLA: The arrival of a unique oil rig off communist Cuba is set to cause waves in Washington, raising questions about US drilling permits and the response to any disaster, a conference heard on Tuesday.

Spanish giant Repsol YPF is due to bring the Chinese-built Scarabeo 9 rig to the Caribbean island later this year to drill at least one well in partnership with Norway’s Statoil and a unit of India’s ONGC . “I think it’s going to have a much bigger impact on US domestic policy than it is on Cuba,” said Jorge Pinon, visiting research fellow with Florida International University Latin American and Caribbean Center’s Cuban Research Institute.

The main reason is that Repsol plans to use the high-tech semisubmersible Scarabeo 9 for a deepwater drilling bid in Cuba’s Gulf of

Mexico zone, parts of which are within 50 miles of the Florida coast.

That puts the planned drill site close to areas where the Obama administration blocked US drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico after BP’s massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill last year. “A lot of people are going to be knocking on doors in Washington, saying ‘How come the Cubans are drilling and we’re not allowed to drill in the eastern Gulf?’,” Pinon told a Latin American energy conference in La Jolla, California.

US EMBARGO The Scarabeo 9 is unique because Repsol had to find an oil rig that met the terms of the 49-yearold US embargo on Cuba, which limits the amount of US technology that can be used in equipment used there. The embargo also prevents US companies from operating on

the island. Pinon said the $750 million rig, which can drill in 12,000 feet of water, was due to leave Singapore next month and should arrive in Cuba in September or October. He said the only US-made part on the Scarabeo 9 was the blow out preventer-one of the pieces of equipment that failed during the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

And that raises the other issue likely to make waves when the rig, owned by Italian service company Saipem and being prepared in Singapore, arrives off Cuba: what happens if there is a similar accident to the one off Louisiana? “The US embargo means Repsol can’t pick up the phone to Washington,” Pinon said. “Any equipment to help in a problem would have to come from the UK or Norway or somewhere else.” — Reuters

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

i n t e r n at i o n a l

British court orders trial in high-profile racist murder LONDON: A British court ordered two men yesterday to stand trial for the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence 18 years ago, reopening an unsolved case of racist violence that caused a national uproar. Lawrence, an 18-year-old student, was stabbed to death at a bus stop in Eltham, southeast London, on April 22, 1993. The failure to secure a conviction was the subject of a major inquiry which concluded in 1999 that the police were “institutionally racist” and sparked changes across the criminal justice system.

Gary Dobson, 35, and David Norris, 34, were arrested in September last year

over the murder and are in custody. The allegations against them could not previously be reported for legal reasons.

“There is to be a new trial,” said Lord Chief Justice Igor Judge at the Court of Appeal yesterday, setting the trial date for November at the Old Bailey in London. Dobson, alongside two other suspects, Luke Knight and Neil Acourt, was tried for the murder in 1996 in a private prosecution brought by Lawrence’s parents. All three men had denied the charges and they were acquitted.

The court quashed Dobson’s acquittal and allowed his retrial under a new

law that allows fresh proceedings as long as there is new and compelling evidence. Lawrence’s mother Doreen, who has campaigned tirelessly for justice for her son, told reporters outside court: “It’s been a long time in coming but we still have a long way to go.” “At this moment in time, all I can think about is Stephen and that perhaps somewhere down the line we will finally get justice for him.” In their ruling, the panel of three judges said Lawrence was a “young black man of great promise” killed “just because of the color of his skin”.

They described how Lawrence was

waiting for a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks when “a group of white youths crossed the road towards them. One of the youths used abusive racist language”. “This was followed by a sudden and immediate attack, as the group converged on or charged at them,” the ruling said. Brooks fled but Lawrence was stabbed twice in his upper torso and major arteries were severed. He tried to run away but collapsed on the pavement, dying soon afterwards in hospital. “The murder of Stephen Lawrence, a young black man of great promise, targeted and killed by a group of white youths just because of

the color of his sk in, was indeed a calamitous crime,” the judges said.

Prosecutors had asked the court to quash Dobson’s acquittal on the basis of new scientific evidence relating to a grey bomber jacket and a multi-colored cardigan which they said linked him to the attack. The judges ruled: “After conducting a detailed examination of a large body of evidence we have come to the conclusion that there is sufficient reliable and substantial new evidence to justify the quashing of the acquittal and to order a new trial.” But they stressed that the “presumption of innocence continues to apply”.— AFP

Queen revisits ghosts of Ireland’s ‘Bloody Sunday’ Many Irish welcome symbolic gestures

SKOLKOVO: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev calls for a question during his news conference at a business school in Skolkovo, outside Moscow, yesterday.—AP

Medvedev warns of Cold War over missile defense SKOLKOVO: President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday warned of a new Cold War era if Russia and the West failed to agree on missile defense, in the first major news conference of his presidency. Despite the startlingly warning to the United States and Europe, Medvedev confounded expectations he would use the event to finally announce if he intends to seek a new Kremlin mandate in 2012 elections. Russia is increasingly worried about US plans to build missile defense facilities in exCommunist eastern Europe and is also offended that NATO appears to have shunned its proposals for a joint missile defense shield.

Medvedev told reporters that the US decision to push ahead with construction of the missile defense system despite Russia’s objections will force Moscow “to take retaliatory measures-something that we would very much rather not do.” “We would then be talking about developing the offensive potential of our nuclear capabilities. This would be a very bad scenario.”

The Russian leader also reiterated an earlier threat to pull out of the new START disarmament agreement that entered into force this year if the missile shield is deployed and operated without the Kremlin’s input. “ This would be a very bad scenario. It would be a scenario that throws us back into the Cold War era.”

Moscow has been fighting NATO plans to deploy a system the West sees as a means of protection from nations such as Iran but Russia believes could potentially be deployed against its own defenses.

Medvedev yesterday demanded a legallybinding assurance from the United States that this will never happen-a safeguard that Moscow says Washington is refusing to give. NATO has thus far invited Russia to voice its concerns in formal meetings but refused to provide Moscow with a formal role in the shield’s operation that it seeks.

“We would like to see missile defense develop under clear rules,” Medvedev said

in the first broad-ranging press conference of his three-year presidency.

In a bid to show his ability to talk tough on big issues like his predecessor Vladimir Putin, Medvedev also bluntly told Ukraine to decide whether it wanted closer ties with Russia or seek European Union integration. “You cannot be everywhere. Either here or there. Everyone should understand that, including my Ukrainian friends and colleagues: you cannot sit on two chairs, you have to make some choice,” Medvedev said.

The news conference, at a technology hub on the outskirts of Moscow, was broadcast live on Russian state television.

Medvedev stood, US presidential style, alone at a lectern against the backdrop of the Russian flag. Hundreds of reporters attended the news conference, in a major event for Medvedev who so far has only spoken to the press alongside foreign leaders or in small scale briefings. Seeking to show his confidence, Medvedev chose each question apparently at random from journalists in the audience, many of whom concentrated on local issues. But despite intense speculation that he wants to stand for a new presidential term instead of Prime Minister Putin, Medvedev refused to say if he intended to seek a new mandate in 2012.

“This kind of decision has to be made when all the conditions are right, when it has the final political effect,” Medvedev said. “This does not mean that this can last for ever... As I said in the interview to your Chinese colleagues, this decision will come fairly soon,” he said, referring to a recent interview with Chinese television.

Medvedev said it was wrong for rulers to stay in power for too long, although he made these comments in reference to Russia’s powerful regional governors whom he has reshuffled drastically in the last years. “No-one stays in power for ever. And if anyone has that kind of illusion then they will end badly,” said.—AFP

Congo military withdraws from major tin-ore mine JOHANNESBURG: Global Witness urged Congo to support conflict-free mining after the army withdrew from a major tin-ore mine, the international rights group said in yesterday report. Mineral trade and mining has fueled conflict in eastern Congo for over a decade, but Global Witness said yesterday that there are now “unprecedented opportunities” to source conflict-free minerals from recently demilitarized mines.

Global Witness said the mine in Bisie, in volatile eastern Congo, will not remain “free of negative elements for long” after the army withdrew in March after five years. But Congo’s information minister Lambert Mende said the mine will be restaffed with new soldiers who will guard the mine. “We want to also ensure the security of all the mining sites and today we control the mining sector more than before,” he said yester-

day. “They (the armed groups) are no longer a menace for the security of the country and we are not going to give them the chance to pillage our minerals.” Global Witness called on civilian authorities, peacekeeping troops and private companies to step in and claim the area.

“Bisie, as the region’s most significant mine site, is the best place to start this process,” it said. Dozens of armed groups operate in mineral-rich eastern Congo and all are involved in mining. For over a decade, these groups have funded their fighting with profits from eastern Congo’s mineral trade. The local population has suffered because of the violent competition to control the region’s richest mines, the report said. The group also called on companies already in mining areas to implement international standards. —AP

DUBLIN: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth undertook one of the most daring diplomatic engagements of her reign yesterday when she stepped out into Ireland’s Croke Park stadium, scene of a massacre by British troops. In a gesture that summed up how far relations between the two old enemies have come, the queen was brought into Croke Park through the Hogan Stand, named after a player killed on “Bloody Sunday” nearly a century ago.

She met players, chatted about Irish sport and was entertained by a marching band and traditional dancing, although the seats around the vast stadium were empty-a reflection of the tight security around the trip. In her four-day state visit, the first by a British monarch since Ireland won its independence from London in 1921, the queen has won praise for showing a determination to address the bloody past and offer powerful gestures of reconciliation.

“It’ll put some demons to rest, bring a bit of closure,” said Phil Dolwer, 32, a chef working in a cafe around the corner from Croke Park, ahead of the queen’s appearance there. “ The time is right.” Croke Park, the home of Irish sports, is an iconic place for nationalists. In 1920, during Ireland’s war for independence, British troops opened fire on a crowd there after 14 British intelligence officers were killed in the city the night before.

Fourteen civilians, one aged 10, were killed and “Bloody Sunday”, a rallying cr y for the nationalist cause, was born.

Even a few years ago, the presence of the queen, the commander in chief of British armed forces, on such sacred nationalist turf would have been too much for many Irish people. But a 1998 deal ending Irish nationalists’ guerrilla war against British rule, and British Prime Minister David Cameron’s apology last year for Nor thern Ireland’s “Bloody Sunday” in 1972 when British troops killed 13 protesters, have paved the way. “Your

DUBLIN: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, Irish President Mary Mc Aleese and Christy Cooney, President of the Gaelic Athletic Association, look out at the pitch at the home of the GAA, Croke Park Stadium yesterday, site of a notorious massacre where British troops killed 14 Irish civilians in 1920. — AP presence does honor to our association, to its special place in Irish life and to its hundreds and thousands of members,” Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA) president Christy Cooney said in a speech welcoming the queen.

Croke Park packs more than 80,000 people into the grounds on big match days for traditional Irish sports like hurling and Gaelic football. A smiling queen asked players questions about the rules of the games and was given a hurley stick and sliotar, a leather-bound ball used in hurling. Earlier in the day, she laid a wreath of poppies in honour of the nearly 50,000 Irish soldiers who died fighting for Britain in World War One, a group often overlooked in Irish history, and visited the Guinness Brewery in central Dublin. She was present-

ed with the “perfect pint” of stout but did not drink it. She also met Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny.

Accompanied by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, the quen chatted with Kenny and his wife in front of a por trait of Michael Collins, the revolutionary leader who ordered the assassination of British spies the night before “Bloody Sunday”. Later yesterday, Kenny will meet Cameron, who is making his first official visit to Ireland to attend that evening’s state banquet where the queen will make a speech. The threat from militant nationalists opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process means security around the queen is tight. There are no public walkabouts and streets around venues have been cleared of onlookers.

Irish police, out in force around the

capital, have had to deal with a number of security alerts and the army destroyed a makeshift bomb on a bus headed for Dublin late on Monday night.

Police arrested 21 people on Tuesday after a protest against the queen visiting Ireland’s shrine to its nationalist heroes turned ugly with bricks, bottles and fireworks thrown at police. Several hundred people took part in demonstrations on Tuesday that were condemned by many Irish people.

Around 30 protestors gathered outside Croke Park to protest yesterday. “What is she doing here, at the scene of a massacre by British forces?” said Jason Flood, an unemployed 35-year-old GAA fan. “I don’t know what they are trying to achieve. I can’t understand their mentality.”—Reuters

Britain to spend 3 billion pounds on nuke sub work

JOHANNESBURG: Voters queue to cast their votes in Johannesburg yesterday. South Africans were voting across the country in local elections that have national implications. —AP

ANC expected to win in local polls JOHANNESBURG: Accounting clerk Events Ranenyine rose in his tiny room on the northern outskirts of Johannesburg yesterday, washed in a basin of water he had collected the day before from the faucet down a rutted dirt street, and then picked his way past piles of trash to his polling station - a tent set up in the yard of a tin-shack church. Yesterday’s local government vote comes less than 20 years after South Africa’s first multiracial election, and could start a shift toward a more robust multiparty system.

The dominant African National Congress party, which has controlled the country since 1994, faces its strongest challenge yet amid accusations that it has not done enough to alleviate poverty and provide services. But Ranenyine, 29, who said he voted for the ANC, said he believes the party that defeated apartheid deserves one more chance.

Ranenyine said he waited two hours to vote in the last local elections, in 2006. Yesterday, he waited only 40 minutes. He said many of his neighbors had chosen to stay home

because they did not want to vote for the ANC, but also did not have faith in other parties. “They’re tired,” he said of his neighbors.

“They’re so very tired of being lied to.” The ANC is expected to win in the overwhelming majority of the country’s 278 municipalities.

But the party is accused of being riddled with corruption and failing to keep up with the demand for decent housing, schools, running water and other basics. That could be an opportunity for the main opposition Democratic Alliance, known as the DA, which has its roots in a white liberal anti-apartheid party, and has been hobbled by an inability to attract black voters. The DA is seen as probusiness, and boasts it has run an efficient administration in Cape Town, South Africa’s main tourist city.

Already, a chastened ANC has made changes, giving local communities more of a say in picking candidates. President Jacob Zuma also has promised that his national government will ensure that local governments perform. — AP

LONDON: The British government said yesterday it would spend 3 billion pounds ($4.88 billion) on preliminary work on a new generation of nuclear-armed submarines, a sensitive issue for the coalition government. Defense Secretary Liam Fox also said that, taking into account inflation, the final cost of the new submarines would be between 20 and 25 billion pounds, up from the original estimate at 2006 prices of 11-14 billion pounds. “We assess that no state currently has both the intent and capability to threaten the independence or integrity of the United Kingdom, but we cannot dismiss the possibility that a major direct nuclear threat to the United Kingdom might re-emerge,” Fox told parliament. Spending billions on new nuclear submarines is controversial at a time when the coalition is cutting public services, and spending on nonnuclear defense, to curb a huge budget deficit.

It is also a divisive issue for the year-old coalition government. The current four submarines armed with Trident nuclear missiles are due to go out of service in the 2020s. The dominant Conservatives want to replace the submarines while the junior coalition partner, the centre-left Liberal Democrats, said in last year’s election campaign this was unaffordable.

However, their coalition agreement commits both parties to maintaining Britain’s nuclear deterrent. In a concession to the Lib Dems, whose support has plunged in the past year, Fox announced the government would study the feasibility of alternatives to replacing the nuclear submarines.

But he also said he was “absolutely clear” that Britain should retain a minimum nuclear deterrent based on having a nuclear-armed submarine at sea at all times. Fox said the government had approved spending 3 billion pounds on preliminary work on the new submarines. It has chosen “a submarine design ... powered by a new generation of nuclear propulsion system ... that will allow our submarines to deliver a nuclear deterrent capability well into the 2060s if required,” he told parliament.

He did not name any companies that would be awarded contracts. Yesterday’s announcement means the government has decided on the broad design parameters of the new submarines and will order any items that will take a long time to deliver. The government has already said it will delay the main decision on building new nuclear submarines until 2016, after the next general election, a move aimed at easing political pressure on the Lib Dems over the issue. Parliament gave the go-ahead in 2007 to plans to replace Trident, but the government delayed significant spending on the project until after last year’s election. — Reuters

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I N T E R N AT I O N A L Attack on Afghan police cadets kills 13 JALALABAD: A suicide bomber killed 13 people and wounded at least 20 in an attack on a minibus carrying police cadets in the main city in Afghanistan’s turbulent east yesterday, a government spokesman said. Ahmadzia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, said the bomber had rammed an explosives-packed car into the bus carrying cadets in Jalalabad city.

“It was a suicide attack against a small bus carr ying Afghan police,” Abdulzai told Reuters. “The dead and wounded include police and civilians.” Afghan and foreign security forces, as well as government officials, are often targeted in attacks by insurgents in Afghanistan. The Taleban said at the beginning of this month that it had begun its long-awaited “spring offensive”, with senior US commanders also saying they expected a significant spike in violence.

US and NATO commanders have claimed major success

Twelve dead in protests after 2 women killed in Afghan raid Karzai condemns ‘wayward’ raid killings

JALALABAD: Afghan policemen investigate the wreckage of a bus, which was targeted by a suicide attacker in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan yesterday. —AP against insurgents in the south over the past 12 months, but insurgents in the east have proved harder to pin down. While the Taleban dominate the insurgency in the south, the fight in the east is more fragmented and includes

other groups such as the AlQaeda-linked Haqqani network.

Violence across Afghanistan last year hit its worst levels since the Taleban were ousted by USbacked Afghan forces in late 2001.

—Reuters

Yemeni caught in Pakistan ‘mid-level Qaeda operative’ KARACHI: A Yemeni Al Qaeda militant arrested in the Pakistani city of Karachi was a “mid-level” operative and explosives expert involved in plotting attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, security officials alleged yesterday. The Pakistani army on Tuesday identified him as Muhammad Ali Qasim Yaqub, alias Abu Sohaib Al Makki, and said he had been “working directly under al Qaeda leaders along (the) Pakistan-Afghan border”.

Makki’s arrest was the first move against what authorities said was a prominent militant since US special forces killed Osama bin Laden on May 2 in a secret raid that angered the powerful Pakistani army. A Pakistani intelligence official said Makki was believed to be one of the main couriers between bin Laden and Al Qaeda’s number two, Ayman al Zawahri. Pakistani officials investigating the Makki case alleged he was involved in the planning of attacks against Saudi Arabian interests in Karachi and other parts of Pakistan.

On May 16, gunmen on motorcycles killed a Saudi diplomat in Karachi, the second attack on the mission since the killing of bin Laden.

“He is a mid-level operative and has been very active in the region, but I can’t say yet if he is ‘huge’ in the global scheme of things,” said the official, adding intelligence agencies arrested him about a week ago in central Karachi.

“Nonetheless, he is a very good catch.” There was no immediate way of verifying Makki’s rank within al Qaeda. Pakistan’s reputation was badly hurt after it was discovered that bin Laden was living in a compound in a garrison city about a two-hour drive from intelligence headquarters in the capital Islamabad. The nucleararmed country, which depends on billions of dollars in US aid, is now under intense pressure to capture or kill other senior Al Qaeda figures to prove that it is serious about tackling militancy.

Al Makki was among prisoners who escaped from a prison in the Afghan city of Kandahar in 2008, two senior Pakistani officials said. Around 1,000 prisoners, including insurgents, escaped after a truck bomb blew open the jail’s gates. The mass escape led to a surge in fighting in Afghanistan. Retired army general Talat Masood said Pakistan must boost cooperation with ally the United States in its fight against militancy given the embarrassment caused by bin Laden’s presence.

“I think it’s too dangerous for Pakistani security agencies to create any drama (to hoodwink Americans) at this stage,” he said. “It seems to me it was a genuine catch and they have to share it (information) with Americans, otherwise it will be meaningless,” he said. A military official in Islamabad said Makki was an “explosives expert”. The official said he was “definitely” linked to the al Qaeda leadership but did not elaborate.

“He is still being interrogated and we hope to get more information from him,” said the official. A senior security official in Islamabad said Makki was between

35 and 40 years old and had been living with his three children and wife “for some time”. Military sources said that he came to Pakistan in 2001 and operated along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.

“The whole Osama issue has been very embarrassing for us, and that is why we have significantly stepped up efforts to capture any militants that may be hiding here,” said another military official. “We have always been very serious on terrorism, but now we are moving against militants even more seriously. You will hopefully see more results soon.” Pakistani officials say militants generate funds through extortion and kidnapping in Karachi, the South Asian nation’s commercial capital. Al Makki lived in Karachi for two years, said the intelligence officials. He speaks, English, Arabic and Pashtu.

Arab militants inspired by Al Qaeda are based in the tribal belt along the Pakistani-Afghan border.

“According to some documents we confiscated, and also during the interrogation, he said he was trying to flee the country after Osama’s killing,” said one of the officials. Army offensives have failed to break the resolve of Pakistani Taliban insurgents, who are close to al Qaeda. — Reuters

Maoists kill 7 police, call for general strike in India RAIPUR: Seven Indian policemen were killed in a Maoist rebel landmine blast in the eastern state of Chhattisgarh, police said yesterday, as the insurgents called for a 48-hour strike in six states across the country. The Maoists are active in the country’s poor, rural areas, and widespread violence in mineral-rich eastern districts has worried investors and disrupted mining and rail transport.

The landmine attack, the latest salvo in a fourdecades long insurgency that has killed thousands, came late on Tuesday hours after the rebels called for a two-day general strike from May 21 to demand the release of three of their leaders. “It was a powerful blast that ripped the roof off a vehicle carrying paramilitary personnel. Five men of the CRPF (federal police) second battalion were killed on the spot and two died a few hours later,” district police chief Ankit Garg told Reuters.

Last April, the government faced strong criticism that security forces were ill-prepared to deal with the insurgent threat after 75 police were killed in an ambush in Chhattisgarh that led to the home minister tendering his resignation. A recent crackdown on rebel-controlled areas has seen a decrease in attacks, raising hopes the government was winning the battle against what the prime minister has described as India’s biggest internal security threat. The Maoists’ violent campaign against the government began as a peasant revolt in the late 1960s. The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of the poor and the disenfranchised. — Reuters

TAKHAR: Afghans carry wrapped body of one of the four Afghans, killed in a NATO’s raid, during an anti- US demonstration in Taloqan, Takhar province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan yesterday. —AP TALOQAN: Twelve people were killed and 80 wounded in violent protests yesterday against the killing of two men and two women, accused of being insurgents, in a night-time raid by foreign troops in north Afghanistan, Afghan officials said. Hundreds of angry demonstrators armed with spades and axes took to the streets of Taloqan, a normally peaceful town in Takhar province, chanting “death to America” and tried to storm a foreign military base nearby.

Local police and residents said the four people killed in the raid late on Tuesday night in Taloqan were civilians. NATO-led forces said they were armed insurgents.

Underscoring his often testy relationship with his Western backers, Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the killing of what he said were four family members by NATO troops. Karzai asked for an explanation from General David Petraeus, the commander of US and NATO

troops in Afghanistan.

“Despite repeated warnings from the Afghan President to prevent wayward operations by NATO troops, it seems such incidents have not been stopped,” a statement issued by the presidential palace said. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said Afghan and ISAF troops killed four insurgents, including two armed females, while targeting a member of the Al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).

In Kabul, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security said an IMU leader had been targeted in the raid but “unfortunately” three others, including two women, had also been killed. The IMU leader had been visiting Takhar from neighboring Kunduz province, he said. The mistaken killing of civilians by foreign troops is a major source of friction between Karzai and Western leaders, and complicates efforts to win support from

ordinary Afghans for an increasingly unpopular war. “Night raids” cause deep anger and resentment among Afghans, due to mistaken killings and what many see as an attack on their dignity. Insurgents are responsible for the overwhelming majority of civilian deaths, UN figures show.

In Taloqan, demonstrators threw stones and handfuls of mud at a billboard of Karzai, and chanted “death to Karzai”. The body of one of the four killed in the raid, draped in a green blanket, was held up on a wooden stretcher and rushed through the crowd. Police and Afghan security guards opened fire to disperse the crowd, which Takhar police chief Shah Jahan Noori estimated at 3,000 people, after the violence mounted.

“There is no more room in the hospital, it is already packed with wounded,” Hassan Baseej, head of the provincial hospital, told Reuters.

He said most of the casualties had gunshot wounds. — Reuters

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Wen says China friends ‘forever’ with Pakistan Comments amid US recent pressure on Islamabad BEIJING: China’s Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday told his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani their nations would stay friends “forever”, amid US pressure on Islamabad after the killing of Osama bin Laden. Gilani met Wen on the second day of a visit to China that follows the May 2 killing of the Al-Qaeda leader by US special forces on Pakistani soil-a raid that has rattled US-Pakistan ties and prompted Islamabad to court ally Beijing.

“I wish to stress here that no matter what changes might take place in the international landscape, China and Pakistan will remain forever good neighbors, good friends, good partners and good brothers,” Wen said. The

weather friendship.” “Pakistan and China are close friends and good neighbors. Our allweather friendship is deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of our two peoples,” he said in a speech at a cultural forum in the eastern

BEIJING: China’s Premier Wen Jiabao, right, shows the way to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, center, during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing yesterday. —AP assault on bin Laden’s compound prompted questions as to whether Pakistan’s powerful security establishment helped him find safe haven, but China has consistently defended its ally.

“Pakistan has made great sacrifices and important contributions in the global fight against terror,” Wen said. Gilani also hailed strong ties with China, describing it as an “all-

city of Suzhou.

“Pakistan-China friendship epitomizes complete understanding, full trust, mutual cooperation and harmony. It is an abiding friendship based on shared values and ideals.” Similar comments a day earlier by Gilani fuelled calls from US lawmakers to slash aid to Islamabad, after US Senator John Kerry tried to set relations back on the right

foot on a visit to Pakistan earlier this week.

Kerry said lawmakers, angry over what they see as Islamabad’s lack of cooperation, are demanding a review of the billions of dollars in aid sent to Pakistan-and one key senator said Gilani’s praise of China was unhelpful.

Republican Senator James Risch said continued aid to Pakistan was “a hard sell to the American people” when cash-strapped Washington sends help, only to see “the head of Pakistan go to China and... say ‘you’re our best friend’.”

China is the main arms supplier to Pakistan, which sees Beijing as an important counter-balance to its traditional rival India.

New Delhi has recently improved its ties with the United States, causing worr y in Islamabad. Gilani, who arrived in Shanghai late Tuesday, travelled on to Beijing yesterday, beginning the official part of his visit with the meeting with Wen. During their talks, they discussed the US raid and military issues, Pakistan’s defence minister Ahmad Mukhtar said, and signed several economic and energy agreements.

Gilani is also expected to seek closer energy links with Beijing during the trip, as his country faces crippling power shortages and weak Western investment in Pakistan’s struggling economy. Pakistan last week opened a 330megawatt nuclear power plant in central Punjab province with Chinese help and said Beijing had been contracted to construct two more reactors.

China also needs Islamabad’s cooperation in stemming potential terrorist threats in its mainly Muslim region of Xinjiang, which borders Pakistan. But political analysts have said a wary Beijing was unlikely to buttress its verbal backing of Islamabad with significant aid money or other new support out of fear of getting too entangled in the troubled nation’s for tunes. Gilani is due to meet President Hu Jintao on Friday to wrap up the visit. —AFP

Bomb kills 2 near Myanmar capital YANGON: A bomb blast on a train near Myanmar’s capital left at least two people dead yesterday during a visit by a US envoy for talks with the new government, a Myanmar official said. “It was a time bomb. We assume KNU insurgents plotted it,” the government official said, referring to the Karen National Union whose armed wing has waged a decades-old ethnic insurgency. “ Two people including a woman were killed and seven others were injured in the bomb blast,” which occurred in the early evening in Tatkone township in the Naypyidaw area, said the official, who did not want to be named. The military-dominated nation has been hit by several bomb blasts in recent years, which the authorities have blamed on armed exile groups or ethnic rebels.

In February, eight people were injured by an explosive device believed to have been detonated accidentally in Myanmar’s main city Yangon, officials said. In April last year, in the worst attack in five years in Yangon, a series of explosions left 10 people dead and about 170 wounded as thousands of people gathered for festivities to mark the Buddhist New Year.

Yesterday’s explosion came shortly after Joseph Yun, the deputy US assistant secretary for East Asia and Pacific affairs, arrived

in Myanmar for talks with officials including Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin in Naypyidaw. Yun is also expected to meet democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi during his four-day visit to the country.

Suu Kyi, the 65-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, was released in November shortly after the first elections in 20 years, having spent most of the past two decades in detention. US President Barack Obama’s administration in 2009 launched a drive to engage Myanmar’s junta, which in March this year made way for a nominally civilian government after the election. Washington has voiced disappointment with the results of the dialogue and refused to ease sanctions after the November poll, which was marred by complaints of intimidation and fraud.

A US State Department spokesman said in Washington Tuesday that there were “fairly serious challenges to address” in relations with Myanmar. “We’re going to continue to pursue a dual-track policy that involves pressure but also principled engagement,” he added. Yun’s trip came just days after a senior UN official visited the country and said that recent signals from the new government were “ver y encouraging”, although the words needed to be matched by action. —AFP

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan bows at the start of a news conference on nuclear policies and regulatory structures at his official residence in Tokyo yesterday. —AP

Japan PM says must review oversight of nuclear power TOKYO: Prime Minister Naoto Kan said yesterday Japan must rethink how nuclear power is regulated and explore other energy sources after a crisis at a tsunami-crippled plant, but sidestepped the question of how big a role atomic energy would play in the country ’s future. Kan, battling low support rates, a feisty opposition and rebels in his own party, has pledged a blank-slate review of Japan’s current energy policy that aims to boost nuclear power to more than 50 percent of electricity supply by 2020 from about 30 percent now. But whether he can break the grip of the politically powerful utilities remains in doubt. “ We need to fundamentally review the way nuclear policy has been administrated,” Kan told a news conference, noting the nuclear safety agency was under the jurisdiction of the trade ministry, which has long promoted nuclear power as a way to reduce Japan’s reliance on imported fossil fuels.

Engineers are still battling to control the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima Daiichi plant, where a massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems, causing radiation leaks and starting the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

Kan, under fire of his handling of the nuclear crisis, faces a tough time implementing any policies given a divided parliament where opposition parties control the upper house and can block legislation. Tokyo Electric said on Tuesday it would stick to its goal of bringing the damaged reactors under control by January, despite admitting it faced bigger challenges than first disclosed, including a large leak in the plant’s No.1 reactor due to a fuel rod meltdown.

Yesterday, workers went into the No 2 reactor building at the plant for the first time since March 11, but could only stay for 10 minutes because of extremely high temperatures. Kan reiterated that

Japan should promote renewable energy sources such as those generated by wind, solar and biomass but stopped short of declaring a clean break from nuclear power and said reactors shut down for regular inspections could restart if they met emergency safety rules implemented after the accident.

“Nuclear reactors that are deemed safe will be put into use,” Kan said, adding, “We need to fully consider what needs to be done to enhance the safety of nuclear power.”

The disaster has prompted criticism of the cosy ties between utilities and government regulators as well as the lack of competition in the industry. Kan forecast future debate on whether to deregulate Japan’s power industry, dominated by nine regional utilities which both generate and distribute electricity, but said understanding the cause of the current crisis came first. “We need to consider how nuclear power policy is regulated and how electricity is supplied. We had similar discussions in telecom industries and regional monopolies in that area have disappeared. We will reach a stage where we will discuss such issues for the power industry,” Kan said.

Some experts have called for a split in the two functions to boost competition and make it easier for new entrants including providers of renewable energy, but others say a breakup would cause instability in power supply. “Debate will turn to separating the generation and distribution of power as we discuss the country’s energy policy,” Kan said. Trade minister Kaieda Banri, whose ministry oversees the nuclear power industry, sounded a cautious note.

“Debate over the separation of power generation and distribution at Tokyo Electric, or maybe including other electric utilities as well, has been running for a long time,” he told a separate news conference. —Reuters

Crucified S Korean likely killed himself, says Police

CHANGCHUN: In this photo taken Tuesday residents tried to save 22 year-old woman after she tried to kill herself by jumping out of a window of a seventh floor building in Changchun city in northeastern China’s Jilin province. The bride surnamed Li cut her wrists and tried to commit suicide after her boyfriend broke up with her just before the marriage. —AP

SEOUL: A South Korean taxi driver found dead and nailed to a cross in an apparent re-creation of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ probably carried out the ordeal on his own, police said yesterday. The 58year-old man was wearing only underwear and a crown of thorns when he was found May 1, one week after Easter, in an abandoned stone quarry in the country’s south. His hands and feet were nailed to the cross, there was a stab wound in his abdomen and nylon strings were tied around his neck.

After days of investigation, police said they believe the man, surnamed Kim, committed suicide without any assistance. Kim is believed to have nailed his feet to the cross, tied his neck to it and stabbed himself in the side. He is then believed to have drilled holes in his hands and slipped them over nails on

the cross, Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency officers said, describing the death under condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the press.

Officials simulated some elements of the crucifixion and concluded that an adult male could perform the act on his own, the agency said.

The man was a devout Christian, and police speculated that his “deep religious faith” may have helped him endure “immense pain.” Police said they found the man’s notes planning the crucifixion.

Before his apparent suicide, Kim closed his bank account and canceled his mobile phone contract in apparent preparation to end his life, police said.

An autopsy showed the man died of bleeding from the stab wound and suffocation, police said. —AP

North Korea leader’s ‘recovery’ sparks talk of succession delay SEOUL: North Korea’s iron leader Kim Jong-il is looking healthier by the day after seeming to be at death’s door just over two years ago following a stroke, prompting speculation his rule may last longer than many had imagined. Recently published images of the 69-year-old “Dear Leader” show him looking portly and pudgy-faced. That is a far cry from the sickly figure photographed in parliament in 2009 and the frail person holding on to a handrail at a military parade last year.

Diplomats and analysts agree Kim appears in better shape now, which could explain an apparent slowdown in the succession process this year after his youngest son’s rapid rise in political and military circles last September. “He does look better ... he is not that guy who was propped up and was dragged around” last year, said Brian Myers, a specialist on the secretive state’s ideology at Dongseo University in South Korea.

Myers added that Kim’s heavy schedule of so-called “field-guidance” inspections in the past few months has been quite extraordinary, but he cautioned against reading too much into his recovery. “He’s certainly not the man he was before the stroke,” he said. Most images from the North are issued by the state media, which is largely used as a propaganda tool. It is widely suspected that Kim suffered a stroke in 2008. This sparked a flood of media reports that the isolated state was on the threshold of a leadership change that could even precipitate its collapse.

Now experts and diplomats are reevaluating their short-term projections, and say the world may have to get used to Kim- and his nuclear brinkmanship-for a few more years, at least. Daniel Pinkston, an expert on Korean affairs in Seoul with the International Crisis Group, says any improvement in Kim’s health increases the

chances for a third generation of dynastic rule. “It seems people are falling in line behind the succession, and of course the longer Kim stays alive the better position he is to make his preferences and to have succession fulfilled,” he said.

Most photos and videotape of Kim show him favoring his right hand, with his left hand either by his side or in a jacket pocket, possibly partially paralyzed by the stroke. But his appetite has clearly returned and he has a fuller head of hair.

“When a person can endure more than one year after a stroke, the condition can be much better,” said Kwon Jung-taek, a neuro-surgeon at Chung-Ang University in Seoul. “When a stroke happens, there’s no 100 percent recovery. Kim Jong-il, as far as I can see, is still not using his left hand, which implies that he hasn’t recovered yet.”

South Korean newspapers this week published photos of Kim wearing his

trademark platform shoes, saying this was another sign the leader’s health was on the up. In recent years, officials and experts have speculated Kim’s death was imminent, due to any one of a litany of illnesses including pancreatic cancer, diabetes and the stroke. The latest theory is he may have suffered a brain tumour.

But Kim’s health is a guessing game, gleaned from published images and reports from visiting dignitaries. And, as with all things to do with the mysterious North, there is no way of telling the real from the unreal. For years, experts have debated the authenticity of photos released by the North’s state news outlet, which are mostly not dated, and whether the images are of the real Kim. “That’s the thing, who knows?” says Pinkston. “People have speculated about a double, or what the dates of photos are, and if they are recycling stuff. It’s hard to say.” In the latest ‘dated’ photos of Kim Jong-il, released this

week, the leader is pictured with a visiting Russian foreign intelligence service delegation and its chief Mikhail Fradkov. KCNA state news agency said the photo was taken on Tuesday.

Russian authorities confirmed the visit was taking place.This week’s photos contrast with images of a gaunt Kim alongside former U.S. President Bill Clinton during a visit in August 2009. The latest ‘dated’ video footage of Kim was taken during a visit by a Chinese delegation to Pyongyang on Feb. 14. That visit was also filmed by Chinese state television. In the footage, a chubby-faced Kim was shown smiling and raising his wine glass to his visitors. Among the North Korean guests was his son and heir-apparent Kim Jongun.The inexperienced Jong-un, believed to be 28 or 29, was last year made a fourstar general and given a senior political role in what was widely seen as the official start of succession. —Reuters

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ne ws SRINAGAR: A Kashmiri boy jumps into the Nigeen Lake on a hot summer day yesterday. — AP

Russia expels Israeli attache for ‘spying’ JERUSALEM: Russia has expelled Israel’s military attache at its Moscow embassy on spying allegations, the Israeli military said yesterday, dismissing the charges as unfounded. “The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) military attache and ministry of defence representative in Russia, an IDF colonel, was detained for investigation last week

by Russian authorities, on suspicion of spying,” a joint statement by the defence ministry and the military spokesman’s office said. The statement did not name the man, who it said had been due to complete his posting in two months. “Security authorities in Israel completed a thorough investigation and concluded that these claims were unfounded,” it added.

Military sources identified the envoy as air force Colonel Vadim Leiderman and said he returned to Israel several days ago after being questioned by Russian authorities over espionage allegations and then told to leave the country immediately. Israel’s state-run Channel One television said he was arrested while sitting at a cafe with a Russian. “He was suspected by the Russians of running several local residents,” the network said.

“He was taken in for questioning in Moscow about 10 days ago, the police asked him some questions. Because of his diplomatic immunity they were not able to do more but he was asked to immediately leave the country and he did so,” it added. It said that in Israel he was “cleared of all suspicion” after interrogation by his military superiors and by agents of the Shin Bet security agency.

Ynet, the website of top-selling Israeli daily Yediot Aharanot, said Leiderman “maintains that the allegations are baseless and false and that the entire incident is root-

ed in a misunderstanding”. “The past few days have seen hectic efforts by Israel to appease Moscow and stop the already grave diplomatic incident from escalating further, but the Russians seem adamant to exhaust all the legal measures at their disposal against the officer. “Israel has substantial political and security interests in Russia and is now concentrating on damage control,” Ynet said.

Israel daily Haaretz’s website said Leiderman “was arrested during a May 12 meeting, in what appeared to be a violation of his diplomatic immunity”. It said news of the affair was blocked in Israel until yesterday evening by a court gag order. On a visit to Moscow in March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to persuade Russia to scale down its nuclear cooperation with Iran and its arms sales to Syria, both seen in Israel as strategic threats.

Russia is a key supplier of arms to the Arab world and has agreed to send a large shipment of anti-ship Yakhont cruise missiles to Syria - a country still technically at war with Israel. Israeli officials fear the shipment will ultimately land in the hands of the Syrian-supported Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Haaretz said Leiderman’s arrest was not the first of its kind. “In the early 1990s, Mossad representative Reuven Daniel was arrested in a Moscow subway station after he had purchased satellite images from a firm that was part of the Russian military intelligence,” it said.

“During his arrest, Russian security officials disregarded Daniel’s immunity, in an interrogation that included a severe beating. He was then transferred to a local police station, released, and declared persona non grata,” it said, adding Leiderman had suffered no physical abuse. — AFP

Bahrain journos plead not guilty DUBAI: Four journalists from Bahrain’s only opposition newspaper pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of fabricating news about the security forces’ crackdown on anti-government protests in the Gulf island kingdom. Al Wasat’s former editor-in-chief Mansoor Al-Jamri, one of the four, told Reuters a judge had added to the charge of fabricating news “the intention of causing instability in Bahrain”, punishable by up to two years in jail.

Bahrain, host to the US Fifth Fleet, faced a wave of anti-government protests in February and March as mostly Shiite demonstrators demanded democratic reform, and a minority called for a republic, leading to some of the biggest unrest in the country’s history.

Bahrain’s Sunni rulers crushed the protests on March 16 and called in troops from neighbouring Sunniruled countries to help. Several journalists and photographers have been detained or charged over their coverage of the unrest. Jamri said that under Bahraini law, the judge can impose a fine instead of a jail sentence on a defendant found guilty of the new charge. “My response to the charges is that Al Wasat was targeted by a campaign of misinformation and it was attacked,” he told Reuters by telephone. The case was adjourned until June 15 to give defence lawyers time to review the prosecution’s evidence, journalists and colleagues who attended the court session said.

MANAMA: Mansoor Al-Jamri, former chief editor of the Bahraini opposition newspaper Al Wasat, arrives at the courthouse yesterday. — AP Al Wasat, considered an independent, moderate newspaper, was briefly suspended after being accused of falsifying six news articles, but began publishing again after Jamri and two other men on trial - British managing editor Walid Noueihed and head of local news Aqeel Mirza - resigned last month. Jamri, who acknowledged that six false articles did appear in Al Wasat, told Reuters the stories were emailed to the newspaper complete with fake phone numbers from the same IP address as part of an apparent campaign to plant disinformation.

“It is obvious that Al Wasat sided with reforms and urged all to resolve issues through dialogue. Attempting

to stain its image runs contradictory to proven records of high-standard journalism,” Jamri said. “We stand by our standard of ethics and are surprised at the campaigns organised against us.” A fourth journalist, Ali AlSherify, one of two Iraqi journalists deported last month, is being tried in absentia. Questioned last month, Jamri said the falsified statements slipped past editing checks because Al Wasat had been short-staffed. Its printing press was attacked in early March and its offices were inside a curfew zone. He told Reuters in April the articles were not a case of genuine mistakes being made: “Someone trapped us.”

Bahraini authorities, apparently widening the crackdown on journalists during the final weeks of martial law, detained five other Bahraini journalists in the past week, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. CPJ said Bahraini activists told it all five, most of them photographers, had documented the civil unrest in Bahrain. During the crackdown on dissent which has now lasted more than two months, security forces have manned checkpoints across the city, hundreds of people have been detained, dozens have disappeared and hundreds have lost their jobs almost all members of the Shiite majority. At least four people have died in detention, including Al Wasat board member and founder Karim Fakhrawi, the CPJ said. — Reuters

DISGRACEFUL! Continued from Page 1 suggested “the best thing to do is get rid of them”. The exchange between Sheikh Jaber and the US envoy to Kuwait, took place in Feb 2009 and was recorded in a US State Department cable published by WikiLeaks. The Gulf country’s foreign minister had insisted, however, that “it is impossible to think that Kuwait will ever forget about its sons ... detained in Guantanamo without trial.”

Several MPs regretted the incident and expressed concern over the development of events in the country. MP Roudhan Al-Roudhan deplored the fight and urged HH the Amir to use his constitutional powers to suspend Assembly sessions for a

month. The scuffle took place in the background of heightened sectarian tensions between Shiites, who form 30 percent of native Kuwaitis of 1.15 million, and the majority Sunnis.

Police in the past few weeks arrested several young Shiites on charges of writing derogatory statements against second Caliph Omar ibn AlKhattab and the Prophet’s (PBUH) wife Aisha, who are highly revered by Sunnis but are not by Shiites. The latest such events took place on Tuesday when an unidentified culprit wrote the names of Omar and Aisha in the bathroom of a mosque in AlQurain area.

Sectarian tensions also soared over the events in Bahrain when Shiites praised the government for not sending troops to Bahrain as part

of the Gulf force to crush Shiite-led protests, but Sunnis condemned the move. The court ruling in March of five men on charges of being members of a spy ring working for Iran, also flared sectarian tensions. Qallaf in particular has been issuing highly provocative statements against Sunni Islamists, calling them names and supporters of Al-Qaeda and terrorism.

The Assembly bureau issued a statement after an emergency meeting, in which it regretted the incident and called for calm and restraint. At a press conference, Harbash blamed the Assembly speaker for not curbing Qallaf and others from making derogatory statements, while Hayef bluntly held Qallaf responsible for stirring sectarian strife.

Kuwait, Iran to return ambassadors after row Continued from Page 1 The row also prompted the Gulf state to recall its ambassador from Tehran. “We also spoke about this issue and we deny this issue completely,” Salehi said, after meeting with HH the Amir the Assembly speaker.

The Kuwait stopover marks Salehi’s fifth regional trip in the past few weeks, following visits to Qatar, Oman, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. “The Republic of Iran is a trustworthy neighbour for the whole region,” said Salehi. “We are living in a sensitive region and are concerned about maintaining stability and peace. This is one of the priorities in Iran’s external policy.” Salehi dismissed the Gulf states’ fears regarding Iran as “illusions that have no roots” in reality.

Relations between the Sunni-ruled Arab states in the Gulf and non-Arab predominantly Shiite Iran were strained following a crackdown in March on protests in Bahrain that had been led by the tiny kingdom’s Shiite

majority. Iranian and Bahraini diplomats were also expelled from both sides. “We believe that the entry of military forces into the kingdom of Bahrain wasn’t necessary and that the matter must have been dealt with internally in Bahrain,” Salehi said yesterday. Tehran has repeatedly criticised Bahrain’s brutal crackdown on prodemocracy protests, urging political reforms in the predominantly Shiite tiny emirate which has been ruled by a Sunni dynasty for more than 200 years.

Iran’s criticism provoked Gulf Arab monarchies to accuse it of interference in their affairs, particularly in Bahrain and Kuwait, with the intention of destabilising the region. Bahrain’s King Hamad was quoted as saying last week that he was trying to solve the dispute with Iran in a spirit of “brotherhood”, seeking to “as far as possible to reach out to our brothers in Iran”. Salehi on Sunday “welcomed the comments made by Bahrain’s king, and called for steps towards resolving the problems in Bahrain,” Iranian media reported. — Agencies

Qaeda names Adel as temporary chief Continued from Page 1 US special forces shot dead AlQaeda leader bin Laden in his hideout outside the capital of Pakistan on May 2, almost 10 years af ter he ordered the Sept 11 attacks of 2001 that killed around 3,000 people in the United States.

“I think it’s more for show than anything else. It is to illustrate to the world that they have a temporary leader,” Dubai-based security analyst Theodore Karasik said of Adel. “Adel clearly has operational experience but he does not have the intellectual or charismatic side that bin Laden had.”

Adnan Al-Khairi Al-Masri was named Al-Qaeda’s general command head, while Mohammed Nasser Al-Wahshi would be Africa chief, Mohammed Adam Khan, an Afghan, would be in charge in Pak istan and Afghanistan, and Fahd Al-Iraqi would be responsible for the Afghan-Pakistani border region, Al Jazeera added. US prosecutors say Adel is one of AlQaeda’s leading militar y commanders and helped plan the 1998 bomb attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

They also say he set up Al-Qaeda training camps in Sudan and Afghanistan in the 1990s.

But repor ts have suggested Adel viewed the Sept 11 attacks as a mistake and criticised bin Laden over them. Mustafa Alani, a political analyst based in Dubai, said he doubted Adel had taken on a temporary leadership role, citing past disputes between Adel and the charismatic Saudi leader. “This man was an opponent of bin Laden and the Sept 11 attacks. He criticised bin Laden personally, describing him as a dictator who took decisions without referring to his colleagues,” he said. Alani also said bin Laden was a symbolic leader who did not need to be replaced. “I am questioning the credibility of the need to replace him. Osama bin Laden is not a leader, he’s an ideologist. The idea of replacing bin Laden as a manager, it doesn’t work this way,” he said.

Adel was believed to have fled to Iran after the US invasion of Afghanistan following Sept 11 and was held under a form of house arrest there, according to some media reports. Arab media reports said Iranian authorities let him go about a year ago, and he then moved back to the AfghanistanPakistan border region. Some analysts say Adel may have returned to Iran or Afghanistan in recent weeks.

Noman Benotman, a former bin Laden associate who is now an analyst with Britain’s Quilliam Foundation think-tank, said Adel was already a kind of “chief of staff” who took on the role to assuage concerns by Al-Qaeda activists about the group’s future. “This role that he has assumed is not as overall leader, but he is in charge in operational and military terms,” he said on Tuesday, adding that Adel, who Benotman knew personally when both were active in Afghanistan, was on good terms with Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda’s number two figure. “This has happened in response to the impatience displayed by jihadists online who have been extremely worried about the delay in announcing a successor,” he told Reuters in London. “It is hoped that now they will calm down. It also paves the way for Zawahiri to take over.”

Audio and video announce ments from bin Laden largely dried up in recent years while Zawahiri recorded frequent messages. But Zawahri is seen as lack ing the charisma and oratorical skills of bin Laden, a Saudi of Yemeni origin. AlQaeda has an active wing in Yemen but has not managed to establish itself in Egypt, the most populous Arab nation. — Reuters

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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

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Issues

Food prices may sway Latam voters

By Jason Lange and Caroline Stauffer he rising cost of food in Latin America is squeezing workers and families already struggling to survive below the poverty line and could give opposition parties a boost in elections from Peru to Mexico.

Governments are scrambling to contain food prices and inflation in general, handing out discounted beef in Argentina and helping small Mexican food producers buy contracts in financial markets to buffer against higher corn prices.

The World Bank’s index of global food prices rose 36 percent in the year through March. Even if food inflation slows in coming months, as many economists expect, the World Bank expects a boom in food prices over the long term. That will keep pressure on leaders with presidential votes planned in six Latin American nations by the end of 2012. “It’s going to be an issue that could have repercussions on government stability,” said political risk analyst Carlos Ramirez at Eurasia Group. “Not necessarily putting governments at risk, but yes hurting their chances of reelection.”

Combating poverty is a big issue in Peru’s presidential contest, where the right-wing front-runner is seen by many as having stronger inflation-fighting credentials.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s main opposition party is already stepping up criticism about the ruling conservatives’ track record tackling poverty ahead of a 2012 presidential election. Hurt by a weak economy and higher food prices, the ranks of Mexico’s poor have likely grown since President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006, said World Bank economist Joost Draaisma.

Latin America has reduced poverty substantially over the last decade through strong economic growth, lower inflation rates and improved social safety nets. Some 16 percent of the region earned less than $2.50 a day in 2009, down from 25 percent in 2003, according to the World Bank and the Center for Distributional, Labor and Social Studies. But a key factor in the region’s success China’s voracious appetite for its grains, soybeans and minerals - is fueling what the World Bank expects will be an extended period of high food prices.

Because the poor can spend half or more of their income on food, Latin America’s progress lifting people out of poverty will largely stall this year, said Ethel Sennhauser, the World Bank’s regional manager for Latin American agriculture. Lower food stocks could also make prices more volatile in coming years, creating further inflation headaches, she said. In the Peruvian capital, fruit vendor Maria Gonzalez is buying less chicken after meat prices shot up 7 percent in the year through April. Overall, food prices jumped 1.2 percent in the month of April alone.

Anxiety over prices for food and energy has led Peru and much of the region to raise interest rates aggressively to contain inflation. Hyperinflation wrecked Peru’s economy in the late 1980s until former President Alberto Fujimori tamed prices in the 1990s. While later convicted of using death squads against opponents, he is remembered for steadying the economy. Now his daughter Keiko Fujimori, a conservative, narrowly leads polls ahead of a June 5 presidential runoff election with leftist Ollanta Humala. Fujimori has highlighted her father’s success fighting inflation, which resonates with some voters. “Under Fujimori, everything was always cheap,” said Gonzalez as she left a local produce market.

“I think I’m going to vote for his daughter.”

The World Bank is urging Latin America, a net food exporter, to boost farm output, keep a closer eye on hunger levels and waste less food. While food riots are generally not expected, they are a latent menace. “This is the time to open our eyes,” said Sennhauser. “If we have people outside in the streets - as some African countries are having today - it will be too late to act.”

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, who could run for reelection in October, has put mobile butchers in neighborhoods offering cheap steaks. Investors say her government underestimates inflation, which some private analysts pin at around 25 percent. Inflation runs at 23 percent in Venezuela. In Brazil, the memory of early 1990s hyperinflation means fast-rising prices could boost the opposition by hurting President Dilma Rousseff’s standing with working-class voters. Brazil’s next general election is three years away, but a weakened Rousseff may have more trouble pushing her agenda through Congress. — Reuters

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Hizbullah raises spectre of new conflict

By Daren Butler beydullah Durna was trying to fend off a firebomb attack on his Islamist association by suspected separatist Kurdish militants when he was shot dead on the roof of the building. His bearded face, framed in a white shroud and a green headband emblazoned with a koranic verse, now adorns websites linked to the Kurdish Hizbullah movement group which fought a vicious battle with the leftist separatists through the 1990s. Durna’s killing in the town of Yuksekova near Turkey’s border with Iran on May 5 marked a chilling escalation in unrest between the two sides. Hizbullah, having abstained from militancy for over a decade, has warned that some supporters are ready to take up arms again.

The warning comes at a critical time for Turkey as it prepares for a parliamentary election on June 12, with conflict in the region a major concern for voters. Such a prospect strikes fear into the hearts of people in the mainly Kurdish region, where 1,000 people have been killed in tit-for-tat killings by Hizbullah and the Marxist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), ideologically opposed groups both designated as terrorist organisations by Turkey.

Both Hizbullah, or Party of God, and legal Islamist groups such as Durna’s MustazafDer, which are regarded as having ties to Hizbullah, still talk of making peace with the PKK. “We have stretched out a hand of peace to them and it is still waiting in the air. It is not too late,” Mustazaf-Der chairman

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Huseyin Yilmaz said in his office looking out over the city of Diyarbakir where the two sides vie for influence.

Hizbullah, which is not linked to Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah, emerged in the 1980s around the same time as the leftist PKK. There was speculation that at times Hizbullah was encouraged by the security forces as a counter-force to the PKK. In 2000, police killed Hizbullah leader Huseyin Velioglu in a siege of an Istanbul villa, and subsequent raids crushed the group’s militant wing. Since then the movement shunned violence in its pursuit of introducing Sharia law in Muslim but secular Turkey.

In Diyarbakir, the main city in the Kurdish southeast, there are bookshops, a newspaper, a magazine and a broadcaster sympathetic to Hizbullah’s Islamic goals. But a statement carried on Hizbullah’s website after Durna’s death warned that some members were ready to return to violence. “After the latest mar tyrdom the borders of patience and tolerance are being severely tested,” the Hizbullah statement said. “If a conflict starts, a process will be entered from which there will be no recovery,” it added.

“We want to make it clear that we are have difficulty in controlling the grassroots and youth.”

The PKK has threatened to resume its war on the state with a vengeance unless the government enters serious negotiations to end the long-running separatist insurgency after the election. “The PKK keeps threatening that if there aren’t any concessions immediately after the election all hell will

break loose. I think that could change the whole dynamics in the southeast,” said Gareth Jenkins, an Istanbul-based analyst.

The resurgent popularity of Hizbullah and sustained power of the PKK has the makings of a powderkeg in the southeast. “If these two powerful groups embark upon a merciless conflict like in the past, this time it will be more bloody and destructive,” analyst Rusen Cakir wrote in Vatan newspaper.

Groups sympathetic to Hizbullah, including Mustazaf-Der, demonstrated their ability to mobilise people, organising celebrations for the anniversar y of the Prophet Mohammad’s birth last month. They sent a CD promoting the event to every household in Diyarbakir, and tens of thousands of people participated in towns and villages across the southeast. The movement was also encouraged by the release in January of several prominent Hizbullah members, thanks to new legislation limiting the period defendants can be held without a conviction.

There were largescale celebrations of their release.

Mustazaf-Der’s Yilmaz, also a lawyer for the former militants, said it was time for the state to accept Hizbullah. “For 10 years it is not involved in violence and wants to express itself legally. The state must respond and remove it from its terrorist list,” Yilmaz said. Yilmaz complained his own group had been under attack in recent years from PKK sympathisers. It was also subject to police raids and a court bid to close it over alleged links to Hizbullah. He denied such links and said there were only “emotional” ties. “There

are no Hizbullah cells or structure in the region. Hizbullah is in the hearts of the people, deep in the hearts,” said Yilmaz, a softlyspoken man with a greying beard.

The released Hizbullah members, according to Yilmaz, have fled abroad to avoid being re -arrested, though they now renounce militancy. The leader of the group, Isa Altsoy, is believed to be in Western Europe and media reports point to other leading members being in Iran since their release. “It is wrong to describe Hizbullah as a (militant) group. It was always a religious community,” said voluntary group worker Ismail Ogur, 42, in a bookshop opposite Diyarbakir’s 11th Century Great Mosque. “It was just wrongly portrayed.”

Based in Diyarbakir, Mustazaf-Der was set up in 2004 with the stated aim of fighting poverty, social divisions and ignorance through the Islamic community. It is also active in trying to end blood feuds between clans in the region and its message resonates with many people. The association’s agenda reflected a decision by the group to turn its back on violence and pursue models from elsewhere in the Middle East, analysts said. “They are following more the Hamas or even the Lebanese Hezbollah path, which is not just to be a violent organisation but to focus on charitable works and building up this social suppor t base,” said Jenkins.

Previously, militant minded Islamist radicals found Hezbollah too dovish and went abroad in search of violent jihad, but a renewal of hostilities with the PKK could change that. — Reuters

Russia tries to reel in Belarus leader

By Steve Gutterman ays before Alexander Lukashenko won a fourth term as president of Belarus in December, Russia cast the authoritarian leader a $4-billion lifeline by scrapping duties on oil exports to the former Soviet republic. Now the Kremlin is trying to reel him in. Moscow is using its own economic might to weaken Lukashenko and increase its influence on Belarus, an ally facing a crisis that stems from lavish public spending before a widely criticised vote that further soured relations with the West.

Russia is dangling the prospect of badly needed loans before Lukashenko, who damaged his chances of further aid from the International Monetary Fund by jailing opponents after a police crackdown on peaceful protests over his election.

In return, analysts say, Moscow is eyeing prize assets that Belarus is under pressure to privatise - potentially including its two big oil refineries, its gas pipeline system, its main mobile phone provider and Belaruskali, a top potash producer. “Russia is not going to give free money to Belarus,” a European Union nation diplomat said on condition of anonymity. “They want a piece of Belarus in return, and that is totally understandable.”

Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin sent a similar message on Tuesday when he said agreement on a loan for Belarus was close and could be reached during a visit to Minsk by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today. In addition to a potential $3-billion loan from a Russian-dominated regional anti-crisis fund, paid out over three years, Kudrin said Belarus would have to sell assets worth $3 billion this year to claw its way out of the crisis.

Belarus had been hoping for $3 bil-

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lion right away, including $1 billion from Russia itself. But Moscow, which for years has subsidised Belarus’ Soviet-style economy in exchange for smooth delivery of oil to Europe and the loyalty of an ally sandwiched between Russia and NATO, seems determined to shorten the leash on Lukashenko.

“Loans will be granted in an amount that is enough to avert a collapse but in no way enough to preserve the status quo,” said Kirill Koktysh, an associate professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

That status quo has been shaken hard. In scenes reminiscent of the chaos of the Soviet Union’s collapse 20 years ago, Belarussians have been waiting for hours in long lines at currency exchange offices to avoid devastating losses as the value of its rouble falls. Wage increases awarded before the election by Lukashenko, who has been president since July 1994, are eroding. Prices of vegetables rose by nearly 25 percent in April.

Longer-term, Russia may seek to cement closer integration with Belarus, possibly reviving a push for a single currency that would sharply increase Moscow ’s influence, said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the journal Russia in Global Affairs. “Given the extremely difficult situation in Belarus, there may be calls not just for privatisation but along the lines of, ‘Come on, let’s decide once and for all on deepening integration’,” Lukyanov said.

In a phone call on Tuesday, the Kremlin said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Lukashenko discussed “cooperation on integration within the Customs Union” and other regional groups

Moscow is using to bring Belarus closer into its orbit. The Kremlin’s ultimate hope, Lukyanov said, is “to make it so that Belarus is oriented, irreversibly and forever, toward economic cooperation and integration with Russia.”

Lukashenko, 56, has played up historical ties with fellow Slavic, Orthodox Christian-majority neighbour Russia to his political and economic advantage, winning cheap energy supplies and successive endorsements of elections condemned by the West.

He has also intermittently courted the United States and Europe, only to alienate them with intolerance of opposition and clampdowns on dissent. But Lukashenko’s crackdown on protests over the December election has played into Russia’s hands. Several candidates have been jailed and a prominent opponent, Andrei Sannikov, received a five-year prison sentence on Saturday. Russia initially cast the crackdown as an internal matter but added to the pressure on Lukashenko this week, criticising the sentences against Sannikov and others.

Lukashenko’s ties with the Kremlin has been strained since early in Putin’s 2000-2008 presidency, and there were signs last year that Moscow might try to push him out of power in the December election. Even with Belarus in dire economic need, however, analysts say that is not Russia’s goal because any replacement would add to the uncertainty.

Instead, Koktysh said, Russia’s leaders want to discredit Lukashenko, who has used Moscow’s largesse to cast himself as “a successful post-Soviet leader who can present himself as an alternative to both Medvedev and Putin”. “He will be shown as a failed manager and a person who is unable to support his economic model or care for his country.” — Reuters

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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

analysis

Will Ahmadinejad survive until end of term?

By Parisa Hafezi ighting for more power, not given to compromise and risking the disapproval even of the supreme authority in Iran’s clerical establishment; President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it might seem, is headed for a fall. Few analysts doubt, however, he will hold on to power through a term due to end in 2013.

Difficult he may be, but even rivals may fear his dismissal could pitch Iran into uncertainty and open the gates to unrest that has swept the Middle East. Iran enjoyed a foretaste of those troubles in 2009, when Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election stirred protests that mounted to the biggest challenge to the Islamic state since 1979.Discord between Ahmadinejad and hardline rulers surfaced after Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reinstated the intelligence minister who Iranian media said was forced to resign by the president last month. “It is not Ahmadinejad’s style to compromise...Any compromise will display a weak image of the president,” said an analyst, who asked not to be named. The president and his allies have been fiercely criticised by conservative politicians, hardline senior clerics and the elite Revolutionary Guards in the past weeks for trying to extend their powers.

Analysts interpret Khamenei’s rare public interference as an attempt to clip the hardline president’s wings. Khamenei, supposedly above the political fray, had quickly endorsed Ahmadinejad’s re-election in 2009. The climate has changed.

“The Supreme Leader’s aim is to preserve the establishment while blocking Ahmadinejad’s attempts to gain more power,” said political analyst Hesam Borghei. “In Iran, nothing is predictable...But all top rulers want to preserve the system.” The path to resolution is very cloudy because of Iran’s complex political system, based on coalitions or compromise, analysts say. Resistance to Ahmadinejad, however, has united prominent conservatives otherwise divided on many issues.

“Ahmadinejad’s political honeymoon with his conservative backers is over ... even if he stays in office, he will be a weak president,” political analyst Houshang Sedaghati said.

Ahmadinejad angered conservative-dominated parliament by merging eight ministries, including oil and energy ministries, without asking for the assembly’s approval.

So bad has the feuding become that Khamenei had to interfere by admonishing Ahmadinejad and parliament speak-

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er Ali Larijani to resolve the row. But still some lawmakers are critical.

Ahmadinejad might, paradoxically, strengthen his position if he were more compromising in dealings with Supreme Leader Khamenei and hardline rivals. But some analysts argue that pressure on the president, while it may continue in private, and perhaps occasionally spill over into the public domain, will not force such a change. According to the constitution, if parliament unseats the president, a committee of parliament and judiciary heads, along with the first vice-president, is formed to hold an election within 50 days. The head of the judiciary is a brother of speaker Larijani, a leading conservative rival of Ahmadinejad. Dismissal of a president in the Islamic state is a rare event and parliament’s decision needs approval of the Supreme Leader. Iran’s first president Abolhassan Banisadr was dismissed in 1981 on accusations he acted against the system.

With mounting international pressure over Iran’s disputed nuclear program, rising prices, long queues of jobless and investors keeping a tight hold on their purse, analysts say, the establishment ultimately needs Ahmadinejad to survive.

“Ahmadinejad’s dismissal would make the situation more chaotic in Iran ... particularly when the region is boiling because of popular Arab uprisings,” said an analyst, who asked not to be named. Autocratic leaders of Tunis and Egypt, seemingly unassailable at the beginning of the year, have been dispatched by pro-democracy movements. Protests have wracked Bahrain and Yemen and civil war is raging in Libya.

The son of a blacksmith whose humble image still scores well with Iran’s mass of devout poor, Ahmadinejad’s refusal to compromise with the West on Iran’s nuclear program has gained him popular respect, if it has contributed to Iran’s isolation. On the economy, Ahmadinejad has a fight on his hands, facing discontent over high prices and inflation as well as criticism within the establishment over populist economic policies.

The nationalist approach by Ahmadinejad’s allies is seen as a tactic to widen electoral support for Iran’s 2012 parliamentary votes, analysts say. “A parliament dominated by Ahmadinejad’s supporters, will give the president an upper hand in the power struggle,” said analyst Hamid Bakhsi. “Ahmadinejad’s camp wants to win the votes ... They don’t mind whether votes belong to hardliners or liberal Iranians with sense of national identity.” — Reuters

Power protests threaten Iraq government

By Aseel Kami raq’s punishing summer heat will fuel angry street protests over the nation’s feeble power supply but the rallies are unlikely to topple the government, even if some ministers are sacked as scapegoats. The electricity grid, hobbled by years of war and under-investment, will probably supply less than half of Iraq’s 15,000megawatt peak demand this summer as temperatures head to 50 degrees Celsius plus. An emergency plan to place temporary generators around the country is a year away and faces major problems, officials say.

The power issue is one of the most visible benchmarks for Iraq’s nascent democracy and among the most frustrating elements of Iraqi life more than eight years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and unleashed war and chaos. “There will be crisis and shortage this year,” said Laith Al-Mamury, head of contracts and investment at the electricity ministry. “The gas, diesel and thermal turbines which we made contracts to buy will not be ready ... this summer.”

What impact that might have on a fragile governing alliance of Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni political blocs is a big question facing Iraq in coming weeks, with sweltering heat likely to drive Iraqis out of their un-aircondi-

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tioned homes and onto the streets in protest. “I expect that a lot of people will go out. They will not endure the heat. That will put the government under pressure,” said Yaseen Al-Bakri, a political science professor in Baghdad.

“But for the government to resign, no, I do not believe that will happen... I believe there will be firing of some ministers who will carry the burden ... they will be scapegoats.”

Electricity officials concede there will be little change in the power supply this year despite windfall oil profits pouring into Iraq. They expect the summer of 2012 will see some relief, and say the power shortage will end by 2013. Years of wars and economic sanctions left the electricity infrastructure in tatters and the rebuilding has been slow as Iraq ramps up oil production and fights off a stubborn Islamist insurgency that sometimes targets the power supply. The electricity ministry has signed multibilliondollar deals to build power stations and to buy turbines which could add thousands of megawatts, but says it needs more time.

At the beginning of May, for example, Turkey’s Calik Enerji started work on a 1,250-MW plant near the city of Kerbala. But will not be finished until April 2013. Calik also won a $389 million contract last month to build a 750-MW power plant near Mosul in

nor thern Iraq but needs up to 20 months to complete the installation. A $1 billion deal Iraq signed in April with China’s Shanghai Electric will nearly double the size of a plant south of Baghdad. Supply this summer is projected at 7,000 MW, enough for just eight hours of power a day compared with peak demand of 15,000 MW, Electricity Minister Raad Shallal said in March.

An emergency plan to install 50 mini-power stations around the country with a total capacity of 5,000 MW could help while long-term projects get under way. But the turbines, which could boost daily supply to Iraqi homes to 16 hours, will not be added to the grid until next summer, the minister said. Even that plan faces big logistical problems, Mamury said.

The stations would be fueled by diesel, which must be delivered to each location by truck on congested roads in poor repair. “If all of them work, there will be fleets of oil tankers, because there are no pipes to reach these stations,” he said.

Long before the massive protests that swept the Arab world, toppling autocracies in Egypt and Tunisia and threatening others in Libya, Syria and Bahrain, Iraqis had taken to the streets to send a message to their new, democratically elected leaders. Protests last summer led to the resignation of

then- electricity minister K arim Waheed and awakened officials to public anger. Prime Minister Nouri AlMaliki’s government this year promised Iraqis 1,000 kilowatt-hours of free power each month. It also cancelled a decision to double electricity fees.

But analysts said public anger may be greater this summer as patience with unfulfilled promises wears thin.

Bahaa Al-Araji, a senior member of the Sadrist political bloc in parliament, a key faction in Maliki’s coalition, doesn’t rule out the possiblity the fragile coalition could fall. “If we see that dictatorship in other countries has led to the fall of governments, it is possible electricity in Iraq could lead to the fall of the whole regime,” Araji said.

But analysts note the government may be able to deploy huge oil profits - Iraq budgeted for $76.50-a-barrel oil but world prices have been running around $100 for months - to cool public anger with increased food rations and jobs programs. “We are facing a considerable increase in oil prices and subsequently high revenues for the Iraqi government.

It could play with these revenues to bribe the citizens,” said Yahya Kubaisi, an analyst at Iraq’s Institute for Strategic Studies. “Yes, there will be protest movements. But we cannot say that these protests will lead to the fall of the government.” — Reuters

Clock ticks on Calderon’s hunt for drug lord

By Dave Graham ith time running out to win a drugs war that has cost nearly 40,000 lives, only the scalp of Mexico’s biggest kingpin can give President Felipe Calderon the symbolic victory his party desperately needs. Mexico’s next presidential election is just 14 months away, and the conservative National Action Party (PAN) is now well behind its main rival in polls, battered by the violence unleashed by Calderon’s grinding campaign against the cartels. Catching Mexico’s most powerful drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman would be a “godsend” to the PAN, which needs to turn around public opinion before the July 2012 vote, said George W Grayson, a Mexico expert at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

“It would be a real coup for Calderon, much like the Osama bin Laden takedown was for Obama,” Grayson said.

After bin Laden’s death, Guzman hit the top of some “most wanted” lists, giving extra prominence to a man who has acquired semi-mythical status in Mexico since he escaped from a maximum security prison in 2001 eight years after his capture. Although the government has killed or captured some other drug lords, none have the status of “El Chapo” (“Shorty”), who is a household name and has been a permanent thorn in Calderon’s side since the president launched his crackdown on cartels on taking office in late 2006.

While the conflict caused constant headaches for Calderon and strained ties with Washington, Guzman was busy extending the reach of his Sinaloa cartel as far afield as China, putting him on Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s richest people. With the election looming, there are signs that Calderon’s administration is increasingly determined to close the net around Guzman. It arrested what it said were two senior figures in his Sinaloa cartel within four days last week.

Attorney General Marisela Morales said after bin Laden’s death that catching Guzman was one of the government’s top priorities. Calderon himself told magazine Quien last week he wants to catch Guzman before leaving office. The government’s failure to bring in Guzman undermines its assurances it is winning the conflict, which have taken on an increasingly hollow ring during the past month with the discovery of the biggest mass graves of the conflict in northern Mexico. Public anger has spilled over into protests, prompting one of the biggest marches for peace in years on May 8, when thousands descended on Mexico City’s Zocalo central square.

Calderon cannot run for a second term, and surveys show potential PAN candidates polling less than half the votes that would go to the current front-runner of the main opposition

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Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Enrique Pena Nieto. In recent months, security issues have overtaken the economy as Mexico’s biggest perceived problem, according to pollster Mitofsky. Since the start of 2011, the Mexican central bank’s monthly poll of analysts has named security problems as the biggest risk for the economy, with nearly one in four flagging this. In late 2008, as little as one percent took that view.

The war has also hit Calderon’s personal approval ratings.

Mitofsky said they are now below 50 percent for the first time - down from nearly 70 percent two years ago. Opinion polls in the United States offer a hint of what Guzman’s capture might do for Calderon: following bin Laden’s killing, President Barack Obama’s ratings leapt 11 points.

Locking up Guzman, who ranked no. 2 behind bin Laden on the latest Forbes list of most-wanted international fugitives, would also turn the tables on the PAN’s rivals.

Last month, PRI chairman Humberto Moreira mocked Calderon over his failure to catch Guzman, an emblematic outlaw figure feted in brassy narco corridos, or drug ballads, and who inspired New York rapper Tony Yayo’s recent album “El Chapo”. “When the PRI was in power, El Chapo was in prison. Now that PAN’s in power, he’s on the street,” Moreira said.

However, capturing a man who has spent years in hiding and is said to have an army of bodyguards is unlikely to be easy. “El Chapo benefits from an unparalleled corruption network, as well the loyalty of the majority of people in the Sinaloan and Durango mountain regions,” drug war expert and Guzman biographer Malcolm Beith told Reuters. Any interruption to revenues generated by Guzman’s Sinaloa cartel, the strongest in Mexico, might also be an unwelcome turn for many businesses, said Jose Luis Pineyro, a security expert at Mexico’s Autonomous Metropolitan University. “El Chapo doesn’t keep his money under the bed,” he said. “He’s important both to the Sinaloan economy and the national economy, at least in some areas. It would be harder to get him than it was in the case of bin Laden.”

Even if Guzman is apprehended, it would not put an end to the negative headlines in Mexico, said his biographer Beith. “What I do predict is that were El Chapo to be caught or killed, we would see more bloodshed and massive acts of violence, both in retaliation and as a result of the fracturing of his organization without his symbolic leadership,” he said. It would, however, be a huge victory for Calderon on the one issue that has dominated his presidency. Michael Braun of security consultancy Spectre Group International, former

chief of global operations for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), says he is sure that Guzman’s time is almost up. “They will absolutely nail him in the not-too-distant future. I know personally that Mexican authorities have been so close on a number of occasions. I’m surprised they didn’t have him 6-8 months ago,” he said. “They were a hair away.” — Reuters

Focus

GOP race is about who’s out, not in

By Liz Sidoti he Republicans are having a hard time finding somebody to run for president in 2012. After months of teasing, property developer and TV showman Donald Trump has pulled himself out of the running. Haley Barbour, deep-south Mississippi’s governor, made some soundings in the electorate, then said he would not run. Former Arkansas Gov Mike Huckabee, a surprisingly strong candidate in 2008, says he has had enough. Shortly after Barbour pulled the plug a few weeks ago, two lesser potential candidates, South Dakota Sen John Thune and Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, did the same. These days it seems the race to choose a Republican to run against Democratic President Barack Obama is more about who is not running than who is.

Is it the challenge of beating an incumbent president or the state of the Republican Party? “What if they held an election and no one ran? That’s kind of where we are right now,” Curt Anderson, a veteran Republican pollster, says with a chuckle. That is not to say there are no candidates for the opposition.

Republicans who have taken steps toward running include former Gov Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, who was a serious contender for the nomination in 2008; former Gov Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota; and former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia. Former Utah Gov Jon Huntsman, who recently resigned as US ambassador to China and returned to Utah, is considering a run as well.

But with each I’m-not-running announcement comes a new round of questions within Republican circles: Will New Jersey’s Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov Jeb Bush stay on the sidelines as they insist? What about former Alaska Gov Sarah Palin, the controversial vice presidential candidate in 2008, and Indiana Gov Mitch Daniels? Is there anyone else who may emerge, say a late entry by Texas Gov Rick Perry?

So far, it is a far smaller field than many Republican observers expected, and it comprises candidates who are not yet quenching the thirst of a primary electorate looking for the strongest Republican to challenge Obama as he seeks a second term. “It does look like on the Republican side there is more demand than supply for potential nominees,” says Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman and adviser to President George W Bush. But he insisted: “Whoever emerges as the Republican nominee has a 50/50 shot at being the president.”

Gillespie and other Republicans contend that Obama is not in as strong a position as it might seem considering the bump in polls he got after US Navy commandos he had sent killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. They point to an economy that still is sluggish, unemployment that still is high and the president’s standing in some states considered open for either party to win. Typically, the Republicans who have recently refused to run have said they were confident the party can field a candidate who could win the presidency in November 2012.

But it is hard to see how one maxim in presidential politics did not contribute to their decisions: Americans do not usually like to sack their presidents.

It has happened three times since the end of World War II. Republican Gerald Ford, who was appointed not elected, lost in 1976; Democrat Jimmy Carter, who beat Ford, lost in 1980, and Republican George H W Bush lost in 1992. “That’s probably a factor. The president deceivingly looks very strong right now, and there has to be a hesitancy to get into a race that’s going to be a slugfest and could cost a candidate $1 billion. That might be giving some people pause,” says Frank Donatelli, the chairman of GOPAC, an organization that trains Republicans to run for elective office.

“It’s a small field right now. But Obama is so vulnerable, that whoever emerges is going to be a credible challenger.”

Others doubt that fear of losing to Obama is much of a consideration, if any, as Republicans weigh their options. “It’s more that people are just sizing up what it takes to run and deciding that they don’t have it in them. These are personal decisions that people make,” says Gillespie. Still others say the lack of a crop of strong candidates with no flaws may have to do with growing pains within the party. They say terrible elections for Republicans in 2006 and 2008 robbed the party of its cadre of up-and-coming contenders who would be ripe for a run this time, former Virginia Gov. and US Sen George Allen among them. Donatelli sums it up with this: “We have a shortage of candidates.” The argument goes that the party’s rising stars and future candidates are governors and senators elected in the past two years in elections in which Republicans performed strongly, a junior varsity bench that will be ready for the big leagues in four years. But first, the party must get through the 2012 elections. And the decisions by Republicans who have chosen not to run have created voids in the field, stirring talk anew of others to recruit into the race.

Former Arkansas Gov Huckabee, the 2008 victor in the Iowa caucuses, the first test of a presidential election season, opted out last weekend. His absence means social conservative and evangelical Christians have no obvious candidate to rally around. Days later, real estate developer Trump chose to continue hosting his TV reality show “Celebrity Apprentice” instead of running for president. He never was a serious contender, but ultraconservative tea partyers gravitated toward a potential candidate who was fearless in lobbing no-holds-barred criticism at Obama.

The field now lacks a verbal bomb-thrower. In April, Mississippi Gov Barbour bowed out at the last minute after putting everything necessary in place for a campaign, surprising even aides. He said he lacked the “fire in the belly” necessary to run. Earlier, South Dakota Sen Thune, a Midwesterner with solid conservative credentials, took a pass, choosing to take a leadership post in the Senate perhaps with an eye toward 2016.

And Indiana Rep Pence, a hero to social conservatives, decided to run for governor of his home state.

More decisions by Republicans considering bids, especially Indiana Gov Daniels, will come shortly, which should further clarify a Republican field that is only just starting to come into focus. Former Sen Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Texas Rep Ron Paul already are in the mix, and others could be soon. — AP

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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

Years

sp orts Clark quits full-time cricket SYDNEY: Former Australia bowler Stuart Clark has quit full-time cricket to concentrate on the administrator’s job he recently landed, his state team New South Wales (NSW) said yesterday.

The 35-year-old right-arm paceman, however, will make himself available when NSW compete in this year’s Champions League Twenty20 in India, provided it does not affect his job as general manager of the Sydney Sixers Big Bash League franchise.

“The Sydney Sixers is now my professional focus, however I will still be available to play in this year ’s Champions League in India which NSW has qualified for... given that it does not impact upon my Big Bash League commitments,” Clark was quoted as saying in an NSW statement. “I am going to continue playing club cricket as I still love playing the game, but more importantly I believe I can still help develop Australia’s future talent. — Reuters

Major League Baseball results and standings on Tuesday: Atlanta 3, Houston 1 (11 Innings); Colorado 5, San Francisco 3; NY Yankees 6, Tampa Bay 2; Cincinnati 7, Chicago Cubs 5; Chicago White Sox 4, Texas 3; Cleveland 7, Kansas City 3; St. Louis 2, Philadelphia 1; Arizona 6, San Diego 1; Oakland 14, LA Angels 0; LA Dodgers 3, Milwaukee 0; Minnesota 2, Seattle 1.

Washington V Pittsburgh (Postponed), Detroit V Toronto (Postponed), Boston V Baltimore (Postponed), NY Mets V Florida (Postponed)

GB 2 2.5 2.5 4 5 7 9.5 13.5 4.5 .5 1.5 5 6 1.5 5 6.5 7 10.5 .5 3.5 4.5 5

LONDON: The rugged Cornish coast will be the first part of Britain to host the London 2012 Olympics torch next year after organisers named Land’s End as the starting point of an 8,000 mile journey around the United Kingdom.

Announcing the route of the torch relay yesterday, London’s organising committee (LOCOG) said the flame would arrive from Greece on May 18 before starting its 70-day trek at the windswept landmark on the south western tip of England.

The flame will be carried by 8,000 torchbearers, taking in the outer reaches of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, before reaching its final destination at the Olympic Stadium in east London for the opening ceremony on July

27. “The Olympic Flame will shine a light right across every nation and region of the UK and showcase the very best of who we are and where we live,” LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe said as the first 74 locations for the route were disclosed. “The first locations on the route confirmed today give a flavour of the reach the Olympic Torch Relay will have around the UK and how extensive the opportunity for starting to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games will be.”

London has chosen a lower profile torch relay after the ambitious and expensive international route for the Beijing Olympics, including one problematic ascent of Mount Everest, sparked protests and criticism, including in London.—Reuters

ST. PETERSBURG: Alex Rodriguez homered twice and Jorge Posada had two hits as the New York Yankees stopped a six-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.

With Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner in attendance, New York ended its longest skid since dropping seven in a row from April 20-27, 2007. Posada doubled and singled while batting seventh as the designated hitter. It was his first start since he pulled himself out of the lineup Saturday soon after he was set to bat ninth.

Rodriguez tied it 1 with a fourthinning homer and then put the Yankees ahead with a solo shot in the sixth off James Shields (4-2). Ivan Nova (4-3) gave up one run and four hits in 5 1-3 innings.

SYDNEY: Ian Thorpe is starting to look like a swimmer again but is still nowhere near the level he needs to reach to be competitive, the fivetimes Olympic champion said yesterday. Australia’s most successful Olympian is on the comeback trail after announcing his return to the pool with the aim of competing in next year’s London Games.

Back in Sydney for a few days from his training camp in Switzerland, the 28year-old said he still had a lot of work to do after more than four years in retirement. “I’m satisfied. I’m content where I’m at but I have a lot to do,” Thorpe told reporters.

“Satisfied doesn’t mean I’m there, by no means, I’m not at all. But I’m happy with where I’m at. “I’m starting to look like a swimmer again,” he added.

Thorpe is plotting his return under the guidance of famed Russian coach Gennadi Touretski, who enjoyed huge success with sprinters Alexander Popov and Michael Klim among others. — Reuters

Indians 7, Royals 3 At Kansas City, Missouri, Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera both homered, and Travis Hafner hit a basesloaded double to power Cleveland past Kansas City for a two-game sweep.

One night after the Indians romped 19-1 and tied the record for KC’s biggest losing margin, Hafner unloaded his three-run double in the first inning off Sean O’Sullivan.

Santana hit a solo home run off O’Sullivan in the fifth and Cabrera made it 7-2 with a leadoff home run in the seventh off left-hander Everett Teaford, who made his major league debut.

White Sox 4, Rangers 3 At Chicago, Gordon Beckham scampered home on Cody Eppley’s wild pitch in the eighth inning to lift Chicago to a sorely needed victory over Texas.

Beckham began the inning with a walk and made it all the way to third

on pinch-hitter Dallas McPherson’s single to center. McPherson, who was promoted when Mark Teahen went on the disabled list earlier in the day, picked up his first hit since Sept. 10, 2008, for Florida at Philadelphia.

Eppley (1-1) then bounced his first pitch to Alexei Ramirez, and Beckham rushed home to give Chicago a 4-3 lead.

Twins 2, Mariners 1 At Seattle, Francisco Liriano outdueled Felix Hernandez as Minnesota ended a nine-game losing streak with a victory over Florida.

Liriano (3-5), who threw a no-hitter May 3 at the Chicago White Sox, was nearly as stingy. He allowed three singles, walked one and had a seasonhigh nine strikeouts. Matt Capps got the final three outs for his sixth save in eight opportunities.

Hernandez (4-4) allowed three hits and two runs in eight innings. He walked three and struck out nine. The Twins’ victory came on the day that one of the team’s greatest players, Harmon Killebrew, died at his Scottsdale, Arizona home.

Athletics 14, Angels 0 At Oakland, California, Gio Gonzalez allowed just one hit over seven innings as Oakland emerged from a rainsoaked star t to hammer the Los Angeles Angels. Gonzalez (5-2) struck out seven and allowed only a line-drive single to Howie Kendrick leading off the fifth. He also walked one and cruised the rest of the way behind a dominant breaking ball and an offense that had its best game of the season.

Mark Ellis had three hits and four RBIs and Coco Crisp finished with three hits and two RBIs to chase starter Tyler Chatwood (2-2) in the third, handing the rookie the worst loss of his career. —AP

ST PETERSBURG: New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez grounds into an eighthinning double play against Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Cesar Ramos during a baseball game. —AP

Braves down Astros

HSBC, Cathay unveil joint sponsorship of HK Sevens SINGAPORE: Iconic Asian brands HSBC and Cathay Pacific will join forces to co-promote the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens tournament from next year in a new sponsorship deal announced yesterday.

The four-year deal resumes a partnership between the Hong Kong institutions and the pre-eminent event in a sport being added to the Olympic programme in 2016.

“It is the perfect marriage,” HSBC’s head of global sponsorship Giles Morgan said of the deal in a telephone call to Reuters. “Rugby Sevens is growing exponentially and the Hong Kong tournament helped it grow from a small base to an Olympic sport.

“Sponsorship of this tournament on top of our sponsorship of the world sevens series really seals it for us.” Rugby Sevens will make its Olympic debut in Rio, although the full form of the sport appeared in four of the first seven Games before it was dropped following the Paris Olympics in 1924.

Morgan’s sentiments were echoed by Cathay chief executive John Slosar. “It’s great to see two of Hong Kong’s world-beating brands both so closely associated with the city-once again linked to this world-beating sports spectacular,” he said in a statement.

“Backed by the power of Hong Kong’s two biggest international brands, I believe we’ll see the Hong Kong Sevens soar to new heights.” Cathay and HSBC’s previous joint sponsorship of the event ran from 1980 to 1997, and HSBC’s renewed interest extends its growing support of Sevens internationally-the bank already sponsors the world series. Yesterday’s announcement marks its only title sponsorship of a sevens individual event. HSBC’s sponsorship means Credit Suisse will end its tenure as a co-sponsor.

In 1998, Credit Suisse First Boston Corp., as it was known then, took over sponsorship of the Sevens tournament in a last minute rescue after the previous sponsor, merchant bank Peregrine Investments Holdings Ltd., went bust. “The bank’s heritage here in Hong Kong, and our historic long-term investment in rugby around the world, means that this sponsorship is a fantastic addition to our international rugby portfolio,” HSBC Holdings’ group chief executive Stuart Gulliver said. — Reuters

Thorpe on comeback trail

Yankees end losing streak

MLB results/standings

American League Eastern Division W L PCT Tampa Bay 24 18 .571 NY Yankees 21 19 .525 Toronto 21 20 .512 Boston 21 20 .512 Baltimore 19 21 .475 Central Division Cleveland 26 13 .667 Detroit 22 19 .537 Kansas City 20 21 .488 Chicago White Sox18 24 .429 Minnesota 13 27 .325 Western Division Texas 22 20 .524 Oakland 22 20 .524 LA Angels 22 21 .512.5 Seattle 17 24 .415 National League Eastern Division Philadelphia 25 16 .610 Florida 24 16 .600 Atlanta 25 19 .568 Washington 20 21 .488 NY Mets 19 22 .463 Central Division Cincinnati 25 17 .595 St Louis 24 19 .558 Milwaukee 20 22 .476 Pittsburgh 18 23 .439 Chicago Cubs 17 23 .425 Houston 15 28 .349 Western Division Colorado 22 18 .550 San Francisco 22 19 .537 LA Dodgers 20 23 .465 Arizona 18 23 .439 San Diego 18 24 .429

London 2012 torch relay

BOSTON: Boston Bruins center Tyler Seguin (19) scores against Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson (35) in the second period of Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference final playoff series. —AP

Bruins stop Lightning BOSTON: Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists as the Boston Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-5 to level the Eastern Conference finals at one game each on Tuesday.

Boston earned a split at home and snapped the Lightning’s eight-game winning streak that began when they were down 3-1 to Pittsburgh in the first round. Game 3 is at Tampa Bay on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Seguin, the second pick in last year’s NHL draft, was benched for the first 11 playoff games because of perceived defensive shortcomings. He rejoined the lineup for the series opener, getting a goal and an assist, when Patrice Bergeron sat out because of a mild concussion.

On Tuesday, with Bergeron still sidelined, Seguin tied it at 2 just 48 seconds into the second period then made it 4-2 at 6:30. Vincent Lecavalier cut the Lightning’s deficit to 4-3 with a power-play goal at 7:48, but Seguin set up two goals by Michael Ryder that put Boston on top 6-3 entering the third. Steven Stamkos and

Dominic Moore scored in the final period for the Lightning. Adam Hall gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead 13 seconds after the opening faceoff, the quickest goal in the team’s playoff history. In their opening 5-2 win, the Lightning set club postseason records with two goals in 19 seconds and three in 1:25, all in the first period.

Nathan Horton tied Game 2 with a power-play goal at 13:58, but the Lightning took a 2-1 lead when Martin St. Louis scored with 7 seconds left in the first period. The Bruins came out aggressively in the second period and scored five goals.

Seguin started the barrage when he took a pass from Ryder at his blue line and used exceptional speed to race between Tampa Bay defensemen Randy Jones and Victor Hedman.

Seguin went in alone on Dwayne Roloson, cut from right to left, and lifted a backhander over the sprawling goalie.

David Krejci put the Bruins ahead for good at 2:24 with the only Bruins’ goal of the second period that didn’t involve Seguin. — AP

ATLANTA: Brian McCann leveled the game with a pinch-hit, two-out homer in the ninth inning, then hit a two-run shot in the 11th to lead the Atlanta Braves past the Houston Astros 3-1 on Tuesday.

The Braves were trailing 1-0 and down to their final strike in the ninth when McCann drove a 1-2 pitch the opposite way, the ball just clearing the wall in left-center.

The All-Star catcher stayed in the game behind the plate and two innings later, he ended it with his fourth homer of the season - a towering drive down the right-field line, just inside the foul pole against Jeff Fulchino (0-2). Cory Gearrin (1-1) escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the top of the 11th and was rewarded with his first career win.

Rockies 5, Giants 3 At Denver, Carlos Gonzalez’s two-run single off Javier Lopez capped a four-run eighth-inning rally as Colorado surged back into first place in the National League West with a win over San Francisco.

Gonzalez, whose three-run homer off Tim Lincecum propelled Colorado past the Giants on Monday night, sent a fastball to right field to snap a 3-3 tie and make a winner of Matt Belisle (4-2), who worked one inning of relief. Huston Street pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 15 attempts.

Reds 7, Cubs 5 At Cincinnati, reliever Kerry Wood’s throwing error let two runs score and Chris Heisey followed with a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning that sent Cincinnati over Chicago.

The Cubs self-destructed with four errors in a steady rain. All seven of Cincinnati’s runs were unearned. Wood (1-3) threw wide of third while trying to get a forceout on Ryan Hanigan’s sacrifice bunt, allowing the catcher to go all the way to third base while the tying runs scored.

Heisey put the Reds ahead and Joey Votto added an RBI double. The Reds won for the 11th time in 13 games, sweeping the two-game series.

D’backs 6, Padres 1 At Phoenix, Miguel Montero and Gerardo Parra both had two hits and drove in two runs to help Arizona to a victory over San Diego.

Only 16,365 fans were on hand for the Diamondbacks’ third win in four games, the fourth-lowest mark in franchise history.

Daniel Hudson threw seven strong innings for Arizona, allowing a run two batters into the game before posting six scoreless innings. Hudson (4-5) gave up eight hits with two walks and six strike-

ATLANTA: Braves’ Dan Uggla (bottom) collides with Houston Astros shortstop Clint Barmes (right) on a double play hit into by Atlanta Braves’ Eric Hinske during the fourth inning. —AP outs. Stephen Drew added an RBI single. Tim Stauffer (0-2) gave up four runs and seven hits with a walk, six strikeouts and a hit batter over 5 1-3 innings for the Padres.

Cardinals 2, Phillies 1 At St. Louis, Lance Berkman lined a basesloaded single over a drawn-in outfield with one out in the ninth inning to give St. Louis a win over Philadelphia. Jaime Garcia allowed five hits and an unearned run in eight innings for the Cardinals, but gave up a 1-0 lead in the eighth — enabled when second baseman Tyler Greene dropped Jimmy Rollins’ routine pop fly with one out. Rollins eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Placido Polanco. Fernando Salas (2-0) had a strikeout in a perfect ninth.

Dodgers 3, Brewers 0 At Los Angles, Hiroki Kuroda outpitched former teammate Randy Wolf with his second straight scoreless outing and Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer as Los Angeles ended Milwaukee’s four-game winning streak.

Kuroda (5-3) allowed six hits in 7 2-3 innings, struck out seven and walked three. It was the fifth time this season that the Dodgers won when scoring three runs or fewer — including last Wednesday at Pittsburgh, when Kuroda pitched two-hit ball over seven innings in a 2-0 win. Matt Guerrier pitched a perfect ninth for his first National League save and second of his career. —AP

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

S P ORT S

Hopkins set to dethrone Foreman as oldest champ

FRANCE: France’s Thomas Levet (left) holds the Ryder Cup during a photo opportunity at the Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, England, Tuesday May 17, 2011 after the announcement of the venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup. — AP

Battle resumes for top spot at World Match Play CASARES: England’s Luke Donald has another chance to grab the world No. 1 spot off compatriot Lee Westwood at the World Match Play Championship, where he is bidding to complete a unique double in the one-on-one format.

The in-form pair top a star-studded 24-man field for the tournament at on the Costa del Sol, which returns to the European Tour after a year’s absence and features five of the world’s top six players.

Donald was in irrepressible mood when capturing the Accenture World Match Play title at Arizona in February, never falling behind in any of his six matches. He is looking to become the first player to win both match play tournaments.

Given his success in the format at recent Ryder Cups, the No. 2-ranked Donald is the man to beat this week, although Westwood has won his last two tournaments — in Indonesia and South Korea.

“My confidence is very high right now,” said Donald, who has finished in the top 10 in 13 of his last 14 events but has never been No. 1 in the rankings. “I’ve been playing very consistently now for a good six months and I think the win at the Match Play really elevated that confidence level.

“Obviously I enjoy match play, my record is very good. My record in Ryder Cups, Walker Cups, the Match Play event this year, they speak for themselves. I enjoy the challenge of that one-againstone over 18 holes.”

Westwood knows all about Donald’s match play caliber — the two paired up in the 2010 Ryder Cup to devastating effect, thrashing Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker 6 and 5 in the second day’s opening foursomes — and hasn’t been surprised to see his compatriot climb the rankings this year. “He hits the ball straight off the tee, his iron play is nice, he’s got a great short game and he’s a nice putter,” Westwood, who took last week off, said yesterday.

“He’s ver y reliable.” No. 3-ranked Martin Kaymer, who split with his Scottish caddie Craig Connelly on Sunday, joins the Englishmen in the strong field and there are enough points on offer to allow the German to move back to the top of the rankings, too.

Kaymer lost to Donald in the final at Arizona and acknowledges the heights he has to reach to get the better of the world’s top two.

“I think the per fect player at the moment would be the long game from Lee Westwood and the short game from Luke Donald,” Kaymer said.

Fourth-ranked Phil Mickelson of the United States is the only player in the world’s top six not featuring at the Finca Cortesin course near Marbella, where there is a total prize purse of §3.4 million ($4.8 million).

The winner will receive $1.14 million, the highest sum on the European Tour outside of the majors, World Golf Championship events and the Dubai World Golf Championship. The four current major champions will be present — Louis Oosthuizen (British Open), Graeme McDowell (US Open), Kaymer (US PGA) and Charl Schwartzwel (The Masters).

The field has been divided into eight groups of three, with the top two in each going through to the knockout stages on Saturday and Sunday. Fierce winds and heavy rain swept across the course on Wednesday and the inclement weather is expected to continue in the south of Spain all four days.

Donald has compatriot and defending champion Ross Fisher, who defeated Anthony Kim of the United States 4 and 3 in the 36-hole final in 2009, in his group along with American Ryan Moore.

“To be the World Match Play champion for almost two years has quite a nice ring to it,” said Fisher, who will not start the defense of his title until Friday. “I’ve got good memories of this place, so hopefully they’ll come flooding back. I’ll just try to do the same things I did two years ago.”

Westwood is joined by Denmark’s Anders Hansen and Australia’s Aaron Baddeley, while Oosthuizen and McDowell are in the same group with Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela. Kaymer was drawn with Korean pair Y.E. Yang and Noh Seung-yul. Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn flew to Spain as first reser ve, but returned home Monday following the death of his father after a long illness.

The event moved to Spain for the first time in 2009, having previously been played at Wentworth, England since 1964. — AP

PHILADELPHIA: At an age where most athletes are retired, coaching or lining their wallets signing autographs at the local mall, Bernard Hopkins is one knockout from history.

If the 46-year-old Hopkins defeats WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal on Saturday in Montreal, boxing’s golden oldie will dethrone George Foreman as the oldest boxer to win a world title.

Foreman was 45 years, 10 months when he knocked out heavyweight champion Michael Moorer in 1994. Hopkins will be 46 years, four months and six days old in his rematch with Pascal. “You’re dealing with the guy that’s not the norm,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins has always been unconventional, and defeating Father Time — alongside Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, and Roy Jones, Jr., through the years — may be his biggest achievement yet. Hopkins has his blueprint for the next two years set.

He plans to convincingly defeat Pascal, then fight three more times and retire as the champion. Of course, the call is out of the same playbook written by a boxer who promised his mother he’d retire at 40. Hopkins (51-5-2) has something to prove after a lackluster finish in the first Pascal bout. The Haitian-born Pascal knocked down Hopkins in the first and third rounds; Pascal tagged him with a left in the third to put him on the canvas.

Hopkins rallied, though, and won on the American judge’s scorecard. Judges from Canada and Belgium ruled for Pascal (26-1-1). The WBC ordered an immediate rematch _ in Pascal’s hometown.

Known as “The Executioner,” Hopkins realized he can’t leave the decision to the scorecard. “I want to instigate and agitate a little bit up there,” Hopkins said. “You understand what I’m saying?

Broad Street Bullies.”

The Philadelphia native has long considered himself the city’s fifth franchise. He’s a die-hard fan of the big four and will wear Flyers’ Hall of Fame center Bobby Clarke’s jersey to the ring.

The jersey won’t be the only souvenir he’ll bring with him from home. Hopkins has possession of the title belt. Hopkins, who served five years in state prison, kept it after the 28-year-old Pascal playfully handed it over at a press conference. He has the title on display at his Philadelphia condominium.

He figures it’s time to move it around his waist. “I know I’ve got to make it official on paper,” Hopkins said. Foreman said he’ll be watching the fight on HBO and is rooting for Hopkins to break the mark. Foreman, who turned into a grill pitchman when he retired,

MONTREAL: In this Tuesday, May 10, 2011, boxer Bernard Hopkins speaks with members of the media in Philadelphia. If 46-year-old Hopkins defeats WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal on Saturday in Montreal, he’ll dethrone George Foreman as the oldest boxer to win a world title. — AP predicted Hopkins would win.

“I’m expecting Bernard to load up in the latter end of the fight, and go for the knockout, break that record, and break it fair and square where everybody can see it,” Foreman said. “The first fight is going to have to be erased. The decision was not of quality. The second time around, Bernard will get a knockout.”

Hopkins swears there’s no secret to his longevity, no magic formula or pills that keep him in top shape. His straight-edge lifestyle bans junk food and booze, bedtime is 9 p.m., and he takes a daily run through Philadelphia’s parks and past scenic Boathouse Row. Unlike so many aging fighters, Hopkins shows no outward sign of the effects of those punishing blows to the head. “I don’t stutter,” he said. “I don’t slur my speech.” He’s right. In fact, his mouth works fine. Hopkins was heard loud and clear last week when he unloaded a series of racially tinged insults at former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

As disciplined as he’s lived at staying fit and squirreling away his millions, Hopkins has been loose with his lips. He has curiously lashed out at McNabb for years, questioning his heart and

leadership, and attacking his upbringing as reasons to dislike him. Hopkins said McNabb has “got a suntan, that’s all.” Hopkins was criticized for the unprovoked remarks. McNabb’s agent released a statement blasting Hopkins’ “willful ignorance.” “I’m not trying to make news, man,” Hopkins said. “I’m just trying to tell you the truth.” The truth is the controversy took away from the focus of Hopkins’ run at the geriatric record book. “This could add another page to the historic legacy that I will leave behind one day,” he said. And that day is ...?

“I don’t know when that day is,” he said. “I don’t look for the ending of anything until there’s signs that the end is near. I just think positive, but not in denial. When you start thinking in denial, you start getting strange looks.”

He may silence the doubters with a win, of course. But he’ll just never push his personal mute button. Because the McNabb bashing was about more than a personal vendetta. It’s a gear in boxing’s regular hype machine. “It got everybody talking, huh?” Hopkins asked, laughing. “I guess they’ll watch the fight.” Maybe not everyone. “Well,” he said, “McNabb ain’t gonna watch it.” — AP

Djokovic run beats my ’84 streak — McEnroe LONDON: Novak Djokovic’s 37-match winning streak since the start of the year is already more impressive than the record 42 consecutive wins posted by John McEnroe in 1984, the American said on Tuesday.

World number two Djokovic has enjoyed complete domination so far this year by winning seven titles, including the Australian Open, four Masters Series events and ending world number one Rafa Nadal’s supremacy on clay. Should the Serbian reach the final of next week’s French Open, he will edge ahead of McEnroe’s 1984 streak, which was ended in the final at Roland Garros by arch rival Ivan Lendl.

“For me personally it brings back memories of ‘84,” former world number one and seven-times grand slam champion McEnroe told reporters in a conference call on Tuesday.

“I’m quite excited at the timing of this because he could break my record at the French Open. I’ve followed his progress and to put it mildly it’s been quite amazing to see how much confidence he is playing with. “Records are made to be broken but at the same time now there is more competition, more athleticism, and deeper fields and more depth in the sport so his record is even more impressive than mine. “Also in ‘84 the Aussie Open was was played at the end of the year so I hadn’t played a major when I put that run together. My first major was the French where the streak was broken. “It’s impressive given he came in number three and to dominate Federer and Nadal the way he has, to see what he has done, it’s a little surprising.” Djokovic outclasssed Nadal for the second week in succession to win the Rome Masters on Sunday, having also beaten the Spanish claycourt king in Madrid the week before. The Serb, whose total streak is 39 when taking into account his two wins in the Davis Cup final at the end of 2010, has also beaten for-

FRANCE: The picture of Serbian Novak Djokovic, the 23-year-old world number two, is seen on a banner yesterday at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris on the first day of the qualifying round of the Grand Slam Roland-Garros tennis tournament. — AFP

mer dominant force Roger Federer three times already this year and stands on the brink of taking over as the world number one from Nadal.

However, McEnroe, who is playing on the Champions Tour which culminates in the Aegon Masters at London’s Royal Albert Hall later this year, has a word of warning for Djokovic. “Rafa is certainly tougher to beat in a best of five match,” the American great said. “Going back to ‘84, I beat Lendl twice on clay going into the French then got up two sets and lost in five. Certainly Novak has to be careful because Nadal fights right to the end.” — Reuters

2018 bid cities make pitches to IOC LAUSANNE: Pyeongchang remains the city to beat in the race for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The South Korean resort maintained its front-runner status yesterday as all three bid cities took their case directly to the International Olympic Committee, seeking to gain vital support just weeks ahead of the vote.

Bid teams from Pyeongchang, Munich and Annecy, France, made pitches to IOC members in one of the most crucial phases of the global two-year campaign. IOC members said all three cities made convincing closed-door presentations, with no single candidate slipping up or standing out.

“Nobody made a fool of themselves, nobody let themselves down,” Irish member Patrick Hickey told The Associated Press. “They were three extremely professional presentations.” Third-time candidate Pyeongchang did what it needed to bolster its strong position, stressing it has kept all promises made to the IOC through a decade of bidding and underlying its case for taking the Winter Games to a new winter sports market in Asia.

Munich enhanced its credentials as the main challenger, while Annecy showed it has improved dramatically in recent months and should not be counted out. “I thought Munich were terrific, Pyeongchang were terrific, and Annecy have come a long, long way from a difficult start,” British IOC member Craig Reedie said. The presentations are considered a milestone in the race, which cul-

minates with the IOC vote in Durban, South Africa, on July 6.

“I think it’s very close,” IOC President Jacques Rogge said. “Don’t ask me numbers, but it’s going to be a close race definitely. I don’t expect a big gap between the three cities.” The South Koreans brought new star power to the show, with reigning Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na making her international debut to promote Pyeongchang’s bid.

Another figure skating star, two-time Olympic gold medalist Katarina Witt, chairs the Munich bid. “I was so much more nervous than when I was competing in the Olympics, but I think it went well,” the 20-year-old Kim said. “I had a little bit of a mistake, but nobody noticed, I hope. I’m very satisfied and happy that I did well.” Asked what score she would give her performance Wednesday, Kim said: “10, yeah.” Reedie said IOC members were impressed by Kim’s presentation.

“To have Miss Kim presenting as fluently and as wonderfully well as she did, it was very good for Pyeongchang,” he said.

Each city had 45 minutes for presentations featuring speeches and videos, followed by another 45 minutes for questions and answers. Rogge said members asked a total of 27 questions.

The IOC said 88 of its 110 members attended the briefings at the Olympic Museum. On Thursday, the members will visit the candidate cities’ exhibition rooms at a Lausanne hotel and have face-to-face meetings with bid leaders.

LAUSANNE: Jean-Luc Rigaut, Jean Claude Killy, Guy Drut, Charles Beigbeder, Denis Masseglia, Jean-Pierre Vidal, Pernilla Wiberg and Chantal Jouanno arrive for their Annecy 2018 Winter Olympic presentation at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne. — AP In the day’s only unusual twist, one IOC member sought to raise the issue of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s arrest on sex assault charges in New York. Hicham el Guerrouj, a two-time Olympic gold medalist distance runner from Morocco, began to ask Annecy officials about the impact of the Frenchman’s case on their bid but Rogge broke in to cut him off, saying the question was out of place.

Pyeongchang, bidding again after narrow defeats in the voting for the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, has been widely considered the favorite from the start as it seeks

to bring the Winter Games to a new hub in Asia. The Winter Olympics have been held twice in Asia, both times in Japan (Sappporo 1972 and Nagano 1998).

Citing a 92 percent public approval rating, by far the highest of the three candidates, Pyeongchang said its bid was a “national priority.” Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan noted that South Korea had spent $1.4 billion in developing an Olympic-caliber ski resort in the Alpensia mountains and is working on a highspeed rail link between Seoul and Pyeongchang. Munich, the 1972 Olympic

host which is seeking to become the first city to stage both summer and winter games, has been trying to counter Pyeongchang’s status as favorite by pushing its argument for taking the games back to their European roots in a country with a long winter sports tradition.

Witt said the choice of an Olympic host city is “about more than just geography,” a reference to Pyeongchang’s case for taking the Winter Games to Korea for the first time. “It is a choice about the kind of Olympic experience the athletes of the future should have,” she said. American IOC member Anita DeFrantz asked the Germans about the terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics that left 11 Israeli athletes and coaches dead. “ The mayor (Christian Ude) could explain that the incident in ‘72 had nothing to do with Munich as a city or with Germany,” said Thomas Bach, an IOC vice president who is a senior Munich bid leader. “It was just the beginning of international terrorism, and we appreciated this question to make this clear.” Annecy is seeking to establish itself as a true contender after being seen as a longshot for much of the race. After going through financial and leadership troubles, the bid has been strengthened in recent months.

“I think we are all three even now,” IOC member and French ski great Jean-Claude Killy said. “We showed we are a good team. We have a good proposition. We are proud of it. We think we have nothing to envy of the other two bids.”—AP

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Nowitzki too tough to guard, but easy to overlook NEW YORK: Dirk Nowitzki has never been to promote for the NBA. He does his best work far from the basket, rare for someone so tall. He doesn’t dunk enough to make the highlight reels.

His facial expressions range between mildly peeved and slightly surprised, and most nights it’s hard to tell one from the other.

Beyond eye-popping numbers, the German star offered the U.S. TV commentators hyping this season’s Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder very little to work with.

But without Kobe’s Los Angeles Lakers or Tim Duncan’s San Antonio Spurs in the finals this season, Nowitzki became the story by default.

It was about him and the aging Dallas Mavericks getting one last shot at redemption for a collapse against Miami in the 2006 NBA Finals. This was supposed to be their last shot at a

championship before Kevin Durant and the Thunder emerged as the new power out West.

Nowitzki shredded that script on Tuesday. So much was made about the needed rest he got after Dallas swept out the Lakers that it seemed as if he was leading a retirement home instead of a still very capable veteran team.

Nowitzki started by making 10 of his first 11 shots — he finished 12 of 15 from the field — and knocked down every one of the 24 he launched from the free-throw line. After his 48 points, six rebounds, four assists and four blocks propelled the Mavericks to a comfortable 121-112 win in Game 1, someone asked Durant what made stopping Nowitzki so difficult.

“He’s a 7-foot jump shooter,” Durant began. “And he shoots one-legged fadeaways.” He obviously didn’t think it warranted any further explanation, so

Durant simply shrugged, then added, “Yeah.” Durant was 10 years old when Nowitzki, a month shy of 33, played his first game in the NBA. But his matterof-fact response speaks volumes.

Durant is shorter at 6-foot-9 (2.06 meters) and much quicker, but like Nowitzki, largely a jump-shooter who routinely draws the other team’s defensive focus. Nowitzki may be as close to Larry Bird as the NBA has to offer, but Durant is not far behind. And after Oklahoma City teammates Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison and Kendrick Perkins tried guarding Nowitzki with little success and several fouls to show for it, Durant took a shot.

He drew two fouls in a five-second span, quickly handing the duty over to Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden. Neither did much better.

“I was trying to play him physical. I tried to knock the ball out of his hands and got two fouls,” Durant said. “He’s

strong.” The negative on Nowitzki used to be that he was too soft. Yet he didn’t disappear in the big games, just the opposite. He’s one of only four NBA players whose point and rebounding totals, already good enough during the regular season to merit selection to the All-Star team 10 times, actually go up in the postseason.

Small wonder he is still fixated on the one that got away. After opening the finals five years ago with two wins at home, Dallas dropped four straight to Dwyane Wade and Miami. “ We came so close in ‘06,” Nowitzki said this week, “and if we never get to the finals again, I’ll be thinking about that the rest of my life.” Yet that emotion was forgotten by the time they tipped off on Tuesday. By game’s end, his demeanor was businesslike and his voice flat as he recounted one of the

best playoff performances in league history.

“I was really looking to shoot early and was able to get my rhythm after the first couple of shots,” Nowitzki said.

“I kept attacking and my teammates kept feeding me and feeding me and I was able to take advantage over some smaller players.” It was hardly that easy, and Game 2 promises to be tougher still. “We can’t get discouraged,” said Durant, who finished with 40 points.

“He’s going to make shots. He’s going to make off-balance shots with a hand in his face.” Nowitzki has been doing that for what seems like forever, more appreciated by his peers than the fans, save those in Dallas. You’d think it’s impossible for someone so good for so long to be underrated. Nowitzki doesn’t, at least not with that glaring hole in his resume. “Numbers,” he said with flawless logic, “don’t mean anything if you lose.”—AP

Gadret snatches Giro stage CASTELFIDARDO: French rider John Gadret used a late attack to win the 11th stage of the Giro d’Italia yesterday and dedicated his victor y to rider Wouter Weylandt on the day of the Belgian’s funeral.

Alberto Contador retained the overall lead. Gadret attacked on the uphill finish with a few hundred meters to go and clocked 3 hours, 33 minutes, 11 seconds over the hilly 144-kilometer (89mile) route from Tortoreto Lido to Castelfidardo.

Joaquin Rodriguez of Spain crossed second and Italian champion Giovanni Visconti was third, both with the same time as Gadret.

Jose Serpa finished four th ahead of Contador in fifth. Two other race favorites — Michele Scarponi (eighth) and Vincenzo Nibali (10th) — also finished in the top 10. A minute of silence was observed at the start of the stage in memory of Weylandt, who died when he crashed after clipping a wall during a descent in the third stage.

The funeral was held in Ghent, Belgium, yesterday.

Representing all the riders,

hung them on their handlebars as they stood in tribute to their fallen colleague. “I thought about

ITALY: France’s John Gadret reacts as he crosses the finish line to win the 11th stage of the Giro d’Italia, Tour of Italy, cycling race from Tortoreto Lido to Castelfidardo. —AP Britain’s David Millar made a shor t, touching speech in Weylandt’s honor, then many riders took their helmets off and

it all day, because we’re all a big family in cycling,” Gadret said.

Several riders attempted early breakaways but they were all

swallowed up by the main pack before another nine-man group got away with 80 kilometers (50 miles) to go. Two more riders then caught up to make it an 11man breakaway. One of the riders in the breakaway was Christophe Le Mevel of France, who is third overall.

The breakaway gained a lead of more than two minutes at one point and Spanish rider Daniel Moreno Fernandez then charged into the lead on his own and was joined by Ignatas Konovalovas of Lithuania with less than 10 kilometers (six miles) to go.

The chasing pack caught Konovalovas and Moreno in the final kilometer, and that’s when Gadret launched his decisive attack.

Contador was fined 1,000 Swiss Francs ($1,130) for skipping the overall leader’s press conference Tuesday. Stage 12 Thursday is a mostly flat 184-kilometer (114-mile) leg from Castelfidardo to Ravenna that should be the final chance for sprinters to shine. —AP

Rivals hope to upset Vettel

DALLAS: Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) looks to pass against Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals. —AP

Mavs silence Thunder DALLAS: Dirk Nowitzki made 10 of his first 11 shots and an NBA playoff-record 24 straight free throws on the way to 48 points as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-112 in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday.

Jason Terry scored 24 points and J.J. Barea added 21 points as the Mavericks picked up where they left off in a sweep of the Lakers nine days before. They broke open a tight game with a 13-0 run late in the second quarter and never trailed again, stretching their franchise-record postseason winning streak to seven games. Game 2 is today in Dallas, where the Mavs are unbeaten from six games this postseason.

The Thunder — fresh off a seven-game series against Memphis that included a total of four overtimes _ led by nine early in the second quarter, then went 6:28 between baskets. They missed 10 shots during that drought and were down by 11 when it ended. They eventually trailed by 16 before clawing within five points with 3:42 left, and six with 48.5 seconds to play.

Kevin Durant followed his 39 points in

Game 7 of the previous round by scoring 40, one shy of his most ever in a playoff game.

While Nowitzki dominated, Durant’s scoring binge merely helped his team stay close.

Russell Westbrook went from a triple-double in his last game to 20 points, three assists and three rebounds. He missed 12 of his 15 shots, including 10 of his first 11. Despite his poor aim, he had taken more shots than Durant at one point late in the third quarter, fueling the critics who say he’s too much of a scorer and not enough of a distributor.

The Thunder’s big problem, though, was Nowitzki. Six players tried stopping him, and the big German either shot over them or put them in foul trouble. He made 13 free throws in the third quarter alone. And when Oklahoma City sent a second defender at him, Nowitzki usually passed to the teammate left open.

Nowitzki finished 12 of 15 from the field and a perfect 24 of 24 at the line. He was two points shy of his most ever in a playoff game.

He also had six rebounds, four assists and four blocks. —AP

BARCELONA: Sebastian Vettel’s rivals are hoping a new tire compound and some offseason regulation changes may help them upset the German driver’s dominance at Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Vettel has won three of the first four races and led a Red Bull 1-2 at the Turkish GP last time out to establish the team as favorites to retain both the drivers’ title and constructors’ championship.

As Formula One rolls into Europe, there are few reasons to think this early season trend will change at the Catalan Circuit, where teammate Mark Webber triumphed last year.

“We know the Barcelona circuit well from winter testing — it should be suitable for our car and our plan is to get the best team result possible,” Vettel, the defending world champion, said.

“Historically, Barcelona is a circuit that is poor for overtaking, but with the DRS this will now be quite different.”

Vettel expects the new rear adjustable wing to play a role alongside the KERS power boost, while Pirelli’s introduction of a harder compound tire for the first time may test strategy. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, who won at the Catalan Circuit in 2007, believes the race will be more appealing for fans.

“In the past there was never much overtaking at this circuit and, yes, I think the new rules mean there will be more overtaking than usual, which is good for the fans as there is plenty going on for them to watch from the start to the finish of the race,” Massa said.

But regulations and tires will have

to have a big influence to affect a race where 16 of 20 winners have come from pole position, including the last 10. Most teams will bring some kind of aerodynamic upgrade to Catalunya, and McLaren will be hoping for a significant improvement at a track 2009 winner Jenson Button calls “unforgiving,”

is too fast to make a pass stick.” Pirelli’s hard compound has been modified to produce more consistency and a bigger performance gap between the two compounds, which it hopes will lead to more aggressive strategies.

The Turkish GP saw a record number of pit stops and over 80 separate

ISTANBUL: This is a Sunday May 8, 2011 file photo of Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany as he steers his car to win the Formula One Grand Prix at the Istanbul Park circuit racetrack. —AP following a drop-off in Istanbul.

“I think we didn’t meet our full potential in Turkey last week,” said Button’s teammate Lewis Hamilton, the only other race winner this season. “I’m hoping the (car) will be able to make a step forward if our initial testing on Friday goes successfully.

“Typically, it’s been very tough to overtake at Barcelona because the best opportunity — into the first corner —

overtaking moves. While teams are familiar with this track, this year’s winter testing produced cool and wet weather which means this weekend’s expected warm, dry weather will make Friday and Saturday’s testing before qualifying even more important.

“This means there are little tweaks you can do to the car and set-up adjustments to deal with this change in temperature,” Fernando Alonso said

ahead of his home race, where he finished runner-up for Ferrari last season.

“As it is a track that all teams and drivers know very well, it will be a very good reference point for the championship.” Should neither the tires, regulations or weather provide a more exciting Spanish GP, then circuit director Salvador Servia said the circuit would be modified, according to La Vanguardia newspaper.

Vettel’s 93 points puts him ahead of Hamilton, who has 59. Webber is third with 55, Button has 46 and Alonso is on 41 after his first podium of the season in Turkey. Red Bull leads the constructors’ standings with 148 points, McLaren has 105 and Ferrari 65.

Michael Schumacher’s deflating comeback has yet to spark with the Mercedes driver 11th with 11 points and slipping out of the championship picture for the second straight year of his comeback.

“I was not happy with my weekend in Turkey, there have been clear signs of improvements for us as a team, which obviously push and re-boost my motivation even more,” the seven-time champion said.

“We are all determined to make progress.” Meanwhile, Force India driver Adrian Sutil will have to put aside a criminal complaint and avoid crossing paths with plaintiff Eric Lux after the Renault owner sued the German driver for assault following an incident in Shanghai.

“Although the team continues to monitor the situation, it remains fully committed to its driver lineup at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix,” Force India said. —AP

Schumacher will get the ‘big joy’ back, says Brawn

DALLAS: A Dallas Mavericks fan shows his support for the team during introductions for Game 1 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. —AP

LONDON: Mercedes hope to put the smile back on Michael Schumacher’s face in Spain this weekend after the seven times Formula One champion complained two weeks ago that the “big joy” had gone.

The 42-year-old has an unmatched record at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, winning there six times in total and four years in a row with Ferrari at the peak of his powers between 2001 and 2004.

However the German has failed to get back on the podium since he started his comeback with Mercedes last year after three seasons out.

He has been out qualified by team mate Nico Rosberg in all four races this year and managed only a 12th place in Turkey, a race that triggered renewed speculation about his motivation to keep on racing youngsters like 23-year-old compatriot and champion Sebastian Vettel.

To rub salt into the wounds, Red Bull’s Vettel lapped Schumacher in Istanbul. “The big joy is not

there right now,” Schumacher told the BBC. Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn, the tactical brain who guided Schumacher to victory at Benetton and Ferrari, denied the fire was dimming and said the ‘joy’ comment referred to the last race rather than anything more existential.

“I’m sure the last race wasn’t very joyful, but I think that was what it was referring to,” he told Reuters. “When you have a race like that, any driver, it’s going to knock you back a bit. But I think he’s pretty resilient and I’m optimistic this weekend he’ll be back where we want him,” continued Brawn.

“I spoke to him since then (Istanbul), we’ve had a lot of technical discussions, he’s hassling about what we are doing about the car, what’s coming along, what improvements we’ve got so nothing’s changed really.”

Schumacher’s former Benetton team mate Johnny Herbert, a cheerful Briton who could never be called close to the German even when they

were sharing a garage, said after Turkey that he felt retirement was looming for the oldest man on the grid. British bookmakers William Hill echoed that opinion on Tuesday, offering odds of 4/7 that he does not start the 2012 season with Mercedes.

He was also put at 4/1 to retire before the end of the current one. Britain’s Nigel Mansell, the 1992 world champion with Williams and also a former Ferrari great, said the jury remained out on the German’s comeback.

“A lot of people are having a go at Michael,” he told reporters at the opening of the new Silverstone pit and paddock complex on Tuesday.

“I don’t know really what’s going on but I really expected Michael to do a lot better this year.

There’s moments where you think ‘Oh that’s quick, that’s better, in the top four’ and then all of a sudden it goes wrong.

“By the time the (end of) year comes, if things haven’t improved then maybe what some people are saying he should take heed (of).” —Reuters

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Four years on, lustre fades from Indian cricket league MUMBAI: For a show it was hard to beat: A DJ blasted Bollywood songs, fans decked out in the colours of the home side danced in the aisles, and the wife of the billionaire team owner perched on an electric-blue sofa near the Mumbai Indians’ dugout.

But just as local hero Sachin Tendulkar struggled with his cricket on the field, India’s glamour-packed cricket league is having difficulty sustaining momentum four years after it burst forth with a TV-friendly format, cheerleaders and big salaries.

A series of scandals has tarnished the league’s image, teams are losing money as player costs escalate, TV ratings are down, and franchise owners are still figuring out how to make the most of their investments from a season lasting less than two months.

“We haven’t broken even yet. We’re hoping we’ll get there this year, but the last three years have been difficult for us,” said Arvinder Singh, chief operating officer of the Kings XI Punjab, a team co-owned by Bollywood actress Preity Zinta. “Sports franchises in the EPL and NBA build a year-round connect with their fans. Also, merchandising is a huge part of their business, but in India, it’s yet to take off,” Singh said.

An April study by UK-based Brand Finance figures the IPL brand is worth $3.67 billion, a drop of 11 percent from a year ago but still above an estimated $2 billion in 2009. Average TV ratings for the first 49 matches of the season were down more than 25 percent from the same point last year to their lowest level in the IPL’s four-year history, according to viewership analysis firm TAM Sports.

That may be the result of cricket fatigue following India’s World Cup win on home soil, but it’s bad news for teams looking to build year-round buzz, as well as for ad sales for next year.

At the same time, player salaries are up 40-45 per-

cent from last year, a report by Kotak Institutional Equities found. The cost of franchises has soared. Two teams paid a combined $703 million to begin play this season-far more than the roughly $90 million paid on average by the eight original sides.

IPL teams face the challenge of building brands and loyalty among fans obsessed with the national side and its stars, to the extent that opposing fans often root for the likes of Tendulkar and India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni against their own team.

“I’ve come because I want to see Sachin Tendulkar batting. If he wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have come all the way,” said Vaishali Ranadive, who was wearing a Tendulkar t-shirt and drove 180 kilometers from Nashik with her husband and two children to see the Mumbai Indians and their hometown star.

Under the leadership of former chairman Lalit Modi, the IPL revolutionised the game as “cricketainment”, with its short Twenty20 format, player auctions, post-game parties and heavy advertising, dazzling fans and offending purists.

Celebrity owners are part of the show and include Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, as well as spirits and airline magnate Vijay Mallya and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. The IPL’s rise underscored the emergence of a brash, youthful India as a player on the global stage. At the same time it became symptomatic of a darker side of India and the confluence of money and politics, erupting in scandal last year.

Hailed as a gamechanger who helped make India the centre of the global cricket economy, Modi was accused of mismanagement and ousted from his position last year by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which owns the league.

Shashi Tharoor, an author who was one of India’s highest-profile officials, was forced to resign as a junior

minister last year after Modi accused him of using political muscle to influence team bids.

Now based in London, Modi was unwilling to return to India because he feared for his life, his lawyer was quoted as saying in October. Accused of financial irregularities, Modi has denied any wrongdoing.

A chaotic offseason saw the BCCI terminate the contracts of two teams-Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals over ownership questions-only to see them win reprieves by court order. IPL Chief Executive Sundar Raman said some teams are run better than others, and that factors including location and the stature of a team’s stars help determine success.

“If you have a Sachin Tendulkar in your team, or if Shah Rukh Khan owns your team, you will expect a larger following or a greater appeal,” Raman told Reuters. Part of the challenge is having access to those star players beyond the short season. Top three finishers compete in the Champions League later in the year, but teams have limited claim on players with heavy commitments in a crowded calendar.

“The difficulty is that this is a six-week tournament but we have to keep our brand alive for the rest of the year,” said Amrit Mathur, chief executive of the Delhi Daredevils. “At some point we have to have a conversation with the BCCI on availability of players and the kind of activities we can do all year around,” he said.

The movement of several star players in the league auction alienated some fans. World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh, a native of the northern state of Punjab, was not retained by his home team and now captains first timers Pune Warriors.

“The novelty has worn off, and there is sameness to the games,” said cricket writer Pradeep Magazine, a consulting sports editor with The Hindustan Times.

The World Cup ended a week before the IPL season

began, and India heads for a tour of the West Indies days after the season finishes, meaning franchises are not just competing for access to players, but also for advertisers.

Japan’s Yamaha Motor Co , a first-time advertiser this year through its sponsorship of the Hyderabadbased Deccan Chargers, has not yet decided whether it will be back next year. “It all depends. There are many (India) series in between this and next year’s IPL and we will have to re-evaluate and see which is better-IPL or maybe a series,” Roy Kurian , who heads Yamaha’s business in India, told Reuters.

“When you have country matches, like India versus Australia or Sri Lanka, obviously, people will watch those more than a local IPL match,” he said.

The 10 teams earn revenue from broadcasting rights, IPL sponsorships, team sponsorships, merchandise and gate receipts. That may not be enough in a short, tightly-packed season.

Indiawin Sports, the subsidiary of Ambani’s Reliance Industries that owns the Mumbai Indians, seen as one of the best-run teams, lost 154 million rupees ($3.4 million) on sales of 1.13 billion rupees in the financial year that ended in March, the conglomerate’s annual report said. According to Brand Finance, the Mumbai Indians-which retained its core stars from its previous three seasons - Chennai Super Kings, and Mallya’s Royal Challengers Bangalore have done best at building their brands.

On a recent night in Mumbai, the loyalties of the home crowd appeared to be diluted-for better or worse. “Nothing, absolutely nothing can compare to the high we got when India won the World Cup-not even if Mumbai Indians win the IPL,” said Mahesh Shinde, who along with his wife and 14 friends wore tshirts that spelled out Sachin Tendulkar. — Reuters

World Cup luge to return to challenging Whistler track

CHENNAI: Kochi Tuskers Kerala’s Brendon McCullum (right) and Y Gnaneswara Rao run between the wickets during the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match against Chennai Super Kings. — AP

Chennai defeat Kochi CHENNAI: Wriddhiman Saha scored a responsible 46 not out to set up a 11-run win for Chennai Super Kings against Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the Indian Premier League yesterday.

Saha cracked three sixes and a four in his 33-ball knock as Chennai posted a competitive 152-5 before restricting Kochi to 141-5 on a slow track at the Chidambaram Stadium.

The victory, Chennai’s seventh in a row at home, moved Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side to the top of the points table with nine wins from 13 outings. IPL debutants Kochi bowed out of the tournament after going down to their eighth defeat from 14 games in the Twenty20 competition.

Brad Hodge top-scored with an unbeaten 51 off 42 balls to keep Kochi in the hunt but lacked support from the other batsmen. Chennai did not get the start that they would have wanted after electing to bat, losing three quick wickets inside nine overs against some fine bowling and catching by paceman Rudra Pratap Singh. After shattering the off-stump of opener Murali Vijay with a stinging yorker, Singh pulled off a stunning catch of Subramaniam Badrinath by diving to his right and picking the ball inches off the ground.

Australian Mike Hussey, whose clean catch by Parthiv Patel off an attempted paddle sweep was turned down by umpire Rudi Koertzen, lifted the innings briefly with a 37-ball 32.

Saha, a surprise selection in India’s one-day and Twenty20 squad for the upcoming tour of the West Indies, provided the late impetus to take the total past the 150-run mark.

Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 152-5 in 20 overs (W. Saha 46 not out, M. Hussey 32; R. Jadeja 2-26) beat Kochi Tuskers Kerala 141-5 in 20 overs (B. Hodge 51 not out, B. McCullum 33) by 11 runs. — AFP

MIAMI: Before the world’s top luge athletes race this year at the site of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, they will have an extra few days to learn the nuances of the highly challenging track.

The International Luge Federation is going forward with plans to host a World Cup race next season at the Whistler Sliding Center north of Vancouver. It would be the first time an elite international field will race there since the Olympics, where Georgian athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili crashed and died in a highspeed training run hours before the opening ceremony.

Competitors will have the chance for a full week of additional training there before the World Cup stop, something that doesn’t happen at many venues on the circuit.

The World Cup race is Dec. 9-10, but athletes are expected to arrive in British Columbia around Nov. 29 for the additional training.

“As there have already been several changes implemented in Whistler, we decided to add a training week so athletes can adjust,” FIL secretary general Svein Romstad wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

It’s common for newly built tracks, like the one in Whistler, to be modified after opening.

Some curve shapes on the lower portion of the Whistler course have been slightly altered

WHISTLER: This Feb. 19, 2009, file photo shows Andreas Linger (top) and teammate Wolfgang Linger, both of Austria, racing down the course during doubles luge training at the Luge World Cup. — AP and more changes to the track — possibly major ones — are under consideration.

Even the start ramps, which were the source of much debate during the Vancouver

FIFA to step up fight against $90 bln match-fixing industry SINGAPORE: Soccer match-fixing yields $90 billion annually, a figure equivalent to legal betting, FIFA’s security chief Chris Eaton said yesterday, emphasising the need to curb corruption in the sport.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter last week pledged 20 million euros ($28.53 million) for a dedicated anti-corruption unit based in Singapore to fight match-fing, which police officials said was a low-risk, high profit form of crime. “Criminality involved in fixing football matches is global, enormous and organised,” Eaton said. “Football is too respected globally to not be protected.”

“These are criminals taking advantage.

They are not to be respected, they are not Robin Hoods, they are not good people. They hurt players and they destroy careers.”

The unit, in a partnership with Interpol, aims to develop a programme for soccer officials, players and administrators that warns against match-fixing and alerts them to how it dishonours the game and might ruin their careers. It will involve international education and training over e-learning. Interpol will also brief and debrief players before and after every competition to ensure they are fully

aware of what match-fixing might do to their careers. “We protect young players, we protect young referees by teaching them to resist the temptations that these people are trying to take advantage of,” Eaton, a onetime Interpol officer, said. But the unit will not actively seek to clamp down or prosecute match-fixers.

“FIFA is a football management organisation. It is not an investigation organisation.

We don’t conduct a lot of security operations with a little bit of football. We conduct a lot of football with a little bit of security,” Eaton said.

“Prosecution is not my priority, in fact, not a priority at all.” The anti-corruption education wing will be in Singapore due to its low tolerance for corruption, and Eaton believes the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has a model that is one of the most committed to anti-corruption in the world. However, some people might have slipped through the cracks. Eaton recently said in an interview that an “academy of match-fixers” run out of the wealthy city-state might be responsible for rigging matches around the world. A Singaporean man has been arrested in Finland on such allegations. —Reuters

Young Dutch winners offer glimpse of future BELGRADE: Known for a free-flowing production line of talent, the Netherlands showed off the potential national heroes of the future when they won their first under-17 European Championship title at the weekend.

They beat Germany 5-2 on Sunday in the highest-scoring final at this level, having kept six clean sheets in a row to get there.

The victory was just reward for mature performances more akin to an under-21 side or even a senior team, with the opposition largely powerless against the trademark total football the Dutch established to great effect in the 1970s.

Whether the group of outstanding youngsters will translate their talent into glittering careers enjoyed by predecessors such as Johan Cruyff, Marco Van Basten and Ruud Gullit depends on how hard they work in the coming years, and on a modicum of luck.

“The objective of this tournament is to develop the players and steer them in the right direction,” Dutch coach Albert Stuivenberg said before the two-week event in Serbia kicked off.

“All the players in my squad have great potential but it’s difficult to say at this point in time how many of them will become top players at senior level or if any of them will.

“This is the first step and the first step is always

the most important, while turning all that talent into a successful career requires a bit of luck as well.”

After the wild celebrations that followed the title win, when his players hoisted him aloft, Stuivenberg added: “They have improved this season in understanding what it takes to win games.”

Having cruised through their group after beating Germany 2-0 in the opening match, the Dutch knocked out last year’s champions England 1-0 in the last four before defeating Germany again in the final, an act of revenge for a 2-1 loss to them in the 2009 final.

If their performances in the event featuring Europe’s top eight teams is any guide, several players in the Dutch team could be worthy successors to the senior team which reached the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa.

Some nations who did well in the annual under17 tournament in the past, notably former champions Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey and Russia, have not excelled at senior level for one reason or another.

Spain, however, twice winners and last year’s finalists, produced a plethora of brilliant players such as Cesc Fabregas, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, all of whom played a key role in last year’s triumph at the World Cup.

Fernando Torres, who was instrumental in Spain’s conquest of Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, is another player who came through the ranks and if the Dutch can emulate that kind of development they have a lot to look forward to.

Arsenal prospect Kyle Ebecilio and striker Trindade de Vilhena finished among the tournament’s joint top scorers with three goals each, while crafty winger Memphis Depay showed dazzling speed and ball control on both flanks.

Playmaker Anass Achahbar was at the heart of incessant raids through the middle which deprived most rivals of any noteworthy possession of the ball, while neat team moves ripped Germany to shreds when they took risks.

“We always knew they were really strong there but congratulations to Holland because they were the best team and deserved their title,” Germany coach Steffen Freund said, summing up the gulf in class between the Dutch and the rest of the field.

“These games have been a fantastic experience for my team. The Xavis and Iniestas have played in these games and that’s why this tournament is really important.” England reached the finals with a crunch 2-1 win over Spain in the qualifiers and, after a patchy start in the group stage, they crushed hosts Serbia 3-0 to advance into the semifinals.—Reuters

Games, may change. The Olympic course was shortened after Kumaritashvili’s death in an effort to keep speeds down. FIL held testing at the Whistler track in March and made recom-

mendations to Canadian officials about where to have men’s, women’s and doubles starts in the future, though no decision is expected until late May or early June.

There is a chance that new starting ramps may be built, and if that happens, athletes may essentially have to relearn just about everything about how to slide on the Whistler track. That would make the additional training week even more vital.

“We are awaiting their response,” Romstad wrote. “Regardless, we will proceed with the World Cup next (season). We just have to see if they will be from new starts or the Olympic starts.” Kumaritashvili was on a training run Feb. 12, 2010, when he lost control of the sled in one of the final turns.

He crashed into a track wall, was thrown from his sled, sailed over the side of the concrete chute and into a steel support beam, dying on impact from massive head trauma.

Many Olympic luge athletes crashed either in competition or training during those Olympics. Some required hospitalization for concussions, and many openly questioned the track’s safety.

Whistler is scheduled to host luge’s world championships in 2013. The 2011-12 World Cup season opens on Nov. 26 in Igls, Austria. — AP

Carter commits to All Blacks until 2015 WELLINGTON: Daniel Carter, widely regarded as the best flyhalf in the world, has signed a new four-year contract to continue playing for the All Blacks until 2015, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said yesterday.

The 29-year-old, who has played 79 tests and scored 1,188 points, said he had turned down lucrative offers to move abroad after this year’s World Cup, which is being held in New Zealand.

“This has been an incredibly important decision for me personally and I have received some significant offers to play overseas which were both flattering and tempting,” Carter said.

“But in the end the overriding factor for me was the All Blacks jersey. “The more I thought of potentially playing overseas and not being able to represent my country and wear that black jersey was pretty challengingit’s a big reason for me staying.

“I realise that it is not a given to be playing for the All Blacks and there a number of young guys coming through who in the next couple of years will be in their prime so that’s a wee challenge that I’m looking forward to.”

Carter’s decision is a major long-term boost for the NZRU, who, fearing a wholesale exodus after the World Cup, asked their players to determine their future beyond 2011 before the Sept. 9 to Oct. 23 tournament.

The NZRU had singled out Carter as one of their top three contract renewal targets along with captain Richie McCaw and inside centre Sonny Bill Williams.

At least 20 other All Blacks have already committed to the NZRU beyond the World Cup with hooker Keven Mealamu, prop Tony Woodcock, lock Ali Williams, flanker Jerome Kaino and scrumhalf Jimmy Cowan heading a core group of grizzled veterans with the remainder mostly in their early to mid-20s.

New Zealand has a policy of selecting only players contracted to the NZRU for the All Blacks, effectively ruling out those playing abroad.

Carter’s new contract will, however, allow him to take a sabbatical similar to the one he undertook in 2008 with French club Perpignan, which was cut short by an Achilles’ tendon injury.

“We believe that the contract is a reflection of the high standing that Dan has in the game both here and overseas,” NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said.

“We have been very flexible in our

approach, which again shows how important we think Dan is to the All Blacks and New Zealand rugby.

“As an example, we have built in options for Dan to take an extended break from the game if he so wishes whether that’s to take a break from rugby or play overseas and he will discuss that with us at the right time.”

One of the biggest clues to Carter staying in New Zealand was the recent decision of flyhalf Colin Slade, a potential test understudy for Carter, to re-sign with the Otago Highlanders for another two years.

Slade had the option to return to the Canterbury Crusaders next year after joining the Highlanders this year, though he has spent the majority of the Super rugby season on the sidelines after breaking his jaw twice.

Carter, who will continue to play for the Crusaders until 2015, is the highest points scorer in Super rugby and second on the all time list for points scored in test matches, just behind England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson. — Reuters

NEW ZEALAND: In this photo taken July 10, 2010, New Zealand’s Daniel Carter takes a kick against South Africa during the Tri-nations rugby match at Eden Park in Auckland. — AP

Gadret snatches Giro stage

Hopkins set to dethrone Foreman as oldest champ

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DUBLIN: Porto’s Souza and Fernando hold the UEFA Europa League Cup following the final between Portugal’s FC Porto and SC Braga at the Dublin Arena. —AP

Porto win Europa League title DUBLIN: Falcao fired Porto to Europa League glory as the Colombia striker capped a remarkable campaign by clinching his side’s 1-0 win over Braga in the all-Portuguese final in Dublin yesterday.

Andre Villas-Boas’ side arrived at the Aviva Stadium already crowned as Portuguese champions after a recordbreaking domestic season and Falcao’s latest heroics brought them an even greater prize.

It was fitting that Falcao’s superb header just before half-time proved the decisive moment as he had smashed Jurgen Klinsmann’s record for most goals in a Europa League campaign earlier in the tournament.

While Falcao’s name is now firmly etched in the tournament’s history

books, it may be that winning the Europa League is only the start of an even more memorable career for Villas-Boas.

At 33 years old, he is the youngest coach to win a UEFA club competition and he has already surpassed some of the formidable achievements of his mentor Jose Mourinho-the last manager to win this tournament for Porto back in 2003 when Villas-Boas worked as the club’s opposition scout.

Since taking charge of Porto last year, Villas-Boas has enjoyed a meteoric rise and he will finish the season with a treble if his team beat Vitoria Guimaraes in the Portuguese Cup final on Sunday.

He is already been courted by some of Europe’s biggest clubs and

leading Porto to their first European trophy since the 2004 Champions League may trigger a scramble from the likes of Chelsea, Juventus and Roma to secure his signature.

Villas-Boas took his first tentative steps towards a management career as a teenager when he impressed then-Porto manager Bobby Robson with a letter that made a persuasive case for why he should play a striker called Domingos Paciencia.

So it was the ultimate irony that, 17 years later, Villas-Boas should lead Porto out at Lansdowne Road alongside a Braga team managed by Paciencia.

Braga finished 38 points behind Porto as the runaway champions enjoyed an unbeaten league cam-

paign with a record number of points.

But Paciencia’s underdogs had already shocked Celtic, Sevilla, Arsenal, Liverpool and Benfica this season and they showed no signs of being overawed in the club’s first European final.

They could have taken the lead within moments of kick-off when Custodio beat the offside trap to reach Silvio’s header and shot into the side-netting.

Unlike their last successful spell in Europe during the Mourinho era, Porto under Villas-Boas are built on a commitment to attack and Hulk almost put them in front with a fine solo effort.

Hulk cleverly evaded a sliding challenge on the left wing as he surged

into penalty area and tricked his way past Paulo Cesar for a shot that flashed wide of the far post.

Although Porto had plundered 130 goals in 52 games in all competitions, but front three Hulk, Falcao and Silvestre Varela were finding it tough to break down Braga’s obdurate and uncompromising defence.

A tense stalemate ensured for much of the half until Porto finally broke free of Braga’s defensive shackles to snatch the lead in the 44th minute.

Fredy Guarin was the catalyst as the winger surged down the right flank before cutting back to make space for a beautifully flighted cross towards Falcao, who escaped Paulao and planted a superb header past

Jankovic falters in Brussels BRUSSELS: Serbian fourth seed Jelena Jankovic tumbled out of the Brussels Open second round yesterday, losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson.

The defeat came just four days before the start of the French Open where Jankovic has been a semi-finalist on three occasions.

“Jelena and I have had battles before and I had match points last time, so I really wanted to win this time,” Arvidsson said.

“Usually you play the big players on the big courts, but today we were on a smaller court, so maybe that was an advantage for me. Anyway, I’m happy to win today and get my revenge.”

The Swede next faces Chinese eighth seed Peng Shuai who eased past Abigail Spears of the United States, 6-2, 6-0. “The last time I played Peng was in Fed Cup last year and I had eight match points and lost, so it’s another chance for revenge. She’s playing well and having a good season, so it will be tough,” said Arvidsson.

Second seed Vera Zvonareva had to battle back from a first set loss to see off Kazakhstan qualifier Galina Voskoboeva 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

“It was my first time playing here and I had to get used to the conditions, new court, new balls, new atmosphere,” said Russian number one Zvonareva.

“Not only was I a little bit slow at the start but she was playing well. She qualified here so she was used to the conditions. But I found my rhythm and got better as the match went on. Now I have another chance for another match here.”

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki rallied from a break down in both sets and finally beating American Varvara Lepchenko on her fifth match point, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5).

In Strasbourg, Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic won the battle of the former prodigies beating

Australia’s Jelena Dokic in straight sets to reach her first quarter-finals in 12 years at the WTA Strasbourg Open yesterday.

The 29-year-old US-based player, who had to come through the qualifiers here this week, eased past Dokic 6-2, 6-2 in their second round match.

It was a remarkable turnaround of fortunes for Lucic who disappeared from the circuit for five years because of personal and family-related problems after a promising junior career during which she won Grand Slam titles.

Lucic was just 15 when she won the first WTA event she played at Bol in 1997, and the following year won a Grand Slam doubles title at the Australian Open, rising to her career-high ranking of number 32.

She was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 1999, but thereafter failed to reach the quarter-finals of a tournament, and did not play in a WTA event from 2004 to 2006.

The breakthrough came last year when she finished the year ranked No.105, her highest season-ending ranking since 1999.

She had few problems with 28-year-old Dokic, a former world number four, who also had family problems in the past.

Dokic, the 2000 Wimbledon semi-finalist, won her first title in almost nine years at Kuala Lumpur in April. But she could find no way past Lucic who next meets Spanish seventh seed Anabel Medina Garrigues who dispatched Serb Bojana Jovanovski 6-2, 6-0.

Top seed Marion Bartoli of France advanced when Britain’s Elena Baltacha retired with a back problem and next plays Czech eight seed Lucie Hradecka for a semifinal place.

Also through are Russians Nadia Petrova and Maria Kirilenko, the fourth and fifth seeds respectively, and Slovak Daniela Hantuchova, the sixth seed.—AFP

Artur for his 18th European goal of the season.

Paciencia responded by sending on Kaka and Mossoro at half-time and his changes almost paid immediate dividends 40 seconds after the restart.

When Rolando dwelt on the ball just outside his own penalty area, Mossoro stole possession to run clear on goal. However, with just Helton to beat, Mossoro’s composure deserted him and the Porto goalkeeper blocked the striker’s tame shot with his leg.

That proved to be Braga’s only chance for an equaliser as Porto opted to play out the rest of the game with a cautious approach that completely shut out Paciencia’s men.—AFP

Arsenal in danger of fading into oblivion

BRUSSELS: Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki returns the ball towards US player Varvara Lepchenko, at the Brussels Open tennis tournament. —AP

LONDON: Arsenal’s customary place among the European elite is under threat as they prepare to visit Fulham on Sunday to conclude another disappointing season that once offered so much but will end without a trophy. The Gunners will complete a sixth successive season without any silverware and their spot at European soccer’s top table is no longer the formality it seemed a matter of weeks ago as they go into their last Premier League match of the campaign.

Manchester City beat Stoke on Tuesday to leapfrog Arsenal in third place and should the Londoners finish fourth, they will have to negotiate a tricky Champions League playoff in August to qualify for the lucrative group stage. Previously that qualification has never been in doubt but Arsenal’s self-belief, air of invincibility and undying faith in manager Arsene Wenger to deliver the goods have been shattered over a damaging three-month period.

Arsenal face their toughest close season since Wenger moved to north London nearly 15 years ago and there has even been some media speculation that the Frenchman might decide to leave the Emirates before the next campaign starts in August.

Arsenal supporters have done the previously unthinkable this season too-complained to radio phone-ins about Wenger, booed him and his team and criticised the

board after a 6.5 percent price hike for already expensive season tickets. These are not settled days on the pitch or in the boardroom at The Emirates and while tangible success is tantalisingly close, it is not close enough for many supporters. Tensions began to mount in February as Arsenal were in contention for an unprecedented quadruple haul of trophies with the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup all in their sights.

However, a shock 2-1 defeat by Birmingham City in the League Cup final on Feb. 27 triggered what has become a crisis and less than two weeks later, Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona and the FA Cup by Manchester United.

Only two wins in 10 league games since the end of February saw them tumble out of the title race with Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa emphasising all their failings in one match-typically superb passing moves, resulting in too few goals and too many defensive errors costing them points. Arsenal have a potentially superb goalkeeper in Wojciech Szczesny, talented youngsters like Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott and the wonderful skills of Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri but too many others have failed to deliver and the collective lacks a killer instinct. —Reuters

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Page 23 NEW YORK: In this May 16, 2011 photo, Dominique Strauss-Kahn (right) head of the International Monetary Fund, consults with his attorney Benjamin Brafman, in Manhattan Criminal Court. — AP

Jailed IMF chief under pressure to quit Strauss-Kahn on suicide watch in Rikers Island prison NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: Dominique Strauss-Kahn faced growing pressure to quit as head of the IMF after his arrest on attempted rape charges, as some French politicians expressed outrage over his treatment

by US authorities. The battle to succeed Strauss-Kahn, who is alone in a cell at New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail, heated up when China, Brazil and South Africa challenged Europe’s longstanding grip on a job that is pivotal to the world economy. The IMF chief is expected to remain in the jail, known for its gang violence, at least until his next appearance in court tomorrow, when his lawyers may again request bail. It could be six months before a trial begins, legal experts said. A law enforcement source said Strauss-Kahn was under suicide watch as a precautionary measure.

The IMF said it had not been in touch with Strauss-Kahn since his arrest, but believed it would be important to do so “in due course.” Two IMF board sources told Reuters the board would ask Strauss-Kahn whether he planned to continue in his post. One of the sources said it would be ideal if Strauss-Kahn resigned. The second source said that sentiment was not shared across the 24-member board, which has the authority to remove him.

Strauss-Kahn is accused of a violent sexual attack on a maid who came to clean his luxury suite at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan on Saturday, and of trying to rape her. His lawyer has said he will plead not guilty. If convicted, he could face 25 years in prison. In the United States, which is the IMF’s biggest shareholder, politicians began questioning the viability of his tenure as head of the institution charged with managing the world economy and central to negotiating debt crisis deals.

“I can’t comment on the case, but he is obviously not in a position to run the IMF,” US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said. John Lipsky, the second in command, is in charge during Strauss-Kahn’s absence, but no formal interim chief has been named. IMF sources told Reuters that David Lipton, White House international economic adviser and former deputy treasury secretary, would take Lipsky’s deputy position. Strauss-Kahn’s arrest has thrown the IMF into turmoil just as it is playing a key role in helping euro zone states like Greece and Portugal tackle debt woes.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerr y stopped short of calling for StraussKahn’s resignation, but he called the circumstances of the case “troubling if

not damning.” “If the evidence is what it appears to be, I think it would be very difficult for him to manage” as IMF head, Kerry said. In Europe, StraussKahn was also losing support. “Given the situation, that bail has been denied, he has to consider that he would otherwise do damage to the institution,” said Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter. Spanish Economy Minister Elena Salgado cast doubt on Strauss-Kahn’s judgment, and said it was up to the IMF chief to make a decision on resignation. “That is a decision which it is to up to Mr. StraussKahn to take, but the crimes he is accused of are very serious ... . My solidarity first and foremost is with the woman who suffered the attack, if that was what happened,” she told reporters.

But in France, President Nicolas Sarkozy urged center-right lawmakers at a closed-door breakfast to show “restraint and dignity” and refrain from comment on the Strauss-Kahn case, participants said. Many French Socialist leaders voiced outrage at the way Strauss-Kahn, who was considered a front-runner for the French presidency, had been paraded-handcuffed and unshaven-by New York police before he had a chance to defend himself in court. Former French Culture Minister

Jack Lang called the treatment a “lynching” that had “provoked horror and aroused disgust.”

The US justice system, he said, was “politicized” and the judge appeared to have been determined to “make a Frenchman pay.” Other senior Socialists said that displaying the IMF chief in handcuffs escorted by burly policemen violated his right to be presumed innocent until found guilty by a court. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg agreed such a display was humiliating and would be unfair if a defendant were to be found innocent. “But if you don’t want to do the perp walk, don’t do the crime,” he told reporters.

“I don’t have a lot of sympathy for that. Our judicial system works where the public can see the alleged perpetrators,” Bloomberg said. The lawyer for the alleged victim, 32, said she was traumatized and in hiding. He said she was a widow with a 15-year-old daughter, who moved to New York from the West African nation of Guinea about seven years ago, he said. “She didn’t have any idea who he was or have any prior dealings with this guy,” Jeffrey Shapiro, a New York personal injury lawyer, told Reuters. Strauss-Kahn has been in custody since he was marched off an Air France jet on Saturday to face the charges.

Emerging countries are starting to flex their muscle over who should succeed Strauss-Kahn, who had been expected to leave soon anyway to run for French president. The job has been a virtual sinecure for Europeans. They have held all 10 managing director positions since the fund was created in 1945, and four of them have been Frenchmen. China said on Tuesday the selection of the next IMF boss should be based on “fairness, transparency and merit.”

It marked the first time that China, the fund’s third largest member, weighed in early and so publicly on an IMF selection debate. China’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the charges against Strauss-Kahn. But a spokeswoman, asked about how IMF leaders are chosen, said, “We believe that this should be based on the principles of fairness, transparency and merit.” South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and a senior Brazilian government official, who asked not to be named, said the next IMF chief should be from a developing country, pressing a case to give emerging economies a greater say in world affairs. But Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said the Strauss-Kahn affair should not be used as a way to press for changes in the way the IMF

head is picked, telling GloboNews TV the discussion “is too premature at this point.” “I am all appalled by this situation and I really hope that the situation gets resolved so Dominique can returnhe is probably one of the best IMF chiefs that we had in the past years,” Mantega said.

In Paris, the Socialist Party’s leadership staged a rare show of unity amid consternation over the probable loss of the center-left’s most popular contender to unseat conservative Sarkozy in next April’s election. “Unity, responsibility, combativity, these are the three words which came up the most this morning,” Socialist leader Mar tine Aubry told reporters after an emergency meeting. “There was emotion, of course, and the shock we all feel, but it is our responsibility to be up to the task,” she said. Strauss-Kahn has neither resigned from the Washington-based IMF nor dropped out of the French race so far. Sarkozy, whose approval ratings had slumped to a record low of 20 percent, received another campaign boost with news that his wife, singer and former model Carla Bruni, is expecting a child later this year. The Socialists agreed they would not change the selection timetable, which calls for candidates to register by July 13 for a primary election to be held in October. — Reuters

Gulf telecoms bet on data as growth ebbs DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates boasts the highest mobile phone penetration in the world at more than 2.3 phones for every person, yet less than a sixth of people also access data through their handsets. That offers operators a unique growth opportunity in a saturated home market, where more than threequarters of the population are foreign-born.

Many are low-paid laborers who spend a large portion of their wages contacting home. “It’s very important I speak to my family so I know what’s going on back home,” said Pablo, 22, a Filipino waiter in Dubai who has been working at an Asian restaurant for a year.

He spends one-third of his 1,500 UAE dirhams ($410) basic monthly salary on a prepaid mobile phone subscription to communicate with his mother, father and sisters in Manila. Pablo is also wireless carrier du’s ideal customer for fuelling its growth away from basic services to data-rich offerings as it challenges former UAE monopoly Etisalat. The average low-income wireless customer typically spends no more than 100 dirhams per month, much of which goes on voice calls home. But as the price of handsets and data packages fall, workers are expected to choose increasingly cheaper and interactive ways of communicating with loved ones abroad such as instant messaging and social networking.

Data generated about 15 percent of Etisalat’s domestic revenue last year and 9 percent for du. The latter has gained an estimated 40 percent mobile market share since its launch in 2007 and is now trying to boost average revenue per user, or ARPU, by target-

ing business and wealthy customers as well getting low-wage people to use more services. “You need to find ways to monetize this data - different tariffs, different users, different type of segmentation,” said du chief executive Osman Sultan. The UAE’s phone penetration is the world’s highest at more than 230 percent.

Yet only 16 percent of people also access the internet through their mobile phone, according to a report from the local regulator.

“There’s still growth in the market-this won’t be driven purely by adding subscribers, but from data and internet revenues,” said Irfan Ellam, Al Mal Capital telecoms analyst.

“Mobile data and fixed broadband still have a pretty low penetration compared to the West, relative to GDP per capita.” About 3.5 million smartphones were shipped to the Middle East in the first-quarter of 2011, up 45 percent from a year-earlier, according to Canalys, and were forecast to achieve compound annual growth of 18 percent between 2009 and 2014.

“All operators are pushing smartphones because they drive more data use,” said Pete Cunningham, Canalys lead analyst.

The growth of data has caught regional operators by surprise, and made it painfully clear that their pricing and ability to offer such services must quickly evolve. “With data traffic exploding and revenues not growing in the same proportion, investments required to maintain service levels end up eroding the return on operator’s investments,” said Marc Biosca, Principal at A T Kearney.

Operators could create new business models more reflective of actual network usage,

upping data charges and slashing voice tariffs, said Martin Mabbutt, Nomura telecoms analyst.

“The difference in voice and data pricing is just a legacy of history,” he said. “Data revenues will inexorably rise. Fundamentally, it’s a question of increasing the number of data users. All customers are using their phones for voice, but only a fraction are using data beside SMS.” Vodafone Qatar appears to have found a way to navigate from voice to data without much of the pain that its regional peers appear to be experiencing. Like du, Vodafone Qatar, which began operations in 2009, has targeted low-income residents. The operator offers subscribers free access to social networking sites such as Facebook and now has a 45 percent share of the Qatar market and a 25 percent revenue share. Vodafone Qatar users also get 10 megabytes of free data per month if they recharge at least once and more than half of subscribers now use mobile internet.

“Data usage is through the roof,” said DeEtte Christie, Vodafone Qatar head of online. “In a market like Qatar, the majority don’t have access to a PC, but everybody has a cell phone. By giving customers free megabytes, they become comfortable and adopt additional consumption. For many, the free megabytes are “training wheels” for the mobile web.” The most popular sites are social media, followed by forums and communitygenerated content and news sites, both local and from expats’ home countries, said Khalifa Saleh Haroon, Vodafone Qatar head of online

and corporate strategy.

“You can get online on low-end handsets now, even a poor 2G Handset,” added Christie.

“It might not be the experience you or I want, but for someone where this is the way they can talk to their friends and family back home, they are going to do it.” Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, is a unique market where mobile broadband services have made significant inroads, due to poor fixed internet access across the kingdom.

For every three mobile phone users, there are two for mobile broadband subscriptionsthe sixth highest ratio globally- according to data by the International Telecommunications Union.

Saudi Arabia’s conservative social and religious rules- women are not allowed to drive and mixing with the opposite sex is strictly controlled-have fuelled this demand for value-added mobile services. BlackBerry Messenger and Facebook are often the easiest way for Saudi Arabia’s young populationabout two-thirds are under 30 — to communicate, a fact not lost on Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), with data accounting for about 18 percent of the operator’s revenues last year.

Mobily also has a 70 percent share of Saudi Arabia’s mobile broadband market, with more than a tenth of its 22 million subscribers also active data users. “Our growth is fuelled by that (mobile data) — how much more can you charge for phone calls?” said Medhat Amer, Mobily chief information officer. “We have created new usage scenarios by promoting smart phones aggressively.” — Reuters

GENEVA: A model holds up a ring mounting a rare translucent pink diamond during a Sotheby’s auction press preview. The 10.99-carat, emerald-cut stone that is classified as “fancy intense pink” sold for a price of 10.8 million dollars (7.6 million euros) during a Sotheby’s auction yesterday. — AFP

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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

BUSINESS

ABK launches iAhli Arabic application

Emirates Islamic Bank chief executive resigns Deputy CEO to serve as acting chief executive DUBAI: The chief executive of Emirates Islamic Bank, an affiliate of Emirates NBD, has resigned and his deputy has been appointed acting CEO, the lender said yesterday. A statement gave no reason for Ebrahim Fayez AlShamsi’s departure. He will be replaced by deputy chief executive Abdullah Showaiter, who also serves as the lender’s general manager of corporate and investment banking.

Faisal Aqil, general manager of retail bank-

ing, will take on the role of acting deputy CEO, the bank said in the statement. Neither Emirates Islamic or ENBD were immediately available for comment. Emirates Islamic Bank posted a first quar ter loss of 20 million dirhams last month, compared with net profits of 66.6 million dirhams the year before.

The bank had been touted as a possible candidate to buy troubled Islamic lender, Dubai Bank. Dubai’s government took con-

trol of Dubai Bank on Monday to prevent a collapse from undermining the Gulf Arab state’s banking sector. The Dubai government said it would consider merging it with another state-owned bank, with analysts speculating that Emirates Islamic may be required to take on the bank. Emirates Islamic’s parent, ENBD, was formed in 2007 after Dubai’s ruler ordered the merger of two local banks. —Reuters

Yemen needs transition deal to draw cash and fix economy DUBAI: Ye m e n’s e co no my appears on the brink of collapse af ter three months of street protests and political stalemate that have swollen budgetar y d efi c i t s a n d a re d r iving o ff urgently-needed foreign aid.

Western and Gulf donors are war y of stepping in before a co nc l u s i on of a d e al fo r t he peaceful departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh-something the longtime ruler has resisted.

“If there is no injection from outside ... the Yemen economy will collapse, definitely,” said M o h am e d A l - M ayt ami, eco n o mi c s p rofe s s or a t Sanaa University. “ The rial will collapse, inflation will rise to a level Yemen had never witnessed, the most needed food will not be available for majority of people who are poor,” he said.

Yem e n h a s a l l i es w it h a strong interest in saving the country.

A l l i e s i n Wa s h i n g to n and Riyadh fear a protracted stando f f co u ld p rom p t cl ashes between rival military units in the capital, and worry the ensui n g c h a os cou l d b enefit an active al Qaeda branch in the country that also targets Saudi Arabia. Worried by protests that have drawn tens of thousands to the streets in cities across Yemen, the cash-strapped cabinet has vowed to raise wages, create jobs and distribute handouts wor th an estimated 3.5 percent of economic output, or $1.1 billion. But as hard currency reserves dry out, the government has little room to maneuver. Yemen will need at least $2 b i l l i o n i n t h e n e x t six to 12 months from donors to keep basic public services running, M aytami estimates. Yemen relies on oil for 60 percent of its income. Yet robust oil prices

above $95 per barrel offer little respite as oil exports dropped and a serious shortage forced t he g overnment to impor t crude and fuel, drain in g its funds.

As a result, the budget shortfall may shoot up to between $4 billion and $5.3 billion this year, a l evel un seen sin ce a 1994 civil war with southern separatists, from an original plan of $1.5 billion, economists predict. The finance ministr y declined to comment on the b udg et sit u at ion in Yemen , whose nominal GDP of $31 billion amounts to only over half of annual spending of oil giant A b u Dhab i. Yem en’s foreign minister urged foreign donors in March to inject up to $6 billion into state coffers over the next five years to boost economic development.

But potential donors including wealthy Gulf neighbors, which have pledged $20 billion for Bahrain and Oman, both hit by sustained protests in the wake of revolts elsewhere in the Arab world, are not seen rushing in with aid before Saleh leaves. “They are not going to reward the regime with economic assistance. It hinges on a peaceful and successful transfer of power,” Yemeni political analyst Abdul-Ghani Al-Iryani said.

In a last minute reversal, Saleh refused to sign a Gulf-brokered deal in April that would ease him o u t o f p ower with in a month after nearly 33 years. His move upset Saudi Arabia, which had long backed Saleh to fight Al-Qaeda militants.

The IMF, which made $35 billion available for protest-hit countries, has said it was ready to discuss aid for Yemen, where over a third of the population is unemployed, when the situa-

tion allows. It approved a $370 million loan in August 2010.

Before an ti-S aleh protests gained steam in February, the government planned to take a stab at raising funds through $500 million in Islamic bonds this year to combat slow-incoming donor aid.

Only a fraction of $4.7 billion promised at a donor conference in 2006 has been disbursed so far in Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries with per capita income of $2,600, roughly 10 times less than that of Oman next door. Yemen’s economy was str ugglin g even before thousands of students, activists an d tr ibesmen took to th e streets, battered by fights against northern rebels, southern secessionists and Al-Qaeda in a coun tr y awash with weapons.

But months of protests, in which more than 170 people have been killed, have brought the economy to the brink of collapse after growing 8 percen t last year. “ Th e biggest problem is that basic needs are difficult to find. The situation is getting more and more difficult by the day,” said economics professor Taha Al-Fusail, who estimates that the economy has lost $5 billion or more. Trucks and buses at petrol stations queue for hours, while water supply shor tages and power blackouts are a daily norm.

Fuel supplies dimin ish ed when a refiner y closed after tribesmen attacked a pipeline, causing losses of around $300400 million a month. Yemen normally exports 105,000 barrels per day out of 280,000 produced. “The increase of prices of food supplies increased the already existin g suffer in g because the monthly salary is

not enough,” said Hisham AlZabeidi, a government employee in Sanaa. “Severe shortages of gasoline and gas cylinders added more pain,” said Zabeidi, livin g on a s a l a r y of a round $333 a month.

Prices of gas cylinders, which many us e for cook i ng, have shot up five to seven times to $21 to $29 on the black market.

Some food staples are hard to find with prices up by 10 to 20 percent, according to the latest street prices. Some economists estimate inflation is currently running at up to 30 percent, double Januar y ’s 13 percent.

With dollars hard to buy, some shopkeepers now request payment in greenbacks to be able to import and as the rial lost around 14 percent in value to 243 a dollar during the protests.

Economists say the rial, near historic lows of 250 a dollar seen last August, would probably weaken more if the central bank were not restricting the dollar supply as demand stays high.

The rial currently stands at a r o u n d 2 3 0 t o t h e d o l l a r.

O f f i c i a l l y, f o r e i g n c u r r e n c y reser ves dropped to around $5.1 billion from $5.9 billion at end-2010 but economists dispute that figure, saying they believed reser ves were lower at around $4.4 billion or less. Economic hardship was part of the impetus that drove many to protest-some 40 perc e n t o f Ye m e n’s 2 3 m i l l i o n people live on less than $2 a day and a third face chronic h u n g e r. “ T h e s e v e r i t y o f pover ty is getting worse.

Many stocks are now draining out and if there is no import it may happen that within few weeks these stocks are depleted,” Maytami said. —Reuters

KUWAIT: Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait has launched the iAhli Arabic application for iPhone and iPad users, to make the application even more user friendly. ABK customers can simply download the program from the Apple store to explore the ABK site and take advantage of all the banking services it has to offer. This includes getting the latest news updates, availing the hottest offers from ABK, as well as complete access to personal account updates from the ABK website.

Othman Tawfiqi, Head of Delivery Channels at ABK stated that, “This newest initiative taken by ABK has come about as a result of the tremendous success of the English version of the same program.

Both applications have been developed due to the huge popularity of the iPhone and the iPad within Kuwait. Amazingly the figures for participants using the English version of this program have now crossed over 2,000 subscribers, prompt-

Othman Tawfiqi ing us to design an Arabic version to ensure that all our customers’ needs are catered to.”

Qualitynet launches new, improved website information on all of our services, such as Nitro, DSL Gaming and Home Fiber among many others. We also have a revised FAQs section that includes regular and important queries that our customers raise from time to time” said Boftain. He stated that visitors to the website could get additional discounts on subscriptions or renewals, through the ‘My Qualitynet’ page which not only lists various special offers but also gives double the chances of winning gifts. He further added that Qualitynet encourages customers to use its online portal and pointed out how the transactions on these portals are steadily rising each month, reinstating the advanced levels of security that Qualitynet has invested in its online portals. “We hope this trend we see in online transactions will continue positively, and we look forward to adding more services on our online portal in the near future” said Boftain.

Boftain stated that the new website holds a lot of information on services for small and medium enterprises, large enterprises and building owners among others. Qualitynet’s range of Integrated Telecommunication Solutions such as security and surveillance solutions, office Systems and advanced networks can help improve operations and have proven to be an integral part to enhancing business performance.

“We strongly believe in strengthening our relationship with customers via social networks, be it from residential or corporate segments” said Boftain. He added that the new website includes links to Qualitynet ’s various social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, where the team directly interacts with customers and provides timely updates on Qualitynet and the industry in general, in addition to exclusive offers through various contests.

KUWAIT: Qualitynet, the No 1 Integrated Communications Provider in Kuwait, announced the launch of its new and improved website, with the latest offers and extensive information on services for both residential and corporate customers. The new site also links to Qualitynet’s social networking channels, which help in bringing the

Abdullah Boftain company closer to its customers, in addition to reaching out to new potential subscribers. Abdullah Boftain, Manager of Marketing Communications & PR said “Qualitynet’s new website is designed with both residential as well as corporate customers in mind. The website is easy to use and has detailed information on the company, our vision, our values etc. We have also added a careers section, through which people can apply for various positions with us”.

Boftain said the website was developed keeping in mind the needs of Qualitynet’s customers from across various kinds of residential and corporate users. “Our new website has extensive

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

.2700000 .4430000 .3890000 .3090000 .2800000 .2890000 .0040000 .0020000 .0745640 .7264560 .3810000 .0700000 .7121570 .0040000 .0430000

.2765000 .4540000 .3980000 .3200000 .2900000 .2990000 .0072500 .0035000 .0753130 .7337570 .4010000 .0770000 .7193150 .0072000 .0530000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2746500 .2990000 .4450570 .4484600 .3914590 .3944520 .3118370 .3142210 .2825470 .2847080 .0524980 .0528990 .0436170 .0439510 .2914040 .2936320 .0353260 .0355960 .2210110 .2227010 .0033870 .0034130 .0000000 .0061840 .0000000 .0025270 .0000000 .0032440 .0000000 .0038040 .0748060 .0753780 .7287080 .7342800 .0000000 .3914430 .0732600 .0738200 .7135620 .7190180 .0000000 .0064360

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

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.413 6.138 3.235 2.514 3.862 221.690 35.559 3.770

Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash

6.387 9.117 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES 73.750 75.990 718.330 734.360 75.291

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

ARAB COUNTRIES 48.500 46.427 1.265 200.040 390.550 183.400 5.970 35.217

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 276.450 Euro 394.490 Sterling Pound 452.130 Canadian dollar 285.590 Turkish lire 173.810 Swiss Franc 314.150 Australian dollar 292.710 US Dollar Buying 275.250

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

GOLD 280.000 140.000 71.000

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees

SELL CASH SELL DRAFT 297.000 2950500 733.770 733.770 3.990 3.756 287.700 286.200 541.900 14.100 53.700 167.800 223.600 47.560 46.453 398.000 396.500 36.190 36.040 6.390 6.125

0.033

389.960 0.186 95.020 3.850 219.800

Sterling Pound US Dollar

315.600 5.800 9.330 75.130 275.900

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 451.000 275.900

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees

Selling Rate 276.200 287.845 450.205 393.945 312.458 731.016 75.176 75.843 73.623 390.159 46.552 2.512 6.142

Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

3.242 3.756 6.364 677.498 3.492 9.175 6.025 3.916 90.836

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. 716.470 3.240 6.385 75.900 73.670 223.560 42.060 2.510 451.000

GOLD 1,546.630

10 Tola 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

0.033 0.244 0.243 3.500 391.430 0.187 95.020 48.200 4.330 221.300 1.871 51.400 716.650 3.330 6.610 76.330 73.670 223.560 42.060 2.678 453.000 44.800 317.100 5.800 9.510 198.263 75.230 276.300 1.260

Currency 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 Canadian Dollars

Rate per 1000 (Tran) 275.800 3.230 6.130 2.530 3.765 6.420 75.195 73.750 733.200 46.390 454.400 0.00003280 3.910 1.550 391.800 5.750 399.500 290.800

Al Mulla Exchange Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000) US Dollar 275.550 Euro 396.300 Pound Sterling 450.800 Canadian Dollar 286.000 Japanese Yen 3.425 Indian Rupee 6.125 Egyptian Pound 46.370 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.508 Bangladesh Taka 3.737 Philippines Peso 6.378 Pakistan Rupee 3.220 Bahraini Dinar 733.000 UAE Dirham 75.100 Saudi Riyal 73.550 *Rates are subject to change

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Egypt’s real estate sector down, definitely not out Firms risk losing more land, paying higher compensation CAIRO: There seem to be plenty of good reasons to avoid Egypt’s battered real estate sector, yet some investors are tiptoeing back into stocks seen as less exposed to legal probes of questionable state land sales. The industry, a motor of Egypt’s decade-long investment boom, was undermined by crony capitalism. Now it is bearing the brunt of widening corruption probes after a popular uprising swept President Hosni Mubarak from power in February. It could take years for an outcome to legal challenges targeting companies such as Palm Hills and Talaat Moustafa, which focused on high-end property for Egypt’s wealthy elite.

KUWAIT: The VIVA board of directors are pictured during the general meeting which was held yesterday at the Chamber of Commerce.

—Photo by Joseph Shagra

VIVA does not need a capital rise: Al-Roumi

By Nisreen Zahreddine K U WA I T: B o a rd D i re c to r o f V I VA Telecommunication Company Adel AlRoumi said that VIVA does not need to increase its capital and that its capital adequacy ratio is enough owing to the Financial Center’s support. VIVA’s general assembly was held at the C h a m b e r o f Co m m e rce ye s te rd ay where he pointed out that this decision was the result of a detailed meeting with the financial consultant. The f i n a n c i a l co n s u l t a n t , a s A l - R o u m i explained, advised that VIVA’s financial situation is good and does need to increase its capital.

Al-Roumi said that VIVA is one of the leading companies in the market and was approved a loan amounting to KD50 million from local banks. He said that this speaks highly of the trust local banks have in VIVA’s performance and financial position.

The unusual general assembly was attended by 50.5 percent of shareholders and had one sole point on its schedule which was to discuss the company’s future and fiscal position.

Al-Roumi said that according to the request of the Ministry of Commerce to convene the general assembly, this point was listed in the schedule to showcase VIVA’s image well to the shareholders and assure them of their healthy monetary position. “Numbers reflect a larger success than we had e x p e c te d a n d re s u l t s a re a l w ays reflected in the beginning of any company’s work”, he said.

Al-Roumi added that during the next two years, the positive financial statements will clarify the company’s performance , saying that VIVA does not have any sister companies and that its main occupation is telecommunications. During last month’s general assembly, Al-Roumi said that VIVA has heavy investments in infrastructure through investing in the assets amounting to KD29 million in 2010, w h i c h l e a d to n o tc h i n g re ve n u e s amounting to KD61 million which represents 122 percent of the capital and with operational losses and interests amounting to KD9.8 million. Thus the total net loss in 2010 amounted to KD20 million.

That may be too long for some investors who see value in the sector. Analysts say firms such as SODIC and Amer Group may have been oversold given stronger balance sheets that should help them weather the storm and a presence in sectors beyond highend homes such as commercial property. “Companies like SODIC are emerging cleaner, making them a play on both value and growth,” said Ankur Khetawat of HC Securities. Conflicting laws governing the sale of state land are at the heart of the legal wrangles, which have already led courts to nullify sales to Palm Hills and Egyptian Resorts. TMG’s ownership of one of it’s biggest projects is also at risk.

Shares in Palm Hills are down 75 percent this year and Egyptian Resorts and Talaat Moustafa have both slumped 61 percent, more than double the 30 percent drop by the benchmark EGX30 index.

The crisis of confidence has infected the whole sector. Bulldozers and cranes on the desert outskirts of Egypt’s sprawling capital lie idle as firms review sales outlooks and brace for potential investigations of their land holdings.

‘NO DEVELOPMENT’ The challenges to state land date from before Mubarak’s departure and gathered pace with the revolution, which channeled popular anger at officials who sold land for pennies in a country where most of the population struggles in poverty. Land

CMH pays dividends to GCC investors BAHRAIN: Capital Management House (CMH), the Bahrain based investment bank, yesterday announced that it has made the first distribution of dividends to investors of its aircraft leasing investment fund, which was established in partnership with Novus Aviation and Muzun Partner Ltd. Early investors in the fund have received the first payment calculated at 10 percent per annum for the period ending March 31, 2011. Subsequent distributions will be made on a quarterly basis.

Investors in the fund include a number of high-net worth individuals, family offices and institutions from across the GCC region. The fund has been structured around a transaction with Emirates Airlines, one of the world’s leading airlines, consisting of the acquisition of a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft from the airline and an agreement whereby it will be leased back to Emirates for a six-year period.

The fund is now being offered to additional investors across the region, providing them with a unique opportunity to benefit from positive trends in the global aviation industry, which has shown consistent long-term growth despite the various challenges in the financial markets, and in particular the opportunities in the Middle East region, which represents one of the fastest growing travel hubs in the world today.

Commenting on the announcement, Khalid M Najibi, Managing Director of CMH, said: “We are delighted to announce the payment of dividends, both underscoring the opportunities that

exist in the aviation sector and leasing sub-segment as well as the ability of CMH and our partners to effectively manage and leverage our investments. The fund and our existing investment in the Boeing 777-200ER airliner acquired and leased back to Emirates has affirmed our strate-

Khalid M Najibi gy that acquiring income yielding assets not only provides the bank and our investors with strong potential for capital appreciation over time but, importantly, ensures a recurring and sustained stream of income and the ability for us to deliver to our investors strong returns right from the outset. In today’s climate investors are seeking income-yielding products with limited downside risk. Our aviation fund delivers this. Working with our partner Novus Aviation, a market leader in the aviation leasing industry, we are confi-

has been withdrawn from at least three firms and two former housing ministers are locked up in jail.

The cases revolve around a 1998 law that stated that all state land must be sold via competitive bidding. “The biggest problem the state is facing now is the lack of clarity on the legal status of all of Egypt’s land,” said Samih Sawiris, chief executive of Orascom Development.

“If this issue is not resolved, there will be no development in this country in any field,” he added. “The problem is the rule can apply to any land which has been sold in Egypt.” Analysts warn that new investment in the sector will be dampened by the protracted court battles, messy compensation schemes and international arbitration. The value of land sold to many firms must be recalculated, compensation schemes thought up and some plots reauctioned in a public bid, said Ahmed Mekky, a judge and vice chairman of a Cairo appeals court.

Practically every major project and major developer, both foreign and domestic, has come under public scrutiny on how their land was purchased. Only smaller firms with more focus on middleincome housing look relatively safe. Firms such as Madinet Nasr Housing and Heliopolis Housing who have older land banks and more exposure to middle-income housing in a country where millions lack a proper home, may also be safer.

Inflation hedge Mubarak’s cabinet sought to put legal battles to rest by promising to enact new laws designed to settle the uncertainty, but the uprising disrupted the plan before it was complete. The new military-backed interim administration has been too distracted with other challenges to pay the attention needed to resolve the real estate crisis, analysts say.

Industry experts are calling for quick and bold intervention, but worry the current government is unlikely to revamp the legal framework of Egypt’s real estate sector, leaving that task to a new government that would take the reins after September parliamentary elections.

“We need a new law that will resolve all these deficiencies that have been left unattended before,” said Judge Mohamed Hamed el-Gamal, a former head of the State Council, adding that the government should unilaterally review all its contracts before they are contested in courts.

Swathes of the industry are condemned to legal limbo without that. But it isn’t all bad news.

International real estate agent Coldwell Banker admitted that demand for property outside Cairo has declined. “But inside the city, the trend is the reverse,” the firm’s Egypt president Mohamed Abdallah said.

Coldwell’s sales can be used as a barometer for property sales in the capital. He said the compa-

ny’s Egypt sales halved after the uprising before recovering to a 30 percent drop on the year to mid-April.

“I was expecting a number close to zero but real estate is a ver y good investment when things are not clear,” Abdallah said. “There are fears of currency risks and the best way to hedge against currency hikes and inflation is real estate.” He said commercial property sales have not been affected. That could be a good sign for firms like SODIC, which is counting on commercial leasing to bring in 400 million pounds a year by 2014.

“There are still domestic savings, there are still people who need homes, there are people who are worried about potential inflation and are looking for hedges,” Maher Maksoud, chief executive officer of SODIC, told Reuters. Optimists say Egyptian real estate will survive the turmoil because of pressure to provide housing for an overwhelmingly young population in a country where the lack of a home is seen as a major obstacle to marriage, giving bright longterm prospects to firms able to steer through the industry headwinds. “If anyone wants to invest in this sector, they should look carefully at the balance sheet to see how long a company can keep going through this slowdown,” said Harshjit Oza, a research analyst at Beltone Financial in Cairo.—Reuters

Activate ‘I-Move-To’ service

dent that we will continue to identify and execute additional opportunities that will similarly help to generate strong and steady cash flows as well as significant longer-term upside potential.”

Aviation has shown to be a resilient sector and leasing a lucrative sub-segment within it. In recent years, the operating leasing segment has grown significantly with expectations for further growth both in absolute and relative terms expected to continue. These factors serve to position aircraft as real and mobile assets, which offer opportunities for relatively high absolute returns and downside protection as a result of their ability to generate stable and predictable cash flows from reputable airlines.

In addition to focusing on acquisitions in the aviation sector, CMH has also recently concluded other transportation related investments. In November 2010, the Bank acquired a 30 percent stake in Skaugen Gulf Petrochem Carriers, a GCCbased petrochemical shipping company further building on its established track record of developing strong long-term investment opportunities across multiple sectors and asset classes.

CMH is particularly active in sectors that are of fundamental importance to the development of the region’s economies and the Bank has made significant investments in key sectors including transportation, infrastructure, energy, power, financial services, real estate and capital markets. CMH is targeting other similar leasing opportunities that will generate regular distributions for clients in the coming months.

KUWAIT: Following the successful launch of its latest I-Move-To campaign earlier this month, Wataniya Telecom is glad to invite everybody to the designated ‘I-Move-To booths located at 360, Avenues, Marina, Kout and Souq Sharq malls designed like a bus stop particularly to assist customers in subscribing to the service and make them enjoy a hassle-free switch to Wataniya Telecom.

Switching to a new network or changing phone numbers has now become easier and faster than ever! I-Move-To is completely free of charge and guarantees that everyone who calls your old number will be informed about the customer’s new Wataniya number. Plus the Wataniya customer will never have to worry about missing an important call even if it comes on his/her old mobile number.

Abdolaziz Al-Balool, Public Relations Director at Wataniya Telecom assured the efficiency and simplicity of the service by saying: “When the concept of I-Move-To service was initiated we thought it would be one of the most beneficial and interesting service to all new customers who are keen to join the Wataniya world because of its exclusive features and convenient method.”

Al-Balool also added: “We are overwhelmed by the success of the service as we already have already reached the anticipated number of subscribers to the service since the launch of the campaign.”

It takes very little time to activate I-Move-To and new customers can use it even if their old number was a non-Wataniya number. The only thing a customer needs to do to activate I-MoveTo is send SUB to 1443 from their new Wataniya number, then dial **21* new Wataniya number# from their old line. These simple commands will activate I-Move-To and every time someone calls the customer’s old number, the caller will hear a voice prompt informing them about the new

Abdolaziz Al-Balool number plus an SMS will be sent to them with the new Wataniya number as well. The Wataniya customer will also receive an SMS informing them about the number that was trying to reach them. I-Move-To remains active for a full 90 days and customers can renew it if they wish.

In addition to the convenience of the I-MoveTo service, customers who want to switch to Wataniya will also be offered gold numbers bundled with affordable handsets and voice plans to make the move a more exciting and valuable one.

Customers can book and buy their numbers from Wataniya’s website www.wataniya.com/move.

Furthermore they will get their new numbers delivered to their doorstep making the move to Wataniya even more easy and convenient. Visit Wataniya bus stop stations now at these malls and enjoy enormous benefits.

Venture capital fund helps Palestinians build state RAMALLAH: PalestinianAmerican software expert Saed Nashef was working in the United States when he visited his parents in East Jerusalem in 2007. He ended up staying, to help Palestinians develop an IT sector that will be crucial for any future, independent state. Even more unusually, the 42-year entrepreneur hooked up with an Israeli businessman, Yadin Kaufmann, pooling their experience and launching last month a $28.7 million venture capital fund for Palestinian startups-the first of its kind. The Sadara Fund, also called the Middle East Venture Capital Fund, boasts a list of high-profile backers, including some of the world’s top IT firms, the EU’s European Investment Bank and an investment fund of billionaire George Soros.

The partners say their initial capital will be invested in around 15 Palestinian companies over the next five years and they eventually intend to raise $50 million for the fund. “The motives for doing this are more business-oriented than anything else,” said Nashef, who spent nearly 16 years working Hat Microsoft and other software companies in the United States. “However we cannot dismiss other potential (results), to the extent that a strong economy, specifically in the information and telecommunications technology sector, can help support the establishment of the Palestinian state. That is something that we would be proud of, but it’s not a goal,” he told Reuters.

Palestinians are building the institutions of a state they aim to

establish in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel has occupied this land since 1967, but quit the Gaza Strip in 2005. Peace talks between the two sides broke down last September and Palestinians plan to bypass Israel and seek recognition of their statehood at the UN General Assembly in September.

Nashef said the fund was short listing potential recipients and hoped to announce the first deal in the next six months. “I met interesting and fascinating people in the technology sector. I saw the fire in their eyes,” he said.

The high-tech sector in the Palestinian Territories includes 300 companies employing 3,200 people. Cisco Systems Inc and Google are among the international investors. The Palestinian sector is

dwarfed by that of its neighbor, Israel, with 45 percent of the country’s $50 billion annual export market coming from hi-tech.

Nashef hopes that this proximity, combined with Kaufman’s involvement, will pay off. “There are many benefits to having the number three hi-tech industry in the world next door. Opportunities for knowledge transfer, mentoring, guidance and access to networks will be available to companies we invest in should they choose to take advantage of it,” he said.

The venture capitalists want to invest in two to three companies per year at a rate of $2 to $3 million per investment over the lifetime of the fund, which will be 10 years. It may look a small sum by international standards, but it will help in providing opportunity to

have “a social impact, creating high-value added jobs and creating a sector in this economy that is sustainable,” Nashef said.

Palestinian entrepreneurs today are developing all kinds of innovative products such as Twitter-style social media platforms and voicedelivered online advertisements, he added.

But some Palestinians complain that Israeli control of the airwaves in the occupied Palestinian territories is hobbling development. They demand that Israel give Palestinians access to 3G and WiMax, an advanced wireless broadband standard. “There are definitely limitations and the entrepreneurs who are launching start-ups in Palestine will likely have to deal with them,” Nashef said. “But we believe that these

limitation are not going to be an insurmountable obstacle.” The fundamentals for opportunities and doing business remain strong despite the political instability, he said.

“That has made us much more adaptable, much better and much more shrewd businessmen, able to survive under volatile conditions,” he added, drawing on a cigarette. The father of four believes that what made him resettle in the West Bank, other than business motives, was the belief that Palestinians had a huge opportunity to make a big contribution in an area that he understood. “Being able to contribute something to my people, and my country (is) really what kept me going and what kept me here.” —Reuters

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bourse ends on mixed note GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT

MIDEAST MARKET REPORT

KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) closed yesterday’s session on mixed note. It is the third session in a row that the market indices are seen moving within a narrow range. Investors were seen concentrating on medium and small cap stocks during the session. Global Small Cap Index (Low 10) closed the day up by 2.12 percent. While heavy weights sectors almost balanced their overall performance as they saw counter directions. The eyes were away from trading monitors and was focusing on the lawmakers fought with fists in Kuwait’s parliament yesterday during a heated debate over inmates in the US Guantanamo detention center, amid rising sectarian tension in the Gulf state.

Market indices Global General Index (GGI), market weighted, ended the day up by 0.12 percent, at 200.55 point.

Market capitalization was up for the day at KD32.89 billion. On the other hand, KSE Price Index closed at 6,491 point, shedding 4.60 points (0.07 percent) to its previous close.

Market breadth Market breadth was skewed towards decliners as out of 103 shares traded this session, 36 shares declined against only 32 advancing.

Daily trading activity Trading activity was up this session. The trades conducted in the real estate sector. Total volume traded was up by 29.52 percent with 191.37 million shares changing hands at a total value of KD22.92 million (12.28 percent higher compared to the day before). The real estate sector was the volume leader yesterday, accounting for 37.18 percent of total shares. The services sector was

Property stocks lift Dubai, Tamweel surges

the value leader, with 32.53 percent of total traded value. Boubyan Petrochemical Company was the most active in terms of values of shares traded during yesterday’s session, with 6.47 shares exchanged at an aggregate value of KWD3.69 million.

Top gainers and biggest decliners In terms of top gainers, Pearl of Kuwait Real Estate Company took the top spot for the day, adding 13.16 percent and closed at KD0.022. On the other hand, Eyas Higher & Technical Education Company shed 6.25 percent and closed at KWD0.300, making it the biggest decliner in the market.

Sectors wise On a sector-by-sector basis, 5 out of the 8 sectors managed to notch some gains. Services sector topped the gainer’s list for the day,

adding 0.95 percent. The sector’s prominent gainer was heavy weight Zain stock, which closed at KD1.080, up by 1.89 percent.

Industrial sector followed, rising by 0.32 percent, also backed by the sector’s heavyweight scrip, National Industries Group (Holding), which soared by 3.77 percent to reach KD0.275. On the other hand, banking sector was the prominent loser for the session as its index shed 0.38 percent from its value, backed by National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), which was the sole decliner in the sector. The scrip closed down by 1.61 percent to reach KD1.220.

Corporate news Kuwait’s broad measure of money supply (M2) remained almost stagnant in March 2011, following last month’s significant increase of 6.3 percent or KD1.61 billion, to record a marginal increase of

around 0.1 percent or KD28.4 million and stand at KD27 billion.

The increase in M2 during the month was mainly driven by an increase of KD123 million in KWD sight deposits, or 2.3 percent to stand at KD5.5 billion by the end of March 2011; despite a drop in currency in circulation of KWD89.6 million over the period. Net Foreign Assets (NFA). The Central Bank saw a decrease of KD24.3 million; while on the other hand, Net Domestic Assets (NDA) increased

by KD298 million on the back of the increase in government deposits and other accounts by around KD74 million and KWD241.4 million, respectively.

Oil news The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $106.60 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $107.79 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

DUBAI: Most Gulf Arab markets fell yesterday as Oman’s bourse hit a 17-month low on low investor demand, while Egypt’s market ended a seven-day rally on concerns over company earnings. In a ninth straight loss, Oman’s index fell 1.4 percent to its lowest close since Dec 10, 2009 on muted buying interest after lower-than-expected earnings.

“We expect to face a strong support at 5,965 points-this level depends on the movement of the index within the next week,” said Osama Ibrahim Al-Qinna, head of brokerage at Oman Arab Bank.

Yet the market will find it difficult to stay above 6,000 point, he added. Bellwether Bank Muscat fell 1.4 percent and Bank Dhofar dropped 4.5 percent. Egypt’s bourse ended a seven-day winning streak, with traders saying recent gains were beginning to look overdone given the murky outlook for corporate earnings in post-revolution Egypt. The benchmark index fell 0.3 percent, having risen by around 3 percent over the past two weeks.

“Today we are having the earnings releases of Orascom Telecom and some other companies are showing a negative performance during the first quarter. The market is reacting to that,” said Nader Khedr, an investment analyst. Orascom Telecom fell 1.7 percent before its first-quarter figures due out later yesterday. The company said it would not pay a dividend for 2010 due to a lack of cashflow from several foreign businesses.

Dubai mortgage lender Tamweel surged 8.3 percent to its highest close since resuming trade after a 30-month hiatus. Most shareholders who held the stock during its suspension have now sold to other investors, said Marwan Shurrab, vice-president at Gulfmena Alternative Investments. “The company returned to profitability, its financial situation is not troubling at the moment and it has the support of the government,” Shurrab said.

Dubai’s index ended 0.7 percent higher, rising for a second day since Monday’s fiveweek low. Volumes were concentrated in property stocks. Emaar Properties and Union Properties gained 1.3 and 4.6 percent respectively. Saudi Arabia’s index rose for a second day after the finance minister said

the budget would be overspent by 15 percent in 2011 due to higher spending on housing and job-creation.

Worried by unrest sweeping the Arab world, the world’s top oil exporter has pledged to spend an estimated $130 billion, or around 30 percent of its annual economic output, on housing, jobs, unemployment benefits and other measures. “The government will probably end up spending more than what they said,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi in Riyadh.

The announcement is boosting expectations for corporate results, he added. The building and construction index rose 0.7 percent and the main benchmark gained 0.5 percent.

YESTERDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS Oman The measure fell 1.4 percent to 6,033 points.

Egypt The measure slipped 0.3 percent to 5,188 points.

Dubai The index rose 0.7 percent to 1,590 points.

Saudi Arabia The benchmark gained 0.5 percent to 6,686 points.

Abu Dhabi The index climbed 0.3 percent to 2,660 points.

Qatar The benchmark eased 0.1 percent to 8,616 points.

Kuwait The index edged down 0.07 percent to 6,491 points.

Bahrain The measure slid 0.2 percent to 1,375 points. — Reuters

Libya keeps Qatar’s ambitions in check LONDON/DOHA: Qatar is more likely to buy a small stake in Britain’s Centrica than make a bid for the gas utility, in line with other recent investments by the world’s largest gas exporter, banking sources say.

But the Gulf emirate may be in no hurry to do so as Qatar’s leaders are more focused on sorting out the crisis in Libya, a source close to the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) said. “Not that they (QIA) aren’t looking at opportunities, but the top priority now is resolving the conflict,” the source said. “They have passed on a few items over the past few months.”

Centrica shares gained nearly five percent last week following rumors that the (QIA) was interested in buy-

ing a stake or even bidding for the British Gas owner. That speculation gave a welcome lift to shares in Centrica, Britain’s biggest household energy supplier, which have shed 4 percent since the start of the year, underperforming a 4 percent rise in the FTSE 350 utilities index.

The possibility of a complete QIA buyout of Centrica is remote, analysts and banking sources say, while even a small stake purchase is unlikely in the near future. “ There is a small number of senior decision makers in the country, with most of the top decisions coming from the Emir himself and the Prime Minister,” the source said. “Right now, they are completely focused on bringing resolution to Libya.” Earlier this month a

coalition, including Qatar, agreed to set up a fund to help Libyan rebels, handing them a lifeline potentially worth billions.

A Qatari investment in a utility like Centrica would not be a first. In March, Qatar Holding bought 6.16 percent of Iberdrola SA for 2.2 billion euros, a deal it was able to complete despite the Libya distraction. “In general, utilities make sense for QIA in that they’re low-risk,” said one Dohabased banking source. “There’s no doubt that they have the capacity, as well as the appetite.”

The emirate already has a relationship with Centrica, which in February signed its first long-term contract to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar. Investec analyst Angelos

BENGHAZI: A signboard with the Benghazi to Tripoli fast train that Gaddafi promised to build years ago, among many projects that never came to pass in Libya, is seen yesterday. — AP

Anastasiou said he thought the three-year contract was “just the start,” and could be extended into a longer-term arrangement over the next few months. “ The initial deal made sense, extending it (will) make sense, and ultimately Qatar cementing the deal by buying a 1 percent to 4 percent stake would also make sense,” he said.

Analysts say Qatar could become a passive investor in Centrica, like Malaysia’s state-run Petronas, which holds a 3.86 percent stake and is among the top three shareholders in the company, according to Thomson Reuters data. Invesco Asset Management, with a 5 percent stake, is the top Centrica shareholder.

“If they were to take a stake, they will probably buy in the market,” Investec’s Anastasiou said. Execution Noble analyst Lawson Steele agreed that QIA would be more likely to take a small stake. “Qatar is building a lot of LNG capacity and need a destination for that,” Steele said. “Centrica have a huge gas customer base and need to buy a lot of it...It is just marrying a producer and a buyer of gas.”

Such a deal would be timely.

Following a surprise tax increase in the UK budget, Centrica said it will shut down two UK gas fields for a month of maintenance and may keep another shut depending on wholesale gas prices.

“They have to replenish those assets,” Steele said. “They can either buy them in the market, or enter into a long-term contract. I think they will do both, but it would make sense to have a contract with one of the largest suppliers of gas.”

Qatargas is Britain’s biggest LNG supplier, and the contract to supply Britain’s biggest energy retailer boosted the small Middle Eastern country’s share in Europe’s biggest gas market. — Reuters

LAGOS: Stephen Jennings, CEO, Renaissance Capital, an emerging markets investment bank, speaks during a press conference at the second annual Pan-African Investor Conference hosted by Renaissance Capital yesterday. — AP

Africa ready to be next investment destination LAGOS: Resource-rich Africa is set to be the world’s next hot investment destination thanks to an array of reforms being undertaken in many previously troubled countries, a former Nigerian leader said yesterday.

Olusegun Obasanjo, in office in Nigeria for eight years until 2007, said that after many years of stagnation, the continent’s economies saw a sharp growth in the past decade. Real GDP increased by 5.2 percent annually, compared with 2.3 percent in the 1990s. “Thus with political and social issues properly settled and put behind us, Africa is all set to become the next big investment destination,” Obasanjo told an international investment conference here.

“Africa’s growth story is not only about its natural resources, but about reforms, including restructuring of regulatory frameworks, and policy amendments that have brought a fundamental change in the business environment, earning Africa a permanent place on every major investor’s map,” said Obasanjo.

Many governments still have a long way to go in terms of reforms, Obasanjo acknowledged, but said that the important steps taken so far have spurred growth and attracted foreign investment.

Africa’s collective GDP, at $1.7 trillion in 2010, is now roughly equal to that of Brazil or Russia, he said. Obasanjo, said Africa’s overall growth over the next five years is expected to be around eight percent-almost double that of some advanced economies which are forecast to record around four percent. The world’s average is expected to be six percent.

“Even when we compare this growth with the growth likely to be witnessed in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries, Africa overshadows Brazil which stands at 6.5percent and is soon catching up with the rest of the giants who average around 11 percent,” he said. Obasanjo said Africa’s economic pulse had quickened, infusing the continent with a new commercial vibrancy and many key sectors as banking, construction and telecommunications were trending upward.

“The resurgence has come about in spite of the fact that most African countries are still facing serious challenges such as poverty, disease and high infant and maternal mortality,” he said. The three-day conference was organized by emerging markets investment bank Renaissance Capital, which operates in eastern and central Europe, central Asia and Africa. — AFP

Guinea reforms, disputes risk scaring miners DAKAR/CONAKRY: Reforms by Guinea’s first freely elected government are needed to clean up a mining sector in disarray after decades of political turmoil, but they risk scaring off investors if they go too far too fast. The world’s top bauxite supplier and a new frontier for iron ore, Guinea is rewriting its mining code, probing joint venture deals, and has dealt tough blows to major firms since the election of President Alpha Conde last November. The poll in the country that depends on mining for 70 percent of revenues was heralded as its first free vote since independence from France in 1958, ending nearly two years of military rule and decades of authoritarian leadership.

“From one perspective, the government of Guinea is trying to clean up the books, which makes sense because Guinea is a

country rich in resources but has not benefitted from them at all,” said Samir Gadio, analyst at Standard Bank. “But from a perception standpoint, it is a bit tricky. (These moves) might create a negative perception among investors, and Conde’s government needs to take into account this tradeoff,” he said. Conde’s government is drafting amendments to the mining code, the first changes since 1995, that include rules boosting state share in the industry to as high as a 35 percent and toughening up requirements for winning concessions.

An executive at one international firm operating in Guinea called the proposed changes “a step backward” and warned they could trim future investment after they are signed into law in the coming months. But other industry players have said the new

mining code could improve transparency on local terms of doing business, making it easier to judge investment options.

“It is the sovereign right of every state to define the rules of the game,” said Mamoudou Diallo, president of the Guinean Chamber of Mines and also director of Guinean gold miner SEMAFO. “All we are asking for is that the rules are transparent and widely published from the start.” Top global mining firms Rio Tinto, Vale, and RUSAL are among Guinea’s biggest investors.

The mining reforms come alongside reviews of Guinea’s recent joint venture deals-which include those between Rio and Chinalco, and Vale and BSGR for development of the Simandou iron ore deposit-and follow the scrapping of big contracts with

two international firms. Conde in March cancelled a deal with France’s Getma International for the management of a container port in the capital Conakry, and handed the multi-million dollar deal to port group Bollore. Getma has said it is seeking international arbitration, and has also filed corruption charges.

In April Conde also suspended an agreement with Vale to upgrade a 640-km railway, and this month the country briefly seized the local assets of telecoms firm MTN over a license fee dispute. “I think all these moves are supposed to help things somehow. But instead they are bringing chaos into the system,” said Sebastian Spio-Garbrah, analyst at DaMina Advisors. “To a degree these developments could hamper investment. There are so many investigations and so many

reform plans that investors may take a wait and see approach.” Another big mining country, Democratic Republic of Congo, launched its own mining review in 2007 on the back of an election and high commodities prices, deeply undermining business confidence in the country.

In a sign of more squabbles to come, a Guinea mines ministry official told Reuters last month that it was “moving toward a showdown” with Russian firm RUSAL, a company already facing allegations it paid too little for its Friguia alumina refinery and that it underpaid on taxes. Rio said in April that it had agreed to pay Guinea $700 million to secure rights to blocks 3 and 4 of the Simandou iron ore project, which it believes is one of the world’s biggest unexploited reserves. — Reuters

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New HK commodity exchange to give Asia bigger role HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s new commodity exchange backed by China’s biggest bank and a Russian tycoon began trading yesterday as the Asian city attempts to challenge established markets in Europe and the US Exchange officials said that Asian countries, especially China and India, have been driving demand for global commodities and the new exchange is aimed at helping traders in the region have a bigger say in setting prices. Trading of gold and other major commodities has traditionally been dominated by exchanges in Chicago, New York and London.

The only product available to trade so far on the Hong Kong Mercantile

Exchange is a futures contract for one kilogram of gold with physical delivery in Hong Kong. Some 3,415 contracts worth $163.3 million were traded by late afternoon. A silver contract will start trading in July. To capitalize on growing investor demand for China’s gradually strengthening currenc y, a yuan- denominated gold futures contract will launch in the autumn. Other products involving precious and base metals, agriculture, energy and commodity indexes are also in the pipeline.

Shareholders in the exchange include Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the country’s biggest state-owned commercial lender, and

Cosco Group, a state-owned shipping company. EN+ Group, a mining and energy group controlled by Russian tycoon Oleg Deripask a, is also a shareholder. Hong Kong’s attempt to wrest the commodities trading crown from the West follows one by Singapore last year. The Singapore Mercantile Exchange opened for business in August billing itself as a ‘new-generation’ market poised to ride a ‘new world economic order’ led

by Asian growth. The Singapore market trades about 1,000 contracts for gold, silver, copper, crude oil and currency futures worth $30 million to $50 million daily but so far has made little impact globally. Its trading vol-

umes are dwarfed by CME Group, which operates futures markets in New York and Chicago that traded an average of 230,000 gold contracts a day in April.

Thousands of different types of commodity, currenc y and equity index futures are traded on CME’s markets, which had an average daily turnover of 12.1 million contracts in April. The Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange is betting that it will benefit from its proximity to mainland China to drive trading volume. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China with its own financial system. ‘With our strategic location in Hong Kong, HKMEx is ideally posi-

tioned to facilitate trading in commodities between China and the rest of the world,’ said exchange president Albert Helmig.

Markets in the Chinese cities of Shanghai, Dalian and Zhengzhou trade high volumes of commodities including gold, fuel oil, rubber and industrial metals. However, those markets are off-limits to foreign traders and therefore don’t play any role in setting global prices. The new exchange’s 15-hours trading day will overlap with US and European trading hours, which exchange officials say will encourage cross-continent trading and boost liquidity. — AP

Migrants part of solution to ageing crisis: Experts Foreigners boost tax revenue, fill labor gaps

JAMMU: Indians shout slogans against the central government during a protest against the recent fuel price hike. State-owned oil companies hiked the price of petrol by rupees 5 ($0.11) per liter. —AP

India not getting ‘bang for rupee’ from poverty plans NEW DELHI: India’s key social development programs, which have formed the core election promises of the ruling Congress party at a cost of over 2 percent of its GDP, are failing to effectively tackle widespread poverty, a World Bank report said yesterday. The government’s schemes to distribute food and guarantee work in rural areas suffer from poor implementation, red tape and corruption, the report said, common ailments that worry investors in Asia’s third-largest economy. Congress has trumpeted costly welfare schemes to lift hundreds of millions of Indians out of poverty and share the spoils of years of economic boom, propelling it to two successive victories in federal elections.

Though home to 69 billionaires, the countr y has more people living in poverty than the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. While the Bank commended specific innovations and the impact of schemes in some states, it warned that welfare schemes were yet to make significant progress in helping up to 500 million people living below the poverty line in India. “While India devotes over 2 percent of GDP to her social protection programs... the poor are not able to reap the full benefits of such large investments,” the report stated.

“India is not getting the ‘bang for the rupee’ that its significant expenditure would seem to warrant.” Costly social

sector spending will likely make it difficult for the government to meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.6 percent of GDP in the fiscal year ending March 2012. A decade of booming economic growth has pulled millions of Indians out of poverty, but its failure to provide for its 1.2 billion population means it lags other developing nations, such as China, in key development indicators.

The programs assessed by the report have been praised for driving growth in rural areas, which rely heavily on agriculture and were largely bypassed by the mostly urban-centric economic boom that has swollen the middle class.

The impact of India’s Public Distribution System, which spends up to 1 percent of GDP on providing food to the poor, is limited, with leakage and diversion of stocks through corruption resulting in only 41 percent of grains reaching poor households.The Congress party-led coalition’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREG), to provide poor households with work, is undermined by payment delays and administration errors, and fails to promote social mobility. “Studies suggest the ability of MGNREG to be promotional has started but has not reached its potential,” said John Blomquist, the report’s author. “For the most part, it has been much more of a reactionary program for existing poverty, and has a way to go.” — Reuters

Rosneft receives new offers from BP MOSCOW: Russia’s state-run oil firm Rosneft said yesterday it had received new cooperation proposals from BP after their joint Arctic exploration agreement collapsed this week. The Russian giant did not give details nor make clear whether they included a potential new Arctic agreement covering joint exploration of Russia’s northern reserves. The statement said the offers were made as the sides tried to negotiate a way out of a dispute between BP and its TNK-BP Russian joint venture which scuppered the $16 billion deal. “As a result of the negotiations... Rosneft has received proposals going outside the framework of previously concluded agreements,” the Rosneft statement said. Rosneft said these offers’ discussion did not require the company to extend the Monday deadline of the original agreement.

“These proposals make it possible to discuss further cooperation outside the framework of the already lapsed agreement,” Russia’s biggest oil producer said. The tie-up’s collapse left Rosneft without a partner who could provide it with the equipment and technological

know-how to tap the remote fields and then deliver their oil to market. BP had for its part been hoping to use the three Kara Sea fields to fuel a recovery from the hit to its image and finance dealt by the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The British company and its local partners issued a statement on Tuesday that stressed their commitment to Russia and Rosneft.

The two sides “see significant advantages in continuing to deepen this dialogue and cooperation with Rosneft,” the statement said. Rosneft board member Andrei Kostin said Tuesday the company had been happy with BP as a partner and was willing to work with it again. But Rosneft’s statement from yesterday said the firm would specifically address the issue of joint Arctic exploration at a later date. “Rosneft will disclose (the details) of its Arctic shelf field development program in the nearest future,” the Rosneft statement said.

Analysts have identified the US multinationals ExxonMobil and Chevron along with the Anglo-Dutch firm Royal Dutch Shell as the front runners in joint Arctic projects. — AFP

LONDON: Rich nations need migrant workers to provide and care for their rapidly ageing populations, experts said this week, challenging a wave of hostility towards new arrivals driven by the impact of the economic downturn. Immigration was a recurring theme of a two-day conference at London’s Chatham House on managing graying economies, with speakers from the United States, Europe and Japan all in favor, despite the social tensions it can cause.

In Europe, for one, antipathy towards foreign workers and asylum seekers has grown in the last few years because of their perceived pressure on scarce jobs and public services. An influx of immigrants from north Africa this year triggered by upheavals in the region has added to the tension and prompted plans to temporarily restore border controls, eliminated between most EU states under the Schengen treaty.

The experts said turning away young migrants would be short-sighted as their taxes support an increasing number of pensioners in developed countries who are living longer. “You take young migrants who were educated abroad and they are generally net contributors to public finances,” said Philippe Legrain, a senior policy analyst at the European Union’s executive arm. Fertility rates in the European Union remain too low to secure future pensions for all EU citizens, a European Commission demographics report showed last month.

Such trends, combined with record budget deficits, have already forced governments across Europe to raise retirement ages despite widespread protests, and many countries, including the United States, are eyeing pension reforms. Without such reforms, by 2060 the number of people in work for every retired person in the EU is expected to drop from the current level of four to just two, a 2010 report by the European Commission found. “(A) priority is attracting more migrant workers to improve the dependency ratio, help provide social services and boost economic growth,” Legrain told the conference,

entitled “Transforming ageing economies”.

Other speakers echoed that view, although some observers impact on economic growth was negligible. The arrival of migrants from 10 eastern European countries which joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 has boosted Britain’s output by only 0.95 percent, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, a think-tank, estimated earlier this month.

But Legrain, the author of “Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them”, said demand for migrants would grow because many of them work in health and social care. “The fastestgrowing area of job growth in Europe is not in high tech but in care for the elderly,” he said.

Laszlo Andor, a member of the European Commission, said migrants from outside the EU accounted for the bulk of population growth in the bloc.

“Migration remains an important source to rejuvenate the age profile of the European work force and can help bridge anticipated

overall labour shortages in the long run,” he said. The European Union was expected to lack between 384,000 and 700,000 IT workers by 2015 and between 1 million and 2 million health professionals by 2020. “It is highly unlikely that all these resources would be found within the union,” Andor said.

Nicholas Eberstadt, a political economy researcher at the American Enterprise Institute, noted immigration brought with it difficulties, such as problems integrating into host societies. “Immigration can be part of the solution but I think a rather limited part of the solution,” he told the conference. Legrain noted that migrants’ contribution might be limited at first but said it grew over time, citing the examples of Google, EBay, Tesco, EasyJet and Marks and Spencer which were all founded by immigrants or their children. Referring to the co-founder of Google, he asked: “How many Sergey Brins does Europe turn away and at what cost?” — Reuters

CHICAGO: Rich Accordino (left) and Juan Perez-Wheeler remove a sign with the old Continental Airlines logo to reveal the new United Airlines logo featuring Continental’s blue globe at a ticket counter at O’Hare International Airport, Tuesday, May 17, 2011. In addition to changing the signage at O’Hare Airport, the merging airlines will combine check-in kiosks at 83 airports allowing travelers to check in for flights on either airline. — AP

China hit by power crunch amid drought BEIJING: Chinese factories are facing curbs on electricity use as coal prices soar and a severe drought hits hydropower plants, state media have said, with possible major shortages ahead this summer. The situation has highlighted the difficulties faced by China, the world’s largest energy consumer, as global fuel prices climb and the country battles soaring inflation. Businesses in coastal areas and some inland provinces have grappled with power cuts and full blackouts since March due to surging demand and a drop in hydroelectric output, the China Daily said.

The shortage-the worst since 2004 — is likely to get worse in the summer when demand peaks, with coastal Jiangsu, an export powerhouse neighboring Shanghai, the hardest hit, it said. Power supplies could be as much as 16 percent lower than the province needs, it said. The drought plaguing central China for months has left more than one million people without proper drinking water and crimped output of hydroelectric power, China’s second-biggest energy source, previous media reports said.

Since Sunday, water levels at nearly 1,400 reservoirs in Hubei province have fallen below the operational level, the China Daily said yesterday, citing government figures. Even water levels at the Three Gorges Dam-the world’s largest hydropower project-have dropped below the level needed for full power generation, it added. Many factories in Zhejiang province on the east coast have already been forced to suspend production every three days to conserve energy. Similar measures were enforced in the central province of Hunan and other areas, the newspaper said. State media said yesterday that the central government planned to raise prices paid by utility companies for electricity in several affected provinces in a bid to boost the flagging bottom lines of power producers. Consumer prices will remain unchanged for now. Power authorities in Shanghai have also decided to impose elec-

tricity rationing at the production site of Baosteel Group Corp, China’s largest steelmaker, between June and September, it said.

Analysts also attributed the power crunch to surging coal prices, which have discouraged thermal power producers from increasing output since utility prices are kept low by the government, which is struggling to curb rising consumer costs. The drought in central provinces may further fan inflationary pressures, as grain and fish output in those areas are expected to decrease significantly, they said, according to Chinese media reports.

China’s consumer price index, which is a key gauge of inflation, rose 5.3 percent on year in April-a slight easing from a 32-month high of

5.4 percent in March but well above Beijing’s four percent target for 2011. The government, ever wary of surging inflation’s potential to trigger social unrest, has taken a series of measures to rein in soaring prices, including a ban on diesel exports to keep fuel costs in check.

Meanwhile, more Chinese cities saw the cost of new homes increase in April compared with a month before, official data showed yesterday, as the government continues its fight to rein in property prices. The National Bureau of Statistics data, which came after authorities last week moved to further limit bank lending, showed the price of new builds rose in 56 of the 70 major cities tracked. —Agencies

HUANGPI: A Chinese farmer walks along his dried up field. The drought plaguing central China for months has left more than one million people without proper drinking water and crimped output of hydroelectric power, China’s second-biggest energy source, as water levels at nearly 1,400 reservoirs in Hubei province have fallen below the operational level, according to government figures. — AFP

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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

Years

business

IMF issues stark warning to Greece on fiscal goals ECB officials reject idea of ‘soft restructuring’

ILLINOIS: In this photo, construction worker Mike Hopkins begins work on building a new residential home. Construction of new homes plummeted last month, another troubling sign for the battered housing market. — AP

US homebuilders missing out on economic recovery WASHINGTON: For homebuilders, it hardly feels like an economic recovery. Nearly two years after the recession ended, the pace of construction is inching along at less than half the level considered healthy. Singlefamily home building, the bulk of the market, has dropped 11 percent in that time.

And there’s no sign it will improve soon.

Builders are struggling to compete with waves of foreclosures that have forced down prices for previously occupied homes. The weakness is weighing on the economy. Though new homes represent a small portion of overall sales, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Fewer new homes mean fewer jobs.

Skip Howes, a homebuilder in Woodland Park, Colorado, has managed to stay in business only after laying off two workers in the past few years. He’s now running a two-man operation in the small town outside of Colorado Springs. The other man is his son.

But business isn’t picking up. Before the housing boom, he built as many as six homes a year. Last year, he built only one.

This year, he’s had no home projects. “We’ve been holding on for years,” Howes said. “If I can’t diversify, and if things don’t improve, I might have to lay off my son.” The Commerce Department said Tuesday that new-home construction plummeted last month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 523,000 homes a year. A big drop in volatile apartment-building construction pulled down the monthly figures. Tornadoes and flooding also disrupted construction projects throughout the South.

If the pace doesn’t improve, this year could end up with fewer new homes than last year and only slightly more than 2009 the two worst years on records dating back a half-century. Those two years benefited from a temporary home-buying tax credit.

Tuesday’s disappointing construction data contributed to a sell-off on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average fell by more than 150 points before recovering more half of its losses to end the day down 68 points. Nearly every major homebuilder stock dropped. Stocks also traded lower after Hewlett Packard downgraded its earnings outlook for the rest of the year, and the Federal Reserve said temporary parts shortages out of Japan led to the first decline in factory output in 10 months. Higher commodity prices have increased the cost of nearly every building material, from lumber to roofing tiles to windows.

The nation’s largest homebuilders including PulteGroup, Lennar, D R Horton and KB Home - have deeper pockets. So they have survived the turbulent stretch by cutting prices and offering more incentives.

Small and mid-sized homebuilders haven’t been as fortunate. Many small builders are staying in business either by working on a few choice properties or focusing on remodeling and renovation projects.

“Everybody is feeling the pinch,” said Greg Ugalde, a midsize homebuilder in Torrington, Connecticut, who is building a third of the homes he built in years before

2003, when the housing boom began.

High unemployment and stricter lending requirement have greatly reduced the number of potential buyers who could qualify for a mortgage. And those who are eligible have more incentive to buy a previously occupied home. Millions of foreclosures and short sales - when the lender agrees to accept less than what is owed on the mortgage - have lowered prices for existing homes. The median price of a new home was about 34 percent higher in March than the median price for a re-sale.

That’s more than twice the markup in healthy housing markets. In some cities, prices are half of what they were before the housing market collapsed in 2006 and 2007. Many potential buyers who could qualify for loans are worried that prices will fall further. Others are hesitant to put their own homes on the market when prices are dropping. “There are very few signs of recovery in residential construction,” said Celia Chen, senior director at Moody’s Analytics. “Absent evidence of stronger demand for housing, homebuilders will remain reticent to put up new homes.”

Single-family home construction, which represents 80 percent of the housing market, has helped lead the country out of past recessions. Each new home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

After the six economic downturns between 1960 and 2001, construction jumped an average of 35 percent in the first 22 months, according to Credit Suisse Securities. But that hasn’t been the case since the Great Recession ended in June 2009. Single-family building actually fell 11 percent in that time. Some factors are unpredictable. Violent tornados and flooding along the Mississippi River contributed to a 23 percent drop in building throughout the South, analysts said. Reconstruction efforts might lead to a “bounce back in May,” according to Paul Dales, senior US economist at Capital Economics.

Home Depot and Lowe’s Cos, the nation’s biggest home improvement retailers, both blamed bad weather when reporting lower revenue for the February-April quarter. The worsening housing market and higher gas prices also cut into their sales.

Home construction activity was uneven last month across the rest of the country. It fell nearly 5 percent in the Northeast but rose almost 4 percent in the West and nearly 16 percent in the Midwest. Most builders say they don’t expect a housing recovery until they see fewer homes in foreclosure and looser credit requirements. In the meantime, Howes, the Colorado homebuilder, said he’s broadened his services to include painting, kitchen remodeling and other home improvements to stay in business.

Many others are doing the same. “We need to diversify in order to survive,” Howes said.

“It’s not like it used to be and we need to try new things.” — AP

ATHENS: The IMF warned yesterday that Greece’s drive to shore up its troubled finances would fail unless it sharply accelerated reforms, and the ECB hit back at suggestions a debt restructuring might be the solution. European finance ministers broke a taboo this week and acknowledged for the first time that some form of restructuring might be required to ease Greece’s debt burden, which at 150 percent of annual output is among the highest in the world. They have said they could ask private creditors to agree to a voluntary extension of the maturities on their Greek debt but have also made clear that the priority is to ensure an acceleration of Greek reforms.

“The program will not remain on track without a determined reinvigoration of structural reforms in the coming months,” Poul Thomsen, an IMF envoy who is monitoring Greek economic progress, told a conference in Athens yesterday. “Unless we see this invigoration, I think the program will run off track,” he said, in one of the strongest warnings to Greece since it sealed the rescue one year ago. Prime Minister George Papandreou’s government has struggled to rein in rampant tax dodging and is under acute pressure to begin selling off state assets to help Greece meet fiscal targets tied to last year’s 110 billion euro EU/IMF bailout.

Under its rescue terms, Athens is charged with reducing its budget deficit to 7.6 percent of GDP this year. Thomsen said that without further measures Athens would not be able to get it much below 10 percent. The euro struggled to hold onto gains against the dollar and the cost of insuring Greek debt against default rose yesterday amid ongoing talk of a restructuring. Euro zone ministers have not spelled out how what they refer to as a “reprofiling” of Greek debt would work. Convincing private holders of Greek bonds to voluntarily accept later repayment could be difficult and require costly guarantees to avoid a hit to banks. Such a move would buy Greece more time but not reduce its overall debt burden.

Many economists believe it would be followed by a more aggressive restructuring involving “haircuts”, or forced losses, of 50 percent or more from 2013, when policymakers have said they could opt for radical steps.

The European Central Bank, which holds up to 50 billion euros in Greek sovereign bonds on its own books, has warned that even a “soft restructuring” would put the stability of the euro zone at risk, reiterating that message yesterday. “I’m opposed to soft restructuring because I don’t know what it means. Nobody knows what it means,” Lorenzo Bini-Smaghi, a member of the bank’s executive board, said in Milan. Speaking in

ATHENS: Greece’s Prime Minister George Papandreou speaks during an Economist conference in Lagonissi. — AP

Athens at the same conference as Thomsen, ECB board member Juergen Stark warned policymakers against pursuing any form of restructuring, saying it was an “illusion” to think such a move would resolve Greece’s problems.

ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio warned of “enormous consequences” from a restructuring and said it should only be done as a last resort. European politicians, however, are under pressure from angry taxpayers to broaden out the burden of their bailouts to include the banks that have bought up Greek debt in recent years. But they have pledged not to force any losses on private holders of Greek debt before 2013, when a new anti-crisis facility-the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) — is due to take effect.

Before that, any burden-sharing must be done on a voluntary basis, they have said. Euro zone countries, together with the IMF, bailed out Greece and Ireland last year, and approved a new 78 billion euro rescue for Portugal on Monday. “During the crisis, it was almost exclusively European taxpayers that ultimately bore the risk of investors’ decisions. That is inadmissible,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a speech in Brussels. “It was right to stop financial markets from disintegrating in the past but it would be wrong to cushion their losses in the future,” he added.

Because Greece is not expected to be able to return to the capital markets next year, as envisioned under its 2010 aid package, it faces a 27 billion euro funding gap next year.

This could be filled by additional money from the EU and IMF, stronger Greek privatization revenues and/or through some form of debt relief-either looser terms on the EU’s loans or maturity extensions for private creditors. Jean-Claude Juncker, who this week became the first euro zone official to openly acknowledge some form of restructuring might be needed, told Austrian radio yesterday that if Greece needed relief the bloc would need to act.

“I f all this happens we will have to address the issue of whether a light restructuring of Greek debt could be pursued in which maturities are lengthened, with respect to debt servicing, and interest rate levels (on EU loans are reduced),” he said.

“Greece must not be allowed to become a black hole.” But European governments do not appear to be united behind the idea of a restructuring, no matter how soft it is.

Greece’s Papandreou said late on Tuesday that the costs of a restructuring would “far outweigh any potential benefits” and vowed to launch a “full fledged attack” against tax evasion to meet the terms of the country’s rescue package. — Reuters

Surprise plunge in UK jobless rate to 7.7% LONDON: Britain’s unemployment rate dipped slightly to 7.7 percent in the first three months of the year, official data showed yesterday, but officials said the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose in April and the number of female claimants reached the highest level since October 1996. The total claimant count rose by 12,400 since March to 1.47 million, the Office for National Statistics said. The number of women rose by 9,300 to 474,400, the 10th consecutive monthly rise.

The statistics agency said the increase in women claiming benefits was due in part to a change in benefit rules. The decrease in the unemployment rate surprised market analysts who were expecting no change from the 7.8 percent rate reported a month ago. Howard Archer, European economist at IHS Global Insight, said the rise in benefit claims was worrying because it was more up to date than the unemployment rate data. He expects unemployment to rise.

“We suspect that likely below-trend growth will mean that the private sector will be unable to fully compensate for the increasing job losses in the public sector” because of government spending cuts, Archer said.

Meanwhile, minutes released by the Bank of

England showed that there was no change in voting this month on the Monetary Policy Committee, which has held the base rate at an all-time low despite consumer price inflation rising to its current level of 4.5 percent.

Minutes of the May meeting released yesterday showed that three of the nine members again voted for a higher rate to curb consumer price inflation, now at an annual rate of 4.5 percent. Spencer Dale and Martin Weale backed a quarter-point rise and Andrew Sentance, in his final meeting as a member, again wanted a half-point increase. Ben Broadbent, senior economist at Goldman Sachs, is taking Sentance’s place on the MPC. The minutes say that the majority of the panel felt the upside and downside risks to the outlook for inflation in the medium term had not changed sufficiently to adjust policy.

They believe inflation is likely to fall back toward the 2 percent target in the medium term. The latest jobless data, which showed wages rising just 2.3 percent in the year to March, gave some support to that view.

“Earnings growth remains deeply negative in real terms and will continue to act as a major constraint on household spending,” said Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics. — AP

Spending cap new issue in California budget politics SAN FRANCISCO: Republican lawmakers in California may be enticed to step up budget talks with Governor Jerry Brown after his show of support for a spending cap. While unveiling his revised budget plan on Monday, the Democratic governor said he was willing to back a referendum on a cap along with tax increases he wants lawmakers to put to voters. Republicans in the legislature’s minority who have long pressed for a spending limit were caught off guard-and pleasantly so. They dislike Brown’s call for extending tax increases to help tackle the state’s gap but acknowledged his nod for a spending cap was a bold gesture to get budget talks back on track with only a few weeks to go before the start of the state’s next fiscal year, on July 1.

“The governor, I think, truly sees the big picture,” said Republican state Senator Bob Huff, who had been in on budget talks with Brown. “I don’t agree with all his conclusions, but he does have a comprehensive picture

of where we need to go.” Republican Assemblyman Martin Garrick, one of his chamber’s leading advocates for a spending cap, said Brown’s statement was “encouraging.” “The governor was taking a new position,” he said. “He previously did not seem enthusiastic.” It is uncertain how a cap would be structured. It could be tied to population growth and inflation, and revenue exceeding the limit could be used for a variety of purposes, although debt reduction appears to be an area of bipartisan agreement.

“Debt is on everybody’s mind,” said Jon Coupal, president of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association advocacy group. “Proposals to pay down debt are going to resonate.” A spending cap for the government of the most populous US state would go a long way to tackling its perennial budget shortfalls, a concern in the $2.9 trillion US municipal bond market since the state is its biggest debt issuer. A cap could also help bring down the “wall of debt” Brown detailed in his

revised plan and that some Republicans had discussed with him in talks over his initial budget proposal.

The wall’s bricks are made up of debt sold to investors and what Brown described as “budgetary borrowing,” which includes money taken from local governments and from deferring payments over the years to use for balancing the state’s books. Brown says such moves cost $37.5 billion. “Paying off the remainder of this budgetary borrowing should be the top priority of any new revenue received in coming years,” Brown’s new budget plan said. His spokesman for finance matters said lawmakers need not wait for an invitation to help craft a spending cap and plans for using revenue that exceeds it: “The door is open on this.”

Democrats do not like the idea of a spending cap but it could bring Brown closer to winning the Republican votes he needs for a referendum on extending tax increases expiring this year. How he propos-

es using excess revenue over a spending limit mirrors ideas aired by Republicans in earlier budget talks. Republicans have balked at supporting tax increase extensions, favoring deeper cuts to balance the state’s books. Under Brown’s budget, revenue from the higher taxes would help plug a $10 billion gap. A spending cap is not the only demand Republicans put to Brown, 73 and in his third term as governor after serving back-to-back terms in the 1970s and 1980s. They also wanted big changes to public pensions, a sensitive issue for Democrats. Still, a spending cap has long been an issue for Republicans, which Brown knows well since voters approved such a limit when he first held the governor’s office.

Voters would later weaken the cap, leading former Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to put one before voters in 2005. Unions opened wide their campaign war chests for that election, trouncing measures pushed by Schwarzenegger. — Reuters

LISBON: Portuguese broker looks at charts on screens in a trading room yesterday. — AP

Portugal raises 1bn euros LISBON: Portugal raised one billion euros ($1.42 billion) yesterday in its first bond sale since an EU-IMF 78-billion-euro debt rescue deal was finalized this week. The state public debt agency said the rate paid to buyers of the 2-month bills was 4.657 percent, compared with the 4.652 percent offered to investors in 3-month bills on May 4. The three-year EU-International Monetary Fund accord requires Lisbon to adopt harsh austerity measures so as to restore its public finances, bringing its budget deficit down to the EU limit of 3.0 percent of GDP in 2013. The deficit was equal to 9.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product last year. Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said on Tuesday that Portugal expected to pay an average interest rate of 5.1 percent on the 78-billion-euro bailout funds. A first installment of 18 billion euros was expected by the end of May or beginning of June, he added. European finance ministers on Monday backed the debt rescue on condition Lisbon embarks on a major privatization program. Portugal was the third struggling eurozone country to need a bailout after Greece and Ireland last year. — AFP

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

TECHNOLOGY

EMC takes Symmetrix Vmax higher into the cloud DUBAI: EMC Corporation yesterday continued its record-breaking pace of highend storage innovation with the addition of several new features for its Symmetrix VMAX family of storage systems that further accelerate customers’ journeys to cloud computing. This year EMC has introduced more than 50 new Symmetrix VMAX features, sparking rapid adoption by customers worldwide and high-end storage product revenue growth of 25% in the first quarter of 2011.

The new capabilities announced yesterday include: • Native Symmetrix VMAX support for Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), the emerging converged networking proto-

col that can serve as a single network backbone of a cloud computing infrastructure, making Symmetrix VMAX’s leading storage features available to more users at lower costs.

• Expanded capabilities for Federated Live Migration (FLM), the industry’s first and only built in array-based functionality for technology refreshes. With new suppor t for DMP (Dynamic Multipathing), FLM can be used in more environments - resulting in migrations with no application downtime and less time, planning, and resources than traditional methods.

• Increased security with new support for external servers using RSA(r) Data Protection Manager for the Symmetrix

VMAX D@RE (data-at-rest encryption).

External key management and previously announced built-in key management provide maximum flexibility for drivelevel data security. VMAX supports and incorporates the most comprehensive set of security technologies in the industry, resulting in totally secure multi-tenancy storage for cloud environments.

“Citi has worked with EMC as well as other vendors to provide secure, reliable, efficient and cost effective storage solutions for all its environments. In order to provide our customers with greater innovation, simplify our storage management and lower our costs, we agreed to collaborate with EMC on the design and implementation of innova-

tive automated storage tiering.”

Motti Finkelstein, Managing Director, Citigroup Global Engineering Head for Platforms and Storage.

“As PSA Peugeot CitroÎn expands its operations globally, our IT infrastructure must be able to scale performance and capacity to address that growth. A cloud infrastructure which could be based on Symmetrix VMAX and features like FAST VP will help us to provide the appropriate performance and availability service levels to applications used in the development, production and delivery of a broad range of vehicles and will allow us to meet customer expectations.”

Stephane Humber t, Storage Architect, PSA Peugeot CitroÎn

“As disaster recover y initiatives become increasingly important for IT organizations, IT professionals have turned to Riverbed to help them protect more data across larger distances while simultaneously reducing the costs associated with WAN infrastructure. Through advanced integrations between the Riverbed Optimization System (RiOS(r)) and EMC Symmetrix Remote Data Facility/Asynchronous (SRDF(r)/A), the combined solution delivers unprecedented levels of visibility and control.

And with the power of the all solid-state drive optimization architecture found in the Steelhead 7050 appliance, IT professionals are able to reap the highest levels of performance and cost savings.”

Sony defends response time to hacker breach Sony says it acted fast enough during crisis

SANTA CLARA: In this May 13, 2011 photo, a Dell computer and mouse are displayed at a Micro Center computer store in Santa Clara, California. — AP

Winklevosses taking Facebook case to court SAN FRANCISCO: Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are taking their beef against Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg to the US Supreme Court.

An attorney for the twin brothers said they will ask the top court in the nation to give them another shot at getting out of a deal they made, in a lawsuit charging that Zuckerberg stole their idea for the social network.

Attorney Jerome Falk Jr. said the Supreme Court is the next stop since the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday rejected a bid by the identical twin brothers to have a panel of 11 judges second guess a ruling made in April by a three-justice panel.

The three-judge panel said that litigation in the case “must come to an end” and threw out the bid by the Winklevosses to review the settlement.

Facebook said in a concise statement that it was pleased with the court’s decision. The Supreme Court, which is called upon when lower federal courts render conflicting decisions regarding points of law, would have the option of not hearing the matter.

An attorney for the twins has argued that Facebook held back information about the estimated value of the California-based social networking firm while reaching a $65 million dollar settlement with the brothers.

The twins inked a settlement two years ago that got them $20 million in cash and $45 million worth of stock valued at $36 per share.

The value of that yet-to-be-issued stock has skyrocketed along with

Facebook’s estimated market value, which was placed at $50 billion early this year.

The brothers challenged the settlement, which was supposed to be confidential, on the grounds that Zuckerberg suckered them during settlement talks by not revealing Facebook internally valued the stock at $9.

The lower figure would have resulted in the Winklevoss twins getting many more shares.

Facebook has said it was under no obligation to volunteer the stock option information during settlement negotiations and that the information was not intentionally withheld.

“The Winklevosses are not the first parties bested by a competitor who then seek to gain through litigation what they were unable to achieve in the marketplace,” the three-judge panel said in their ruling.

“With the help of a team of lawyers and a financial advisor, they made a deal that appears quite favorable in light of recent market activity.”

The Winklevosses claim they enlisted Zuckerberg to finish software code for their ConnectU social-networking website while they were all students at Harvard University in 2003.

Zuckerberg, a second year student at the time, took their code and their idea and launched Facebook in February 2004 instead of holding up his end of the deal, according to the brothers.

Facebook rejects that account.

Hollywood made the saga famous in the hit film “The Social Network.” —AFP

SEATTLE: In this May 17 photo, the largest solar energy array in Washington State is installed on the roof of the Qwest Field Events Center in Seattle, Wash. The project, funded by the First and Goal company, will consist of 3,750 individual solar panels. — AP

NEW YORK: Sony Corp’s CEO was unapologetic about the company’s delay in informing the more than 100 million customers of its PlayStation Network whose account information was stolen by hackers last month.

In a stark departure from the remorseful tone struck just two weeks ago, when senior executives including heir apparent Kazuo Hirai bowed in apology in Tokyo, Sony Chief Executive Howard Stringer fired back at critics who say the company was too slow to notify consumers once the attack was known.

“This was an unprecedented situation,” Stringer told reporters on Tuesday, speaking publicly for the first time since the April breach.

“Most of these breaches go unreported by companies. Fortythree percent (of companies) notify victims within a month. We reported in a week. You’re telling me my week wasn’t fast enough?”

The attack, considered the biggest in Internet histor y, prompted the Japanese electronics giant to shut down its PlayStation Network and other

services for close to a month.

Critics slammed the company for waiting up to a week before telling its customers of the attack and the possible theft of credit card information, prompting lawmakers and state attorneys general to launch investigations.

Two members of the US House of Representatives sent a letter to Sony on Tuesday, urging it to respond to questions about its security strategy and reveal more details about the data breach.

In the letter, Representatives Mary Bono Mack of California and G.K. Butter field of Nor th Carolina said they had contacted Sony on April 29 but all of their questions had not been answered by the company. The lawmakers asked Sony to respond to questions by May 25.

Sony said it expected to face monetar y charges from the break-in but was still assessing the damage.

“There’s a charge for the system being down ... a charge for identity theft insurance,” Stringer said. “The charges mount up, but they don’t add up to a number we can quantify just yet.”

Endeavour arrives at space station CAPE CANAVERAL: Endeavour and its six astronauts showed up at the International Space Station yesterday with the most expensive payload ever carried by a shuttle, a $2 billion magnetic device scientists hope will unravel the mysteries of the cosmos.

Shuttle commander Mark Kelly — the husband of wounded US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — carried out Endeavour ’s final docking. The lead flight director described the linkup as “really silky smooth” and noted Kelly has been performing “unbelievably” well in orbit.

Giffords was supposed to undergo surgery in Houston on Wednesday, two days after attending her husband’s launch. Doctors planned to replace part of her skull with a plastic implant. She was shot in the head in early January during a political event in her hometown of Tucson, Arizona. “If you didn’t know any of that was going on, you wouldn’t have any idea that those kinds of things are going on in his personal life,” flight director Gary Horlacher told reporters. “The surgeons are keeping him informed appropriately.” Now that he’s at the space station, Kelly can use the Internet-protocol phone there. He also has access to the Internet aboard the orbiting outpost, and can speak privately with NASA’s flight surgeons via Mission Control whenever he wishes.

The two orbiting crews will attach the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the space station today. Endeavour — making its final journey and the next-to-last flight of NASA’s shuttle era — docked with the space station as the two vessels soared more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) above the planet, near Chile. Kelly was the first to float into the space station. He was greeted with handshakes and hugs. “Hey, you guys wore coordinating shirts,” Kelly told the six space station residents, all dressed in blue polo shirts and tan slacks. “We didn’t do that.” The combined crews include seven Americans, three Russians and two Italians.

The space station occupants rang the ship’s bell to mark Endeavour ’s arrival. It is the 12th and final visit by Endeavour to the space station; after this mission, the baby of NASA’s shuttle fleet will be decommissioned and sent to a museum in Los Angeles.

Atlantis will carry out the final shuttle trip in July. Kelly and his crew will spend nearly two weeks at the space station. Their main job is to install the 7-ton Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, an international collaboration representing 16 countries and led by Nobel-winning physicist Samuel Ting of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

At the heart of the spectrometer is a 3-foot (one-meter), doughnut-shaped magnet. The instrument will seek out invisible dark matter as well as antimatter; whether any of this is found or not, the results will help explain what the universe is made of and how it formed. As soon as the spectrometer is installed, it immediately should begin working. Ting expects to start receiving data within an hour or two.

The AMS will remain anchored to the space station for the rest of its life. The outpost will continue to operate until at least 2020. Endeavour’s crew also will unload spare parts for the space station and carry out four spacewalks, the first one scheduled for Friday. — Reuters

One expert estimated that costs from the break-in could reach as high as $2 billion.

Addressing a report that said hackers had used Amazon.com’s servers to launch the attack on Sony, Sony executives said it saw no evidence this was the case.

Sony began restoring parts of the network last weekend in the United States and expects a full recovery in all countries by the end of May. The handling of the crisis, the worst Sony has faced in years, has been a big test of Hirai, who has led the recovery operations as president and group chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment.

Stringer reiterated his support for Hirai. “I think his leadership has been very helpful and very demonstrative and I’m endorsing him,” Stringer said.

Although Stringer has been in daily contact with Hirai, he thought it best to have Hirai take the lead. “This is his environment, his people, his intimate relationships with PlayStation subscribers and they like him.”

What has bothered some of its customers and made Sony a big

target in the hacking world is its practice of clamping down on customers who meddle with its systems.

Sony sued a famed hacker, George Hotz, this year for copyright infringement and circumventing PlayStation 3’s protection schemes. Hotz, who is well known for “jailbreaking,” or unlocking Apple Inc’s iPhone, said on his blog he was not involved in the break-in.

The company settled the charges against Hotz on April 11.

About a week later, Sony’s systems were hacked.

Mark Harding, a Maxim Group analyst, said Sony could have employed less severe methods to protect itself from copyright infringement. “There were probably better ways Sony could have done it without being heavy handed,” he said.

Stringer said the attack was likely related to its suit against Hotz but defended Sony ’s actions.

“An act was done that was dangerous to Sony, dangerous to PlayStation and we thought it was a criminal act and we had to protect ourselves.” —Reuters

Switzerland hosts nanotechnology GENEVA: IBM and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) announced yesterday the opening the Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Center located on the campus of IBM Research - Zurich.The facility is the centerpiece of a 10-year strategic partnership in nanoscience between IBM and ETH Zurich where scientists will research novel nanoscale structures and devices to advance energy and information technologies. The Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Center offers a cuttingedge, collaborative infrastructure designed specifically for advancing nanoscience. The noise-free labs open up a new level of precision, thereby potentially extending the scale on which scientists are able to measure and experiment even further.

A large clean room for micro- and nanofabrication provides scientists from IBM and ETH Zurich with a flexible environment and tools for lithography, wet processing, dry etching, thermal processes, thin-film deposition or metrology and characterization. The clean room also features a special area for processing carbon-based materials and structures.

Six uniquely designed noise-free labs shield extremely sensitive experiments from external disturbances, such as vibrations, electro-magnetic fields, for example from nearby trains and cellphone towers, temperature fluctuations and acoustic noise.

The building represents an investment of USD 60 million in infrastructure costs and an additional USD 30 million for tooling and equipment which, including the operating costs, are shared by the partners.”Our partnership with the IBM Research Laboratory in R¸schlikon and its close proximity to the ETH Z¸rich is truly fortunate for us,” said Prof. Ralph Eicher, president, ETHZ. “ With this new Nanotechnology Center, we bring our unique, long-standing and prolific cooperation to a new level. I am convinced that both scientific partners, as well as the Zurich region and the Swiss industry will benefit from it.”

“This new Center represents a milestone in IBM’s centennial year and opens a new chapter in our long-standing tradition of scientific collaboration,” said Dr. John E. Kelly III, senior vice president and director of IBM Research. “IBM scientists will work side-by-side with our partners pursuing research to drive the future of information technology and nanoscience.” Scientists and engineers from IBM and ETH Zurich will pursue joint and independent projects, ranging from

exploratory research to applied and nearterm projects including new nanoscale devices and device concepts as well as generating insights about their scientific foundations at the atomic level. Three ETH professors and their teams have moved into the new building and will conduct part of their research in nanoscience on a permanent basis. Even more ETH researchers will benefit from the partnership and be able to use the excellent infrastructure for various projects.

Additional research areas include micro- and nanoelectromechanical systems, spintronics, organic electronics, carbon-based devices, functional materials, cooling, three-dimensional integration of computer chips, opto-electronics and optical data communication in computers as well as silicon nanophotonics.

Researchers will also explore new approaches for fabricating structures and devices with dimensions down to a few nanometers, such as scanning-probe nanolithography or directed self-assembly, addressing the upcoming challenges for manufacturing at the nanoscale.

Nanotechnology is an enabling technology that is expected to spark advances in various fields. These include advanced functional materials, sensing, tools, healthcare, bio-analytics, water purification, energy technology, and more.

In working with industry and partners, IBM scientists apply their nanoscience expertise to problems outside of nanoelectronics and help tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time, such as more efficient use of solar energy, and new ways of purifying or desalinating water.Research at the nanometer scaleone nanometer is the length of four gold atoms and 80,000 times smaller than the average width of a human hair-requires fabrication and characterization of nanoscale structures, whose level of accuracy is also at the nanometer or subnanometer scale. As a consequence of this scale, experiments are becoming increasingly sensitive to or limited by external disturbances.

ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich) has come to symbolise excellent education, groundbreaking basic research and applied results that are beneficial for society as a whole.

Founded in 1855, it today offers researchers an inspiring environment and students a comprehensive education as one of the leading international universities for technology and the natural sciences. — KUNA

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health & science

Filipinos flock to northern town for fertility dance OBANDO: Hundreds of couples flocked to a town in the northern Philippines to take part in a centuries-old ritual dance, honouring a patron saint believed to bring fertility.

The ritual took place this year amid an increasingly acrimonious battle over a controversial bill promoting artificial contraception in this intensely Catholic nation.

But those seeking children packed into Obando by the thousands for the annual May ritual, inspired by miraculous stories of the babies it has brought.

Couples dance in the two-hour long procession, swaying their hips to a traditional

folk tune from bamboo and marching bands. The ritual is accompanied by a short chant and prayer to Saint Claire, the local patron saint of fertility, asking her to bless them with children.

Ruelito Cruz and his wife Gina came in the hope that the dance would help them have a child more than a decade after they had their first. “They say this is where we can ask those kinds of wishes, that is why we hope our wish for a second child would come true,” said Cruz.

The rite has taken place in Obando for centuries and apparently originated from a

pagan fertility ritual where couples once rubbed their body parts against an idol.

But the act was later changed by the Catholic Church when they introduced Saint Claire, the patron saint of fertility, to the locals. Dentist Earl de Castro’s wish for a healthy child came true after his wife surmounted difficulties with past pregnancies to bear a healthy baby.

“It was a miracle for us to be given a child. That is why we go back here yearly for thanksgiving,” De Castro said.

The dance also promotes fertility in a different way, with the saint playing match-

maker to help people find a partner.

Newlywed Tess Faustino said she found her husband after asking the patron saint for guidance. “This is my first time to wish for a child,” she added.

The contraception bill has led to an escalating war of words that has put Philippine President Benigno Aquino on a collision course with the country’s powerful Catholic Church leaders, who have blocked similar measures since the 1990s.

“The problem is not the bearing children, but the problem is poverty and corruption in our country,” said Jerry Fortunato, a parish

priest in Obando. The Philippines, with 80 percent of its 100 million population devoted Catholics, holds many festivals honouring patron saints that are believed to grant miracles. Not everyone came to ask the saint for children. Some begged for different miracles instead.

Jemimah Santiago, a call centre agent with two children and pregnant with her third, danced in the hopes that her husband would return after leaving her for another woman.

“I’m dancing right now (to see) if he can come back with me,” she said. — Reuters

Republican rift on Medicare plan, unpopular with public US healthcare ills infect Republicans

MANILA: Annacorita Moramion, right, a mother of nine children, watch her children sharing food among each other yesterday in Manila, Philippines. After simmering for months, a wide-ranging and acrimonious debate over governmentfunded access to contraceptives in the Philippines has entered the country’s Congress. — AP

Battle over condoms enters Philippine Congress MANILA: The president says he is ready to face excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church for advocating free access to condoms. A boxing champion says he is the best example of why birth control should never be allowed.

After simmering for months, a wideranging and acrimonious debate over government-funded access to contraceptives in the Philippines has entered the country’s Congress. The issue pits the powerful and conservative Catholic establishment, which says contraceptives are as sinful as abortions, against reformers who want more openness about condoms and other birth control in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation to slow population growth and help prevent disease.

A reproductive health bill introduced Tuesday in the House of Representatives would require the government to provide information on family planning methods, make contraceptives available free of charge and introduce reproductive health and sexuality classes in schools.

President Benigno Aquino III, still widely popular a year after a landslide election victory, has backed artificial birth control even if it means going against the dominant Catholic church.

He said last month he was ready to face the consequences and if necessary risk excommunication. “I have been taught in school, which was a Catholic institution, that the final arbiter really is our conscience,” Aquino told reporters Wednesday. “We are not looking for a fight with the church. This is on the record. I have invited them many times so that we can have discussions, and we have focused on areas where we can agree on.” Supporters believe the measure will slow the Philippines’ rapid population growth that some believe contributes to the country’s crushing poverty. About a third of the country’s 94 million people live on $1 a day.

Independent opinion polls in recent years have showed strong public support for such legislation and Aquino’s supporters have a majority in Congress, but the bill is expected to draw a tough fight with debate likely to last through the end of the year and no guarantee of pas-

sage. Church leaders have lashed out at Aquino and mobilized a formidable public campaign to defeat the bill, with some bishops threatening to launch civil disobedience protests. Some activists have even vowed to campaign against paying taxes if the bill becomes law, but the church leadership has not backed that call.

The World Health Organization says condoms are highly effective in preventing AIDS. About 1.4 million people are infected with the AIDS virus in the AsiaPacific region, more than double the number 10 years ago. Condoms also are a protection against unwanted pregnancies while abortion remains illegal in the Philippines. Women are left with little choice other than back-alley clinics, where an estimated 560,000 of them seek abortions involving crude and painful methods every year, according to a report by the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights. About 90,000 women in the Philippines suffer from abortion complications and an estimated 1,000 die each year, said the report, published last year.

Influential bishops have blocked family planning bills in the past by arguing that they would erode moral values and encourage promiscuity and early pregnancies. “Sex is not a game that should be taught to children along with the use of condoms supposedly to avoid disease,” Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales told a crowd of 40,000 people assembled in the capital two months ago in one of the biggest such rallies.

Instead, he called for abstinence.

The furious debate has strayed into the world of local celebrities, with two national icons — world boxing legend Rep. Manny Pacquiao and Broadway musical star Leah Salonga — taking opposing sides.

Salonga has backed a new “Purple Ribbon” movement supporting the bill, arguing that the decision on using contraceptives should be up to couples and that the legislation would provide muchneeded maternal health services to poor Filipinos. The group includes politicians, academic leaders and former President Fidel Ramos, the only Protestant to be elected to the highest office. — AP

VANCOUVER: In an April 18, 2011 photo, supplies to be used by drug addicts fill baskets as nurse Arvita Cotter prepares for a shift at the Insite safe injection clinic in Vancouver, B.C. Insite, North America’s first and only legal injection site, promoted by its founders as a safe, humane facility for drug abusers, is now facing a court challenge from a government that sees it as a facilitator of drug abuse. — AP

WASHINGTON: The troubled US healthcare industry, recently a problem for Democrats facing voter anger over President Barack Obama’s overhaul law, is now plaguing Republicans hoping to take the White House in 2012.

The health law proved a liability for Democrats in the November 2010 elections as Republicans surged to big victories in Congress by labeling it and other Obamabacked programs as the heavy-handed intrusions of big government.

But unhappiness over healthcare has now begun to infect Republicans seeking their party’s presidential nomination- particularly concerns about Republican efforts to revamp Medicare, the popular healthcare program for older Americans.

“Republicans have been so brilliant at framing what should have been a great Democratic success as too much government,” said James Morone, an expert on politics and healthcare policy at Brown University in Rhode Island.

However, he added: “It’s much harder to argue against big government when you’re targeting popular programs. So they have a rather tricky argument to make.”

The Republican most prominently caught in the debate has been Mitt Romney, considered a front-runner in the nomination race, who has struggled to separate himself from the state healthcare plan he crafted as governor of Massachusetts, dubbed “Romneycare” by the same conservatives that derided the president’s revamp as “Obamacare”.

Obama has cited the Massachusetts program as a model for the federal healthcare law he steered through Congress in March 2010. Similarities between the two programs are seen as the biggest challenge to Romney’s

presidential ambitions.

“The debate over Obamacare and the larger entitlement state may be the central question of the 2012 election,” the Wall Street Journal wrote in an editorial slamming Romney on May 12, the day Romney gave a speech seeking to draw distinctions between his plan and Obama’s.

“On that question, Mr Romney is compromised and not credible. If he does not change his message, he might as well try to knock off (Vice President) Joe Biden and get on the Obama ticket,” the newspaper wrote.

Opinion polls show a broader problem for Republicans is the party’s push for cuts in Medicare, particularly a proposal by Congressman Paul Ryan to turn the fee-forservice plan into a program of vouchers that the elderly would use to purchase subsidized health insurance from private insurers.

The Republican budget plan passed by the House of Representatives last month would repeal the Obama healthcare law, scale back spending on the state/federal Medicaid healthcare program for the poor and implement the plan from Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee.

With polls showing two-thirds of Americans prefer to keep Medicare in its current form, Democrats have been rushing to take political advantage.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has begun making automated calls about the Medicare plan in 20 districts.

And party leaders are seeking to make a special congressional election in New York on May 24 a referendum on the Republican Medicare plan.

“Candidates already are capitalizing on this issue and using it to say Republicans are outside the mainstream,” said Darrell West of the

Brookings Institution think tank. The issue has caused a rift among Republicans. Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who launched his bid for the presidency last week, called Ryan’s plan “right-wing social engineering” and said there were other ways to save money from a program struggling with skyrocketing healthcare prices.

Ryan and other Republicans have struck back at Gingrich, saying he misunderstood the Ryan plan. Gingrich also expressed support on a Sunday television show for the individual mandate, a core provision of the Obama healthcare law that requires individuals to purchase health insurance. The mandate has enraged Tea Party activists and has drawn legal challenges from opponents who say the government has no right to force Americans to buy insurance.

But in an about-face on Monday, Gingrich’s campaign issued a statement saying he is committed to completely repealing “Obamacare.” Democrats have responded with glee to the Republicans’ infighting, but they still face a tough fight convincing the public to embrace Obama’s healthcare law, well over a year since it passed, apart from the pending legal challenges.

Public opinion is split, with 41 percent of Americans favoring the law and 41 percent opposed, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

Morone said that if Democrats want to win the healthcare debate, they must convince Americans they will benefit from plan provisions, such as the ability to keep their children on their health policies until they are 26.

“Republicans want to say ‘This is big government run amuck.’ That has always worked for them, and unless the Democrats get very specific, it will always work for them.” — Reuters

China hospitals deny help to HIV/AIDS patients: UN

HYDERABAD: Activists of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) dressed like grim reapers hold replicas of a severed cow head and an animal carcass during a protest against the use of leather, in Hyderabad, India, May 17. The PETA activists held the campaign to raise awareness about the treatment of animals in the leather industry. — AP

Meningitis vaccine brings hope to Burkina Faso OUAGADOUGOU: Having watched her father go deaf from meningitis, Georgette Sawadogo uttered ‘Thank God!’ when she heard of a new vaccine against the disease, and marched her children off to be immunised.

“I ran to vaccinate my three children. I have very clear memories of my father’s suffering when he had this illness and I don’t want my children to have the same fate,” the 34-yearold teacher told AFP. Bacterial meningitis, which causes deadly epidemics, sparks fear in the 25-country meningitis belt which spreads from Senegal to Ethiopia-encompassing many of the world’s poorest countries.

Microsoft magnate Bill Gates, rallying world leaders on Tuesday to invest in vaccines, invent new ones and make them cheap enough for poor countries, puts the terror of meningitis succinctly.

“A perfectly healthy child can be playing with friends one minute and be dead in a matter of hours,” he told the World Health Assembly in Geneva.

A new vaccine against Meningitis-A-a strain which accounts for 80-85 percent of cases in the meningitis belt-has made history, Gates said.

In 1996, when the deadliest epidemic ever tore through this region, infecting more than 250,000 people, the only weapon against it

was a short-lasting vaccine used only once epidemics were already in full swing.

In the 2009 epidemic season, 5,342 people died across 14 African countries, according to the World Health Organisation.

In a novel public-private partnership, MenAfriVac was developed specifically for Africa and rapidly brought to market-manufactured by the Serum Institute of India-for less than 50 cents per dose.

It usually costs about $500 million to develop and bring a new vaccine to market, something Bill Gates and his foundation are trying to change.

MenAfricVAc was rolled out in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger in December 2010.

In Burkina Faso there has been only one case of Meningitis-A in 2011, Gates told the meeting in Geneva.

Doctor Sylvestre Kiendrebeogo at Burkina Faso’s health ministry told AFP this was compared to 17 cases in the same period in 2010.

“We have vaccinated 11.5 million people.

There are very few cases since the vaccination.”

Gates, who wants the same kind of action to see five or six new vaccines introduced in the next decade, said this data makes him hopeful.

“For centuries, meningitis terrorised a region of 400 million people. This vaccine can help end the terror. — AFP

BEIJING: People living with HIV/AIDS in China are routinely denied medical treatment in hospitals, a UN agency said yesterday, in a sign of ongoing discrimination despite recent progress.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) uncovered HIV-related discrimination in China’s hospitals and clinics via interviews with more than 100 people living with HIV, and 23 hospital managers and healthcare workers.

One 37-year-old man living with HIV-the virus that causes AIDS-from the northern province of Shaanxi said he had huge difficulties getting treatment when he found a lump in his stomach.

“Each hospital advised that I should be hospitalised immediately for surgery, but when they heard that I was HIV-positive, none were willing to accept me. They asked me to go to the infectious diseases hospital,” he was quoted as saying.

“That hospital did not agree to let me use the operating theatre. They said if other patients knew that an HIV person had used the operating theatre, it would badly influence the hospital’s reputation.”

According to Chinese authorities, at least 740,000 people have HIV/AIDS in the country, out of a total population of 1.3 billion, although advocates for patients believe the real figure could be much higher.

Those living with HIV/AIDS have long faced discrimination, but there has been progress as the government has started talking more openly about HIV prevention and control.

According to the ILO report, HIV-related discrimination in Chinese hospitals is triggered by two major factors.

Many general clinics systematically refer HIV patients to specially designated hospitals for infectious diseases. But they must only be sent there if they require treatment linked to HIV/AIDS, not for an unrelated condition.

Hospitals in China are also primarily driven by profit, and the report said hospital management was sometimes worried that prospective patients would go elsewhere if they knew the hospital provided services for people with HIV. The Chinese government has already identified this issue as an area requiring stronger policy implementation, the report added. But the ILO called for better regulations and better awareness among hospital management about the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS to access medical services. — AFP

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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

H E A LT H

Putting a price on blood tests can save money NEW YORK: Letting doctors know h ow m uch mo ney t hey sp end ordering blood tests may help rein in unnecessary healthcare spending and save thousands of dollars, according to a US study.

Blood tests are an integral part of modern medicine, but experts say they are used more than is medically necessary, stretching a healthcare budget that’s already hard pressed, with such unneeded testing making up a big part of the costs.

But researchers led by Elizabeth S t u e b i n g at t he Universit y o f M i a m i fo u nd t hat week l y announcements of the previous week’s costs to surgery staff at a Rhode Island hospital produced savings of about $55,000 over fewer than three months. “ S i m p l y k now ing t he co st s helps these providers be more judicious about their test ordering behavior,” Stuebing said of the s t u d y, which ap p ears in t he

Archives of Surgery.

“As of now, many providers, especially house staff or residents, are completely unaware of the costs of any of the care they are providing.”

During the study, conducted at R h ode Islan d Hospital in Providence, Stuebing and her colleagues saw daily patient charges for blood tests drop from nearly $150 to as low as $108 after 10 weeks.

That’s more than 25 percent, and could mean millions of dollars in savings if the system was introduced across the United States, she said.

“The problem is that ordering these tests is often part of a daily routine, and they seem relatively inconsequential and inexpensive when compared to things like MRIs, but we forget that all those little tests add up to a significant amount over time,” she added.

It’s not the first time that hospi-

Say bye to obesity

tals have tried to cut expenses from excessive blood tests, Some, for instance, have used computer systems and provider education to limit unnecessary tests.

Experts say this sort of simple measure may prove key.

“Wasted medical spending has been estimated to account for as much as one-third of the $1.5 billion the United States expends annually for medical care, and in appropr iate, redun d a nt , or unnecessary tests and procedures have been suggested to encompass th e biggest area of s uc h waste,” wrote A. Benedict Cosimi, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, wrote in an editorial that accompanied the study.

“I believe that such simple, lowcost and readily repeatable interventions provide one of the most easily applied strategies for influencing clinicians’ test and medication -requestin g beh av i or,” he added. — Reuters

Experts say world not ready for big health crisis GENEVA: The world is not ready to deal with a lengthy public health emergency, a panel of international experts said yesterday, basing its conclusions on the swine flu outbreak.

The panel’s report on the World Health Organization’s handling of the 2009 outbreak of the H1N1 flu concludes that the world is “ill-prepared to respond to a severe influenza pandemic or to any similarly global, sustained and threatening public health emergency.” It found that international health regulations adopted in 2005 by 194 nations are helping improve preparations, but are not being put into practice fast enough globally. It also said the WHO did some things well during the pandemic and fell short in other areas, but there was “no evidence of malfeasance.

Dr. Harvey Fineberg, who chaired the review panel of 25 experts commissioned by WHO, said what happened during the outbreak was dictated mainly by the virus itself, not the world’s response to it.

“Vaccines were produced as quickly as technology permitted, but they came only months after the outbreak,” he told reporters at the United Nation’s European headquarters in Geneva, where the World Health Assembly was meeting. “And the world’s ability to cope with this kind of severe threat to health is in many ways not up to the task,” he added. Fineberg, the president of the Institute of Medicine in Washington, warned that it will not be easy for nations to find ways to improve their response to an outbreak such as H1N1. — AP

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30

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

Crowne Plaza Kuwait voted best business hotel in Kuwait H

appy birthday Tatay Rey De Leon. We wish you good health, more blessings to come.

Greetings from loving wife (Solly), Shiekha & Shiana, family and friends.

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new page has been written on the success chapter of the Crowne Plaza Kuwait. Voted as the Best Business Hotel in Kuwait, Crowne Plaza Kuwait proudly received the Business Traveller Middle East Award 2011 at a glittering ceremony at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray on Palm Jumeirah. Hany Nabil, Director of Marketing, PR and Loyalty Marketing received the award on behalf of the hotel. The award was given away by Gary Rhodes OBE, celebrity chef, restaurateur and author.

In this honor, a staff get-together was held, to celebrate the employees, without whom the award would not have happened at all. Attended by the Founder and Chairman of the Bukhamseen International Group, Jawad Bukhamseen, Chief Operating Officer for IHG MEA, John Bamsey, Vice President, IHG Operations Gulf, Ignace Bauwens, Director of Operations - IHG Northern Gulf and General Manager of the hotel, Hani Kafafi, there was a huge turnout as the staff came forward to express their joy at being part of the Best Business Hotel in Kuwait.

Speaking on this occasion, Jawad Bukhamseen expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the staff for making this award happen, mentioning his pride and delight in having won this award.

John Bamsey said,” this was the first time that the Crowne Plaza brand itself won an award like this.” Ignace Bauwens added to this saying, “the fact that Crowne Plaza Kuwait won this award among all other Crowne Plaza hotels set a new standard in excellence and quality among the competitors.”

Hani Kafafi, Director of Operation Northern Gulf and General Manager of Crowne Plaza Kuwait expressed his immense joy on receiving the award. He said,” the award comes as no surprise to us, since we have always maintained the best standards in excellence and quality when delivering our services. The staffs are trained to deliver the best of services in all aspects to all guests, and they are focused on the core purpose of the InterContinental Hotels Group -Great Hotels Guests Love. There is no avenue that is left unexplored in our quest to ensure complete comfort of our guests, taking care of every detail, according to individual taste and preference. With the opening of the new ballroom, which will have a seating capacity of 1500 persons and the coming of more rooms, Crowne Plaza Kuwait will always be a step ahead than its competitors.”

Hotel Manager, Ahmed Serafi, addressed the staff, expressing his thanks and heartfelt gratitude for all the staff, whose efforts have made this possible. To capture this proud moment, a photo of the Crowne Plaza Kuwait hotel management and team was taken in the

GREETINGS

Gallery SULTAN GALLERY Artist: Huda Lutfi Title of Exhibition: Zan’it Al Sittat (In collaboration with The Third Line) Last day today, l0am-4pm Both historian and artist, Lutfi is a bricoleur. She collects disparate iconic images and manipulates them to reinvent her vision of Egyptian culture, its histories and events, in doing so, Lutfi simultaneously comments on the political relevance of her social context, lifting old feminine icons from history and giving them new life by recontextualising historic time lines, creating hybridised, timeless female figures.

KTAA Name of Presentation: The 2011 Annual Kuwait Textile Arts Exhibition and Bazaar Venue: Majeeb Al Dorsori Center in the Mishref Cooperative Area. Block 4 Today 10-1 pm. 5-9pm Friday, 20 May 5-9pm Saturday, 21 May 10-9 pm Bazaar will be held on 21 May from 10 am to 6 pm.

This exhibition will be a showcase of our members’ creativity displaying textile arts, fiber arts and Sadu weaving.

The bazaar will display many lovely handcrafted items available for purchase from our KTAA members. This is an event not to be missed!

lobby with all the staff in their uniforms.

Entering through a magnificent lobby, one feels awestruck at the beauty and panoramic view that encompasses almost all the facilities of the hotel. With a reputation of being the biggest in Kuwait, guests sitting in the rooms can look down on an active lobby throughout the day.

300 refurbished rooms and suites cater to the needs of the frequent business traveler with all the modern amenities, making your stay memorable. A bouquet flavors come to you at our restaurants, from a global buffet to the steaks of the Wild West, from the royal Persian to the elite Italian, from the delicacies of the sea

to the authentic Japanese and a traditional Lebanese - each unique in their own style and creativity.

3 ballrooms and 15 meeting rooms, equipped with the latest in technology and facilities take care of all the needs of our corporate clients in terms of meetings, conferences and all other functions. Leisure facilities spanning a total of 10,000 m2 includes a 24 hour Health Club and a unique Spa Aquatonic, including a 3500 m2 Aquatonic Pool, which is unique to the hotel and the Middle region itself.

With a track record of always staying on top of customers’ choices, this summer also promises to be some-

thing special with A Healthier You promotion that emphasizes on the best of lifestyles through a healthy focus. InterContinental stole the limelight winning the coveted Best Hotel Brand in the Middle East in the hotel categories. With 8 hotels among the nominees, and 4 among them the Best Business Hotels in their respective countries, InterContinental Brand has created an indelible impression in the minds of their customers. The 4 winning hotels are Crowne Plaza Kuwait, Regency InterContinental Manama (Bahrain), Phoenicia InterContinental Beirut (Lebanon) and Al Bustan InterContinental Muscat (Salalah).

DAR AL FUNOON Title of Exhibition: Neither Here Nor There Curated by Simm Dehghani Last day today, 10am - 1pm & 4- 8pm How do we as humans deal with displacement, culture shock and denial? Historically this region has suffered or experienced events which have led to its people immigrating without knowing beforehand the serious effects and consequences of their decision on their lives. In some cases drastic changes within a country can cause a sense of alienation even though these Individuals still inhabit the same space. Neither Here Nor There brings together the work of seven Iranian artists - Peyman Houshmandzadeh, Nima Alizdeh, Shantia Zakerameli, Adel Younesi, Rosita Sharafjahan, Afshin Chizari and Hamed Sahihi - Who each express the above-mentioned psychological reactions to the environment in which their subjects have suddenly found themselves. Dar Al Funoon is located in Al-Watiah, Behbehani Compound, House No. 28. For further information call 2243 3138.

Announcements Hairspray at KLT Hairspray is the latest musical performed by the Kuwait Little Theater. It’s directed by Kirsty McDonagh with an all singing, all dancing KLT cast of talented actors. Most of the performances are already sold out but they still have some openings available so if you’re interested you need to book right away.

Location: Kuwait Little Theater. Dates still available: May 24th and 25th. Time: 7:30pm.

IWG dinner dance For those of you who still require tickets to the IWG Spring Dinner-Dance today 19 May, we will have tickets available for purchase at Costa Coffee in Al Bida’a from 10:00 am to 11:30 am.

Thanima to present legend play tomorrow Thanima (The Human and Nostalgic Interaction of Malayalees Abroad) is presenting of yet another unique cultural event to the Kuwait cultural spectrum by enacting ballads of the epic Vadakkan Pattukal (Ballads of North Malabar) of medieval Kerala on stage. ‘Oru Vadakkan Veerakatha’, drama scope mega budget full length visual entertainer becomes a reality in the collective effort of Malayalee expatriate community in Kuwait spearheaded by Thanima. The play will be staged at 4.30 pm and 8.30 pm on 20 May at Al-Jeel Al-Jadeed School Auditorium Hawally. The drama combines both the legendary spirit of Vadakkan Pattu and the bravery of Kalaripayattu (martial art form of Kerala) and harmonizes with the technical excellence of silver screen. In 18 sets it will be on stage designed by acclaimed Artist Sujathan. Entry will be restricted through passes.

Aware Arabic course The AWARE management is glad to inform those interested in learning Arabic that Summer 1 Arabic language courses will begin on April 24 and go on till June 2, 2011. AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed and courses are designed for those wanting to learn Arabic for travel, cultural understanding, and conducting business or simply to become more involved in the community. We cater to teachers, travelers and those working in the private business sector.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

W H AT ’ S O N

Starbucks and Diwan Book Club launch Coffee Chat series

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Air Koryo office opened The Ambassador of Democratic Republic of Korea, Ho Jong inaugurated Air Koryo (the official airline of North Korea) local office at Farwaniya. Diplomats, high ranking officials, travel agents and media persons attended the function. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

GUST Mass Communication students showcase their work at Showreel

T

he Department of Mass Communication at the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) organized their annual “Student Showreel 2011” on campus.

The event show cased students works in: 3D animation, motion graphics, promotion breaks, short film/ video production, and web design. The event was attended by representatives from different advertising, media and production agencies.

The showcase featured a collection of students’ work; that demonstrated students’ portfolios and included 3D Computer Graphics and Motion Graphics.

It also showcased short films, such as “What a Day”, “Sweet Temptation”, “I hear you” and “Twist”. “Twist” was awarded the

3rd prize for editing and sound effects by the Kuwaiti “Film Retreat” for short film production. Ms Manar Al-Mesri, one of the producers, said that “Twist, based the theme of friendship and love and collaborated the dramatic visual and sound

effects to the storyline”.

Eman Al-Abdul Hadi, produced a 3D computer graphics design that was presented in the event. She said that “Cherriez was created by using 3D computer graphic animation design, and was inspired by the frozen yogurt store”.

Emanadded that “it took her four-weeks to create this project, as the detailed interior design reflected on how vibrant and bright the colors in the design were”.

Following the showcase, certificates of achievements and honors were distributed to the students of Mass Communication. The “Showreel” event gave the students the opportunity to showcase their creativity and deter-

mine their career paths by handing their resumes and portfolios to different production agencies and media organizations.

Ms Hessah Al-Mulla and Saad AlEnizi from the new Kuwait Channel “ Al-Youm” channel concluded the event by highlighting the importance of the professional aspect for students in pursuing their careers in the Mass Communication discipline.

The show was organized by the Showreel committee, headed by Dr Alaa Eldin Ibrahim, Assistant Professor in the GUST Mass Communication Department in collaboration with department instructors Claude Marcos and Carl Nestor.

NAFO’s Soorya ‘Sangamam’ a mega success

A

mixture of three forms of classical music-Carnatic, Hindustani and Western classical were played in style at the American International School Auditorium, Maidan-Hawalli, which regaled one and all in a packed auditorium.

Soorya’s “Sangamam” organized by National Forum Kuwait (NAFO, Kuwait) with the unique concept “Unity in Diversity” by 40 renowned artistes led by the Chief Architect Dr Soorya Krishnamurthy, mesmerized the spectators with their enchanting performances.

Frequent applause from the audience was heard in almost every pause of the dance/music.

“Very unique, fascinating, very impressive, they should come back and hold the show again, excellent performances, Indians should be proud of, because we have the music and dance forms that we could promote to the world, different sounds and different movements” - these were the comments heard from the viewers after the cultural feast. Dignitaries, Diplomats, Foreigners were among the fully packed house.

The Show started at 7.00 PM with a power point Presentation highlighting the Journey of NAFO, its social, welfare and cul-

tural activities and its forward plans. This was followed by prayer titled “NAFO Symphony” a maiden attempt by NAFO Children. The Inaugural function began with the welcome address by C.G. Manoj, NAFO General Secretary, Presidential Address by B.S. Pillai, NAFO President and the program got inaugurated by lighting the ceremonial lamp. Chief Guest Hon’ble Vidhu P. Nair, Charge d’Affaires, Indian Embassy, gave the inaugural address, in which he congratulated NAFO team for their continued effort in promoting India’s art and culture. The Charge d’Affaires then officially released the colorful Souvenir by

receiving a copy from Pradeep Kumar Souvenir Convener. Murali Nair, Program Convener proposed the Vote of Thanks.

Rajiv Menon Secretary General hosted the official function.

“In India we have different caste, creed, religion, different languages, and different food habits. India is a country of varied culture, yet the rhythm of the country is one, which is the rhythm of heart and the rhythm of love, through this rhythm of love, we see the path to God - this is the message the multilevel, multi media mega show “SANGAMAM” tells us,” Dr. Soorya Krishnamurthy, the founder of Soorya India

Society and the director of the show said.

“Artistes from all over India sing and dance and finally come to one rhythm to tell the world the greatness of “Unity in Diversity and integration through culture”, Soorya Krishnamurthy added.

The fusion of dance exploring the possibilities of art form to the core and the instrumental fusion in Violin, Drums, Tabla and Mrudangam by the maestros captivated the heart of a packed audience.

At the end of the show, the artists were honored with Gifts. The golden sponsors for the event were also honored with Mementos for their valued contribution.

n partnership with Diwan Book Club, Starbucks yesterday launched “Coffee Chat Series”, a cultural gathering for interested members from within the community to meet with famous and successful figures in Kuwait to share their success stories and learn from their experiences. The first of these Coffee Chats was held this week at the Starbucks store located in the American University of Kuwait.

The event featured local Kuwaiti artist Dr. Shurooq Amin and was attended by club members, customers and students.

Commenting on this occasion, Dr. Shurooq Amin - Kuwaiti Artist said: “Starbucks and Diwan Book Club have come up with a great way of allowing people to reach out to different successful personalities in society, from all fields. The casual platform of Starbucks is bound to be a successful venue for these informal, informative ‘talks’, and I salute Yousef Khalifa, Diwan Book Club President and Starbucks for creating a culture of dialogue in the community set around coffee.”

Yousef Khalifa, Diwan Book Club President said: “The Coffee Chat Series is a chance to bring amazing talents and prominent individuals with noted achievements closer to the public so that they can share their journey, their dreams and the obstacles they overcame to be who they are today in life, and how you and I can become one of them.”

Starbucks will be hosting bimonthly Coffee Chat Series in various Starbucks stores in partnership with the Diwan Book Club, and will feature a variety of well known local and regional figures including artists, writers, as well as athletes.

Commenting on the new cultural initiative, Rana Shaheen, Regional Communications and CSR Manager at Starbucks MENA region said: “We are delighted to have launched the Coffee Chat Series, which is a continuation of our efforts through our partnership with Diwan Book Club. This long-term partnership underlines Starbucks’ commitment to engage and empower the local communities in which it operates. We look forward to working with the Diwan Book Club for many more years to come, helping to ensure that literature and art remain at the forefront of our Arabic culture.”

Diwan Book Club recently celebrated its second anniversary, and is designed to engage local writers, bloggers, artists and cultural organizations. Diwan Book Club hopes to increase its membership as more Kuwaitis embrace the club’s objectives of empowering and educating its members through literature and cultural forums. Starbucks hosts the monthly club meetings, led by writer and Club President Yousef Khalifa, providing a place where over 40 Diwan Book Club members, including writers, artists, professionals and students, can meet to discuss their perspectives on a selected book each month.

Al Taalib Scholarship 2011 Al- Taalib Scholarship is a financial aid scheme for the under privileged school students in Kuwait, sponsored by the Ministry of Awqaf in association with Islam Presentation Committee (IPC), Friday Forum and Pakistan Kuwait Welfare Association. These scholarships were given to the needy students irrespective of their religion or nationality. The process of Al Taalib Scholarship for the current academic year, 2011-12, has begun for all Indian and Pakistani Schools in Kuwait. In order to avail this scholarship, applicants are requested to collect the Application Form from Al Taalib Office located in CAMS, Ahmed Al Jaber Street, Darwaza, Near Warba Insurance Co., Int’l Islamic Charity Organization Building, 2nd Floor, Al Sharq. The duly filled application form shall be submitted to Al Taalib office on or before 10th May 2011 along with all supporting documents specified in the Application Form.

Ahmadi Music Group The Ahmadi Music Group, directed by Richard Bushman, is delighted to announce the forthcoming production of The Desert Song by Siegmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein. Fully-staged, with costumes, dancing, professional soloists, a cast of around fifty people and a full symphony orchestra, this will be a wonderful opportunity to experience an evening of musical theatre in the stunning new Performing Arts Centre at The English School Salmiya. Tuesday 31 May, Preview Performance for students. Wednesday 1 June, Black-tie Gala Opening Performance followed by Buffet Supper. Thursday 2 June, Performance. Friday 3 June, Performance. All performances start at 7pm at The English School, Salmiya.

Emailing invitations@ahmadimusicgroup.com Voice Kuwait 6th Anniversary tomorrow Voice Kuwait is celebrating its 6th anniversary “VISWAKALA 2011” tomorrow from 4 pm to 9 pm at Carmel School Khaitan.

Voice Kuwait is giving award to its member’s children who got highest mark in last S.S.L.C. either from Kuwait or from Kerala. The students those are eligible should give attested copy of their mark list to Area conveners or sent copy to voicekuwait2004@gmail.com For more information please contact 66950482,94419371.

‘Mahakte Lamhe’ with Udit Narayan Indian Cultural Society (ICS) presents “Mahakte Lamhe” with Udit Narayan (a renowned playback singer from Indian cinema)) with Deepa Narayan (female singer).

Another attraction of the evening will be reality show fame Neha Chouhan & Nayan Rathod on 10th June 2011 Friday at 7.30 pm. The Chief Guest for the event will be Vidhu P Nair Charge d” Affaires Embassy of India, Kuwait and the guest of honor will be prominent personalities from Kuwait.

Udit has sung in more than 2600 Hindi films and in 15 Indian language films like Hindi, Bengali, Assamess, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannad, Telegu, Garwali, Manipuri, Haryanvi and Maithili. Udit Narayan also acted in two Nepali films: Kusumey Rumal and Peerati.

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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

Years

TV PROGRAMS

00:45 01:40 02:35 03:30 04:25 05:20 06:10 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:40 09:10 09:35 10:05 11:00 11:55 12:50 13:45 14:10 14:40 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:25 18:20 19:15 20:10 21:05 22:00 22:55 23:50

Untamed And Uncut Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 Wildest Africa Queens Of The Savannah Buggin’ With Ruud Last Chance Highway Must Love Cats Meerkat Manor The Really Wild Show Baby Planet Breed All About It Extraordinary Dogs Project Puppy Michaela’s Animal Road Trip Animal ER Wildlife SOS Animal Cops South Africa SSPCA: On The Wildside E-Vets: The Interns Life In The Undergrowth Planet Wild The Really Wild Show Crocodile Hunter Dogs 101 Wildest Africa Michaela’s Animal Road Trip Dogs/Cats/Pets 101 Cheetah Kingdom Max’s Big Tracks Natural World Life In The Undergrowth

00:00 00:30 01:15 02:10 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 04:50 05:10 05:35 05:45 06:05 06:25 06:50 07:05 07:25 07:45 08:10 08:20 08:40 09:00 09:25 09:40 10:40 11:25 12:15 12:45 13:15 14:05 15:35 16:20 16:35 17:20 17:50 18:20 19:10 20:00 20:45 21:15 21:45 22:40 23:40

My Family The Weakest Link Casualty Desperate Romantics Eastenders Doctors My Family Me Too Tweenies Teletubbies Charlie And Lola Me Too Tweenies Teletubbies Charlie And Lola Me Too Tweenies Teletubbies Charlie And Lola Me Too Tweenies Teletubbies Charlie And Lola My Family The Weakest Link Doctor Who Doctors Eastenders Casualty My Family Doctor Who Doctor Who Confidential The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Casualty Doctor Who The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Casualty Coast My Family

00:45 01:25 02:10 03:50 04:30 07:05 08:40 09:25 10:15 11:55 12:40 13:30 14:15 15:00 15:50

Come Dine With Me The Home Show Holmes On Homes Rhodes Across China Daily Cooks Challenge New Scandinavian Cooking Rhodes Across China Antiques Roadshow Holmes On Homes Rhodes Across China Antiques Roadshow Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt Come Dine With Me Holmes On Homes

17:25 19:00 19:50 20:35 21:20 22:10 23:00

Rhodes Across China Antiques Roadshow Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt Come Dine With Me The Home Show Great British Menu

00:00 BBC World News 00:30 World Business Report 00:45 Sport Today 01:00 BBC World News America 01:30 Asia Business Report 01:45 Asia Today 02:00 BBC World News 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Asia Today 03:00 BBC World News 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Asia Today 04:00 BBC World News 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Asia Today 05:00 BBC World News 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Asia Today 06:00 BBC World News 06:30 Hardtalk 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 World Business Report 07:45 BBC World News 08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 Sport Today 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 Sport Today 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 Hardtalk 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 World Business Report 12:45 Sport Today 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 World Business Report 13:45 Sport Today 14:00 GMT With George Alagiah 14:30 GMT With George Alagiah 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 World Business Report 15:45 Sport Today 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 BBC World News 18:30 Hardtalk 19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:30 World Business Report 20:45 Sport Today 21:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:30 World Business Report 22:45 Sport Today 23:00 BBC World News America 23:30 Hardtalk

00:05 Cow And Chicken 00:30 Cramp Twins 00:55 George Of The Jungle 01:20 Adrenalini Brothers 01:45 Eliot Kid 02:10 Ed, Edd N Eddy 02:35 Ben 10: Alien Force 03:00 The Powerpuff Girls 03:15 Chowder 03:40 The Secret Saturdays 04:05 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 04:30 Ben 10: Alien Force 04:55 Best Ed 05:20 Skunk Fu! 05:45 Cramp Twins 06:10 Eliot Kid 06:35 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 07:00 Codename: Kids Next Door 07:25 Cow And Chicken 07:50 Angelo Rules 08:05 Cartoon Network Dance Club 08:15 Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends 08:40 Ben 10: Alien Force 09:05 The Secret Saturdays 09:30 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 09:55 The Powerpuff Girls

10:20 Robotboy 10:30 Hero 108 10:55 Ben 10 11:20 Chowder 11:45 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 12:10 Camp Lazlo 12:35 George Of The Jungle 13:00 Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends 13:25 Codename: Kids Next Door 13:50 Ben 10 14:15 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey 14:40 Squirrel Boy 15:05 Eliot Kid 15:35 Ed, Edd N Eddy 16:00 Cow And Chicken 16:25 Chop Socky Chooks 16:50 Skunk Fu! 17:15 Chowder 17:40 Best Ed 17:50 Cartoon Network Dance Club 18:05 Hero 108 18:30 The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack 18:55 Star Wars: The Clone Wars 19:20 Ben 10: Alien Force 19:45 The Secret Saturdays 20:10 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 20:35 Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes 21:00 Cartoon Network Dance Club 21:15 The Powerpuff Girls 21:25 Ed, Edd N Eddy 21:50 Robotboy 22:00 Camp Lazlo 22:25 Hero 108 22:50 Ben 10 23:15 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 23:40 Chowder

00:40 01:35 02:30 03:25 04:20 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:10 09:40 10:30 10:55 11:25 12:20 13:15 14:10 15:05 16:00 16:55 17:50 18:45 19:10 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:55 22:50 23:45

Dirty Jobs Deconstruction Ultimate Survival Mega Builders Mythbusters How Do They Do It? How Stuff’s Made Dirty Jobs Mega Builders American Chopper How Stuff’s Made How Do They Do It? Mythbusters Cake Boss Border Security Street Customs Berlin Ultimate Survival Mythbusters LA Ink Dirty Jobs Street Customs Mythbusters River Monsters Cake Boss Border Security I Could Do That How Stuff’s Made How Do They Do It? Worst-Case Scenario Get Out Alive Surviving Disaster River Monsters

00:30 The Gadget Show 00:55 Mega World 01:45 How It’s Made 02:35 How Stuff Works 03:25 How Does That Work?

03:50 Junkyard Mega-Wars 04:45 What’s That About?

05:40 Patent Bending 06:10 Engineered 07:00 Ldrs (Large Dangerous Rocket Ships) 07:55 Head Rush 07:58 Sci-Fi Science 08:25 Weird Connections 08:55 Space Pioneer 09:45 The Gadget Show 10:35 What’s That About?

11:25 Savage Planet 11:50 Scrapheap Challenge 12:40 Patent Bending 13:05 How Stuff Works 13:55 Human Body: Ultimate

Machine 14:45 Mega World 15:35 The Gadget Show 16:00 Head Rush 16:03 Sci-Fi Science 16:30 Weird Connections 17:00 Brainiac 17:50 The World’s Strangest UFO Stories 18:40 Bang Goes The Theory 19:30 The Future Of...

20:20 Weird Connections 20:45 How Stuff’s Made 21:10 The Gadget Show 22:00 Bang Goes The Theory 22:50 The Future Of...

23:40 The Colony

00:00 00:25 01:15 02:00 02:50 03:35 04:25 05:15 06:00 06:20 07:05 07:30 07:55 08:20 08:35 09:00 09:25 09:50 10:10 10:35 10:50 11:15 11:35 12:00 12:25 12:45 13:10 13:30 13:55 14:20 14:40 14:47 14:55 15:20 15:40 16:00 16:25 16:45 17:10 17:35 18:00 18:25 18:45 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:25 20:50 21:12 21:15 21:35 22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:35

06:00 06:20 08:05 08:30 08:50 09:00 09:50 10:15 10:40 11:30 11:55 12:45 13:10 13:20 14:40 15:05 15:25 15:35 16:00 16:25 16:50 17:40 18:30 19:45 20:10 20:15 20:40 21:05 21:30 21:50 22:00 22:20

Kim Possible Fairly Odd Parents Stitch Replacements Emperors New School Stitch Replacements Fairly Odd Parents Emperors New School Phineas And Ferb Suite Life On Deck Shake It Up Good Luck Charlie Fairly Odd Parents Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Handy Manny Special Agent Oso Jungle Junction Imagination Movers Phineas And Ferb Suite Life On Deck Wizards Of Waverly Place Good Luck Charlie Fish Hooks Fairly Odd Parents Phineas And Ferb Hannah Montana Sonny With A Chance Wizards Of Waverly Place Suite Life On Deck Have A Laugh Have A Laugh Good Luck Charlie Jonas LA Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Wizards Of Waverly Place Good Luck Charlie Jonas LA Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana Suite Life On Deck Phineas And Ferb Good Luck Charlie Wizards Of Waverly Place Sonny With A Chance Jake And Blake Hannah Montana Have A Laugh Phineas And Ferb Fairly Odd Parents Replacements Hannah Montana Sonny With A Chance Wizards Of Waverly Place Jonas

Kid Vs Kat Phineas & Ferb American Dragon Kick Buttowski Cars Toons Zeke & Luther I’m In The Band The Super Hero Squad Show Suite Life On Deck Kid Vs Kat Phineas & Ferb Kid Vs Kat Cars Toons Kid Vs Kat Zeke & Luther Suite Life On Deck Cars Toons Kick Buttowski I’m In The Band Suite Life On Deck Zeke & Luther Phineas & Ferb Kick Buttowski Aaron Stone Cars Toons Kid Vs Kat Phineas & Ferb I’m In The Band Zeke & Luther Phineas And Ferb The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Super Hero Squad Show

00:25 Kendra 00:55 Then And Now 01:25 20 Hottest Women Of The Web 03:15 25 Most Stylish 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Extreme Hollywood 06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:15 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane 10:15 THS 12:05 E! News 13:05 Fashion Police 13:35 Extreme Close-Up 14:05 Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami 14:35 THS 16:25 Behind The Scenes 16:55 Holly’s World 17:55 E! News 18:55 Kimora: Life In The Fab Lane 19:55 THS 20:55 Chelsea Lately 21:25 Kourtney And Kim Take New York 21:55 Kourtney And Kim Take New York 22:25 E! News 23:25 Chelsea Lately 23:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians

GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS ON OSN ACTION HD

00:15 00:40 01:30 02:20 02:45 03:10

Fantasy Factory Mantracker World Combat League Fantasy Factory Fantasy Factory Aiya TV

03:35 Aiya TV 04:00 Fight Girls 04:50 Mantracker 05:40 World Combat League 06:30 Ride Guide Mountainbike 2007 08:00 Quattro Events 2009 08:25 Summer Dew Tour 2010 09:15 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 10:05 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 10:55 Dr Danger 11:45 X-Traordinary 12:35 Fantasy Factory 13:25 Mantracker 14:15 World Combat League 15:05 Dr Danger 15:55 X-Traordinary 16:45 Quattro Events 2009 17:10 Summer Dew Tour 2010 18:00 Lucas Oil Motocross Championships 2009 19:40 Mantracker 20:30 Fantasy Factory 21:20 Kenny Belaey’s Big Time South Africa 22:10 World Combat League 23:00 Aiya TV 23:50 Fantasy Factory

00:30 01:20 02:10 03:50 04:45 05:15 06:10 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 10:20 11:10 12:00 13:40 14:30 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 20:20 22:50 23:40

Ghost Lab A Haunting I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghosthunters Ghost Lab Mystery Diagnosis Forensic Detectives Unsolved Crimes: USA Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Solved FBI Files On The Case With Paula Zahn Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Solved Forensic Detectives Unsolved Crimes: USA FBI Files Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls On The Case With Paula Zahn True Crime Scene Dr G: Medical Examiner

00:00 Market Values 01:00 Departures 02:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 03:00 Long Way Down 04:00 Pressure Cook 04:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 05:00 Food Lovers Guide To Planet 05:30 Exploring The Vine 06:00 Market Values 07:00 Departures 08:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 09:00 Long Way Down 10:00 Pressure Cook 10:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 11:00 Food Lovers Guide To Planet 11:30 Exploring The Vine 12:00 Market Values 13:00 Departures 14:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 15:00 Long Way Down 16:00 Pressure Cook 16:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 17:00 Food Lovers Guide To Planet 17:30 Exploring The Vine 18:00 Market Values 18:30 Market Values 19:00 Departures 20:00 Don’t Tell My Mother 21:00 Long Way Down 22:00 Pressure Cook 22:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 23:00 Food Lovers Guide To Planet 23:30 Exploring The Vine

The

The

The

The

00:15 Friday The 13th-18 02:00 Gone In Sixty Seconds-PG15 04:00 Wrong Turn 3: Left For DeadPG15 06:00 Angels And Demons-PG15 08:15 Darkness Falls-PG15 10:00 Gone In Sixty Seconds-PG15 12:00 Hardwired-PG15 14:00 Darkness Falls-PG15 16:00 Changing Lanes-PG15 18:00 Hardwired-PG15 20:00 Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans-18 22:00 Blindness-18

01:30 03:00 05:00 07:00 PG15 09:00 11:00 13:15 PG15 15:00 17:00 PG 19:00 21:00 23:00

Surfer Dude-PG15 MacHEADS-PG15 Bandslam-PG15 It’s A Wonderful AfterlifeAll About Steve-PG15 Invictus-PG15 It’s A Wonderful AfterlifeThe Last Song-PG15 Where The Wild Things AreThe Bounty Hunter-PG15 Brothers-18 Saw VI-R

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 South Park 02:00 The Big C 02:30 Entourage 03:00 Just Shoot Me 03:30 30 Rock 04:00 South Park 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Will And Grace 06:00 Yes Dear 06:30 The Drew Carey Show 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 08:30 Dharma And Greg 09:00 Just Shoot Me 09:30 Will And Grace 10:00 Yes Dear 10:30 Melissa And Joey 11:00 The Drew Carey Show 11:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno

BANDSLAM ON OSN CINEMA 12:30 Dharma And Greg 13:00 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 13:30 Will And Grace 14:00 Yes Dear 14:30 30 Rock 15:00 Melissa And Joey 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 The Drew Carey Show 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Just Shoot Me 18:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 19:00 Melissa And Joey 19:30 Community 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 The Ricky Gervais Show 22:30 Weeds 23:00 South Park 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 22:00 23:10

Law And Order Game Of Thrones The Ellen DeGeneres Show Glee The View Good Morning America C.S.I. New York Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show The View Law And Order Glee Live Good Morning America C.S.I. New York The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Look-A-Like Bones American Idol The Gates C.S.I. New York

00:00 Cold Case 01:00 C.S.I. 02:00 Game Of Thrones 03:00 Look-A-Like 04:00 Glee 05:00 The Closer 06:00 Cold Case 07:00 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 07:30 Coronation Street 08:00 Smallville 09:00 The Closer 10:00 C.S.I. 11:00 Glee 12:00 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 12:30 Coronation Street 13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 14:00 Smallville 15:00 Cold Case 16:00 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 16:30 The New Adventures Of Old Christine 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 18:00 Huge 19:00 Bones 20:00 American Idol 22:00 The Gates 23:00 The Philanthropist

01:15 03:00 05:15 07:15 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:15 18 21:15 23:15

Bangkok Adrenaline-PG15 Se7en-18 28 Days Later-18 Fast And Furious-PG15 Shinjuku Incident-PG15 Appaloosa-PG15 Snake Eyes-PG15 Shinjuku Incident-PG15 Lost In Space-PG15 Battlestar Galactica: The PlanCollateral-18 Fast Lane-PG15

00:00 My One And Only-PG15 02:00 New York City Serenade-PG15 04:00 Houseguest-PG15 06:00 Everybody Wants To Be Italian-PG15 08:00 The Wedding Singer-PG15

10:00 Car Babes-PG15 12:00 Lucky Break-PG15 14:00 The First $20 Million Is Always The Hardest-PG15 16:00 My One And Only-PG15 18:00 The Associate-PG15 20:00 Road Trip: Beer Pong-18 22:00 French And Saunders Still Alive-18

01:00 This Revolution-PG15 03:00 Exodus-PG15 05:00 The Brothers Bloom-PG15 07:00 The Secret Lives Of Second Wives-PG15 09:00 The Secret Lives Of Second Wives-PG15 11:00 Creation-PG15 13:00 A Shine Of Rainbows-PG15 15:00 Stevie-PG15 17:00 Ice Castles-PG15 18:45 You Don’t Know Jack-PG15 21:00 The Fisher King-18 23:15 Mesrine: Killer Instinct-18

01:00 Without A Paddle: Nature’s Calling-PG15 03:00 One Hot Summer-PG15 05:00 The Lizzie McGuire MoviePG15 07:00 Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant-PG15 09:00 Preacher’s Kid-PG 11:00 2012-PG15 13:30 Did You Hear About The Morgans?-PG15 15:15 Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian-PG15 17:00 Preacher’s Kid-PG 19:00 Elle: A Modern Day Cinderella Tale-PG15 21:00 Brothers-18 23:00 Shutter Island-18

00:00 Nanny Mcphee And The Big Bang-PG 02:00 Pete’s Dragon-PG 04:15 Pocahontas And The Spider Woman-PG 06:15 Dr. Dolittle-PG 08:15 The Three Musketeers-FAM 10:00 Barbie: A Fairy Secret-FAM 12:00 Nanny Mcphee And The Big Bang-PG 14:00 Dr. Dolittle-PG 16:00 Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea-FAM 18:00 Dr. Dolittle 2-PG 20:00 Time Kid-FAM 22:00 Barbie: A Fairy Secret-FAM

00:00 Diary Of The Dead-18 02:00 Before You Say I Do-PG15 04:00 Maneater: Part I-PG15 08:00 Nativity!-PG 09:45 National Security-PG15 11:15 Avatar-PG 14:00 Elle: A Modern Day Cinderella Tale-PG15 16:00 Nativity!-PG 18:00 The Boys Are Back-PG 20:00 Cop Out-PG15 22:00 Road Trip: Beer Pong-18

00:00 Premier League Darts 03:30 Scottish Premier League 05:30 AFL Highlights 06:30 Asian Tour Golf Show 07:00 Tennis 11:30 Mobil 1 The Grid 12:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 12:30 Asian Tour Golf Show 13:00 Trans World Sport 14:00 Live Tennis Masters Guinot 18:00 Trans World Sport 19:00 Golfing World 20:00 Futbol Mundial 20:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 21:00 Live Premier League Darts

00:00 01:30 02:30 03:00

Tennis Masters Guinot Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial Asian Tour Golf Show

03:30 European Tour Weekly 04:00 Asian Tour Highlights 05:00 AFL Highlights 06:00 Trans World Sport 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 European PGA Tour Highlights 09:00 European Tour Weekly 09:30 Asian Tour Highlights 10:30 Asian Tour Golf Show 11:00 Trans World Sport 12:00 Total Rugby 12:30 Weber Cup Bowling 13:30 Golfing World 14:30 European Tour Weekly 15:00 Live European PGA Tour 19:00 Asian Tour Golf Show 19:30 Tennis Masters Guinot 21:00 NRL Full Time 21:30 Live RFL Championship 23:30 Tennis Masters Guinot

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 16:30 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 23:00

UFC Unleashed Intercontinental Le Mans Cup V8 Supercars Championship WWE NXT WWE Vintage Collection UFC Unleashed WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line Intercontinental Le Mans Cup V8 Supercars Championship WWE Vintage Collection WWE Bottom Line WWE SmackDown Full Throttle UAE National Race Day Series Superstock Powerboat Series WWE Vintage Collection WWE NXT UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC Unleashed WWE NXT

01:05 Jackson County Jail 02:30 Who’ll Stop The Rain?

04:35 Hendrix 06:15 Teenage Bonnie And Klepto Clyde 07:45 The 60’s 09:45 The Aviator 11:20 Big Screen 1 11:35 Captive Hearts 13:15 Sibling Rivalry 14:40 Mystery Date 16:15 Avanti 18:35 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers 20:30 Book Of Days 22:00 A Home Of Our Own 23:45 North Of Chiang Mai

00:00 The Big Fish 00:30 Word Travels 01:00 Hollywood and Vines 01:30 Distant Shores 02:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 03:00 Globe Trekker 05:00 The Big Fish 05:30 Word Travels 06:00 First Class Italy 06:30 48 Hours In 07:00 Globe Trekker 07:30 Essential 08:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 09:00 Travel Notebook 10:00 Grannies On Safari 10:30 The Seasoned Traveler 11:00 The Big Fish 11:30 Word Travels 12:00 Globe Trekker 13:00 Distant Shores 13:30 The Thirsty Traveler 14:00 First Class Italy 14:30 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 15:30 Chef Abroad 16:00 Globe Trekker 17:00 The Big Fish 17:30 Travel Today 18:00 Distant Shores 18:30 The Thirsty Traveler 19:00 Globe Trekker 20:00 Nomad’s Land 21:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 22:00 Glutton For Punishment 22:30 Angry Planet 23:00 Globe Trekker

Classifieds THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for a decent Keralite bachelor in a fully furnished C-A/C building in Farwaniya with all facilities, between Continental Suit and International Clinic.

Contact: 99716630.

(C 3356) Room available in C-A/C flat with separate bath room in Sharq near Mughal Mahal Restaurant for working ladies or small family from July 1st. Pls contact: 99567689 or 55197093.

(C 3357) Sharing accommodation available for couples or working ladies in Abbassiya near United Indian School in a New C-A/C building with double bed room, double bath room flat with Keralite Christian family and land phone, internet (24 hours), clean water facilities available.

Contact: 67731613. (C 3358) A fully furnished room in 3 bedroom C-AC flat in Ashbiliya with kitchen facility is available, bachelor Muslim Pakistani / Indians preferred.

Contact:

99714430. (C 3361) 19-5-2011 Sharing accommodation available effective today for a non-smoking bachelor in a double bedroom flat in Amman street, Salmiya. Call 97199146. (C 3353)

Sharing accommodation available for Indian bachelors in a fully furnished central A/C building in Farwaniya with kitchen and parking facilities. Those interested may call Mob: 99038601. (C 3341)

Sharing accommodation available for single decent, non smoking bachelor, share with family. Opposite to Rashid hospital, Shara Amman, Salmiya. Tel: 65717906, 50223132.

(C 3354)

Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya for decent couples (non-smoking) in a central A/C, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom (1 attached) from 30th May onwards. Rent KD 85. Phone: 99416236 (C 3343)

Family on vacation flat available in Abbassiya for 2 months (June - July) Keralite only. Tel: 97121669.

(C 3352) 18-5-2011

Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya, near Al-Mulla exchange, one bedroom & separate bathroom with Keralite family from June onwards, small family or working ladies. Please call 66450237.

(C 3340)

Sharing accommodation available single room with Tamil bachelor in Salmiya near Edee store & Sagar restaurant.

Contact: 99690298, 97208716.

(C 3348) Accommodation available in Jabriya, 3 bedroom 2 bathroom fully furnished CA/C flat near Jabriya Indian School.

Please call 55779225. (C 3351) 17-5-2011

Sharing accommodation single room available in Farwaniya near gas station, clinic from 10-6-2001 to 109-2011. Three month visit visa only with household items also. Please call 99482666. (C 3344)

behind Hadi hospital, prefer nurses or decent working lady, should Muslim Indian or Pakistan. Please call: 66373409

One Room available in three bedroom flat in Salmiya, Shara bin Mughaira street,

PC Compaq Pentium 4, HD 20 GB, RAM 128 (Expandable), Windows XP Pro with 15” LCD Neovo, excellent condition. Price KD 35. Contact: 99322585.

(C 3360) 19-5-2011

FOR SALE

Toyota Corolla, model 2007, golden color, 1.8 engine, 89,000 km done, original paint, excellent condition, price KD 2,750, negotiable.

Contact: 99105286. (C 3355) 18-5-2011 Mazda 6, white color, 2007 model, full option, km 82000, KD 1750. Mob: 65085629. (C 3349) Honda City, 2009 model, golden color, full options, + CD, km 18000, KD 2400. Tel: 66729295. (C 3350) 17-5-2011

Ford Edgese model 2011, zero mileage, brand new from company original price KD 8,000, selling price KD 7,200, serious buyers.

Contact: 99495795.

(C 3342) 16-5-2011

No: 15093

MATRIMONIAL Marriage proposal invited for 26/162 B.Tech Engr, Christian, Marthomite Girl, Employed and residing with parents in Kuwait, seeking alliance from professionally qualified, Christian boys, 28-30yrs, preferably Marthomite.

Contact E-mail ID: hisgrace52@gmail.com (C 3359) 19-5-2011

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines

Flt

JZR THY ETH KAC UAE DHX ETD FDB GFA QTR FCX JZR KAC BAW KAC KAC IRA KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE QTR ABY ETD GFA MEA JZR JZR KNE JZR KAC MSR UAL RJA MSR FDB OMA JZR SVA KAC KNE KAC JZR QTR LMU

267 772 620 1786 853 370 305 67 211 138 201 555 412 157 206 382 605 302 53 332 352 284 362 855 132 125 301 213 404 165 121 789 561 672 610 982 640 621 57 645 357 500 552 745 788 257 134 407

Arrival Flights on Thursday 19/5/2011 Route BEIRUT ISTANBUL ADDIS ABABA JEDDAH DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI ALEXANDRIA MANILA / BANGKOK LONDON ISLAMABAD DELHI ISFAHAN MUMBAI DUBAI TRIVANDRUM COCHIN DHAKA COLOMBO DUBAI DOHA SHARJAH ABU DHABI BAHRAIN BEIRUT DUBAI BAHRAIN JEDDAH SOHAG DUBAI CAIRO WASHINGTON DC DULLES AMMAN ASSIUT DUBAI MUSCAT MASHAD JEDDAH DAMASCUS JEDDAH JEDDAH BEIRUT DOHA ALEXANDRIA

Time 0:35 1:15 1:45 1:50 2:25 2:55 2:55 3:10 3:15 3:20 5:25 6:10 6:15 6:30 7:15 7:20 7:40 7:50 7:55 7:55 8:05 8:10 8:20 8:25 9:00 9:10 9:30 9:35 10:55 11:10 11:15 11:40 12:30 13:15 13:20 13:30 13:35 13:40 13:50 14:00 14:10 14:30 14:35 14:45 14:50 15:10 15:15 15:25

KAC JZR KAC MLR ETD UAE GFA SVA JZR TAR JZR ABY ALK JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC SIA JAI IRA FDB VOS OMA JZR MEA KAC KAC MSR DHX KLM UAE GFA JZR QTR UAL AIC JZR LMU JZR MSR DLH AXB JZR BBC PIA

546 535 118 403 303 857 215 510 777 327 239 127 227 177 104 502 542 618 786 614 774 674 458 572 617 61 93 647 179 402 178 562 618 372 445 859 217 203 136 981 981 135 409 185 612 636 389 539 43 205

ALEXANDRIA CAIRO NEW YORK COLOMBO / DUBAI ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH JEDDAH TUNIS / DUBAI AMMAN SHARJAH COLOMBO / DUBAI DUBAI LONDON BEIRUT CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH BAHRAIN RIYADH DUBAI SINGAPORE / ABU DHABI MUMBAI AHWAZ DUBAI KANDAHAR / DUBAI MUSCAT DUBAI BEIRUT GENEVA / FRANKFURT AMMAN ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN AMSTERDAM DUBAI BAHRAIN DAMASCUS DOHA BAHRAIN CHENNAI / AHMEDABAD BAHRAIN ASSIUT DUBAI CAIRO FRANKFURT KOZHIKODE / MANGALORE CAIRO DHAKA LAHORE

15:30 15:50 16:15 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:20 17:25 17:30 17:35 17:40 18:00 18:00 18:35 18:45 18:50 18:55 19:00 19:20 19:25 19:25 19:35 19:35 19:45 20:00 20:00 20:10 20:10 20:15 20:45 20:50 20:55 21:00 21:05 21:15 21:25 21:30 21:35 22:00 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:35 22:50 23:00 23:10 23:30 23:45 23:55

Departur AXB AIC KLM PIA THY ETH UAE FDB DHX ETD QTR JZR JZR GFA JZR JZR BAW KAC IRA FDB JZR KAC KAC KAC JZR KAC UAE ABY QTR ETD GFA KAC MEA KAC JZR JZR KNE KAC KAC JZR MSR RJA FDB MSR UAL OMA KAC KNE

Flt 394 976 447 216 773 620 854 68 371 306 139 560 164 212 356 120 156 545 606 54 534 787 671 551 256 101 856 126 133 302 214 165 405 541 776 238 790 501 785 176 611 641 58 622 982 646 673 746

Depurture Flights on Thursday 19/5/2011 Route COCHIN / KOZHIKODE GOA / CHENNAI AMSTERDAM KARACHI ISTANBUL BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA DUBAI DUBAI BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DOHA SOHAG DUBAI BAHRAIN MASHAD BAHRAIN LONDON ALEXANDRIA MASHAD DUBAI CAIRO JEDDAH DUBAI DAMASCUS BEIRUT LONDON / NEW YORK DUBAI SHARJAH DOHA ABU DHABI BAHRAIN ROME / PARIS BEIRUT CAIRO JEDDAH AMMAN JEDDAH BEIRUT JEDDAH DUBAI CAIRO AMMAN DUBAI ASSIUT BAHRAIN MUSCAT DUBAI JEDDAH

Time 0:15 0:50 0:55 1:10 2:15 2:30 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:05 5:00 5:55 6:55 7:10 8:20 8:20 8:25 8:35 8:40 8:40 8:50 8:55 9:00 9:10 9:10 9:30 9:40 9:50 10:00 10:15 10:20 11:45 11:55 12:00 12:00 12:10 12:25 13:00 13:30 13:40 14:20 14:30 14:35 14:40 14:45 15:00 15:10 15:30

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

KAC KAC JZR SVA JZR KAC QTR KAC LMU JZR VOS ETD MLR UAE GFA TAR ABY JZR JZR SVA ALK JZR KAC KAC JAI FDB IRA KAC KAC OMA MEA SIA MSR DHX KLM KAC UAE GFA FCX QTR KAC KAC JZR JZR LMU JZR KAC UAL MSR KAC

617 561 178 505 202 773 135 613 408 538 82 304 404 858 216 328 128 184 266 511 228 134 283 361 571 62 616 331 351 648 403 457 619 373 445 677 860 218 102 137 301 205 502 554 410 222 411 981 613 415

DOHA AMMAN DUBAI JEDDAH DAMASCUS RIYADH DOHA BAHRAIN ASSIUT CAIRO BAGHDAD ABU DHABI DUBAI / COLOMBO DUBAI BAHRAIN TUNIS SHARJAH DUBAI BEIRUT RIYADH DUBAI / COLOMBO BAHRAIN DHAKA COLOMBO MUMBAI DUBAI AHWAZ TRIVANDRUM COCHIN MUSCAT BEIRUT ABU DHABI / SINGAPORE ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN BAHRAIN / AMSTERDAM DUBAI / MUSCAT DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD LUXOR ALEXANDRIA ALEXANDRIA ALEPPO BANGKOK / MANILA WASHINGTON DC DULLES CAIRO KUALA LUMPUR / JAKARTA

15:35 15:45 16:00 16:00 16:05 16:05 16:15 16:20 16:25 16:40 17:00 17:35 17:40 18:05 18:15 18:20 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 19:10 19:10 20:00 20:20 20:35 20:40 20:45 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:20 21:55 22:00 22:05 22:10 22:25 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:55 23:05 23:10 23:20 23:25 23:40 23:40 23:50 23:50

34

star CROSSWORD 322

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

s STAR TRACK

CALVIN & HOBBES

Aries (March 21-April 19) This is one of your better days this month. The balance is shifting and you are less likely to ignore or overlook business situations.

You have a strong determined energy that can be focused to help you find the many answers you seek. Take nothing for granted, especially as far as communication is concerned. Check and recheck to make sure you were understood and that you understand instructions. You feel a good amount of support from those around you. You will be please at the end of this day as you find ways to save your company money and increase the customer count. You are becoming most persuasive with others and charismatic in speech and communication. There is a sense of harmony at home that makes for a happy time this evening.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You have a natural aptitude for describing the most sensitive areas of the human psyche, a practical psychologist of the first order. You can manage and work with touchy issues today that others will not attempt. You will find yourself mending fences between an irate customer and an employee or between an employee and employer. You communicate with great skill and it is stimulating just being with you. No matter how much you would rather do some fun activity, you will see your obligations through to the end this afternoon. You have a new incentive to be creative and will be able to put to use some new ideas that will help to lighten your load in the future. You will help to make an older personís life easier this evening.

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. A fatal disease of cattle that affects the central nervous system.

4. Be present at (meetings, church services, university), etc..

10. An ester of adenosine that is converted to ATP for energy storage.

13. (informal) Of the highest quality.

14. A member of the Pawnee nation formerly living in Nebraska and Kansas but now largely in Oklahoma.

15. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity equal to 10 decibels.

16. A label made of cardboard or plastic or metal.

17. Any of a class of organic compounds that contain the divalent radical -CONHCO-.

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

21. The branch of computer science that deal with writing computer programs that can solve problems creatively.

23. Fermented alcoholic beverage similar to but heavier than beer.

26. King of Saudi Arabia from 1964 to 1975 (1906-1975).

29. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

30. A bag used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women).

32. Confederate general during the American Civil War who was defeated by Grant in the battle of Chattanooga (1817-1876).

35. A colorless and odorless inert gas.

36. A dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain.

38. (British) A waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric.

43. An unstable meson produced as the result of a high-energy particle collision.

45. Report or maintain.

46. King of England who was renounced by Northumbria in favor of his brother Edgar (died in 959).

47. Long green edible beaked pods of the okra plant.

51. The Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Dali region of Yunnan.

56. An associate degree in applied science.

57. Used of a single unit or thing.

58. Any organic compound formed by adding alcohol molecules to aldehyde molecules.

59. A hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland that controls the degree of pigmentation in melanocytes.

60. The cry made by sheep.

61. A member of an agricultural people of southern India.

62. Any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all.

DOWN 1. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

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

3. A graphical record of electrical activity of the brain.

4. The capital of Western Samoa.

5. 100 tambala equal 1 Kwacha.

6. Of textiles.

7. Give qualities or abilities to.

8. Large semi-evergreen tree of East India.

9. A Mid-Atlantic state.

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

11. Bar temporarily.

12. A cloth having a crisscross design.

18. Tired to the point of exhaustion.

20. An anxiety disorder associated with serious traumatic events and characterized by such symptoms as guilt about surviving or reliving the trauma in dreams or numbness and lack of involvement with reality or recurrent thoughts and images.

22. Belonging to or on behalf of a specified person (especially yourself).

24. A very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk.

25. The mission in San Antonio where in 1836 Mexican forces under Santa Anna besieged and massacred American rebels who were fighting to make Texas independent of Mexico.

27. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

28. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural).

31. A Gaelic-speaking Celt in Ireland or Scotland or the Isle of Man. 33. 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.

34. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the pilot is talked down by ground control using precision approach radar.

37. Class of protozoa having cilia or hairlike appendages on part or all of the surface during some part of the life cycle.

38. Large semi-evergreen tree of East India.

39. Small genus of tropical African perennial bulbous herbs with deciduous twining stems.

40. One or some or every or all without specification.

41. A percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance.

42. The corporate executive responsible for the operations of the firm.

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

48. God of love and erotic desire.

49. Uttering in an irritated tone.

50. United States tennis player who was the first Black to win United States and English singles championships (1943-1993).

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

53. A piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep.

54. The act of slowing down or falling behind.

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

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Intense, passionate and very personal today, you rush past superficialities and right to the heart of most matters. You will see the results of your hard work soon. Given to clear-headed thinking and practical insight, you take a distant perspective and a cool appraisal with most opportunities. This permits you to make good choices most of the time and limits your risk taking to a minimum. You may find yourself analyzing some new projects today— take your time. Today you will be able to tackle tasks that require real discipline or organization. You will find yourself in a very practical mood and working with, instead of against, yourself. You may have some serious or contemplative moments. Your confidence is high.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

If you give your best efforts at work, great strides can be taken. This is a great time to be with others in work or play. You may be asked to do a special job today that entails the need for strong concentration.

Your intuition is sharp and this may lead you to new and helpful insights.

Welcome the trials and opposition of a new financial venture—your ideas are working well. You have the mental sharpness to perceive an unusual opportunity.

While out with your friends this afternoon—be slow to criticize. There is one who will grind on your nerves just now. Romance is available in the workplace but it would be an unacceptable choice. This evening marks a period of feeling good about yourself, in a quiet sort of way.

Leo (July 23-August 22) You are able to handle difficult people and may be called upon to help with crowd control. You are able to cut through the red tape to get at what is beneath and behind most situations that others feel have no remedy.

This is a time when you can make a real difference in the workplace and the profits of the company for which you work. There is support and recognition from your coworkers. You may find that you are able to bring more imagination to bear on your goals and ambitions. You might find your ideals taking a more spiritual turn, thus involving you more in community and religious projects. This is a time when philosophical ideas—religious and such—really hold your interest. You are able to teach, the unity that binds.

ZITS

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Career choices and direction seem to indicate a loss of freedom and originality on your part. You may feel stifled and forced to go along if you want to succeed. This could result in a situation building up to an explosive level. Express your creative side at home. Make it a point to set aside time each day to involve yourself with work of the creative kind and then your workdays will seem to flow along even better than they do now. Your taste in art and appreciation in general are heightened. The more you involve yourself in creative activities away from the workplace, the more adaptable and capable of problem solving you become in the workplace. This is a great time to sit back and enjoy what you have. You may find yourself singing.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Make a strong effort to organize your workplace, since this temporarily unorganized area can only add confusion and delay to your good works for now. You may find your concentration is difficult but finishing your work is important in order to build self-esteem and respect from higher-ups. You could be most persuasive with others and know just what to say in order to gain the interest needed today. The situation is a natural for self-expression and lends itself to your particular ideas and thoughts. A love relationship may need some work.

Concentrate on communicating to each other what you really feel so that you can bring about a better understanding of how your lives fit together. Read a poem to your loved one this evening.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You may be glad to be in the workplace today. Repairs or refurbishing work of some sort can become rather noisy at home. Your professional routine moves along at a good pace. Creative accomplishments will also be successful. During the noon break, you and a co-worker may share a memory or two of interesting travel experiences. You are in a good position to communicate concerning groups, co-workers and society in general. This is a good time to get your own needs met as you can be most persuasive with people that you donít even know. You may find your love life a bit confusing this afternoon. This should not mean a major hassle, but it may mean a time where you will need to remove the emotions and see things from a different viewpoint.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

To

Yesterday’s Solution

You may not appreciate someone’s unrealistic approach to a situation. Their general fogginess and impractical attitude may find you at odds with them. However, you have a sweetness about you and any discord is short-lived. Someone could challenge you on a very sensitive issue but you are learning to stay focused and to not allow someone to intimidate you into a distraction. You have a keen insight into what makes things tick and who or what pulls the strings. When dealing with people, you deal with creatures of emotion—not necessarily creatures of logic. Figuring out ways to make your nest egg grow can be a preoccupation this afternoon. Chatting with family members about your ideas can have perceptible results.

Your attitude toward challenges is positive and you do well in your profession. The few challenges you encounter will have successful results. This afternoon progress is happening in the workplace and your personal career path will seem to become cleared of any challenges. You are able to use good common sense and you can feel trends and make the right moves.

You may be taking on the responsibility of a mortgage for the first time. That should work out very well for you. A child may be under pressure and this is a good time to teach some good problem-solving abilities. Your responsibilities this evening turn into a pleasant return of your efforts. There is time left this evening for all members of the family to express themselves.

Yesterday’s Solution Yester

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You are practical and useful in all areas of the workplace.

This may make you a good leader and if you are not in a leader position . . . this year may become the beginning of your leadership years. When your expertise is requested, you will know just what to do. You may be called on to make use of your natural abilities and common sense. There may be many instances when you will have to supply a solution to a particular problem. Your energy is good. Be prepared to work hard! Luck visits you today and increases your financial situation. This evening a cycle of nostalgia and domesticity begins, emphasizing a need for security and a sense of roots. Family, home, relatives and real estate play a bigger part in your life.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

This is a good day to work and communicate with the opposite sex. Be careful of becoming jealous of other peopleís accomplishments during this time. A need to be respected is an emotionally charged issue in your life at this time. You develop a knack for organizing things and people, as a sense of ambition and practicality takes hold. Work, achievement and ambition mean a lot to you. Your thoughts and energies are more focused on your work and it may not be the best time to try and shop. You may not find much support for your particular tastes. There is plenty of energy today, enabling you to work or play at an accelerated pace. Physical activity, especially sports, is a good way to channel this energy.

A

y

e niv rsar n

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

Years

i n f o r m at i o n FIRE BRIGADE STATE ST TATE T OF KUW K KUWAIT WA AIT

112

Tel.: T el.: e 161

DIRECTORA DIRECTORATE AT TE GENE GENERAL ERAL OF CIVIL A AVIATION V VIA AT TION METEOROLOGICAL DEP D PA ARTMENT DEPARTMENT

Ministry of Interior

Ext.: 262 2627 27 - 2630

Fax: 24348714 WWW.MET.GOV.KW WWW .MET.GOV V.KW . W

Expected W Weather eather for the Next 24 4 Hours

website: www.moi.gov.kw For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

BY Y DAY: DA AY:

Unstab Unstable ble with moderate to fresh south so outh easterly to easterly wind, wind d, with speed of 20 - 45 km/h h causing raising dust with w a chance for rain that might mig ght be thundery at times

BY Y NIGHT: NIGHT:

Partly cloudy with moderate to fresh fresh easterly to north easterly wind, with speed of 20 - 40 km/h causing rai ing dust with a chance for rain that might be thundery at times Unstable weatherr

WARNING W ARNING A STATION ST TAT TION

Al-Madena

22418714

Al-Shohada’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

MAX. EXP EXP. P.

MIN.. REC.

Al-Mangaf

23711183

KUW WAIT A CITY KUWAIT

38 °C

31 °C

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

24812000

KUWAIT KUW WAIT A AIRPORT AIRPOR RT

39 °C

27 °C

Al-Jahra

25610011

Amiri Hospital

22450005

NUWAISEEB NUW WAISEEB A

37 °C C

30 °C C

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Maternity Hospital

24843100

WAFRA WAFRA A

42 °C

30 °C

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

SALMI

37 °C

24 °C

Chest Hospital

24849400

ABDALY ABDAL LY

41 °C

30 °C

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

JAL ALIYAH ALIY YAH A

39 °C

29 °C

Adan Hospital

23940620

FA AILAKA FAILAKA

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

36 °C

30 °C

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

AHMADI PORT POR RT

32 °C

31 °C

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

UMM AL-MARADEM M

30 °C

27 °C

WARBA WARBA A A - BUBYAN BUBY YAN A

33 °C

28 °C

Hospitals Sabah Hospital

Clinics Rabiya

4732263

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

SFC. CHART CHART

18/05/2011 0000 UTC 18/05/2011

POLICE STATION

4 DAYS DA AYS Y FORECAST Temperatures T emperratures DAY DA AY

DA DATE AT TE

WEATHER WEA AT THER

MAX.

MIN.

W ind Dir ection Wind Direction

W Wind ind Speed

Thursday

19/05

partly cloudy

41 °C

29 °C

SE-E

15 - 35 km/h

Friday Saturday

20/05

dusty

43 °C

30 °C

N-NW

25 - 45 km/h

21/05

dusty

42 °C

32 °C

NW

25 - 50 km/h

Sunday

22/05

dusty

42 °C

32 °C

NW

40 - 48 km/h

PRAYER PR RA AY YER TIMES

RECORDED D YESTERDAY YESTERDA AY A AT T KUWAIT KUW WA AIT T AIRPORT AIRPORT

Fajr

03:23

MAX. MA AX. Temp.

Temp.

39 °C

Sunrise S i

04:54 04 54

MIN. MIIN. IN Temp.

Temp.

24 °C

Zuhr

11:44 11:44

MAX. M RH

85 %

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Asr

15:20

MIN. RH M

Dasmah

22532265

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18:35

MA AX. Wind Wiind MAX.

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22531908

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20:02

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22518752

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22630786

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24810221

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24770319

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24575755

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24772608

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24775066

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24775992

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24311795

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24884079

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24892674

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24719048

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24710044

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3900322

19 %

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Naomi Campbell ‘loves’ karaoke he British supermodel - who released critically-slammed single ‘Love and Tears’ in 1994 - loves performing a song and dance routine, and particularly enjoyed taking the microphone in Japan, where she did a “set dance” like 90s pop band Steps. She said: “I love the karaoke. I once went to a nightclub where all the women were on one side of the room and the men were on the other. “It was so much fun, we did set dances a bit like the band Steps. It went on for a while, it was great. I love unique nights out.” The 40-year-old beauty is set to attend the wedding of her friend and fellow model Kate Moss to Jamie Hince on July 2 - which will be in the style of a mini-festival - and she is “delighted” she is getting married to the guitarist as she “loves” him. She told the Daily Star newspaper: “I am

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delighted for Kate. I love Jamie, he’s a great guy and they make a lovely couple.” Speaking about the marriage recently, Naomi - who has been in a relationship with Russian businessman Vladimir Doronin for three years - revealed she was feeling “really nostalgic” about the nuptials. She added: “It’s going to be really nostalgic because we have grown up together and Kate getting married is an amazing moment. “It shows we’ve all grown up but we are still the original supermodels. We’ll still party, even though Kate’s getting married, I don’t think that will change us.”

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Depp told to

get rid of hats

ohnny Depp has been ordered to get rid of his hats by Vanessa Paradis. The 47-year-old actor - who has previously been voted Hat Person of the Year - is known for his love of headwear but his long-term partner is furious with how out-of-control his accessories collection has become. A source said: “He has hundreds of hats - two rooms in their Paris apartment packed with them.

“Vanessa wants some closet room but Johnny’s hats are taking up too much space. She told him point-blank, ‘Johnny, you get those hats out of here or when you’re gone, I’m going to throw them all in the trash. ‘ “He was horrified. He loves his hats and he is constantly buying more.” Vanessa’s ultimatum came after her partner - with who she has children Lily-Rose, 11, and eight-year-old Jack - came home with a hat he’d bought from a homeless person - and the star has now agreed to find somewhere else to store his headwear. The insider added to National Enquirer magazine: “That was the last straw. Vanessa was livid. She told Johnny he has until the end of the year to clear out the hats. “But he’s way too fond of them, so he’ll move the bulk of the hats to one of their other homes.”

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noop Dogg wants to launch a TV show to find the hottest talent from “the hood”. The rapper claims he turned down a role as judge on the new US version of ‘The X Factor’, but he does want to appear in a program that looks for potential stars from deprived areas. He said: “The ‘American Idol’ and ‘X Factor’ shows, they’re great shows. But I think I need to make a show like that, that’s directed straight to the hood. To the artists that don’t get the attention, that don’t have the money to make themselves representable. This raw talent and ability.

“I’m looking for a deal from one of you TV networks to give Snoop Dogg his own hood TV show where I can find America’s hottest hood artists. Holla at me.” Snoop is, by his own admission on the track ‘Raised in Da Hood’, from a poor area of Long Beach in California and got mixed up in a gang while in high school before being jailed before he graduated. Soon after he was released he found fame as a hip-hop star, and he has also become one of the biggest reality TV stars in the US with his show ‘Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood’. The ‘Sweat’ rapper’s business ambitions extend much further than fronting a TV show, as he is also planning to open his own branded supermarkets. Snoop - who is currently in the UK to promote his latest album ‘Doggumentary’ - added: “I want to open a chain of supermarkets, I want to call them ‘Snoopermarkets’.”

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essica Alba is finding her second pregnancy “harder” than her first. The ‘Little Fockers’ actress - who is currently expecting her second child with husband Cash Warren - explained her two-year-old daughter Honor Marie is constantly demanding to be picked up, which is taking its toll on her body. She said: “It’s a little harder on the body. My daughter still wants to be picked up and ever since my belly popped she’s really on me.” Jessica also revealed hypnobirthing - a process which involves undergoing hypnosis during childbirth - helped her during her first labor, as she initially “freaked out”. She added to People magazine: “I highly recommend it. It just makes you chill. I was freaked my first time going into labor, like, ‘What if I panic? What if I just freak out and am not prepared for it?’ This just prepares you.”

The 30-year-old screen beauty recently admitted becoming a mother had stopped her from being “selfish”. Jessica said: “My daughter has put everything in perspective for me. You stop being selfish and driven in such a narrow personal sense, and you want to build a life for yourself and your family.”

Gibson’s alph Macchio was voted off ‘Dancing with the Stars’ last night. The ‘Karate Kid’ star and his professional partner Karina Smirnoff found themselves in the bottom two alongside Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy before being told they hadn’t made it through to next week’s final. After receiving the news, Ralph - who finished bottom of the leader board on Monday night said: “The fans have driven us through every week. It inspired me and I love that. I am overwhelmed. “I did the show, thanks to ‘Dancing with the Stars’, thanks to my friends and family.” He also praised his partner Karina, describing her as the best teacher he could have asked for. He said: “Karina, you have inspired me in so many ways with your heart, your talent, your class, your integrity as an artist, and even more so as a human being. I am proud to have been your dance partner and even more proud to be your friend.” Former ‘Cheers’ star Kirstie will now compete in the final next Monday final, against singer-and-actress Chelsea Kane and NFL player Hines Ward. The three finalists will each perform two dances before the champion is crowned on Tuesday.

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‘therapeutic’ role el Gibson’s role in ‘The Beaver’ had a “therapeutic” effect on him. Jodie Foster - who co-stars alongside the 55-year-old actor in the new movie and has been a close friend of his since they appeared together in 1994’s ‘Maverick’ - explained the film has helped Mel to “look deeper” at himself after being accused of domestic violence by ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva last year. She said: “Anything that you do that you obsess about and think about and give that much to for six months of your life in his case allows you to look deeper at yourself and the people around you and the effect of what you do and has to have some kind of therapeutic, cathartic end. “I know that he is incredibly proud of the movie and I think that he is proud of what he’s shown and I think he wants people to see that side of him and he’s an incredibly private man so what he shows on screen is deep as you could possibly get.” Jodie also insisted the troubled actor - who portrays depressed company chief Walter Black in ‘The Beaver’ - was the perfect star for the role, because he understands how it feels to want to “transform yourself”.

Speaking at the launch of the movie at the Cannes Film Festival, she added: “He was the right actor for the role and

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had a deep understanding of the struggles faced by the character. He really understood the character in a way that was extraordinary. “I think that he was willing to go to such a deep place and willing to expose himself in some ways, to really talk about something he knows a lot about which is struggle, wanting to change, wanting to transform yourself, not wanting to be who you are and I’m so grateful for that performance.”

Swift likes to be ‘surprised by love’ he 21-year-old singer - who has previously dated the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal, Joe Jonas and Taylor Lautner - revealed she doesn’t care about being in a relationship with someone rich, famous or good-looking, but just wants to meet a man she can find true love with. She explained: “There are no rules when it comes to love. I just try to let love surprise me because you never know who you’re going to fall in love with. “You never know who’s going to come into your life - and for me, when I picture the person I want to end up with, I don’t think about what their career is, or what they

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look like. I picture the feeling I get when I’m with them.” The country music star - who has written about her former loves on a number of her records - admitted she is a “hopeful person”, and is convinced she will eventually get her happy ending. Taylor added to US InStyle magazine: “I’m really a daydreamer and a hopeful person. When it comes to ‘happily ever after,’ I always have a tendency to write a happy ending to my songs. “That’s probably wishful thinking on my part.”

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Pete Townshend says 2012 memoir a ‘rite of passage’

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long-awaited memoir by British rock guitarist and the Who songwriter Pete Townshend will be finished and published by next year, book publisher Harper Collins said on Tuesday. The 65-yearold musician, idolized since rising to prominence with The Who in the 1960s, said in a statement released by the book publisher the autobiography is “not a vanity for me. It is an essential rite of passage.”

Townshend, who Rolling Stone magazine said has been writing a memoir since the 1990s, has forged a reputation not only as the main songwriter for one of Britain’s most influential bands, but a rock commentator who has also published works of fiction and essays in the past. “Rock ‘n’ Roll is a tough career, however cynically or comically it is portrayed by its detractors,” Townshend said in the statement. “I am lucky to be alive and to have such a crazy story to tell, full of wild adventures and creative machinations. I am happy that I am able to write my book myself, in my own ‘voice’.”

Harper Collins, which said it has acquired the world English-language rights to the memoir, said in a news release the book would “at long last tell his dramatic story in a full and frank autobiography,” and include the history of the band’s roots to its rock opera “ Tommy.” The publisher did not say if Townshend would address being cautioned by the British police in 2003 for accessing child pornography on the Internet. At that time Townshend blamed the book, saying he was researching material for a childhood autobiography after believing he had been sexually abused between the ages of five and six and a half while in the care of his maternal grandmother.

—Reuters

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(From left) Producers Meta Foldager, Louise Vesth, actors Brady Corbet, Stellan Skaarsgaard, Charlotte Gainsbourg, director Lars Von Trier with actors Kirsten Dunst, John Hurt, Udo Kier and Jesper Christensen pose during a photo call for Melancholia at the 64th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, yesterday. — AP

Film of cosmic chaos, end of Earth

wows Cannes A

cosmic collision brings the end to all life in “Melancholia”, a grand cinematic vision from Danish maverick director Lars Von Trier that had the Cannes film festival buzzing with excitement yesterday. The movie, starring Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg as troubled sisters facing imminent death, brings stunning images on Earth and beyond and sets the tragedy to the swirling music of Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde”. Von Trier stunned Cannes two years ago with his sexually explicit and brutally violent “Antichrist”, and the shock tactics returned yesterday when he told a press conference that he sympathised “a little bit” with Adolf Hitler.

Melancholia is one of 20 films in the main competition at the world’s biggest cinema showcase, and judging by loud applause and the lively chatter of critics and journalists after a press screening, he is in the running for the top prize. Asked whether Melancholia had a chance of scooping the coveted Palme d’Or for best picture, which Von Trier won in 2000 with “Dancer In the Dark”, Von Trier said: “Oh yes I do, oh yes I do ... oh yes, oh yes.”

In a press conference where some of the director’s comments had reporters scratching their heads in bewilder-

ment, he was also asked whether he liked his film. “I saw it in bits and saw the stills from it, I kind of rejected it a little bit so I’m not really sure. Maybe it’s crap. Of course I hope not, but there is quite a big possibility that this might be really not worth seeing.” Dunst plays Justine, a bride who cannot shake off crippling depression even at her own wedding-a theme partly inspired by Von Trier’s own battle with the condition. “To me it’s not so much a film about the end of the world. It’s a film about a state of mind,” he said.

“I’ve been through some melancholic stages of my life so it’s obvious to do this.”

Dealing with death The grand wedding reception in a stately home quickly unravels, with Justine’s acerbic, embittered mother played

by Charlotte Rampling declaring she doesn’t believe in marriage. The second part focuses on her sister Claire (Gainsbourg) whose anxiety grows as the planet Melancholia appears to be on a collision course with Earth.

The film’s fascination is not with how it will end-Von Trier makes that clear in the opening shots-but how the two sisters cope differently with impending doom.

Kiefer Sutherland plays Claire’s husband and John Hurt

‘Sperminator’ Schwarzenegger scorned over love child

o fans, he was movie star tough guy the Terminator. Then he turned to politics and was affectionately dubbed the Governator. But after acknowledging that he fathered a child out of wedlock, Arnold Schwarzenegger was swiftly given a new name - the Sperminator. Schwarzenegger’s admission on Tuesday that he impregnated a member of his household staff 10 years ago, while married to Maria Shriver and before running for California governor, triggered scorn, shock and ridicule in the US media.

The couple’s announcement last week that they were splitting after 25 years of marriage and four children followed allegations in 2003 that the bodybuilder turned action hero had made unwanted sexual advances on women in the past. Shriver at the time defended her husband and helped save his gubernatorial campaign, fueling the outrage on Tuesday over Schwarzenegger’s secret offspring. Veteran Hollywood publicist Michael Levine called it “the most outrageous Hollywood scandal” since director

File photo shows former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, as they celebrate his victory in the California gubernatorial recall election in Los Angeles. — AP

Woody Allen’s affair with Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of his longtime companion, actress Mia Farrow, in 1992.

“I don’t think I am shockable any more ... but this one is breathtaking in its outrageous, egregious, irresponsible arrogance,” Levine said. The all-female hosts of television chat show “ The View” feasted on Schwarzenegger’s disclosure. “Who knew that the Sperminator was doing more than pumping iron?” quipped co-host Joy Behar.

Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, whose newspaper was the first to break the story, scathingly termed Schwarzenegger “the biggest phony.”

“I would have thought it would be hard for Mr Universe to top his 2003 confession that he was a serial groper. “Now I’m wondering if there’s anything else we should know.

Any more love children out there? Has anybody checked with maids and nannies in the (Los Angeles) neighborhood where Schwarzenegger lives?” Lopez wrote on Tuesday. —Reuters

Chris Brown leads with 6 nods at 2011 BET Awards

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File photo shows singer Chris Brown performs on BET’s 106 & Park in New York. —AP

ast year at the BET Awards, Chris Brown performed an emotional tribute to Michael Jackson. It marked the beginning of a comeback for the embattled pop star.

This year, Brown is the top contender at the award show with six nominations. Brown is up for best male R&B artist, viewer’s choice and video of the year for “Look at Me Now.” He’s nominated twice in the best collaboration category for his No. 1 R&B hits “Deuces,” featuring Tyga and Kevin McCall, and “Look at Me Now,” with Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne. Brown is also nominated for best actor for his role in the heist thriller “Takers.” Lil Wayne follows Brown with five nominations.

Three of Lil Wayne’s nominations come from his guest appearance on Brown’s “Look at me Now”; Lil Wayne is also up for best male hip-hop artist and viewer’s choice for “6 Foot 7 Foot.” Kanye West, Drake and Rihanna are up for four awards each. Other nominees for video of the year include Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair,” West’s “Runaway,” B.o.B’s “Airplanes,” Keri Hilson’s “Pretty Girl Rock” and Marsha Ambrosius’ “Far Away.” Willow is also up for best new artist and the YoungStars award. Nicki Minaj, Bruno Mars, Trey Songz, Cee Lo Green and B.o.B also received multiple nominations. Alicia Keys will perform and comedian Kevin Hart will host the award show. It airs live on June 26 from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. —AP

appears as Justine’s father, but it is the two sisters who dominate a film that deals in part with humanity’s fascination with and fear of death. The movie is likely to be compared to US director Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life”, also in competition in Cannes, which also tackles some of life’s big questions and carries viewers into outer space. Von Trier made several provocative statements at the press conference that had Dunst squirming in her seat.

He said he planned a porn film starring his two actresses, and was later asked to expand on comments he had made during a recent interview that he was interested in the Nazi aesthetic. After declaring he had German roots, he added: “What can I say? I understand Hitler. I think he did some wrong things, yes absolutely but I can see him sitting in his bunker in the end. “I think I understand the man. He’s not what you would call a good guy, but I understand much about him and I sympathize with him a little bit. I’m not for the Second World War, and I’m not against Jews,” he added, before criticizing Israel and joking that he was a Nazi. “Oh Lars, that was intense,” Dunst said as the briefing ended. Von Trier looked set once again to be the talk of Cannes. —Reuters

Justin Bieber tells Japanese kids: Things will get better

Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Bieber, second left in background, poses for photos with schoolchildren evacuated from areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, during an event held at US ambassadorís residence in Tokyo yesterday. —AP

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anadian pop star Justin Bieber met with Japanese children whose lives have been devastated by an earthquake, tsunami and an ongoing nuclear crisis that has forced thousands of families from their homes. In Japan for several concerts, the 17year-old singer spoke briefly with nearly a dozen kids, including some from Otsuchi, a northeastern town massively damaged by the March 11 tsunami. One boy from Otsuchi read a card from the children to Bieber, thanking him for meeting with them.

“We have friends who lost their family and their homes, some have left our school. The town is covered with wreckage and it will take a long time to get back to normal,” he said.

“But we will work hard for this. Please give us courage through your music.” Bieber, who had earlier told the children that they “were an inspiration,” said in return that life would improve. “Things can get better and things will get better.

There are only good times to come,” he said. Bieber has already contributed to a charity album “Songs For Japan” with artists such as Lady Gaga and Bob Dylan, which has raised over $5 million for the victims of the disasters that have left nearly 25,000 people dead or missing. Bieber performed in the western city of Osaka to a sold-out venue and next appears at Tokyo’s fabled Budokan for another sold-out performance. —Reuters

Williams offered good witch role in ‘Oz’

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isney may have found the final piece of its triumvirate of witches for its “Oz” movie: Michelle Williams. Williams has been offered the role of Glinda, the good witch, in “Oz: The Great and Power ful,” Disney’s prequel-ish take on The Wizard of Oz tale that stars James Franco and Mila Kunis and is being directed by Sam Raimi.

Kunis is on board as Theadora, a witch who falls for Franco. Rachel Weisz is in talk to play sister Evanora, the evil witch who wants to rule the land and tries to seduce Theadora to the dark side; Weisz’s dealmak-

ing is complicated due to her having an offer to star opposite Jeremy Renner in Universal’s new “Bourne” movie, and shooting schedules would overlap.

If a deal makes for Williams, she would play a powerful witch who teams up with Franco to defeat Evanora (and maybe Theadora, but we’re not revealing spoilers).

“Oz” centers on Franco as a snake oil salesman who finds himself dealing with real magic when his balloon carries him into a fabled land and he runs into genuine witches. — Reuters

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A model poses with an emerald and diamond tiara during a Sotheby’s auction press preview on May 11, 2011 in Geneva. — AFP

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exico’s cuisine has long been overshadowed by the greasy Tex-Mex burritos and nachos sold around the world, but efforts to refine its image are now beginning to pay off. Five months after Mexican gastronomy joined the ranks of pre-Hispanic monuments winning special recognition from the UN cultural body, UNESCO, a restaurant serving up Mexican dishes has for the first time been named among the world’s top 50 eateries. The Pujol joins another restaurant also in an upscale district of Mexico City, which serves up Basque fusion cuisine, which made it onto the list last year.

Nopal leaves are seen inside a bag at a market in Mexico City. — AFP photos

Since pre-Hispanic times, Mexican dishes have drawn on a wealth of ingredients, including many varieties of corn, beans and chili peppers, as well as native tomatoes, avocados or cocoa. But top chefs are increasingly mixing up traditional recipes to give them a modern twist.

“People think that Mexican food is heavy, that you have to go on a diet of lettuce three days before you eat it,” said Enrique Olvera, owner of Pujol which made the S Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in April. “We’re looking for a new experience,” Olvera said, using tweezers

A collection of wooden spoons and knives are seen at the School of Mexican Gastronomy .

to assemble a starter of bean dip, roast tomato skin, zucchini, cheese, oil from the Pipicha herb-similar to cilantroand tiny toasted Jumiles bugs.

The 35-year-old has inspired a generation of Mexican chefs and won widespread acclaim in the 11 years since Pujol opened. The minimalist restaurant is located in the capital’s Polanco district, also home to Biko, a Basque restaurant and the only other one in Mexico ever to make the top 50 best restaurant list compiled by more than 800 industry experts. Pujol recently received a visit from Irish rocker and U2 frontman Bono, who choose to celebrate his birthday there. “The fact that there’s a Mexican restaurant in the top 50 means that the world is changing,” said Olvera, who is at the forefront of a movement of chefs, professors and foodies altering perceptions of Mexican food and drink.

A new gastronomy festival in Morelia, Michoacan, in western Mexico, at the end of May, aims to give their efforts a further boost. Smart restaurants and cooking schools here have long favored foreign cooking, particularly from France, but Mexican cooking classes have increased in recent decades.

‘A question of self-esteem’ Attitudes to Mexican food “have changed a little, but it’s a question of self-esteem,” said Yuri de Gotari, who opened the small School of Mexican Gastronomy in Mexico City in 2007. “People are slowly realizing that they have valuable ingredients,” de Gortari said, as he demonstrated a molcajete-a Mexican stone version of the mortar and pestle-to a class of students.

Key to Mexican cooking, fresh ingredients are still sold in markets across the center and south of the country, where traditional dishes are also found. Prickly pear cacti, yellow zucchini flowers, dark red hibiscus flowers and tropical fruit including the endemic mamey sit alongside delicacies such as grasshoppers on market stalls.

But, as elsewhere, a proliferation of junk food is threatening culinary traditions. Many hope UNESCO’s special recognition of Mexico’s entire national cuisine in November, along with French gastronomy and the Mediterranean diet, will help raise awareness of threatened culinary traditions. In its decision, UNESCO said Mexican “knowledge and techniques express community identity, reinforce social bonds, and build stronger local, regional and national identities.” And local producers are starting to fight back. “One thing you’re seeing is more restaurants promoting local ingredients, which you didn’t even see when I got here two years ago,” said Lesley Tellez, a joint founder of Eat Mexico, a company offering street

Different types of fruits coated in caramel are seen for sale at a market.

dazzling tiara featuring emeralds believed to have belonged to Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, sold for a record 11.28 million Swiss francs ($12.76 million) to an anonymous buyer on Tuesday at Sotheby’s. The diamond and emerald tiara, which German prince Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck’s commissioned for his second wife Katharina, was estimated to fetch $5 million-$10 million.

It was top lot at a sale that netted 78.9 million Swiss francs, third highest for a jewellery sale, the auction house said. “It is needless to say a world record price at auction for a tiara,” said David Bennett, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe and Middle East jewellery department, as he brought down the hammer to applause. — Reuters

Onions and many kinds of sauces are seen.

food and market tours.

The company has grown since it started less than a year ago, and now runs 10 to 15 tours per month.

Argentine Estanislao Carenzo, a tourist and chef, said he was impressed with the diversity of ingredients and dishes on offer in a recent Mexico City market tour. “I wanted to see if it was the same as in South East Asia and it seems it is,” Carenzo said. “They export bad quality food, like China or Italy do.” Janneth Lopez, a Mexican trainee food guide, savored a spoonful of paste for a savory, cocoabased sauce known as mole. She agreed Mexico’s diverse ingredients should be promoted and protected, but said they should be served in copious dishes, like any good home cooking. “It’s great that there’s contemporary cuisine, but there are limits,” Lopez said. “There’s no food like market food.”—AFP

A student of the School of Mexican Gastronomy crushes corn kernels with a ‘Metate’ (flat stone used to grinding corn) to prepare a ‘Nicoatole’ (a kind of corn jelly).

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THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

Years

lifestyle Fashion

Topshop

introduces new summer ‘Dress up’ collection

Creative designs to lure fashionistas

By Nisreen Zahreddine KUWAIT: Topshop, the fashion wear outlet, announced its new summer collection at a gathering held in the Avenues Mall on Tuesday.

The new summer collection involves a new, diversified concept; a mixture between light summer and beach wear and accessories. This is in addition to garments made for the occasion.

A wide selection of colors are available, it also introduces other mixed colors such as snake skin and tassels, pointed tops in black and dark grey. Light colors add new touch and taste.

Rana Hammoud, representing Alshaya company, the owner of Topshop, introduced the press and the guests invited to the new Top Shop fashion collection. “Summer is well and truly on its way, and with it, Topshop brings a whole new world of style! From the clean separates of spring explodes a riot of mad prints, flamboyant hats and new season sunnies. Get set to strike a pose in snake skin and tassels, fringed jersey and chunky knits - from festival days to long summer nights, Topshop has it all covered,” she said inviting guests to take a look and check the diversity of colors.

Cute skirts and tailored shorts took center stage, teamed with stacked heels and a homespun feel. The new summer collection of makeup and accessories enhances the collection, providing a whole new summery look. The Topshop ‘Dress Up Collection’ is a range of party wear that offers high octane fun in a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes and styles. This debut collection of 12 statement dresses bring Topshop’s inimitable flavor to dresses that should be worn with irreverence and confidence, for those who want to be noticed. From bodice dresses to prom-style frocks, Topshop soars the glam quotient with sequins, shimmer and shine.

This season, Topshop’s high street styles are geting a fashion overdose with a free-spirited, nonchalant collection of dresses and jerseys by designer duo Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff. The Meadham Kirchhoff collection continues layering with several items that can be worn together and separately. A riot of prints, bright colors and chiffons are the mainstay of this collection, now in stores.

The time has come: Clear the closet A

ny way you hang it, that strong-shouldered jacket from the 1980s is never going to quite look like the ‘80s-inspired jackets popular now. Same goes for the ‘70s maxi and slinky disco-style dresses. That means the time has likely come to get rid of them.

Think of this as a time to clear your closet-cleaning and updating in one fell swoop-by strategically paring down your wardrobe, making a few new additions and finding shelf space for those items that truly are timeless. Even something as simple as knit leggings, a staple now, were a fashion “don’t” a decade ago.

They could go into hibernation again. And, chances are, anyone who kept their stirrups from the Culture Club-era still can’t make those look modern. Adam Glassman, fashion director at O, The Oprah Magazine, says anything you haven’t worn in two years should be booted from the valuable closet real estate. He used to say one year, he explains, but he is allowing for a little more flexibility in size fluctuation, popular colors and immediate trends.

After that, though, the items-unless they’re expensive, top-tier designer pieces in beautiful fabrics with precision cuts-should go. It’s romantic to think that other items, even pricey ones, could wear that “vintage” label someday, but, in reality, very few things do. “Very high-end stuff, like (French design label) Balmain, you can save that because, eventually, it could be a collector’s item. I have friends who hold on to Prada like that,” says Glassman. “But that’s a small percentage of what’s out there. You don’t need to save H&M, Gap, Zara.”

Most closets are cluttered with stuff that hasn’t seen the light of day in a very long time, says Jackie Conlin, a personal style consultant in San Francisco. “Timeless pieces are real gems,” she says. “I like the idea of timelessness, but the way things change so rapidly, a look is going to change and your look is going to change.” She advises a “classic wardrobe with punches of personality,” including a trench coat that, if it’s not a Burberry, is made in the brand’s spirit, in a neutral color, and a tailored and trim silhouette; pencil skirts and pencil black pants; and shift and sheath dresses.

Conlin puts a white blouse or man-tailored buttondown on the list, but Glassman warns that those can be tricky to keep because, even protected in the closet, they’ll yellow over time. They do agree that keeping traditional handbags, clutches and totes, for instance, and high-heel pumps (probably just the round-toe ones) makes sense as long as they ’re in good condition.

Heavily embellished accessories, however, might be perfec t donations for a little girl’s dress-up box.

Professional closet designer and organizer Melanie Fascitelli says she sees stacks of purses and boots collecting dust.

“People have a much harder time parting with them.

There’s something weird about boots that no one wants to part with. They’ll be run into the ground and be Band-Aided to death,” she observes. “Yes, there are some leather items that look good worn-in, but some don’t,

France Fashion Show

and boots are one of those things.” She also sees too many college sweatshirts. There’s a place for some sentimental items, she says, but not with your everyday wardrobe.

Put clean items in breathable garment bags, which limit discoloration, and throw in lavender sachets, which act as an antiseptic and bug repellent, says Fascitelli, who also created the Clos-ette Too line of storage products. Store these bags in a humidity-controlled location.

For the things you’re on the fence about, Fascitelli says, ask yourself: Would you buy it now? The answer probably would be no when it comes to that old interview suit, says Conlin, yet there are so many ill-fitting, double-breasted jackets with matching knee-length skirtsboth probably misshapen from so many years on the hanger-still out there.

Some suits can be resurrected as weekend separates, if the fabrics work with denim or khakis, says Glassman, which will help you feel like you got your money’s worth. People also tend to hold on to their old black leather pants. “I think because it’s leather, which is worth something in people’s minds, they think they should keep it. But,” she says, “there probably couldn’t be anything less flattering. Maybe they cost $400 15 years ago, and people can’t let go of that.”

Nothing is worth keeping if you don’t look good in it, adds Glassman. “The most important thing, you really have to be honest with where you are with your size.

Don’t think ‘I’m getting back into it,’ or that you may go up two sizes. You are the size you are right now.” If you have, say, skinny jeans that you loved the look of years ago, then go try a new pair in the right size from the same brand, he suggests.

(Altering and tailoring are wonderful tools, when used sparingly for special things. But you can end up spending more money than you would on something easily replaced.) Fascitelli says tackling the closet with an honest, trusted friend is the way to go. Then make piles: one to keep, one to store, one to sell on eBay or to a consignment shop, one for relatives or friends (that’s where good stuff that doesn’t fit right can go), and one for charity. Purging seems to be less traumatic when you think it’s going to find a good home somewhere else, she says. Still think you’ll miss your prairie skirt or flannel shirt? Go buy some dark denim jeans, an interesting cardigan, cuff bracelets and some new T-shirts, suggests Conlin. Those are the updates that will easily fit in the new, edited closet.— AP

Models wear creations by Mango as part of its Fall-Winter 2011 fashion show in Paris Tuesday.—AP

Justin Bieber tells Japanese kids: Things will get better

Stars

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

37

come out

to say goodbye to

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey reacts as Michael Jordan appears on stage.

Madonna hugs Oprah Winfrey.

Tom Hanks talks to Oprah Winfrey as she is surrounded by stars during a star-studded double-taping of ‘Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular,’ Tuesday, May 17, 2011, in Chicago.

O

Oprah Winfrey talks as she is surrounded by Kristin Chenoweth, left, Gayle King, Tyler Perry and Maria Shriver, right, during a star-studded double-taping of “Surprise Oprah!”

Stevie Wonder, left, performs for Oprah Winfrey during a star-studded double-taping of “Surprise Oprah!

Tom Cruise appears with Oprah Winfrey.

Aretha Franklin and Oprah Winfrey acknowledge fans.

Oprah Winfrey hugs Dakota Fanning.

prah Winfrey wiped away tears as celebrity after celebrity surprised her during a farewell double-episode taping of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that will precede her finale.

“Thank you is not enough, but thank you,” Winfrey told the crowd of 13,000 gathered at Chicago’s United Center on Tuesday night for “Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular.” “For your love and your support, thank you.” The crowd gave Winfrey a standing ovation when she first walked on the stage. Then the stars came out, with Winfrey’s producers making good on their promise of the biggest celebrities of movies, music and television.

Aretha Franklin sang “Amazing Grace.” Tom Hanks acted as host for the evening.

Michael Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships during the 1990s, told Winfrey she inspires him. Tom Cruise, famous for his couch jumping on Winfrey’s show, was there. Jerry Seinfeld wore a tuxedo to give a comedy routine.

And Madonna said she is among the millions of people who are inspired by Winfrey. “She fights for things she believes in, even if it makes her unpopular,” Madonna said.

Winfrey announced in November 2009 that she would end her popular talk show after 25 years.

Tuesday’s taping will air May 23 and 24, before Winfrey’s final show on May 25. “You always had the power, and that is the message you brought into our lives,” Cruise told Winfrey. The show highlighted Winfrey’s charity efforts over the years.

About 300 Morehouse College scholarship students walked along the United Center aisles as Kristen Chenoweth sang “For Good” from the musical “Wicked.” Grammy winner John Legend was beamed in from a New Orleans school and Winfrey’s book club was lauded for getting millions to read.

Josh Groban and Patti LaBelle sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as Winfrey sat in a white chair onstage. Jamie Foxx and Stevie Wonder sang “Isn’t She Lovely” to Winfrey. Wonder followed with his own song, singing to her, “Oprah thank you for using your gifts to uplift so many hearts.” Simon Cowell made an appearance; Rosie O’Donnell sang a Broadway-style song. Winfrey’s longtime partner, Stedman Graham, introduced Franklin after telling Winfrey he loved her and was proud of her.

“It really does amaze me that I get to be around a woman who changes people’s lives every day and who also takes her own lunch to work,” Graham told the crowd. “You know what really is amazing? You have done this, sweetheart, through all of the sacrifices you’ve made, humility you have and through God’s amazing grace.” That’s when Franklin took the stage in a one-shouldered white gown to sing “Amazing Grace.” She later joined Usher for the show’s finale song, “Oh Happy Day,” as sparkly confetti filled the arena.

Maria Shriver, the TV journalist and Kennedy heiress, appeared on the same day it was revealed her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, fathered a child with a woman on his household staff more than a decade ago. Shriver did not mention her husband during the taping. “You have given me love, support, wisdom and most of all the truth,” Shriver told Winfrey. “And I know I’m not alone in receiving those gifts from you.” The taping of the second show began with Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who thanked Winfrey and told her she mothered millions and “that puts you in the status of a goddess.” Actresses Halle Berry, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes and Dakota Fanning all appeared, along with newswoman Diane Sawyer.

Beyonce sang her song “Run the World (Girls)” backed by dozens of dancers. Rascal Flatts per-

formed too. “Oprah Winfrey, because of you women everywhere have graduated to a new level of understanding of who we are, of what we are and most of all who we can be,” Beyonce said. The stadium was decorated with pictures of Winfrey at seminal moments over the course of her talk show.

Boxes of tissues were on scattered seats throughout the audience.

Harpo Productions received more than 154,000 ticket requests for seats to Tuesday’s event. Tickets were free and distributed to fans through a lottery.

Winfrey also received messages from some lessfamous admirers. Female American soldiers gave a taped message from Iraq and three female fans from countries around the world came on stage.

The show was interspersed with clips of Winfrey’s fans and flashbacks of previous episodes. Fans started lining up outside hours before the taping started. Bessie Carroll, 70, of Chicago came to the show with her daughter. “I think we’ve gotten everything we could have and more than we should have from her,” Carroll said. “If she feels it’s time to go, we have to release her and let her enjoy her life.” Mashonda White, 41, called Winfrey an inspiration. “She’s a blueprint of what I would like to become,” White said. “She never takes anything negatively. She always makes it positive.”

Celebrities such as Lisa Ling, Carson Kressley, Jessica Seinfeld, Ally Wentworth, Bob Greene and former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley sat in the audience. The content of the final episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” is still under wraps. —AP

Tom Hanks talks to Oprah.

Gayle King and Maria Shriver hug Oprah Winfrey. —AP photos