2 Jun 2011

ON IP TI SC R SU B

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

Secret note on Iran ship scandal spooks Israelis

Egyptian businessman denies charges in sex case

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JAMADI ALTHANI 30, 1432 AH

Dazzling Sharapova surges into Paris semis

Next-to-last space shuttle flight lands on Earth

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Sheikh Ahmad holds key meetings, rumours swirl 15,000 cancer cases detected in past decade

Max 47 Min 33 Low Tide 05:55 & 19:05 High Tide 01:07 & 11:12

By B Izzak

Kuwait Airways refuses to make Iraq concessions KUWAIT: State-owned Kuwait Airways will not make any concessions or give up a single fils in a row with neighbour Iraq over war reparations, its chairman said in remarks published yesterday. Baghdad and Kuwait have been locked in a long-running dispute over billions of dollars in reparations from Iraq, including some $1.2 billion related to aircraft and parts seized during former dictator Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. On Saturday, Iraq’s media adviser Karim Al-Nouri told Reuters that Kuwait authorities seized the Iraqi Airways office in Amman while also freezing $1.5 million worth of assets.

“We will not compromise one fils,” Kuwait Airways Chairman Hamad Al-Falah told the Al-Anbaa daily.

“Kuwait Airways sought several times to end this crisis, yet Iraq didn’t show any seriousness to pay the due amounts. What Iraq wants is to settle the debts without paying any money,” he said. In May 2011, Iraq said it would dissolve Iraqi Airways over the next three years and pursue private options to dodge asset claims made by Kuwait over their 199091 war. Last year, Kuwait tried to seize one of the Iraqi carrier’s planes in London after obtaining a High Court order against Iraqi Airways that including freezing its assets worldwide. The airline has halted flights to Britain and Sweden under threat that its planes would be seized by Kuwait. — Reuters

KARZAKAN, Bahrain: Members of a Bahraini family sit outside their home yesterday, saying they were catching their breath after inhaling teargas in this western Shiite village. — AP

Bahrain lifts martial law, stifles protests Shiites recount abuses MANAMA: Bahrain lifted martial law yesterday in what the government hopes will be a sign to tourists and business of a return to normal, but the opposition fears repression will continue in the Gulf island kingdom. Bahrain is especially keen to get back the Formula One race. The March Grand Prix opener was cancelled because of unrest that erupted in February when pro-democracy protesters, inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, clashed with police. A meeting of the sport’s governing body tomorrow could reinstate the race for later this year, but US-based Human Rights Watch has said a heavy crackdown on opposition activists during 11 weeks of martial law should count in the decision.

The dusty streets of the capital, Manama, were calm yesterday, but in outlying Shiite villages there was heavy anti-riot police presence, according to online activists. Police were checking cars around the

ZURICH: FIFA President Joseph Blatter waves after he was reelected yesterday. — AP

Blatter reelected, vows FIFA cleanup ZURICH: FIFA president Sepp Blatter was re-elected head of world football yesterday, vowing to clean up the body’s tarnished image following a series of explosive corruption allegations. Blatter, 75, was given a free run at another four-year term following the withdrawal on Sunday of Asian football chief Mohamed bin Hammam, who was later suspended amid claims he tried to bribe voters with cash-filled envelopes. Delegates at FIFA’s 61st congress returned Blatter by a landslide of 186 votes out of 203 after an 11th-hour call for a postponement of the election

by England’s Football Association ended in a crushing defeat.

“We will put FIFA’s ship back onto the right course in clear, transparent waters,” Blatter said after clinching victory. “We will need some time but we shall do it. Our pyramid is strong because the foundation is strong.” Blatter, who took over FIFA in 1998, has faced widespread calls for reform following allegations of sleaze surrounding the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, awarded to Russia and Qatar. Several key FIFA sponsors had joined forces on Tuesday to call on Blatter to reform the organisation, voicing concern about the damage being done to the image of football by the wave of negative headlines.

Earlier Blatter pledged to initiate radical reforms including an overhaul of the way in which future World Cup hosts were chosen. Blatter said tournament hosts would in future be picked by all 208 FIFA members, rather than the 24-strong executive committee which has awarded hosting rights in the past. “I want to give more power to the national associations,” said Blatter, who has vowed to step down as FIFA president in 2015. “In the future the World Cup will be decided by the FIFA congress. The executive committee will create a shortlist - but will make no Continued on Page 13

capital and villages. “With the end of the emergency situation, the security would not be here but they still are,” said Ali Zirazdi, a 30 year-old unemployed man, who said police had fired tear gas after a few hundred people gathered in the Shiite village of Diraz. “The security presence is even stronger ... their approach now is as soon as they hear of any protest in advance, they come down to stop it from happening.”

“People are trying to gather... and they are attacking them,” one activist told AFP by telephone, referring to protests in villages around the capital Manama including Diraz, Bani Jamrah and Karzakan. “They have already started using birdshot (and) tear gas” against the demonstrators, she said, adding that an unknown number of people had suffered injuries.

Another activist reported a heavy security presence in Bani Jamrah and said security forces had fired tear gas Continued on Page 13

KUWAIT: Deputy premier and state minister for housing and development Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Sabah yesterday held crucial meetings with Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in addition to the prime minister and National Assembly speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi. The meetings were held amid strong rumours that Sheikh Ahmad planned to submit his resignation following Tuesday’s session when 27 MPs, including 10 pro-government lawmakers, voted against his request to refer his grilling to the National Assembly’s legal and legislative committee.

Liberal MP Saleh Al-Mulla said yesterday that Sheikh Ahmad was planning to go to London, possibly for a meeting with HH the Amir, but decided to postpone the trip after the meetings with Sheikh Nawaf and Khorafi. Mulla hoped that Sheikh Ahmad will face the grilling and will not quit. Sheikh Ahmad himself declined to comment on the resignation rumours when he left the Assembly building along with Khorafi. Sheikh Ahmad had met Sheikh Nawaf on Tuesday following the historical parliamentary session in which pro-government MPs voted against ministers.

Islamist MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei yesterday told the Assembly that he learned that a number of MPs who voted in a specific pattern were promised by the government to send 50 patients close to them abroad for treatment. State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Ali AlRashed categorically denied the claims, saying they are baseless. Commenting on what happened in Tuesday’s Assembly session, several Arabic language newspapers openly described the event as an “open confrontation between the prime minister and Sheikh Ahmad”.

Also, the liberal Democratic Forum strongly criticized the government for resorting to delay the debate of grillings or refer them to the constitutional and legal committee. The forum said in a statement that all MPs have the right to question the prime minister and all ministers and this constitutional right should not be restricted in any way.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Helal Al-Sayer assured the Assembly yesterday that the cancer rate in the country is normal and even below the international rate. Sayer said that in the past decade, 15,000 cancer cases have been detected, about 7,044 of them for Kuwaitis, adding that 75 percent of the cases were among people above 40 years of age. He said the rate of infection in Kuwait has been steady at 0.08 percent for many years, denying that there has been a rise in cases and over 700 new cases are detected every year.

Sayer said breast cancer tops the number of cases in Kuwait with 21 percent, followed by colon cancer.

Breast cancer constitutes as much as 36 percent of all cancer cases among women. The minister said that 72 percent of Kuwaiti cancer patients in the past decade are still alive.

Syria frees prisoners, probing boy’s death BEIRUT: The Syrian government freed hundreds of political prisoners yesterday and promised to investigate the death of a 13-year-old boy whose apparent torture and mutilation turned him into a symbol of the uprising calling for an end to President Basher Assad’s regime. In its latest attempt to blunt the 10-week revolt, the government also formed a committee to lay the groundwork for Syrians to discuss their political future.

Yesterday’s concessions would have been unimaginable only months ago, but protesters had already rejected the amnesty as too little, too late. And the government announcements were coupled with a crackdown on two towns in Syria’s center and south that killed at least 33 people, including an 11-year-old

girl shot dead by troops during a fierce shelling, activists said. Rami AbdulRahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AP that more than 500 prisoners were freed, including some who took part in the latest demonstrations marking the most serious challenge to the Assad family’s 40-year rule.

Children have become a flashpoint issue in the uprising against the Syrian regime after video emerged of the mutilated and apparently tortured remains of the 13-year-old boy. To stem growing criticism, the government said Wednesday it had ordered an investigation into the death of Hamza Al-Khatib, whose photo from happier times has Continued on Page 13

TAIZ, Yemen: Yemeni youths shout slogans against President Ali Abdullah Saleh as they block a main road in this flashpoint city with burning tyres during an anti-government protest yesterday. — AFP

Sanaa clashes kill 41 Kuwait pulls diplomats

DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad speaks during a meeting with members of a committee which was formed to work towards launching national dialogue in the troubled country yesterday. — AFP

SANAA: Gun battles raged yesterday on the streets of Yemen’s capital, killing 41 people, witnesses said as a truce between security forces and tribesmen collapsed, residents fled and embassies bolted their doors. Heavy fighting ensued yesterday, prompting Kuwait to withdraw its diplomatic staff from the city, one day after Italy closed its embassy on concerns of escalating violence following threats against European missions. The Kuwaiti diplomats “have

left Sanaa this morning (Wednesday) due to the tense security situation” in Yemen, the official KUNA news agency reported, citing an official source at the foreign ministry. The official said that local administrative staff would remain in the embassy to carry out routine work in the mission.

The fighting between tribesmen loyal to Sheikh Sadiq Al-Ahmar, who heads the powerful Hashid federation, and security Continued on Page 13

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LOCAL IN MY VIEW

Creative talents

KTA carries out anti-graft projects ‘Legal Guidance Center protects witnesses’

By Fouad Al-Obaid

fouad@kuwaittimes.net Twitter: @Fouadalobaid

W

e as a country were dealt a great blow in 1990. Many people still use the excuse of the invasion as a justification for our blatant shortcomings. We, to a large extent, dwell on the past that is part of our collective unconscious.

Perhaps this is one of the most pressing issues other than the question of compensation for physical damages incurred.

The Kuwait Airways’ decision to file a lawsuit against Iraq Airways cannot be perceived as mere a judicial fight. It is political at the highest level. When put into perspective, the national airline issue cannot be dissociated from the question of the to-beconstructed Mubarak Port. The territory is a few kilometers away from a supposedly proposed Iraqi port.

Without dwelling much upon past history, it is useful to analyze how it remains pertinent to our current condition. The present and future is yet to be built, so let us think wisely and deeply on the ramification of our actions and their implication in the longterm. Without direction, we have no clear idea on where to go or what our national objectives ought to be! Similar to a ship whose captain has lost track of time and of the ultimate destination, Kuwait is a country that has an idea of its destination. However, we are still struggling to agree on what direction to take to get to where we want to go. I am starting to believe in a mythical destination instead of an actual one. It seems as if the government cannot take up the responsibility of leadership. Hooligans and lessereducated individuals are dictating its policy - and it seems to heed their call with them, instead of hitting them with sticks! The result is clear, we are interlocked in useless daily battles, which are barring development and creating chaos in every sense of the word.

Nations can be copy-pastes of other nations, and this is tragically what seems to be going on in our region where we are simply acquiring Western technology minus the mindset! Building megacities is nice. Yet, there is no point in building cities without a soul that are simply ego boosters for buildings. These free-standing structures with nothing in them fill the urban landscape in many of our regional sister capitals. If we dig deeper, we come to realize that the way our cities are being planned is appalling. We have applied the US suburbian model whereby area upon area resembles one another; squares that are within other squares that are within squares! The antidote in politics just as much as architecture, landscape, policy and just about anything looks into local solution that could be adopted and adapted to our climate. From new cities, to new policies that are more locally oriented and beneficial, we need to start real reforms. The basis of society is its youth, we need to focus on upbringing a new generation of Kuwaitis based on a new educational model suitable for our countries regional aspirations. We need a model that will create qualified, trained, and talented future employees that add value to the State as opposed to the current set, which are mostly liabilities!

By Nisreen Zahreddine KUWAIT: Evaluating the achievements garnered by the Legal Guidance Center of the Kuwait Transparency Association (KTA), a press conference was held at its premises on Tuesday. Salah AlGhazali, Chairman of the society emphasized that it is responsible for developing several projects such as the establishment of a General Integrity Authority - which will have an anti-corruption apparatus, and anti-conflict interest department for the public sector.

It will pass legislations to protect media persons from corruption. He pointed out that this project is nearing

completion, and is one of the many that have been carried out by the society during the same period.

The Association strives toward eliminating corruption in official departments, and to create a change in society by helping citizens and expatriates participate actively. This is in addition to giving individuals a chance to participate actively in fighting corruption and develop a culture of respect for the country’s laws and regulations.

Al-Ghazali explained details of the work being carried out and admitted that this is still in its primary stages. He added that the Association was faced with several impediments such as the witnesses’ fear of announcing their

names, or lack of seriousness on the part of individuals who report crimes, in addition to the fact that some cases are reported without any evidence, and some were made as instances of personal vendetta.

Salma Al-Eissa, Manager of the Legal Guidance Center was quick to add that it for and protects the witnesses who report corruption cases.

This center, as she explained, is found in many countries all over the world. The center was launched in Kuwait with the aim of rooting out financial and administrative corruption and is super vised by International Transparency Organization.

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) organized a health and environmental awareness campaign which included visits made to a number of schools. Students were made aware of the risks involved while engaging in activities that are potentially detrimental to earth. As part of the campaign, the KOC’s Health, Safety and Environment (west Kuwait) team carried out field trips of an average of two schools per month. Lectures were held to discuss matters pertinent with home and road safety. The administration at schools in Al-Ahmadi and Mubarak Al-Kabeer governorates welcomed the event. They found that KOC specialists are more capable of explaining to students, matters pertinent with environmental subjects that can be studied as part of an educational program.

Kuwait’s cancer rates at normal levels KUWAIT: The Capital governorate has the highest cancer rate in Kuwait, according to a senior M inistr y of Health official, who said that 28 percent of all the cancer cases in Kuwait are found in that area.

Speaking on Tuesday, Dr. Qais AlDuwaiti, the MoH Assistant Undersecretar y for Suppor tive Medical Services, attributed the high proportion of cancer sufferers in the

Capital area to the fact that it houses a large number of senior citizens, saying, “The older a person is, the greater the chance that they may develop cancer.”

The senior health ministry official stressed, however, that cancer rates in Kuwait are within normal limits, adding that the total number of cancer patients in the country is regularly recorded and submitted to interna-

tional health organizations for verification.

On the banning of smoking in public places, another senior MoH official, Undersecretar y Dr. Ibrahim AlAbdulhadi, indicated that to date Kuwait is the only countr y in the Middle East to have banned smoking in public. He added that various clinics across Kuwait offer help to smokers wishing to quit the deadly habit.

Police surround Syrian Embassy KUWAIT: A heavy security presence was imposed around the Syrian Embassy’s premises in Mishref on Tuesday ahead of a prospective gathering there, following calls by political activists to hold a public protest against the brutal crackdown on demonstrators seeking reform in Syria.

With police vehicles patrolling the streets around the embassy whilst special forces vehicles were stationed around its perimeter, it was perhaps unsurprising that nobody showed up for the planned gathering.

Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti human rights organization issued a statement condemning the “targeting of civilian demonstrators” in Syria and the “torture and murder of children”, specifically citing the murder of 13-year-old Syrian boy Hamza Al-Khateeb “by brutal torture to death.”

“The continuing targeting of protesting men, women, children, senior citizens and disabled civilians, in addition to attacking places of worship, cutting off water supplies and using artillery siege is a heinous crime against humanity,” said the statement issued by the Kuwait Society for the Basic Principles of Human Rights (KSBPHR), citing one incident in which “tanks rolled into two cities in the Homs province and launched a bombardment that left many civilians dead, including children.”

The society further called in its statement for international human rights organizations “including UNICEF, to do whatever is necessary in order to stop the bloodshed targeting peaceful civilians every day in Syria”, demanding an end to the “policy of double standards,” while highlighting the difference in the international community’s reaction to the violent suppression of protests in Libya. “Libyan blood is not different to Syrian blood”, said the statement.

The KSBPHR also called upon the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League to put pressure on the United Nations Security Council to move promptly and save protestors in Syria from the violent crackdown. —Al-Rai

Workshop on artificial intelligence held KUWAIT: The Arab Open University- Kuwait Branch (AOU), organized a workshop on artificial intelligence yesterday. It was held under the patronage of the University’s Rector Dr Mousa Mohsen.

The Head of Computer department at AOU Nasser AlZaeri said that the workshop, dubbed ‘Biometrics to verify the identity of human’ was presented.

It is the first scientific project by a private academic institution to be supported by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), he added.

One of the best laboratories in the field was built at AOU- Kuwait Branch, he said, adding that the apparatus aims to help researchers prepare future studies on artificial intelligence. He thanked the AOU and KFAS administration for supporting such projects. — KUNA

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Kheiran Coast Guards face staff shortage

By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: The Kuwait Coast Guard station in the Kheiran Center in the chalet area approximately 100 km from Kuwait City is suffering from chronic staff shortages caused by the massive growth in the numbers of people in the area for which it is responsible, according to staff there. When the center was first built more than 30 years ago, the officers working there were responsible for an area housing only a few chalets and an entertainment facility.

This has changed in the years since, with far more chalets being

Expired food items seized

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: The Municipality has intensified the raids conducted at Sabhan factories to ensure that the food quality adheres to hygiene standards. Shraida AlMutairi, Mubarak Al-Kabeer Municipality Branch Director made the announcement.

He added that the Municipality aims to protect public health, especially since some factories that produce a certain type of sweet uses expired ingredients. It was found that it was later distributed to schools, institutes and summer clubs. During the raid, expired materials were seized and transport vehicles were checked to ensure that several conditions are met.

Govt depts overspent KUWAIT: The government departments assigned to carry out the distribution of the Amiri grant in February of this year overspent in preparation for the process, according to a State Audit Bureau (SAB) report made available recently to the press.

Copies of the seven-page report were sent to the Manpower and Government Restructuring Program, Civil Service Commission, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, Public Authority for Minors’ Affairs and Public Authority for Civil Information, informing each of the bodies that the nearly KD1.5 million spent to sign contracts with major electrical appliance companies was “too much”. Furthermore, the report also mentions allocations used to make “unlawful payments” to engineers as allowances, as part of the contracts signed with the four companies.

built nearby, whilst the Kuwaiti government has approved the construction of many new facilities as part of the large-scale development program, including a residential suburb which is still unfinished. The government has also made massive changes in the surrounding desert area, creating artificial lagoons and streams, which have in turn also led to the construction of new chalets around them.

Some of these chalets are already inhabited and used by their owners, whilst others are still under construction. There are also future plans to build more utilities in this area, far away from the pollution of the built-up urban areas elsewhere in the country.

This area is most crowded during summer, particularly during the weekends. Speaking to the Kuwait Times on condition of anonymity, one Coast Guard official explained the problems that staff at the center now face.

“During the weekends, the situation is crazy here,” the official said.

“Tens and even hundreds of guys riding jet skis cause chaos and problems in the creek. Even before the whole new areas with newly constructed lagoons and chalets were built, it was hard for our staff here to deal with them. And remember, this center’s been here for about 30 years and the number of staff hasn’t increased, while the

area that we are supposed to cover is 10 times larger than before.”

The officer said that in the last few years he and his colleagues have frequently urged the government to increase the number of staff at the center or open a new center, but the government has failed to respond, with nothing changing. “We’ve complained many times, but nothing changed. The Coast Guard’s boats and ships cost between KD 1 million and KD4 million. They’re very expensive - but if the government spent less than KD500 thousand, we could have a police station with at least 10 police patrols to help us in the newly built area,” he added.

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Egyptian drug smuggler nabbed

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: Detectives from the General Department for Drug Control(GDDC) arrested an Egyptian trucker in connection with attempting to smuggle in about 500,000 illicit tablets. The contraband was expertly concealed in the vehicle’s spare tire. The arrest was made at dawn yesterday at the Abdaly border with Iraq. The Egyptian told higher authorities that he supplied the drugs to an Iraqi individual. After raiding his Jahra home, a sum of KD 10,000 was recovered. The Iraqi confessed to partnering with the Egyptian while trading in illicit tablets.

Fatal fall A 35-year-old Bangladeshi man fell to his death from the ninth floor of a Salmiya building. The body was removed for autopsy.

Jahra murder The brother of a Kuwaiti girl who was found burned to death on the roof of her family’s home in Jahra on Tuesday

kuwait digest

Take a break

has confessed to murdering her, although he has refused to state the reason behind his act. He has been remanded in custody for further legal action.

Car accidents A 17-year-old was transferred to Adan Hospital for treatment for the head injuries he sustained in a car crash. The youngster was initially taken to Dhaher Medical Center, but staff there felt that the hospital was better equipped to treat his injuries.

In a separate incident, two Bangladeshi men were taken to Farwaniya Hospital after suffering heavy bruising across their bodies in a car accident on the Sixth Ring Road near the Jaber Stadium.

Meanwhile, a 70-year-old Kuwaiti man suffered a suspected broken arm in a car accident near the blood bank in Jabriya.

He was taken to Mubarak Hospital.

In a fourth accident, a 32-year-old Bangladeshi man was taken to Adan Hospital after suffering cuts to his left hand in a car crash in Mahboula.

KUWAIT: The drug smugglers pictured after their arrest.

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij he lawmakers who initiated grilling motions against Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah have clearly stated that there are plenty of interpellation motions that target the prime minister. They always have ‘standby grilling motions’ to be filed in case a motion fails to achieve its goal. At the same time, they continue to reject the notion of being blamed for the rift between the Parliament and the Cabinet.

As citizens, we do not have anything against anti- government parliamentarians or Sheik h Nasser Al-Sabah. We are eager to find out the results or the reasons behind the current situation.

It is no secret that the main ambition is to file a no - confidence or non- coopera tion motion.

However, an anti-government MP still does not have enough majority to ensure that such motions would pass. Therefore, would it not be more logical if the ‘grilling surge’ is put on hold for a while.

This is in order to give them an opportunity to regroup and strike again when they are more prepared?

MPs today are like rams that persistently try to move a mountain in an attempt to knock it down.

Though the attempt is futile, the ram will not give up. It only causes damage to itself in the process.

Unfortunately, the thick-skinned MPs not only damage themselves, but also endanger the interests of people and the country.

Article 102 of the Constitution clearly states that a non-cooperation motion against the premier is passed by gaining parliament members’ ma jorit y votes. S o fa r, the majorit y in the Parliament today have placed their confidence with the premier. Therefore, the minority who think otherwise do not have the right to attempt to take over the Parliament - or the entire nation.

The fact is that they do not like the current prime minister.

It is for the best interest of the country - aside from being the most rational option - for the minority to accept the opinion. No one can take away from the oppositionists, their right to voice a different point of view. But we ask them to wait, take a break, regroup. Perhaps if they secure a majority in the next parliamentary formation, they can file a non-cooperation motion against the premier. It would have a better chance to pass by then.

You have lost the battle today. So please leave the battle field and give an opportunity to take matters in the country forward. —Al-Qabas

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KUWAIT: Mohammad Aboubakr and Yusuf Hassan prior to the seminar yesterday at Radisson Blu Hotel. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh

KPMG seminar tackles ‘simplified IFRS’

By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: A two-day seminar began yesterday at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Salwa to discuss the introduction of the ‘IFRS for SME’ accounting standard, which is set to simplify requirements and meet the needs and capabilities of small and medium-sized business entities.

The event is organized by KPMG, a global network of professional firms providing audit, tax and advisory services in 150 countries worldwide.

Speakers at the seminar include financial experts and internationally recognized certified public accountants Yusuf Hassan and Mohammad Aboubakr. The first speaker, Yusuf Hassan, the IFRS (International Financial Repor ting Standards) technical director for KPMG’s Middle East and South Asian operations, focused in his presentation on issues related to the newest IFRS, and why it is necessary for companies/countries to adopt the IFRS for SME’s (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises). The latest IFRS is the product of a five-year development process with extensive consultation with SME’s worldwide, which simplifies many of the principles in full IFRS’s for recognition and measurement, omitting topics not relevant

to SME’s and significantly reducing the number of disclosures.

Attendees at the seminar include professionals with basic backgrounds in IFRS, and are typically involved in financial roles in organizations, such as professionals working in the areas of corporate finance, accounting, and auditing.

Speaking with the Kuwait Times on the sideline of the seminar, Hassan explained that the latest IFRS will make companies’ financial reporting easier, more easily understood and requiring lesser time to prepare, as compared to the prevailing system. “It is advisable for all companies to adopt IFRS, although some companies in Kuwait are already using it, but the regulators [government] here are still in the process of discussing the possibility of perhaps adopting it and how it is applicable to using them,” he explained. The IFRS is available for use by entities that do not have public accountability, Hassan added. IFRS is a set of high quality financial reporting principles that’s tailored to the capabilities of smaller businesses and for needs of those who use small company financial statements. The IFRS for SME’s is a self-contained, globally recognized standard of 230 pages, issued in 2009 and already widely adopted.

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Pupils not to get difficult exam questions: Minister Al-Mulaifi revealed ministry’s new policy KUWAIT: Kuwait’s schools have been instructed by the minister of education to avoid posing difficult exam questions in the end-of-term exams since they are likely to cause anxiety and stress to pupils, which it is feared could lead to poor pupil performance in the rest of the exams.

Education minister Ahmad Al-Mulaifi revealed the ministry’s new policy yesterday as he toured a primary and a secondary school in the Zahra area, meeting briefly with each school’s examination committee. The end of year exams are designed with the unique abilities and differ-

ences between students in mind, the minister stressed, adding that the answers to very technical or complex exam questions should be assessed only by experts in the subjects in question or the invigilators who originally designed the questions.

The minister said that during his visit to the schools he had been cheered by the well-organized systems in place there and the great care taken to ensure pupils’ wellbeing.

The minister specifically noted the need for greater attention to be paid to Arabic language

KUWAIT: Education Minister Ahmad Al-Mulaifi touring a school in the Zahra area yesterday.

— Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh

studies for primary level pupils, since competence in the language is vital to understanding and correctly responding to questions in other subjects.

The ministry is also focusing on efforts to improve teachers’ performance in order to limit the need for and widespread popularity of private tutoring, said Al-Mulaifi, revealing that it is currently organizing workshops to help meet these and other objectives concerned with improving educational standards.

The educational field in Kuwait has a wealth of creativity and dedicated innovative staff, said the minister, adding that the education ministry’s senior officials should utilize and invest in these individuals to help improve educational standards and services. He further suggested that there should be a greater margin of freedom for educators to realize the agreed upon objectives of their specialty areas.

“The current period is one of stress and concern for all families,” the minister continued.

“Parents and caregivers are devoting themselves to creating an atmosphere that could help students reap the results of the time and effort they’ve spent on study throughout the academic year.”

Acting MoE Undersecretary Aisha AlRoudhan underlined the minister’s point, saying, “The ministry is keen on creating the conditions to allow students to perform at their best and to provide the services that will guarantee students’ comfort, such as meals for fourth and fifth grade students and special meals for students with special requirements, amongst others.”

Al-Roudhan added that the education ministry has requested all education zones to submit regular reports on the progress of the examination process for close analysis and assessment, as well as to enable the speedy resolution of any possible problems.

8,000 residential units distributed KUWAIT: Citizens who received housing units in Sabah Al-Ahmad through a draw carried out by the Public Authority for Housing Welfare(PAHW) will be summoned this month to obtain official documents.

This was revealed by a senior official from the PAHW. The authority will wait until official documents are given before they distribute

constructed homes in the area.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, further spoke about distribution plans for Jaber Al-Ahmad. Likewise, the newly constructed homes in Sabah Al-Ahmad will be fully distributed before the end of the year, reported Al-Qabas. The Kuwaiti government has distributed more than 8,000 residential

units in Saad Al-Abdullah, Jaber Al-Ahmad, Sabah Al-Ahmad and other newly constructed areas, said the PAHW official. He further speculated that the construction process is likely to increase following the recent amendments made to the housing law which have granted divorced and widowed female citizens the right to obtain housing loan.

Cardiac diseases campaign KUWAIT: The Kuwait Heart Foundation(KHF) will spearhead a media campaign this September, to spread awareness on cardiac diseases and the causes of such medical conditions. Ways to tackle these conditions will also be discussed. “The campaign will cover Kuwait in order to make the public aware of the aspects that eventually lead to heart diseases. In numerous cases, this would be fatal,”

said KHF Chairman Faisal Al-Mutawa in a press statement. He announced that the unprecedented campaign will begin on the World Heart Day on September 25, reported AlQabas. Cooperation with media firms and the press will be utilized during the campaign. It will also use street posters and demonstrations to forge a connection between smoking and heart diseases, he said.

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LOCAL

Seven die, seven injured in Salmi road accident Blackmailing rapists in custody KUWAIT: Seven people died and seven others were seriously injured in a major traffic accident on Salmi road on Tuesday.

Emergency personnel rushed to the scene, where a bus carrying Asian workers home from work had overturned following a collision with a truck. The deceased were pronounced dead at the scene, whilst the injured were rushed to Jahra Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in a critical condition. An investigation has opened into the tragic incident.

Hunt on for conman Police are hunting for a Kuwaiti conman who escaped with nearly half a million Egyptian pounds which he fraudulently collected from job hopefuls in the North African nation. The suspect had reportedly announced that he was hiring accountants to work for his company in Kuwait. He demanded 3,000 Egyptian pounds from each of the applicants, more than 200 people, prior to their sitting the tests for the supposed jobs.

The candidates became suspicious when they learnt a few days later that none of them had passed the tests, realizing when they discovered that the ‘employer’ had already left the country for Kuwait with their money that had been taken in by a fraudster. Kuwaiti authorities have launched a hunt for the cruel conman after receiving notification about his activities from the foreign ministry, which was informed of them by the Kuwaiti Embassy in

Cairo. It’s also been revealed that the fraudster has a history of similar scams.

Rapists caught Hawally police have apprehended two rapists who used blackmail to attempt to silence their victim. An investigation was launched after a young woman told senior police officers in Nugra that she had been lured under false pretences to an apartment in Nugra by the men, who raped her there before releasing her, telling her that if she reported their attack they would use the compromising photographs of her taken with their phones’ cameras during the rape to damage her reputation. The police investigation led detectives to the suspects at a location in Sulaibiya and they were quickly arrested with their cell phones being confiscated.

The offending photographs were found during the police search of the phones. The men are being held in custody pending further legal action.

Horse trouble An Asian man was rushed to Jahra Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit after sustaining life-threatening injuries when he was kicked and stamped on by a horse in a stable at his sponsor’s farm in Abdally. The man was found in a critical condition by colleagues, who immediately called for an ambulance, which rushed him to the hospital.

Inmates get extra time Two Central Prison inmates are set to face fresh charges after they were caught in possession of drugs whilst awaiting trial at the Palace of Justice. The inmates’ furtive attitude raised the suspicion of court security staff and when they requested a toilet break a guard covertly followed one of the duo. On seeing the prisoner attempting to hide a suspicious package in his clothes, the guard came forward and searched him, finding that the package contained narcotic tablets recovered from a hiding place in the toilet. The other inmate who went to the bathroom before his colleague was found to have hidden hashish and more narcotic tablets on his person. An investigation has been launched to find out who left the drugs in the toilets for the prisoners. Meanwhile, Jahra police have arrested five people - three Asians and two GCC nationals - in possession of marijuana which they were selling in Amghara. The suspects were caught in a sting operation by drug squad officers, with 30 bags of marijuana being recovered from their vehicle.

Prison fight An investigation has been launched at Central Prison into the stabbing of a Kuwaiti inmate during a fight. Although guards intervened to break up the brawl between the prisoner and a bedoon (stateless) fellow inmate, they weren’t fast enough to stop the latter con-

Zain Kuwait and Interior Ministry officials addressing a press conference yesterday.

— Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Zain launches driving safety campaign

By Nisreen Zahreddine KUWAIT: Zain Telecommunications has launched a new driving safety campaign, ‘Drive Zain,’ as part of its corporate social responsibility program. At a press conference held yesterday to announce the new campaign, the leading telecom firm revealed that the campaign is taking place under the patronage of the Minister of Interior sheikh Ahmed Al Humoud Al Jaber Al Sabah, and in coordination with the Ministry of Interior (MoI). The campaign is being launched initially in Kuwait before being rolled out across the MENA region.

At yesterday’s event, Zain officials stressed the importance of road safety as an issue, stressing that reckless driving is one of the greatest dangers in contemporary society, with the deaths and injuries which it all too often leads to being responsible for great sorrow. The issue of reckless driving is considered a growing problem, as the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported, they said, with official statistics showing that the high level of casualties and fatalities in road accidents in the MENA is considered amongst the worst per capita averages anywhere in the world. Kuwait itself ranks amongst the worst nations for road deaths, having the second highest rate of traffic accident fatalities per head of population in the Middle East, with an average of 26 in each 100,000 dying in road accidents. The rise in the use of cell phones and smart phones has seen the situation grow worse, Zain officials revealed, adding that according to the statistics 90 per-

cent of fatal road accidents take place due to a human-related factor. Studies show a close link between mobile phone usage whilst driving and likelihood of involvement in a road accident, they added.. According to the latest official statistics, an average of over 200 people die on Kuwait’s roads annually, with a further 6,000 being injured. The country’s Ministry of Interior (MoI) recorded 9,883 road accidents, with 75 fatalities, in the first two months of 2011.

Khaled Omar, Zain’s executive director, said that the main aim of the ‘Drive Zain’ campaign was to cut down on the irresponsible use of mobile phones by motorists, a primary cause of road accidents. Al-Omar said that the seriousness of the situation had motivated Zain’s decision to continue the campaign until the end of the year, saying that this was more likely to ensure that the proper level of awareness was attained amongst motorists.

“I hope that these efforts will help to change car drivers’ behavior in using their mobile phones whilst driving, and at the same time that it helps limit the negative social and economic effects of road accidents,” he said.

Colonel Adel Hashash, the director of the MoI’s Public Relations, guidance and security media management department, applauded Zain’s campaign, saying that this is an extremely important issue which needs far greater public awareness. Al-Hashash also revealed that 3,791 citations were issued to motorists in Kuwait the first quarter of 2011 for using mobile phones whilst driving, adding that the numbers of such citations continue to increase steadily.

Opening Rafah border is the right step

vict from stabbing the former.

Returning deportees Police have launched an investigation to reveal how at least 18 expatriates managed to return to Kuwait after previously being deported. The expats were caught in two crackdowns carried out in the past fortnight. Detectives are trying to determine whether the suspects, who were found to be using forged passports, received help from accomplices to return to the country.

Bootleggers held Two Asian men were arrested inside a location in Saad Al-Abdullah, which they used to brew alcoholic, as 400 cardboard boxes filled with liquor bottles were found inside. It was revealed that the suspects would produce an average of 100 boxes a day, and sell them personally.

Burgling maid A Somali domestic worker has been detained after stealing KD18,000 worth of jewelry and cash from her sponsor’s home in Fintas.

The woman fled her employer’s home, a villa in the Fintas agricultural zone, after stealing the items, but was quickly apprehended, confessing during questioning that she had passed the jewelry and cash to a male compatriot, whose details she also provided. A hunt is underway for the man. - Al-Anba, Al-Qabas, Al-Rai,

DAI concludes 16th cultural season KUWAIT: The Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah (DAI), a Kuwait-based cultural institution, concluded its 16th annual cultural season here on Tuesday with the Treasures of the World Exhibition.

The exhibition showcased the relics of AlSabah family which portray the magnificent Islamic culture over half a decade, Sheikha Aida Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah said.

“The DAI is a great cultural edifice and source of pride for all Kuwaiti people,” she said.

Sheikha Aida extolled the role of DAI’s Director General Sheikha Hussa Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah in promoting the Islamic culture and arts. Meanwhile, Rola Dashti, a female MP, lauded the cultural activities being organized by DAI which show the bright picture of the country’s diversified culture. “DAI’s cultural activities inside and outside Kuwait provide opportunities for opening up to the civilizations of the world,” she

Kuwait Digest

pointed out. The closing ceremony brought together dozens of cultural and political celebrities, MPs and foreign diplomats based in Kuwait, DAI said in a statement. Opened in last October, the 16th version of this annual gathering adds to the landmark achievements being made by the institution in promoting culture.

“This annual event provides a platform for the creme de la creme of the local and foreign intellectuals to converge and hold in-depth discussions on the Arab and Muslim heritage, the statement added.

The Treasures of the World Exhibition displays dozens of relics, jewelry, metalwork and decorations dating back to the 17th century.

Most prominent among the exhibits is a souvenir weighing 12 kg of pure gold that was offered to Mongolian emperor Genghis Khan in the 17th century. — KUNA

By Dr Wael Al-Hasawi

A

s we walked past the bridge that leads to the Sinai Peninsula en route to the Gazan city of Rafah last January, the sight before us was tragic. Barricades where placed everywhere as we were forced to stop every few kilometers to be interrogated by police officers. They wouldn’t let us go until after completing extensive inspection also after contacting higher officials.

Throughout our way to the border crossing with Gaza, our vehicles were escorted with Egyptian security patrols despite the fact that our mission was approved by Egyptian Prime Minister and followed by the Kuwaiti embassy.

We had to stay for two hours at the border gate before being allowed in; the same gate at which Gazans used to wait for days before they could pass through.

As the Kuwaiti journalists’ delegation entered Gaza, we found out beforehand that the term ‘large prison’ used to describe the district, is in fact true. People were deprived of their freedom and access to basic requirements. If it were not for underground tunnels through which they were smuggled, the people of Gaza would have starved to death.

At the time I asked myself, “where are the human rights that the West cries for? Where is justice and people’s right to self-determination?

Why is it that an entire people become deprived of freedom and the right to lead a decent life?

Why are not fellow Muslims helping their brethren?” It was evident that the Egyptian regime at the time imposed a blockade on Gaza, as they even sought to build a steel barricade along the border to stop smuggling.

When the new Egyptian government announced that the Rafah border crossing being opened permanently, I thought this was a step taken in the right direction to end Palestinian people’s struggle, and eliminate barriers between all Arab nations.

Moreover, the Palestinian reconciliation agreement is a promising event towards reaching that goal. I am also positive that the elimination of suppressive regimes in the Arab World will help our communities achieve the ultimate goal of liberation from injustice. — Al-Rai

Kuwait Diving Team members in action

Diving team continues coral reef restoration KUWAIT: As part of Kuwait Diving Team’s continuous efforts to restore biological balance to coral reef habitat in Kuwait’s waters, it plans to reduce the number of sea urchins that have been breeding rapidly.

“The work at this stage is focused toward finding the best and easiest ways to remove sea

urchins without damaging the coral colonies,” said Environmental Projects Manager of the Kuwait Diving Team Mahmoud Ashkenani. In a press statement, he added that the divers of the Environmental Voluntary Foundation’s(EVF) team have been undergoing several training sessions to find the most suitable methods.

The average number sea urchins at coral reeds has varied between 22 to 110 urchins per square meters, as per studies carried out on three different coral reef locations, Ashkenani said. He added that these rates are ‘very high.’ He indicated that the estimated total number of urchins found at the Baniya (5.7 km southeast of Khairan) are 450,000 in number.

Kuwait participates in US National Memorial Day Parade WASHINGTON: Kuwait participated in the US National Memorial Day Parade, which is held annually across the US to observe Memorial Day, remembering all those who have died for the service of the nation.

Up to 3000 individuals from across the nation participated in the parade, in addition to thousands of spectators that gathered along Constitution Avenue to celebrate the 2011 parade despite the very warm humid weather and long weekend vacation, which many consider is a short getaway opportunity.

Kuwait, for the fifth consecutive year, took part in the parade, where Kuwaiti children and students carried the Kuwaiti and American flags and some were on a float known as the 20th Anniversary of the Gulf War Tribute Float to express that “Kuwait Remembers.”

Kuwait’s participation in the procession comes to tell America that “on this day, the people of the State of Kuwait remember with deep gratitude and pride those fallen heroes of the Gulf War 20 years ago, and the sacrifices they made on behalf of a noble and important

cause.”

Kuwait’s Ambassador to the US Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who attended the parade, said that “it has become a tradition for Kuwait to take part annually in the parade.”

He said “our participation has its significance to show our solidarity with the US on this day and to remind the US that Kuwait will not forget its sacrifices in Kuwait’s liberation war.”

He stressed that Kuwait’s participation comes to thank the US for their sacrifices and “our participation this year, which coincides with Kuwait’s 20 liberation day anniversary, gives it a unique, special feeling.”

The National Memorial Day Parade, which is founded and produced by the American Veterans Center, was attended also by Advisor at the Kuwait Embassy in Washington D.C. Jassem Al-Budeiwi and the Military Attache in Washington D. C. Col Adel Al-Saeed, in addition to several US officials and dignitaries, including the Mayor of Washington D.C. Vincent Gray and celebrities. — KUNA

Al-Dawli celebrates 38th anniversary KUWAIT: Kuwait International Bank (Al-Dawli) celebrated its 38th anniversary yesterday, after being officially introduced to the market in 1973 as one of Kuwait’s leading banking institutions.

Al-Dawli celebrated this occasion during an event held for its staff at The Regency Hotel where a number of the bank’s spokespersons gave short speeches and presented a competition and raffle draw with a dinner buffet.

Dr Mahmoud Abul Eyoun, Kuwait International Bank’s CEO said: “The bank’s operations has come across many challenges, developments and transitions, indicating that, throughout the past 34 years

of operation as Kuwait Real Estate Bank, the bank has carved its niche as one of the leading institutions in real estate sector.”

“We saw a turning point in 2007 where it obtained a license to convert to Islamic banking.

Since then we have successfully been able to position ourselves among pioneer banking institutions in the Islamic world in terms of conversion from a specialized real estate bank into a full-fledged Islamic bank” added Dr Abul Eyoun.

“We would like to seize this opportunity to convey our gratitude to all those who contributed to the establishment of this entity. I am confident

that we will continue this journey together, the bank is really proud of having a working group at this level of performance and professionalism. We must take this opportunity to renew our commitment together to move forward in our journey as an effective institution in the Islamic banking industry.”

“I believe that giving attention to small details is the key behind success and great businesses.

Everyone is responsible and involved in the success of the bank including Board of Directors, Executive Management, staff and workers,” concluded Dr Abul Eyoun

International THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

Japan’s PM faces no-confidence vote over crisis Page 12

Defiant Syria opposition snubs amnesty offer ANTALYA: Syrian opposition groups gathered in Turkey yesterday to plan for the demise of President Bashar alAssad’s regime, denouncing “massacres” by his forces and snubbing an amnesty offer. The three-day gatheringtitled “Conference for Change in Syria”-opened with the Syrian national anthem and a minute of silence for “the martyrs” killed in bloody crackdowns on street protests simmering in Syria since March.

“The Syrian people are calling for the fall of the regime,” said Melhem al-Durubi, the head of the Muslim Brotherhood delegation in Antalya. “He should simply leave,” he said, adding that Assad “should be tried for his crimes.” Yesterday’s meeting comes a day after Assad decreed an amnesty for political prisoners following two months of bloodshed. Speakers said the offer was too little too late.

“We demanded this amnesty several years ago,” said Abdel Razak Eid, an activist from the Damascus Declaration, a reformist group launched in 2005 to demand democratic change, “but it’s late in coming.” With about 300 opposition groups gathered-most living in exile-speakers at the conference in the coastal resort of Antalya condemned “massacres” of civilians and urged Assad’s departure.

“The regime is not legitimate and has no longer a ground to stay on,” said Dugmush Dia al-Din, a 25-year-old student who came from Damascus, who has been jailed twice for participating in the revolt. International response to Tuesday’s presidential decree was tepid at best.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Assad had still not done enough. “He has not called an end to the violence against his own people, and he has not engaged seriously in any kind of reform efforts,” Clinton said.

Former colonial ruler France said Damascus authorities needed to take a much bolder change of direction after more than 1,100 deaths in the crackdown on generally unarmed demonstrators.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe demanded “more ambitious and bolder” action from Syria. “I fear that it might already be too late,” he told France Culture radio.

Turkey, while not dismissing the decree outright, also asked for deeper change. “I hope this is the first step of a comprehensive reform,” said Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in a television interview. “This step is important, like a signal rocket.”

Syria’s official SANA news agency said the amnesty for political prisoners would extend to the Muslim Brotherhood, membership of which has been punishable by death in Syria since it led a bloody uprising against the rule of the current president’s father Hafez al-Assad in the 1980s. “President Assad has by decree issued an amnesty on all (political) crimes committed before May 31, 2011,” SANA reported.

“The amnesty applies to all political prisoners as well as to the Muslim Brotherhood.” Syria meanwhile denied yesterday that a boy aged 13, whom opposition activists say died under torture, had been abused by security forces, labeling the accusations as lies. A medical report published by Syrian official media said three bullets killed teenager Hamza Al-Khatib and that other apparent wounds on his body were due to decomposition, not security force brutality. “The report closes the door on the lies and allegations and shows the truth,” said the official news agency SANA. On Saturday, pro-democracy activists dedicated a page on Facebook to the boy, saying he was “tortured and killed” by security forces in the southern region of Daraa, a flashpoint of protest against President Bashar al-Assad.

The activists said the boy had disappeared since taking part in a demonstration on April 29, which he decided to join after police killed his cousin. The US-based Human Rights Watch meanwhile prepared to release a report detailing a raft of abuses in Daraa. HRW said its report showed abuses in the flashpoint region were “not only systematic but implemented as part of a state policy” and likely to “qualify as crimes against humanity.” The government insists the unrest is the work of “armed terrorist gangs” backed by Islamists and foreign agitators. —AFP

Philippine clan head pleads not guilty to massacre MANILA: The head of a powerful Philippine clan pleaded not guilty yesterday to murdering 57 foes and journalists in his first court appearance on charges of masterminding the country’s worst political massacre. Wearing a yellow prison shirt and closely guarded by police commandos, 70year-old Andal Ampatuan Snr stood silently as more than two dozen relatives of the victims stared at him from across the courtroom.

He nodded when asked if he understood the charges read out to him, as regional trial court judge Jocelyn Reyes ordered the trial to proceed after denying his last-minute appeal to delay proceedings. “Not guilty,” Ampatuan muttered to jeers from emotional relatives of the victims who packed the small room.

The Muslim clan patriarch, his son and namesake Andal Ampatuan Jnr, and four other relatives are among more than 80 people arrested and charged with murder over the November 23, 2009 massacre of 57 people, 32 of whom were journalists. As the trial was underway, police announced that two more suspects-an ex-policeman and an armed Ampatuan follower-had been arrested in the southern province of Maguindanao, where the killings took place.

More than a hundred other suspects, including Ampatuan relatives and members of a government-armed militia that worked under the family’s direct command, remain at large. The court has yet to read the charges against 21 of those in custody, and legal experts had earlier warned the trial would stretch for years in the notoriously slow Philippine justice system. —AFP

ANTALYA: Unidentified Syrian opposition activists hold a former Syrian national flag in Antalya yesterday during the opening session of a three-day meeting to discuss democratic change and voice support for a simmering revolt against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. —AFP

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

Years

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

Iran’s political showdown escalates over oil post TEHRAN: Iran’s parliament voted yesterday to take Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to court over his takeover of the country’s vital oil ministry, escalating the power struggle between the president and the hard-line establishment that has turned against him. The 1651 vote was the latest salvo in the political maneuvering that began when Ahmadinejad publicly challenged Iran’s supreme leader in April, only to back down. The confrontations appear to be part of a power struggle ahead of parliamentary elections next year and the vote for Ahmadinejad’s successor in mid-2013. Lawmakers were infuriated when Ahmadinejad consolidated a series of ministries, fired the oil minister and named himself as the replacement. The takeover also technically puts Ahmadinejad at the helm of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, since Iran this year

holds the rotating presidency.

It’s unclear whether yesterday’s vote in the 290member parliament will actually be followed by charges or a lawsuit against Ahmadinejad, but it clearly pits the president against a majority of lawmakers, including parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, a leader of a rival camp within the president’s conservative political bloc. If charges proceed against the president, he could well face an investigation by the judiciary, which is led by Larijani’s brother.

Ahmadinejad was re-elected president in 2009 in a disputed vote that sent Iran into its worst internal chaos since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He has tried unsuccessfully to position a protege to succeed him, but many of his allies, including the Larijani brothers and apparently Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are turning against him in

their own efforts to retain power.

The legislators voted 165-1 to refer Ahmadinejad to the judiciary after a parliament committee report concluded his action in taking over the oil ministry was unconstitutional. Some lawmakers have already hinted that he may stand to gain financially from the self-appointment. Remaining lawmakers were absent or abstained. “This illegal and hasty action will damage the Islamic Republic of Iran’s interests on the global level,” the parliament committee report said. “As (caretaker) oil minister, Ahmadinejad has issued and will continue to issue orders that are obviously illegal interference.” William Martel, a Professor of International Security at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, concurred that Ahmadinejad’s takeover of the oil industry “doesn’t bode well for global energy markets.” “With Iran’s

record in the last handful of years on a range of foreign policy issues, I don’t know that this would be seen as terribly reassuring to the global energy market,” he said.

Martel also said that Ahmadinejad’s behavior strikes him as “authoritarian, erratic and unpredictable.” About 50 legislators have signed a petition to summon Ahmadinejad to appear in parliament to answer questions, short of the one-quarter needed to order a president for questioning before the Iranian assembly for the first time since 1979.

Those behind the petition want Ahmadinejad to respond to a long list of accusations, including refusing to carry out laws passed by parliament, withdrawing money from state funds without authorization and his alleged lack of transparency on budget spending. — AP

Mubarak, sons to be tried August 3 Trio to be tried by North Cairo criminal court CAIRO: Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, are to face trial on August 3 on charges of ordering the killing of protesters and fraud, a judicial source told AFP yesterday. The trio will be tried by the North Cairo criminal court and

WASHINGTON: In this Sept 1, 2010 file photo, Egypt’s then President Hosni Mubarak listens as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu, unseen, speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Egypt’s state news agency says former President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons will go on trial on Aug 3. —AP

the hearing will be presided by Judge Ahmed Rifat, the source said.

Businessman Hussein Salem, a close associate of the Mubaraks, is to face trial on the same date on the same charges, the source said. Mubarak has been in custody in hospital since April 13 after reportedly suffering a heart attack during questioning about the killing of anti-regime protesters and fraud.

The spectacular fall of one of the region’s most powerful leaders after 18 days of nationwide anti-regime protests was followed by repeated calls for him to be tried. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took power when Mubarak was ousted on February 11, has vowed to bring to justice all those found guilty of abuse, but has been criticised for its handling of the transitional phase.

A senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, perhaps the country’s best organised political movement, said fixing a trial date for Mubarak showed justice appeared to be running its course. “It’s a good development, it dots the i’s and crosses the t’s,” said Essam al-Erian. It “assures people that justice will take its course,” he added.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters in Washington that she hoped Mubarak would get a fair trial. “We want to see appropriate due process and procedures followed in anyone’s trial and particularly in such a highly charged trial as that will certainly be,” she said. The murder charges may lead to a death sentence if he is found guilty, the justice minister said earlier this month.

Mubarak’s security chief Habib al-Adly has already been sentenced to 12 years in jail for corruption and faces another trial on charges of ordering the shootings of demonstrators.

An official inquiry found at least 846 people were killed in the protests, many of them from gunshot wounds. At least 6,000 were injured.

Secret note on Iran ship scandal spooks Israelis JERUSALEM: A secret note passed in parliament to halt a televised oversight committee meeting has stoked a scandal in Israel over a major shipping firm accused

by Washington of doing illicit business with Iran. Ofer Brothers Group, owned by Israel’s richest family, denied wrongdoing after its surprise inclusion on a US State Department blacklist last week, but its refusal to address a slew of media speculation about past links with Israel’s security services only deepened the mystery.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeing influential compatriots charged with undermining the sanctions against Tehran that he has championed, gave a muted response, saying that his government had approved no deals with the Iranians.

Lawmakers met on Tuesday to discuss legal aspects of the case in an economic oversight panel. But the meeting, aired live on television, was adjourned abruptly within minutes after the chairman, Carmel Shama-Hacohen, received a note from an aide. The freshman legislator, a member of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, went stone-faced and did not reveal its contents.

“Let’s just be clear the note is not from a political figure and not from a business figure,” Shama-Hacohen said, leaving open the possibility of an appeal by the defence establishment. “It turns out that reality is much more complex, much more complicated and touchy than the average imagination can handle.” Such obliqueness excited an Israeli media long attuned to signs of a shadow war against Iran and its nuclear program. The sea is a key arena. According to authorized accounts and espionage exposes, Israeli commercial ships sometimes provide transport or camouflage for intelligence missions, extending the reach of the small, coastal Jewish state in a hostile region. “ The Ofer Brothers are in a bind because they are a multinational company that can ill afford publicity about them having done ‘odd jobs’ for the country,” said Amnon Abramovitch, commentator for Israel’s top-rated Channel Two television

news. “The Israeli government is also in a bind, because it can ill afford publicity about it having exploited multinational commercial companies for ‘odd jobs’ on behalf of the country.”

Asked by Reuters to comment on such reports, Ofer Brothers said it deferred to government statements about the need to maintain sanctions targeting Iran’s nuclear programme. The US State Department accused Ofer Brothers Group and a Singapore-based affiliate, Tanker Pacific, of selling Iranians a ship for $8.65 million. Ofer Brothers Group denied it. Tanker Pacific has since said its ships have docked lawfully in Iran.

Some Israeli opposition figures have accused the government of trying to avoid bringing Ofer Brothers to account over possible misconduct. Pressed yesterday to explain his actions, Shama-Hacohen cited warnings by security officials that the forum might have witnessed statements “that would have caused damage”. He also faulted Ofer Brothers for failing to send a representative.

“Yesterday was their opportunity to come, have their say, and prove their truth,” he told Israel Radio. “They chose to be absent and as long as they do so their credibility will suffer.” Shama-Hacohen played down the likelihood of significant, continuing collaboration between Ofer Brothers and Israeli intelligence: “ The Americans would not have imposed sanctions (on the company) for no reason. The prime minister of Israel would not have disavowed this (affair) in such a sharp and clear manner.” Gad Shimron, a retired Mossad officer who writes on security affairs, said whether Ofer Brothers had helped or hindered the national interest would emerge in the proceedings against them.

Israel previously threw the book at its citizens who dealt with Iran in violation of global sanctions and local laws. “If there is a big investigation and prosecution, then this was probably simple malfeasance on the part of the Ofer Brothers,” said Shimron. “If not, draw your own conclusions.” — Reuters

The trial date of August 3 coincides with Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.

But there were mixed reports over the location of the trial. Yesterday, a judicial source told the state-owned Al-Ahram it would take place in the Red Sea resort of Sharm elSheikh, where Mubarak is under hospital arrest, and not in Cairo “for security reasons.”He said a Cairo trial would be dangerous “considering the feelings of hate towards Mubarak which increase day by day,” the source said.

The Mubaraks have also been charged with profiteering and using their positions for illicit gains and squandering public funds. Former first lady Suzanne Mubarak was released this month after she returned assets to the government. She is suspected of corruption.

The former leader, who ruled Egypt for three decades, was hospitalised in mid-April after reportedly suffering a heart attack during questioning and his detention has been extended regularly since. On Tuesday, the public prosecutor said Mubarak was too ill to be moved from hospital to prison, following a series of statements in recent weeks by the military council saying they were preparing for his transfer. The 83-year-old is said to be suffering from “episodes of unconsciousness due to circulatory problems and low blood pressure,” the statement said.

He also suffers “an irregular heartbeat which could lead to a sudden heart attack,” it added. Mubarak is described as “generally weak and depressed, and he has trouble getting out of bed without help.” In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Mubarak’s lawyer said the former president was in “very bad health.”

“The president has serious heart problems and complications with his stomach from the operation he had in Germany last year,” Farid El Deeb said. — AFP

Two Iraqis in US plotted terrorism overseas: FBI LOUISVILLE: An Iraqi refugee living in the US told an FBI informant that he used improvised explosive devices in insurgent attacks on American troops in Iraq, and said it was most important to send sniper rifles to his home country, according to a sworn statement. The refugee, along with one of his recruits, was arrested and accused of trying to send sniper rifles, Stinger missiles and money to al-Qaida operatives in Iraq. Waad Ramadan Alwan, 30, was well-schooled in sniper rifles and improvised explosive devices, according to an FBI affidavit released Tuesday.

“If I can get to Iraq, can you send me a sniper rifle?”

Alwan asked the informant. “I want one so I can shoot from far away.” Alwan, and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 23, were arrested last week after an investigation that began months after they arrived in the US in 2009. Neither is charged with plotting attacks within the United States, and authorities said their weapons and money didn’t make it to Iraq because of a tightly controlled undercover investigation. Alwan is charged with conspiracy to kill a United States national, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to terrorists. Hammadi is charged with attempting to provide material support to terrorists and knowingly transferring, possession or exporting a device designed or intended to launch or guide a rocket or missile. Alwan also boasted of constructing and using IEDs against Humvees and Bradley vehicles, providing drawings of the proper techniques for building four different types of devices, the affidavit said.

“In describing a particular type of IED, Alwan talked about filling the container and stated, ‘anything lethal could be stuffed into it, such as ball-bearings, nails, gravel and whatever item that kills,”‘ FBI Special Agent Richard Glenn said in the affidavit. “Do you understand the procedure?” Alwan asked the FBI informant. “Not that hard, but it needs someone who understands this business, not anyone can do it. One has to have some practical training.” The men pleaded not guilty to the charges during a preliminary hearing Tuesday, and they’re in federal custody pending a detention hearing.

The criminal complaints against the two men say they entered the United States legally in April 2009 and had refugee status. By late 2010, Alwan had told the informant he wanted to help terrorists in Iraq, and he recruited Hammadi early this year, authorities said. Federal prosecutors and the FBI declined to say how the two men were able to enter the country as refugees, or what they were doing in Bowling Green, a city of 60,000. State officials said at least 253 Iraqi refugees have moved to the city since 2008 but wouldn’t comment on whether the state’s refugee office dealt with the suspects. —AP

TEHRAN: A handout picture released by the Iranian women’s rights movement “The Feminist School” shows a relative of Iranian Haleh Sahabi, 54, mourning over her body at her home in Tehran yesterday. after she died during the funeral of her father. —AFP

Iran activist dies after funeral scuffle TEHRAN: The daughter of a prominent veteran Iranian dissident died yesterday after security forces scuffled with mourners at his funeral, opposition websites said. Haleh Sahabi, 54, herself an opposition activist and women’s rights campaigner, had been allowed out of prison to attend the funeral of her father Ezatollah Sahabi. She fell in the scuffle and died of a cardiac arrest, the Kaleme website said.

The semi-official Mehr news agency reported sporadic clashes at the funeral but said Sahabi had died of a pre-existing heart condition and not because of rough handling. “Security forces tried to interfere in the carrying of the body, she objected and security forces confronted her and other people present,” Kaleme said, adding that Sahabi was pushed to the ground. Another opposition site, Sahamnews, said a member of the security forces punched her in the stomach.

Kaleme said she was holding a picture of her father to her chest and fell when security forces tried to take it from her. “She fell and did not get up,” it said. Reuters was unable to verify the events independently. The Iran Green Voice website called on people to chant “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) from their rooftops at 10 pm, a common form of protest by opposition supporters.

Haleh Sahabi’s death angered supporters of Iran’s opposition movement whose massive street protests after the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009 were crushed by the government and whose leaders have been put under house arrest.

Haleh Sahabi was one of the many people

arrested during the post-election crackdown and was given a two-year jail sentence. Her death less than two weeks before the anniversary of the vote, which the opposition says was rigged, may galvanise support for a planned “silent rally” in Tehran on June 12 to mark the anniversary. The government denies vote rigging and condemned opposition activists as stooges of Iran’s foreign enemies.

Prominent opposition figures and former moderate officials attended the ceremony in the Tehran suburb of Lavasan for Ezatollah Sahabi, a member of the provisional revolutionary government shortly after the overthrow of the shah. He was jailed both before and after the Islamic Revolution and spent a total of 15 years behind bars on various charges including efforts to overthrow Islamic rule.

Mehr reported that three people were arrested and Iran Green Voice said one of them was Hamed Montazeri, grandson of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a figurehead for reformists until his death in late 2009. The semi-official Fars news agency accused the opposition movement of fabricating stories of trouble at the funeral.

“Despite the claims and lies of the media supporting American and Israeli seditionists saying Haleh Sahabi was killed in a clash with security forces, Fars reporters present at the funeral service said there was no clash,” it said.

Another news agency, ISNA, quoted security official Alireza Janeh as saying there had been no clashes and that Sahabi’s heart failure was due to a pre-existing condition exacerbated by stress and hot weather. — Reuters

Libya oil chief defects, NATO extends campaign TRIPOLI/ROME: Libya’s top oil official became the latest leading figure to desert Muammar Gaddafi yesterday, complaining of “unbearable” violence and adding political momentum to a revolt against the leader’s long rule. The move by National Oil Corp head Shukri Ghanem, who is also a former prime minister, came two days after the defections of eight army officers including five generals and those in earlier weeks of senior diplomats and other former ministers.

“I left the country and decided also to leave my job and to join the choice of Libyan youth to create a modern constitutional state respecting human rights and building a better future for all Libyans,” he said. Speaking at a news conference in Rome organized by the Libyan ambassador, who has also defected, Ghanem said he had left his job because of the “unbearable” violence in Libya.

He said he still saw some possibility of a peaceful settlement to decide the fate of Gaddafi’s 41year-old rule, which he said he had left because of the “daily spilling of blood” he had witnessed in Libya. Ghanem, who is one of the most senior Libyan officials to have defected, said he supported “Libyan youth fighting for a constitutional state”. Ghanem, whose whereabouts had been unknown for several days, also said oil production in Libya is coming to a halt because of the international embargo.

Now in its fourth month, the Libyan conflict is deadlocked, with rebels unable to break out of their strongholds and advance towards Tripoli, where Gaddafi appears to be firmly entrenched.

Rebels control the east of Libya around the city of Benghazi, the third-biggest city Misrata, and a mountain range stretching from the town of Zintan, 150 km (95 miles) south of Tripoli, towards the border with Tunisia. NATO said yesterday it had extended its Libyan mission for a further 90 days, after Gaddafi made it clear he would not step down, dashing hopes of a negotiated end to the uprising against his rule.

The 28-member alliance originally took over a

ROME: Libyan oil chief Shukri Ghanem leaves a Rome hotel on a car yesterday.

Shukri Ghanem said yesterday he had defected and now supports the rebels in a major blow to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, news reports said. —AP

campaign of air strikes, the enforcement of a nofly zone and an arms embargo on Libya to protect rebellious civilians from attack by Gaddafi’s forces in late March for 90 days. “NATO and partners have just decided to extend our mission for Libya for another 90 days,” NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement. “This decision sends a clear message to the Gaddafi regime: We are determined to continue our operation to protect the people of Libya.”

South African President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday after talks with the leader that Gaddafi had stated emphatically he would not leave Libyamaking a negotiated end to the conflict impossible given rebel demands for his departure. Zuma was in Tripoli on Monday to try to revive an African “roadmap” for ending the conflict, which started in February with an uprising against Gaddafi and has since turned into a war in which thousands of people have been killed. — Reuters

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Chile’s communists want Neruda’s death probed SANTIAGO: Chile’s Communist Party wants a formal investigation into the death of the country’s revered poet Pablo Neruda, who officially died of cancer only days after the 1973 coup toppled his close friend, President Salvador Allende. Several witnesses have raised doubts about his death recently, including Neruda’s driver, who says he was poisoned by government agents.

Neruda died at the age of 69 on

Sept 23, 1973, 12 days after the coup.

He had just published a withering criticism of Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship that eulogized Allende and accused Chile’s soldiers of having betrayed their country. He’d won the Nobel Prize for Literature two years earlier, giving him great international prestige. Neruda died, officially of prostate cancer, in the same clinic where former President Eduardo Frei was allegedly poisoned in 1981 by six

people, including several Pinochet agents, who were charged last year in connection with his death.

Now Neruda’s driver, Manuel Araya, has alleged that Pinochet agents injected deadly poison into Neruda’s stomach. The Neruda Foundation, which administers his estate and legacy, has said there’s no evidence supporting the driver’s claims.

But Guillermo Teillier, president of the Communist Party that Neruda

belonged to, told the Appellate Court in Santiago that it’s a moral requirement to clarify whether Neruda was killed to silence his criticism. Teillier cited similar doubts about the deaths of Allende, Frei and Allende’s defense minister Jose Toha, who was found hanged in a closet while in military custody. Allende’s remains are being analyzed by an international panel of forensic experts.

Party attorney Eduardo Contreras

said in an interview that Araya isn’t the only one questioning Neruda’s death.

He said other Neruda employees also raised doubts, and Mexico’s former ambassador to Chile, Gonzalo Martinez Corbala, found Neruda in fine condition a day before his death.

Neruda’s death will now be investigated by Judge Mario Carroza, who is also handling the case of Allende and 725 other unresolved victims of the dictatorship.— AP

Obama presses Republicans on debt cap Biden talks likely to resume next week

NEW YORK: Egyptian businessman Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar waits to be arraigned at Manhattan criminal court Tuesday in New York. The former chairman of one of Egypt’s major banks was arrested on charges of sexually abusing a maid at a Manhattan hotel. —AP

NYC hotel suspends boss for not reporting attack NEW YORK: A businessman and former chairman of a major Egyptian bank charged with sexually abusing a housekeeper at a luxury Manhattan hotel is being held on $25,000 bail and has been ordered to hand over his passport because he is considered a flight risk.

Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar, wearing glasses and a suit, was arraigned just before midnight on Tuesday in Manhattan. Authorities say the businessman, who is in his 70s, attacked a maid at The Pierre hotel, near Central Park and Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side. The hotel, meanwhile, suspended the supervisor of housekeeping for not reporting the alleged assault. Omar was arraigned on two counts of sexual abuse and forcible touching. His lawyer, Liz Beal, told the court that her client “adamantly denies the charges against him.” “He realizes these are very, very serious charges, and he denies them. He wants to fight this case,” said Beal, a Legal Aid attorney who said she was representing Omar at his first court appearance and that he would seek private counsel.

Beal said Omar expected to post bail as quickly as possible. Prosecutors called the prominent businessman an obvious flight risk. Judge Gerald Lebovits ordered Omar to surrender his travel documents. Authorities

say the maid was called to Omar’s room Sunday evening to drop off tissues. District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said that when the victim entered the room, the defendant grabbed her in a bear hug and kissed her on the lips and neck and told her repeatedly that he liked her, before grabbing her breasts.

The prosecutor said that as the maid tried to get away, he grabbed her in a second bear hug, grinding his groin against her leg. She broke away again, and the prosecutor said the defendant then squeezed her buttocks.

The maid told her superiors that she was assaulted that night, but they said it was best to wait until the following morning to report it to the security director, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The director called police Monday morning.

Pierre spokeswoman Nora Walsh said in an email to The Associated Press yesterday that the supervisor of housekeeping was suspended pending an investigation. Officers searched the hotel room and the area around the hotel but didn’t find Omar. They returned about two hours later and found him in the lobby of The Pierre, where they arrested him at about 11 a.m., the official said, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. — AP

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama pressed Republicans to back an increase in the US debt limit yesterday during a rare meeting aimed at ending a standoff that the White House fears could upset financial markets.

Obama met Republicans from the House of Representatives a day after they defeated their own bill to raise the US debt limit-a vote staged to strengthen their demand for huge cuts in federal spending. The US deficit is expected to reach $1.4 trillion this year. The White House argues the United States would face “calamitous” consequencesincluding a return to recession- if Congress does not raise the $14.3 trillion cap on government borrowing by Aug. 2.

The US Treasury said yesterday it was still on track to exhaust all borrowing capacity by Aug. 2, risking a possible debt default unless Congress comes to an agreement over spending. “(Treasury) Secretary (Timothy Geithner) continues to urge Congress to avoid the catastrophic economic and market consequences of a default crisis by raising the statutory debt limit in a timely manner,” Mary Miller, assistant secretary for financial markets at Treasury, said in a statement.

The Treasury Department has been tapping federal employee pensions and other funds to pay the nation’s bills since it reached the current debt limit on May 16.

Republicans are skeptical that default is inevitable if government borrowing grinds to a halt and some even question the disaster warnings that Geithner has been issuing all year. They insist that significant spending cuts

WASHINGTON: Speaker of the House John Boehner (R) speaks to the media following a meeting between US President Barack Obama and the House Republican Conference about the national debt limit and budget plans at the White House in Washington, DC yesterday.—AP

accompany any deal on the debt ceiling.

Both sides have raised the stakes in recent days. After Republicans staged Tuesday’s vote, House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, released a letter signed by more than 150 economists saying any increase in the debt limit must be matched with spending cuts of equal size.

“An increase in the national debt limit that is not accompanied by significant spending cuts and budget reforms to address our government ’s spending addiction will harm private-sector job creation in America,” the letter said.

In talks led by Vice President Joe Biden, Republicans and Democrats have identified tens of billions of dollars in possible spending cuts. But they must resolve a dispute over the biggest-ticket items. Democrats say they will not consider cuts to popular health benefits until Republicans consider tax increases. The Biden talks are likely to resume next week. The White House is stepping up pressure on Republicans to raise the debt limit.

After Obama meets Republican congressman yesterdat, Geithner will head to Capitol Hill on Thursday to hold talks with Republican freshmen-a group of first-term lawmakers

who won dozens of seats in last year’s congressional elections on promises to cut spending.

Financial markets so far have shrugged off the lack of progress, but the White House has warned that could change as the August deadline approaches. Douglas Holtz-Eak in, a top economic a d v i s e r to for m e r Pre s i d e nt G e orge W. B us h a nd 2008 Republican presidential candid a te J ohn M c Ca i n, s a i d t he Whi te H ous e’s w a r ni ngs of calamity sounded like blackmail to lawmakers. “ They need to talk less about what will happ e n a nd m ore a b out how they’re going to get the deal done,” he said.—Reuters

Iranian wanted by Argentina visits Bolivia LA PAZ: Iran’s defense minister, whose extradition is sought by neighboring Argentina for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center, briefly visited Bolivia on Tuesday, raising tensions between the countries. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi is wanted by Buenos Aires as an alleged mastermind of the bombing, which

killed 85 people. Interpol issued a red notice for Vahidi in 2007, notifying members that Argentina was seeking his arrest. Bolivia’s defense ministry said in a brief statement that Vahidi arrived Tuesday to help inaugurate a defense academy for members of the leftist ALBA alliance, which includes Cuba,

Venezuela and Nicaragua. Some ALBA countries have close ties with Iran.

Guillermo Borger, president of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, called on Argentina’s government to file a formal protest with Bolivia. Later Tuesday, Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca

wrote a letter to Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman saying that Vahidi had left the countr y at the request of the Bolivian government, which had invited him. “I want to express in the name of the Government of Bolivia my deepest apologies,” the letter said. — AP

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Charges filed against 9/11 accused at Guantanamo WASHINGTON: Prosecutors filed charges Tuesday against 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators, bringing the five a step closer to facing a Guantanamo military tribunal. The charges, which must now be approved by a tribunal official, set the stage for the highest-profile Al-Qaeda suspects in custody to finally face justice almost a decade after the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

“The prosecutors have recommended that the charges against all five of the accused be referred as capital,” a Pentagon statement said, meaning the suspects could face the death penalty if convicted.

President Barack Obama’s administration last month abandoned plans to try the five in a civilian court just blocks from the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, felled by Al-Qaeda hijackers on September 11, 2001.

The charges are conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, hijacking aircraft and terrorism. Almost identical charges were filed in May 2008 but dropped when the Obama administration

announced plans to try Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, and Mustapha Ahmed al-Hawsawi in New York. Retired Navy Vice Admiral Bruce MacDonald, who is the military tribunal’s Convening Authority (CA), will consider the latest charges and decide whether or not the death penalty can be sought. “After this review, the CA-in his sole discretion-may then refer the charges to a military commission,” said a letter sent to the families of the 9/11 victims by the Office of Military Commission.

“If referred (capital or non-capital), a military judge would then be assigned and a panel of eligible military officers would be selected as potential members of the military commission. The accused would then be arraigned within 30 days of the service of the referred charge.” Referred to in counter-terrorism circles as “KSM,” Sheikh Mohammed, a Kuwaiti-born Pakistani who is now 46 or 47 years old, is the self-proclaimed architect of the September 11 attacks and a host of other antiWestern plots. He was subjected to simulated drowning, known as waterboarding, 183 times during his years in US custody and his trial will raise

questions about evidence obtained from harsh interrogation methods. In addition to felling the twin towers, he claims to have personally beheaded US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002 with his “blessed right hand” and to have helped in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed six people.

Binalshibh is accused of serving as the primary link between the hijackers and Al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan during the eight months before the attacks. Abd al-Aziz Ali, a Pakistani raised in Kuwait who is Sheikh Mohammed’s nephew, is believed to have transferred funds to US-based operatives and helped hijackers travel from Pakistan to the United States. In addition to his alleged 9/11 involvement, bin Attash, born and raised in Saudi Arabia to Yemeni parents, is accused of being the mastermind of the 2000 attack on the USS Cole destroyer in Yemen, which killed 17 US soldiers. Hawsawi is a Saudi associate of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed May 2 in his Pakistani hideout by a US Navy SEAL team. Hawsawi is accused of holding the group’s purse strings and of arranging the funding for the September 11 attacks. The KSM trial has

become a huge political football in the United States. Republican gripes at Obama for his U-turn on a military tribunal will intensify now that essentially the same charges have been filed more than three years later.

The Obama administration argues that it has reformed the military tribunals to give greater protections to defendants and ensure that statements obtained by brutal interrogation are no longer admitted. In announcing the U-turn in April, Attorney General Eric Holder also said he still felt a civilian courtroom was the best forum and regretted that a military tribunal was now the only way to go because of blanket Republican opposition in Congress.

Human rights groups expressed renewed anger Tuesday that the Obama administration was continuing down the wrong path towards a military tribunal they still see as flawed. “The correct place to try terrorism suspects remains the federal court system, and the Obama administration should have stuck to its original decision to hold fair trials in American courts,” said Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties’ Union National Security Project. —AFP

Mladic cooperative when in custody Charges of genocide, orchestrating Serb atrocities THE HAGUE: Ratko Mladic, who will appear in public Friday for the first time since his arrest when he goes before a war crimes judge, was “extremely cooperative” when finally taken into UN custody after 16 years as a fugitive, a court official yesterday. John Hocking, the registrar of the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, said the wartime Bosnian Serb military commander understood him clearly when Hocking spoke to him Tuesday night, shortly after Mladic was extradited from Belgrade in a Serbian government business jet.

Hocking, the tribunal’s senior administrative official, described the rules and regulations of the detention block that will be the exgeneral’s home until the end of his trial on charges of genocide and orchestrating Serb atrocities throughout the Bosnian war.

Hocking said a doctor who examined the 69-year-old Mladic saw no medical problems to prevent him being taken into the tribunal’s detention unit but declined to provide details about Mladic’s health, citing privacy concerns. The descriptions of Mladic’s health and powers of concentration appear to be at odds with those of Mladic’s Belgrade lawyer, who has said the ex-general is too weak mentally and physically to face a complex and lengthy war crimes trial.

Mladic’s family says he has suffered at least two strokes while on the run.

Mladic will appear in court for the first time Friday morning when a judge will ask him to confirm his identity and give him the chance to enter pleas to the 11 charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Like his old ally and political boss Radovan Karadzic

three years ago, Mladic may decline to enter pleas at his first appearance, instead opting to delay a formal response by up to a month.

Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz praised Serbia’s proWestern President Boris Tadic for having Mladic arrested, but also rued how long it took to detain Europe’s most-wanted war crimes fugitive, who was first indicted in 1995 while war was still raging

was arrested in 2008 and has already been on trial for 18 months on the 11 charges that are all but identical to the allegations against Mladic. The two were originally indicted together, but their cases were split after Karadzic’s arrest.

Both men are accused of providing political and military leadership to Serb forces responsible for atrocities ranging from ethnic cleansing campaigns against non-Serbs, to

BELGRADE: Serbian President Boris Tadic gestures during an interview in Belgrade yesterday, a day after former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic was transfered to The Hague. —AFP around him. “Sixteen years is a long time to wait for justice,” Brammertz told reporters at the court. “It has happened very late, but not too late.” Brammertz suggested it is unlikely he will seek to try Mladic together with Karadzic, but he did not completely rule out rejoining their cases.

“I am not saying at all this is a likely possibility, but it is at least a theoretical one,” he said. Karadzic, who was president of the selfdeclared Bosnian Serb republic,

N Sudan proposes rotating Abyei administration KHARTOUM/JUBA: North Sudan’s government laid out new proposals to resolve a dispute with the south over the central Abyei region, including setting up a rotating administration for the contested territory. Khartoum seized Abyei on May 21, sparking an international outcry and stoking fears the two sides could return to full-blown conflict over the oil-producing region, also coveted for its fertile grazing land.

Tens of thousands of people fled the fighting. The proposals announced late on Tuesday said the northern military should stay north of the Bahr alArab river and southern forces should remain south “without participating in any administrative tasks until a final solution is reached through a referendum”.

The waterway, known as the Kiir River in the south, runs south of Abyei’s main town and was a conflict zone during the last north-south civil war, which killed some 2 million people. Under the north’s proposals, Abyei’s administration would be transferred to a joint north-south committee on July 8, the day before the south is scheduled to secede, a statement carried by the state news agency SUNA said.

A senior official with the southern ruling party said sharing Abyei’s administration “doesn’t do justice to the people of Abyei or the current situation there,” and repeated calls for the north to withdraw its forces.

Southerners voted overwhelmingly for secession in a January referendum promised by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended decades of civil war. Issues such as the common border line have not been settled yet. A separate referendum was scheduled for Abyei to determine its status, but that vote has not happened. “The north must pull its forces out of Abyei, it is a violation of the CPA,” Anne Itto, deputy secretary general of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM), told Reuters. “The shared administration of Abyei ended a long time ago, on January 9, when the people of Abyei were meant to hold their own referendum,” she added. The Abyei region is used all year round by the southlinked Dinka Ngok people and for part of the year by northern Arab Misseriya nomads. The north’s proposals also suggested international peacekeepers should be replaced by “more effective” African troops. A UN spokeswoman said the organisation had seen the proposals and was studying them.

Ethiopia, seen as an honest broker by both sides, said on Tuesday it would consider dispatching peacekeepers to Abyei if both Juba and Khartoum lodged a request. Southern officials have so far played down the risk of armed conflict over Abyei. South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir said last week the south would not go to war over the incursion. Vice President Riek Machar flew to Khartoum this week to meet with officials in an attempt to ease tensions. He said the two sides had agreed to form a committee to resolve the dispute. —Reuters

the deadly sniping and shelling campaigns during the four-year siege of Sarajevo, to the war ’s bloody climax _ the 1995 slaughter of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, Europe’s worst massacre since World War II. Mladic “was the most powerful military figure in Bosnia during the war and he is charged with crimes that shocked the conscience of the international community ... and symbolize the brutality of the war in Bosnia,” Brammertz said.

The 1992-95 Bosnian war left about 100,000 people dead and forced 1.8 million to flee their homes. Hocking said he discussed with Mladic how he would mount his defense against the charges, but said Mladic has not yet indicated his plans.

Several high-profile leaders prosecuted at the tribunal, including Karadzic and former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, have acted as their own defense attorneys and used their trials as platforms to spread their political message. Hocking said it has not yet been decided where Mladic will stay in the detention unit, which has several wings. Detainees are free to roam their wings for much of the day and interact with one another before being locked at night in their one -man cells, equipped with televisions and toilets. Hocking said Mladic was not on any kind of suicide watch, but was being kept in isolation for the first few days of his detention as he adjusts to life behind bars. Mladic was captured Thursday at the home of a relative in a Serbian village.

Judges in Belgrade rejected his appeal to delay his transfer on grounds of ill health, and the Serbian justice minister authorized his handover to UN officials in The Hague. Justice Minister Snezana Malovic said the handover marked the fulfillment of Serbia’s “international and moral obligation.” Serbia had been told it needed to capture Mladic before it could be considered a candidate for membership in the European Union. Of the 161 suspects indicted by the UN court since its establishment in 1993, only one remains on the run _ Goran Hadzic, a leader of rebel Serbs in Croatia. — AP

DIYARBAKIR: Supporters of independent candidate Emine Ayna’s shout slogans in front of her election campaign office on June 1, 2011 in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, moments before Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s campaign meeting. —AFP

Turkey’s PM pledges new projects for Kurds ANKARA: Turkey’s prime minister yesterday announced new projects for a major city with a mostly Kurdish population in a bid to win the support of Kurds in June 12 elections.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised the restoration of Diyarbakir’s 3 mile-long (6 kilometer-long) 11th-century city walls, building projects to replace shanty towns, a new airport, new hospitals and a large stadium for the city’s football team, Diyarbakirspor. “I have a dream for Diyarbakir,” Erdogan said, addressing large crowds at an election rally in the impoverished city. “Diyarbakir will be a city where tourists will visit in droves.”

Kurdish leaders have said such economic projects do not go far enough. Demands of Kurds who make up around 20 percent of Turkey’s 74 million people include autonomy in their southeastern strongholds as well as the right to education in Kurdish.

Erdogan’s visit to Diyarbakir comes weeks after troops killed 12 Kurdish rebels, triggering protests by Kurds. Polls indicate Erdogan’s governing party is set

to win a third term in power. The party is looking to win a strong majority that would enable it to change the constitution. It is vying for votes with a Kurdish party in its traditional strongholds.

Kurdish demonstrators in Diyarbakir threw stones and fire bombs at police who responded with tear gas, hours before Erdogan’s arrival, the Anatolia news agency reported. In 2009, Erdogan initiated reforms aimed at resolving the Kurdish conflict, including an all-Kurdish television station and Kurdish-language departments at universities. The reforms stalled after a group of rebels, dressed in guerrilla fatigues, made a triumphant return to Turkey from bases in northern Iraq, causing a public backlash in the country. In his speech, Erdogan cited past democratic reforms enacted by his government, but made no mention of any plans to introduce new ones. Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of Kurdish rebels, has warned of increased attacks after the election unless the government agrees to negotiations to end the decades-old conflict. — AP

Italian president takes center stage ROME: Italy has invited dozens of world leaders to lavish celebrations this week marking the birth of the modern nation 150 years ago, giving new luster to the country’s scandal-free president in his largely ceremonial role. The presidents of Russia, Turkey, Israel, Germany and Argentina are among 80 top officials expected for receptions in the gardens of the Renaissance-era Quirinale presidential palace and a military parade on Via dei Fori Imperiali near the Colosseum. Vice President Joe Biden is representing the United States.

President Giorgio Napolitano, an 85-year-old former communist, is center stage. Normally an august figure in the background, Napolitano has become a force of unity in a country known for its historic fractures and sharply divided over the figure of Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who has been

mired in sex and corruption scandals. “The principal of unity and indivisibility of the republic are the essential reference points,” Napolitano said in a message Tuesday.

Napolitano has taken an increasingly active role, even stepping up his international travel, as Berlusconi has become bogged down in legal woes including a trial on the sordid charges of having sex with an underage prostitute and then using his office to cover it up. In March, as some of Berlusconi’s allies balked at NATO’s bombing campaign against Libya on grounds it would increase the flow of refugees to Italy, Napolitano went before the UN General Assembly in New York and said the world could not stand by while Libya answered civilian protest with military force.

Both men had recent encounters with President

ROME: Italian Premier Silvi Berlusconi, right, and Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez shake hands at Rome’s Chigi Premier Palace yesterday. —AP

Barack Obama, and the differences were not lost on Italians. Berlusconi took his case to the G-8 summit in France last week, claiming he is being persecuted by leftist judges and telling a clearly perplexed Obama that in Italy they represent “almost a dictatorship.” Two days later, in Warsaw, Poland, a smiling Obama was seen warmly shaking Napolitano’s hand. “If body language means anything,” said the leading Corriere della Sera newspaper, the encounters “showed the distance” between how the two men are viewed in the United States.

Before the G-8 summit in Italy in 2008, Obama sent tongues wagging when he lauded Napolitano’s integrity and described him as a “great leader.” Even if Obama did not intend any snub of Berlusconi, Italians were immediately reminded of the barrage of attacks the premier had come under over allegations of frequenting a teenage model and hosting parties attended by young women, including a call girl. “I had heard of the wonderful reputation of President Napolitano, as somebody who has the admiration of the Italian people because of not only his long-standing service but also his integrity and his graciousness,” Obama said as Napolitano stood beside him. Napolitano, elected president by parliament in 2006, was a foreign policy expert in the former Italian Communist party. With his fluent English, he traveled widely promoting his party as communism-light, closer to the European social democrat model than the Soviet one. As president, he has questioned some of Berlusconi’s government moves, walking a fine line for an official held to be above politics.

He has been a driving force behind the 150th anniversary celebrations, seeking to reinforce the bonds tying together a country marked by centuries of rivalry among city-states or foreign occupation along the peninsula. Even a special holiday celebrated on March 17, the day in 1861 when King Victor Emanuel II became the first king of a united Italy, provoked divisions. Some in the autonomyminded Northern League, Berlusconi’s key political ally, refused to take part. The head of the predominantly German-speaking South Tyrol, which Italy stripped from Austria after World War I, also didn’t take part in the celebrations. — AP

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i n t e r n at i o n a l Rare execution in India prompts search for hangman GAUHATI: Mahendra Nath Das was convicted of a murder so gruesome India’s courts gave him a rare death sentence and the president rejected his plea for clemency. Only one thing is keeping him from the gallows: There is no hangman.

It has been more than two decades since any convict was executed in Assam, and with no qualified executioners remaining, officials in this northeastern state are scouring the rest of the country for a candidate. In all of India, where the death penalty is only by hanging and imposed only in the “rarest of rare” cases, there have been only two hangings in the past 15 years.

Das’ conviction for publicly decapitating a victim with a machete could make his the third.

“We have started the process of putting up the gallows,” said Brojen Das, the jailer of the prison at Jorhat, 190 miles (300 kilometers) east of Gauhati, who shares a common regional surname with the condemned man. But it is unclear when an executioner will be found to use it. Prison authorities have written to their counterparts in the states of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal searching for a hangman, but have so far gotten no response, said S. Thakuria, Assam’s top prison official.

Qualified executioners , who know how to prepare the rope and tie the knot so as to cause a swift death , are scarce in India. The last hanging took place in 2004, when a security guard was hanged in a Kolkata jail for the rape and murder of a teenage girl.

Nata Mullick, India’s most famous hangman, came out of retirement at age 84 to carry out that execution, earning $435 and a job for his grandson as a maintenance worker at the jail. A third generation hangman, Mullick executed 25 of the 55 people who died on the gallows since India gained independence in 1947. He would run repeated dry runs, using sandbags the same weight as the condemned prisoner. He waxed the rope with soap and ripe bananas and tied it with five knots, hoping his preparations would keep the pain to a minimum and ensure the prisoner’s head was not severed during the drop from the gallows.

“It’s an art: Your skills need to be honed,” Mullick said in a 2007 interview. But Mullick died in 2009. With the hangman’s job a far from glamorous profession, and the work so sporadic, few have risen to take his place. Local media said there might be one or two hangmen still around nationally, including Mullick’s son, Mahadeb. The search could have implications for other death row prisoners, including Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, and Afzal Guru, who was convicted in the 2001 attack on parliament that killed 14 people.

Mahendra Das’ crime traumatized Assam. On April 24, 1996, he snuck up behind Hara Kunta as the rival official in the local transporter’s union sipped tea at a shop in a busy market in Assam’s capital, Gauhati. With a swing of his machete, Das decapitated Kunta.

Then he carried the bloody head by the hair to a nearby police station screaming, “I have killed him.” Courts ruled that the public nature of the crime, combined with Das’ horrifying walk through the streets, warranted the death penalty.

Last month, President Pratibha Patil agreed, refusing a plea for clemency, and condemning Das to be the first person to be executed in Assam since a prisoner convicted of three murders was hanged in 1990. Though there are no legal options left, his family continues to appeal for mercy.

“My son has already spent 15 years in jail, why kill him now,” Mahendra Das’ 75-year-old mother, Kusum Bala, told a local newspaper. The victim’s family is impatient for the execution. “There is no point showing sympathy to a killer like him,” Hara Kanta’s daughter-in-law Sarada Das said. If no professional hangman can be found, prison rules would allow a convict to volunteer to carry out the execution, said Brojen Das, the jailer. No one has yet come forward, he said.

For now, Mahendra Das, 45, spends his days in a 6 foot by 12 foot (1.8 meter by 3.7 meter) prison cell, where he will remain until an executioner can be located, Brojen Das said. “He is hoping against hope that somehow he can be saved,” he said.—AP

Hundreds bury Pakistan reporter tortured to death Relatives demand full investigation KARACHI: Hundreds of mourners turned out yesterday for the burial of a Pakistan journalist who had said he was being threatened by the country’s intelligence services before he was tortured to death. Saleem Shahzad, a 40-year-old father of three, vanished after leaving his home in Islamabad to appear on a television talk show, two days after writing an article about links between rogue elements of the navy and Al-Qaeda.

His grief-stricken relatives have demanded a full investigation but have not apportioned blame for his killing, which came five years after he was briefly kidnapped by the Taleban in Afghanistan and accused of being a spy. Shahzad carved out a career writing about the plethora of Islamist militant networks operating in Pakistan, and warned human rights campaigners before his disappearance that he had been threatened by the Inter-Services Intelligence.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned his murder and said his “reporting on terrorism and intelligence issues in Pakistan brought to light the troubles extremism poses to Pakistan’s stability”. Shahzad’s body was found Tuesday, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Islamabad. Police said it bore marks of torture.

“The cause of death is torture and there are several signs of torture on his body and face,” said Ashok Kumar, one of the doctors who carried out a post-mortem at Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Science. Another doctor told AFP that Shahzad’s lungs and liver had been damaged, and that the body was swollen and bore more than 15 signs of having been beaten.

Around 300 people, mostly relatives and journalists, attended the funeral prayers before Shahzad was buried in a cemeter y in the well-off Seaview neighborhood in his home town of Karachi. “We have lost everything. What can we do now?” sobbed his son, Fahad Saleem, resting on the shoulder of an uncle.

The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists announced two days of mourning and a spokesman

KARACHI: Relatives and members of the media carry the coffin of Pakistani journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad at the airport in Karachi yesterday.—AFP said members would organize protests nationwide on Friday. “I can’t blame anyone at the moment. I’ll analyse the whole episode before making any statement,” Wasim Fawad, a brother of Shahzad, told AFP. “My brother was killed for writing the truth.

He paid a huge price, he sacrificed his life but always spoke the truth.”

Interior Minister Rehman Malik confirmed that a police investigation had been ordered and promised a reward of nearly $30,000. But reporters and press groups say previous enquiries into the killings of journalists have not been made public and said they expected little this time. Reporters Without Borders says that 16 journalists have now been killed since the star t of 2010 in Pakistan, which it ranks 151st out of 178 countries in its press freedom index.

In the northwestern city of Peshawar, which has suffered heavily from attacks blamed on Taleban and Al-Qaeda militants, dozens of journalists carried placards demanding the state provide members of their profession with security. “Several journalists have been killed in the past years in Pakistan but the government has completely failed to arrest the culprits,” said Arshad Aziz Malik, president of the Khyber Union of Journalists. “ We are under threat and we demand protection,” he added. Around 100 journalist and civil society activists staged a protest in the capital Islamabad and demanded protection.

Shahzad worked for the Italian news agency Adnkronos International (AKI) and Asia Times Online, a news site registered in Hong Kong. After he vanished on Sunday, AKI said they feared he

had been kidnapped.

Last Friday, Shahzad published an investigative report in Asia Times Online saying that last week’s attack on a naval air base was carried out to avenge the arrest of naval officials on suspicion of Al-Qaeda links. The attack took 17 hours to repel. Officials said militants destroyed two USmade surveillance aircraft and killed 10 security personnel.

Prominent Pakistani investigative journalist Umar Cheema, who was abducted and tortured last year, said he believed that whoever picked up Shahzad had not meant to kill but to torture him to send a strong message to other journalists. “It is really a ver y unfor tunate incident. It breaks the myth that journalists in Pakistan, both local as well as foreign, are tolerated and work in a safe environment,” Cheema told AFP. —AFP

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

Japan underestimated tsunami threat: IAEA Experts worldwide called to learn from disaster TOKYO: UN inspectors faulted Japan yesterday for underestimating the threat of a devastating tsunami on its crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant but praised its overall response to the crisis as exemplary. The preliminary report by a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency also said the tsunami hazard was underestimated at several other nuclear facilities in Japan, and called for experts worldwide to learn from the disaster to avert future accidents.

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan (C) attends a debate with opposition party leaders at the parliament in Tokyo yesterday. —AFP

Japan’s PM faces no-confidence vote over crisis TOKYO: Japanese opposition parties submitted a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who refused to resign earlier yesterday over his handling of the crisis caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. “What is most sought by the people is for us to work together to achieve reconstruction and resolve the nuclear crisis,” Kan said during a heated parliamentary debate with opposition leaders. “I must respond to their needs and that is my responsibility.”

He is most likely to survive the motion because his Democratic Party of Japan controls the powerful lower house of parliament. Dozens of lawmakers may support the motion to pressure Kan into resigning, a move that could split his party, but their participation would be still short of the majority.

A vote is expected today. A magnitude 9.0 quake and massive tsunami on March 11 damaged cooling systems at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, causing its three reactor cores to largely melt and spewing radiation into the air , the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.

More than 24,000 people are dead or missing due to the disasters in northeastern Japan, and 80,000 residents have been forced to evacuate towns contaminated by the radiation-leaking plant. Kan, who became prime minister just a year ago, has been criticized for delays in construction of temporary

housing for evacuees, lack of transparency about evacuation information, and a perceived lack of leadership. “You should step down,” said Sadakazu Tanigaki, head of the largest opposition group Liberal Democratic Party. “It’s impossible to achieve disaster reconstruction under your leadership.”

Tanigaki’s party submitted the no-confidence motion along with two smaller opposition groups , New Komeito and the Sun Rise Party. If it passes, Kan would have to order the resignation of his Cabinet or dissolve the 480-seat lower house for elections.

Local officials criticized national lawmakers for neglecting the disaster victims while indulging in their political game. “We are going through a national crisis that must be tackled by nationwide effort. It’s not time for political fighting,” said Michio Furukawa, mayor of K awamata, a town near the Fukushima nuclear plant.

In the 1990s, Kan was a crusading health minister who stood up to his own bureaucracy to lift the lid on a horrific AIDS scandal, but he was seen as an uninspiring prime minister even before the earthquake with a popularity rating below 20 percent. He emerged as prime minister last June only after other leaders of his Democratic Par ty fell. He already is Japan’s fifth leader in four years. —AP

China’s response to latest unrest follows pattern BEIJING: China has responded to more than a week of surprising protests in Inner Mongolia with its well-honed strategy: deploy overwhelming force, keep potential protesters from gathering and pledge to address at least some grievances. Protests that started early last week appear to be sputtering this week, with no confirmed demonstrations yesterday. A protest occurred Monday in the regional capital, Hohhot, though there were conflicting accounts on its size. A rights group said several hundred students protested Tuesday, but the account could not be confirmed.

Meanwhile, security remained high across cities and some towns in Inner Mongolia, a vast region of pasturelands and coal seams running across northern China bordering on Russia and the independent country of Mongolia. High school and university students were largely confined to campuses, to keep them from joining or leading protests for ethnic rights, as they did last week.

Internet access was spotty at best, and text messages were often blocked, residents said.

Beijing’s tactics have been refined in quelling protesting Tibetans and Turkic Muslim Uighurs, as well as in dealing with the tens of thousands of large-scale disturbances by people in the country’s Han Chinese majority. They are constantly revised to adapt to new challenges and technologies, and reflect a growing realization that attacking some of the root causes of discontent , especially grievances about unpaid wages and other pocketbook issues , is the best way to maintain stability. The government’s Xinhua News Agency reported that Inner Mongolia’s coal industry bureau ordered local safety inspectors yesterday to make sure mines protected the environment and respected the welfare of local residents , key complaints of protesters. “There’s a greater sense that protests happen for lots of different reasons,” said Beijing-based political

analyst Russell Leigh Moses. “Authorities acknowledge you can have a balance between a clenched fist and an open hand.”

The tactics have defects. Squashing even peaceful protests may in some cases lead to violent outbursts. In both Tibet and Xinjiang, deadly rioting, looting and arson were preceded by mild demonstrations over civil and religious rights that were shut down by police. Blocking the Internet, meanwhile, can increase fear and mistrust because it cuts off access to accurate information.

Instead of restoring calm, “blocking the flow of information just encourages the spread of rumors and falsehoods. It is counterproductive,” Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders said in a statement issued Tuesday.

The Communist Party leadership began searching for better, non-lethal ways to deal with protests after it unleashed the military on democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in 1989. The assault killed hundreds, alienated many people and pitched China into diplomatic isolation and economic malaise. The protests in Inner Mongolia come just ahead of the 22nd anniversary of the start of the Tiananmen crackdown on June 3 and 4 , a time when the authoritarian government is extra-vigilant about unrest.

The protests seemed to build slowly, with the first occurring more than a week after the triggering events: two clashes between ethnic Mongols and Chinese in mid-May that left two Mongols dead. While the clashes were over Chinese coal-mining and coal-hauling operations, protesters’ demands grew to encompass justice for the dead, environmental protection and minority rights. Initially surprised, authorities quickly turned to overwhelming force, dispatching paramilitary People’s Armed Police to the remote towns where the first protests erupted and sealing off streets leading to government buildings. —AP

The IAEA team of international exper ts from 12 countries, which spent a week in Japan conferring with officials and inspecting the plant, will submit its full report at a high-level IAEA conference in Vienna from June 20-24. “Japan’s response to the nuclear accident has been exemplary, particularly (as) illustrated by the dedicated, determined and expert staff working under exceptional conditions,” the report said. It also praised the evacuation of those living near the plant as “impressive and well-organized.” The Fukushima Dai-ichi facility was crippled when a huge tsunami generated by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit Japan on March 11. It suffered explosions, fires and meltdowns in the days after the tsunami.

More than 80,000 people have been evacuated from its vicinity. The repor t said the earthquake and tsunami were the direct cause of the power outages and communications blackouts that ensued. It said the potential size of the tsunami that hit the plant, estimated at as high as 49 feet (15 meters), was not sufficiently planned for and “over whelmed” the plant ’s defenses.

“The tsunami hazard for several sites was underestimated,” it said. “Nuclear plant designers and operators should appropriately evaluate and protect against the risks of all natural hazards, and should periodically update those assessments and assessment methodologies.” It did not go into further detail.

The report said Japan’s crisis

TOKYO: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) fact-finding team leader Mike Weightman (R) of Britain gives a summary report to Goshi Hosono, special adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Tokyo yesterday. —AP underscored the value of disaster-proof emergency centers onsite to protect workers and provide a safe command headquarters for the management of the response. A crisis center was built at Fukushima Dai-ichi after an earthquake hit a different part of Japan in 2007. The center still serves as the crisis headquarters at the plant, and the IAEA report suggested it has functioned well.

Further, the report suggested that long-term efforts to monitor the health and exposure levels of workers and the public “would be beneficial.” Mike Weightman, the IAEA team leader and the United Kingdom’s chief inspector of

nuclear installations, said the IAEA team focused on finding lessons from the crisis that can be applied around the world.

“You can make nuclear plants safe against natural events, but you have to understand those events,” Weightman said. The team examined the technical processes more closely than political or managerial issues, which he said would likely be a topic raised at the IAEA meeting in Vienna. He said Japanese officials offered their full cooperation, and his team was provided access to the plant and officials and answers to their questions.

“I think there are many con-

structive suggestions in this report,” said Goshi Hosono, director of the government’s nuclear crisis taskforce. “We will read it thoroughly.” TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said the utility, which operates the facility, provided all available information to the IAEA team, including details on how it coordinated its efforts between Tokyo headquarters and workers onsite at the plant.

“We hope that the results of the IAEA investigation of what happened at the plant will be shared as a common international asset and used in a way that will contribute to nuclear safety around the world,” he said. —AP

Thaksin sister eyeing office, urges no Thai coup

JOKANG DO: In this undated photo released by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Saturday, May 28, 2011 and distributed by Korea News Service in Tokyo yesterday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, center right, accompanied by his son Kim Jong Un, third right, inspect the construction site of the Huichon Power Station in Jokang Do, North Korea. —AP

N Korea rejects South’s proposal for summits SEOUL: North Korea yesterday said South Korea begged for talks between the two countries’ leaders and offered “envelopes of cash,” but that it rejected the proposal because Seoul leaked distorted information about a secret preparatory meeting. South Korea quickly expressed regret over the North Korean statement, calling it a “unilateral claim that distorted our sincerity.”

Animosity has continued between the Koreas since two deadly attacks blamed on North Korea last year. The North has denied involvement in the sinking of a warship in March that killed 46 South Korean sailors and argued that a November artillery barrage that killed four was provoked by South Korean firing drills.

An unidentified spokesman for North Korea’s powerful National Defense Commission said senior officials from the two countries met in Beijing on May 9 to discuss possible summits between North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the request of South Korea. The spokesman said the meeting was arranged because South Korea had promised not to seek a North Korean apology for last year’s violence. But he said South Korea instead called for the North to express at least regret before the summits could go forward.

He said South Korea proposed an initial summit at the border village of Panmunjom in late June, a second round of meetings in Pyongyang two months later and a third on the sidelines of an international nuclear summit set for next March in Seoul. South Korean officials “begged us to understand their pitiful situation,” saying Lee’s term in office would be over soon, the North Korean spokesman said in comments carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The South “even offered envelopes of cash

unhesitatingly to lure us,” the statement said.

Lee’s five-year term ends in early 2013, and he is barred by law from seeking re-election. Kim Jong Il met Lee’s two liberal predecessors in landmark summits in North Korea in 2000 and 2007, leading to a series of rapprochement projects that are now mostly stalled. Lee has taken a much tougher approach toward North Korea since taking office in 2008. North Korea said it rejected the South Korean proposal because Seoul leaked and distorted information about the Beijing talks after asking that they be confidential. The talks reportedly occurred on the same day that Lee announced in Berlin that he was willing to invite Kim to the March nuclear summit if Kim said he would give up his nuclear program. Lee’s office later told journalists in Seoul that South Korea conveyed its sincerity about the invitation to North Korea.

“They distorted information about the secret Beijing contact and first leaked them to the media to publicize traitor Lee Myung-bak’s Berlin offer,” the North Korean spokesman said.

“We ... will no longer talk to the traitor group of Lee Myung-bak.” North Korea identified three South Korean officials who it said attended the Beijing meeting _ one from the presidential Blue House, another from the Unification Ministry and a third from the National Intelligence Service.

The Unification Ministry said the North’s statement was “deeply regrettable” and would not help efforts to improve ties between the two Koreas. It said South Korea still wants North Korea to take responsibility for last year’s violence. The two Koreas are still officially in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. —AP

BANGKOK: The sister of fugitive ex-Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra urged the army yesterday to refrain from staging another coup as she gains momentum in her bid to become the country’s first female premier.

Yingluck Shinawatra, a photogenic businesswoman and newcomer to Thailand’s fractured political scene, has breathed fresh life into the opposition’s struggle to sweep Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s Democrats from power.

Her appeal to respect the outcome of the July 3 election comes as surveys show her pulling ahead in the closely fought race for the first poll since Thailand’s deadliest political unrest in decades last year. In an interview with AFP, she called on the army chief to keep his promise not to repeat the 2006 coup that ousted Thaksin and ushered in a period of political instability and bloody unrest.

“I don’t think that (a coup) will happen again. I hope not but we have to make sure everybody respects the people’s decision,” said the 43-year-old mother of one, 18 years junior to her controversial brother. “Thailand has been backward for four or five years and people have been suffering for a long time so they need the country to move forward.”

Long-standing political tensions erupted in April and May last year when 90 people died and about 1,900 were wounded in a series of street clashes between opposition protesters and armed troops in the heart of Bangkok.

Army chief General Prayut Chan-O-Cha’s pledge to abide by the results of the vote has done little to douse speculation about possible military intervention in a nation that has seen 18 actual or attempted coups since 1932. Parties linked to Thaksin have won the most seats in the past four elections, but the courts reversed the results of the last two and observers say history could repeat itself if Yingluck’s Puea Thai party triumphs.

“It’s very unlikely that a Puea Thai government will be allowed to take office,” said Thailand expert Michael Montesano at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. “A proxy for Thaksin who has a family resemblance and shares his name only makes that less likely.”

Yingluck is politically inexperienced and her brother is still widely considered the de facto leader of Puea Thai, the main opposition party, despite living abroad to escape a jail term imposed in absentia for corruption.

The former telecoms tycoon is hailed by many rural and working-class Thais for his populist policies but loathed by the Bangkok-based elite which sees him as corrupt, authoritarian and a threat to the monarchy.

Puea Thai wants an amnesty for politicians who have been charged or convicted if it wins, potentially paving the way for Thaksin to return home, where he is also charged with terrorism in relation to last year’s unrest.

The former policeman, who insists he has no ambition to lead Thailand again, describes his youngest sister as his “clone”-a description she said underlined their similar political ideology.

“I’m working with him since I was young. So I learned how he handles business, how he’s acting and the style and how he’s thinking.” Yingluck, who heads a property firm, said her party was benefiting from her brother’s political ideas, but insisted she had freedom to make her own decisions. The arrival of Thaksin’s sister on the Thai political scene has reinvigorated an opposition that just weeks ago appeared rudderless. —AFP

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SRINAGAR: A Kashmiri man crouches on a stone as he fishes on Dal Lake yesterday. Set in the Himalayas at 1,707 m above sea level, Kashmir is a green, saucer-shaped valley full of fruit orchards and surrounded by snowy mountain ranges. About 100 lakes dot its highlands and plains. — AFP

Blatter reelected, vows FIFA cleanup Continued from Page 1 recommendations only a list - and the congress will decide on the venue.”

FIFA had been forced onto the defensive following testimony in the British parliament last month that senior officials had sought cash and favours during the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

Just hours before Blatter’s re-election, the head of Germany’s influential football federation, Theo Zwanziger, called for FIFA to re-examine Qatar’s victory in comments to a German television station. “I think there is a significant degree of suspicion that one cannot just dismiss,” Zwanziger told ZDF public television, when asked

about calls for FIFA to strip Qatar of its hosting rights. “And that is why I reckon that the awarding of this World Cup must be re-examined with regard to these concerns,” he said.

Blatter’s election win came after a vicious battle against former close ally bin Hammam, the Qatari head of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Bin Hammam and influential FIFA vice-president Jack Warner were suspended by the organisation’s ethics committee pending an investigation into claims they offered bribes of $40,000 in a bid to topple Blatter.

English FA chairman David Bernstein had sought to have the vote postponed following the withdrawal of bin Hammam. “The election has turned into one-horse race ... a coro-

nation without an opponent provides a flawed mandate,” Bernstein said.

But England’s attempts to take a stand fell flat, with voters dismissing the motion by 172 votes to 17, emphasising the vast gulf between footballer’s rulers and the country which invented the sport. Blatter’s pledges for reform came after sponsors Coca-Cola, Visa, Emirates and Adidas spoke out against the negative impact that recent corruption scandals were having on the organisation. FIFA’s sponsorship deals have helped to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the organisation since Blatter took over in 1998, making FIFA the richest sports body on the planet with mammoth cash reserves of $1.3 billion. — AFP

Syria frees prisoners, probing boy’s death Continued from Page 1 become an emotional touchstone - and a Facebook profile photo - for many protesters.

Images of the child’s body with what appeared to be marks of torture and gunshots were shown on YouTube and Al-Jazeera TV. Al-Jazeera did not air the whole video, but a copy posted by opposition on YouTube showed that the boy’s penis was severed and his neck broken. The body, lying on a plastic sheet, appeared pink and the eyes were mottled with bruises and black marks. Opposition groups blamed security forces for the boy’s death.

State-TV aired an interview late Tuesday with Dr Akram Shaar, who examined Al-Khatib’s body. He said the cause of death was shooting, and three bullets had hit the boy’s body.

He added that what appeared to be bruises and signs of torture were the result of natural decomposition since the boy died on April 29. His body was handed over to his family on May 21, state TV said. The station also aired a recorded interview with Al-Khatib’s father who said he was received by Assad this week. The father added that the president considers “Hamza as his son and was touched” by the death.

But the 11-year-old girl’s killing, late Tuesday, seemed certain to inflame tensions. Rights groups say the dead since the uprising began include at least 25 children. The Local Coordination Committees in Syria, which helps organize and document the country’s protests, said 25 people were shot dead on Tuesday in the central town of Rastan, which has seen a major military clampdown in recent days.

In the south, Syrian troops shelled the town of Hirak with tanks and artillery, killing at least eight people on Tuesday and yesterday, including 11-year-old Malak Munir AlQaddah, human rights activist Mustafa Osso said. Osso said scores of people were detained after government forces

regained control of Hirak. The government claims the revolt is the work of Islamic extremists and armed gangs.

Osso said earlier in the day prisoners to be freed would include Muslim Brotherhood members, as well as members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has been fighting for autonomy from Turkey since 1984. Syrian state television on Tuesday said the amnesty covered “all members of political movements,” including the Muslim Brotherhood, which led an armed uprising against Assad’s father in 1982.

Membership in the party is punishable by death.

The amnesty could affect some 10,000 people who Syrian activists say have been rounded up since the protests against the Assad regime broke out in mid-March. Also Wednesday, state-run news agency, SANA, said Assad issued a presidential decree forming a committee whose job will be to prepare for a national dialogue. It added that Assad told committee members the dialogue was needed to overcome “political and social instability”. Assad said the national dialogue committee should set the stage for all sides in Syria to express their views on politics, economics and society in “what expands participation”.

Human Rights Watch said that the systematic killings and torture by Syrian security forces in Daraa since protests began strongly suggest that these qualify as crimes against humanity. In a report focusing on violations in Daraa province, the New York-based rights group called for UN Security Council sanctions. It said 418 people have been killed in the Daraa province alone since the uprising began.

“For more than two months now, Syrian security forces have been killing and torturing their own people with complete impunity,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “They need to stop - and if they don’t, it is the Security Council’s responsibility to make sure that the people responsible face justice.” — AP

Sanaa clashes kill 41 Continued from Page 1 forces loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh broke out in the city on Tuesday. It ended a truce announced on Friday, after a week of fierce clashes that erupted when Saleh warned of a civil war as he refused to sign a Gulf-brokered plan for him to give up office as demanded by protesters. Ahmar had in March pledged his support for protesters who have been demonstrating since January for the departure of Saleh, who has been in power since 1978.

The defence ministry’s 26sep.net news website said tribesmen had yesterday occupied a building near the presidential palace, in the south of Sanaa. The guns fell silent yesterday afternoon, but it was unclear how long the lull would last as dozens of armed tribesmen could be seen in the streets of Al-Hasaba, where Ahmar’s home is located. Residents had reported street fighting took place throughout the night in Al-Hasaba, an area in the city’s north. “We heard the sound of ambulances evacuating the wounded throughout the night,” one resident of Al-Hasaba told AFP. One veiled woman, who gave her

name as Umm Ahmed, said as she fled from Al-Hasaba with her five children that she was returning to her village.

The group was carrying plastic bags filled with clothes. Most shops were closed in Sanaa, and there were long lines at petrol stations. Witnesses said reinforcements from the Republican Guards, an elite unit loyal to the president, had been sent to Al-Hasaba. A fourth army brigade camp located near the state television and radio headquarters was targeted by rockets, as was the interior ministry headquarters, witnesses said.

26sep.net, meanwhile, said government forces “regained control of a number of public buildings,” without specifying which ones. The website had said on Tuesday that Ahmar’s tribesmen had seized both the headquarters of the ruling General People’s Congress and the main offices of the water utility.

Saleh’s government had accused Ahmar’s fighters of breaking the truce, but sources close to Ahmar said Saleh’s forces were to blame as they had opened firing on the tribal leader’s compound.

In south Yemen, fighting between alleged Al-Qaeda militants and security forces continued in the city of Zinjibar

yesterday, residents said. At least 41 soldiers and civilians have been killed in fighting in the city since Friday, according to an AFP tally based on security officials and medics. “Zinjibar is a ghost town,” said Awad Al-Matari, an engineer who had fled to Aden, adding most of the population had left, except for some men who remained to protect their homes. And a military source said yesterday that one soldier had been killed in fighting with suspected AlQaeda fighters near the city of Loder, northeast of Zinjibar.

Taiz was calm yesterday, an AFP photographer said, after security forces shot dead seven people demonstrating against Saleh in the city, and after 21 people were killed ending a fourmonth sit-in in a central square. The shootings drew international condemnation. “We condemn those indiscriminate attacks by the Yemeni security forces,” State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said, referring in particular to violence in Taez. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton also voiced shock at the use of live rounds against protesters in Taiz in a crackdown that the UN human rights office said had already killed more than 50 people since Sunday. — Agencies

Bahrain lifts martial law, stifles protests Continued from Page 1 at protesters who dared to venture into the centre of the village.

He added that about 30 women had gathered in front of his house, but security forces used batons and tear gas to disperse them. A clip on video-sharing website YouTube titled “Riot police attacking peaceful protesters June 1st in Bani Jamrah” showed a small group of young men gathering, some with Bahraini flags, chanting “peacefully, peacefully”. Police then appeared to fire tear gas at them.

King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, whose Sunni family rules over a majority Shiite population, offered a dialogue on reform in a speech on Tuesday. While the king spoke, military prosecutors summoned four members of the main opposition party Wefaq, including its leader, and rights activist Nabeel Rajab, for questioning. They were released after several hours, acquaintances said.

“The end of the national security law and announcement of dialogue are both positive. It will be a shame if anyone is negative about it,” said Jamal Fakhro, a Sunni lawmaker. “Bahrain will welcome Formula One, and any other event. There’s nothing wrong with that because life is back to normal now and it will be excellent to have it back.”

On a wall filled with anti-government graffiti in Diraz were the words: “If you really claim you want dialogue you have to open up the streets”, and “Down with the ruling gang!” Bahrain, located between non-Arab Shiite Iran and US-allied Sunni dynasties of the energy-producing Gulf Arab region, hosts the US Fifth Fleet headquarters. Bahrain says Iran orchestrated the protests through links to Shiite groups. Shiites which make up 60 percent of Bahrain’s 1 million citizens, have long complained of discrimination, lack of jobs, and representation. US President Barack Obama criticised the Bahraini crackdown in a speech this month, saying the government should begin dialogue with peaceful opposition leaders.

Activists called online for marches in Shiite villages and in Manama later yesterday. Appealing to “loyalty to the martyrs’ blood”, one advertises a return to Pearl Roundabout, where protesters camped out for over a month. Activists had called for the protests on the “February 14 Revolution Youth Coalition“ page of Facebook. The protests were to “confirm that our revolution has not and will not end until our people... take their right... of self-determination,” it said, referring to Sunnis and Shiites.

Rights group Amnesty International had called on the authorities to allow the protests to go ahead.

“Bahraini authorities must not make the same mistakes as in February and March, when largely peaceful protests were violently suppressed by government security forces,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa director. “As the state of emergency is lifted, the authorities must allow people to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association,” Smart said.

Syria lifted a decades-old emergency law to meet a demand of protesters, but that has not calmed unrest there. With Bahrain’s state of emergency over, military prosecutors can no longer call in civilians but military courts will still hear several cases started since martial law began on March 15. Twenty-one opposition figures - seven of whom are abroad - are on military trial on charges of seeking to overthrow the system. Most of them are from parties that called for a republic. Rights activists say they have been tortured. Future verdicts could spark protests. Sunni Islamist groups are calling for death penalties and no royal amnesty. “No pardon for the leaders of strife, the sick elements must be uprooted” a large sign says outside the offices of Asala, one of the groups, with an image of a noose.

Since calling in Saudi and United Arab Emirates forces to help quash the protest movement, the authorities have also unleashed a campaign of detention and dismissals affecting thousands who took part, most of them Shiites. Dozens of Shiite places of worship have also been demolished and four people have died in custody. Rights activists say it is not clear how many remain in detention. Dozens of doctors and nurses have been arrested and health services have been purged of Shiite managers.

State media says medics stored weapons at Pearl Roundabout and a nearby hospital. Doctors who have been released deny this, saying they were forced to sign and record confessions. “I expect to see a lot of gloss before the summer kicks in. There will be some reform on the surface but a hardline approach,” a diplomat said.

“There will be less checkpoints but you won’t be able to go into the Shiite villages easily.”

Tanks and other military vehicles were gone from

outside government ministries and the financial district, but a number of small armoured patrol vehicles of the Interior Ministry-run National Guard were stationed around Pearl Roundabout. The government has renamed the roundabout the Farouq Junction, a reference to the caliph who Shiites consider was against their cause. Pro-government newspapers said yesterday that security checkpoints would be maintained permanently at some locations.

Bahrain has seen such strife before. But doctors, teachers and journalists who have been released, as well as the families of some of the 21 men on trial, say the repression was far worse this time. They recounted beatings with plastic hosepipes, electric shocks, threats of rape and other humiliations such as being urinated on or verbal insults against their Shiite faith. Victims were usually blindfolded to avoid seeing their interrogators, who sometimes wore masks themselves to avoid identification, they told Reuters. They all spoke on condition of anonymity and it was not possible to verify the claims.

A teacher in Hamad Town said she and 25 colleagues were hauled out of their school one morning last week by women police who came in two buses. “They asked us if we went to the roundabout, did we want to bring down the government, and they hinted that they would abuse us sexually once we arrived at the station,” the teacher said. “They made us sing the national anthem and say ‘the people want Khalifa bin Salman’,” the powerful prime minister of 42 years who is seen as a hardliner in the ruling family.

In the local police station some of the women faced sexual harrassment, the teacher said. “They sexually harrased most of us, but there are things I can’t say that they did,” she said. “Some teachers never went to the roundabout but had to admit that they did. I was there and admitted that I was, but they wanted me to say I had got a mut’a marriage,” she said, referring to a Shiite form of temporary marriage. “They said ‘Your loyalty is to Iran, let Iran take care of you’. They called us Zoroastrians and said we teach prostitution.” The women were forced to sign papers vowing good behaviour and readiness to return to police stations if requested, which would circumvent the ending of the emergency laws.

One medic who has been released but does not know if charges will be pressed said she was threatened with rape. “They said ‘We are 14 guys in this room, do you know what we can do to you? It’s the emergency law and we’re free to do what we want’,” she said. Two doctors said a group was forced to record confessions which they believe are intended for Bahrain TV. The channel has aired previous apparent doctor confessions.

The government says such abuse is not systematic and that all cases will be investigated. “There is no government policy. There have been numerous individual cases where it has been a worry, but where there is concrete evidence of abuse, action was taken,” said Sheikh Abdul-Aziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Senior International Counselor at the Information Affairs Authority. “When this is all over a review will be done and areas where procedures have to be rectified will take place,” he said.

A Western diplomat said: “We 100 percent believe torture takes place. But the detail of what abuse and the evidence is unclear.”

Bahrain rights activists have reported abuse that some of the 14 men facing military trial have mentioned in court. Families and lawyers of the men facing trial each have 10 minutes after the court sessions to speak to the accused. The son of one said an electric drill had been applied on at least one occasion to his father’s leg by military interrogators with Iraqi accents.

“In the 1990s they used electricity on him but this time it was much worse. Now they use a machine with wires,” he said, adding this was in three weeks of interrogation before trial.

“They make him kiss a photo of King Hamad (of Bahrain), King Abdullah (of Saudi Arabia) and the prime minister in the morning and then sing the national anthem,” he said, adding his father said his captors had urinated on him. Rajab of the Bahrain Human Rights Society said two of the 14 men on trial said in court they had marks made by electric drills.

The government has said it is investigating abuse reported by Nazeeha Saeed, a Bahraini correspondent for France 24 television, when she was detained for some 12 hours last week. Reporters Without Borders said she was beaten by women interrogators to force her to confess that she works with Shiite-run TV channels Al-Manar and Al-Aalam. They beat her with plastic tubes, made her bray like a donkey on all-fours and tried to make her drink a bottle of what they said was urine, the group said in a statement. — Agencies

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

OPINION

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Could a cyber war turn into real one for US?

By Phil Stewart

he United States is warning that a cyber attack - presumably if it is devastating enough -could result in real-world military retaliation. Easier said than done. In the wake of a significant new hacking attempt against Lockheed Martin Corp, experts say it could be extremely difficult to know fast enough with any certainty where an attack came from.

Sophisticated hackers can mask their tracks and make it look like a cyber strike came from somewhere else. There are also hard questions about the legality of such reprisals and the fact that other responses, like financial sanctions or cyber countermeasures, may be more appropriate than military action, analysts say.

“There are a lot of challenges to retaliating to a cyber attack,” said Kristin Lord, author of a new report on US cyber strategy at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank. “It is extremely difficult to establish attribution, to link a specific attack to a specific actor, like a foreign government.” The White House stated plainly in a report last month that Washington would respond to hostile acts in cyberspace “as we would to any other threat to our country” - a position articulated in the past

by US officials.

The Pentagon, which is finalizing its own report, due out in June, on the Obama administration’s emerging strategy to deal with the cyber threat, acknowledged that possibility on Tuesday. “A response to a cyber incident or attack on the US would not necessarily be a cyber response ... all appropriate options would be on the table,” Colonel Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said. The sophistication of hackers and frequency of the attacks came back into focus after a May 21 attack on Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon’s top arms supplier.

Lockheed said the “tenacious” cyber attack on its network was part of a pattern of attacks on it from around the world. The US Defense Department estimates that over 100 foreign intelligence organizations have attempted to break into US networks. Every year, hackers steal enough data from US government agencies, businesses and universities to fill the US Library of Congress many times over, officials say.

Several current and former national security officials said US intelligence agencies did not appear particularly concerned about the Lockheed attack. One official said that similar cyber attacks directed at defense contractors and government agencies occurred all the time.

Some critics say the Obama administration is not moving fast enough to keep up with the cyber threat or to develop a strategy that fully addresses concerns about privacy and oversight in the cyber domain. “The United States, in general, is well behind the curve,” said Sami Saydjari, president of the privately held Cyber Defense Agency, pointing to “significant strategic advances” out of countries like China and Russia.

China has generally emerged as a prime suspect when it comes to keyboard-launched espionage against US interests, but proving Beijing is behind any future plot would be difficult because of hackers’ ability to misdirect, analysts say.. China has denied any connection to cyber attacks. The Pentagon’s upcoming report is not expected to address different doomsday scenarios, or offer what Washington’s response would be if, say, hackers wiped out Wall Street financial data, plunged the US Northeast into darkness or hacked US warships’ computers. “We’re not going to necessarily lay out - ‘if this happens, we will do this.’ Because again the point is if we are attacked, we reserve the right to do any number of things in response,” Lapan said. —Reuters

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

The editor reserves the right to edit any submission as necessary.

Rebels, new laws cloud S Sudan independence

By Jeremy Clarke hen the Republic of South Sudan is born on July 9, an internationally brokered peace process will reach its climax. The next day it will be a nation already in crisis, a potential threat to the whole region.

The south’s dangerous standoff with Khar toum, which reached a boiling point last week when the north seized the disputed Abyei region, has overshadowed the south’s internal frailties.

South-south violence has killed hundreds since southerners voted to secede in January. Changes to the new nation’s constitution have alarmed opposition figures, democratic campaigners and foreign powers who fear amendments could create a one-party state.

Even if peace with the north holds, analysts say south Sudan could become a quagmire, unable to jumpstart development while soldiers-turned-politicians struggle to control a vast territory brimming with guns. “A number of threats persist in the south,” said Eddie Thomas, a Sudan analyst with the Rift Valley Institute. “A liberation movement is trying to become a political party ...

Political opposition often amounts to people in remote areas prepared to take drastic measures.”

Six nations will soon share a border with this often lawless wilderness roughly the size of France. It has fewer than 100 km of tarmac roads, and the United Nations said it helped feed about half the population last year, or some 4 million people. That lack of

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development offers opportunities for construction companies. But more violence could once again send millions of southerners across the borders as refugees.

The south has long blamed the north for undermining its efforts to develop, but it is far from a unified region. Tribes in some areas have turned on each other, fighting over stolen cattle. Demand for cows needed to pay dowries among a booming youth population has worsened the traditional conflict. Gun battles rage as thousands of cattle change hands. At least seven rebel militias are currently at war with the government, the United Nations says. Skirmishes between these militias and the southern army (SPLA) are common - one February battle saw more than 200 people gunned down. Since the referendum, at least 1,450 people have been killed in violence affecting nine of the south’s 10 states, according to the United Nations.

SPLA spokesman Philip Aguer said the army was in the ascendancy and rebels should lay down their arms. But a spokesman for one rebel group told Reuters they would fight “forever ” against what they say is an autocratic government. Many, including the southern government, say the militia groups are working at the behest of Khartoum.

John Prendergast, a former US State Department official who co-founded the anti-genocide Enough Project, said the south must deal with those southerners willing to take up arms against their government if it is to avoid crippling internal violence. “The country will

be born amidst this externally supported mayhem, but if the new state doesn’t deal with the internal causes of collaboration with Khartoum, it very well could see a civil war develop,” Prendergast told Reuters.

Khartoum, as well as the rebels, deny any northern role in the southern strife.

One analyst said north-to-rebel support channels have remained open since the war, but added that the south deliberately overplays the north as rebel mastermind. The rebels insist they are fighting against corruption, nepotism and tribal-based racism. One high-ranking UN official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the southern government had to accept some blame for the chaos because it had not done enough to bring rebels to the fold since the peace deal. “Their approach has been to buy them off with patronage or defeat them militarily, but tribal fault-lines are at the heart of this problem. It’s a race against time to build a southern identity that is bigger than tribes,” the official said.

Some 2 million people died in the north-south civil war, which ended with a 2005 peace accord that provided for an independence referendum last January. Southerners chose to form a new nation by more than 98 percent of the vote. Insecurity and the urgent need to provide food aid to millions of southerners have since distracted the international community from questioning the south’s new constitution, said one southern official who described it as “authoritarian”.

The cabinet has cleared the “Transitional Constitution” draft - a stepping stone to an eventual permanent constitution - and it is now before parliament. It is due to pass into law during independence celebrations in July. The current “Interim Constitution” has been in play since the peace deal and limits a president to a maximum of two terms.

That restriction disappears with the new constitution and the president will new powers in the makeup of state governments. The draft version of the new constitution, seen by Reuters, also allows President Salva Kiir to appoint 66 new members of the legislative assembly of his own choosing. Some observers fear a one-party state is in the making.

“This process (reviewing the constitution) gives an insight into how they see the division of power in the future, and there are clearly some autocratic tendencies,” the UN official said. “There is a democratic expectation that power should change hands in the future, and we fear this autocratic line will lead to insecurity, as we are already seeing.”

Three nearby nations have a leader who has been in power for more than 20 years - Uganda, Ethiopia, Libya. Eritrea has had only one president since its separation from Ethiopia in 1993. Closer to home, north Sudan will still be ruled by President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, who seized power in 1989. “It’s very worrying,” said Prendergast. “ The Horn of African role models along with Sudan itself haven’t had a fair election yet.

Most presidents appear to want to stay in power for life.” —Reuters

Poll disaster wounds flailing Berlusconi

By James Mackenzie ven for the greatest survivors, time runs out eventually and a debacle in local elections suggests that moment is drawing nearer for scandalridden Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The elections saw the centreright lose control of the financial capital Milan for the first time in nearly two decades, the opposition Italy of Values party take Naples in a landslide and a host of other cities won by the centre left. “What happened in Milan, Naples, Trieste, Cagliari, Novara and other centres resembles a revolution,” the sober business daily Il Sole 24 Ore said in the aftermath.

Even Berlusconi’s own home town of Arcore near Milan, scene of the notorious “bunga bunga” parties at the centre of the “Rubygate” underage prostitution scandal which has dogged the 74-yearold premier in recent months, fell to the opposition. So far his government has pledged to carr y on but a palpable sense of confusion has hit the centre right, summed up in the headline of Il Giornale, a fiercely pro-Berlusconi daily owned by the prime minister’s brother.

“Great psychodrama”, read the front page headline.

But while the left may have taken heart from the victory, Berlusconi, on trial on corruption and fraud charges and accused of paying for sex with a minor, will not go quietly and the government may hang on for some time yet. “I expect there will be period of confusion in the next few months,” said Luca Ricolfi, a political commentator and professor at

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Turin University. “It ’s possible that Berlusconi could produce a ‘coup de theatre’ of some kind but I don’t know what kind of surprise he can announce. As long as he has these judicial problems, he will try to stay in power.”

However, given the fractious coalition he presides over, it appears increasingly unlikely that Berlusconi will see out his full term until 2013, he said. “We’ll vote in April or May 2012.

They won’t get to the end of their term.” The centre-left Democratic Party has called on Berlusconi to resign but what is more likely to count is the attitude of Berlusconi’s partners in the Northern League, whose support he depends on for his thin parliamentary majority.

For the moment, that is unclear. In public, Northern League leaders have pledged to carry on with Berlusconi’s PDL party but grassroots members have expressed deep alarm at the cost they have paid for their association with the scandal-hit premier. The website of party newspaper La

Padania and call-in programs on Radio Padania Libera have been flooded by angry League supporters furious at the election losses, which also hit their own party hard.

Instead of providing an entry to national government for the pro-devolution, anti-immigrant party of the north, Berlusconi now looks like damaged goods who risks dragging the League down with him, even in its own heartland.

That is certainly a hope of many on the left, who would like to detach the League and possibly enlist their support in a broad coalition to reform electoral laws that benefit the biggest parties and have helped cement the PDL’s grip on power. “I don’t think the

League can continue supporting Berlusconi as they have up to now. They risk disappearing as a central political force in the country,” Enrico Letta, a senior member of the Democratic Party, told Reuters.

Berlusconi’s domination of Italian politics and a personal fortune built on one of Europe’s biggest media empires have made replacing him hard to imagine for many on the centre right. Both Giulio Tremonti, Berlusconi’s sometimes abrasive economy minister, and the young Justice Minister Angelino Alfano have been seen as possible successors but both face big obstacles and neither would slip in smoothly. The PDL itself, a party that lives almost entirely through its leader, is riven with personal rivalries and animosities and few expect it to sur vive Berlusconi’s own eventual departure in its current form.

But the premier has been weakened by a series of blows over the past 12 months, from last year’s feud with former ally Gianfranco Fini, which nearly cost him a parliamentary majority, to the corruption and sex trials he faces at the moment. Obsessed by the trials and given to long, repetitive attacks on what he sees as left-wing magistrates out to destroy him, Berlusconi has appeared increasingly distant from problems ranging from Italy’s stagnant economy to a generation of young people condemned to unemployment or precarious, short-term jobs. “He is getting old and there are a lot frictions in his coalition, so his grip on power is also going to weaken as a result,” said Maurizio Pessato of pollsters SWG. —Reuters

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

ANALYSIS

Saleh defies opponents, and the world

By Samia Nakhoul

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o his US, British and Gulf mediators and benefactors, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh says he is ready for a peaceful exit from power. To his close circle of aides he sneers at a Western-backed agreement to end his 33-year reign. On the ground, he is engaged in a war with the country’s most powerful tribe. And those of us who have met him in the past week are left with the clear impression he has no plans to step down, or to relinquish power willingly. A master with words, he talks about the future of Yemen with the confidence of a leader with every intention of staying.

The protest movement by millions of Yemenis who have risen up since January, inspired by the Tunisian and Egyptian revolts, has become a sideshow to fighting between Saleh’s forces and the Hashed, a tribal confederation led by the Al-Ahmar family. Army officers, presidential guard units, tribal sheikhs, clerics and politicians have defected to the opposition. The most powerful and senior military defector is General Ali Mohsen, who has deployed his First Armoured Division to protect prodemocracy protesters in the capital, Sanaa.

When confronted with persistent demands that he accept a deal, brokered by Gulf Arab states, under which he would resign and allow a peaceful transition, Saleh has, according to several sources, responded to close associates with a hint of menace: “I will leave Yemen as I found it,” he has said.

What the 69-year-old president appears to mean is that he would leave Yemen not only as illiterate, destitute and backward as he inherited it when he took over from his assassinated predecessor in 1978 but also fractured by a civil war similar to the two wars that engulfed the country of 23 million before him.

“He has the power to wreak havoc,” said a senior Western diplomat based in Sanaa, adding that the opposition as yet lacks the strength to overthrow him. “Saleh has ruled by force and will continue to rule by force,” he said. “The only threat for him is force, and it hasn’t reached that yet.” Another source familiar with Saleh’s thinking said: “He will never leave power or sign the deal unless he is forced to.”

The president’s close relatives, who control Yemen’s most lucrative sources of revenue and state assets, are pressuring him not to give up power, this source added.

Several diplomats and officials with knowledge of the president’s negotiations and policies spoke only on condition they were not identified. Some declined to be quoted in any way. Every time negotiators have thought they had sealed a deal and that Saleh was finally about to sign his own exit from office, he has sidestepped his departure by imposing additional conditions.

This has gone on for over two months. In that time, negotiators shuttled back and forth to tailor details to meet Saleh’s requests from the very title of the agree-

ment, to who would sign it first, from providing for immunity from prosecution for him and his family to accepting his veto on having certain opposition figures as signa-

tories.

When the intermediaries, including US, British and Gulf diplomats, concluded two weeks ago that every eventuality had been covered except the actual signing, Saleh surprised them by demanding yet another condition - a public

signing ceremony at the presidential palace, to be attended by the opposition. The opposition refused. “This was not part of the agreed process,” the senior Western diplomat said. “The fact is that Saleh has agreed to the process and reneged on it.”

Adding insult to injury for the negotiators, gunmen loyal to Saleh surrounded the United Arab Emirates embassy in Sanaa on May 22, the day the signing had been planned. The lead Gulf mediator, the US ambassador and several European envoys were trapped for hours and were finally evacuated by helicopter.

Negotiations are now effectively on hold.

Under fierce international criticism for his behaviour in going back on his promise to quit, Saleh immediately moved his forces against the Ahmars, turning a political crisis into violence that has brought civil war closer. Then his supporters announced on Sunday that Islamist militants had seized control of the southern coastal town of Zinjibar. Though the militants there are not clearly linked to Al-Qaeda, Saleh has long used his opposition to Al-Qaeda to secure support from foreign allies fighting the jihadists.

Yet less than the threat of Islamist takeovers in more cities, it

is Saleh’s widening war with the Ahmar family in the capital, Sanaa, that, close associates say, shows how determined he is to stay in power, even at the price of civil war. “For us in the international community, we see the demonstrations in Taiz, Sanaa and elsewhere as part of the popular protests,” the senior Western diplomat said. “For the Salehs, from the very beginning it has been about the Ahmars, a battle of wills between themselves and the Ahmars.”

The fighting, which turned more violent on Tuesday after a two-day ceasefire broke down, is starting to look like civil war. Within a few hours the Ahmar tribe occupied several ministry buildings, including the interior and trade ministries. “His (Saleh’s) position is considerably weaker today than it was a week ago,” the senior Western diplomat said. “Positions have hardened against him.

Therefore I would say that his ability to hang on is less today than it was weeks ago.”

Mediators still want to believe that Saleh will choose to step down quietly by agreeing to what they describe as the “best conceivable deal” an Arab autocrat can get - it would spare him the fates of: Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali, who had to flee Tunisia; of Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, now facing trial; of Muammar Gaddafi, under NATO bombardment in Libya; and of Bashar al-Assad, whose Syria is under increasingly tough international sanctions.

“He has to take one decision which is to sign the deal,” a senior European diplomat said. “No other deal will include immunity. The delay is not in his interest. “The deal won’t be there forever. There will be very severe international reaction if there is further bloodshed, killing of civilians and violence.” — Reuters

Serbia pushes for EU membership

By Pierre Glachant

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ith Ratko Mladic transferred to The Hague, Serbia is pushing for a date to start European Union membership talks but analysts warn that there is more to be done. “(Mladic) was a burden that Serbia had been carrying for a long time,” Balkans analyst Ivan Vejvoda of the German Marshall Fund think-tank on Euro-Atlantic relations told AFP. Mladic’s transfer to the UN war crimes court after 16 years on the run finally put Belgrade firmly on track towards Brussels. “This major condition which was an obstacle on the Serbian path towards EU integration has now been removed

and will allow the country to continue on a normal route, like other transitional post-communist countries,” Vejvoda said.

The Serbian government is now pushing to get a fixed date to start accession talks with Brussels. “We are seeking and expecting a date for the start of talks and to jump to official candidate status for membership,” President Boris Tadic told journalists earlier this week. He said he believed that by the time Brussels decides on candidacy status “Serbia will have met all the conditions”. “All the conditions have been met for opening accession negotiations,” French Balkans expert Jacques Rupnik told AFP. But in the last few weeks EU

diplomats have been critical about the pace of reforms in Serbia. EU enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele, while praising the arrest of Europe’s most wanted man, said Belgrade should “intensify” their drive to reform.

The Serbian authorities said that putting an end to the costly search for the Bosnian Serb exarmy chief would free up “considerable sums”. That money can now be used “for other important things like the fight against organised crime,” Serbian minister Rasim Ljajic, in charge of cooperation with the UN court, told AFP. Analyst Rupnik said the capture of Mladic, known as the butcher of the Balkans for his allegedly key role in the 1995

Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys, is an “important step” in the process of reconciliation in the war torn region.”But we cannot say that the problems of coming to terms with the past are solved,” he said.

With Mladic’s arrest Serbia showed its “political will to confront its own past, the evil done in the name of the country and the state,” Vejvoda said. “However the work of confronting the past is not done. This is something that takes a long time.”

“We should not have the illusion that this arrest brought about reconciliation,” Bosnian political analyst Tanja Topic said.

However it could mark “a beginning of a new phase in relations

between Sarajevo and Belgrade, a beginning of reconciliation”. In a strange twist she argues that the sense of betrayal many Bosnian Serbs feel over Belgrade’s handover of Mladic could actually jolt Bosnia out of its deepening crisis by forcing the Bosnian Serbs to stop looking towards Belgrade for support.

“This arrest is a clear message to the (Bosnian Serb entity) Republika Srpska that Serbia is taking a clear path towards the EU. Serbia is sending the message to the RS that its place is within Bosnia,” she said. The message to Bosnian Serbs is that they should “realise that they live in Bosnia and give up the dream of one day joining Serbia,” Topic said. — AFP

Did Bahrain oppn squander democracy chance?

By Andrew Hammond

As

martial law ended in the Gulf Arab state of Bahrain, opposition activists are wondering whether they threw away what might have been the first real chance for democracy in the Gulf Arab region. Shortly after young Bahrainis, inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, converged on a roundabout in early February, the government offered dialogue with opposition parties on political reforms.

But the talks failed to get off the ground.

After weeks of behind-the-scenes discussions during which sectarian tension worsened between the Shiite majority and Sunnis who saw the ruling Al-Khalifa family as protection, Saudi troops poured in on March 15, martial law was declared the next day and the roundabout encampment was broken up on March 16.

Critics say the leading opposition party Wefaq, headed by Sheikh Ali Salman, failed to show leadership during the unrest, allowing hardliners within the ruling family and among the Shi’ite opposition to steer events.

“What a massively missed opportunity.

Wefaq should have had the conviction to stand ahead of the others and sit at the table.

I’m sure they rue it,” one Western diplomat said. When talks eventually resume, he said, “the ceiling will be lower” and reforms could have been set back by a decade.

King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa authorised talks on democracy in 2001, but the opposition boycotted elections in 2002 because the upper house of parliament - royal appointees - was to retain key powers. Seven opposition parties including Wefaq took part in 2006 elections, but hardliners broke away to form the Haq movement. Haq’s exiled leader returned during the protests on Feb 26 and announced with other groups on March 8 that he wanted to turn the small island kingdom into a republic. That was anathema to Saudi Arabia which financially backs Bahrain to help stave off Iranian influence.

On Tuesday King Hamad called for reform talks “without preconditions” from July 1. But the parameters were vague, and with opposition leaders in jail, protesters off the streets and Wefaq attacked daily in state media, the

government will have the upper hand to steer them away from parliamentary reforms.

Munira Fakhro of secular opposition group Waad says Wefaq was paralysed by fear of losing the street - Shiite protesters radicalised by the deaths of their comrades when security forces made a botched attempt to clear the roundabout on Feb. 17.

“My analysis is that after all this anger and death among Shiites the street was tilted towards Mushaimaa. Ali Salman was afraid that if he accepted the crown prince’s proposal without assurances he would be cheated at the end of the day,” she said, referring

acknowledges that they complicated the position of Wefaq and the rest of the opposition.

“There is a view that we were late to respond to the call for dialogue, but we had our reasons,” he said at Wefaq offices overlooking the waters of the Gulf. “We did not go to public talks, but we talked behind closed doors. I met the crown prince three times alone during the crisis and my working team was meeting his working team almost daily. But there were no results until March 13.”

That day the crown prince said again he

Bahraini men sit outside a traditional coffee shop with a front window decorated with pictures of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz (right) and Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa (top) in Muharraq near the capital Manama on Tuesday. — AFP to opposition anger over the upper assembly in 2002. “I told them, ‘the crown prince wants to reach out to you but he’s alone because no one is supporting him from his family, you must support him’.”

Mushaimaa and the republic supporters are now among 21 men on military trial. The defendants also include Waad’s Sunni leader Ibrahim Sharif and some independent Shiite rights activists prominent during the protests. Salman, a young cleric born in 1965, says he didn’t agree with the escalation in protests or the open call for a republic, but

was interested in dialogue, but specified this time that it would centre on seven principles, including representative government and a parliament with full powers. On March 14, Wefaq and six other opposition groups said they wanted clarifications before entering direct talks with the crown prince.

The government and Sunni leaders have another theory for why the opposition appeared to drag their feet over negotiations: Wefaq was waiting for approval from Iran. “We think so. How else would you explain them not coming to the negotiating

table?” said Sheikh Abdul-Aziz bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, Senior International Counselor at the Information Affairs Authority. “We need a rational, practical leader who doesn’t look for religious blessings before he can embark on a political reform initiative,” he said. “We didn’t see leadership emerging from their side and they didn’t let themselves loose from radical elements or come to the negotiating table.”

Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Mahmoud, leader of the mainly Sunni National Unity Rally which emerged as a counter-weight to the Shiite opposition during the unrest, goes further.

“In the second week of March their clerics were telling the Shiite masses that the Hidden Imam was about to come. That held them up going into talks since they thought the Shiite state was coming,” he said. The twelfth Imam of mainstream Shiism disappeared in 9th-century Iraq and many believe he will return one day. Mahmoud also suggested the US navy was coordinating with Wefaq and Iran could have been planning a military intervention.

Wefaq leaders roll their eyes at these accusations. They say they are not interested in Iran’s system of clerical rule, and that in any case most Bahraini Shi’ites look to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Iraq as their reference in religious affairs. Bahrain’s most senior Shiite cleric is Sheikh Issa Qassim. Mahmoud, Salman and other government and opposition figures spent all of March 13 at Wefaq offices in what proved to be fruitless lastminute talks before a decisive Saudi intervention.

Wefaq wanted a guarantee from the crown prince on elections to a constituent assembly to write a new constitution before entering face-to-face public talks. Mahmoud wanted the royal family to have guaranteed representation on the assembly and a high bar on the percentage required to approve constitutional amendments to avoid Sunnis being permanently hostage to Shiite numerical superiority. In a sign of the mistrust now prevailing, Mahmoud says that when news came in that Saudi troops were really coming, Salman stood up and announced: “We will seek the help of Iran.” Wefaq says he never said that. —Reuters

Focus

Europe struggles over Greek deal

By Paul Taylor

T

he stakes keep rising in a multi-dimensional poker game over Greece’s debt crisis, but none of the key stakeholders appears to have any interest in pushing Athens into default. Barring a political accident, a new EU/IMF bailout package for Athens - barely a year after an initial 110 billion euro ($158 billion) rescue - is likely to be agreed by the end of June, several officials involved in the negotiations say. Financial markets seem to believe that and have begun to lower Greek bond yields slightly from stratospheric levels.

In some ways, the deal will be tougher on Greece than the last one; it will give creditors a supervisory role over the privatisation of Greek state assets that will intrude on national sovereignty, officials say. It will probably also involve “voluntary” commitments by private investors to maintain their exposure to Greece, the officials say, although this remains highly sensitive. The European Central Bank and credit rating agencies have warned that the European Union would be playing with fire if it tinkered, even on a voluntary basis, with the terms of existing bonds. That could trigger a chain of downgrades and defaults.

Privately, one ECB source predicted the central bank would ultimately acquiesce if banks volunteered to roll over credit to Greece. But before the new deal for Greece is reached, officials may continue to clash publicly over this and other issues. “Expect an aggravation of the stress relationships between all partners - international institutions, national governments and domestic players in Greece - between now and the (June 24) European summit,” a senior EU source involved in the talks said. “There will be public statements that will raise tensions. The communication will get much worse before it gets better.”

Like other European, International Monetary Fund and national officials and central bankers interviewed for this article, the source spoke on condition of anonymity because of the acute sensitivity of the negotiations. All said they expect a three-year program worth some Ä65 billion to be agreed, after much kicking and screaming, to keep Greece on an international lifeline and avoid a first default in the 17nation European single currency area, which could trigger a domino effect among other weak euro zone states. A portion of the program would be provided by the euro zone’s bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, and a smaller portion - half the EU’s share, if the model of past bailouts is followed - by the IMF. The rest of the money would be raised through asset sales by the Greek government.

The IMF turned up the pressure last week by threatening to withhold its share of Ä12 billion of loans to be disbursed on June 29 under Greece’s original bailout, unless the EU guaranteed to meet Greece’s funding needs for the coming year. That put the squeeze not only on Athens to accept stricter austerity measures and forge a political consensus in support of the EU/IMF program, but also on Germany, the Netherlands and Finland to overcome domestic hostility to a new bailout. “Some creditor countries had signalled they needed more time until September to build parliamentary support for any further assistance,” an IMF source said. “This put a gun to their head.”

Former IMF Managing-Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, facing unease among the nonEuropean majority on the global lender’s board, had been due to deliver that uncomfortable message to German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a May 15 meeting in Berlin. His arrest in New York the day before on charges of sexually assaulting a hotel maid, which he denies, removed an influential deal-broker from the complex negotiations. Since his departure, officials involved in the talks say, the IMF has reverted to a more rules-bound, cautious approach, making life harder for EU crisis managers. “The IMF lacks political leadership at a crucial moment,” said Domenico Lombardi, a former IMF executive board member now at the Brookings Institution think tank. “The Europeans are still hugely divided. We see the (IMF) institution has become more conservative and is playing things by the book and becoming risk-averse,” he said. The United States, the IMF’s biggest shareholder, has backed euro zone rescues so far to preserve global financial stability. Indeed, President Barack Obama called Merkel at decisive moments last year to press her to back bailouts for Greece and Ireland. But doubts may be growing now. A senior Western diplomat said that in Washington’s eyes, a restructuring of Greek debt is “100 percent unavoidable”. “Greece has two options: raise revenue or restructure. The former is unfeasible,” the envoy said.

Any form of restructuring is taboo for the ECB, which fears it could spread financial chaos across the euro zone, and for ratings agencies, which say they might have to downgrade not only Greece but also other peripheral euro zone countries. An EU/IMF/ECB inspection mission in Athens, which found that Greece is falling short of its fiscal targets mostly because a deep recession and chronic tax evasion have slashed revenues, is due to report its findings by the end of this week.

Negotiations with the Greek government on additional public spending cuts, tax measures and privatisation measures are at an advanced stage to enable the inspectors to report that Athens is taking corrective action to get back on track. Several sources said the inspectors would duck the crucial question of whether Greece’s debt - about Ä330 billion or close to 150 percent of national output in 2010, and still rising - is sustainable, giving only a conditional answer. “It’s not a static thing,” one EU official involved in the talks said. “They will say something like: ‘Greece’s debt will be sustainable if it receives X billion in further assistance and privatises X worth of assets by X date, while increasing revenue by X billion and cutting spending

by X billion.’”

ECB executive board member Juergen Stark said last weekend that Athens has state investments and property worth as much as €300 billion which it could sell. That is six times the €50 billion that Prime Minister George Papandreou’s socialist government has agreed to raise by selling off airports, sea ports, industrial and banking stakes. Even those sales are far from problem-free. Part of the trouble, euro zone and Greek officials say, is that the country has no proper land register, and some politicians may have an interest in avoiding a thorough audit that could expose decades of patronage and graft. — Reuters

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Rossi leaves Palermo again ROME: Palermo parted company with coach Delio Rossi yesterday for the second time in four months, just three days after they lost 3-1 to Inter Milan in the Italian Cup final. The 50-year-old was sacked in February before being reinstated five weeks later and leading the Sicilians to eighth place in Serie A, the Italian Cup final and securing a berth in next season’s Europa League.

“President Maurizio Zamparini and coach Delio Rossi met today to review their positions. They decided by mutual consent not to continue their working relationship,” Palermo said in a statement. Former Lazio boss Rossi has been linked by the media with the job at topflight rivals Genoa. Stefano Pioli, who led Chievo Verona to 11th in Serie A before leaving last week, is tipped to take over at Palermo. “He [Pioli] is a possibility, well more of a probability,” Zamparini told the Italian broadcaster Reterete24. “The new coach will be announced before tomorrow is over.”—Reuters

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

LONDON: Mayor Boris Johnson said yesterday he would keep trying to buy tickets for the 2012 London Olympics after falling foul of the public mechanism for buying them which he described last month as an oddity.

Speaking at an event to mark the completion of the Olympic “gateway” station at Stratford, east London, Johnson said he would try by “hook or by crook” to get tickets for himself and his family.

“Obviously, it makes me even more keen to get re-elected and get there,” Johnson said. “I, like everybody else, am going to have another crack at it in July and if I fail then I am going to have anoth-

er go in November.” People applying for tickets should have had money drawn from their bank accounts by May 31, although they will not officially be told which tickets they have secured until June 24.

The system has been criticised for being too vague and weighted towards more wealthy applicants with the means to apply for hundreds, even thouands, of pounds worth of tickets.

Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London organising committee (LOCOG), said he realised some people would be “bitterly disappointed” but defended the system as the fairest available.—Reuters

United extend Owen’s deal MANCHESTER: Manchester United striker Michael Owen has agreed a one-year contract extension, the Premier League champions said yesterday. The 31-year-old former Liverpool frontman, a peripheral player at Old Trafford, had been out of contract this month.

“It’s unfortunate Michael didn’t get more opportunities but the form of Chicharito (Javier Hernandez) put everyone in the shade and his partnership with (Wayne) Rooney proved invaluable,” manager Alex Ferguson said on the club’s website (www.manutd.com).

Indians pound Blue Jays

Rays 5, Rangers 4 In St. Petersburg, Evan Longoria hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning to lift Tampa Bay over Texas. The Rays trailed by a run before Longoria connected against Arthur Rhodes (3-3) with two outs. The homer came after Johnny Damon reached base on a bloop single that deflected off the shortstop’s glove.

Sean Rodriguez and Matt Joyce also homered for the R ays. Tampa Bay starter Joel Peralta (2-3) took the win despite ushering in Texas’ go-ahead run with a wild pitch in the top of the eighth. Kyle Farnsworth pitched the ninth for his 10th save.

Yankees 10, Athletics 3 In Oakland, New York beat Oakland for the ninth straight time. Cur tis Granderson homered and drove in four runs and Derek Jeter had two hits to reach 2,983 for his career. Robinson Cano also homered, Alex Rodriguez had

MLB results/standings

hits for the Royals, while Jeff Francoeur drove in two runs and leads the team with 32 RBIs. Joel Pineiro (2-2) allowed six runs in six innings for Los Angeles.

TORONTO: Mitch Talbot won for the first time since returning from an elbow injury, pitching the American Leagueleading Cleveland Indians to a 6-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Talbot (2-1) missed more than three weeks with a sore elbow. He allowed one run in 6 2-3 innings. Grady Sizemore came in 0 for 12 with seven strikeouts in three games since coming off the disabled list last week.

But ended his slump with a pair of RBI doubles. He finished 2 for 4, raising his average to .255. Brandon Morrow (2-3) gave up a season-worst six runs in five innings for Toronto, which lost for the first time in five games.

TORONTO: Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez (right) and catcher Carlos Santana celebrate the Indians’ 6-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. — AP

three hits and three RBIs and Mark Teixeira took advantage of shoddy Oakland fielding to steal home for the Yankees, who have their longest winning streak against the A’s since 196465. New York ’s Freddy Garcia (4-4) allowed three runs over seven innings in his 300th career star t. Oak land starter Brett Anderson (3-5) allowed a career-worst 10 runs.

White Sox 10, Red Sox 7 In Boston, Chicago notched its sixth straight win at Boston _ its longest winning run at Fenway Park since 1958-59.

Alexei Ramirez tied his career high with four hits. White Sox starter Phillip

Humber (4-3) allowed nine hits and struck out five in 7-2/3 innings.

Boston’s Alfredo Aceves (2-1) lost for the first time in more than two years, allowing eight runs in five-plus innings.

Royals 7, Angels 3 In Kansas City, Jeff Francis pitched seven strong innings to guide Kansas City past Los Angeles. Francis (2-5) threw 35 pitches in the first inning and allowed four hits before settling down and making it through seven, throwing a season-high 114 pitches.

Rookie Eric Hosmer drove in two runs in Kansas City’s five-run third. Alex Gordon and Chris Getz both had three

“I am delighted Michael is staying for a further year and we will look to give him more opportunities in the new season.”

Owen joined United two years ago in a surprise move on a free transfer from Newcastle United and has struggled with injuries.

He has made 48 United appearances, most of them off the bench, and scored 14 goals.

He was named as one of the substitutes for United’s Champions League final defeat

by Barcelona on Saturday ahead of this season’s leading scorer Dimitar Berbatov but did not get on the pitch. — Reuters

Mariners 3, Orioles 2 In Seattle, Justin Smoak hit a threerun homer with two outs in the eighth inning, lifting Seattle to a stunning victory over Baltimore.

The Mariners did nothing against Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie (2-7) for seven innings and did just enough to keep the eighth alive, using an error by the pitcher and Brendan R yan’s two-out single to bring up Smoak. The f i r s t b a s e m a n re s p o n d e d w i t h h i s eighth homer of the season. It was the second time this season Guthrie threw an eight-inning complete game and lost.

Chris Ray (2-1) pitched 1 2-3 innings in relief to get the victory and Brandon League worked the ninth for his 15th save in 18 chances.

Tigers 8, Twins 7 In Detroit, Brennan Boesch broke an eighth-inning tie with a sacrifice fly, leading Detroit to vic tor y over Minnesota. After Danny Worth led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, Austin Jackson tried to bunt him to second. Twins reliever Phil Dumatrait (0-1) threw late and wildly to second.

Casper Wells then bunted the runn e r s to s e co n d a n d t h i rd b e fo re B o e s c h h i t t h e w i n n i n g f l y b a l l to right. Al Alburquerque (3-1) pitched a perfect eighth to win in relief for the s e co n d s t r a i g h t d ay, a n d J o a q u i n Benoit worked the ninth for his second save. — AP

Major League Baseball results and standings on Tuesday.

Tampa Bay 5, Texas 4; Detroit 8, Minnesota 7; Washington 10, Philadelphia 2; Cleveland 6, Toronto 3; Chicago White Sox 10, Boston 7; San Diego 5, Atlanta 4; Pittsburgh 5, NY Mets 1; Milwaukee 7, Cincinnati 2; Houston 7, Chicago Cubs 3; Kansas City 7, LA Angels 3; St. Louis 4, San Francisco 3; Florida 5, Arizona 2; NY Yankees 10, Oakland 3; Seattle 3, Baltimore 2; LA Dodgers 8, Colorado 2.

American League Eastern Division W L NY Yankees 30 23 Boston 30 25 Tampa Bay 29 25 Toronto 28 27 Baltimore 24 29 Central Division Cleveland 32 20 Detroit 28 26 Chicago White Sox 26 31 Kansas City 24 30 Minnesota 17 36 Western Division Texas 29 26 Seattle 28 26 LA Angels 29 28 Oakland 27 29 National League Eastern Division Philadelphia 34 21 Florida 31 22 Atlanta 30 26 NY Mets 25 29 Washington 23 31 Central Division St Louis 33 23 Milwaukee 30 25 Cincinnati 28 28 Pittsburgh 25 28 Chicago Cubs 23 30 Houston 21 34 Western Division Arizona 30 25 San Francisco 29 25 LA Dodgers 26 30 Colorado 25 29 San Diego 24 31

PCT .566 .545 .537 .509 .453

GB 1 1.5 3 6

.615 .519 .456 .444 .321

5 8.5 9 15.5

.527 .519 .509 .482

.5 1 2.5

.618 .585 .536 .463 .426

2 4.5 8.5 10.5

.589 .545 .500 .472 .434 .382

2.5 5 6.5 8.5 11.5

.545 .537 .464 .463 .436

.5 4.5 4.5 6

Cardinals overrun Giants ST. LOUIS: Skip Schumaker’s infield RBI hit capped a three-run eighth inning that lifted the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants in the National League on Tuesday.

Albert Pujols and Allen Craig hit RBI doubles in the eighth before Schumaker, who had been in a 2for-19 slump, got the go-ahead single against Javier Lopez (2-1) on a perfectly placed grounder between the first and second basemen.

Schumaker’s headfirst dive into the bag just beat the throw.

Ryan Franklin (1-3) struck out the side in the eighth in the first victory this year for the ex-closer.

Fernando Salas finished for his 10th save in 10 chances.

Allyson Felix seen in this file photo

Felix’s coach leaning against world shot in 200 and 400 RALEIGH: Three-times 200 metres world champion Allyson Felix’s coach is leaning toward her skipping the chance to become the first woman to win a world double in the 200 and 400m.

Although the final decision would be a couple of weeks away, Saturday’s 400m race at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, would play a role, Bob Kersee told Reuters in a telephone interview from Los Angeles.

“But if I had to make a decision now, I probably would leave well enough alone,” said Kersee, the coach of numerous Olympic champions including Jackie Joyner Kersee and Florence Griffith Joyner.

“But I don’t have problems being greedy a little bit ... It still might happen.”

The deal-breaker could be the world championships schedule in Daegu, South Korea, where the 400m will be contested before the 200.

“If it was the other way around I think it would be kind of a no-brainer for me,” Felix said in a separate interview. “In a sense (the double) is do-able but you would have three days of 400s in your legs before you begin the 200.

“I don’t want to attempt it unless I am feeling like I can have a good attempt.”

Kersee, nevertheless, said his confidence in Felix over the longer distance continued to grow.

“She ran a great race in Rome,” he said, referring to a 49.81 seconds time prior to a fourth place finish in the 200m just 45 minutes later.

“But her favorite event is the 200,” he said. “And to be a four-time world champion would be something.” Felix would also like to be on both the United States’ 4x100 and 4x400m relay teams. “So you are looking at three or four events,” her coach said.

The decision cannot be delayed for more than a couple of weeks because of the June 23-26 U.S. national championships, where Felix would need a topthree finish in the 400 to make the world championship squad.

She already has a wild card entry to Daegu in the 200 as defending champion. Whether she tries both, will ultimately be Kersee’s decision.

“I will definitely trust the decision that he will make,” said Felix, last year’s Diamond League champion in both distances. If the decision is no, look for coach and runner to re-visit the opportunity next year. “I am not ruling it out for London,” said Felix. — Reuters

inning, and added another solo blast in the sixth, his 10th of the season. It was the second multihomer game of his career.

Washington star ter Jason Marquis (6-2) gave up two runs, struck out four and did not allow a walk in 6 1-3 innings. It was his first win against Philadelphia. In his previous six starts against the Phillies, Marquis was 0-5 with a 9.49 ERA. Phillies starter Cliff Lee (4-5) allowed six runs in 5 1-3 innings. The six runs tied his season worst.

Padres 5, Braves 4 In Atlanta, San Diego won a fourth straight game for the first time this season, edging Atlanta.

Ryan Ludwick had an RBI single in the Padres’ three-run seventh. He went 4 for 5 and has raised his batting average 77 points in three weeks.

San Diego starter Mat Latos (3-6) allowed two runs with seven strikeouts in six innings. Heath Bell survived a tough ninth to earn a fourth straight save. Mike Minor (0-2) took the loss.

Marlins 5, D’backs 2 In Phoenix, Florida put an end to Arizona’s seven-game winning streak. Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez (5-1) struck out eight batters in as many innings to win his fifth straight decision, and also drove in two runs with the bat.

Logan Morrison and Gaby Sanchez each hit solo homers as Florida took advantage of a shaky Ian Kennedy (6-2) to bounce back from a 15-4 drubbing in the series opener.

Pirates 5, Mets 1 In New York, Neil Walker hit a two-run single in the eighth inning as Pittsburgh rallied past New York. Josh Harrison stroked a tying single with two outs in the eighth to cap a successful major league debut. Pittsburgh got another fine outing from a starting pitcher. This time it was James McDonald, who gave up his only run on an infield dribbler. Evan Meek (1-1) worked a perfect seventh to take the win.

Pirates starters have gone 12 consecutive games without allowing more than two earned runs. RA Dickey (2-6) took the loss.

Brewers 7, Reds 2 In Cincinnati, Milwaukee got an overdue win at Cincinnati. An ailing Corey Hart homered and drove in four runs for the Brewers, who had lost six straight at the Reds.

Hart missed two games over the weekend with a stomach illness.

He hit a three-run homer off Chad Reineke (0-1), who made his first big league appearance in two years. Hart later singled home a run. Zack Greinke (4-1) got his fourth straight win, giving up a pair of runs in six innings.

Nationals 10, Phillies 2 In Washington, Danny Espinosa hit a pair of homers and drove in four runs to lead Washington over Philadelphia.

Espinosa hit a three-run shot to cap the Nationals’ five-run third

Dodgers 8, Rockies 2 In Los Angeles, Matt Kemp homered and drove in four runs while Casey Blake added a threerun shot as Los Angeles defeated Colorado.

The Dodgers clinched consecutive series wins for just the second time this season while tying their longest winning streak at three games.

LA starter Ted Lilly (4-4) allowed four hits in seven innings, struck out a season-high eight and walked none for the first time this season.

It was his first win for three weeks.

Rockies starter Clayton Mortensen (1-3) gave up five runs in four innings, walked four and failed to record a strikeout for the first time this season while losing his third start in a row.

ST LOUIS: St. Louis Cardinals’ Albert Pujols (5) watches his RBI double in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants. — AP

Astros 7, Cubs 3 In Chicago, closer Carlos Marmol blew his third save of the season, allowing six runs in the ninth inning as Houston overran Chicago.

Matt Downs’ two-run double tied the game and Michael Bourn singled in the go-ahead run off Marmol (1-2). Hunter Pence added a three-run shot for the Astros.

Marmol faced seven batters and recorded just one out, a sacrifice bunt. He hadn’t allowed a run in 13 1-3 innings before the blow-up.

Houston’s Fernando Rodriguez, Jr. (1-0) got one out to earn his first career win. — AP

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

S P ORT S

Woods’ race to catch Jack depends on wounded knee

Lance Armstrong

Armstrong’s lawyers want apology from ‘60 Minutes’ LOS ANGELES: Attorneys for Lance Armstrong have demanded an on-air apology from “60 Minutes” after the head of Switzerland’s anti-doping laboratory denied allegations he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs at the 2001 Tour de Suisse.

In a letter sent on Wednesday to CBS News Chairman and “60 Minutes” executive producer Jeff Fager, lawyer Elliot Peters said the May 22 segment about Armstrong was built on a series of falsehoods, and he accused the reputable CBS show of sloppy journalism.

“In the cold light of morning your story was either extraordinarily shoddy, to the point of being reck less and unprofessional, or a vicious hit-and-run job,” Peters wrote. “In either case, a categorical on-air apology is required.”

CBS News spokesman Kevin Tedesco said yesterday he couldn’t immediately comment on the letter, but said: “We consider this the most thorough investigation into doping in the spor t of cycling ever done.” Former teammate Tyler Hamilton alleged in the piece that Armstrong talked about using the banned blood-booster EPO to prepare for his third Tour de France in 2001 and the International Cycling Union helped him hide a positive test at the Swiss race.

Last week, the head of Switzerland’s anti-doping laboratory, Martial Saugy,

denied allegations Armstrong tested positive for per forming- enhancing drugs during the 2001 Tour de Suisse.

Saugy said his lab did find suspicious levels of EPO in four urine samples from the race Armstrong won, but he didn’t know if any belonged to the seven-time Tour de France winner.

Armstrong has repeatedly denied doping and has never tested positive.

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are investigating an alleged doping program in Armstrong’s teams.

“60 Minutes” also reported UCI officials brokered a meeting involving Armstrong and Saugy ’s World AntiDoping Agency-accredited lab, which tested the Swiss race samples. Saugy told the Swiss daily Neue Zurcher Zeitung last week that he met with Armstrong and then-U.S. Postal Service team manager Johan Bruyneel, but not in Lausanne as Hamilton claimed and unconnected to a suspicious test result.

Peters added the show’s producers were alerted by Armstrong’s camp prior to the show’s airing that the Swiss-related allegations were false and provided evidence they say refuted them.

“What is particularly disturbing is that ‘60 Minutes’ had access to the true facts, could easily have verified them, and apparently chose instead to broadcast untruths and then layer innuendo on top of the falsehoods,” Peters said. —AP

DUBLIN: Jack Nicklaus doesn’t want Tiger Woods to break his record of 18 major championships. But he does want him to be healthy enough to try.

Nicklaus told him as much last Friday when Woods called to say that for the second time in four years, he wouldn’t be able to play in this week’s Memorial Tournament because of an injury to his left leg. Woods missed in 2008 while recovering from minor surgery to clean out cartilage damage in his left knee.

This time the culprit is a combination of a minor knee sprain and his Achilles, which was bad enough to cause him to leave The Players Championship after only nine holes. Woods hopes to play the US Open. Trying to win majors starts with playing in them.

“I don’t know the extent of his injuries,” Nicklaus said Tuesday. “I told Tiger when I was on the phone with him — which is the same thing I’ve said to him a thousand times — ‘Tiger, nobody ever wants their records to be broken ... but I certainly don’t want you not to be healthy and not have the opportunity to play to break records.

I want you to get yourself healthy, do what you have to do to go play, get your golf game back in shape, and I wish you well.’

“I would say that to any athlete and anybody, because I think that’s the way it should be,” Nicklaus said. “But what his situation is, I don’t know any more than what I read.” It wasn’t long ago when Woods appeared to be a lock to not only catch Nicklaus, but to break the most recognized record in golf.

He won his 14th major in the 2008 U.S. Open at age 32 _ Nicklaus was 35 when he won his 14th major _ and even after reconstructive surgery on his left knee, Woods went into the weekend of the 2009 PGA Championship with a four-shot lead. He was two rounds away from winning No. 15, with Pebble Beach and St. Andrews on the rotation the following year. It all

changed so quickly.

He lost the lead — and the PGA Championship — to YE Yang. Then came Thanksgiving night and revelations of serial adultery, which led to divorce. He hired a new swing coach. He is in the middle of a slump that once

first sign of an injury.

“Physically, I was pretty darned good,” he said. Two weeks after he won the 1980 PGA Championship at Oak Hill for his 17th major, he had to withdraw from the final round of the World Series of Golf at Firestone with a

Tiger Woods in action in this file photo seemed unfathomable. He has fallen out of the top 10 in the world ranking for the first time in 14 years. And now there’s another injury that makes Woods seem a lot older than 35.

For all that has gone wrong with Woods during the last 18 months, his health might be the most troubling _ at least as it relates to his golf, and especially in context with Nick laus.

Nick laus won 70 times in 19 years on the PGA Tour before the

bad back. About two years later, his back flared up again at the 1983 Masters and he had to withdraw early in the second round.

The first time he had surgery was in 1984, when he hurt his left knee while playing tennis. “I went and had it operated on and I won the Skins Game 17 days later,” Nicklaus said. “So obviously, it wasn’t a very major operation.”

Woods already has had four surgeries on his left knee. “I’m sure down the road it may be more

difficult,” he said. “But hopefully, I’ll be in a cart by then on the Senior Tour. But between now and then, I should be pretty good.” It’s that area between now and then that has become such a mystery.

Woods says the state of his left leg is not the “doomsday ” he keeps reading and hearing about in the media. And don’t forget, it was only two months ago that he shot 31 on the front nine of the Masters to tie for the lead until his putter failed him on the back nine and he wound up in a tie for fourth.

Asked to handicap Woods’ chances of catching him now, Nicklaus could only offer, “I would have no clue.” What amuses Nicklaus is talk that the chase is over, even if Woods doesn’t make it to Congressional in two weeks for the US Open, or plays in the other two majors that follow this year.

“That’s ridiculous,” Nicklaus said. “You guys control that. By the time you get through writing somebody off, they may as well go sell their clubs. Tiger is hurt.

He hasn’t been able to play. By the time you get done with him ... there’s 400 golfers in front of him.

You know what I’m saying. It gets pushed too far.”

Even if Woods were to go winless this year, he would still have the same number of majors that Nicklaus won at age 35. Nicklaus believes that a player in his era was “old” in his late 30s. These days, he thinks “old” is over the age of 45.

If that’s the case, Woods has some 40 majors still to play. But that depends on his health. “That 18 is our benchmark in our sport,” Woods said last week. “No one has played the major championships better than Jack has. It took Jack over 24 years to do what he did. I still have plenty of time, and I feel that going forward, I’m excited about playing major championships and playing golf again. “I just want to be healthy and solid,” he said. “And I feel like I can give it a go.” —AP

World Cup ticket re-sales still a concern at 100-day countdown

LAS VEGAS: Players compete in a $25,000 Heads-Up poker tournament during the World Series of Poker at the Rio Hotel and Casino. —AP

World Series of Poker kicks off in Las Vegas LAS VEGAS: A group of 128 gamblers plunked down $25,000 each on Tuesday to compete in the first tournament of this year ’s World Series of Poker, generating the largest ever pool for a heads-up no-limit Texas Hold ‘em tournament and giving the series an encouraging sign amid a state of weakness for online poker in the United States.

The field — made up of popular poker professionals known for gambling at high limits — began competing for a piece of a $3 million prize pool, with the winner getting more than $851,000.

“Been going to WSOP for over 10 years and am giddy as ever, if not more,” four-time gold bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu said on Twitter before entering the tournament. “WSOP is very special, and I can’t wait to get started on the grind.” Negreanu was eliminated in the first round.

With casino officials optimistic yet admittedly unclear exactly how the World Series of Poker would be affected, two of 58 tournaments began with the promise of awarding millions in prize money, gold bracelets and instant fame to winners in many poker variations.

The series culminates in July with the $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold ‘em main event, and then a nearly twoweek affair that ends in November after a break to give its top nine players several months to think about how to finish their run. Last year ’s winner, Canadian professional Jonathan Duhamel, won $8.9 million after top-

ping a field of 7,319 players.

This year’s set of tournaments will play out against a backdrop of legal problems for online poker companies that aren’t affiliated with the series, but have contributed to mak ing poker grow into an international industry wor th billions, helping the series attract plenty of entrants and fans.

Online play in the United States has largely stopped since mid-April, when federal authorities in New York indicted 11 people tied to PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker on charges they tricked banks into illegally processing payments for gambling. Three more people and a handful of smaller websites were targeted this month through a separate federal case in Maryland, including a site that once promoted itself through card playing icon Doyle Brunson.

The indictment left millions in player deposits in limbo, with many worried they wouldn’t be able to access their bankrolls in time for the tournaments.

Series spokesman Seth Palansky said the numbers for the series’ first day were encouraging.

“We’ve always been optimistic,” he said. “We’re thrilled with the start. It’s early, but we’re very encouraged by what today tells us for the rest of the WSOP.” A casino employees-only event that cost $500 to enter attracted 850 players, up nearly 18 percent compared with the same tournament last year.

The winner of that two-day event will win more than $82,000. —AP

WELLINGTON: The slow re-sale of rugby World Cup tickets from relocated Christchurch matches was causing concern 100 days out from the start of the tournament, but preparations were well on track, organisers said yesterday. All seven matches originally scheduled for Christchurch, including two quarter-finals, had to be shifted after the Feb. 22 earthquake devastated much of the central city and eastern suburbs and badly damaged venue Lancaster Park.

“It’s a pretty tough ask because there is a big difference in going to events in your own city and then being asked to think about having to go all around New Zealand,” said Rugby New Zealand 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden. “We always expected the quarter-finals would have a reasonable take-up and the EnglandArgentina match (now in Dunedin) would do okay but the rest of the matches are far more likely to be affected badly by what has happened,” he told Radio New Zealand.

Organisers had to refund about NZ$20 million ($16.4 million) worth of tickets after the Christchurch matches were moved. The re-sales have so far only been available to those who had purchased tickets for the Christchurch matches.

Snedden said the organisers would not confirm the exact re-sale figures until shortly before all the remaining tickets were released for general sale on July 4.

Tournament organisers are only allowed to keep revenue generated from ticket sales and must underwrite the costs of hosting the tournament and pay a licence fee to the world governing International Rugby Board.

Organisers had budgeted for ticket revenue of about NZ$268 million and an operating loss of about NZ$40 million, which is to be underwritten by the New Zealand government and New Zealand Rugby Union.

World Cup Minister Murray McCully, however, said he was confident organisers would meet their target of 1.35 million tickets and their budget, when speaking at a gathering of business and civic leaders to mark the 100-day countdown.

“Ticket sales and revenue are on target despite having to make some refunds,” McCully said at the gathering at New Zealand’s Parliament.

“The budgeted deficit is still NZ$39 million but that is offest by many hundreds of millions of dollars of economic benefit.” Prime Minister John Key, who also attended the gathering along with International Rugby Board vice president Bill Beuamont and chief executive Mike Miller, echoed McCully’s confidence.

“The rugby World Cup is so close, you can just about taste it,” he said. “So ... now is the time for New Zealanders to pick up the rugby World Cup vibe and for Kiwis to think about what they can do and get behind what is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Beaumont endorsed the progress of preparations after organisers were forced to re-jig a large part of the tournament following the earthquake.

“As we enter the final rugby World Cup straight we are confident the tournament ... will be a resounding success,” Beaumont said. —Reuters

MONACO: Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany celebrates in the pool of the Red Bull paddock in this file photo. —AP

Vettel, Button want F1 to improve safety MONACO: World championship leader Sebastian Vettel and former champion Jenson Button are calling for Formula One to improve safety measures in the wake of the frightening crash that hospitalized Sergio Perez.

The Mexican newcomer sustained a concussion and sprained thigh after becoming the third driver to crash during Saturday qualifying for Sunday’s race. N ico Rosberg and Vitantonio Liuzzi were unhurt in practice earlier in the day.

“Things like this are a bit of a wake up call so we have to make sure we learn from this,” said Vettel, who took the pole position and went on to win the Monaco Grand Prix for his fifth victory in six races this season.

Perez, racing in the third session for the first time this season, lost control of his Sauber as he was about to come out of the tunnel. The front slid to the right and slammed into the tunnel barrier, spinning the car round and sending it into a tire wall.

A medical crew rushed to the car, and a giant blanket was immediately draped over it. After a few minutes Perez was taken to the hospital and the battered car was lifted off the track.

“For the future, here or places like Singapore, it’s our job, the drivers’ job, to make sure we defend ourselves,”

Vettel said. “(To say) we need this and that much space here and there, and that should be the target.” Button, the 2009 F1 champ, had a similar tunnel crash in 2003.

“It’s an area where it’s very difficult to do anything about in terms of safety, because it is what it is in Monaco — a street circuit,” Button said. “I still think we need to look further at what we should do. “ There have been improvements, but we need to find a solution. ... It is a dangerous spor t, but I think we do need to keep t weak ing in cer tain areas.” Perez hit the tunnel wall after going too wide and bounced out sideways, powerless to control his car. That moment brought back stark memories for Button.

“At that point you become a passenger, you have no control of the car, you lose braking capability,” he said. “It’s when you first hit the brakes, the rear goes very light.” Perez was released from the hospital on Monday after two days of tests and observation.

In a statement issued by Sauber, the 21-year-old said he still had a “little bit of pain in my leg and in my neck, but this comes from muscles and is nothing to worry about.” He was “pretty sure” he would be driving in the next race in Montreal on June 12. —AP

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

S P ORT S

Desperate Egypt, Cameroon face crucial qualifiers JOHANNESBURG: Powerhouses Egypt and Cameroon _ with 11 continental titles between them _ face critical qualifying matches for the 2012 African Cup of Nations this weekend as both teeter on the brink of shock eliminations.

A desperate Egypt effectively needs to beat South Africa in Cairo on Sunday to avoid missing out next year on the championship it has dominated and won a record seven times, including the last three.

Defeat for four-time winner Cameroon at home to Senegal on Saturday will likely rule it out and rob the African Cup of the likes of Inter Milan’s Samuel Eto’o and Arsenal’s Alex Song.

Michael Essien is expected to return for Ghana for the first time in over a year for Friday’s meeting with Republic of Congo, but top-ranked African team and World Cup quarterfinalist Ghana faces a battle for an automatic place as an unpredictable qualifying competition passes the halfway mark.

The two best second-place teams from the groups will join 12 automatic qualifiers and cohosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea for the 16team Cup of Nations, but poor form leaves Egypt and Cameroon off the pace even for a backdoor entry. Both will seek retribution against opposi-

tion that beat them with an injury-time goal last time round to compound their problems.

Three-time defending champion Egypt faces its biggest football disaster in recent memory after two losses and a draw in three qualifiers.

The Pharaohs are bottom of Group G with one point and will fail to qualify for the African championship for the first time since 1978 if they lose to unbeaten leaders Bafana Bafana and second-place Niger beats Sierra Leone.

A draw will leave Egypt — already drained by political turmoil at home and a cruel injury-time loss in Johannesburg in March — six points behind with two matches to play and with little hope of making up the ground.

“It’s a decider for us as a team,” Pharaohs assistant coach Shawky Gharib said this week. “We have to win on Sunday. “Egypt’s national team has got a great will and strength and we will never surrender. Our players always show what they’ve got when they face situations like that.” The already high-profile match was moved to the Cairo Military Academy Stadium from the much-larger Cairo International Stadium as violence in the Egyptian capital threatens to spill onto the field if the result goes against the local team.

“Unfortunately we are facing the Egyptians in their back yard and in desperate times,” said South Africa coach Pitso Mosimane.

Bafana Bafana was boosted by the recovery from injury of captain and playmaker Steven Pienaar, while Egypt has fitness doubts over experienced attacking midfielder Mohamed Aboutrika.

A late goal saw Cameroon lose at Group E leader Senegal, forcing the Indomitable Lions — who are five points behind with three games left — into their own perilous situation. “It was Cameroon that dominated possession from the start up until the 90th minute,” Cameroon midfielder Andre Ndame Ndame said of the 1-0 defeat in Dakar, “but Senegal scored in extra time. So, I think Cameroon can handle Senegal (this time).”

Cameroon won back to back Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002 and has missed one tournament in the last 30 years. Chelsea midfielder Essien trained with Ghana this week after a 16-month absence and will likely play his first international since January 2010.

“When I took this job I made his (Essien’s) return a priority,” coach Goran Stevanovic said. “He is a great player and a great man and we are happy to have him back.” Essien will need to find his interna-

tional feet immediately as Ghana — level on seven points with Sudan atop Group I — can’t afford to slip up against the Congolese. Sudan plays winless Swaziland.

Elsewhere, Nigeria aims to continue its revival under coach Samson Siasia away in Ethiopia.

Nigeria trails Group B pacesetters Guinea by a point. Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast can qualify with a fourth win in four games in Group H if it beats Benin and Rwanda doesn’t beat Burundi.

Minnow Botswana will seal top spot in a fiveteam Group K if it beats Malawi, adding to its historic achievement of reaching a first-ever African Cup of Nations finals. Botswana was the first — and so far only — team to come through qualifying.

In the same group, 2004 African Cup winner Tunisia, the last team to claim the title before Egypt, is another former champion facing an embarrassing failure as it trails Botswana and Malawi ahead of a home game against Chad. Two teams qualify from Group K. Libya leads Group C by a point from Zambia and is on course for Gabon and Equatorial Guinea next January despite the distraction of a war-torn home.—AP

France and Portugal get chance for Euro payback

BRAZIl: Netherlands’ Arjen Robben reacts during a practice session in Rio de Janeiro yesterday. Netherlands will face Brazil in a friendly soccer match in Goiania, Brazil, on June 4. — AP

Hiddink focused on Turkey match BRUSSELS: Coach Guus Hiddink, strongly linked in the media with the vacant job at English club Chelsea, said he and his Turkey squad were thinking of nothing but tomorrow’s Euro 2012 qualifier in Belgium.

The Group A match is likely to determine who finishes second because Germany, with 15 points from five games, are favorites to top the table.

Belgium are second with 10 points from six games and Turkey (nine points from five) occupy third spot, with both teams scrapping it out for a likely playoff berth.

“Me and my team, we think of nothing but the Belgium game right now,” Dutchman Hiddink said in an interview with the Hurriyet newspaper. “This is a key game.

“Nobody has knocked on my door yet, there is nothing concrete to discuss. My contract with the Turkish football federation is until 2012.

“It’s not that easy to just leave and go away. Neither me, nor the football federation, has received any official offers.”

Both sides are without key midfieldersHamit Altintop and Nuri Sahin for Turkey and Marouane Fellaini for Belgium.

Belgium coach Georges Leekens said his players should not be too concerned if they fall behind. “They (Turkey) have reasonably attacking full backs so there might be some space at the back,” said Leekens.

“We will go into the match with the aim of scoring twice. We must also not panic if we go behind.” Leekens appeared to want to keep the rest of his squad on their toes when he said goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and central defender Vincent Kompany were the only players certain to start.

Belgium have not qualified for a major tournament since the 2002 World Cup. “I’m used to playing important matches for my club but with Belgium that’s different. It is a long time since we had a match as important as this one,” said Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen.

“The Turks are practically ready to die for their country but a victory is an absolute must for us.” Hiddink has been criticised for a lack of ambition after telling a news conference last week a draw would be acceptable as Turkey have a game in hand on Belgium. Turkey also have fitness doubts over Fenerbahce right back Gokhan Gonul. — Reuters

Ex-Italy striker Signori held in fixing probe ROME: Former Italy striker Giuseppe Signori has been placed under house arrest over suspected match-fixing of second division and non-league games, authorities said yesterday.

A number of well-known footballers who are still playing were also under investigation but have not been arrested, a police statement said.

Italian soccer has been battling corruption for years with the fallout from a major 2006 match-fixing scandal in the top flight still rumbling on in the criminal and sporting courts.

In the new case, police in towns and cities across Italy including Rome, Turin, Naples, Bologna, Ancona, Cremona and Ferrara issued detention orders for 16 people.

‘Beppe’ Signori, a member of the Italy squad that reached the final of the 1994 World Cup and a former hero of Serie A side Lazio, was placed under house arrest as were seven others.

Another seven have been detained in custody.

One other person being sought by police was outside Italy. Italian news agency ANSA said Signori had declined to comment on the case when reached by telephone.

Police said the six-month investiga-

tion had produced evidence of an organised system among former and current footballers, sports betting operators and others to manipulate the results of a number of soccer matches.

They said bets worth tens of thousands of euros, and in some cases hundreds of thousands, had been placed on matches.

The investigation was triggered by a second-tier Serie B match in Cremona last year which aroused suspicions that led to a wider probe.

In the criminal trial into the 2006 affair, prosecutors on Tuesday said former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi should face five years and eight months in jail for his involvement if he is found guilty.

Juve were demoted and stripped of their 2005 and 2006 titles in the scandal, which revolved around securing favourable referees rather than betting, but the Turin club now want Inter Milan’s 2006 championship, which they inherited, taken away.

They say new evidence implicates Inter in the scandal for the first time but the 2010 treble winners deny any wrongdoing and the Italian football federation is investigating. — Reuters

LONDON: France and Por tugal get the chance to show how far their recent revivals have taken them when qualifying for the 2012 European Championship resumes this week.

With 20 matches across tomorrow and Saturday, France travels to face the Belarus team it lost to in September and Portugal is up against Norway — nine months after losing to the same opponent.

France has rallied to lead qualifying Group D, while Portugal could go top in Group H with victory in Lisbon. Also on Friday, threetime European champion Germany aims to continue its perfect start against an Austria team needing victory to stay in contention, while Italy hosts Estonia.

England welcomes Switzerland in one of the nine games on Saturday, when world champion Spain meets the United States in Boston for a friendly.

Portugal has gradually recovered from a disastrous start to its qualifying campaign, when it drew 4-4 with lowly Cyprus and lost 1-0 to Norway in Oslo to take just one point from its first two matches.

Carlos Queiroz was fired in the aftermath of that nadir of his two-year spell in charge, with Paulo Bento stepping in. A pair of 3-1 wins over Denmark and Iceland have helped push Por tugal into second place, three points behind Norway. Bento’s record also includes a shock 4-0 triumph over neighbor Spain.

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo will return for the match at Benfica’s Stadium of Light after missing two friendlies through injury. France is already top of its group having followed its 1-0 defeat to Belarus _ a result that was arguably its most embarrassing ever at home — with four straight wins.

Victory in Minsk on Friday would put it seven points clear of Belarus and Albania, which does not play until Tuesday, when it hosts Luxembourg in the final round of qualifying this season.

Despite having home advantage this time, Belarus appears to have no chance of another shock win since it will be missing about half of its regular starters. Belarus will be without injured Birmingham midfielder Alexander Hleb, Bari striker Vitaly Kutuzov and midfielder Vitaly Rodionov, who plays for Belarusian champion BATE Borisov. Sergei Kornilenko, Dmitry Malosh and Alexander Kulchiy are suspended.

“We must prepare the team to perform a miracle,” Belarus coach Bernd Stange said.

“The two teams are on different levels, but we must not be afraid of them. We must

BELARUS: France’s national soccer team player Florent Malouda (right) signs autograph after arriving in National airport Minsk. France will face Belarus on June 3 in their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign for the European Championship.—AP

frighten them. We also can play football.

“We will fight for every centimeter of the pitch, to the very last second of the match.

The French players are stronger individually, but we must be stronger in spirit and prevent them from controlling the game.”

Germany midfielder Christian Traesch has joined his team’s growing injury list and will miss Friday’s game against Austria and the meeting with Azerbaijan on Tuesday. Traesch injured his left ankle in training and was sent home on Wednesday.

Coach Joachim Loew decided against calling up a replacement despite already being without striker Miroslav Klose, defender Per Mer tesacker and midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger and Marco Reus.

Sweden coach Erik Hamren will be without key striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic against Moldova on Friday due to a tendon injury in his right foot. The AC Milan player has been bothered by the injury since the last rounds of the Serie A. Hamren said Ibrahimovic will stay home to rehabilitate the injury, and still hopes to have the striker available for the home game against Finland next week. “We’re putting all efforts into getting him ready to play on

Tuesday instead,” Hamren said.

England seeks to break a tie with Montenegro at the top of Group G when the unbeaten pair both play on Saturday. While tiny Montenegro hosts Bulgaria, England hosts Switzerland at Wembley. Midfielder Michael Carrick pulled out of the squad because of an injur y he sustained in Manchester United’s Champions League final defeat to Barcelona last weekend.

With Wayne Rooney suspended and Jermain Defoe out with a wrist problem, Darren Bent is likely to start up front after scoring in his last three games. “Darren Bent is not a replacement for Wayne and Jermain, because he was playing anyway,” England defender Joleon Lescott said. “He is a great goal scorer and has proved that in the Premier League, which I believe to be the toughest in the world.

“Darren is certainly amongst the best finishers. He scores goals from all ranges. I am sure Switzerland will be fearful of him.” Spain has five wins from five matches and leads Group I, one of three pools with only five teams, by six points. It is almost assured of a place at next year’s tournament in Poland and Ukraine. — AP

Allardyce sees player exodus

TOULON: Colombia’s Duvan Zapata Banguero (right) challenges for the ball with Portugal’s Mario Rui, during their match in the Under-21 Toulon soccer tournament. — AP

LONDON: West Ham United appointed Sam Allardyce as their new manager yesterday with the Briton braced for an exodus of top players as he seeks to lead the relegated club back to the Premier League.

The 56-year-old, whose last managerial post was at Blackburn Rovers before he was fired last December, succeeds the sacked Avram Grant and pledged to instil “a winning mentality” at the east London club who finished bottom of the table this season.

“I wouldn’t have taken this job if I didn’t think we could bounce straight back into the Premier League,” Allardyce said on the club’s website (www.whufc.com).

“More than that, I wouldn’t have contemplated the job if I didn’t think there was the opportunity to build something substantial at West Ham.” Whatever he builds, though, may be without several of the current players with Allardyce saying it will be hard to keep hold of the likes of Footballer of the Year Scott Parker.

“There will probably be an exodus of top players for financial reasons,” Allardyce told talkSPORT radio. “There’s a dramatic loss of revenue, even with the parachute payments, and you have to adjust, like every club does.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep Parker. We’ll have to wait and see but it looks like it will be difficult.” Other players who could leave the club are England goalkeeper Robert Green and England striker Carlton Cole.

“Whatever happens with some of the big players there’s the basis of a good squad and some very, very good young players to rebuild quickly,” added Allardyce. West Ham’s move to London’s Olympic Stadium for the 2014-15 season is a major incentive for promotion back to England’s top flight and in Allardyce they have gone for one of the domestic game’s most established names to mastermind that push.—Reuters

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S P ORT S

Italian teams put faith in youthful coaches ROME: Antonio Conte at just 41 years of age is the new coach of Turin giants Juventus proving once again that in Italian coaching circles, youth is best.

While in England, at least, it would be unthinkable for one of the country’s top teams to hire such an unproven coach, in Italy it is rapidly becoming the norm.

It is not that Italy has a dearth of top drawer coaches with ample experience, quite the contrary in fact. But for reasons economic and otherwise, the general trend is increasingly seeing teams plump for younger, cheaper coaches rather than fork out for the best in the business. And Conte is just the latest example.

He started his coaching career in 2006 at Serie B Arezzo, just five years ago as Juve were banished to Serie B for their part in the infamous Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.

In that time he has been fired, he has quit, he’s coached just 13 games in Serie A, won two Serie B titles and now he’s landed one of the top jobs in

Italy. An English coach of comparable stature taking over from Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea this summer would lie in the realms of fantasy.

And yet in Italy it seems to be the rule more than the exception, and not in any old Serie A club, this is at the biggest clubs.

Two years ago when Juve fired Claudio Ranieri two games before the end of the 2008/09 season, they replaced him with youth team coach Ciro Ferrara. Ferrara had worked in coaching and had even worked with Marcello Lippi on the Italian national team but he had no first team experience, let alone in the top flight.

When Ranieri, having initially enjoyed much success, left Roma at the end of February, the club also promoted their youth team coach Vincenzo Montella, another without a day of first team experience.

When Ancelotti left Milan at the end of the 2009 season to join Chelsea, novice Leonardo was moved from a role in the management to first team coach,

again with no experience.

Ferrara lasted less than a season as despite starting with six straight victories, his Juve tenure soon turned sour. Leonardo was given a whole season before Milan decided he didn’t have what it takes.

As for Montella, it is widely understood that his Roma career will end at three months.

None of these coaches could complain about being treated unfairly. Ferrara took a team that was in the top three under Ranieri to struggling for a Europa League finish.

Montella failed to turn around Roma’s stuttering season and missed out on the Champions League.

Leonardo couldn’t challenge the might of Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan, nor could he make an impression on Europe where Manchester United humiliated his team 7-2 on aggregate.

And so it begs the question why the top Italian teams turn to such inexperienced coaches. It is the same reason they prefer to pluck talented players from obscurity, it is to unearth a bargain.

Milan paid seven million euros for Kaka when they brought him over from Brazil, he went on to be named world player of the year and they sold him for ten times that price to Real Madrid.

They also took coach Arrigo Sacchi from Parma after which he created one of the best team’s in the club’s history.

And Massimiliano Allegri, having had a mere two years experience in Serie A with Cagliari, won the scudetto title at his first attempt with Milan.

With the Italian coaching A-list in high-paid and prestigious jobs including Fabio Capello as manager of England and Giovanni Trappatoni managing Ireland one could say the Italian teams don’t have much choice.

And so Conte joins a growing band of young, inexperienced coaches being entrusted with the biggest jobs out there.

Italian teams may not be setting the world alight, but working in Italy has never been a more attractive option for young untried coaches. — AFP

Why is Blatter still boss?

Identical twins Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin

Sedins path to Stanley Cup blocked by Bruins VANCOUVER: Daniel Sedin absently scratched his red playoff beard, thinking back on a decade of struggle and setbacks before the Vancouver Canucks reached the Stanley Cup finals against Boston. Down the hallway, his identical twin rubbed his identical beard exactly the same way.

Henrik Sedin was considering a more pressing problem, though: Now that the Swedish superstars are finally close enough to touch the Stanley Cup, how do they get it away from hulking defenseman Zdeno Chara and the bruising Bruins?

“We’ve had a lot of challenges along the way to get here, but he’s the biggest one yet — literally, I guess,” said Henrik Sedin, last season’s NHL MVP. “It’s going to be exciting to see what happens, because we haven’t played each other enough to know those guys very well. It’s unpredictable.”

The only sure bet is that one championship drought will end for one long-suffering hockey-loving city after the Canucks face Boston in the Stanley Cup finals, starting in Game 1 on Wednesday night in Vancouver.

The Canucks have never won it all, falling in their only two previous finals appearances in four decades of existence. Their ever-anxious city is buzzing with anticipation, with hundreds of fans filling the sidewalks and bars of Granville Street in blue-and-green jerseys in the days before the finals.

They’re breathlessly following the Sedin twins, who finally turned their talent into team success during a spectacular season in Vancouver. With impressive depth and solid defense backing their star-studded top lines, the Canucks won the Presidents’ Trophy with 54 victories and 117 points before winning nine of their past 12 playoff games heading into the finals.

The Canucks might be the best team ever assembled on Canada’s West Coast, yet they realize they haven’t done anything until they raise the Cup. “With the parity that is in the league, you’ve got to do a lot of things right for a long time,” Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. “I do believe you’ve got to get some bounces, you get the bounces because you’ve been doing things right for a long time. I believe that Vancouver is due for 40 years of good bounces.” The Bruins have lost five straight trips to the finals since Bobby Orr led them to their last title in 1972, and haven’t made it at all since 1990.

Yet with only moderate expectations and a largely star-free roster featuring no scorers in the NHL’s top 25, Boston survived a rough Eastern Conference run

during which it faced elimination twice in the past three rounds. The Bruins coolly won two Game 7 showdowns, both on clutch goals by Nathan Horton, earning the right to travel thousands of miles to the opposite coast for a shot at their ultimate goal.

“We definitely earned the right to be here with ever ything we’ve gone through,” Horton said Tuesday after the Bruins’ first practice in Vancouver. “I had never even been in the playoffs before, so maybe I don’t know any better. I’m getting some real goosebumps now, though.” These teams know little about each other, meeting just once in the regular season thanks to the NHL’s unbalanced schedule. They’ve had several days to study film and scouting reports, but they know they won’t fully appreciate the Sedins’ brilliance or Chara’s ice-clogging force until they see it up close.

Chara clearly intrigues the Sedins and their fellow Vancouver forwards. The Canucks struggled offensively in the second round against Nashville’s shutdown defensemen, Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, but bounced back with a dominant series against San Jose in the conference finals. Henrik Sedin is the league’s leading playoff scorer with 21 points, while Ryan Kesler has 18 _ and Daniel Sedin a mere 16.

“There’s a few big defensemen in the league, but he’s obviously the biggest and the best,” Daniel Sedin said. “We’ll see how it goes, but we see shutdown players in every game, so that part isn’t any different.”

The Boston defense is equally fascinated by the Sedins, who joined the Canucks in 1999 in a masterpiece of draft-day maneuvering by Brian Burke.

After a handful of difficult seasons, the twins returned from the 2004-05 lockout with an all-out attitude that allowed them to develop into the offensive virtuosos that are dominating the Western Conference. “ There’s only a few players in the league that have been together so long, and obviously them being brothers, it helps,” Chara said. “Growing up together, they know each other extremely well.

They know where they are even without looking at each other, so it makes it challenging to play against them. We just have to try to take as much away from them as we can.”

Boston is hoping both teams stay at full strength for most of the series. The Bruins have been the NHL’s best 5-on-5 team all season long, but their power play is in a horrific playoff slump, scoring on just 8 percent of its chances compared to the Canucks’ 28 percent efficiency led by the Sedins. — AP

NEW YORK: As shocking and as distasteful as his re-election may seem to some, you don’t need the intelligence of a rocket scientist to understand why Sepp Blatter is getting four more years to reign unchallenged over world football, despite the corruption scandals lapping at FIFA’s doors.

A key reason can be summed up in one short phrase: Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Or, even more simply, follow the money. Mountains of money.

By turning FIFA into a giant gravy train and taking his electorate in football along for the ride, Blatter has kept friends close, enemies closer, and quashed appetite for a change in leadership or real and heartfelt introspection into the way he runs football’s world governing body.

To quote its senior vice president Julio Grondona, FIFA was “basically penniless” when Blatter won its presidency in 1998, with no cash reserves and mere peanuts to distribute to football officials around the world.

Fast-forward 13 years during which football’s global popularity and appeal have exploded, and largely by milking the success of its flagship tournament, the World Cup, FIFA has gone from pauper to prince, so flush that it can comfortably hand out wads of money to what Blatter likes to call “the football family.”

According to FIFA’s 2010 accounts, and on top of the tens of millions of dollars in other development aid that FIFA doles out annually, all 208 of FIFA’s member associations from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe last year got a special bonus of US$550,000 (euro380,000) to help them function, grow and run football competitions.

Such rich handouts can buy not only many footballs, equipment, pitches, training, jobs and whatnot but, vitally for Blatter, goodwill, too. In that sense, FIFA can be seen as a global network of football patronage that hands out money and gets thanks and loyalty in return. Hence Grondona’s pointed reminder to delegates at FIFA’s congress before they overwhelmingly reelected Blatter unopposed on Wednesday for a fourth and final term: “Everybody is benefiting from FIFA’s financial success.” FIFA’s massive checkbook _ its financial reserves of nearly US$1.3 billion (euro900 million) alone are bigger than the annual economic output of the African country of Liberia and many of the world’s small island nations _ also helps to explain its arrogance.

Quite literally, FIFA officials can afford to rebuff outside calls for deep reform, for independent and credible probes into corruption claims, as long as serious pressure for change

ZURICH: Swiss re-elected FIFA President Joseph Blatter reacts during a press conference after the 61st FIFA Congress in Zurich. — AP isn’t coming from the sponsors and broadcasters who bankroll the World Cup. As they did yesterday at their congress, FIFA luminaries can scoff at and circle the wagons against meddlesome and critical politicians and dirt-digging news reporters because doing so doesn’t really hurt their bottom line.

So far, the rolling tide of sordid headlines and corruption allegations targeting FIFA has unsettled some sponsors but has not turned them away. FIFA’s accountants project that the World Cup bonanza — and the handouts to FIFA member associations — will continue for the foreseeable future, with the budget for next year earmarking another US$177 million (euro123 million) for development projects.

So Blatter, as he did this week in the midst of the storm, can afford to infamously state, “Crisis?

What is a crisis?” because he has made sure that his electorate, the 208 associations of football nations around the world, have their hands in the cookie jar, too.

Blatter’s proposal yesterday that those same associations, instead of FIFA’s 24-man executive committee, select the host of future World Cups also rubs them up the right way, pandering to their self-importance. More money, more power: Again, it doesn’t take a scientist to fathom out

why Blatter was crowned again with 186 of 203 ballots cast and minimal complaint, at least from within the congress, that there was no alternative candidate.

“FIFA hands out hundreds of millions of dollars to the world,” FIFA vice president Angel Maria Villar reminded the delegates before the ballot. “And all this is supposed to go down the drain?” Of course not, not if you’re on the gravy train.

So among those who took the floor yesterday to talk down an English proposal that Blatter’s re-election be delayed (on the laudable grounds that “a coronation without an opponent provides a flawed mandate”) was Moucharafou Anjorin, president of the Benin Football Association.

It got payments of US$400,000 in 2002, 2006 and again in 2009 from FIFA to build offices, a football school and a training center. FIFA says its money also bought a new bus for the Benin national team. Haiti, another association that piped up for Blatter, earning loud applause, also got similar funding from FIFA’s so-called Goal Program in 2001 and 2008. “We all are dependent on FIFA,” Anjorin told the congress. “Why would we want to kill FIFA?” Why indeed, not if you’re on the gravy train. — AP

Asia needs ‘revolution’ says acting chief Zhang

Australian Andre Stolz

Stolz eyes China Masters LONGKOU: Australian Andre Stolz is hoping for a win at the inaugural $1 million Nanshan China Masters which tees off today to continue a run of form which could propel him to the OneAsia Order of Merit top spot.

Stolz, winner of the season-opening Indonesia PGA Championship, trails GS Caltex Maekyung Open champion Kim Kyung-Tae by $58,582 after four events.

Kim is not playing in China and so the winner’s $180,000 cheque would see Stolz vault into the lead while second or third place may be good enough depending on the performance of in-form countryman Kurt Barnes at the Nanshan International Golf Club’s Danling Cuiyuan Course.

Kim leads the Merit list with earnings of $273,707, while Stolz is in second place on $215,125. Barnes has won $184,758 and is in third position.

Last year’s Merit list champion Liang Wenchong of China will be looking for his third OneAsia title on the mainland and his fourth overall on the circuit.

Korean stars Kim Dae-Hyun, Kim Bi-O and Han Chang-Won are also competing as well as Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant, Indonesian Rory Hie and Michael Hendry

from New Zealand.

Veteran Stolz is playing some of the best golf of his life just three years after making a comeback to the game after a period on the sidelines with wrist injuries.

Winning the OneAsia Merit title did not enter his thoughts at the beginning of the season but it has become a goal since his win in Jakarta.

“I didn’t start out the year thinking about winning the money list. But now I may end up playing the rest of the year on OneAsia. I’ll see how things pan out,” said Stolz.

“Winning any money list in the world would be a great achievement. I just try and prepare for each tournament the best I can, to give myself the best chance of winning.”

Stolz, who has won a title each on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Japan Tour, plus four wins on the PGA Tour of Australasia, believes he can triumph regularly if he putts well.

“Definitely my consistency in my ball striking since I’ve returned to golf has improved,” he said. “I used to be very hot and cold. But now I feel if I putt well I can win any tournament I play.”—AFP

BEIJING: Acting Asian Football Confederation (AFC) chief Zhang Jilong thinks the continent needs a soccer ‘revolution’ to rid the game of its ills.

Zhang took temporary charge of the AFC after president Mohamed bin Hammam was suspended by FIFA from all soccer activity on Sunday in the worst corruption scandal ever to hit the sport’s international governing body.

Asian football, particularly in Zhang’s native China, has been beset by scandals over the last decade even as the region has developed a stronger international profile. Zhang, who assumed control in his capacity as AFC’s senior vice-president, did not specify the problems but said the situation was not good.

“I think the Asian football environment is not that healthy,” the 59-year-old said in an interview in English on China’s state TV. “We need, let’s say, a revolution, we need reform to make more clear and more fair play environment in Asian football areas.” Zhang earlier denied media reports that he had said that Qatari Bin Hammam remained in charge at the AFC. “Media reports published by some media organisations are inaccurate and do not reflect my position,” he said in a statement.

“I am following the development closely and given the current circumstances, I will serve as acting president of the AFC in the best of my abilities and I sincerely hope that this issue will be resolved in the best interest of Asian football.”

Bin Hammam, 62, had been due to stand against Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency on Wednesday but withdrew his candidacy before facing an ethics committee hearing into the bribery allegations. Bin Hammam and Jack Warner, his counterpart in the North, Central American and Caribbean governing body CONCACAF, were accused of arranging to pay delegates of the Caribbean Football Union $40,000 in cash to vote for the Qatari. Both were suspended over the allegations but FIFA’s ethics committee cleared Blatter. The case against Trinidadian Warner and Bin Hammam, who have denied any wrongdoing, will be heard in July. —Reuters

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PARIS: Russia’s Maria Sharapova reacts as she defeats Germany’s Andrea Petkovic during their quarterfinal match of the French Open tennis tournament.—AP

Sharapova sets up Li showdown Nadal in French Open semis PARIS: Playing a bit like he’s still upset about his only loss at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal defeated Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (3) yesterday to reach the French Open semifinals for the sixth time.

The five-time champion, who lost to Soderling in the fourth round in 2009 but then defeated him in last year’s final, is 43-1 at the clay-court Grand Slam and two wins away from equaling Bjorn Borg’s record of six French Open titles.

“I am through. I’m in the semifinals, so that’s the thing,” Nadal said. “I have to be playing better and better every day if I want to have chances to win the final and that’s what I’m going to try.” Nadal will next face fourth-seeded Andy Murray. The Australian Open runner-up, who injured his right ankle in the third round, defeated Juan Ignacio Chela 7-6 (2), 7-5, 6-2.

“In my opinion, that’s not going to

affect him and his confidence to be in the semifinal,” Nadal said of Murray’s injury. “He’s playing well. He’s (a) big player.” Murray’s win ensured that the top four seeded players made the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament for only the 12th time in the Open era. Also, Maria Sharapova and Australian Open finalist Li Na reached the women’s semifinals. They will face each other today.

Nadal was back on Court Philippe Chatrier to face the man who was responsible for his only blemish at Roland Garros. But with the wind gusting _ at one point blowing specks of red clay into Nadal’s face _ the fifthseeded Swede struggled with his first serve, landing only 57 percent during the match. Nadal, however, didn’t appear to be bothered by the conditions, although he was broken twice.

The top-ranked Spaniard made only 13 unforced errors, while Soderling

had 41. “Probably Robin today had a few more mistakes than usual. That maybe helped me a little bit,” Nadal said. “I was lucky for a moment.”

Emotionless for almost the entire match, Nadal was able to handle Soderling’s hard forehand while keeping his opponent on the move by spraying shots to all corners of the court. And when he smacked a forehand winner to hold serve to 6-5 in the third set, the crowd roared.

After five titles in Paris, Nadal had plenty of fans in the stands, and even some admirers. Besides the Spanish flags throughout the stadium, one woman held up a sign reading, “Rafa ganador, kiss me por favor” (“Rafa you winner, kiss me please”).

Tomorrow’s other semifinal will be between defending champion Roger Federer and the seemingly unstoppable Novak Djokovic. The secondseeded Djokovic is 41-0 in 2011 and

has won 43 straight matches dating to last year’s Davis Cup final triumph for Serbia. “The best player of the world today against the best player (in) history,” Nadal said. “Going to be, in my opinion, fantastic match.” While Nadal is in the French Open semifinals for the sixth time in seven years, Sharapova returned to the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in more than three years, beating Andrea Petkovic 6-0, 6-3. The three-time major champion, who can complete a career Grand Slam with a title at Roland Garros, last reached this stage when she won the 2008 Australian Open. “I put a lot of work in to be in this stage of the Grand Slams,” Sharapova said. “I’m really happy that it’s here. I’m going to have a chance to go further.”

Sharapova had little trouble against Petkovic, a German who also lost in the Australian Open quarterfi-

nals. Sharapova won the opening eight games and then overcame two breaks to take the second set.

Sharapova improved her Grand Slam quarterfinal record to 11-3 by beating Petkovic. All three of her losses came at Roland Garros. But she had little trouble yesterday on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

“Definitely my ser ve wasn’t as good as the previous matches before, so she took full advantage of it,” said Petkovic, who beat Sharapova in the fourth round at the Australian Open.

“In the second set I came back, and it was just maybe for an instant I could have turned the match. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take the chances that I had.”

The one time Sharapova previously reached the semifinals in Paris, she lost to eventual runner-up Ana Ivanovic in 2007. “There’s no doubt that I’ve improved on this surface,” Sharapova said. “There’s no doubt that

I felt, as the years went on, that I felt better and better.”

Besides the Australian Open title, the seventh-seeded Russian also won Wimbledon in 2004 and the US Open in 2006. With a title at Roland Garros, Sharapova can become the 10th woman to complete a career Grand Slam. Li, who defeated fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-2, is more of a surprise semifinalist.

Although she became the first Chinese player to reach a major final when she lost to Kim Clijsters at this year’s Australian Open, the sixth-seeded Li even stunned herself by going this far in Paris.

“After I win the match I was feeling, ‘Wow! I can play semi in Roland Garros,”‘ Li said. “I never think about that before. So many people think I’m not so good in clay court, but I think now they should change a little bit.”—AP

Heat burn bright in opener MIAMI: LeBron James took the opening step towards winning his first championship by leading the Miami Heat to a 92-84 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game One of the NBA Finals on Tuesday.

James scored 24 points, added nine rebounds and five assists to power the Heat to the victory before a raucous crowd of 20,000, hungry to see the Heat’s first title since 2006. “It feels good because it’s the first game,” James told reporters.

“And we played well as a team. We got a lot of work to do. We’ll come in with the same mindset on Thursday, and looking forward to this challenge once again that’s in front of us.

“It’s one in the books. We’re excited about this game. Tomorrow we prepare for Game Two, and obviously there’s ways we can get better.”

The two-time NBA most valuable player hit nine-of-16 shots but was at his best from long range, connecting on four-of-five from beyond the arc.

Dwyane Wade added 22 for the Heat, while collecting a team-leading 10 rebounds.

Chris Bosh scored 19 for Miami, giving the socalled “Big Three” 65 of the team’s 92 points.

Wade had seven points in the final quarter to prevent the Mavericks from stealing the

opening game of the best-of-seven series.

“I’ve been working hard on my shot,” Wade added. “I’m very confident. I was able to get a few to go. That’s all it was. Just confidence.

“Guys gave me the ball, and put me in the position to do it. Just to try to come through for my team.

The Heat shot only 38.8 percent from the field but limited the Mavericks to just 37.3.

Miami won the game on the glass, holding a 46-36 edge in rebounds.

“It’s a long series and we’ll adjust and do the things we need to do to get ourselves in a better position,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.

“This is a very good basketball team we’re playing. They were more opportunistic tonight than we were. That’s been one of the traits of our run. We’ve been very opportunistic. “Tonight we weren’t as much.” Dallas’s 10time All-Star power forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points hitting seven-of-18 shots from the floor and all 12 of his free throw attempts. But the 32-year-old seven-footer (2.13m) admitted it was not his top effort.

“I had my opportunities,” the German said.

“I had some good drives there in the first half.

I’ve just got to finish. I missed a righty lay-up. I missed a lefty lay-up that rolled around. “I

have to keep attacking and take my opportunities when they’re there.”

James scored nine points in the third quarter, including a 25-foot, three-pointer at the buzzer with the Mavericks’ Shawn Marion in his face, as Miami recovered from an eightpoint deficit to take a 65-61 lead into the final period.

Miami led 77-73 with just under four minutes left but two foul shots by Chris Bosh and a 24-foot, three-point jumper by Wade hiked the advantage to nine points with 3:06 on the clock.

Two free throws by Nowitzki sliced the lead to 82-75 but James responded with a three-point play on the next possession to end any thoughts of a Dallas comeback.

Game Two is in Miami today before the best-of-seven series shifts to Dallas for the next three games, if necessary. Mavericks guard Jason Terry said his club is “mentally tough” and he remains optimistic the Mavericks can win their first title.

“We know to beat Miami we’re going to have to bring it,” he said. “We have to play our A game every night. We’ll stay encouraged, we’ll watch the tape and make some adjustments. “We’ll come out and be ready to go tonight.”—Reuters

MIAMI: Heat’s Udonis Haslem (right) goes up for a shot past Dallas Mavericks’ Tyson Chandler, left, during the second half in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.—AP

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SYDNEY: Inflatable humpback whales are taken a stroll on the foreshore of the harbor in Sydney yesterday during a launch of the annual whale watching season. The 2011 whale migration is expected to see around 4,000 whales pass by Sydney, the largest amount in decades. — AP

Australian economy slumps after floods Heaviest contraction for 20 years SYDNEY: Australia’s economy was hit by its heaviest contraction for 20 years in the first three months of 2011, data showed yesterday, shrinking 1.2 percent on-quarter after wild weather rocked mining and farms. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said gross domestic product saw its largest quarterly fall since the March quarter of 1991, when the nation was last in the grip of recession, as the weather hammered key mining exports.

“Flooding which began in late December 2010 combined with cyclones in both Queensland and Western Australia have had a significant impact on the March quarter activity,” the ABS said. However, the

figures, which also showed a 1.0 percent increase in growth from a year earlier, beat market forecasts of a 1.4 percent fall in the quarter and on-year growth of 0.7 percent.

The fall in net exports detracted 2.4 percentage points from growth, which Treasurer Wayne Swan described as the single largest hit to exports since records began. The volume of shipments fell 8.7 percent, Swan added, “the largest quarterly fall in 37 years.”

Rallying commodity prices helped stave off a more dire outcome, driving the terms of trade 5.8 percent higher than the previous quarter and boosting gross national income by 0.3 percent. The Reserve

Bank’s commodities price index has risen 29 percent in the five months to May to its highest level since records began in 1982, due largely to spikes in the cost of iron ore and coal. It is the first contraction in Australia’s growth since the depths of the global financial crisis, when GDP fell 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 before rebounding on strong mining exports to Asia, dodging recession. The Australian dollar surged half a cent after the data was released, firming to close at US$1.0743.

Swan said the result was “unsurprising” in light of the unprecedented natural disasters. The floods and cyclones in both nor thern and

western Australia had cost $12 billion in lost production, $6.7 billion of which Swan said was in the March quarter, chiefly in the key coal mining industry.

Australia is home to the world’s largest coal export port and sends millions of tons of the fuel annually to Asian steelmakers and power companies, with total 2010 shipments wor th Aus$43 billion.

Separate data Tuesday on Australia’s account deficit showed a 27 percent slump in coal exports between the December and March quarters, with mines swamped and vital rail and port infrastructure damaged or destroyed.

Steelmaking coal shipments

plunged $1.8 billion or 35 percent in the three months to March, while thermal coal, burned to produce power, lost 39 percent or $434 million. Iron ore also took a hit from the weather, with exports down 7.7 percent in the quarter. But Swan said the calamities were merely a blip in Australia’s broadly resilient growth, with the nation “just at the beginning” of investments worth $430 billion, mostly in the resources sector. “Despite the magnitude of the disasters that we’ve seen in the March quar ter they have not altered the strong underlying fundamentals of the Australian economy,” said Swan.

Analysts backed Swan’s opti-

Emirates launches $1 bn 5-year bond

Telecom Egypt Q1 net profit dips 10% CAIRO: Landline monopoly Telecom Egypt posted a 10 percent drop in first-quarter net income yesterday after anti-government protests hit the economy and led the authorities to suspend some telecom services. But the company said the worst effects of the political turmoil that unseated veteran President Hosni Mubarak were behind it, helping its shares rise 1.4 percent in a flat market. It made net income of 892 million Egyptian pounds ($150 million), down from 992 million pounds in the same period a year earlier, beating the average forecast of 689 million from three analysts.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization slipped to 1.284 billion pounds from 1.364 billion, and revenue fell 4 percent to 2.4 billion pounds, it said in a statement. EBITDA as a percentage of sales-a closely watched measure of profitabilitywas 53.5 percent, well above the analysts’ consensus estimate of 45.9 percent. “The EBITDA margin came in high, and we didn’t expect this level, but we are not expecting them to sustain it for the rest of the year as their latest 15 percent annual salary increase will probably impact results starting in Q2,” said Marise Ananian, vice president of equity research at EFG-

Hermes.

Telecom companies including Vodafone Egypt were forced to cut their lines during the height of the protests that toppled Mubarak on Feb. 11. Telecom Egypt owns a 45 percent stake in British operator Vodafone’s local unit. An administrative court fined Mubarak and two former officials 540 million Egyptian pounds ($90.77 million) on Saturday over the service cuts.

“I firmly believe that the biggest impact (of Egypt’s political turmoil) is behind us. We look forward to the future with confidence,” said Chairman Akil Bashir.

Telecom Egypt said on March 7 that the unrest cost it 17.57 million pounds. Its shares are down 12 percent this year, outperforming a 22 percent drop by the benchmark Egyptian EGX30 index. The company said the number of fixed-line subscribers was flat year-on-year at 9.3 million and it expanded its share of the ADSL market to 63 percent from 61 percent, helping increase internet and data revenues by 33 percent.

“I believe they will use the cash they have to increase their dividend and that they will not go for acquisitions for the moment,” said Ananian at EFG, which rates the stock a “buy”. —Reuters

mism, tipping a bounce in the June quarter due to resilient domestic demand and private consumption and recovery in the disaster-hit north.

“You actually had domestic demand up 1.3 percent, in stark contrast to the headline number, which was weighed down enormously by the disruptions to exporters,” said Westpac economist Huw McKay. “The economy is relatively strong, backed up by a very tight labor market, and this is a temporary disruption.” The government last month forecast growth of 2.25 percent in 2010-11, recovering strongly to 4.0 percent the following year.—AFP

BEIJING: A sales assistant waits for customers at her booth displaying various food products during the China International Meat Industry Exhibition yesterday. —AP

Citadel swings to loss CAIRO: Egyptian private equity firm Citadel Capital swung to a net loss last year after it wrote down the value of underperforming oil and gas assets, the company said yesterday. Citadel also said it had not received any direct acquisition offer. Traders had cited market talk on Tuesday that a Dubai-based firm may be eyeing Citadel, which had pushed up the share price. Citadel said it made a consolidated net loss of $241.7 million. It did not give a comparative figure, but last year it reported net profit of $38.6 million. The company said two oil facilities it was involved with were sitting on “very substantial” reserves but technical challenges had stalled efforts to start production, prompting the firm to take a conservative

stance towards the operations.

“Both oil and gas platforms will continue to operate, and management is supportive of efforts to reach a technical solution that will allow reserves to be brought into production,” Citadel said.

The portfolio net asset value of Citadel’s principle investments fell 29 percent from the first half of 2010 to $857.8 million due to the oil platform impairments. Assets under management grew 9.9 percent to $4 billion.

“Management has also opted to refrain from providing guidance on the value of Citadel Capital’s asset management business as a result of the current lack of visibility on the fundraising and exit climate,” Citadel said.— Reuters

DUBAI: Emirates launched a five year $1 billion bond in an upsized offering yesterday at the lower end of its initial price guidance, four banking sources said.

The bond launched at 330 basis points over midswaps, the sources, who declined to be identified, said. Final price guidance for the bond was given in the range of 330 basis points to 337.5 basis points over midswaps. The bond is expected to price later in the day.

The deal was upsized to $1 billion on strong demand. Reuters had earlier reported that the airline was planning to raise $750 million from the sale.

Three market sources said order

books for the bond were in excess of $5 billion, indicating huge demand for the issue. As a result, the bond is expected to perform well in secondary trading. “This is a very strong showing by the airline and highlights the improved liquidity in the markets now. This kind of investor appetite may prompt more Gulf corporates to tap the market,” said a fund manager based in the region. Emirates, one of the world’s fastest-growing airlines, wrapped up roadshows, which began in Hong Kong on May 23, in Switzerland on Monday. Lead arrangers for the issue are HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and Emirates NBD.—Reuters

DP World makes a splash LONDON: Dubai’s DP World, the world’s fourth biggest port operator, made its debut on the London Stock Exchange yesterday, one week after Swiss commodities giant Glencore joined the market. The stock began trade at 830 pence per share and about 157,500 shares have changed hands so far, according to the LSE website. The government-controlled company, which is already listed on the Nasdaq Dubai, has now become the first Dubai company to obtain a premium London listing. “DP World Limited is pleased to announce that all of its 830 million ordinary shares have today been

admitted to the official list of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the LSE’s main market for listed securities,” the group said in an official statement.

“There was no new capital raised as part of the listing on the London Stock Exchange.

The aim is to provide an additional platform to invest in DP World shares to help attract a broader range of investors.“ DP World shares will also continue to trade under DP World’s existing listing on Nasdaq Dubai with its shares being fully fungible (interchangeable) across both exchanges.”— AFP

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Gulf attitude to US debt unchanged ABU DHABI: Gulf Arab central banks still regard US Treasuries as a safe investment and the United Arab Emirates may consider diversifying reserves to include China’s yuan, the UAE central bank governor said yesterday. Gulf states, which mostly peg their currencies to the US dollar, are major holders of Treasuries and other US assets, with oil-priced in dollars-their major source of revenue.

Asked whether the UAE was considering changing its policy on buying US government bonds after a bill to increase the United States’ debt issuance limit was defeated in Congress, Sultan Nasser Al-Suweidi said: “No, there is no change.” “For the time being, I do not think there is a strong move in GCC (Gulf CoOperation Council) countries following Asian central bank investment policies,” Suweidi told reporters on the sidelines of a financial workshop in the UAE capital. The UAE central bank re-started purchases of for-

UAE may consider yuan reserves eign securities in May 2010, after reducing its holdings to almost zero following the 2008 global financial crisis.

It held 80 billion dirhams ($22 billion) worth of foreign paper in March, almost 44 percent of its total reserves, slightly down from 82.1 billion dirhams in February, data show. “It is a treasury department policy. There are guidelines that are reviewed from time to time. If there is a need to move into Treasuries in a bigger way that would be discussed and decided,” Suweidi said. US lawmakers defeated on Tuesday a bill to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit without conditions. So far, markets are little concerned by the possibility of default on what is viewed as one of the world’s safest investments. Asian central banks have

stepped up purchases of dollar-based foreign reserves to combat currency appreciation and keep exports competitive.

YUAN RESERVES Asked if the UAE, the world’s No.3 oil exporter, might consider diversifying reserves into the Chinese yuan, Suweidi said it depended on China relaxing its currency controls. “It depends on the Chinese themselves because they are not yet prepared to allow the yuan to be a reserve currency,” he said. “If China relaxed controls then that will go to the investment committee within the treasury department of the central bank and then they will make a decision.” The market mostly assumes that convertibility of China’s

yuan is some years off, but the currency has gradually grown more accessible and there have been signs of Asian central banks showing an interest in buying yuan-denominated bonds.

Trade between the six Gulf Arab countries-the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain-and China stands at around $100 billion, the UAE foreign minister said in May. Suweidi earlier told the workshop that the OPEC member needs to increase efforts to create a local debt market. “As for liquidity, the difficulty lies in the fact that there are no sufficient government debt instruments. It will be important to double efforts locally to create an active market for government bonds as well as high quality corporate bonds,” he said. The UAE is in the final stages of approving a law that will allow the Gulf state to issue its first ever federal sovereign bonds and create a local debt market. — Reuters

Amadeus Kuwait sponsors 50 Travel Agents to ATM KUWAIT: Amadeus Kuwait, represented by the Automated Systems Company, sponsored 50 local travel agency partners to the biggest travel trade show in the region, Arabian Travel Market Dubai, to experience the latest products and solutions yet to be launched in Kuwait. The participants had the opportunity to explore how better content and solutions can drive their business results, with a sneak preview of the new breadth of Amadeus non-air content, and demonstrations of the customized and customer-focused IT solutions for the Travel and Tourism Market that match and support the unique business needs.

“The ATM Experience trip gave the travel agent a chance to attend the main regional Travel and Tourism event. Agents experienced and witnessed how large the industry is and where it is heading,” said Hani Al Salem, General Manager, Amadeus Kuwait. “As the leader in the Travel and Tourism Technology Market, we want to offer our partners not just our industry leading products and solutions but want them to be a part of a knowledge experience. Our travel agent partners also had the chance to network and interact with their peers and participated in various discussions that will drive the business forward.”

Exclusive travel packages for NBK premium cardholders KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) offers its Premium credit cardholders special travel packages to Malaysia on Singapore Airlines in collaboration with Qiblah Travel & Tourism (Dnata Holidays) till August 31st, 2011. NBK Premium credit cardholders will enjoy a special offer on travel packages to Malaysia on Singapore Airlines when booking their summer vacations at Qiblah Travel & Tourism (Dnata Holidays), the country’s most innovative supplier of air travel services. This promotion includes special offers on selected hotels in Malaysia, complimentary airport transfers, free entrance to the top 6 attractions in Singapore, travel vouchers, no surcharges, and guaranteed NBK Rewards points. NBK Premium credit cards include Visa and MasterCard Platinum, Diners Club, Laki Titanium MasterCard, Thahabi World

MasterCard, and Visa Infinite.

NBK Assistant General Manager, Consumer Banking Group, Khaled Falah Al-Ali said: “With this summer holiday season approaching, NBK customers have already started to plan their holidays. Every summer we offer our valued Premium credit cardholders exclusive promotions and this year we have joined hands with Qiblah Travel & Tourism (Dnata Holidays) to offer special holiday packages to our customers”. “It is a good opportunity for NBK Premium credit cardholders to take advantage of this exclusive offer on travel packages to Malaysia with Dnata Holidays this summer,” added Al-Ali. Qiblah Travel & Tourism (Dnata Holidays) offices are located in Kuwait City, Hawalli, Kuwait International Airport and at the National Guard Head Quarters.

Khaled Al Ali

KUWAIT: Emirates NBD Asset Management named ‘Best Fund Management Company’ at Arab Achievement Awards.

Emirates NBD Asset Management: ‘Best Fund Management Company’ Arab Achievement Awards 2011 return.” As a specialist investment manager with expertise in Arabian and global mandates, Emirates NBD Asset Management offers exposure for investors, to regional and global markets. International channels and partnerships, including life insurance platforms and financial intermediaries, also provide access to the Emirates NBD Asset Management funds globally.

The Arab Achievement Awards, which recognize the excellence of companies and institutions in diverse sectors, have become an integral part of the regional business calendar, celebrating the remarkable achievements that have shown exceptional vision, talent and creativity in the Arab region. Award winners include companies and institutions that own, manage and create projects that have had a significant impact on the development and enhancement of the Arab region.

Emirates NBD Asset Management has been regularly nominated for various awards. Its MENA Opportunities Fund was nominated for the Balanced Fund of the Year award at the MENA Fund Manager 2011 Performance Awards. The Emirates Islamic Money Market Fund was nominated for the Best Islamic Investment Product, while Emirates MENA High Income Fund was nominated in the Best Mutual Fund category at Bankers Middle East Products Award 2011. Emirates NBD Asset Management was named Best Asset Manager MENA region in the 2009 MENA Investor Awards and won the award for Best Newcomer at the London Sukuk summit for its innovative closed-ended structure, the Emirates Sukuk Fund No 1 Limited, in the same year. At the 2011 Arab Achievement awards, Emirates NBD Asset Management was also nominated in the category ‘Leader in Islamic Investments.’

KUWAIT: Emirates NBD Asset Management Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary and the asset management arm of Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the Middle East, announced today that it had been named the region’s “Best Fund Management Company,” at the annual Arab Achievement Awards 2011. The award ceremony was held in Abu Dhabi alongside the Arab Investment Summit 2011.

In just over four years, Emirates NBD Asset Management has grown exponentially and is considered among the largest asset managers in the UAE today, managing one of the largest ranges of public mutual funds. With over AED 4.5 billion (US$1.2 billion) of assets under management, the company currently manages 13 different funds across a range of asset classes.

These include its MENA equity and fixed income funds, global risk profiled funds and a complete suite of Shari’a compliant vehicles.

Five of Emirates NBD Asset Management funds are currently rated “A” by Standard & Poors.

“We are delighted to receive the award for Best Fund Management Company, which demonstrates the success of our investment philosophy that has produced superior returns and satisfied clients,” said Deon Vernooy, Senior Executive Officer, Emirates NBD Asset Management. “This award is testament to the strength of our highly-skilled team, with over forty financial specialists from fifteen different countries, bringing together a wide range of expertise from major international markets.”

“Our investment strategies are strongly research-driven and value focused,” he continued. “We believe our success comes from strategic asset allocation, driven by a combination of rigorous quantitative testing and professional qualitative assessment, which leads to the optimal balance between risk and

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

.2725240 .4473070 .3921890 .3218850 .2815320 .2925400 .0060900 .0024910 .0742270 .7230660 .3854650 .0726930 .7080370 .0063380 .0461900

.2777780 .4559310 .3997500 .3280900 .2869600 .2981800 .0062070 .0025390 .0756580 .7370060 .3928960 .0740940 .7216870 .0064600 .0470810

US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian dollars Danish Kroner Swedish Kroner Australian dlr Hong Kong dlr Singapore dlr Japanese yen Indian Rs/KD Sri Lanka rupee Pakistan rupee Bangladesh taka UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi Riyal/KD Omani riyals Philippine Peso

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2732000 .4484170 .3931620 .3226840 .2822310 .0527360 .0441850 .2932670 .0351300 .2219870 .0033580 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0744110 .7248610 .0000000 .0728730 .7097950 .0000000

.2768000 .4543260 .3983430 .3269360 .2859500 .0534310 .0447670 .2971310 .0355930 .2249130 .0034020 .0061850 .0025300 .0032340 .0037920 .0753920 .7344120 .3915130 .0738330 .7191480 .0064370

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka

3.399 6.138 3.200 2.505 3.836 224.040 35.408 3.714

Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash

6.370 9.087 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES 73.456 75.687 715.470 731.440 74.991

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 49.000 46.335 1.260 201.570 388.990 182.700 5.947 35.575

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 275.350 Euro 399.120 Sterling Pound 455.430 Canadian dollar 286.520 Turkish lire 172.800 Swiss Franc 325.280 Australian dollar 294.050 US Dollar Buying 274.150 280.000 142.000 73.000

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 299.000 297.500 731.920 731.920 3.980 3.720 287.800 286.300 540.600 14.100 53.800 167.800 225.100 48.680 46.374 401.000 399.500 36.100 35.950 6.310 6.125

0.033 0.239 0.241 3.480 390.310 0.186 93.860 47.400 4.320 229.800 1.866 51.300 714.830 3.310 6.590 76.140 73.480 225.070 43.190 2.647 458.000 45.100 327.000 5.800 9.460 198.263 75.040 275.600 1.230

0.033

388.970 0.185 93.860 3.840 228.300

714.650 3.230 6.380 75.710 73.480 225.070 43.190 2.505 456.000 325.500 5.800 9.280 74.940 275.200

GOLD 10 Tola

GOLD 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

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

1,578.720

Sterling Pound US Dollar

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 456.000 275.200

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

Selling Rate 276.700 286.245 446.875 391.755 312.706 732.342 75.312 75.980 73.756 390.866 46.518 2.514

Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

6.124 3.236 3.758 6.368 678.726 3.479 9.216 6.036 3.920 91.000

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. 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) 275.100 3.215 6.135 2.515 3.735 6.410 74.995 73.560 731.400 46.335 459.700 0.00003280 3.910 1.550 390.900 5.750 402.700 290.100

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 274.750 399.300 455.800 286.100 3.415 6.132 46.315 2.505 3.701 6.360 3.200 731.900 74.900 73.400

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BUSINESS

Oil slips; Economic outlook for US, Europe, China weighs LONDON: Oil fell yesterday, as negative economic data clouded the demand outlook, although losses were contained by dollar weakness, supply disruption in the United States and violence in the Middle East. The ADP national employment report showed that payrolls added just 38,000 jobs in May and were the lowest since September 2010, disappointing investors and shining a spotlight on the lackluster US economy and prospec ts for demand there. This followed data that showed European manufacturing growth slipped sharply and Chinese factories expanded in May at their slowest pace in at least nine months.

By 1228 GMT US crude fell 29 cents to reach $102.41 a barrel, hav-

ing reached a three -week high reached the previous session. Brent crude traded down 42 cents at $116.31 a barrel. The sell-off in commodities earlier in May led to Brent posting a 7.3 percent loss for the month, its biggest monthly percentage loss in a year. On Tuesday, US consumer confidence slid in May as consumers turned more pessimistic on the outlook for the labor market and inflation worries rose, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday. “There’s general newsflow that’s negative, the data indicates that there’s a sof t spot in industrial growth and this should pressure commodity prices,” said Steven Bell, director at hedge fund GLC.

DOLLAR, DISRUPTION SUPPORT Oil’s price falls were muted as weaker dollar pressured commodity prices. Optimism that a deal would be done to deliver Greece a fresh aid package lifted the euro to a fourweek high against the dollar. The dollar also retreated on the US ADP data. A weaker dollar makes oil cheaper for those holding other currencies. “If euro/dollar closes above a 50-day moving average it will lead to a bullish trend for the euro from here and there could be more positive momentum for oil,” Thorbjorn Bak Jensen, oil market analyst at A/S Global Risk in Copenhagen said. Also supporting crude prices, pipeline disruptions to US supply have hit the world’s largest oil consumer just

as it enters the summer driving season.

TransCanada Corp said it will take several days to re-open its 591,000 barrel per day (bpd) Keystone oil pipeline to the Cushing, Oklahoma, oil hub after the second spill in less than a month forced it to shut at the weekend. Enbridge I nc restored power yesterday to three pumping stations on a 290,000 bpd pipeline that had lost electricity supply after severe storms. Tension in the Middle East also supported oil as investors worried about possible supply disruption. Street fighting raged in Yemen’s capital on Tuesday ending a tenuous ceasefire between tribal groups and forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and edging the

impoverished Arab state closer to civil war.

Flashpoints in Yemen have multiplied this week with fighting in the capital, government troops gunning down protesters in Taiz in the south and a battle with Al- Qaeda and Islamic militants in the coastal city of Zinjibar. Yemen is a small independent producer but the concern for oil markets is of chaos creating a haven for Al-Qaeda militants, spreading to neighbor and the world’s biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia. Next week investors’ attention will turn to an OPEC meeting to see whether any changes to production are on the cards from major oil producers, though a Reuters survey found that no change was likely. —Reuters

OPEC seen ignoring West’s call to act 13/13 analysts see no formal change in targets LONDON: OPEC is unlikely to bow to western pressure to officially raise oil output at its meeting next week, with members instead expected to act independently of the group, a Reuters poll showed yesterday. All 13 oil analysts and traders surveyed by Reuters predicted the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would roll over its current output agreement, untouched since the group’s record cut in December 2008. “They will simply sit on the fence with oil back near $100 barrel,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity markets strategy for BNP Paribas. “Increases in individual production will be discretionary.”

Brent crude oil prices climbed above $127 a barrel in April, their highest since the record rally of 2008, as civil war in Libya cut exports.

The West’s energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency, has since urged producers to boost supplies to help lower fuel costs and protect the economic recovery.

OPEC has maintained the market is well-supplied and has not called an emergency meeting. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members have instead pumped more oil of their own accord. “Saudi Arabian output has been fluctuating a lot so they are trying to supply outside of the OPEC structure and I don’t see that

changing,” said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix.

LIBYA QUESTION Several analysts polled by Reuters said higher output might at some point be formalized by the group, but that this was unlikely in the next meeting given political tensions, including those over Libyan representation. “I think it will be very difficult to formally change the OPEC quotas with Libya up in the air in addition to all the usual problems within the organization,” said Adam Sieminski, chief energy economist at Deutsche Bank.

The whereabouts of Libya’s National Oil Corp head Shokri Ghanem, usually the leader

of Libya’s OPEC delegation, were unclear. The Libyan rebels’ finance and oil minister has also said he hoped to represent the country at the June meeting. It was also unclear who will represent Nigeria and Iran, which holds the rotating one-year OPEC presidency. Most analysts said there would be no immediate price impact if targets remained unchanged but added that this could be bullish in the medium to long term. “The market could be more prone to price shocks and volatility. The geopolitical risk premium was nearly wiped out in May,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov of VTB Capital.—Reuters

‘LG Conceptualife 2011’ Etihad welcomes 6th and 7th class of graduate managers ABU DHABI: Etihad Airways has welcomed its sixth and seventh groups of Emirati graduate managers, who have commenced training at the airline’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi.

The two groups of 21 Emiratis, 14 male and seven female, have come to Etihad from all corners of the UAE and will undertake a 21month training graduate management development program (GMDP). This involves a nine-month workplace orientation in key Etihad departments, followed by a six month placement with a specified team. Their last phase involves a business-based project.

James Hogan, Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, said: “At Etihad Airways, our priority is to develop UAE national talent, ensuring that all our Emirati trainees are fully prepared to take on senior roles across our expanding network. “Our Emiratisation program continues to expand at an extraordinary pace. Over the next 21 months, these two groups of talented young UAE nationals will learn vital information about Etihad and the airline industry from various departments in Etihad. Our previous GMDP groups have been successfully deployed in positions across our expanding network and are an ideal example for our new GMDP groups to follow.”

The GMDP training involves a combination of classroom learning and hands-on experience. The work placements include outstation airport operations, customer service, sales and marketing, reservations, pricing

and ticketing, network and schedule planning, finance and human resources. Upon successful completion of the program, the graduates will attain an internationally recognized and accredited post graduate diploma.

Asma Abu Baker Al Jailani, a member of Etihad’s sixth group of GMDP trainees, said: “I am really excited to join Etihad’s GMDP program. It is a great opportunity for all of us to work and learn in such a professional work environment. The program is an excellent building block for our careers and future in the airline industry.”

The Etihad Airways Emiratisation Program offers a wide range of training opportunities for UAE nationals. The airline also offers an English language training program, cadet pilot scheme and a technical engineering development program as well as the graduate management development program to UAE nationals. Etihad also recently launched a call centre in Al Ain, managed and operated by only UAE national women. The sixth GMDP group members are: Rashid Omar, Saad Al Omaira, Adel Al Maghrebi, Shuaib Al Ali, Hasan Al Hashemi, Majed Al Neaimi, Hassan Al Yousuf, Mohammad Al Sarkal, Mohamed Yahia Madour, Fatma Al Meharii, Ahlam Al Marzouqui, Fahad Al Hosani. The seventh GMDP group members are: Khalaf Al Shehhi, Marwan Al Raeesi, Mohannad Al Shehhi, Hisham Omar Saleh, Fatima Al Hashemi, Shaima Ismail Lari, Asma Al Jailani, Noor Al Ramahi, Hessa Mohamed Ali.

Citybus, City Centre offer everyone chance to win KUWAIT: City Group, Kuwait’s leading listed public transport company and operators of Cit ybus, today announced its new promotion in collaboration with City Centre, giving ever yone a chance to win exiting prizes. Citybus has sought to provide its customers with the best services that enhance their customer satisfaction experience and has therefore teamed up with Cit y Centre. Cit y Centre will be offering every passenger a chance to enjoy a 25% discount on garments shopping and 10% discount on all household items purchased at City Centre, from June 5th to June 19th and also other exciting offers in the month of June 2011.

In addition to this, anyone purch a si ng a C i t yb us p a s s fro m th e Citybus outlet located in City Centre Shuwaikh, will receive one days FREE ex tra travel on Cit ybus routes.

Comm e nt i ng on t h i s p ro m o ti o n , Richard Wood’s City Group CEO said: “As a leading provider of public trans-

port in Kuwait, we always seek new ways to fur ther enhance our customer experiences, whether through promotions or discounts, our offers are tailored to satisfy our customer’s needs..”

The excitement doesn’t end here!

All Citybus travellers purchasing their passes during the month of June are automatically submitted into a draw, getting a chance to win ultimate prizes including..... First prize winners will benefit from a return flight and KD 100 cash, second prize is a KD 150 City Centre voucher and third prize is KD 100 City Centre voucher. Fourth place prize winners will receive KD 50 City Centre vouchers, with an additional 5 people winning one month free travel with Citybus! City Group CO O M u ay y ad Qub b aj added “Presenting these promotions is our way of ensuring we reward our loyal passengers whilst fulfilling our customers’ needs in providing value and affordable local travel.”

KUWAIT: The regional finals of LG Conceptualife 2011 drew to an exciting finish last night as 12 aspiring designers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Egypt and Iran, presented their vision for the future of eco-friendly kitchens and appliances to an expert panel of judges. In its second successful year and under the theme of ‘Green and Futuristic’, Tolga Tekin from Turkey’s Marmara University in Istanbul was awarded first place by skillfully amalgamating basic interpretations of sand and water with innovative energy solutions. In addition to winning a fully-paid one-month internship at Dubai-based design firm XArchitects, Tekin also received $5,000 in cash and an LG Optimus smartphone.

When asked how he felt, excited 22-year old Tekin said, “I still cannot believe I am holding this award - I am on top of the world and now, am even more confident that I will be a successful designer who can make a difference. I thank LG from the bottom of my hear t for this opportunity and allowing me to realize my dream.” The 1st runner up was also from Turkey Serdar Soyal from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul while the second runner up prize went to Karyn Schott from Greenside Design Center in Johannesburg, South Africa. In addition to an LG Optimus smar tphone, they were both awarded with $3,000 and $2,000 in cash respectively from LG. Commenting on the high levels of creativity and talent showcased at the LG Conceptualife

KUWAIT: LG Conceptualife first place winner Tolga Tekin receiving his award from K W Kim, President, LG Electronics, MEA Region. competition, K W Kim, President, LG Electronics, MEA Region, said: “It was a difficult task to pick the top three designs. We had a powerhouse of talent and LG is proud to provide a forum for these gifted students to showcase their sk ill. Most of the designs were presented as concepts but it is only a matter of time before these futuristic green kitchen solutions are recognized and adopted. I am pleased to see how well our aspiring designers of tomorrow understand the importance of an environmentally sound kitchen design and appliances which is also one of LG’s key objectives.”

Tolga Tekin’s winning design titled ‘Waveset’ Each of the 12 finalists were invited to present and explain their kitchen design concepts to an expert panel who evaluated their work based on uniqueness of design and integration of innovative green features, optimum utilization of kitchen space, environmental friendliness, usage of materials and functionality. The expert panel of judges consisted of K W Kim, President, LG Electronics, MEA Region; Ahmed Al Ali, Founder and Executive Chairman of XArchitects and Annie Cudmore, Editor of InsideOut Magazine. “I particularly liked Tolga Tekin’s design, as it integrated technology with cutting-edge design albeit with a human touch. I felt this design was the most applicable and it would be very interest-

ing to push this concept forward,” added X-Architects Ahmed Al Ali. “Even though the contestants were from six different countries, it was very interesting to see similar themes running through all the designs, such as indoor gardens and integrated appliances with functionality being key,” commented panelist, Annie Cudmore. LG Conceptualife was established in 2010 as an annual event to provide up and coming design students with an outlet to demonstrate their talent and harness their creativity by showcasing the future of kitchen design and appliances. Drawing hundreds of entries from across the region, the finale saw submissions narrowed to the top 12 entries.

IKEA introduces Arabic portal for Arabic speaking customers KUWAIT: IKEA Kuwait announced yesterday the launch of the Arabic Portal on the IKEA website. The new portal is designed to offer Arabic speaking customers a more personalized and convenient online experience while accessing the website. The Arabic Portal includes all areas that are available in English, such as the Arabic Catalogue, a view of all products and departments along with a service to ask questions and receive answers from IKEA staff promptly via email, the IKEA newsletter, IKEA card and the latest news on IKEA and new offers. The portal also gives more convenience to IKEA customers by providing a shopping list functionality, which can be printed, saved and emailed, in effort to offer a more simplified and efficiently planned

shopping experience.

As a means of catering to the Arabic speaking community, enhancing customer convenience and comfort, the availability of a portal in the 2 most widely spoken languages in Kuwait allows for a wider range of customers’ ability to access the website at any time. The Arabic platform also offers the ease of finding information about 3500 IKEA products out of 7500 products available at IKEA store. The launch of the Arabic portal reinforces IKEA store’s ongoing commitment to provide its customers with full hands on convenience, supporting their motive to enjoy a simple, and a streamlined shopping experience. The Arabic portal is available for access on IKEA Kuwait’s Website www.ikea.com.kw

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Non Kuwaiti sector boosts market GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) closed almost unchanged on the first session of this month after marginal gains seen in major indices. The Non Kuwaiti sector gave good boost to market backed

by Bahrain-based, banks. June started so slow but base is excepted to accelerate as investors and portfolio will start take new positions before listed companies start releasing 1H2011 financial results.

Market Indices Reflecting the trend, Global General Index (GGI), market weighted, ended the day up by 0.02 percent, at 196.61 point.

Market Capitalization was up for the day at KD32.23bn. On the other hand, KSE Price Index closed at 6,390.1 point, adding 11.90 points (0.19 percent) to its previous close.

During the session, 108 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards advancers as 44 equities advanced versus 24 that retreated.

Daily Trading Activity Trading activity was down this session. The trades conducted in the services and investment sectors. Total volume traded was down by 0.35 percent with 129.06mn shares changing hands at a total value of KD18.88mn (33.85 percent lower compared to the day before). The services sector was the volume leader yesterday, accounting for 34.26 percent of total shares. The services sector was the value leader, with 33.40 percent of total traded value. Yiaco Medical Co was the most active in terms of values of shares traded during yesterday’s session, with 5.39mn shares exchanged at an aggregate value of KD2.87m.

Top Gainers and Biggest Decliners In terms of top gainers, Al Safat Energy Holding took the top spot

for the day, adding 8.93 percent and closed at KD0.061. On the other hand, Mena Real Estate Company shed 12.05 percent and closed at KD0.037, making it the biggest decliner in the market.

Sectors-wise Shuffling in the constituents of the 10 largest capitalized stocks took place for the month of June.

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK ) took over Zain Company being the heaviest capitalized stock in the market, with a market capitalization of KD4.75bn. At the same time, Kuwait Cable Vision Company was replaced by International Resorts Company in the Global Small Cap. Index (Low

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

10). The index closed flat by end of the day while the Large Cap. Index (Top 10) ended the day down by 0.42 percent.

Sector-wise, six out of the eight sectors edged higher during the day. Non Kuwaiti stocks led the pack of advancers during the day, adding 1.60 percent in sector gains. United Gulf Bank was the biggest percentage advancer in the sector, clocking an impressive 8.93 percent in gains. Its highest level since April 10, 2011.

Elsewhere, Egypt Kuwait Holding Co plans to inject USD35mn to partly fund a phosphate fertilizer project that will be implemented in Egypt by its unit The National Co for Fertilizers at a total cost of

EGP1.2bn ($201.5mn). The scrip ended the day flat at KD0.370. On the counter side, Banking stocks led the losers with a 0.57 percent pull back. The sector’s performance was undermined by 1.92 percent slide in the equity price of Kuwait Finance House (KFH).

Corporate News Kuwait Livestock Trading and Transport Company announced yesterday, the arrival of 35,000 Australian-born sheep. The shipment is to provide the needs of the local market before Ramadan, Acting Assistant Director for the company ’s local operations Mohammad Al-Salem said in a press statement.

Toyota targets output at 90% TOKYO: Japanese auto giant Toyota said yesterday its domestic output would return to about 90 percent of pre-quake levels in June thanks to a faster-thanexpected recovery of parts supplies. The forecast, more positive than a previous estimate of 70 percent production levels, will be a huge improvement on April when output was just 21.6 percent of that in the same month last year. Production recovered to around 70 percent in May as suppliers-many of whom were impacted by the March 11 quake and tsunami catastrophe-were able to restore operations faster than expected.

There are no precise figures for production abroad, but expectations for June are between 70 and 100 percent, Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco said. Production will still be 70 percent in North America while almost all factories in Europe will operate at 100 percent, he said. The March 11 disaster hammered production, shattered supply chains and crippled electricity-generating facilities, including the Fukushima nuclear power plant at the centre of an ongoing atomic emergency.

Amid the power and parts shortages, Toyota had slowed output or closed factories temporarily in Japan and abroad.

Despite yesterday ’s more upbeat announcement, Toyota shares fell 0.58 percent to 3,380 yen, as investors had already priced in the faster-than-expected production recovery. News reports said that, for the whole of the current fiscal year to March 2012, Toyota’s global output would match last year’s as the company is set to increase production from late 2011. Recent Japanese auto industry data has highlighted the massive impact of the quake, but also pointed to a better-thanexpected recovery.

On Tuesday the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JADA) said production and exports suffered record drops of more than 60 percent each in April as a result of the twin disaster. The trade and industry ministry, citing production plans by manufacturers, said Tuesday that output of transport equipment including cars was to rise 35.7 percent month-on-month in May and by a further 36.7 percent in June. New data

from the JADA showed yesterday domestic sales of new cars, trucks and buses in May fell 37.8 percent from a year earlier, an improvement from a record drop of 51 percent logged in April.

The latest drop was milder as auto production had improved, an association spokesman said. The disaster is set to increase demand for new cars in the longer run. “Lots of cars were washed away in the tsunami in the Tohoku (northeastern) region, and it’s certain that there will be surging reconstruction demand,” said Tatsuya Mizuno, who heads the Mizuno Credit Agency. “Production may not be able to catch up with the demand, resulting in missed sales opportunities for automakers.” To overcome parts shortages, Mizuno said, carmakers had been buying from factories outside the disaster zone or from abroad.

However, he warned that there could be problems as some electronic car parts are made by only a handful of firms. “If one company that has an overwhelming market share does not function, it hampers automobile production,” he said. “It will take some time (for automakers) to achieve full production,” he said, adding that it would probably take half a year or more for vehicle manufacturing to return to normal. Electronics firm Renesas Electronics, which has a 40 percent global share of microcomputers used in autos, resumed partial operation yesterday at its quake-damaged chip factory in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo.

But it will not be able to begin shipments until late August as microchips need to go through several manufacturing and test processes. Looking at the wider economy, Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa said industrial supply disruptions were easing more quickly than expected, which would help the economy return to moderate growth in October-March. Shirakawa told a conference in Tokyo that he still believed the economy would stay under “strong downward pressure” for the time being. But he said “the economy is expected to return to the moderate recovery path from the second half” of the fiscal year, Dow Jones Newswires reported.—AFP

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business

Disappointed investors dump Nokia as share price falls HELSINKI: The world’s top mobile phone maker Nokia saw its share price plunge to a 13-year low yesterday as spooked investors dumped stock following a dramatic downgrade of its second quarter outlook. The mobile phone giant’s share price dropped more than 10 percent around midday to 4.27 euros a share, before narrowing its losses slightly in afternoon trading as its share price inched up to 4.38 euros. That followed market blood-letting on Tuesday when the stock hemorrhaged 17.5 percent of value. The two days of sharp losses left Nokia’s share price at the lowest level since early 1998, right before it became the industry leader.

Analysts said the steep drop was due to a sense of betrayal among investors over the company’s announcement Tuesday that its second quarter sales would be far worse than previously expected and that it could no longer give a fullyear forecast. “It was quite a shock. Nokia just had an annual general meeting and they didn’t give

any hint of this, in fact, they gave the impression that everything was just fine,” the chairman of Finland’s Shareholders’ Association Timo Rothovius said. A number of investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Bernstein Research, RBS and Credit Suisse meanwhile downgraded their Nokia ratings.

Nokia said Tuesday its sharp outlook downgrade was part of a rocky transition period as it phases out its Symbian smartphone platform in favour of a tie-in with Microsoft Phone, and hopes to regain lost ground when it starts shipping its first Microsoft handsets at the end of this year.

“The problem is that they are losing market share at such a pace that there’s a risk that consumers won’t be interested in buying Nokia phones anymore,” said Rothovius. While it remains the world leader, Nokia has in recent years seen its global market share dwindle amid harsher competition in the high-end smartphone sector. Upon announcing its first quarter results, the company

said its market share had fallen to 29 percent from 33 percent in the first quarter of 2010, and compared with 40 percent in the first half of 2008.

Pohjola Bank analyst Hannu Rauhala said yesterday it was impossible to predict how the Microsoft tie-in would affect Nokia’s performance after this turbulent year. “There is nothing more than a preliminary schedule for the new products.

We don’t know what kind of cost structure there is, what kind of ecosystem it will be, or how consumers will accept them,” he said, adding that there was “a great temptation to be pessimistic” about the fourth quarter. He also pointed to the unpredictability of a global mobile market in upheaval, with markets, devices, companies and usage changing so fast that it is creating a great deal of opportunity “but lots of uncertainty too.”

Rothovius meanwhile said he believed the plummeting share price could be a short-term adjustment, and that Finnish investors are hoping Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop can turn the

company’s fortunes around by fixing the mistakes made prior to his arrival last September. “I think Finnish investors are looking at the next few years, and are hopeful that the new strategy will push the share price up, and if it does, then today’s share price is a bargain,” said Rothovius, adding however that there was obviously a real risk that the strategy would fail.

Finland’s financial media meanwhile seemed more pessimistic, with respected business webzine Taloussanomat pointing out that Danske Bank has warned Nokia’s share price could drop as low as 2.20 euros. And Merina Salminen, a business columnist for the daily Kauppalehti, questioned yesterday whether Nokia was really in control of its strategy shift, wondering whether Elop, a former Microsoft executive, might quit if the going gets tougher. “Elop has changed jobs like some people change shirts. One phone call and the Canadian is gone, then what do we do?” she wrote. — AFP

World factory growth slips Euro, China PMIs signal slower factory growth globally

ATHENS: An unemployed protester gestures after setting up a tent outside the Finance Minister’s office in Athens yesterday. — AP

Greek state firms could be poison for investors ATHENS: Greece has to cut through a thicket of outdated regulations and labor laws if its ambitious privatization drive is to raise anything near the sums needed to avoid default and jump-start its ailing economy.

Having failed to sell a single cent’s worth of assets since getting a 110-billion euro EU/IMF bailout last year, Greece has pledged to speed up privatizations to convince its increasingly exasperated lenders it is still serious about the rescue plan. But unless it makes some tough choices in the run-up to the sales, such as higher power prices or allowing redundant staff to be fired at former state firms, Greece may fail to attract investor interest to raise the intended 50 billion euros.

“If things don’t change, state companies will be impossible to sell or they will go at just 10 percent of their value,” said Stefanos Manos, a former finance minister and author of a hugely successful privatization of mobile telephony in the 1990s. The European Union and IMF are pressing Greece to conduct largescale privatizations to raise funds for reducing its huge debt. They want Athens to follow the example of Macedonian King Alexander the Great, who in ancient times solved the apparently intractable problem of the Gordian knot by slicing through it with one stroke of his sword. Greece may face a far more laborious task.

UNPALATABLE CHOICES Workers at several companies slated for privatization are virtually unsackable, owing to protective labour rules dating from monopoly days-off-putting for investors who might need to wield the axe to squeeze out a profit.

Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, which already owns 30 percent of former telecoms monopoly OTE, may use the labor

issue as a lever to agree to buy the state’s remaining 16 percent stake.

Deutsche Telekom has already written down 900 million euros of its 3.8 billion euro OTE investment. Some analysts say it is not realistic to think that Greece will be able to sell stakes in state-controlled lenders Postal Savings Bank and ATEbank, which are up to their necks in toxic Greek government bonds.

“No foreigner will come in and touch that unless the portfolio is written down by at least 50 percent,” said Tania Gold, a banking analyst at UniCredit. “I don’t see how a foreign bank would justify that to their shareholders.” Greece also faces unpalatable choices if it is serious about finding a strategic partner for its biggest power producer PPC, in which it wants to sell a 17 percent stake. Before investors dare dip a toe into Greece’s energy market, the government will have to stop regulating household electricity prices, which are among the lowest in Europe.

Greece has also yet to explain how it will comply with an EU order to scrap PPC’s monopoly over production of coal, the country’s cheapest energy source.

Also unclear is how PPC, one of Europe’s heaviest polluters, will cope with about 1 billion euros a year in extra carbon costs from 2013. “Visibility for investors is currently zero,” said Paris Mantzavras, an Athens-based energy analyst at HSBC. Regulatory obstacles might also complicate the sale of the most precious jewel in Greece’s privatization crown, sports betting monopoly OPAP with a market value of 4 billion euros.

Competitors may cry foul over government plans to extend OPAP’s license before selling its remaining 34 percent stake in the company, a move that might lead to court challenges which would unnerve investors. —Reuters

LONDON: Factory growth eased in Europe and Asia in May, surveys showed yesterday, feeding concerns that the world’s main economic engines are cooling fast as richer countries curtail orders. Purchasing managers indexes (PMI), measuring the activities of thousands of factories across the world, sank to multi-month lows in China and Europe, where even regional pacesetters France and Germany showed fresh signs of sagging.

The surveys for South Korea, India and Taiwan also showed the pace of factory activity easing, while US figures due later yesterday are expected to complete the picture of global manufacturing surge that may be running out of stream.

Some slackening was expected as quakeand tsunami-damaged Japan struggled to churn out parts for the automotive and hightech industries. Lackluster growth and consumption in the United States and Europe have also restrained demand. “I would be loathe to say there’s a sharp slowdown in the pipeline, but some momentum seems to be lost,” said Mark Miller, global macroeconomist at Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets. The Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI for May slipped to 54.6 from 58.0 in April, its 20th month above the 50 mark that signifies growth but showing a sharp pull-back on fresh signs of decline in the currency bloc’s debt-laden periphery.

Spanish manufacturers returned to contraction, while Italian and Irish factories saw a marked slowdown in growth. Supply-chain pressures dented the French and German PMIs, which had been hovering near all-time highs. Survey compiler Markit described the declines in peripheral countries as worrying, suggesting they could face growing difficulty in cutting their enormous public deficits. “In the case of the euro zone, some of the volatility you’re seeing in government bond markets doesn’t help, which is clearly a threat to growth via potentially higher longer-term interest rates,” said Lloyds Bank’s Miller.

Higher interest rates have already had a marked effect on growth in emerging Asia, where investors are nervously watching for any evidence that the slowdown there is worsening as central bankers tighten credit

TOKYO: Photo shows cars for export park at a Yokohama port, south of Tokyo. — AP conditions to combat inflation. That was most evident than in China, where the official PMI touched a 9-month low, below economists’ forecasts as new orders fell sharply. A private survey hit its lowest mark in 10 months, held back by power shortages and a clampdown on credit.

SILVER LINING If there was a silver lining, it was that factory cost inflation declined in most of the surveys-both in Asia and Europe-which will ease pressure on central bankers to ratchet up inflation-fighting measures. In the euro zone, there were clear signs that inflation pressures had started to ease. “The brighter news was that recent falls in commodity prices helped drive the greatest easing in input cost inflation since November 2008,” said Chris Williamson, Markit’s chief economist. “The combination of weaker inflationary pressures and the steep easing in the pace of growth may encourage policymakers to hold off on interest rate hikes until a clearer picture of the health of the recovery appears.”

India was a key exception as price pressures showed no sign of easing, leading economists to predict the central bank will continue on its tightening course. India’s PMI dipped to 57.5 in May from 58.0 in April. In China,

Crisis-hit Belarus seeks emergency IMF loan Soaring prices trigger protest

Portuguese emigrate in droves as crisis bites LISBON: Following the footsteps of their grandparents five decades earlier, thousands of unemployed Portuguese youth, in many cases armed with university degrees, are packing their bags and moving abroad to escape the country’s economic crisis. Up until February Marlene and Pedro Frazao Pinheiro, both of them 25, lived in Entrocamento in the centre of Portugal where they worked as nurses.

She had a fixed-term contract at a private company; he worked in the public sector, but only part-time and without a contract. “We were ‘precarious’ workers as they say,” Marlene said by telephone from Northampton about 100 kilometers north of London where they now live.

“Our situation was not the worst but we did not see a future for ourselves. We wanted to be able to have a house some day. When we decided to leave, everything moved very quickly,” she added.

“We put our resumes on the Internet and within a week, we were both hired in a public hospital and a permanent contract.

Today Marlene, who graduated three years ago, earns 1,900 pounds (2,200

euros/3,100 dollars) per month: double what she earned in Portugal. There are “hundreds” of Portuguese nurses working in England, according to Marlene.

“We receive many requests from former classmates or colleagues who want to know how to migrate too. We chose England, because we speak English. But we have colleagues who went to France or Switzerland.” Websites and blogs devoted to migration have sprung up, on which people post requests for advice and share their experiences.

Those interested in moving abroad are nurses as well as psychologists, architects and engineers.

Most want to go to another European country but many are tempted to move to Angola, an oil-and-diamond rich former Portuguese colony in Africa which is booming as it rebuilds after an almost three-decade civil war. Angola, which is recruiting foreign civil engineers and architects to meet demand for major public works projects, is home to over 90,000 Portuguese citizens. The size of this new wave of immigration is difficult to measure. —AFP

where authorities have already taken measures to curb inflation, economists drew a distinction between the current slowdown suggested by the PMIs and the 2008 slump, when the financial crisis decimated global trade. “It is important to point out that China is experiencing an economic slowdown, not a collapse like in the aftermath of Lehman’s bankruptcy,” said Dong Tao, a Credit Suisse economist.

HSBC’s China PMI dipped to 51.6 in May from April’s 51.8, holding above the 50-point level which is the dividing line between growth and contraction.

The government’s data told a similar story.

New export orders dipped to 51.1, suggesting demand was weakening as China’s biggest export destinations-Europe and the United States-grapple with slowing economic growth. The batch of surveys out of Europe emphasized that. British manufacturing PMI hit a 20-month low in May of 52.1 from 54.6 in April, blamed on a weaker domestic marketespecially for consumer goods. US ISM Manufacturing PMI due at 1400 GMT is expected to slip to 57.7 in May from 60.4 the previous month. A raft of recent data on the property market, consumers and labor force have suggested the US economy’s soft patch could become protracted. — Reuters

LAHORE: Pakistani vendors wait for customers at a local vegetable market in Lahore. The IMF has said that Pakistan needs to improve debt management and broaden its tax base after talks on its $11.3 billion loan program to help Islamabad deal with financial challenges. — AFP

MINSK: Belarus said yesterday it had asked the International Monetary Fund for an emergency loan of up to $8 billion, hoping to stave off a financial crisis in the ex-Soviet republic. The government announcement came a day after it froze prices on a number of basic foodstuffs until July 1 and a week after a 36 percent devaluation of the rouble failed to persuade banks and Belarusians to resume trading at official rates. It signals the growing economic pressure on President Alexander Lukashenko, who spent heavily ahead of elections last year and promised to raise wages sharply while rejecting the need for Western help. “We ... estimate the size of support (loan that could be provided) between $3.5 billion and $8.0 billion,” Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich was quoted by state news agency BelTA as saying.

He said the program could last for three to five years.

Lukashenko, who has been president since 1994, has faced growing criticism from the West over a crackdown on opposition activists after his re-election last December. The IMF issued $3.5 billion in loans to Belarus from 2009 to 2010 and has sent a mission to assess the situation in the country of almost 10 million people, long shielded by the government’s Soviet-style economic policies. Russia this month rejected an initial plea by Minsk for a direct loan but said that it and several other ex-Soviet republics could still give it some joint regional assistance.

They are to decide on that bailout package on June 4 although Lukashenko has warned Russia that Belarus will not sell off state assets cheaply to secure any emergency loan. The crisis has left Lukashenko with few options. Belarus’s foreign exchange reserves have shrunk by a quarter, consumer prices have soared and people have started hoarding staple foods. In a rare display of discontent, dozens of cars moved slowly along Minsk’s main street last week, nearly blocking all traffic and flashing their emergency lights, to protest against gasoline price increases. “The popularity of President Lukashenko is quickly declining,” BNP Paribas economist Julia Tsepliaeva said in a research note. —Reuters

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business

Growth slows in emerging Asia HONG KONG: Asia’s emerging economies appear to be slowing, with data yesterday showing manufacturing activity easing further last month as governments grapple with persistent inflation. Figures from across the region showed a pull-back, with purchasing managers’ indexes in India, China, Taiwan and South Korea all registering a drop. I n Australia, a 1.2 percent contraction in GDP on-quarter was waved away by government ministers as a weather-related blip, but it was still the sharpest fall in 20 years and added to the mood of an Asian slowdown.

China provided the most eagerly anticipated data of the day, with the HSBC China Manufacturing PMI falling to 51.6 in May from 51.8 in April. The final reading was higher than preliminary data released by HSBC last month which suggested the PMI had slipped to 51.1 in May. That data triggered falls on the Shanghai and Hong Kong bourses amid fears of an economic slowdown. A figure above 50 on the index indicates expansion in the sector, while one below 50 indicates contraction.

The gentle slowing will be welcome news for a country grappling with stubbornly high inflation and concerned about runaway growth. With an eye on the unrest sweeping across the Middle East and Nor th Africa, Beijing has sought to keep a lid on price rises, wary of their potential to cause unrest among the millions whose low incomes have little capacity to cope with increases in the cost of food and basic goods. 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 has raised interest rates four times since October and increased the reserve requirement ratio on several occasions, effectively limiting the amount of money banks can loan out. HSBC chief China economist Qu Hongbin played down concerns about a potential hard landing for the economy. “This is still just a moderation rather than a meltdown in growth so there is no need to worr y about over-tightening,” said Qu. “Beijing is likely to keep tightening mainly through reserve ratio and rate hikes in the coming months.”

Manufac turing ac tivit y in I ndia also expanded at a slower pace in May than the previous month, the seasonally adjusted HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index showed.

The index was at 57.5 in May, down from 58.0 in April. Inflation in India was a punishing 8.66 percent in April, down from the previous month, but still way above the government’s target 5.5 percent. Rampant price rises are a headache for the Congress-led government, which relies on millions of poor voters, who suffer disproportionately when prices rise.

The hawkish Reserve Bank of India has said curbing inflation is a top priority and warned that short-term economic growth may have to be sacrificed.

Taiwan’s drop was more stark, with the HSBC PMI falling to 54.9 in May from 58.2 in

TAPUKARA: Workers fix parts on a Twister motorcycle at an assembly line after the inauguration of the Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) Pvt Ltd plant in Tapukara, approximately 90 kilometers from New Delhi yesterday. — AP April. However, the figure is still solidly expansionist. But in South Korea manufacturing growth dropped to its slowest pace in six months, with HSBC’s PMI falling to 51.2 from 51.7. Core inflation hit a two-year high of 3.5 percent, while the trade surplus fell by half on

easing exports. Together with disappointing industrial production Tuesday, the data indicate declining momentum in Asia’s fourthbiggest economy. “Korea’s economy is clearly hitting a soft patch,” HSBC economist Frederic Neumann wrote in a research note. — AFP

China plastic demand slump may crimp Asian naphtha Polyethylene imports fall 16 percent

GIBRALTAR: An oil tank burns in the port of Gibraltar on May 31, 2011.

“Independence of the Seas” cruise ship which was nearby has pulled out to sea for safety. — AFP

Global gas glut drying up fast Fukushima effect, lack of new supply counter glut LONDON: The global gas glut will soon vanish because of rising opposition to nuclear power in the aftermath of Fukushima crisis and a dearth of new supply, according to analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML). The International Energy Agency forecast late last year that global gas supply capacity was set to rise above 200 billion cubic meters in 2011 and that capacity should exceed demand for a decade. But the shutdown of some Japanese nuclear power plants after Fukushima has turned the global gas market around, with supplies looking like getting much scarcer sooner.

“The global LNG market is tightening rapidly. In our view, the global gas glut is set to disappear quickly,” the investment bank said in a research note. “Rising Japanese LNG demand is accelerating a progressive market tightening that had already been ongoing due to the strength in emerging market demand growth.” BoAML expects Japan’s imports of liquefied natural gas for 2011 to rise 8.5 million tons above the 70 million tons it consumed last year, mopping up large quantities of LNG at a time when new big consumers like India are snapping up supplies that might have swelled

European supplies. “Although the market is well supplied now, we worry that supply could become a constraining factor on demand from 2012 as there are no major supply additions until 2015.” In the second half of the decade new export projects in Australia and the United States could improve global supplies, it said. Despite higher prices on offer for LNG sellers in Asia, the bank still expects Europe to be comfortably supplied with gas this summer, with rising Russian pipeline gas exports and limited diversions of LNG tankers east helping keep up supply. “We believe these diversions are not impactful enough to create a shortage of gas in Europe,” the bank said.

“North west Europe is receiving strong inflows of LNG despite the step-level change in Japan’s buying... We find it hard to foresee a big scarcity of gas in Europe this summer.” Investment bank Goldman Sachs sparked a rally in UK gas prices in April when it said prices were likely to rise significantly over the next two years because of reduced supply and Japan’s growing gas appetite, while rival investment bank Barclay’s Capital said in mid May it also expected global supply of LNG to tighten by the end of 2011. —Reuters

KABUL: An Afghan girl carries a sack on her head, containing waste items on the International Day for Children at the market in Kabul yesterday. Thousands of Afghan children work to make money for supporting their families in Afghanistan. — AP

SINGAPORE: Asian appetite for oil product naphtha is falling in tandem with a slump in Chinese plastics consumption in 2011 as Beijing’s measures to slow runaway economic expansion bite. Oil investors are watching Chinese demand growth closely for any signs of a sharp slowdown, as consumption in the world’s second-largest economy has driven global fuel demand growth for the best part of a decade. HSBC’s China Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to a 10-month low in May, adding to evidence that the world’s fastest-growing major economy is slowing.

This came after April industrial output growth eased more than expected.

Plastic demand reflects manufacturing activity due to its wide use in industry in everything from cables and shampoo pouches to refrigerators and cars. Naphtha is one of the main building blocks for the plastics industry. “We are now at the tipping point where the liquidity-fuelled boom which we had in the last two years is coming to an end,” said Paul Hodges, chairman of chemicals consulting firm International eChem. “We are not going to call it a crisis just yet, but the risk of a crisis may start to become apparent in the third quarter.” Profit margins for producing naphtha from crude in Asia have already fallen over 40 percent this year to $106.73 a ton on Tuesday, down from a near three-year high in January of $186.50.

The fall in plastics margins might force crackers, which make polyethylene and other petrochemicals from naphtha, to cut runs in countries such as South Korea, Asia’s top producer. For now, South Korean crackers are still running at full capacity. “China is the only big outlet for North Asian exporters and without China, Asian cracker runs may be pushed down below 90% rates,” said Mazlan Razak of petrochemicals consulting firm DeWitt & Co.

The worst run cuts were when operation rates fell to an average 75 percent in 2008 when the financial crisis hit. The loss in naphtha demand was huge due to the cuts and the light fuel’s margins slumped to a historical low on Nov. 4, 2008, to a discount of $189.75 a ton.

CHINA IMPORTS Imports into China of polyethylene, made mostly from naphtha-based ethylene in Asia and one of the most widely used plastic materials, fell 16 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter to 1.18 million tons, data from the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF) showed. Implied consumption of polyethylene fell 1.5 percent in the same months against a 7-10 percent expansion in the last two years, while naphtha imports fell 4 percent in the first four months of the year.

The slide in plastics consumption comes as petrochemical supplies to China surge from the Middle East, eating into a market that typically belonged to North Asian producers.

Middle Eastern polyethylene exports to China rose 750,000 tons in 2010 compared to 2009, while shipments from North Asian and North American producers fell by 350,000 tons each, said Hodges. Governments in the Middle East are expanding petrochemical plants to diversify economies reliant on crude exports. They often supply cheap gas, giving firms an edge over North Asian competitors.

SELLING STOCKPILES The twin impact of rising supply and falling demand may force many crackers in Asia to pare output as competition for a shrinking market erodes margins. The possibility that fundamentals will weaken further is prompting many in China to sell stocks to limit losses.

“Many Chinese players were kind of expecting a super cycle in 2011 after a brilliant 2010,”

Razak said. “A lot of pre-buying happened last year, but things did not turn out as expected.

As a result, traders and distributors have to de-stock.”

Sales from stocks are bloating supply more, pushing domestic prices down and encouraging traders to re-export cargoes from China to Latin America and elsewhere. “They are not large in volumes, but the fact that they are happening at all tells you that some people got stuck with products that they cannot move,” Hodges said. The price of polypropylene, used in packaging materials and textiles, in early May stood at $1,600 a ton in China against about $2,000 a ton in the US and Europe. Low density polyethylene, used in containers and plastic bags, was at $1,650$1,700 a ton compared with $1,800 in the U.S. and $2,400 in Europe.

CHINA MARKET SHRINKS Beijing has taken several steps to slow growth and inflation and has withdrawn some of the economic stimulus measures such as tax breaks on smaller cars or subsidies to buy home appliances that the government enacted during the financial crisis. Car sales in China have slowed after years of speedy expansion.

“Most farmers have fulfilled their home appliance needs.. resulting in a slowdown in domestic demand growth for plastics,” an official at the CPCIF said, declining to be identified because he is not authorized to talk to the media. Crude’s volatility this year has complicated the industry’s activity, analysts said.

“High crude prices have a very strong psychological effect,” said Alastair Hensman of consulting firm Nexant Inc. “With crude weakening recently the market knows that polymer prices should be coming down... there is every incentive to delay purchasing until those low prices are achieved.” — Reuters

China auto market to grow by 15 %

FTSEurofirst 300 index falls 0.1%

BEIJING: China’s auto market, which witnessed a marked slowdown at the beginning of the year, is expected to maintain annual growth of up to 15 percent until 2016, a leading consultancy said yesterday. Rising household income should usher in growth in China’s auto market of between 12 and 15 percent over the next five years, according to a new study published by the American consultants AlixPartners.

“Currently, 72 percent of urban households in China with annual income of more than 60,000 yuan ($9,250) own a car, but that represents only 20 percent of all urban households and 10 percent of all households in the country,” the study said.

Auto sales in China grew by more than 32 percent year-on-year in 2010 after the nation overtook the United States as the world’s biggest auto market a year earlier.

But sales dipped 0.25 percent in April in their first year-on-year fall in more than two years. “This is now a short term slowdown” tied to the end of numerous government incentives aimed at stimulating sales, Christian Paul, a Shanghai-based director of Alix told reporters.

According to the report, rising fuel prices over the coming five years were unlikely to deter Chinese car buyers because “the car in China is more a social status symbol and the sign of a lifestyle”, said Wu Jinghui, Alix’s China director.

Strong growth was also predicted for auto part suppliers where robust growth in demand was likely to come as China’s fleet of cars aged, the report said, while numerous Chinese auto suppliers were also well placed in export markets. —AFP

AXA rises on five-year plan LONDON: European shares slipped yesterday ahead of employment figures and factory data that might give clues about the health of the US economy. By 1052 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.1 percent at 1,141.13 points and extended falls briefly after data showed British manufacturing activity grew at its slowest pace in 20 months. On the technical front, the euro zone’s blue chip Euro STOXX 50, fell 0.3 percent to 2,854.40, staying below its 200-day moving average, which it briefly pierced earlier in the day, a negative signal for equities.

After lackluster US economic data on home prices, consumer sentiment and regional manufacturing on Tuesday, investors were cautious ahead of May’s US ADP Employment Report due at 1215 GMT, which is seen as a precursor to Friday’s non-farm payrolls. The Institute for Supply Management’s monthly factory gauge, due at 1400 GMT, will also be scrutinized for any signs the US economy is softening. “The market is worried about the extent to which this soft patch of economic data is developing; we are outside the earnings season and being driven by macro factors,” said Richard Batty, Global Investment Strategist, Standard Life Investments, which has 157 billion

pounds of assets under management.

“Investors will watch the US ISM data very closely and the extent to which the US is able to create jobs. The US economy is very important in determining sentiment for the European economy.”

Meanwhile, hedge funds have been positioning themselves to be net short on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, according to a Societe Generale asset allocation note due to “mixed signals” in economic growth. Nokia shares slumped 7.5 percent, continuing their falls from the previous session, when the mobile phone maker dropped its full-year outlook, with analysts slashing their price targets in response. Nomura analysts said it sees no compelling value case for the stock and reiterated its “reduce” rating.

EX-DIVS HIT FTSE 100 In the UK, the FTSE 100, which fell 0.2 percent, was knocked by stocks going exdividend, with no new buyers of shares in Capital Shopping Centers, Intertek, Marks & Spencer, National Grid, Vodafone and WPP entitled to the next dividend payment. On the upside, AXA, Europe’s second-largest insurer, gained 3.4 percent after it unveiled a five-year plan to boost profits and featured among the top performers on the French CAC, which was down 0.2 percent. —Reuters

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TECHNOLOGY

Google gets into local bargain game with Offers RANCHO PALOS VERDES: Google yesterday was due to begin testing an Offers service that delivers local bargains to smartphone “wallets” in a challenge to online bargain hot spot Groupon.

Google Offers, working in conjunction with the Wallet mobile payment platform for Android smartphones, will begin testing in Portland, Oregon and eventually expand to New York City and the San Francisco area.

“There is no intent to favor one (smartphone) platform,” Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt said while introducing Offers at an All Things Digital conference at a resort in the southern California town of Rancho Palos Verdes. “ This is a big opportunity,” he added, as Stephanie Telenius and another Google executive demonstrated Offers on stage. “We make our money through advertising and the Offers.”

The service takes advantage of near-field-communication (NFC) chips to consummate discounts

available to people who sign up using Gmail accounts.

“Tap, pay and save,” Telenius said. “This is new; there is no one doing this exact thing. We are integrating at the point of sale.”

Offers comes as a direct challenge to Chicagobased Groupon, which offers subscribers online coupons for discounts on a broad range of consumer goods and services.

Groupon in April announced the appointment of former Google executive Margo Georgiadis, saying she would oversee global sales, marketing and operations.

Georgiadis was previously Google’s vice president in charge of global sales.

Google’s move to build its own local coupon service comes as it ramps up its commerce platform to stay in tune with lifestyles increasingly centered on smart mobile gadgets such as smartphones and tablet computers.

Groupon, which claimed 50 million subscribers at the start of this year, had rejected a reported $5 billion takeover offer from Google.

Google Offers meshes with a free application introduced last week that turns a smartphone into an electronic wallet and is designed to replace plastic credit cards.

Google Wallet is being field tested in New York and San Francisco and will be available this summer. It will initially work with Google’s Nexus S 4G smartphone from Sprint, the third-largest US wireless provider, and will eventually be expanded to other phones equipped with NFC technology.

An NFC chip in a phone allows a user who has entered his or her credit card details to “tap-andpay” for purchases at a checkout register equipped with the PayPass system from CitiMasterCard.

Within hours of the unveiling of Wallet last week, eBay and PayPal filed a lawsuit charging that Google tapped into the online financial transaction

service’s know-how for the mobile payments project. Mountain View, California-based Google has rejected the charge that it swiped PayPal trade secrets and vowed to fight the lawsuit.

PayPal spent three years trying to work out a deal in which it would handle payments for Android smartphones, only to see Google scuttle the talks and hire PayPal lead negotiator Osama Bedier, according to court documents.

The online bargains market has attracted social networking powerhouse Facebook along with startups such as Groupon and LivingSocial.

In April, Facebook began testing a deals program in five US cities in a bid to expand its revenue stream beyond advertising and carve out a niche in the rapidly growing online bargain space.

While many of the offers on Groupon involve solo activities or purchases, Facebook, which has more than 500 million members, said its deals program will emphasize group activities. — AFP

iPad challenge looms large at Asia IT show ‘There is healthy room for PC growth’

FLORIDA: US space shuttle Atlantis sits on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida yesterday. Atlantis is scheduled to launch on July 8 for the space shuttle program’s final flight. — AFP

Next-to-last space shuttle flight lands on Earth CAPE CANAVERAL: Space shuttle Endeavour and its six astronauts returned to Earth early yesterday, closing out the next-to-last mission in NASA’s 30-year program with a safe middle-of-the-night landing. Endeavour glided down onto the runway one final time under the cover of darkness, just as Atlantis, the last shuttle bound for space, arrived at the launch pad for the grand finale in five weeks.

Commander Mark Kelly — whose wife, wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, remained behind at her rehab center in Houston — brought Endeavour to a stop before hundreds of onlookers that included the four Atlantis astronauts who will take flight in July.

He waited hours before calling her, so he wouldn’t wake her up.

Endeavour, the youngest of the shuttles with 123 million miles (198 million kilometers) over 25 flights, is now bound for a museum in California, shipping out early next year.

“Your landing ends a vibrant legacy for this amazing vehicle that will long be remembered,” Mission Control told Kelly and his crewmates, who wrapped up U.S. construction at the International Space Station during the mission.

“It’s sad to see her land for the last time,” Kelly replied, “but she really has a great legacy.” Thousands jammed Kennedy Space Center a few hours earlier to see Atlantis make its way to the launch pad, the last such trek ever by a shuttle. Employees and their families lined the route Tuesday night as Atlantis crept out of the Vehicle Assembly Building a little after sunset, bathed in xenon lights.

“The show pretty much tells itself,” Atlantis’ commander, Christopher Ferguson, said as he waved toward his ship. “We’re going to look upon this final mission as a celebration of all that the space shuttle has accomplished over its 30-year life span.” Bright lights also illuminated the landing strip for Kelly, who made the 25th night landing out of a total of 134 shuttle flights.

The Endeavour astronauts — all experienced spacemen — departed the 220mile(354-kilometer)-high orbiting outpost over the weekend. They installed a $2 billion cosmic ray detector, an extension beam and a platform full of spare parts, enough to keep the station operating in the shuttle-less decade ahead.

Their flight lasted 16 days and completed NASA’s role in the space station construction effort that began more than 12 years ago.

The official tally for Endeavour, after 19 years of flight, was 170 crew members, 299 days in space, 4,671 orbits of Earth and 122,883,151 miles (197,752,094 kilometers).

Kelly was the last astronaut to exit Endeavour. He and his crew posed for pictures and signed autographs on the runway.

Astronaut Gregory Chamitoff was so wobbly from weightlessness that he had to be supported by two colleagues, but he was determined to join in the event. As Kelly thanked his crewmates live on NASA TV for their flawless performance, co-pilot Gregory Johnson leaned over to shout into the mike, “And our commander, we want to thank him, too.”

Johnson and the rest of the crew were openly supportive, over the months, about Kelly’s decision to stick with the flight, despite his wife’s serious injury.

Giffords was shot in the head during a mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, in January, but made a remarkable recovery and was able to attend the May 16 launch. The congresswoman did not travel to Florida for the landing because of the inconvenient hour, but Kelly’s two teenage daughters were on hand, along with his twin brother, Scott, also

an astronaut. Six hours after the 2:35 a.m.

(0635 GMT) touchdown, Kelly had yet to call Giffords. He didn’t want to wake her in her hospital room. He told his mother-in-law in a post-landing e-mail that he’d call the congresswoman following the morning news conference.

“What I’m going to say to her?” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “Really miss her and can’t wait to get back there tomorrow to see her.” The astronauts will return to Houston on Thursday for a big welcomehome ceremony.

Endeavour, the second space shuttle to be retired, will head to the California Science Center in Los Angeles after months of decommissioning.

Built to replace the destroyed Challenger, Endeavour first soared in 1992 on a satelliterescue mission that saw a record-setting three spacewalkers grab the wayward craft.

Other highlights for the baby of the shuttle fleet: the first repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993, to fix its blurred vision, and NASA’s first flight to assemble the space station in 1998.

Its final journey featured four spacewalks, the last ones to be conducted by a shuttle crew. One of the spacewalking astronauts, Mike Fincke, set a US career record of 382 days in space.

The flight also marked the first departure of a Russian Soyuz capsule during a shuttle visit to the space station, and the first call to space by a pope. Two Italians were aboard the shuttle-station complex when Pope Benedict XVI phoned from the Vatican on May 21.

Launch managers marveled Wednesday over how good Endeavour still looks.

“It looks like it’s ready to go do another mission,” Kelly noted. He said he’d fly the space shuttle every couple months if he could — heck, every week if possible. “But it’s 30 years old ... and we’ve got to grow and adapt and build new things.” Atlantis will remain at Kennedy Space Center as a tourist stop, following one last supply run to the space station. Liftoff is set for July 8.

Discovery, the fleet leader, returned from its final voyage in March. Its next stop is a Smithsonian Institution hangar outside Washington.

Moving Atlantis to the launch pad as Endeavour landed helped temper the sadness so many are feeling with one mission remaining, officials said. Thousands of more layoffs loom once the shuttle program ends.

“It’s been a heck of a month in the last four hours,” observed launch manager Mike Moses, “and I think we’ve used up our overtime budget for the entire month.” NASA is leaving the Earth-to-orbit business behind to focus on expeditions to asteroids and Mars.

Private companies hope to pick up the slack for cargo and crew hauls to the space station.

But it will be a while following Atlantis’ upcoming flight — at least three years by one business’ estimate, five to seven years by Kelly’s — before astronauts ride on American rockets again. Until then, Americans will continue hitching rides aboard Russian Soyuz capsules at the cost of tens of millions of dollars a seat.

“We’re in the process of transition now, and it’s going to be awkward,” Atlantis astronaut Rex Walheim said. “But we’ll get to the other side and we’ll have new vehicles.

“I really do have to say, though, it’s going to be really hard to beat a vehicle that is so beautiful and majestic as that one is,” he said as Atlantis rolled to the pad behind him. “I mean, how can you beat that? An airplane sitting on the side of a rocket. It’s absolutely stunning.” — AP

TAIPEI: Tablets that match the iPad but at a cheaper price. Slimmer, more powerful notebooks. At Computex, Asia’s top IT fair, manufacturers are showing how they plan to face the challenge from Apple’s iconic product.

Taiwan-based Compal Electronics made its name as a producer of notebooks for big-league brands like Dell and Toshiba, but it too has now joined the tablet frenzy and is just months away from launching a seven-inch device.

“Of course, iPad is the number one challenge,” said Yeta Huang, a Compal senior engineer.

“But we believe there’s room for us, with the market size for tablet predicted to exceed 50 million this year. Cheaper price is one area where we’re trying hard.”

Computex, a sprawling event held in Taipei this week, provides a snapshot of a technology sector scrambling to find the right approach to the iPad, a product embraced by gadget lovers worldwide.

Since Apple’s groundbreaking product was released in April last year, a proliferation of brands have hit the market with limited success, and manufacturers have also been hurt by eroding demand for traditional PCs. Intel Corp, the world’s top chip maker, has used Computex to unveil its response to the iPad, a type of thin laptop that it has dubbed Ultrabook.

It is “a new class of mobile computers” that “marry the performance and capabilities of today’s laptops with tablet-like features,” according to the American chip maker, suggesting the future will not just be all tablet.

“There is healthy room for PC growth, but affordability is key to PC penetration,” Intel vice president Sean Maloney said according to the Taipei Times newspaper. “Now is the time to reinvent the PC platform again.” Even so, companies know they cannot ignore the tablet and have moved quickly to enter the market.

Taiwanese PC maker AsusTek Computer set up its first tablet business unit in November 2010, just months after Apple unveiled the iPad. “Our Chairman Jonney Shih feels the tablet industry has great potential. That’s why he decided to establish the new business unit,” said Kakuangelo Kuo, a product manager of AsusTek’s Eee Pad Business Unit.

“Leading computer brands all have adjusted downward their PC shipments this year as they expect part of the PC market to be eaten away by

TAIPEI: A Micro-Star International tablet computer is diplayed yesterday on the second day of the five-day Computex Taipei, Asia’s biggest information technology and communications trade fair. — AFP tablets,” he said.

Ray Chen, Compal’s president, said that while his company remains confident about the notebook market, where it derives 90 percent of its revenue, it will diversify into tablets and other products.

That way it hopes to raise its non-notebook revenue to 20 percent by the end of this year, Chen said according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Despite all the attention that tablets receive, analysts with a cool view of broad trends in the industry also see continuity in the future.

The good old desktop is not going away, since for large portions of the world’s population it remains the only affordable option, they say.

In addition, in many emerging markets the infrastructure is not yet developed enough to

make mobile Internet browsing a seamless, troublefree experience.

“Regular notebooks or desktops will feel less pain as demand from emerging markets, such as Russia, China, India and Brasil remains strong,” said Kuo Ming-chi, a Taipei-based analyst with Concord Securities.

This demand will help offset the decline of PC demand from North America and Western Europe following the lauch of the iPad and other tablets, he said.

Some dissenting voices are moving to hose down the tablet hype. “I bought a tablet and after three weeks, I found it can’t replace my phone, and it can’t replace my PC,” Mooly Eden, general manager of Intel’s PC client group, told the Asian Wall Street Journal at Computex. — AFP

Jobs to unveil Apple software innovations SAN FRANCISCO: Ailing chief executive Steve Jobs returns next week from sick leave to unveil Apple’s latest generation of software, the firm announced Tuesday.

The 56-year-old cancer survivor will present Apple’s new operating system, dubbed “Lion,” at a developers conference in San Francisco on June 6.

Jobs went on leave in January, his third medical absence since 2004, but has retained his title of chief executive at Apple.

He underwent an operation for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and received a liver transplant in 2009, but Apple has not released any details about his latest health issues.

“Lion” will be the eighth major iteration of Apple’s operating system for the California company’s increasingly popular Macintosh computers.

Apple stock price finished the trading day up more than three percent to $347.83 after the morning announcement that the culture-changing company’s renowned pitchman will play a starring role at the event.

“If Steve Jobs is going to be there, it means something is going to launch,” said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.

Apple’s rare decision to disclose what Jobs and other executives will discuss could be intended to curb the rampant speculation that routinely precedes the company’s events, according to Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg. “The key is to remember it is a developers conference,” Gartenberg said.

“They could be talking up software so people don’t expect to see an iPhone 5 or a new Macbook.”

Apple promised that announcements would include an “iCloud services offering,” which many expected to include streaming music. Apple provided no details.

Google and Amazon.com recently launched services that let people store digital music in online “lockers” and then listen to tunes on any Internet-linked devices.

Given Apple’s success with selling music at its online iTunes shop and its relationship with record labels, a “cloud” service playing into those strengths makes sense, according to Gartenberg.

“If they are going to introduce a new cloud-based service, it feels right that it would have something to do with music,” Gartenberg said. “We are going to see something much more than just another music locker like Google introduced and like Amazon introduced,” the analyst continued.

“Apple would not be getting into a cloud service if all it had was a ‘me too’ offering.”—AFP

BEIJING: A woman reads messages on her cell phone while riding on the back of an electric bicycle in Beijing yesterday. China will ban battery-powered electric bikes that are heavier and faster than national limits set 12 years ago, even as Beijing seeks to reduce pollution and ease traffic jams in major cities. — AFP

China to phase out substandard bikes BEIJING: China will phase out battery-powered electric bikes that exceed national speed and weight restrictions-even as Beijing seeks to reduce pollution and ease chronic traffic jams in major cities.

Electric bikes must not weigh more than 40 kilogrammes (88 pounds) or travel faster than 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) per hour, four government agencies said Tuesday.

The agencies, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, did not specify a deadline for the ban on substandard electric bikes popular in major cities where traffic congestion is a huge headache for commuters.

China is estimated to have more than 120 million electric bikes on its roads, 90 percent of which exceed the national restrictions

published 12 years ago, the 21st Century Business Herald said Wednesday.

Manufacturers that fail to meet the standard will have their operations suspended to adjust production or have their business licences revoked after an unspecified deadline, the statement said.

Local authorities will be asked to hand out subsidies to owners of substandard electric bikes so they can buy a new one, it said.

It is not clear how the rules will affect manufacturers of lead acid batteries, which are used in most electric bikes in China due to their low cost. The government has targeted the lead acid battery industry as part of a crackdown on heavy metal pollution in the country, after dozens of lead poisoning scandals in recent years. — AFP

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China, S Korea ban Taiwan drinks over chemical TAIPEI: China and South Korea both banned imports of certain food and drinks from Taiwan yesterday in a fastexpanding regional scare over contamination with a chemical usually used in plastics.

The Philippines and Hong Kong have also limited imports or sales of foodstuffs from the export-dependent island after the alarm was raised over the chemical DEHP, which can cause hormone malfunctions in children. The Taiwanese government on Wednesday proposed dramatically tougher penalties for lacing food items with banned substances, planning a 33-fold increase in the maximum fine in a bid to prevent tainted foods being sold.

“The food scandal is a shame to

Taiwan (which has) long been proud of its food safety management,” said Chiu Yi, a lawmaker with the ruling Kuomintang party.

He said he believed the new fines would be an effective deterrent.

Beijing banned imports of Taiwanmade sports drinks, fruit juices and jams that Taipei had said could contain excessive DEHP, and published a list of companies from the island whose imports were banned.

It would add to the list in due course, China’s quality watchdog said.

The Philippines Food and Drug Administration meanwhile ordered a sweeping recall of about 300 different products after warning the chemical could shrink boys’ testes and cause infertility. It cautioned the public not

to consume the products-which include sports drinks, fruit concentrate, sweets, syrup and yoghurt-while distributors were ordered not to sell or import them, the agency said in a notice. South Korea’s Food and Drug Administration likewise introduced a series of bans.

Taiwan this week began a nationwide inspection drive to ensure sports drinks, juices and three more product categories were not tainted with DEHP or five other chemicals, after first raising the alarm on May 24 with a major recall.

It said then it was recalling more than 460,000 bottles of sports drinks and juice after some locally manufactured drinks were found to contain the plasticiser, sparking its worst food

scare in decades.

Authorities have arrested the owner of a company that used DEHP rather than more expensive palm oil in products supplied to dozens of local drinks makers. He faces up to six months in jail.

Hong Kong also banned two Taiwanese drinks yesterday said it was recalling the stomach medicine Well Tab after its own tests found DEHP in the product. It endorsed a manufacturer’s recall of five other products, mostly vitamin tablets, made by a local company using a Taiwanese flavouring agent, and said it was testing more pharmaceutical items.

Taiwanese Premier Wu Den-yih called on laboratories around Taiwan to work faster to bring down a large

Indian kids eat live fish to cure asthma

HEALTH BRIEFS Smoking could kill 8m LONDON: Tobacco will kill nearly six million people this year, including 600,000 non-smokers, because governments are not doing enough to persuade people to quit or protect others from second-hand smoke, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. Since there is often a lag of many years between when people start smoking and when it affects health, the epidemic of tobacco-related disease and death has just begun, the WHO said. But by 2030, the annual death toll could reach 8 million.

Heart disease linked NEW YORK: People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be at a higher risk for heart disease, with a study of US war veterans finding that those with the disorder were more likely to have heart disease than their peers. The war veterans with PTSD were also more likely to have heart disease progress faster, and they were more likely to die of any cause over the next three years, according to the study in the American Journal of Cardiology.

Vaccine alliance seeks $3.7bn FREETOWN: International health alliance GAVI is seeking $3.7 billion from a June 13 pledging conference in London to help deliver vaccines to nearly a quarter of a billion children across the world by 2015. Launched in 2000 and including partners such as the World Bank and pharmaceutical firms, the grouping targets common but deadly diseases such as pneumonia or diarrhea and says it has already saved 5 million lives.

Stress doesn’t raise risk of MS NEW YORK: Having a stressful home or work environment doesn’t make a person more likely to develop multiple sclerosis, hints a large new study.

Previous research has suggested that in people who already have the chronic disease-which affects the brain and spinal cord-stressful events make flare-ups more likely. In the new study, the authors looked at whether stress raised a woman’s risk of getting the disease, and couldn’t find a link.

Radiation limit TOKYO: Two workers at Japan’s crippled nuclear power plant may have exceeded the government’s radiation exposure limit, the plant operator said, adding to concerns about health risks for those fighting the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 25 years. If confirmed, it would mark the first cases of excess radiation exposure among the hundreds of emergency workers who have struggled to bring Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima Daiichi plant under control after it was wrecked by a massive earthquake and tsunami two and half months ago. — Reuters

SYDNEY: A motorbike rider drives anti smoking signage through the streets of Sydney on “World No Tobacco Day”. Observed around the world every year on May 31, World No Tobacco Day created by the World Health Organisation (WHO) this year has the theme “The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control”. — AFP

backlog of untested foods.

Tsai Shu-chen, a senior official with the Food and Drug Administration, said the health department would seek to increase fines by submitting an amendment to the existing food and drug management law, the United Evening News reported.

She was quoted as saying that according to the bill under preparation, those who break the law could face a fine of up to Tw$10 million ($350,000), compared with Tw$300,000 now. She could not be reached for comment.

The bill, if given the go-ahead by the cabinet, is expected to be submitted to parliament for further deliberation and approved before it adjourns on June 14. — AFP

BRNO: Chief of the laboratory in research into the Escherichia Coli bacterium at the Brno research institute Pavel Alexa, left, and his assistant Gabriela Glocknerova, right, take samples from a pepper for a molecular biological test in Brno, Czech Republic, yesterday. The ongoing outbreak of E. coli has claimed 17 people and around 1500 infected across Europe. — AP

Sharp rise in E.coli case, 17 dead in Europe Source of bacterial infection still unknown BRUSSELS/BERLIN: German health officials said yesterday there had been a dramatic increase in the number of people infected in an E.coli outbreak which has so far killed 16 and whose source is still unknown. The outbreak, centred on the north German city of Hamburg, has made more than 1,500 people ill in eight European countries, and led to an international row over the source of the contamination.

The German disease control agency the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported yesterday 365 new E.coli cases, a quarter of them involving the hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening complication of a type of E. coli known as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). European Union officials said three cases had also been reported in the United States, adding that most infections reported outside Germany involved German nationals or people who had recently travelled to the country. The RKI figures contradicted remarks by European Union Health Commissioner John Dalli, who said the number of new cases appeared to be in decline.

“According to the latest information we have available from Germany, it appears that the outbreak is on the decline. Fewer people have been hospitalised over the past couple of days than before,” Dalli told journalists in Brussels.

“Intensive work is taking place to pinpoint the source of contamination ... I urge member states and in

particular Germany to increase their efforts in this direction,” he added.

German authorities initially identified cucumbers imported from Spain as the likely source of the outbreak. But on Tuesday they admitted that further tests on the cucumbers showed that, while contaminated, they did not carry the dangerous bacteria strain responsible for the deaths. Spain, responding on Wednesday, said it was considering legal action.

“We do not rule out taking action against authorities which have cast doubt on the quality of our produce, so action may be taken against the authorities, in this case, of Hamburg,” Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba told radio station Cadena Ser. Paul Hunter, a professor of health protection at Britain’s University of East Anglia, said he was not surprised by the German finding that cucumbers were not to blame.

“Cucumbers are not normally implicated in food poisoning outbreaks. They are so easy to clean for a start, and bacteria are less likely to be able to find a protected spot,” he said.

“On the other hand, salads are a regular cause of outbreaks of food borne diseases including STEC, like this one, and salmonella. Outbreaks associated with consumption of salads are quite common on both sides of the Atlantic,” he added.

Spanish farmers say lost sales resulting from the crisis are costing them 200 million euros ($285 mil-

lion) a week, and could put 70,000 people out of work in a country which already has the highest unemployment rate in the EU. Health Commissioner Dalli said he was looking at what the European Commission could do about the impact on producers.

“We are very sensitive to the impact that this crisis is already having on farmers, in particular vegetable producers.” It would be disproportionate to ban any single product because the source of the outbreak is not known, Dalli said.

Several European countries were reported to have blocked entry of Spanish cucumbers, but Dalli said the Commission had received no official confirmation of any import bans. Russia’s consumer protection watchdog repeated a threat to ban all vegetable imports from the EU, having already banned raw vegetable imports from Germany and Spain.

“Despite repeated requests, Russia’s consumer protection watchdog has not received information from the European Union about the source of the infection, about dangerous produce or about measures being taken to localise and combat the outbreak,” it said in a statement late on Tuesday.

French government spokesman Francois Baroin said the country had taken the precaution of setting up a crisis unit to deal with a possible outbreak in the country, with health officials across France on alert for signs of new cases. — Reuters

HYD E R A B A D : C a m p a i g n e r s i n I n d i a h a ve demanded that children under 14 be banned from swallowing live fish in a traditional treatment for asthma administered at a festival every year in June.

Hundreds of thousands of sufferers gather annually in Hyderabad in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh to gulp down small live fish and a special herb paste.

The Goud family, which says it received the medicine recipe from a Hindu saint in 1845, treats people from across India for free during a twoday period determined by astrologers and the onset of the monsoon.

The wriggling five-centimetre (two-inch) fish, which the family says clear the throat on their way down, will be dispensed this year on June 8 and 9. Child rights group Balala Hakkula Sangham has lobbied the state’s Human Rights Commission to stop children under 14 from taking the medicine as it is “unscientific” and a violation of human rights.

“The process of giving the medicine is unhygienic as the person gives it to lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of people without washing their hands,” added the petition seeking a ban. Andhra Pradesh’s Human Rights Commission on Tuesday ordered a report into the complaints. The Goud family claims “fish medicine” has been proven to cure asthma and other respiratory problems, but it declines to reveal the secret herb formula.

“It has been the practice of the Goud Family for the past 166 years to offer this medicine free of cost to those who need it,” Bathini Harinath Goud, head of the family, said ahead of the event.

He told AFP that children were not at risk and that people who complained were in the pay of pharmaceutical firms that produce mainstream asthma drugs.

“These companies are paying money to rake up the issue as they are worried about the fish medicine affecting their business interests since what we administer is a permanent cure for asthma,” he said. Goud said that last year 400,000 people swallowed live fishes handed out by 200 family members.

The Indian government arranges special trains for the “fish medicine” festival and extra p o l i c e a re o n d u t y t o c o n t ro l c ro wd s. A f t e r digesting the treatment, patients are told to go on a strict diet of specific food for 45 days. The commission has ordered the report to be delivered on June 6. — AFP

HYDERABAD: In this June 8, 2009 file photo Indian man Bathini Goud (L) administers ‘Fish Medicine’ to a patient at the Nampally Exhibition Grounds in Hyderabad. Yesterday campaigners in India demanded that children under 14 are banned from swallowing live fish. — AFP

Mosquitoes are suckered in new malaria research PARIS: In the biggest lab breakthrough against malaria in years, scientists yesterday said they had identified odour molecules that baffle blood-thirsty mosquitoes.

The molecules disrupt carbon-dioxide sensors that alert mosquitoes to exhaled breath, which signals the presence of a human nearby, the team reported. The work could lead to revolutionary but low-cost chemicals to confuse, deter or trap mosquitoes, it said. They could be invaluable in poor tropical countries, providing an alternative to DEET, a skin repellent that is expensive, needs repeat applications and is showing worrying signs of resistance. “These chemicals offer powerful advantages as potential tools for reducing mosquito-human contact

and can lead to the development of new generations of insect repellents and lures,” said Anandasankar Ray, an assistant professor of entomology at the University of California at Riverside, who led the study. Traps for mosquitoes already exist, in the form of dry ice, gas cylinders of carbon dioxide or propane combustion. But these gadgets are too bulky and far too expensive to be used for mosquito control, especially in poor settings. Future mosquito traps, Ray predicted, could be “highly portable, convenient and easily replenishable.”

Malaria claimed 781,000 lives in 2009, according to the UN’s World Health Organisation (WHO), which is heading efforts to distribute insecticide-treated mosquito nets and to

spray reproduction sites. About 90 percent of malaria deaths each year occur in Africa and 92 percent of those are children aged under five. Other mosquito-borne diseases are dengue, which sickens around 50 million people each year, yellow fever, filariasis and West Nile virus. Building on research on fruitflies, a common laboratory tool, Ray’s team looked at three of mosquito species whose females are disease vectors: Anopheles gambiae, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus.

The odour molecules that they identified disrupt receptor cells for carbon dioxide located in tiny, antennae-like appendages close to the mosquito’s mouth. These receptors are activated by a whiff of carbon dioxide, triggering a signal in the brain that prompts the

insect to fly upwind, following the puffs of CO2 until they reach its source.

Mosquito also use heat sensors and sight to home in on their meal. The findings have been tested in a smallscale experiment in Kenya, using huts where alluring plumes of CO2 were released to attract mosquitoes and odour molecules were released to bamboozle them. Mark Stopfer, a specialist at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), said the results opened up “a promising line of defence.”

He added some words of caution, saying that mosquitoes were attracted to other odours in human sweat and skin. In addition, the chemicals that have been tested on insects so far have not yet been tested for safety on humans, he noted. —AFP

A handout photo taken on August 21, 2009 and provided on May 31 by Nature shows the head and olfactory organs of a female mosquito (in foreground) and a fruitfly (background). — AFP

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Years

he a lt h & s c ie n c e

Does work interfere with breastfeeding?

NEW YORK: The sooner a new mother goes back to work after giving birth, the less likely she is to breastfeed her baby, according to a US study.

Mothers in the study, published in Pediatrics, who went back to work within six weeks were less likely than other women to start breastfeeding-and when they did start, they were less likely to continue.

By contrast, mothers who stayed home for at least nine months, or even 13 weeks, were more likely to predominantly breastfeed their babies for three months or more.

Research has shown that breastfed babies have lower rates of a number of pediatric illnesses, including eczema, middleear infections, pneumonia and asthma.

“We would encourage all women to attempt to breastfeed and continue as long as they can,” said study author Chinelo Ogbuanu at the Georgia Department of Health.

For example, she said, the more women breastfeed, the more milk they produce-and when they are separated from their babies during the day, their milk supply may start to dwindle. “No matter how effective a breast pump is, it’s not as effective as an infant,” Ogbuanu told Reuters Health.

She suggests that women try to take all their maternity leave at once, rather than breaking it up, and find ways to keep their baby close to the workplace during the day so they can breastfeed during work breaks. Failing that, regular pumping will ensure that their supply continues.

Currently, just seven of every 10 women in the United States breastfeed their babies at all, and just three of every 10 continue for a full six months, according to the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention.

Ogbuanu and her team reviewed information collected from 6,150 women who worked before giving birth. In interviews conducted nine months and two years after their babies were born, the women reported how long they had breastfed and when they returned to work.

The women who did not go back to work for at least nine months were more likely to have started breastfeeding that women who said they’d gone back in six weeks or less. About seven of every 10 mothers who were still home nine months later had tried to breastfeed, compared to six of 10 who went back to work within one to six weeks after delivery.

More than three out of 10 women who stayed home for at least 13 weeks said they predominantly breastfed their babies, compared to fewer than two of every 10 who went back to work within six weeks.

The authors did not find any relationship between breastfeeding and total allowed maternity leave, paid or unpaid, but instead focused on how long women took off before returning to work, concluding that the rate of breastfeeding in the United States might rise if new mothers delay their return.

But others said that the lack of a relationship between breastfeeding and total maternity leave made the data somewhat confusing, calling for a large-scale study based on the length of maternity leave.

“Based on their findings, I would not necessarily say going back to work causes some women to stop breastfeeding,” said Hawley Montgomery-Downs of West Virginia University, who did not take part in the study. — Reuters

Say bye to obesity

Diet booster wards off pregnancy syndrome PARIS: A dietary supplement of amino acid and antioxidant vitamins can reduce the risk for pregnant women of a dangerous condition called pre-eclampsia, according to a study released.

Affecting five percent of first-time pregnancies, pre-eclampsia leads to abnormally high blood pressure, protein build-up in urine, and swelling in the feet and ankles.

Its causes are unknown and the only way to alleviate potentially lifethreatening symptoms is to give birth. Earlier research showed a link to a deficiency in L-arginine, an amino acid that helps to maintain a healthy blood flow during pregnancy. Some experts have also suggest-

ed that antioxidant vitamins can help ward off the condition.

Researchers led by Felipe VadilloOrtego at National University in Mexico City designed a study to find out if a combination of L-arginine and antioxidants would prevent onset. Some 750 pregnant women in Mexico City at high risk of preeclampsia were randomly divided into three groups.

A third received daily food bars containing both L-arginine and antioxidant vitamins, a third bars containing only vitamins, and a third placebo bars.

The supplements began when women were around 20 weeks pregnant and continued until delivery.

The proportion of women developing pre-eclampsia was 30.2 percent in the placebo group, 22.5 percent in the vitamin only group, and 12.7 percent in the L-arginine plus vitamin group.

The dietary supplement also significantly reduced the risk of premature birth compared with placebo, said the study, published online by the British Medical Journal.

“This relatively simple and lowcost intervention may have value in reducing the risk of pre-eclampsia and associated preterm birth,” the authors conclude.

Further study is needed, however, to determine whether these results can be repeated. — AFP

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Announcements BAIA Summer Camp now open for registrations 2011 ON STAGE summer camp from 19 June to 06 July. Last year High School Musical, this year Camp Rock, Tangled, Cars...many more! From Page to Stage in just 3 weeks, through costume design, technicals, acting, singing, dance, music, make-up, film and lighting. Create a fabulous performance ON STAGE. Discounts available if registered before 01 June. Call 60052087 or mail administrator@baia.com.kw. Full details of all events and courses are available on www.baia.com.kw 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. Thursday 2 June, Performance. Friday 3 June, Performance. All performances start at 7pm at The English School, Salmiya. Emailing invitations@ahmadimusicgroup.com

Primary Graduation ceremony at Kuwait National English School

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he Primary Department of Kuwait National English School (Hawally) celebrated the success of its Year six pupils by honouring them at its Annual Graduation Ceremony and Summer Concert, 30th May 2011. Our Primary pupils presented many musical items, as well as Choral Verses and Poetry Recitals with the focus on summer as the main theme which was very well received by the parents. Jubilant graduates received their Diplomas and gifts of appreciation from the Schools Director, Madame Chantal Al-Gharabally. The successful evening culminated with the entire Primary school rendering the 1960’s Cliff Richard song ‘Summer Holiday’ as the grand finale.

Dr Hassan contributes to global edition of ‘Principles of Managerial Finance’

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r Hassan El-Saady, Professor of Financial Economics and Director of the Center for Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) at the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST), is one of six international contributors, contributing to the body of knowledge with five chapters and contributed five cases from studies in Kuwait and GCC to the 13th Edition of the university textbook “Principles of Managerial Finance” by Gitman and Zutter and published by Pearson Education.

Pearson is one of the largest publishers in the world for university and college textbooks.

The “Principles of Managerial Finance” textbook will be distributing over 250,000 copies worldwide. The contribution of Dr. ElSady to the new edition of the textbook includes the following five chapters: Chapter (6) “Interest Rates and Bonds Valuation” where he contributed learnings in interest rate and bond valuation through the

analysis of his securitization project to the Saving & Loans Bank in Kuwait, which is considered the largest securitization program in the region with more than $14 billion. In chapter (10), Dr El-Sady

discussed the brilliant Kuwaiti government management of the Kuwait Fund for Economic Development in creating political support in the United Nations and Security Council at the time of development. He explores the nonfinancial considerations in

project selections as one of the Capital Budgeting considerations in project selection. Dr ElSady argued the Risk Refinements in Capital Budgeting of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in GCC in chapter (11). The Case of Global Investment House is discussed in chapter (14) to show the payback time of a multinational corporation cross-listed in the Kuwait Stock Exchange as well as the London Stock Exchange. Dr. El-Sady showcases his contribution to Mergers, LBOs, Divestitures and Business Failures in chapter (18). The Gulf Bank case is discussed as the “Too Big to Fail” case and how all stakeholders in the banking industry participated in this case including Central Bank, Gulf Bank, Borrowers, Regulators, Investors, etc. Dr. El-Sady contributed four case studies based on Kuwaiti companies and one based on the GCC economy which will further educate students around the world on Kuwait’s growing economy.

This is deemed as one of the highest honors of any professor where he has the ability to contribute to the body of knowledge and the education of students not only in his classroom,

but in many classrooms around the world.

Dr El-Sady was selected by PEARSON Education, as one of the main contributors to the new edition of the textbook for his great experience in the selected chapters in Middle Asia, while

working as International Consultant with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Central Bank of Egypt. As well as for his experience in Kuwait while he working with the Saving & Loans Bank of Kuwait as the Board of Directors’ Head of Consultants. He put the investment chapter of the bank and engineered the $14 billion securitization project. Also, Dr. ElSady was selected for his publications - related to the mentioned chapters - which appeared in international journals such the Economic System, International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research, Journal of Emerging Markets, International Business & Economics Research Journal, International Journal of Bank Marketing, and other journals.

Furthermore, Dr El-Sady has published books in “Financial Management: an Applied Approach,”“Capital Budgeting and Long Term Finance” and “Long-Term Source of Funds: an Economic Approach.”

AWARE Arabic course The AWARE management is glad to inform you that Summer 2 Arabic language courses will begin on June 12 until July 21, 2011. AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed & 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.

AWARE Arabic courses highlights: Introductory to Level 4 Arabic language basics; Ccmbine language learning with cultural insights; taught in multi-nationality group settings ; and provides opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs. For more information and/or registration, call 25335260/80 ext 105 or 0 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw International Women’s Group As is customary, our final meeting for the season will be our I nternational brunch and national costume competition on Sunday, 5 June 2011 at the Radisson Blu- Boubyan Room, Al Hashemi. Doors open at 9:30 and costume judging will commence at 10:30 prompt. We look forward to seeing you - in national dress, if you wish - and remind all current members that membership renewals are also due at this time.

This is also the last opportunity to submit applications for those wishing to be considered for IWG membership for the year 2011-2012.

Kala language program inauguaration tomorrow Kerala Art Lovers Association (Kala, Kuwait) free Malayalam education program will be inaugurated tomorrow June 3rd at Indian Central School, Abbasiya in which National Award winning Indian film director and Cinematographer, Shaji N. Karun will be the chief guest. The inaugural ceremony will begin at 9.30 A.M. Musical event led by famous Malayalam play back singer Gayathri Ashokan and his team will be the main attraction of the day.

Infunity presents summer ‘Blank Camp’

Crowne Plaza Kuwait hosts executive housekeepers meet

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kshi Singh, Director of Housekeeping for the Crowne Plaza Kuwait hosted the Executive Housekeepers of all the hotels in Kuwait to meet and discuss the latest developments in housekeeping and related areas. Their monthly visit was enhanced by the presence of a representative from Emile

Rassam, Eli, a leading authority in image clothing for corporations, industry & hospitality worldwide.

The Executive Housekeepers’ Meet began with a delightful lunch at Viaggio, the newest dining jewel of the Crowne Plaza Kuwait. Located on the first floor of the hotel, the restaurant offers the finest of

the Italian cuisine, featuring Tuscan style of cooking, in an ambience of Florence.

The group was taken on a brief show around on the property, giving them a quick glimpse of the hotel and its facilities.

Eli, representing Emile Rassam gave a short presentation of all the latest designs in the uniform lines for the hospitality

industry. A brief meeting was held at the Dana 4 meeting room of the hotel to discuss all issues pertaining to the Green Awareness Campaign, which included recycling of materials to reduce costs.

Other topics included uniform and linen procurement, maintenance and rates for the same.

Youth India award presented to Benyamin ICS presents ‘Mahakte Lamhe’

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ndian 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 shows fame Neha Chouhan & Nayan Rathod on 10th June 2011 Friday at 7.30 pm sharp at Auditorium Kamil Al Rays, American Intern. School, near Police Station Maidan Hawally Kuwait. For more

details, please contact: 97690035, 66568147, 94450833, 97270386, 97286577, 67030839, and 99757214.

Email ics.kuwait@gmail.com Web Page: www.nazarkesamne.webs.com 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.

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he award winning novel, Atujeevitham, provides strength to withstand any difficulties that life may throw at us, said Youth India Chief Patron, Sakkeer Hussain Thuvvoor, delivering his keynote address. ‘Aadu Jeevitham’ will remain in history as an exemplary work of literature and such work which exposes the human rights violations are very rare, opined John Mathew, speaking at the function.

Thomas Mathew Kadavil, Berguman

Thomas, PP Abdul Razak, Shijo Philip, Faisal Manjeri, Abdulla Perambra and Ashraf Kalathode spoke on the occasion. Youth India Social Wing Convenor Arshad read out the judgment verdict.

Anil Aatuva entertained the audience with the poem ‘Yaathraa Mozhi’ by Balachandran Chulllikkad. Youth India President Khaleelurahman presided over the function and General Secretary Noushad VV welcomed the audience.

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re you looking to keep your kids busy this summer? The family entertainment center “Infunity” presents its first summer “Blank Camp”, which offers a great experience, fun and adventures for young campers ages 5 to 12 years old. The “Blank Camp” which is managed by Blank Hunts, offers a variety of activities including arts, crafts, reading, theater, sports and treasure hunt.

The camp will be running from June 19 to July 14 at “Infunity”, 360 Mall, Level 3 and will be conducted from 9 am to 1:30 pm.

In this camp, kids will have the opportunity to learn new skills, gain knowledge, enhance selfconfidence and build character and self-esteem. In addition, build up new friendships and unforgettable experiences that last a lifetime.

“Infunity” aims through this camp to offer kids the opportunity to express their capabilities, try new things, stimulate challenge, work in teams and improve their skills. Moreover, all activities are chosen and designed carefully to entrain young campers in a healthy and safe environment.

It is worthy to mention that the family entertainment center “Infunity” is one of the latest entertainment centers in Kuwait and it is the right place for the families who are seeking to spend enjoyable and pleasant times since its games are the most recent in Kuwait and combines education and entertainment. Invest your kid’s time and call on 99091277 to register.

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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Embassy Information EMBASSY OF ARGENTINA In order to inform that 23rd of October 2011, will be Argentine national election where all Argentinean citizen residents permanently in Kuwait can vote only if they are registered at the Electoral Register of the Argentine Embassy. The procedure of inscription ended on 25 of April 2011. To register it is necessary that Argentinean citizens should come personally at the Argentinean Embassy (Block 6, street 42, villa 57, Mishref) and present the DNI and four personal photos (size 4x4, face should be front on white background). For further information, contact us on 25379211.

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Consecration of new worship hall for St Peters Marthoma Parish

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ed by the Bishop followed by the Holy Communion which is a dominical sacrament and the most distinguishing mark of a Christian worship. The public meeting was also arranged in which the Chairman of NECK, Rev. Immanuel Garib, vicars of different parishes felicitated this special occasion.

Marthoma Metropolitan in His blessed message mentioned that the parish right from the start is blessed one and now has a resurrection experience. His Grace quoted “many noble ideas have given birth to noble institutions and Ramrajyam or God s Kingdom has risen from nothing. It is resurrection for a testimony, happy moments for the citizens of the Kingdom of God”.

The Marthoma church is rooted deeply with a wide ecumenical vision and we as marthomites has to bear a testimony to a rich heritage that we have inherited from our forefathers. As

he new premises for St. Peters Marthoma Parish in Abbassiya was consecrated by his Lordship Most Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Marthoma Metropolitan, the Supreme of Marthoma Syrian Church of Malabar on Thursday evening of 26th May in a graceful and colorful manner.

Under the leadership of the Parish Vicar, Rev. Chacko Thomas, the 21st Marthoma Metropolitan was welcomed in a grand way Into the hall with Sunday school children standing on both sides holding the lighted candle in one hand and Marthoma Church flag in the other. This procession had an open Bible and a Cross upholding the integrity and pledge of the Church which was escorted by the other dignitaries, vicars of other parishes, committee members, parish members and other distinguished guests.

The dedication service was conduct-

years pass we acquire wings and tend to forget our roots. History of the struggle of people teaches us that unless we find our roots we cannot assert our identity. Our leaders have placed our church no doubt on a solid ideological footing, i.e., politically correct, theologically progressive, socially enlightened and cultural responsive leaders.

Metropolitan His Grace also cited two important things that the Lord knows each one by our name and our doings. Lords anger and love is experienced on the Cross of Calvary. And finally Thirumeni said that in Eternity we will live. As Lord has given us life, we have an identity which lasts to Eternity that responds to the Creator s voice.

The church Choir sang melodious songs under the Choir master Nebu Alexander. Parish Vicar Rev. Chacko Thomas in his presidential address con-

gratulated the parish members and expressed his sincere love and affection to the Thirumeni. C.P. Thomas, the General Convener welcomed all the guests and George Punnose, Assembly member gave the felicitation speech.

Vote of thanks was done by the Parish Secretary Mr. Aby Sam. During this occasion the parish Vice President Mr. Thomas Kuruvila released the harvest festival coupon by handing over it to the vicar for the first sale to Varghese Joseph. The meeting ended gracefully by prayer and benediction.

This day is a golden letter day in the history of Kuwait marthomians as we were blessed and honored by our Marthoma Metropolitan. Let us all pray that this Parish be an eye-opening for others through thought and word and deed to manifest the kingdom values to lead others in right direction in peace and harmony.

EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Embassy encourages all Australians to register their presence in Kuwait through Smartraveller Online (see link below).

Australians who are registered are asked to update their details. The information provided will assist us in contacting you in an emergency. www.smartraveller.gov.au Kuwait citizens can apply for and receive visit visas to Australia online at www.immi.gov.au. This usually takes two working days. All others visa applications are handled by the Australian Visa Application Centre Tel. 22971110.

Witnessing and certifying documents are by appointment only, please contact the Embassy on 2232 2422.

The Australian Embassy is open from 8.00am to 4.00pm, Sunday to Thursday.

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EMBASSY OF BRITAIN The Visa Application Centre (VAC) will be closed on the same dates above. The opening hours of the Visa Application Centre are 0930 - 1630 Application forms remain available online from the UKBAs’ website: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk or from the Visa Application Centre’s website: www.vfs-ukkw.com. And also, from the UK Visa Application Centre located at: 4B, First Floor, Al Banwan Building (Burgan Bank Branch Office Building), Al Qibla area, opposite Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City. For any further inquiries, please contact the Visa Application Centre: Website: www.vfs-uk-kw.com E-mail:info@vfs-uk-kw.com Telephone:22971170. The Consular Section will also be closed on the same dates.

For information on the British Embassy services, visit the British Embassy website: www.ukinkuwait.fco.gov.uk ■■■■■■■

Greetings Happy 14th birthday to Jomon John!

Greetings and best wishes from papa, mummy & Jomin.

EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, AlMutawakel St., Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca.

Canada offers a registration service for all Canadians travelling or living abroad. This service is provided so that Consular Officials can contact and assist Canadians in an emergency in a foreign country, such as a natural disaster or civil unrest, or inform Canadians of a family emergency at home. The Embassy of Canada encourages all Canadian Citizens to register online through the Government of Canada Travel Website at www.voyage.gc.ca. The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.UAE.gc.ca.

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Masterminds bring glory to UIS

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nited Indian School bagged the chess overall Championship for the 6th time in the CBSE Kuwait Cluster Chess tournament held at Indian English Academy School, Salmiya on 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th of May 2011. A total of 11 schools took par t in this tournament. At the onset itself, Under - 19 Girls team kept a tight rein on the hapless opponents to win the laurels hands down. The UIS team with their Strategical moves in all the categories (U-19 Girls, U-14 Girls, U-19 Mixed, and U-14 Mixed categories) knocked down their opponents to reach the top and claim the championship for the 6th time sharing it with FAIPS . In the U-19 Mixed categor y, UIS defeated ICS, CSK and draw with IIS M angaf and GIS becoming the third place holders

of the tournament.

While U-14 mixed group won against ICSK, ICS and IISM and draw with FAIPS and GlS and thereby becoming the third place holders.

In U-14 girls group, under the captaincy of Swetha Dinesh who has been representing the school for the last 3 years, defeated GIS, IEAS, IIS Mangaf and a draw with ICSK, became runnersup of this category.

In U-19 girls group, under the captaincy of Asha Jane D’ cruz - the winners of this category defeated IEAS, IES, CSK, ICSK and a draw with GIS. The U-14 mixed and U-19 girls team represented the UIS in the CBSE national tournament held at Durgapur (W.B ) and were the Gulf region toppers last year. It is for the 6th time, the UIS team has been the Overall Champions and consecu-

tively for the third time in the CBSE Kuwait cluster chess tournaments.

Results: I. Under-14 M ixed Category: Third Place; Team members {l} Levin Abraham Benny (captain), {2} Mohammed Uwaise, {3} Jeswin V. Jacob, {4} Anand Suresh Nair, {5} Vibin James V. II. U-19 Mixed category.

Third Place: {1} Anu James (captain) Third place, {2} Haynes Mathew, {3} Mridul Mathew, {4} Aditya Iyer, {5} Colin Thomas.

III. U-14 Girls: Runners up {1} Swetha Dinesh (captain) Runner up, {2} Anitta Rose, {3} Ashmy Sajan, {4} Pritha Mar y Jacob, {5} Nikhat Fathima, IV. U-19 Girls Winners {1} Asha Jane D’cruz, {2} Fiona Sunny, {3} Preeti Manoj, {4} Jacksy Susan Johnson, {5} Sofiyamma P. Chacko.

Many happy returns of the day to dearest Amira.

May God bless you and may you blow many more candles. Best wishes come from your sister.

EMBASSY OF GERMANY The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kuwait wishes to announce that as of 1 May 2011, the external service provider Al Qabas Assurex is operating a Visa Application Centre in support of the German Embassy. Short-term visa applications for travels to Germany (e.g. for tourism, visits, business) are to be submitted to the service provider Al Qabas who for your convenience will ensure that all relevant documents are included in your application. Your personal appearance at the Application Centre is not required. Address of the Visa Application Centre: Al Qabas Assurex Sanabel Tower (Al-Babtain) Mezzanine (M3) opposite Sharq Mall Kuwait 22924444 Fax: 22924442 Further information are available on the following websites: www.kuwait.diplo.de www.qavisa.com ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF ITALY The Embassy of Italy will be closed today, 2nd June 2011, on the occasion of the National Day of the Italian Republic.

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Wedding anniversary Happy 25th wedding anniversary to Joseph C.J & Philomina Joseph. From John, Molly, Jomon, Jomin, Joby & Jophy.

EMBASSY OF INDIA Embassy of India, Kuwait, would like to inform that application forms for passport/visa services and labour contracts that are on its website, www.indembkwt.org, have been upgraded to include the facility for online data entry. Affidavit forms on the Embassy website have had this facility since May 6, 2009.

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EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to request all Kenyans resident in or training through Kuwait to register with the Embassy. We are updating our database. This information is necessary in order to facilitate quick assistance and advise in times of emergency. Kindly visit in person or register through our website www.kenyaembkuwait.com. The Embassy is located in: Surra Area - Block 6 - Street 9 Villa 3 Tel: 25353362 - 25353314; Fax: 25353316.

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Berchmans 15th Ever-rolling trophy basketball tournament

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t Berchmans 15th Ever Rolling Trophy Interschool Basketball Tournament was conducted at Camel School Grounds. The tournament was conducted separately for boys and girls. 8 boys teams and 3 girls teams participated in this prestigious tournament.

Winners and Runner-ups Carmel School won the Championship for Boys with 60 points. The Runner-up Trophy went to United Indian School with 59 points.

The competition was extremely tight and the spectators watched with breathless excitement.

Mohammed Danish of Carmel School won the Best Player-Boys award. United Indian School, Abbassiya won the Championship for Girls with 40 points and the Runner-up Trophy was

bagged by Carmel School with 12 points.

Sofiyamma P. Chacko - Captain of UIS won the Best Player-Girls award. Thomas Scaria, the Convener, welcomed the gathering. Thomas Varghese, the President, inaugurated the tournament. Al Mulla Exchange, Gigy Jacob Pollayil and Al Wassen Electronics were the sponsors.

Shibu Pallickal, General Secretary announced the results and delivered the vote of thanks.

Messers M.K. Pothen, K.P. Koshy, Aloysius Thomas, Scaria Cherian, Kurien Varghese and and tournament committee members were present for the tournament. Service rendered

by Paulson and Jimmy in conducting the tournament was commendable. Lyneth and team were the referees.

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has moved its office to Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk ■■■■■■■

EMBASSY OF PERU With the growing interest shown by Kuwaiti citizens and/or foreign residents in Kuwait for going for vacation and tourism to Peru and/or with the purpose of doing business over there, The Embassy of Peru in Kuwait did the effort and obtained as a temporary and immediate solution - till the opening of the consular section of Diplomatic Mission of Peru in Kuwait City - that the consular section of the Embassy of Peru in Qatar will attend those requests of granting such visas. Working hours: 9 am till 2 pm or call +974-4491-5944, Fax: +974-4491-5940 E-mail: info@peruembassy.com.qa

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Untamed And Uncut Dogs 101 Austin Stevens Adventures 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 International Animal Cops South Africa RSPCA: On The Frontline Vet On The Loose Natural World Animal Battlegrounds The Really Wild Show Crocodile Hunter Dogs 101 Austin Stevens Adventures Michaela’s Animal Road Trip Dogs 101 Cheetah Kingdom Max’s Big Tracks Sharkbite Summer Natural World

00:00 Last Of The Summer Wine 00:30 The Weakest Link 01:15 Casualty 02:10 Desperate Romantics 03:00 Eastenders 03:30 Doctors 04:00 Last Of The Summer Wine 04:35 Me Too 04:55 Tweenies 05:15 Teletubbies 05:40 Bobinogs 05:55 Me Too 06:15 Tweenies 06:35 Teletubbies 07:00 Me Too 07:20 Tweenies 07:40 Teletubbies 08:05 Bobinogs 08:20 Me Too 08:40 Tweenies 09:00 Teletubbies 09:25 Bobinogs 09:40 Last Of The Summer Wine 10:40 The Weakest Link 11:25 Doctor Who 12:15 Doctors 12:45 Eastenders 13:15 Casualty 14:05 Last Of The Summer Wine 15:35 Doctor Who 16:20 Doctor Who Confidential 16:30 The Weakest Link 17:15 Doctors 17:45 Eastenders 18:15 Casualty 19:05 Doctor Who 19:50 Doctor Who Confidential 20:00 The Weakest Link 20:45 Doctors 21:15 Eastenders 21:45 Casualty 22:40 Ray Mears’ Northern Wilderness 23:30 Last Of The Summer Wine

00:35 01:20 01:50 02:15 03:45 04:40 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:45 12:15 13:05 13:55 14:40

Come Dine With Me Design Rules Design Rules Holmes On Homes New Scandinavian Cooking Daily Cooks Challenge New Scandinavian Cooking New Scandinavian Cooking Antiques Roadshow Holmes On Homes New Scandinavian Cooking Antiques Roadshow Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt

15:25 16:15 17:45 18:10 19:00 19:50 20:35 21:20 22:10 22:35 23:00 23:55

Come Dine With Me Holmes On Homes Sweet Baby James New Scandinavian Cooking Antiques Roadshow Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt Come Dine With Me Design Rules Design Rules Great British Menu Come Dine With Me

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 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

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

TV PROGRAMS 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 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

00:00 00:30 01:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00

Backstory World Sport World Report World Business Today Piers Morgan Tonight Anderson Cooper 360 World Sport Talk Asia World Report Backstory World Report World Sport Eco Solutions World Business Today World One World Sport Living Golf Piers Morgan Tonight News Stream World Business Today International Desk The Brief World Sport Prism International Desk Living Golf Quest Means Business Piers Morgan Tonight Connect The World

00:40 Dirty Jobs 01:35 Science Of The Movies 02:30 Ultimate Survival 03:25 Motor City Motors 04:20 Mythbusters 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How Machines Work 06:05 Dirty Jobs 07:00 Motor City Motors 07:50 American Chopper: Senior vs Junior 08:45 How Do They Do It? 09:10 Mythbusters 10:05 Cake Boss 10:30 Border Security 10:55 Time Warp 11:25 Science Of The Movies 12:20 The Future Of...

13:15 Ultimate Survival 14:10 LA Ink 15:05 Dirty Jobs 16:00 Motor City Motors 16:55 Mythbusters

UNBREAKABLE ON OSN CINEMA

17:50 18:45 19:10 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:55 22:50 23:45

Man vs Fish With Matt Watson Cake Boss Border Security Time Warp How Machines Work How Do They Do It? Worst-Case Scenario Sole Survivor Surviving Disaster Man vs Fish With Matt Watson

00:30 The Gadget Show 00:55 Nyc: Inside Out 01:45 How It’s Made 02:35 How Stuff Works 03:25 How Does That Work?

03:50 Thunder Races 04:45 What’s That About?

05:40 One Step Beyond 06:10 Engineered 07:00 Scrapheap Challenge 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 Green Wheels 11:50 Scrapheap Challenge 12:40 One Step Beyond 13:05 How Stuff Works 13:55 Human Body: Ultimate Machine 14:45 Nyc: Inside Out 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 Colony

00:20 00:45 01:10 01:30 01:55 02:20 02:45 03:10 03:30 03:55 04:20 04:45 05:10 05:35 06:00 06:25 06:50 07:15 07:40 08:00 08:20 08:45 09:10 09:20 09:30 09:55 10:05 10:25 11:15 11:35 12:00 12:10 12:35 13:00 13:25 13:40 14:05 14:15 14:25 14:50 15:15 16:05 16:30 16:40 16:55 17:20 17:45 17:55 18:05 18:15 18:35 19:00 19:20 19:45 19:55 20:05 20:50 21:10 21:20 21:30 21:55 22:20 22:35 22:45 23:00 23:20 23:30 23:55

Jungle Junction Special Agent Oso Little Einsteins Higglytown Heroes Jo Jo’s Circus Jungle Junction Special Agent Oso Little Einsteins Higglytown Heroes Jo Jo’s Circus Jungle Junction Special Agent Oso Little Einsteins Higglytown Heroes Jo Jo’s Circus Jungle Junction Special Agent Oso Little Einsteins Higglytown Heroes Special Agent Oso Jungle Junction Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Timmy Time Handy Manny Jake & The Neverland Pirates The Hive Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse The Little Mermaid Little Einsteins Jungle Junction Lazytown Imagination Movers Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates Jungle Junction Timmy Time The Hive Little Einsteins The Little Mermaid Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Handy Manny The Hive Jake & The Neverland Pirates Imagination Movers Lazytown Jungle Junction Special Agent Oso The Hive Little Einsteins Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates The Little Mermaid Handy Manny Timmy Time Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jake & The Neverland Pirates The Hive Handy Manny The Little Mermaid Little Einsteins Handy Manny The Hive Jungle Junction The Little Mermaid Timmy Time Jo Jo’s Circus Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

06:00 06:20 06:40 07:05 08:05 08:30 08:50 09:00 09:50 10:15 10:40 11:30 11:55 12:45 13:50 Cody 14:15 Cody 14:40 15:05 15:25 15:30 15:35 16:00 16:25 16:50 17:40 18:30 18:55 19:20 19:45 20:05 20:15 20:40 21:05

Kid vs Kat Kick Buttowski Pokemon Phineas And Ferb American Dragon Kick Buttowski Cars Toons Zeke And Luther I’m In The Band The Super Hero Squad Show Suite Life On Deck Pair Of Kings Phineas And Ferb Kid vs Kat The Suite Life Of Zack And The Suite Life Of Zack And Zeke And Luther Kick Buttowski Cars Toons Cars Toons Pokemon I’m In The Band Suite Life On Deck Zeke And Luther Phineas And Ferb Escape From Scorpion Island Kick Buttowski American Dragon Aaron Stone Cars Toons Kid vs Kat Phineas And Ferb I’m In The Band

21:30 21:50 22:00 Cody 22:20 23:00 KSA

Zeke And Luther Phineas And Ferb The Suite Life Of Zack And

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 12:50 13:40 14:30 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 20:20 21:10 22:00 Cases 22:50 23:40

Ghost Lab Mysterious Journeys I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghosthunters Ghost Lab Diagnosis: Unknown Forensic Detectives Guilty Or Innocent?

Diagnosis: Unknown Real Emergency Calls Solved FBI Files On The Case With Paula Zahn FBI Case Files Diagnosis: Unknown Real Emergency Calls Solved Forensic Detectives Guilty Or Innocent?

FBI Files Diagnosis: Unknown Real Emergency Calls0 On The Case With Paula Zahn FBI Case Files Autopsy: Most Shocking

The Super Hero Squad Show Programmes Start At 6:00am

True Crime Scene Dr G: Medical Examiner

00:30 62 Days At Sea 01:30 Departures 02:30 Banged Up Abroad 03:30 Destination Extreme 04:00 Bondi Rescue 04:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 05:00 Exploring The Vine 05:30 Meet The Natives: USA 06:30 62 Days At Sea 07:30 Departures 08:30 Banged Up Abroad 09:30 Destination Extreme 10:00 Bondi Rescue 10:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 11:00 Exploring The Vine 11:30 By Any Means 12:30 Market Values 13:00 Bondi Rescue 13:30 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 14:30 Banged Up Abroad 15:30 Destination Extreme 16:00 Bondi Rescue 16:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 17:00 Exploring The Vine 17:30 By Any Means 18:30 Market Values 19:00 Bondi Rescue 19:30 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 20:30 Banged Up Abroad 21:30 Destination Extreme 22:00 Bondi Rescue 22:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 23:00 Exploring The Vine 23:30 By Any Means

00:00 02:00 18 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 PG15 09:00 11:00 PG 13:00 15:00 PG15 17:15 19:00 21:00 23:00

The Cottage-18 Battlestar Galactica: The PlanFrom Paris With Love-18 Collateral-18 The Marine 2-PG15 The One-PG15 Unbreakable-PG15 The Marine 2-PG15 Annihilation Earth-PG15 Unbreakable-PG15 Bangkok Adrenaline-PG15 Ninja Assassin-18

The Waiting City-PG15 Harold-PG15 On Broadway-PG15 The Sorcerer’s ApprenticeHarold-PG15 The Wild Thornberrys MovieHurricane Season-PG15 The Sorcerer’s ApprenticeChatterbox-PG Away We Go-PG15 Drag Me To Hell-PG15 Shutter Island-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 South Park 02:00 The Big C 02:30 Weeds 03:00 Just Shoot Me 03:00 The Big C 03:30 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 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 Parks And Recreation 08:30 Dharma And Greg 09:00 Just Shoot Me 09:30 Will And Grace 10:00 Yes Dear 10:30 Parks And Recreation 11:00 The Drew Carey Show 11:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:30 Dharma And Greg 13:00 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne 13:30 Will And Grace 14:00 Yes Dear 14:30 The Simpsons 15:00 Parks And Recreation 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 Happy Endings 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

SHUTTER ISLAND ON OSN MOVIES ACTION 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 21:00 22:00 23:00

Supernatural Game Of Thrones The Ellen DeGeneres Show Glee The View Good Morning America The Bachelor Emmerdale Coronation Street The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show The View Supernatural Glee Live Good Morning America The Bachelor The Ellen DeGeneres Show Emmerdale Look-A-Like Bones White Collar Burn Notice The Good Guys The Bachelor

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Friday Night Lights C.S.I. Supernatural Game Of Thrones Glee Psych Friday Night Lights 30 Rock Coronation Street Huge Psych Glee Supernatural 30 Rock Coronation Street Huge Friday Night Lights 30 Rock Look-A-Like Huge Bones White Collar Burn Notice The Good Guys Royal Pains

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 14:45 16:45 19:45 21:30 23:00

Courage Under Fire-PG15 Set It Off-18 The Forsaken-18 Courage Under Fire-PG15 Daylight-PG15 S.W.A.T.-PG15 Star Runners-PG15 Daylight-PG15 Pearl Harbor-PG15 The Tournament-18 The Final Destination-18 The Descent 2-18

00:00 Swing Vote-PG15 02:00 Three And Out-PG15 04:00 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star-PG15 06:00 That Thing You Do!-PG 08:00 Leave It To Beaver-PG 10:00 One Fine Day-PG15 12:00 How To Go Out On A Date In Queens-PG15 14:00 Checking Out-PG15 16:00 Swing Vote-PG15 18:00 Last Of The Living-PG15 20:00 The Making Of Plus One-PG15 22:00 Tucker Max-R

02:30 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 18:45 21:00 23:00

9th Company-18 Awakenings-PG Three Investigators-PG15 Born Free-PG Motherhood-PG15 The People Speak-PG15 Under The Mountain-PG Little Nicholas-PG You Don’t Know Jack-PG15 Gattaca-18 In The Electric Mist-PG15

01:15 03:00 04:40 06:25 09:00 11:00 13:15 15:00 17:15 19:00 21:00 23:00

In America-18 Easy Virtue-PG15 Moon-PG15 2012-PG15 Smart People-PG15 Finding Forrester-PG Clash Of The Titans-PG15 Valentine’s Day-PG15 Smart People-PG15 Land Of The Lost-PG15 Drag Me To Hell-PG15 All Good Things-18

00:00 Calvin Marshall-PG15 02:00 The Boys Are Back-PG 03:45 My Dog Tulip-PG 05:45 Glorious 39-PG15 08:00 Make It Happen-PG15 10:00 Not The Messiah: He’s A Very Naughty Boy-PG15 12:00 The Boys Are Back-PG 14:00 Winning Time-PG15 16:00 Make It Happen-PG15 18:00 Fantastic Mr. Fox-FAM 20:00 The Time Traveller’s WifePG15 22:00 New York I Love You-18

00:00 The Trumpet Of The SwanFAM 02:00 Barbie In A Fashion FairytaleFAM 04:00 Last Of The Mohicans-PG 06:00 Casper Haunted ChristmasFAM 08:00 Zorro’s Secrets-PG 10:00 The Trumpet Of The SwanFAM 12:00 Columbus III: The New WorldPG 14:00 Hotel For Dogs-FAM 16:00 Pocahontas And The Spider Woman-PG 18:00 Delgo-FAM 20:00 Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths-PG 22:00 Columbus III: The New WorldPG

00:00 Super Rugby Highlights 01:00 IRB Sevens 04:00 Mobil 1 The Grid 04:30 Weber Cup Bowling 05:30 AFL Highlights 06:30 Spirit of Yachting 07:00 FEI Equestrian World 07:30 Mobil 1 The Grid 08:00 IRB Sevens 11:00 European PGA Tour Highlights 12:00 AFL Highlights 14:00 Super Rugby Highlights 15:00 Total Rugby 15:30 NRL Full Time 16:00 IRB Sevens 19:00 Super Rugby Highlights 20:00 Total Rugby 20:30 Futbol Mundial 21:00 Live Darts UK Open

01:00 Futbol Mundial 01:30 Ladies European Tour Highlights 02:30 Golfing World 03:30 Futbol Mundial 04:00 FEI Equestrain World 04:30 European Tour Weekly 05:00 European PGA Tour Highlights 06:00 Trans World Sport 07:00 Golfing World 08:00 Ladies European Tour Highlights 09:00 European Tour Weekly 09:30 Asian Tour Golf 10:00 World Hockey 10:30 Trans World Sport 11:30 Total Rugby 12:00 Super League 14:00 Weber Cup Bowling 15:00 Golfing World 16:00 European Tour Weekly 16:30 Live European PGA Tour 20:30 FEI Equestrain World 21:00 NRL Full Time 21:30 Live RFL Championship 23:30 European PGA Tour

00:00 01:00 02:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 19:00 20:00 21:00

V8 Supercars Championship V8 Supercars Championship Prizefighter UFC Unleashed UFC Unleashed WWE SmackDown WWE Bottom Line Le Mans Series Full Throttle WWE Vintage Collection WWE Bottom Line WWE SmackDown Prizefighter WWE NXT UFC The Ultimate Fighter UFC 130

00:00 Julian and Camilla’s World Odyssey 01:00 Hollywood and Vines 01:30 Distant Shores 02:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 03:00 Essential Specials 04:00 Globe Trekker 05:00 Julian and Camilla’s World Odyssey 06:00 Destination Art 06:30 48 Hours In 07:00 Globe Trekker 08:00 Travel 360 09:00 Travel Notebook 10:00 Four Men and a Lady 10:30 Tall Ship Explorers 11:30 Riding Eastern Europe 12:00 Globe Trekker 13:00 Distant Shores 13:30 Sophie Grigson In The Home Counties 14:00 Destination Art 14:30 Travel 360 15:30 Essential 16:00 Globe Trekker 17:00 Riding Route 66 17:30 Four Men and a Lady 18:00 Distant Shores 18:30 Sophie Grigson In The Home Counties 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

00:00 01:05 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:05 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:05 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:05 21:00 22:00 23:00

Last Voices Of World War I God vs. Satan: The Final Battle Patton 360 Hell’s Battlefield Battle Stations Last Voices Of World War I God vs. Satan: The Final Battle Patton 360 Hell’s Battlefield Battle Stations Last Voices Of World War I God vs. Satan: The Final Battle Patton 360 Hell’s Battlefield Battle Stations Last Voices Of World War I God vs. Satan: The Final Battle Ax Men Tunnellers Secret Superpowered Aircraft

01:30 03:10 04:50 06:20 07:55 10:25 12:05 12:20 14:00 15:30 17:15 18:55 20:25 22:00 23:45

Tank Girl Dream Lover Extremities Finding The Way Home The Group Ruby Jean And Joe Big Screen - 2 Romantic Comedy Sheba, Baby They Call Me Mister Tibbs!

White Lightning Crime And Punishment (1998) .Com For Murder Joshua Tree Driven To Kill

Classifieds THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation available for decent couples/ executive bachelors separate room/ toilet/ balcony, near UIS Abbasiya.

Contact: 97208351.

(C 3405) 2-6-2011 Accommodation available in Abbassiya, for family or bachelors with A/C, water, gas etc., KD 70. Please contact: 24336581/ 66790798/ 99307591. (C 3401) 31-5-2011 To-let, one semi furnished spacious room with attached mini room consisting of toilet, for decent couple or executive bachelors in a flat in Bneid AlGhar. Please call: 60046720 for detail and viewing.

(C 3398)

ning, olive green color, well maintained. Price KD 1,300/-. Contact: 66049186.

(C 3402) 31-5-2011 SITUATION VACANT Wanted house boy/ handy man for chalet, must speak English, preferably Filipino or Indian.

Contact: 55220650. (C 3409) 2-6-2011

LOST Original document Policy No. 633000004, Abdul Sattar Mughal by State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan, Gulf Zone is lost.

Anyone finding the same or claiming any interest in it should communicate with the Manager (PHS) State Life - P.O. Box 11278, Dubai (UAE). (C 3407) 2-6-2011

FOR SALE CHANGE OF NAME For sale full house furniture, bedroom, children’s bedroom, sofa bed, living room, fridge, washing machine, dining table, curtains, TV. For more information call: 99495795.

(C 3406) Brand new Samsung Galaxy Tab for sale, call for good price, made in Korea, 16 GB, BlackBerry Curve 3G. Contact: 94427488.

(C 3408)

I, Mohammed Atik Ansari, holder Indian Passport No. G3927680 hereby change my name to Mohammed Salim Ansari. (C 3404) 1-6-2011

No: 15107

Laptop Acer Aspire, RAM 1GB, HD 160GB, DVDWriter, Bluetooth, wireless, Price KD 75 and PC Compaq Pentium4 with 15” LCD Neovo, Price KD 40. All in excellent condition. Call: 99322585. (C 3410) 2-6-2011

MATRIMONIAL

Wanted to buy a used BMW M5 2008 - 2010. Price depends on condition.

Contact: 60769681.

(C 3392) 1-6-2011

Marriage proposal invited for R.C boy working as heavy truck driver in Kuwait, age 32, height 5.3” planning to vacation on November, from qualified girls. Contact email: tobobinogeorge@gmail.com (C 3403) 31-5-2011

Volkswagon Passat, 2004 model 2L, 70,000 km run-

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines JZR JZR THY ETH UAE CLX DHX ETD FDB GFA QTR THY JZR FCX JZR KAC BAW KAC KAC IRA KAC KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE QTR ABY ETD GFA MEA JZR JZR MEA JZR KAC MSR UAL RJA MSR FDB OMA JZR SVA KAC KNE KAC SYR JZR QTR

Flt 205 267 772 620 853 758 370 305 67 211 138 770 503 201 555 412 157 206 382 605 302 332 53 352 284 362 855 132 125 301 213 404 165 121 404 561 672 610 982 640 621 57 645 357 500 552 745 788 341 257 134

Arrival Flights on Thursday 2/6/2011 Route DAMASCUS BEIRUT ISTANBUL ADDIS ABABA DUBAI LUXEMBOURG BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA ISTANBUL LUXOR DUBAI ALEXANDRIA MANILA / BANGKOK LONDON ISLAMABAD DELHI ISFAHAN MUMBAI TRIVANDRUM DUBAI COCHIN DHAKA COLOMBO DUBAI DOHA SHARJAH ABU DHABI BAHRAIN BEIRUT DUBAI BAHRAIN BEIRUT SOHAG DUBAI CAIRO WASHINGTON DC DULLES AMMAN ASSIUT DUBAI MUSCAT MASHAD JEDDAH DAMASCUS JEDDAH JEDDAH DAMASCUS BEIRUT DOHA

Time 0:25 0:35 1:15 1:45 2:25 2:45 2:55 2:55 3:10 3:15 3:20 4:10 5:15 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 11:50 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 14:55 15:10 15:15

LMU KAC JZR KNE 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 MEA GFA QTR UAL AIC JZR JZR LMU JZR MSR DLH AXB JZR PIA

407 546 535 789 118 403 303 857 215 510 777 327 239 127 227 177 104 502 542 618 786 614 674 774 458 572 617 61 93 647 179 402 178 562 618 372 445 859 402 217 136 981 981 135 513 409 185 612 636 389 539 205

ALEXANDRIA ALEXANDRIA CAIRO JEDDAH NEW YORK COLOMBO / DUBAI ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH JEDDAH TUNIS / DUBAI AMMAN SHARJAH COLOMBO / DUBAI DUBAI LONDON BEIRUT CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH BAHRAIN DUBAI RIYADH SINGAPORE / ABU DHABI MUMBAI AHWAZ DUBAI KANDAHAR / DUBAI MUSCAT DUBAI BEIRUT GENEVA / FRANKFURT AMMAN ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN AMSTERDAM DUBAI BEIRUT BAHRAIN DOHA BAHRAIN CHENNAI / AHMEDABAD BAHRAIN SHARM EL SHEIKH ASSIUT DUBAI CAIRO FRANKFURT KOZHIKODE / MANGALORE CAIRO LAHORE

15:25 15:30 15:50 16:00 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 21:20 21:25 21:35 22:00 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:20 22:35 22:50 23:00 23:10 23:30 23:55

Departur AXB DLH AIC KLM PIA THY ETH UAE FDB DHX ETD CLX QTR THY JZR JZR GFA JZR JZR BAW KAC IRA FDB JZR KAC KAC KAC JZR KAC UAE ABY QTR ETD GFA KAC MEA JZR KAC JZR MEA KAC KAC JZR MSR RJA FDB MSR UAL OMA KAC KNE

Depurture Flights on Thursday 2/6/2011 Flt Route 394 COCHIN / KOZHIKODE 637 FRANKFURT 576 GOA / CHENNAI 447 AMSTERDAM 216 KARACHI 773 ISTANBUL 620 BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA 854 DUBAI 68 DUBAI 371 BAHRAIN 306 ABU DHABI 758 HONG KONG 139 DOHA 771 ISTANBUL 560 SOHAG 164 DUBAI 212 BAHRAIN 120 BAHRAIN 356 MASHAD 156 LONDON 545 ALEXANDRIA 606 MASHAD 54 DUBAI 534 CAIRO 787 JEDDAH 671 DUBAI 551 DAMASCUS 256 BEIRUT 101 LONDON / NEW YORK 856 DUBAI 126 SHARJAH 133 DOHA 302 ABU DHABI 214 BAHRAIN 165 ROME / PARIS 405 BEIRUT 776 JEDDAH 541 CAIRO 238 AMMAN 405 BEIRUT 501 BEIRUT 785 JEDDAH 176 DUBAI 611 CAIRO 641 AMMAN 58 DUBAI 622 ASSIUT 982 BAHRAIN 646 MUSCAT 673 DUBAI 746 JEDDAH

Time 0:15 0:40 0:50 0:55 1:10 2:15 2:30 3:45 3:50 3:55 4:05 4:15 5:00 5:10 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 12:50 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 SYR SVA JZR KAC JZR QTR KAC LMU JZR KNE ETD MLR UAE GFA TAR ABY JZR JZR SVA ALK JZR KAC KAC JAI FDB IRA KAC KAC OMA MEA SIA MSR KAC DHX KLM KAC MEA JZR UAE GFA FCX QTR KAC KAC JZR JZR LMU UAL KAC KAC MSR

617 561 342 505 178 773 512 135 613 408 538 790 304 404 858 216 328 128 184 266 511 228 134 283 361 571 62 616 331 351 648 403 457 619 543 373 445 677 403 206 860 218 102 137 301 205 502 554 410 981 411 415 613

DOHA AMMAN DAMASCUS JEDDAH DUBAI RIYADH SHARM EL SHEIKH DOHA BAHRAIN ASSIUT CAIRO JEDDAH 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 CAIRO BAHRAIN BAHRAIN / AMSTERDAM DUBAI / MUSCAT BEIRUT DAMASCUS DUBAI BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DOHA MUMBAI ISLAMABAD LUXOR ALEXANDRIA ALEXANDRIA WASHINGTON DC DULLES BANGKOK / MANILA KUALA LUMPUR / JAKARTA CAIRO

15:35 15:45 15:55 16:00 16:00 16:05 16:10 16:15 16:20 16:25 16:40 16:45 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 21:55 22:00 22:05 22:10 22:20 22:20 22:25 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:55 23:05 23:10 23:20 23:40 23:40 23:50 23:50

34

s ta rs CROSSWORD 336

CALVIN & HOBBES

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) This is a time during which you are unusually motivated or driven in new and unexpected directions. You could receive unexpected backing—your efforts will be successful. You will reach new heights of originality. You may feel that you can take on any projects after this but remember that life and the powers that be always seem to enjoy testing us with new things so that we don’t always walk away the winner. You should walk in humble ways and just quietly know that you will be able to achieve most anything that is placed in your path. This is also a good time for public relations—you will accomplish much. There is a satisfaction that comes with helping others. You influence people through your optimism. Enjoy some laughter tonight!

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

POOCH CAFE ACROSS 1. (informal) Elegant and fashionable.

5. Thin and weak.

10. A hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland.

13. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

14. An independent ruler or chieftain (especially in Africa or Arabia).

15. Neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front.

16. No longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life.

17. A pointed instrument used to prod into motion.

19. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984).

21. Waterfall in Canada is the Horseshoe Falls.

23. An associate degree in nursing.

24. The upper side of the thighs of a seated person.

26. (zoology) Lacking a tail or taillike appendage.

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

29. A challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy.

30. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

33. A heavy odorless colorless gas formed during respiration and by the decomposition of organic substances.

38. A small cake leavened with yeast.

39. A drug combination found in some over-the-counter headache remedies (Aspirin and Phenacetin and Caffeine).

43. Soreness and warmth caused by friction.

45. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

46. An ancient Hebrew unit of dry measure equal to about a bushel.

47. A chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints).

49. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

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

59. An official language of the Republic of South Africa.

61. The 17th letter of the Greek alphabet.

62. A short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary task or mission.

64. The cry made by sheep.

65. Any of several small ungulate mammals of Africa and Asia with rodent-like incisors and feet with hooflike toes.

66. African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey bread.

67. A white linen liturgical vestment with sleeves.

DOWN 1. A genus of Ploceidae.

2. A naturally occuring glyceride of oleic acid that is found in fats and oils.

3. A mark left by the healing of injured tissue.

4. Relating to the deepest parts of the ocean (below 6000 meters).

5. (informal) A witty amusing person who makes jokes.

6. The United Nations agency concerned with international maritime activities.

7. The upper house of the parliament of the Republic of Ireland.

8. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).

9. A period of time containing 365 (or 366) days.

10. A violin made by Antonio Stradivari or a member of his family.

11. A crown-like jewelled headdress worn by women on formal occasions.

12. Relating to the blood vessels or blood.

18. A fit of shivering.

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

22. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

25. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America.

27. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

31. The longer of the two telegraphic signals used in Morse code.

32. Little known Kamarupan languages.

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

35. A dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain.

36. The federal agency that insures residential mortgages.

37. The syllable naming the sixth (submediant) note of a major or minor scale in solmization.

40. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light.

41. Lacking or deprive of the sense of hearing wholly or in part.

42. (usually followed by `to') Naturally disposed toward.

44. The branch of engineering science that studies the uses of electricity and the equipment for power generation and distribution and the control of machines and communication.

48. A republic in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea.

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

51. A member of the Pueblo people living in northern New Mexico.

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

53. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

54. Divulge information or secrets.

56. A young woman making her debut into society.

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

58. Electronic equipment that provides visual images of varying electrical quantities.

59. A public promotion of some product or service.

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

63. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity.

Yesterday’s Solution

Your talents are accented. You can expect a sense of support and good will from those around you. The original Sherlock Holmes, you are able to find information and all kinds of secrets. You are research-oriented and security minded. The boss or the customer may become much more interested in your talents today. With a shrewd and penetrating mind, you enjoy mental effort and discipline. You could be working long and hard with some project this afternoon.

If you are a student, you will find your studies quite interesting. An instinctive urge to get serious about taking care of you is emphasized now. Diet, exercise and work mean more at this time: you want to feel good about yourself and the way you do things.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Your work or career is in real harmony with the rest of your life. You could gain from subordinates or young people at this time. Outer circumstances are favorable and it should be easy for you to push forward in projects and in all aspects of your life. There is time today to clear away any unfinished business. A few opportunities arise for you to help guide others in the right direction and you have a good attitude about interruptions. This is a good time; good fortune and plain old luck surround you. It is easy for you to make correct decisions, find the right path and move forward where career and success are concerned. Use exercise and physical activity as a means to release any tension leftover from the work place.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

NON SEQUITUR

Lot of energy goes into getting things scheduled and organized.

Now is the time to make that outward push to increase your income. This is the best time you will have to make progress, push forward and rise to prominence. It will be hard for you to do wrong, for all the cycles are working in your favor. This is also a time when you may marry or take on a new role in the community or with other people. You will be in demand and recognition is inevitable. This is a time during which things will come to you easily. You may find yourself wanting to shoulder more responsibilities connected with your family, neighborhood or personal business affairs. Friends and a social life are in order—an easy and untroubled life can be enjoyed.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

ZITS

Your career decisions may need a little more organization and selfdiscipline—you will be happy with the results of this effort. You will find a great deal of improvement in your abilities to respond and gain insight. New habits are developed successfully at this time. You may have enough work time now to plan ahead for a vacation. You may enjoy chatting with your co-worker friends about some of their vacation choices. Making money and multiplying what you have are not only fun but also great habits to get into, and you are good at them. You may find requests from friends for advice on money. To prepare for the worldwide changes that you will be involved in the rest of this year, increase your network of friends.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Self-discipline and a sense of self-worth become important issues this morning. You are working within your limitations instead of feeling hemmed in by them. You may be well-advised to accept the counsel of others concerning decisions relating to your career or life path. Careful—there could be a tendency to go too far, expand too fast and overindulge. Counseling will make it easier for you to understand the areas in which adjustments could be made. Enjoy the progress you are now making! There are emotional beginnings and that feeling of a fresh start—perhaps the establishment of new habit patterns—or just getting rid of old ones. Make sure these new patterns are good ones because they will set the tone for quite some time to come!

Libra (September 23-October 22)

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

It may seem like it is forever before you find the answers you need in the workplace today. Your sense of humor is what sees you through as the delays may be outside your control. Customers are rushed—perhaps because of the weather. Many subjects need your attention. One thing at a time and you will be where you need to be. Looking at a customer and smiling with the answer they like to hear is supreme. Customers love to hear the words that say you appreciate their patience, etc. You are well-regarded for your attempts to respond quickly to others and remain polite during the frustrations. This evening you will find a great way to relax through a favorite hobby or fun activity. Bicycling or walking with a friend would be helpful and fun.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You may find that the foggy thinking has lifted and with a little research you will be able to find the foods, atmosphere or conditions that may have caused the difficulty. This new information will help you understand and correct any physical problems that may exist. You may soon have the opportunity to consider a part-time job. If you can swing it for a temporary assignment, it might just work out to your benefit. You successfully set out to make new friends and go to new places this evening. Be prepared to mingle with some very important people who can give your hopes a big boost. If you have a business card available to hand out to these new people, you will leave a positive impression. Dress as conservatively as possible for this evening’s event.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) Successful career moves may demand conformity and cost you personal freedom, perhaps toning down a few of your unconventional habits. A kind of magic seems to dawn in your life now. Prosperity and security take center stage in your thinking and you are determined to work hard for the financial results that you seek. You excel as a social being and should make a career out of your deep-seated interest in other people, partnerships and relationships.

Strengthen your mastery of difficult problem-solving details. This is a month where you can pull a few strings and gain help from your co-worker friends or just your friends. This may mean research money or small errands that a customer may have requested. Tonight you can wiggle your feet in water.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You are riding a high now in terms of taking advantage of the changes that are happening in your life at this time. It is important that you secure any advances you have made recently. In other words, call to confirm things like hard to get appointments, price quotes, analysis results, recommendations, etc. There is a change of direction for you, away from the material and glitter, toward inner needs and security. You will find yourself more concerned with maintaining and strengthening your position, rather than pushing outward. This time should be easy and filled with opportunities and friendships. Enjoy them. More demanding times will be coming a little further down the road. Be sure to set aside some prime time for your sweetheart this evening.

Yesterday’s Solution Aquarius (January 20- February 18) You are a very strong speaker and will communicate just what is needed. Words just flow out and you have the attention of an audience, co-workers or authority figures. An emotional impact will bring the subject matter home to your listeners. everyone knows you are a born doer with an incredible drive to accomplish and achieve in life. Be careful not to allow others to take advantage of you at this time. Your ambitions are backed up by the will to get things done. You can be very emotional and others might find you a bit too aggressive today. You try hard and you tend to push on toward whatever goals you have in mind. This could be a time of career challenges and successes. Your home life will lay the foundation for greater confidence at work.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Word Sleuth Solution

You cannot help but overindulge today. This does not necessarily mean food. You enjoy challenges and put yourself in the line of fire often. Although you are not dangerous to yourself or others, you do enjoy overcoming difficult situations. Most people look at problems with great dread but you look at problems as the next challenge to test your skills. You have a natural sense of organization and may come across as being a little too sober in the workplace. When it comes to friends you enjoy the interaction between people. You are always available to help others but you enjoy the interaction that brings about laughter, jokes and cheerful chatter. Marriage, contracts and partnerships are seen as keys to happiness, with plenty of lessons.

A

y

e niv rsar n

Years

i n f o r m at i o n STATE ST TATE T OF KUW K KUWAIT WA AIT

112

DA AY: Y W DAY: Wednesday eednesday

Ext.: 2627 262 27 - 2630

Fax: 24348714

Al-M

WWW .MET.GOV V..KW W WWW.MET.GOV.KW

Al-S

01/06/2011 01/06/201 1

Ministry of Interior

Issue T ime Time

Al-S

07:00

Al-N

Sab

Expected Weather Weather for the Next 24 4 Hours Very V ery e hot h with light to moderate fre freshening eshening gradually north wes westerly sterly wind, with speed of 15 5 - 40 km/h causraising ing rai sing dust over open areas

BY Y DA DAY: AY:

website: www.moi.gov.kw

Al-H

Al-F

Al-F

Relatively moderate Relativ vely hot with light to modera ate north westerly wind, with h speed of 10 - 32 km/h

NIGHT:: BY Y NIGHT

For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128

Al-S

Al-F No Current Warnings Warnin a gs

WARNING W A ARNING STATION ST TATION T

Hospitals Sabah Hospital

Tel.: T el.: 161 e

DIRECTORA DIRECTORATE AT TE GENE GENERAL ERAL OF CIVIL A AVIATION V VIA AT TION METEOROLOGICAL DEP D DEPARTMENT PA ARTMENT

24812000

MAX. EXP EXP. P.

MIN.. REC.

KUW WA AIT CITY KUWAIT

47 °C

35 °C

KUW WA AIT AIRPORT AIRPOR RT KUWAIT

48 °C

32 °C

46 °C C

29 °C C

Amiri Hospital

22450005

NUW WA AISEEB NUWAISEEB

Maternity Hospital

24843100

WAFRA A WAFRA

48 °C

29 °C

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

SALMI

46 °C

30 °C

Chest Hospital

24849400

ABDAL LY ABDALY

49 °C

30 °C

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

ALIY YA AH JAL ALIYAH

48 °C

31 °C

Adan Hospital

23940620

FAILAKA A FAILAKA

46 °C

30 °C

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

POR RT AHMADI PORT

44 °C

36 °C

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

M UMM AL-MARADEM

40 °C

31 °C

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

WARBA A A - BUBYAN BUBY YA AN WARBA

47 °C

30 °C

Clinics

Jlee

SFC. CHAR CHART T

Ahm

01/06/201 1 0000 UTC 01/06/2011

Al-M

Al-S

Al-J

Al-S

P

4 DA DAYS AY YS FORECAST

Rabiya

4732263

Roudha

22517733

Adhaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Keifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salim

22549134

Fajr

03:15

MAX. MA AX. Temp.

Temp.

48 °C

Al-Nuzha

22526804

Sunrise S i

04 49 04:49

MIN. Temp.

MI IN T IN. emp.

27 °C

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Zuhr

11:46 11:46

MAX. RH M

23 %

Al-Khadissiya

22515088

Asr

15:20

MIN. RH M

04 %

Dasmah

22532265

Sunset

18:43

MAX. Wind MA AX. W ind

N 39 km/h

Isha

20:13

TOTAL RAINFALL T OT TA AL L RAI INF FA ALL L IN 24 HR.

Bneid Al-Ghar

22531908

Al-Shaab

22518752

Al-Kibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Kibla

22451082

Al-Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

25623444

Bayan

25388462

Mishref

25381200

W.Hawally

22630786

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

Al-Ardhiya

24884079

Firdous

24892674

Al-Omariya

24719048

N.Kheitan

24710044

Fintas

3900322

Temperatures Temperratures DAY DA AY

DATE DA AT TE

WEA WEATHER AT THER

Thursday

02/06

very hot + raising dust

48 °C

32 °C

NW

22 - 42 km/h

Friday

03/06

dusty

46 °C

33 °C

NW

25 - 45 km/h

Saturday

04/06

very hot + raising dust

45 °C

32 °C

NW-N NW-N

22 - 42 km/h

Sunday

05/06

very hot + raising dust

46 °C

33 °C

NW-N NW-N

22 - 42 km/h

MAX.

PRAYER PR RA AY YER TIMES

Wind Wind Speed

Wind Wind Direction Direction

MIN.

AlAlAlAlAlAlAl-S Al-

RECORDED D YESTERDAY YESTERDA AY AT AT KUW KUWAIT WA AIT T AIRPORT AIRPORT

un nless otherwise stated.

All times are local time unless

abo

00 mm

01/06/1 1 03:06 UTC 01/06/11

V1.00

T1.06

PHARMACIES ON 24 HRS DUTY GOVERNORATE

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

PHONE

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Hawally

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Kuwa Jazee Jet Ai FlyDu Qatar KLM Air Sl Olym Roya Reser Britis Air Fr Emira Air In Sri La Egyp Swiss Saud Midd Lufth PIA Alital Balka Bang Czech

India Oman Turki Aerof

PRIVATE CLINICS

INT Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Psychologists /Psychotherapists

Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist 25340300

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada) Dentists Dr Anil Thomas

3729596/3729581 22641071/2

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Salem soso

22618787

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

Neurologists

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil

22639939

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Mousa Khadada

22666300

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

Gastrologists

25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Ph.D. 2290-1677 Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg, M.A. 2290-1677

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 25655535

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

General Surgeons

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghani Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antiga Argentin Armenia Australi Austria Bahama Bahrain Banglad Barbado Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermud Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswan Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi Cambod Camero Canada Cape Ve Cayman

36

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

lifestyle

Jolie

feels lucky to have Pitt

ngelina Jolie feels “very lucky” to have a “real man” in Brad Pitt. The ‘Tourist’ actress - who raises children Maddox nine, Pax, seven, Zahara, six, Shiloh, five, and the two-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne with the actor - is content in her near-six year relationship and admires everything about her partner.

She said: “I am very lucky with Brad. He is a real gentleman, but he is also a real man’s man. “He’s got the wonderful balance of being an extraordinary, great, loving father, a very, very intelligent man and physically he’s a

A

real man in all things that it means.” The 35-year-old beauty also admitted that being with Brad, 47, makes her feel more feminine and “soft”. She told Stella magazine: “I love being a woman. I love that I can have children. I love feeling soft, I love being with Brad, I love all the sensitivity and natural emotion.” Despite their worldwide success, Brad and Angelina always fit their working commitments around their family and the actress insists she wouldn’t have had so many children if she didn’t have the time to put their needs first. She

said: “When Brad and I decided to have a large family we decided we’d only do it if we could be really handson and take the kids with us, seeing them every day. “I am always there on weekends, I only ever work a fiveday week, and I am often there for breakfast or dinner.

When I’m working they come up at lunch. “It’s a special time for Daddy when Mom works for a few months. And Brad is such a great dad. When I’m working he’s putting in the extra dad time, and that’s special for their relationship, too.”

Skarsgard

embraces Latin roots

Lopez

G O S S I P

ennifer Lopez is hoping to embrace her Latin roots for her new show. The ‘American Idol’ judge and her husband singer Marc Anthony will travel to 21 countries across the Americas where they will ask local people to help them find “world’s most extraordinary talent” for ‘Q’Viva! The Chosen’. Jennifer said: “With this show we hope for the first time to unite all of the Latin cultures and make something that makes everybody proud. This is like me being able to really, really go, ‘I am Latina, and this is who we are! Isn’t it fabulous? Isn’t it amazing?

Doesn’t it bring tears to your eyes and make you want to dance and smile and jump and stay up all night?’” The couple will work with tour director Jamie King and according to Jennifer, will travel to “places people wouldn’t normally look, where all of this rich talent lives and wouldn’t normally be discovered,” including clubs, bars, dance studios and festivals. Marc added they hope to be “literally guided by the [local] people, leaving no stone unturned”. The people discovered on their travels will be brought to Hollywood, where they will be mentored by the stars to create “the ultimate live show.” Jennifer explained: “It really is a show for the 21st century. It’s unprecedented in that it’s global and it’s local. We’re going to do our best make the most amazing show that the world has ever seen.”

J

bullied over boots lexander Skarsgard cried when children mocked him for wearing cowboy boots.

The ‘True Blood’ actor travelled to Texas as a youngster with his father Stellan Skarsgard, and embraced the southern US culture by purchasing the functional footwear, but found school friends back in his native Sweden didn’t appreciate the fashion choice. He said: “I spent two months in Fredericksburg, Texas, when I was eight, while my father shot a movie, and I loved it. I just embraced the whole cowboy culture. I got myself a pair of awesome boots and a cowboy hat. Then I got back to Sweden in September to go back to school, and I was so proud of my cowboy boots. “I told my mom and my dad, ‘I’m going to wear

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these bad boys to school today, and all the kids are going to love me. I’m going to be the coolest kid in school.’ “Then I showed up and everyone was like, ‘Dude, why are you wearing ladies’ boots?’ They didn’t really work in Sweden. I wore them that one day, and then I ran home and cried and never wore those boots again.” However, the 34-year-old star is now more comfortable transporting unusual goods from place to place, and the nature of his role in ‘True Blood’ - as vampire Eric Northman - means he will often have bloodsucking paraphernalia with him. He joked to Interview magazine: “I always have a carry-on bag with my rubber fangs and my black cape.”

Witherspoon to receive MTV Generation Award

and Bell split adine Coyle and Jason Bell have split up. The ‘Insatiable’ singer and the NFL hunk announced their engagement last September but Nadine has revealed the pair decided to break up a few weeks ago after agreeing they were “better” as friends. She tweeted: “A few weeks ago Jason and I broke up. We are great friends and decided we are better this way. I’m in NYC working & I love all your support. (sic)”. Nadine had previously predicted a long engagement for the couple, saying it could even last a decade. She said: “It will definitely be a long engagement. We haven’t even had an engagement party. I’m going to ride this one out. It still feels so new, so we could do this for ten or 12 years, you know!” The news of the break up comes just after it was revealed Nadine and her Girls Aloud bandmates, Sarah Harding, Cheryl Cole, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh are to reunite next year for a tour.

Close pal Louis Walsh said: “I’ve been on the phone to Cheryl all day, honestly I can show you texts, she’s fine. She’s getting back with Girls Aloud in 2012 and they’re going to tour.”—Bang Showbiz

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Lowe wears dress for six months aisy Lowe wore a dress every day for six months. The British model felt guilty for spending £2,200 on a Gareth Pugh dress so felt the only way to justify its high price tag was to get as much wear out of it as possible. She explained: “My most extravagant purchase was my Gareth Pugh dress I wore to an awards ceremony. “It was £3,000. I got a 20 per cent discount and I also DJ-ed for a Brown’s party to get some more money off and it was still £2,200! “I felt so bad I had to wear it every day for six months for at least five minutes.”

Despite her expensive gown, Daisy loves to save

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money by shopping at discount high street store Primark and taking clothes from her mother Pearl Lowe’s wardrobe. Asked if she borrows Pearl’s clothes, she told Closer magazine: “Yes, massively so.

She’s such a great collector of vintage clothes. She gets really angry but she’s started to wear more of my clothes now. “I think the British high street is really good. Topshop is the main one because there’s always something for everyone’s shape and size. “I love Primark. I think it’s amazing. My godmother is a real patron of Primark - she’s been going there since before it was cool.”

‘forgot’ how to relax he ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ actress - who has a five-month-old son, Leo, with husband Javier Bardem - has now learned to not be a “workaholic” and no longer feels guilty about taking time out to switch off from her career.

She said: “I think we all change every day but after years of being a workaholic and always being tired, I’ve changed rhythm and found a more happy equilibrium. “I don’t feel guilty when I don’t work now. Before, when I went home to Spain from America, I’d forgotten how to holiday properly - how to lie on the beach and relax.

“I’d go and lock myself in the bathroom with my Blackberry and check for work emails. My family knew about this and always tried to hide my phone.” Penelope, 37, also admit-

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ted she feels she has “won the lottery” with her career success and the opportunities it has given her. She added to Closer magazine: “I feel I have won the biggest lottery. “I’m doing what I love as my job and I am so grateful for the things that I have.

“I never forget that to have a house and food on your plate is not normal for so many people.”

TV says Reese Witherspoon will receive its Generation Award at Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards. The 35-year-old Oscar winner is being recognized for her range as an actress and for delighting the MTV audience throughout her career. MTV President Stephen Friedman called Witherspoon “one of the most versatile and accomplished performers of her time.” “Saturday Night Live” star Jason Sudeikis will host Sunday’s ceremony at the Gibson Amphitheater, where Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Steve Carell, Shia LaBeouf, Patrick Dempsey, Cameron Diaz, Selena Gomez and Nicki Minaj are among those set to present the prizes. Fans voted online for the winners in categories such as best kiss, best villain and best line from a movie.

MTV chose Witherspoon, who joins previous Generation Award winners Sandra Bullock, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Tom Cruise and Jim Carrey. Sunday’s show will also feature a first-look at footage from the latest “Twilight” installment, “Breaking Dawn, Part 1.”

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

lifestyle Music & Movies

(From left) In this film publicity image released by IFC Films, Jessica Szohr, Mandy Moore, Bob Edes, Kellan Lutz and Michael Weston are shown in a scene from ‘Love, Wedding, Marriage.’—AP

Annulment in order for ‘Love Wedding Marriage’ A

romantic comedy that would have seemed insipid even in 1953, “Love Wedding Marriage” is one of those unnecessary films that makes your scream (or least wonder), “Why?” Why did anyone think this, instead of almost anything else, was worth making? Why did Dermot Mulroney decide that this was the right material for his directorial debut? Why is the normally smart IFC Films involved with this? The answers already lie among the mysteries of the ages. The film is

available through video-on-demand beginning May 1, with theatrical release to follow June 3.

Maybe someone who could swallow the idea of twenty something Mandy Moore as a marriage counselor/psychologist could go along with the irksome inventions of the script by Caprice Crane, who, it is not surprising to learn, wrote numerous episodes of “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Melrose Place,” and Anouska Chydzik; Crane’s work is nothing if not consistent. No sooner has she married

vintner and Maserati-driving Charlie (“90210” and “Twilight” hunk Kellan Lutz) than Moore’s Eva desperately dedicates herself to saving the marriage of her parents. Mom (Jane Seymour) has had it with crazy Dad (James Brolin), who runs around asserting his Jewishness (whether hereditary or newly acquired remains unclear), questioning whether or not his alcoholic beverages are kosher and nailing a mezuzah to his daughter’s doorframe even as she protests she’s not Jewish.

In the process, of course, Eva neglects her own marriage, which hits its biggest bump with the revelation that beefcake Charlie has never disclosed a secret prior marriage. Eva just doesn’t know if she can get over this betrayal, even as she works on her mom to forgive Dad his progressive lunacy and an equally inane deep dark secret of his own.

Supplied with uniformly vapid dialogue, the characters come off like a bunch of twits: Moore’s

wide-eyed, open-mouthed reactions to every little surprise are those of a high school student, not a doctor; Lutz’s dyed blond hair does nothing to encourage taking him seriously; Brolin and Seymour have never played in such a caricatured manner, and cameos by Christopher Lloyd and Colleen Camp as eccentric therapists are embarrassing. A sappy musical score provides the syrup for this very flat pancake of a movie.—Reuters

Review: ‘Submarine’ sails into sweet teen fantasy

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n the surface, “Submarine” is not like anyone’s real-life coming-of-age, loss-of-virginity,

(From left) In this film publicity image released by The Weinstein Company, Craig Roberts portrays Oliver Tate and Noah Taylor portrays Lloyd in a scene from ‘Submarine.’—AP

first-love kind of experience. It’s too clever, too mature, the characters are too self-aware to really reflect the bumbling trial-and-error approach through which most of us satisfy our early romantic yearnings. Yet first-time director Richard Ayoade’s film is a joy to watch, a story that stirs up nostalgic longing for a time we willingly traded away our innocence, even if our own experiences were so much more prosaic than the literate fantasy world of Oliver Tate.

Adapted from Joe Dunthorne’s novel, “Submarine” stars Craig Roberts as 15-year-old Oliver, an awkward, lyrical Welsh youth with two priorities: securing his own first sexual encounter and putting some spark back into his dowdy parents’ marriage. Oliver casts his eye on classmate Jordana Bevan

(Yasmin Paige), a self-possessed rebel who suffers bouts of eczema and likes to set small fires.

What begins as a romance of convenience for both turns into a sweet, touching tale of young love, with very authentic interludes of blissful obsession and abrupt disregard that really capture a sense of the fickleness of teen relations. Running alongside Oliver and Jordana’s story is the tale of the Tates. Oliver’s mom, Jill (Sally Hawkins) has become a perky but bored housefrau, married to chronically depressed marine biologist Lloyd (Noah Taylor).

Oliver monitors his parents’ sex life by checking the dimmer switch on their bedroom light, and it’s been a while since the Tates turned the lamp down low. Meantime, Jill is tempted by an old flame as ponderous selfhelp and enlightenment guru Graham Purvis (Paddy Considine) moves back to town and puts on the charm. So it’s up to Oliver to keep windbag Graham’s hands off his mother, while

trying to pull his dad out of his funk so he can man up and get back to romancing his woman.

The action turns much darker than you’d expect given the light touch Ayoade applies early on, when Oliver spins blithe fantasy sequences in which all of Wales mourns his tragic death. Ayoade, who also adapted the screenplay in consultation with Dunthorne, deftly weaves the comic and sober elements to deliver a film that’s fresh and funny but has some real bite.

A British TV director, Ayoade accentuates Oliver’s story with a smart soundtrack featuring songs by Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys, for whom the filmmaker has directed music videos. The writer-director’s approach is overly literary at times, relying too heavily on Oliver’s voiceover monologues to carry the story.

Amusing as the narration is, much of it was unnecessary given the expressiveness of the cast.—AP

Streisand OK with state selling donated estate

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File: British singer Adele poses for a portrait in Los Angeles.—AP

Adele cancels North American tour

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ritish singer Adele has postponed five dates of her North American tour due to laryngitis, she said on her website, frustrating fans in the United States where she has dominated charts in recent weeks.

The 23-year-old Grammy-winning artist was diagnosed with the throat complaint last week in Minneapolis, forcing her to cancel a performance at the last moment. Adele returned to the stage in Denver at the weekend, but the comeback proved too early and she was forced to call off Sunday night’s gig in Salt Lake City.

She postponed a show on Tuesday in Vancouver, Canada, and will also reschedule performances in Seattle and Portland due later this week. According to her website, the tour will resume on June 4 in San Francisco.

Adele’s album “21” has sold around two million copies in North America, almost matching its UK tally and making her one of the few British artists who has enjoyed major chart success on both sides of the Atlantic. The Londoner was recently voted the most powerful force in British music by the Guardian newspaper.—Reuters

arbra Streisand says she understands that California might have to sell her donated 22.5acre (9-hectare) Malibu ranch to help balance the state budget but she hopes the buyer will preserve its “special habitat.” Ramirez Canyon Park, which the singer donated in 1993, is on the list of state-owned properties that Gov. Jerry Brown wants to put up for sale despite fierce opposition. The property contains meadows, gardens, a creek and three homes that Streisand customized with a wealth of architectural detail ranging from Art Deco metal panels to Douglas fir framing on a Craftsman-style house. It was valued at $15 million when Streisand gave it to the state and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, a state agency that Brown established in 1980 during his first stint as governor.

But the property “does not serve any essential state function,” Brown’s spokeswoman, Elizabeth Ashford, told the Los Angeles Times. “The state should not be the landlord for a place that hosts mountain retreats.” “I understand Governor Brown’s tough decision given the severe budget short-

falls that California is facing,” Streisand said in a recent statement. “I only hope that there is little disruption to the residents of Ramirez Canyon through this potential transition and that whatever entity does purchase the land and the homes on it will preserve its special habitat.” But a state Assembly budget subcommittee last week rejected the idea of selling the property, and the proposal faces an uncertain future in the state Legislature.

The conservancy opened its headquarters on the property and moved to set up what it promised would be an academic think-tank called the Barbra Streisand Center for Conservancy Studies. But when interest in conferences lagged, the conservancy began renting out the estate for weddings and garden tours to pay for maintaining its five houses and grounds. Neighboring homeowners, some of them living in secluded, multimillion-dollar mansions, complained about noise and expressed fears that traffic could block the rustic roads during fires.

Streisand demanded that her name be pulled from the property.

File photo shows Barbara Streisand at the Governors Ball.—AP Homeowners sued and a settlement was reached. Currently, the ranch is only open to the public by special appointment. The conservancy has defended its use of the property and opposed the sale. It has argued that under California Coastal Commission rules adopted last year, the ranchland must remain as open space and thus is worthless to developers.—AP

Australian singer Kylie Minogue poses with dancers who will appear with her in her show during a press conference to promote the Australian leg of her Aphrodite Les Folies 2011 world tour, in Brisbane, Australia yesterday. Minogue will perform in Brisbane on Friday and Saturday.—AP

File photo shows singer Lady Gaga as she celebrates after receiving the GRAMMY for ‘Best Pop Vocal Album’.—AFP

Lady Gaga album sells 1.1 million copies in first week

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lamboyant pop star Lady Gaga has scored her first No 1 album in the United States after a 99cent promotion by Amazon.com sent the muchhyped release past the rare million-copy mark in its debut week. According to sales data published Tuesday by Billboard magazine, “Born This Way” sold 1.11 million copies during the week ended May 29. It marks the biggest first-week sales total since rapper 50 Cent’s “The Massacre” debuted to 1.14 million copies in March 2005. The last album to break the million mark was country starlet Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now,” which started with 1.01 million copies last November.

In all, just 17 albums have sold more than one million copies in their first week since tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan began collecting point-of-sales data in 1991. Boy band ‘N Sync holds the first-week record with 2.4 million copies for its 2000 album “No Strings Attached.” Billboard estimated that Amazon downloads accounted for upward of 440,000 downloads of “Born This Way.” Heavy demand crashed Amazon’s servers when the online retailer launched its one-day-only promotion last Monday. The firm gave fans another chance to get the album for 99 cents on Thursday.

Billboard said music industry observers had been expecting the album to sell between 650,000 and 700,000 copies before the Amazon promotion kicked in. Amazon undertook the money-losing promotion to steal business from Apple Inc’s iTunes, which dominates the market for digital music downloads. Overall digital downloads for “Born This Way” totaled a recordbreaking 662,000 copies, Billboard said. The old record of 288,000 downloads was held by Coldplay’s 2008 album “Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends.”

“Born This Way” marks Lady Gaga’s second fulllength album for Interscope Records, a unit of Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group. The 25-year-old New Yorker’s 2008 debut “The Fame” peaked at No. 2 and has sold 4.2 million copies to date in the United States.

The singer, famed for her outrageous costumes and lavish stage shows, has been ubiquitous on the promotional trail in recent weeks. Among her stops were the Cannes Film Festival in France, the US variety show “Saturday Night Live,” and a London newspaper where she served as guest editor.

But is “Born This Way” any good? Critics said it lacked subtlety, but were divided on whether this was a good thing. Rolling Stone described the album as “disarmingly great” while the Los Angeles Times said it draws from “the worst tendencies of the last decade of dance music.”—Reuters

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

lifestyle

Antigua offers 365 beaches

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e boarded the catamaran and moved out into the harbor. The 55-foot boat motored past what’s left of Fort James with its cannons atop a 30-foot cliff at the harbor entrance. The boat made a quick right turn and moved north along Antigua’s northwest coast. We were headed to Great Bird Island on Antigua’s northeast coast. For nearly 90 minutes, we cruised by spotless sandy beaches, rocky points, reefs and all kinds of resorts. The water was eye-popping Antiguan blue, a very distinctive hue.

Great Bird Island is what people dream about as the perfect sun-soaked vacation spot in the Caribbean. It sits about 1.8 miles offshore and the only access is via boat. The island is part of Antigua’s Northeast Marine Management Area. The 20-acre deserted island is T-shaped, with a small mangrove forest and a 90-foot ridge of coral that provides impressive vistas of the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sound with its reefs, islands and boats.

The narrow ridge is about 400 feet long, rocky and wind-swept. A sandbar connects the ridge and the forest, which is important because the trees serve as a sheltered nursery for marine life. Boats land on the northern side with its white sand beach, and snorkelers do their thing off the southern beach that is just as stunning. South of the island in shallow waters, patch reefs abound. But the reefs are still recovering from hurricanes, with new coral growing atop old damaged coral.

T-shaped Great Bird island includes a narrow ridge, a mangrove forest, stunning beaches and nearby reefs.

Great Bird Island got its name from sailors who were amazed at the number of birds that once lived and nested on the island. The island is undeveloped but gets 20,000 visitors a year, mostly daytrippers and local picnickers. Great Bird Island is also the home of what biologists call the most-threatened snake in the world: the Antiguan racer. It was once found only on Great Bird Island. It was re-discovered in 1995. Its population was down to about 50 snakes 15 years ago. That number has increased with man’s help to more than 500 and the snake has been re-introduced on other nearby islands.

I actually got a chance to see one: a two-footer that crawled through the grass at the edge of the beach. The snake is not a threat to humans and feeds largely on small lizards. There are

no mongooses on the island to kill the snakes. In addition, a coalition of six conservation groups working through the Antiguan Racer Conservation Project has aided the snake’s recovery by eradicating hundreds of invasive black rats that once lived on Great Bird and other nearby islands.

Antigua — 14 miles by 11 miles in size-is known for its 365 beaches of powdery sand that make it a very alluring place. That’s one for every day of the year if you believe the PR, and all are open to the public, tourist brochures point out. The island is a beach-centered destination that lives up to the sunsand-and-water hype. It has ultra-luxurious resorts and restaurants, as well as more modest accommodations.

It is also known for its once-mighty forts and colonial naval bases, its sugar

cane and pirating past, its yachting, and its love of cricket. It is especially popular with Europeans. Antigua-pronounced an-TEE-gah-has no central tourist destination. St John’s is the capital city with a cluster of restaurants, shops and docks for cruise ships.

The resorts and tourist attractions are spread across the island with hundreds of coves, bays and slivers of sand (some accessible only by boat). Dickenson Bay on the island’s northwest coast is the epicenter of the island’s beach activity.

The mile-long beach is one of Antigua’s most-developed strips with hotels surrounded by gardens plus beach bars and restaurants and water-sports concessions. It is a place for wind surfing, water skiing, parasailing, sail boats, jet skis and snorkeling. There is a stellar reef offshore. It gets big crowds to watch the sunset.

There are plenty of other special Antiguan beaches. Half Moon Bay on the island’s southeast corner features a 1mile crescent of pink sand and some say it one of the prettiest beaches on the island. It is now a national park. It is a little off the beaten path but worth the trek.

On the south-central coast, Doigs Beach and Rendezvous Beach are quiet and isolated. On the southwest coast, Darkwood Beach and Jolly Beach are less developed. Darkwood Beach is known for its white sands. Secluded Hawksbill Beaches on the west coast offers four crescent-shaped beaches, including one nude beach. Jabberwock

Beach on the northeast coast is popular with wind surfers. Long Bay on the east coast is popular with snorkelers.

The island’s biggest historical attraction is Nelson’s Dockyard National Park on the southeast corner. It draws big crowds of tourists and yachters. It was named for Admiral Horatio Nelson, who served three years at the Antigua base.

Nelson, the hero of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, was captain of the HMS Boreas based at Antigua in 17841787. He did not enjoy his time on the island.

The base opened in 1725 and was a major British center from the late 18th century to the middle 19th century. It was known then as His Majesty ’s Antigua Naval Yard. It was abandoned in 1889. It was named after Nelson only after restoration efforts began in 1951.

An earlier restoration starting in 1932 had failed. Nelson’s Dockyard National Park today covers 15 square miles. The park on English Harbor is home to the only surviving Georgian naval base in the world. It is a British-style Williamsburg. But it can feel very touristy on crowded days.

The old buildings-most built between 1785 and 1792— have been restored and turned into museums, shops, restaurants, pubs and even a hotel. English Harbor is home to the annual Stanford Antigua Sailing Week, one of the top five regattas in the world and the biggest in the Caribbean. That’s one of the big reasons why Antigua is so popular with yachties. —MCT

Great Bird Island gets about 20,000 visitors a year by boat. It lies within the North East marine Management Area.

Museums, collectors vie for memorabilia from Northwest Airlines C

heck your drawers and closets!

Northwest Airlines may be gone, but the memorabilia is hot. Two museums are actively seeking donations of Northwest artifacts, including timetables and airplane models. Meanwhile, everything from service pins ($40.99) to stickers ($2.95) is being hawked on eBay. “You never know what people have tucked away in their closets,” said Marie Force, curator for the Delta Air Transport Heritage Museum in Atlanta, which even has a plea on its website for old items.

Detroit was a Northwest hub before Delta absorbed the airline.

“It was the airline everyone loved to hate, but you know what? People are starting to miss it,” said Bruce Kitt, head of the NWA Histor y Centre in Bloomington, Minn, which also is seeking artifacts. Even former employees are looking at old gear in a new way. “I put all my stuff in a box because I thought I’d like to show my kids or grandkids that their mom was once a flight attendant,” said Heather Yancy of Shelby Township, Mich. “But when they merged with Delta, I thought, ‘Hey, this stuff doesn’t even exist anymore.’”

Yancy sits at a table in her home,

File photo shows Heather Yancy with dishes, her old uniform cockpit key and other memorabilia. —MCT photos

memories of her years with Northwest Airlines spread out around her. There are her crew tags. A World Business Class amenity kit bag. A first-class coffee mug and spoon. Her uniform. Scarf. Suitcase.

Her flight attendant training manual.

Three sets of kiddie wings. A Northwest Airlines baby bib that reads, “Expect Turbulence.” An old key to the flight deck. Her coffee-stained flight attendant announcement handbook.

After seven years of flying the world as a reserve flight attendant, she stowed away these things and became a stay-athome mom in 2007. She used to save them just to remember her days in the air. Now, “I save them because they are not being made anymore, and who knows?” she says. “Someday, they might be worth something.” It has been two years since NWA logos, tickets, ticket jackets, uniforms and planes vanished when the airline was absorbed by Delta Air Lines. Founded in 1926, Northwest was bought by Delta in 2008. It vanished as a brand in 2009.

The irony is that the airline some metro Detroiters called “Northworst” is regaining status in its afterlife.

Two museums are showing NWA collectibles-the NWA History Centre in Bloomington, Minn., and the Delta Air Transport Heritage Museum in Atlanta.

And there are tons of NWA items on eBay, from 99-cent kiddie wings to $145 airline models. Even more valuable are pre -1980s items. “If somebody has something from when Northwest flew to Detroit in the 1940s, or something from airlines it bought like North Central or Republic, the older it is, the more historically valuable it is,” says Bruce Kitt,

Memorabilia from the collection of Heather Yancy. president of the NWA History Centre. collects motion-sickness bags, including Something like a ticket jacket won’t be the first ones from the 1920s.” worth anything, but “if you have a perMost NWA items are likely worth only sonal letter signed by the president of whatever emotional value they might the airline, sure, that becomes col- have to the owner — paper tickets to a lectible. I am constantly amazed by what daughter’s wedding, perhaps, or an old comes in.”

Northwest World Vacations brochure The most valuable airline collectibles used to plan a trip to Hawaii. Still, Marie are old airline travel posters and large Force, curator of the Delta museum, is cutaway displays that travel agents used interested in anything that shows the in the 1970s or before. But airline collec- “passenger experience.” When tors also value timetables, kiddie wings Northwest became part of Delta, the (handed out to children on flights), uni- museum inherited a bunch of corporate forms, unusual airplane desk models _ historical documents and photos, but and even stranger stuff. not all that much that involved passen“Airline collectors are a dying breed, gers. She would love to see donations of but if you go to any shows, the strangest playing cards, kiddie wings and passenone I’ve ever seen is a guy in a bright ger freebies from the 1970s or before. yellow baseball cap that says, ‘I buy barf She’d like NWA aircraft models from the bags,’” Kitt says. “Here’s a guy who just 1960s or 1970s. —MCT

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

lifestyle F E A T U R E

Not all bikinis risk wardrobe malfunctions

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orget the pear-vs -apple and curvy-vs curveless shape charts for a minute.

There’s another divide in the two-piece swimwear discussion: What if you actually have to get up and move around instead of lying on the chaise with a cool drink in hand?

The runway swimsuits and magazine-shoot bikinis, with their thin straps, triangle bottoms, decorative hardware and high ratio of white fabrics, make for great photos-especially on the glamazon models.

But some other women, perhaps those who trudge across the sand carrying a beach chair or who use swimming as a form of fitness, like two-piece suits, too. Designer Nanette Lepore, a bikini wearer and lap swimmer, says she personally tests all the swimsuit styles in her collection. “I’m aiming for acrossthe-board fit. That means higher bottoms and built-up tops. My friends ask, ‘How did most bottoms get so skimpy, anyway?”‘ But just because you don’t want a string bikini doesn’t limit you to dowdy, Lepore says. “I think cute, retro styling keeps them sexy.”

No one is calling a Katy Perry-type or even a Dita Von Teese lookalike, with pinup looks that evoke old Hollywood swimsuit glamour in a flirty, high-waist skirt bottom, of being frumpy or boring, says Amy Tara Koch, a Chicago-based style expert. It’s a win-win, she says, because it’s a feminine look with little chance of a wardrobe malfunction. “To me, Swimwear 101 is about the four Cs: compression, cover-ups, construction and quality-OK, that’s a Q but it makes the C sound,” says Koch.

She adds, “You need to think about how it looks and performance. ... There definitely is a middle of the road.” Modern swimsuit manufacturers have innovative fabrics at their disposal that offer softness, control and color that lasts even after many cycles in the sun, sand and pool, according to Koch. She also notes that many of the lingerie brands that specialize in shapewear, such as Spanx, now make swimsuits.

Koch, Lepore and Kay-Lin Richardson, director of sales at Panache Swimwear, all emphasize fit over any other factor in choosing a swimsuit, especially a two-piece. It’s important in a one-piece, too, but there’s usually more leeway, they say.

(They all also say white is a risky color choice for anyone who gets wet-no matter the fabric or lining.) How many women do you know who are different sizes on the bottom and top? asks Richardson. Probably most of them. Panache makes its bathing suits based on bra sizes. “The idea is a properly fitted top-more of a custom fit,” Richardson explains. “If you’re chasing after kids, you don’t have to feel self-conscious about a possible spill.” When you’re trying a swimsuit on in the dressing room, be sure to move around, she suggests. And for any mother picking up kids or who carries a lot of gear, Koch, author of the maternity style guide “Bump It Up,” recommends closures that tie, not hook. A one-strap halter is probably the most secure, she says.

An underwire top is going to give the support of a bra, where a triangle top won’t, says Richardson. Thick tank straps are another possibility. For the truly active woman-think beach volleyball player or a boater-then the tankini should be seriously considered, Richardson says. On the bottom, Koch says that higher-cut leg openings will create the illusion of longer legs, but boy shorts cut off most people in an unflattering way. One of the most effective styling tricks is to draw attention up toward your face, says Koch, who recommends color or embellishment at the neckline. Be aware of metal hardware, though, which can get very hot in the sun. Adam Glassman, creative director of O, The Oprah Magazine, who has styled countless photos shoots, has these words of wisdom: Don’t underestimate the value of a great cover-up.

They even the playing field, no matter what sport you play, what size you wear or how you pass your summer days, he says. “I was just in Florida and couldn’t believe how many people look chic in a caftan. I hadn’t seen that before, I thought it would be all Mrs. Roper or ‘Golden Girls,’ but everyone looks good in a great cover-up.”—AP

A visitor stands in front of the work tiltled “L Faux: Colour 2” (2005) by Canadian artist of South African origin Evan Penny during a preview of his exhibition at the Kunsthalle Tuebingen museum in Tuebingen, southern Germany. From June 2 to September 4, 2011, the museum presents around 40 hyper-realistic sculptures and photographs taken with a special time camera by the artist. (Right) Work titled ‘Murray 3, Variation of 3’.—AFP

Alexander Designs chosen for New York fashion show

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esigner Jill Alexander knows what curvy women want. She got hearty applause for her styles at the inaugural Full Figured Fashion Week Los Angeles in October and compliments from celebrities like Miss Plus America. Now she’s been selected to present her line at the Full Figured Fashion Week in New York City, June 16-18.

“I’m really excited,” said Alexander, 42, though she acknowledges being a little nervous. “I’m really quite shy. I like to be behind the scenes.”

Her fashions, however, are anything but low-key, offering bright colors, striking patterns and innovative designs, which is why women with curves appreciate her. “Jill Alexander blew my mind with her off-theshoulder dress,” said a fashionista named Natasha, in a post-show interview posted on YouTube. Sumer Noelle Lucksheider is a fan.

“Jill’s designs are unique and different than most ‘plus size’ clothing,” said Lucksheider, who can be seen modeling on Alexander’s website. “We don’t want to wear shapeless muumuus, we want to wear clothes that make us feel good, that celebrate our curves, that make us feel confident and powerful ... and she gets that.”

Jill Alexander Designs is only 2 years old, but it’s built on Alexander’s two decades of experience in the fashion industry. In addition to the off-the-shoulder dress, her Steel Magnolia collection —currently in production — includes a wrap-style cotton dress, silk tops, cotton capri pants, skinny stretch denim jeans and a jersey jumpsuit, each selling for $100 or less. Sales are currently in six figures.

“I’d love to be in seven figures,” Alexander said. Her styles are only available online.

A resident of Scotts Valley, Calif, where she lives with husband Ernie and two daughters ages 14 and 16, she described her career as a series of unplanned but fortuitous moves.

After graduating from San Diego State University, she went to work for Ann Taylor, where she learned visual merchandising. She discovered buyers like to see a full collection but they might scrap a third of it when they place an order. “It’s all about the marketability,” she said. Recruited by A Pea in the Pod, a high-end maternity fashion company, she learned how materials could be cut different ways to accentuate a growing body.

“The shape of clothes has to change to accommodate a curve,” she said. “I’ve been curvy always. I’m a size 18 right now.” She found customers with curves sought her out, asking her to dress them. “They were paying me to shop,” she said. After her children were born, she got involved in costuming through her younger daughter, who has been involved in local theater for seven years.

She decided to go back to school, enrolling at West Valley College to study design and learn about manufacturing, before starting her business. She makes fre-

Sumer Noelle models a dress by Jill Alexander. —MCT photos

Sumer Noelle models a design by Jill Alexander. quent day trips to Los Angeles, where her clothing is manufactured though she is looking for a manufacturer in San Francisco.

“It costs more to cut a curvy seam than a straight one,” she said, noting that designers who don’t understand the market cut corners. “To structure a plus size, you need to start doing it at size 12.” The industry definition starts at size 14. Almost half the women in America are size 12 and up, yet they have been overlooked by designers and retailers.

“Mostly there are online retailers,” Alexander said. “There are few brick and mortar stores where people can actually try things on.” Merchandising is another challenge. “None of it looks appealing on a hanger, and they don’t stock plus-size manikins,” Alexander said. “It’s kind of a vicious circle.”

She got positive feedback when she participated in the 2009 fashionART Runway Show organized by Angelo Grova, which filled the 2,000-seat Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. “When they see plus-size girls on the runway, they go crazy,” Alexander said. “People want to see themselves.”

Thanks to the Internet, she is getting international exposure, selling in a boutique in Australia and fielding queries from Mexico and Finland. She hopes a local retailer will carry her styles, noting plus-size shoppers are loyal shoppers. “I have a lot of followers in Santa Cruz,” she said. “If there were a local store that carried me, they would have customers.” — MCT Jill Alexander adjusts a design worn by model Sumer Noelle.

Model Perez keeps herself swimsuit-ready all year T

hat long, lean blonde zipping by on the sidewalk in a loose tank top, racer-back sports bra, colorful running shorts and featherweight sneakers could be Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Jessica Perez. She’s not into a fussy workout, and she’s not into fussy workout gear or gadgets. Fitness and a healthy diet are part of her job, Perez says, but wearing a high-fashion wardrobe for yoga, Pilates and running is not.

“I wear whatever is clean,” she says. “I’m a little bit of an old T-shirt type. I wear plain tank tops and shorts, no makeup, a ponytail.” That doesn’t mean she’s not particular, though. She will, in fact, only wear tank tops — never a short-sleeve shirt — and she doesn’t like to have any sort of molded cups in her sports bra. She doesn’t like tank straps on the bra because they put too much pressure on her shoulders, hence the preferred racer-back style.

If she’s on the Pilates machine, she’ll wear Caprilength yoga pants because, she explains, “You never know who’s walking by. Running shorts can show too much if your leg is up in the air.” She looks for wicking fabrics that draw sweat away from the

skin. The lighter the better for her sneakers, which she replaces like clockwork every six months. On this day, browsing at the giant Niketown in Manhattan, she takes note of the airy Lunar Glides, especially in the black-with-turquoise color combination, but she has been pretty loyal to the style known as Nike Free Run. She’s actually like a kid in a candy store, closely examining the construction of the garments intended for different types of activity, and loving the rainbow of colors. Really, though, she says, it’s rare for her to have the opportunity to get out in stores and shop because of her schedule, which includes a lot of travel.

Perez, who has an American mother and Costa Rican father, was born in Costa Rica, but moved to Honduras and, as a teen, to Ecuador. Now a New Yorker, she has modeled for Abercrombie & Fitch and Victoria’s Secret and has been featured in magazines such as Allure, Cosmopolitan and Glamour.

She’s in the June issue of Shape. Perez, 24, says she keeps her body swimsuit-ready at all times, although if she knows “a bikini job” is coming up, she’ll make her workouts a little longer and skips

red meat for a few days. “That’s when I start dreaming of burgers.” Her other weakness is sweets, particularly chocolate, but, she says, she has figured out how to eat in moderation.

She feels very comfortable in a swimsuit — even a skimpy one — when she’s working because it’s a professional persona that she’ll wear for a few hours. Bathing suit tops have popped off in the ocean and she’s been asked to wear tiny Brazilianstyle bottoms, she says, and that’s all fine when she is Model Jessica Perez. When she’s just Jessica Perez, however, she says she’s quite modest, and she often keeps her cover-up or shorts on at the beach. Her favorite swimsuit style is a halter top because it gives coverage and support — and just the right amount of cleavage.

It’s important in her career to keep a feminine figure, Perez says, and she has to reconcile that with not gaining or losing too much weight, and not getting too muscular. “I get paid to have curves, and sometimes that’s a delicate balance.”

Perez credits her trainer, Justin Gelband, with keeping her motivated by varying the exercise routine.

Running is her favorite cardio workout, and she’ll typically go three miles, but one day she’ll be carrying weights, the next day she’ll be working on speed and then she’ll try a steeper incline.

On the days she’s not running, she’s at the Abhyasa Yoga Center in Brooklyn near her apartment. Her best pose is the triangle. She likes that she can do yoga anywhere in the world —whether she’s home, working in Europe or on vacation in some exotic land. “The cool thing about yoga is that it’s like the universal exercise, even if you don’t speak the language. You could go to France or Germany and just copy what the person is doing next to you.”

Perez says she rarely takes a day off from working out, mostly because it becomes harder to restart the routine. “Even if it’s something small, I do it every day. I think it gets you more ‘in the moment’ and it just becomes part of your life.” In fact, she says proudly, she gave this advice to her dad over the Christmas holiday, and he took up spin classes and power walking. He’s lost 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms), she reports. “It doesn’t have to be a fancy program.

Exercise should be like brushing your teeth.”—AP

Lady Gaga album sells 1.1 million copies in first week

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

37 Global luxury brands flock to

Hong Kong bourse

S

Fashion

Rio 2012 Summer

Models wear creations by Espaco.

Models wear creations by Oestudio during the Fashion Rio Summer 2012 collection in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday.

—AP/AFP photos

ome of the world’s top luxury brands are set to list on the Hong Kong bourse to tap China’s deep capital markets-and draw more customers-as demand for premium goods soars in Asia, analysts say. The city’s profile as a luxury magnet was boosted in January when Prada said it would list its shares in Hong Kong, after French cosmetics chain L’Occitane raised more than $700 million in the financial hub last year. The Italian fashion house, which includes the Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s and Car Shoe brands, is expected to raise as much as $2 billion when it debuts on Hong Kong’s bourse later this month.

In May, US handbag maker Coach, already listed in New York, announced its shares may start trading in the southern Chinese territory by year-end, saying it hoped to heighten the brand’s profile across the Asia Pacific. Upscale luggagemaker Samsonite’s Hong Kong share sale, which kicks off this week, is also expected to raise as much as $1.5 billion. And Britain’s Burberry is also reportedly eyeing a listing in the city as high-end retailers scramble to profit from the region’s rising incomes, especially in China, the world’s fastest-growing market for luxury goods.

Powered by a red-hot economy, China is forecast to be the world’s top buyer of products such as cosmetics, handbags, watches, shoes and clothes by 2015, according to accounting giants PricewaterhouseCoopers. The rush to list in Hong Kong has seen advertising splashed across street billboards and newspaper pages, to generate interest among the city’s legions of retail investors for the luxury brands’ stock sales, as much as their handbags and shoes.

“Listing in Asia is a way of increasing your brand awareness,” Aaron Fischer, consumer analyst at brokerage CLSA, told AFP. “These companies are already getting more than half of their global luxury sales from Asian customers.” China’s soaring economic success has produced a staggering 1.11 million households worth a million dollars, according to a Boston Consulting Group report which found only the US and Japan had more millionaires. That immense wealth has also seen private jet makers and auction houses including Sotheby’s and Christie’s zero in on the China market.

Hong Kong now rivals New York and London in the auction business.

China’s deep capital pool helped the territory claim title as the world’s biggest IPO market in 2010 — for the second year in a row.

Firms raised more than $50 billion in Hong Kong IPOs last year, making it the world’s biggest market for new listings including two monster sales by Asian insurer AIA and Agricultural Bank of China.”Listing in Hong Kong will enable Prada and Coach to access a deep capital base in Asia,” said Liu Qiao, finance professor at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management. “Finance should follow where your real activities are. As the market and future growth engines are in Asia, listing in Hong Kong is a very natural step forward for these firms.”

A high-profile launch “also turns customers into shareholders which may further improve their brand loyalty,” he said.

While big institutional investors provide the bulk of the funds, Hong Kong’s retail investors are loathe to miss out on the action, in a place where brands are revered and long queues outside top-end retailers are a common sight. —AFP

People walk past advertising for luxury brands in Hong Kong on June 1, 2011. —AFP