KT 3-4-2013_Layout 1 - Kuwait Times
KT 3-4-2013_Layout 1 - Kuwait Times
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SUBSCRIPTION<br />
Amir attends<br />
operetta<br />
‘<strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
Amana’<br />
2<br />
40 PAGES NO: 15767 150 FILS<br />
MPs pass anti-money laundering, terror funding law<br />
Amnesty slams<br />
resumption<br />
of executions<br />
KUWAIT: Amnesty International yesterday criticised<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> for resuming executions after a six-year pause,<br />
describing the decision as a “real setback”. “These are<br />
the first executions carried out in <strong>Kuwait</strong> since 2007<br />
and mark a deplorable setback for human rights in the<br />
country,” said Ann Harrison, the rights watchdog’s program<br />
director for the Middle East and North Africa.<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> on Monday executed a Saudi, a Pakistani and a<br />
bedoon after being convicted of murders. The last<br />
hanging carried in <strong>Kuwait</strong> before those was in May<br />
Continued on Page 13<br />
Apple<br />
apologises<br />
after China<br />
outrage<br />
27<br />
Desert nomads<br />
marvel at<br />
water purifying<br />
device<br />
28<br />
Palestinians protest after<br />
inmate dies in Israeli jail<br />
Meshaal reelected Hamas chief<br />
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian leadership yesterday<br />
blamed Israel for the death of a long-term prisoner<br />
with cancer, further hiking tensions over<br />
what is already a tinderbox issue. The<br />
death yesterday morning of Maisara Abu<br />
Hamdiyeh, a 63-year-old prisoner from<br />
Hebron suffering from throat cancer,<br />
sparked outrage over Israel’s failure to<br />
release him early on compassionate<br />
grounds. “The death of Maisara Abu<br />
Hamdiyeh shows the Israeli government’s<br />
arrogance and intransigence over the prisoners,”<br />
Palestinian president o Abbas told<br />
reporters at the start of a meeting of his<br />
Fatah movement in Ramallah.<br />
“We tried to get him released for treatment<br />
but the Israeli government refused to let him<br />
out, which led to his death,” Abbas said, with his<br />
spokesman laying the blame squarely on the administration<br />
of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The<br />
Palestinian presidency holds the Netanyahu government<br />
responsible for the martyrdom of prisoner<br />
Maisara Abu Hamdiyeh,” Nabil Abu Rudeina said. An<br />
Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity,<br />
said that such remarks would not help the Palestinian<br />
cause. “Instead of speaking the language of confrontation,<br />
the Palestinian Authority would be doing<br />
its own people a favour if it started to speak the language<br />
of peace and reconciliation, because that’s the<br />
only real path to Palestinian statehood,” he said.<br />
Abu Hamdiyeh, who had served more than a<br />
decade of a life sentence for his involvement in an<br />
attempted attack on Israelis in 2002, died at Soroka<br />
hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheva,<br />
sources on both sides said.<br />
Continued on Page 13<br />
ABU DHABI: Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird (left) meets UAE Foreign<br />
Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan yesterday. — AFP<br />
OTTAWA: The United Arab Emirates is<br />
nixing costly visa requirements imposed<br />
on Canadian travelers, officials said yesterday,<br />
ending a row between the two<br />
countries that started in 2010 over aviation<br />
rights. Canadian Foreign Affairs<br />
Minister John Baird and his UAE counterpart,<br />
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-<br />
Nahyan, agreed to “facilitate travel<br />
requirements to increase business,<br />
tourism and joint prosperity for our citi-<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong> JAMADA ALAWWAL 22, 1434 AH www.kuwaittimes.net<br />
Shamali: Debt relief<br />
deal to cost KD 744m<br />
DUBAI: A government bailout of <strong>Kuwait</strong>i debtors is<br />
expected to cost KD 744 million ($2.61 billion), finance<br />
minister Mustafa Al-Shamali said yesterday. The government,<br />
under pressure from members of parliament, is<br />
discussing with lawmakers a plan to write off the interest<br />
on <strong>Kuwait</strong>i citizens’ personal bank loans taken out before<br />
the end of March 2008. “This is an issue that will be raised<br />
tomorrow in parliament,” Shamali told reporters on the<br />
sidelines of a meeting of Arab finance ministers and central<br />
bankers in Dubai.<br />
Asked what the total size of the bailout would be, he<br />
replied: “744 million dinars. The payment mechanism is<br />
that they will pay their debts all the way directly to the<br />
government.” The parliament gave initial approval to a<br />
bill last month, under which the government would buy<br />
the loans from banks, pay off the interest and reschedule<br />
the loans. The bill still needs a second approval and the<br />
cabinet has said changes were needed to the initial plan.<br />
Many lawmakers elected in December made debt relief<br />
in the state a priority of their campaigns. Economists<br />
have voiced concerns about the long-term sustainability<br />
of such measures. — Reuters<br />
HEBRON: A Palestinian aims a slingshot at Israeli soldiers after the death of Maisara Abu Hamdiyeh in an<br />
Israeli jail in this West Bank city yesterday. (Inset) Newly-elected Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal is seen in<br />
this recent file photo. — AP/AFP<br />
Late drama as<br />
Matuidi earns<br />
PSG draw<br />
with Barca<br />
20<br />
Assembly rejects move to<br />
raise fuel price for expats<br />
UAE, Canada end visa row<br />
zens by restoring the visa regime,” said a<br />
statement. “We will be working to formalize<br />
this in the next few months and<br />
the details will follow from (Zayed Al-<br />
Nahyan)’s formal announcement that we<br />
return to the previous visa regime that<br />
pre-existed the challenging time in our<br />
relationship,” Baird told a teleconference<br />
from Abu Dhabi. Baird is on a tour of the<br />
Middle East.<br />
Continued on Page 13<br />
YANGON: A fire blamed on an electrical fault killed 13<br />
teenage boys at a Muslim school in Myanmar’s main<br />
city yesterday, police and witnesses said, raising fears of<br />
a further eruption of tensions after a wave of religious<br />
unrest. Police and soldiers flanked the scorched blue<br />
mosque and religious school in central Yangon, where<br />
dozens of children had been sleeping when the blaze<br />
broke out early yesterday. Authorities launched an<br />
inquiry into the fire, stressing that early indications suggested<br />
a tragic accident. Police said two guards at the<br />
building had been charged with negligence. An imam,<br />
or religious teacher, was also taken in for police questioning<br />
yesterday, said an official at a mosque where the<br />
surviving children were being housed.<br />
The assurances came amid Muslim suspicions that<br />
they had been targeted following a spate of Buddhist-<br />
Muslim killings and arson that has spread across central<br />
Myanmar in recent days. “The whole country is worried<br />
now for Yangon, and is wondering whether this was a<br />
crime,” Ye Naung Thein, of Muslim organisation<br />
Myanmar Mawlwy federation, told AFP at the scene,<br />
urging people to wait for the result of the inquiry.<br />
Hundreds of mourners, many praying and weeping,<br />
packed into a Muslim cemetery in a suburb north of<br />
Continued on Page 13<br />
By B Izzak<br />
Max 33º<br />
Min 19º<br />
High Tide<br />
05:37 & 15:57<br />
Low Tide<br />
10:37 & 23:55<br />
KUWAIT: In a landmark decision, the National Assembly<br />
rejected yesterday with a landslide majority proposals<br />
to raise fuel prices for expatriates only as part of measures<br />
to resolve the traffic problem in the country. As<br />
many as 30 members, including government ministers,<br />
rejected a set of non-binding recommendations aimed<br />
at helping resolve grinding traffic jams on <strong>Kuwait</strong>i<br />
roads. Only eight lawmakers approved the recommendations.<br />
The recommendations were submitted two weeks<br />
ago following a heated debate on the causes and solutions<br />
of the traffic problem but the Assembly could not<br />
vote on them for a lack of quorum. The recommendations<br />
called for raising vehicle registration fees for expatriates<br />
only, lifting subisidies on fuel and then providing<br />
it on ration cards for <strong>Kuwait</strong>is and making expats pay<br />
full cost in addition to deporting expatriate drivers who<br />
commit grave violations.<br />
Ahead of the vote, leading Shiite MP Adnan<br />
Abdulsamad said the recommendations and the debate<br />
give the impression as if expatriates are the only cause<br />
for the traffic jams in the country. “This is incorrect.<br />
Expatriates are a part of the problem and not the whole<br />
problem. We blame expatriates for many problems.<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>is also have too many cars and we are also a part<br />
of the problem,” the lawmaker said. “We have overburdened<br />
expatriates with school fees, residence fees and<br />
health insurance fees. This way, expatriates will be forced<br />
to send their families back to their countries and <strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
will become a land of bachelors,” Abdulsamad said.<br />
Accusations against expatriates have increased during<br />
the past few months and several MPs have made<br />
proposals against them. At the weekend, MP Abdullah<br />
Al-Mayouf proposed to increase the health insurance<br />
fee expatriates are obliged to pay from the existing KD<br />
50 per person to KD 100 and introduce a KD 50 health<br />
insurance fee on domestic helpers. The health ministry<br />
is also contemplating proposals by MPs to allocate the<br />
morning session at public clinics for <strong>Kuwait</strong>i citizens and<br />
ban expatriate patients in order to shorten the period<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>i patients have to wait for treatment. Expatriate<br />
patients will be compelled to seek treatment in the<br />
evening, barring emergency cases. This system is<br />
already implemented at the interior ministry’s traffic<br />
departments in certain governorates like Hawalli.<br />
Instead, the Assembly approved another set of recommendations<br />
that call for building new roads, bridges<br />
and speeding up the metro project. The recommendations<br />
also call for stiffening measures for obtaining a driver’s<br />
license and for deporting expatriates and jailing<br />
nationals who commit grave traffic violations.<br />
In another development, the Assembly comfortably<br />
passed in the second and final reading a law to combat<br />
money laundering and terror funding which stipulates<br />
heavy penalties for violators. Forty-five members,<br />
including Cabinet ministers, voted for the law while five<br />
MPs abstained without any rejection. The law becomes<br />
effective after it is signed by the Amir and published in<br />
the official gazette.<br />
It stipulates a 10-year imprisonment for money laundering<br />
offenders, which is increased to a maximum of<br />
20 years in jail if the perpetrators are an organized criminal<br />
or a terrorist group or a civil society. The law also<br />
stipulates a 15-year prison term for funding a terrorist<br />
organization. In all cases, the law stipulates confiscating<br />
all the money involved in the violation and imposing<br />
hefty fines.<br />
13 boys dead in blaze at<br />
Myanmar Muslim school<br />
YANGON: Men carry bodies of victims of a mosque fire for burials on the outskirts<br />
of Yangon yesterday. — AP
KUWAIT: Under the patronage and attendance of His<br />
Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-<br />
Sabah, the National operetta “<strong>Kuwait</strong> Amana” was held at<br />
Bayan Palace theater yesterday.<br />
The event was also attended by visiting Maldives<br />
President Dr. Mohammed Waheed Hassan, His Highness<br />
the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-<br />
Sabah, National Assembly Speaker Ali Al-Rashed, former<br />
House Speaker Jassim Al-Kharafi, Deputy Chief of the<br />
National Guards Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-<br />
LOCAL<br />
Sabah, Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah,<br />
His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak<br />
Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. It was also attended by First Deputy<br />
Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-<br />
Humoud Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Deputy Minister of Amiri<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Amir attends national operetta ‘<strong>Kuwait</strong> Amana’<br />
Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah and senior state<br />
officials. Male and female students carried out dance routines<br />
that depicted the history of <strong>Kuwait</strong> throughout the<br />
years. The operetta aimed at enhancing national unity and<br />
solidarity. —KUNA<br />
Overseas job no longer a need<br />
but a choice for many Filipinos<br />
Reintegration loan program introduced<br />
By Ben Garcia<br />
KUWAIT: Overseas employment will no<br />
longer be a need but a choice for many<br />
Filipinos, said the Philippine labor attaché<br />
to <strong>Kuwait</strong> as he explained in detail about<br />
the newest reintegration loan program<br />
recently introduced for Filipinos abroad.<br />
Philippine Labor Attaché to <strong>Kuwait</strong> David<br />
Des Dicang stated that whether it be<br />
Filipinos returning to their home country<br />
for good or those still employed abroad<br />
but willing to start up a business are eligible<br />
under the reintegration loan program<br />
recently introduced by the Overseas<br />
Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA),<br />
a sub-agency of the Philippines Labor<br />
Ministry (Department of Labor and<br />
Employment-DOLE).<br />
He said Philippine President Benigno<br />
Aquino III encourages Overseas Filipino<br />
Workers (OFWs) to return to the<br />
Philippines and start their own business.<br />
OFWs can avail themselves of 300,000 to<br />
2 million pesos worth of loan packages<br />
carrying an interest of 7.5 percent per<br />
annum, with a maximum tenure of seven<br />
years.<br />
“The sole purpose of the program is to<br />
give a chance to Filipinos to start their<br />
own business so they would no longer<br />
need to work abroad but be owners of<br />
their own businesses,” Dicang explained.<br />
He noted that funds worth 2 billion pesos<br />
have been allotted for the program - 1 billion<br />
pesos from the OWWA fund, with<br />
another 1 billion pesos to be shared by<br />
Land Bank and the Development Bank of<br />
the Philippines. “The funds can be replenished<br />
if consumed, but OWWA, some<br />
allied banks and other government agencies<br />
are joining hands to monitor the project<br />
and implement this program for<br />
OFWs’ success,” he said.<br />
The new program is open to all<br />
Filipinos who have proof of employment<br />
abroad, regardless of whether they had<br />
finished their contracts, or for how long<br />
they had worked overseas. “The requirements<br />
have already been simplified so as<br />
to encourage more Filipinos to come back<br />
KUWAIT: The National Assembly, at its regular<br />
session yesterday, referred deliberations<br />
held during the session on traffic issues, to<br />
the parliamentary committee of public facilities<br />
for examination in coordination with<br />
relevant authorities, pending submission of<br />
a report in this respect within two months.<br />
The parliament, during deliberations of<br />
the traffic issue during a session held on<br />
March 20, prepared several recommendations<br />
in this respect, however, there was no<br />
and join the business community and create<br />
local jobs,” Dicang said.<br />
According to Dicang, OWWA reintegration<br />
program is just one of many projects<br />
spearheaded by the agency to help<br />
OFWs. He also mentioned of other services.<br />
For example, by paying a membership<br />
fee of US$25, an OFW can be entitled to a<br />
host of several benefits: disability and dismemberment<br />
benefits, death and burial<br />
benefits, scholarship and other incentive<br />
programs.<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>-based Filipino Overseas<br />
Workers Welfare Officer Norlita Lugto said<br />
the services and programs available for<br />
OFWs are intended to benefit the entire<br />
Filipino diaspora abroad. Therefore, just be<br />
the housemaids, but also engineers and<br />
other skilled workers will enjoy the benefits.<br />
She also pointed out that there were<br />
certain requirements that must be met in<br />
order to qualify for the OWWA reintegration<br />
loan program. “First and foremost, if<br />
you want to apply for the program, you<br />
must be an OFW, show proof that you<br />
have worked abroad, or are working<br />
abroad. It does not matter whether you<br />
worked 10 years ago or are still working,<br />
as long as you have proof that you paid<br />
the US$25 membership fee. Then show<br />
your passport, because the passport bears<br />
the visa of the country you worked for,”<br />
Lugto added.<br />
Since the program involves a business<br />
loan, there is another very important<br />
requirement: OWWA requires OFWs to<br />
present a feasibility study on the business<br />
they are planning to start. “Don’t worry<br />
about this one, because the OWWA<br />
regional office runs an entrepreneurship<br />
development training course. It’s a oneday<br />
seminar to help aspiring business persons<br />
understand basic accounting, conduct<br />
feasibility studies, and get trained on<br />
basic budgeting and bookkeeping. The<br />
Department of Trade and Industry will<br />
KUWAIT: Philippine Labor Attache to <strong>Kuwait</strong> David Des Dicang, center,<br />
and Welfare Officer Norlita Lugto, left, talking with the <strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
<strong>Times</strong> reporter yesterday.<br />
sufficient time for MPs to read and approve<br />
them. One of the these recommendations<br />
proposes that the report of the committee<br />
include an analytical study of the traffic crisis,<br />
in terms of annual rise of the number of<br />
driving licenses, timetables for ventures of<br />
renovating roads and effects of execution of<br />
the overall development strategy on transportation.<br />
Moreover, this recommendation called<br />
for inclusion in the report information about<br />
help us conduct the training program.<br />
Now, there are also other agencies helping<br />
us, like the Department of Agriculture,<br />
for people interested in farming. We even<br />
have with us the Department of Science<br />
and Technology and the Department of<br />
Finance,” Lugto mentioned. However, she<br />
noted that Filipinos could benefit from<br />
the reintegration program only in the<br />
Philippines, at their respective regional<br />
offices. “We have OWWA branches in 17<br />
regions across the Philippines. Therefore,<br />
we have advised every Filipino interested<br />
in the reintegration loan program to apply<br />
to their respective OWWA provincial<br />
offices,” she concluded.<br />
MPs refer traffic issue to parliamentary committee<br />
role of the government authorities regarding<br />
the traffic problem, reports of consultancy<br />
authorities in this regard and role of<br />
the public transport authorities for tackling<br />
it. The parliament, during today’s session,<br />
approved another recommendation that<br />
affirmed necessity of development and<br />
construction re-planning, with emphasis on<br />
establishment of integrated networks,<br />
roads, tunnels and bridges, to cope with the<br />
mounting traffic congestions. —KUNA
LOCAL<br />
Sharp increase in number of<br />
speed cameras on streets<br />
By Nawara Fattahova<br />
KUWAIT: The heavily increased<br />
number of speed cameras dotting<br />
News<br />
in brief<br />
Iraqi military attaché<br />
KUWAIT: Iraq asked <strong>Kuwait</strong> to open a post of military<br />
attaché in the country in a request that the Iraqi embassy<br />
handed to the Foreign Ministry in <strong>Kuwait</strong>, a local newspaper<br />
reported yesterday quoting an independent news agency.<br />
The original report released by the Enferaad News Agency<br />
and published by Al-Watan yesterday quoted diplomatic<br />
sources who indicated that <strong>Kuwait</strong> remained “reserved” on<br />
the issue of Iraqi request which they say “has been submitted<br />
more than two months ago.” The sources, who were not<br />
named in the report, meanwhile indicated that this issue<br />
was likely to be clinched during the planned visit of <strong>Kuwait</strong>’s<br />
Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to<br />
Baghdad in the near future. The visit is expected to address<br />
the issue of border demarcation, investments in Iraq and<br />
other pending issues between the two countries.<br />
KIA retirement incentives<br />
KUWAIT: The <strong>Kuwait</strong> Investment Authority is planning a<br />
retirement program through which it will be able to<br />
encourage employees serving for long to retire and create<br />
opportunities for younger staff members to assume leading<br />
positions, a local newspaper reported yesterday quoting<br />
sources privy to the development. The proposed ‘package’<br />
calls for paying an ‘end of service’ reward equivalent to<br />
30-month salary to an employee who has spent a minimum<br />
of 28 years in office. The proposal also stipulates promoting<br />
employees before retirement so that they can<br />
enjoy pensions based on the basic salary in their promoted<br />
rank.<br />
Ministry plans to add more<br />
the <strong>Kuwait</strong>i roads has been proving<br />
to be a terrifying prospect for many<br />
drivers, especially those driving fast.<br />
The drivers are already aware that<br />
KUWAIT: The <strong>Kuwait</strong>i streets seem to be full of cameras, yet<br />
new ones are being added. — Photos by Joseph Shagra<br />
many new cameras have been<br />
installed in the last two months, but<br />
they also know that these are not<br />
working yet.<br />
Earlier, the Ministry had<br />
announced that these new cameras<br />
will be functional from this month.<br />
Adel Al-Hashash PR, Moral Guidance<br />
and Director of the Security<br />
Information branch of the Ministry<br />
of Interior informed the <strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
<strong>Times</strong> that the speed cameras were<br />
already functional and drivers who<br />
were violating speed limits will be<br />
penalized.<br />
“The newly installed cameras are<br />
still being tested to examine their<br />
efficiency. This does not mean that<br />
the drivers found jumping speed<br />
limits would not be slapped with<br />
fines. They will certainly be penalized,”<br />
he pointed out.<br />
Although the streets seem to be<br />
full of cameras, yet new ones are<br />
being added. “The Ministry is currently<br />
working on adding new<br />
speed cameras along the ‘Safety<br />
Lanes’ on both sides of the roads.<br />
Currently, there are only a few cameras<br />
along these lines that are functional.<br />
Some installed earlier were<br />
only temporary. We noticed that<br />
many drivers are committing this<br />
violation and were using these<br />
lanes meant for emergency purposes.<br />
So we decided to have more<br />
cameras to bring down the number<br />
of these violations,” added Al-<br />
Hashash.<br />
The increasing number of speed<br />
cameras does not bother 41-yearold<br />
Ibtisam. “I respect the traffic<br />
rules and I drive carefully, so I am<br />
rarely fined. And if I do commit a<br />
violation, it is usually for wrong<br />
parking or other lesser mistakes, not<br />
for over speeding or jumping a red<br />
light. I agree that the there should<br />
be more cameras as I think it will<br />
help curb the instance of violations<br />
on the roads as drivers will be more<br />
careful and will decrease their<br />
speed to avoid paying fines,” she<br />
stated.<br />
But 27-year-old Hamad is<br />
annoyed by the new cameras. “I<br />
hate seeing cameras on the roads. I<br />
think these cameras are the reason<br />
for more accidents. Many of them<br />
were added recently and people are<br />
not used to these as yet, so they<br />
slow down suddenly which causes<br />
more accidents. In my view, the<br />
speed is not always responsible for<br />
the accidents. It is the lack of attention<br />
that is ranked as the number<br />
one factor causing accidents,<br />
according to the statistics of the<br />
Ministry of Interior,” he noted.<br />
In a separate issue, Adel Al-<br />
Hashash commented on the news<br />
published in local media recently<br />
regarding new additional strict conditions<br />
for issuing driving licenses<br />
to expat drivers.<br />
“What was published in the<br />
press was a proposal which has not<br />
been approved so far as a law or a<br />
regulation. This proposal is under<br />
study and will be filtered and<br />
passed on to the legal and legislative<br />
committee at the Ministry. It<br />
will be then approved and submitted<br />
to the institutions in charge. The<br />
public will be informed about any<br />
new regulations,” he concluded.<br />
Approval for food, national electoral committee<br />
KUWAIT: The National Assembly approved<br />
unanimously at its regular session yesterday of<br />
a draft law decree on establishing a public<br />
authority for food and nutrition after being discussed<br />
and voted for in its first deliberation.<br />
Number of MPs affirmed the country’s need<br />
for such a type of draft laws, especially in light<br />
of what has been stirred lately of suspension<br />
about availability of rotten meat in local market,<br />
and other related violations due to nonexistence<br />
of an actual control body over food.<br />
They stressed necessity of adopting and<br />
implementing the law, as well as stiffen penal-<br />
ties for law violators, demanding at the same<br />
time finding of specialized plants that teach<br />
examination of imported food as soon as possible<br />
in order to disallow quarantining it, destroying<br />
it, costing their owners, and intervention of<br />
“wasta” in entering rotten food to the country.<br />
On the other hand, the interior and defense<br />
parliamentary committee approved today of a<br />
draft law decree 21/2012 on the higher national<br />
electoral committee.<br />
The committee has approved of a draft law<br />
decree on the higher national electoral committee<br />
during its meeting on the sideline of<br />
Cabinet to implement ‘Youth<br />
Convention’ document<br />
KUWAIT: Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber<br />
Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah has received a recommendation<br />
from HH the Amir to<br />
implement the articles of the ‘National<br />
Document for Youth’ - a set of regulations<br />
aimed at meeting the demands of young<br />
citizens, which were raised during the<br />
National Youth Convention held last<br />
month. According to sources with knowledge<br />
of the case, the cabinet is expecting<br />
to “assign Minister of Information and<br />
Minister of Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman<br />
Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah to study the document<br />
in order to put together the necessary<br />
plans to implement its articles” during<br />
a meeting scheduled to be held<br />
shortly.<br />
Meanwhile, the same sources that<br />
spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of<br />
anonymity revealed that the ‘permanent<br />
ministerial committee for youths affairs’,<br />
recently formed by the cabinet, has started<br />
“developing a comprehensive program<br />
to support young people’s projects”,<br />
which was adopted by the Amiri Dewan.<br />
The program reportedly focuses on helping<br />
young people implement their ideas<br />
and further develop their small projects.<br />
“This part of the Amiri Dewan’s efforts to<br />
turn <strong>Kuwait</strong> into an international fiscal<br />
and commercial hub”, the sources said.<br />
Meanwhile, former MP Musallam Al-<br />
Barrak again called on the government to<br />
‘keep some painkillers at hand’ in preparation<br />
for the opposition’s planned activities<br />
over the coming few weeks.<br />
Speaking on Sunday as the general<br />
coordinator of the Opposition Coalition,<br />
Al-Barrak announced that four events<br />
would be held over this month, which<br />
would culminate in a “large field activity,<br />
the time and place of which will be determined<br />
in early May”. The leading opposition<br />
politician explained that the activities<br />
would coincide with a highly anticipated<br />
Constitutional Court ruling with regard to<br />
challenges to the electoral law amendment,<br />
which is set to be made on June<br />
16. “The activities are set to begin on April<br />
10, with a gathering at the municipality<br />
yard in which the main topic of discussion<br />
will be ‘the elected cabinet and facing<br />
freedom suppression’”, Al-Barrak told<br />
reporters after a meeting at the coalition’s<br />
political office. He added that a second<br />
sitting was scheduled to be held seven<br />
days later, titled ‘the elected cabinet and<br />
the future of generations’, which would<br />
be followed by a similar event on April 24<br />
- entitled ‘the elected cabinet and achieving<br />
justice’. The final gathering is set to<br />
take place on May 1 outside the Jaber<br />
Stadium, before a date is later announced<br />
for a major rally “which will be held on a<br />
date very close to the ruling’s day”,<br />
according to Al-Barrak.<br />
The opposition demands that the<br />
government withdraw an amendment<br />
that changed the number of votes per<br />
voter from a maximum of four to one,<br />
and scrap the parliament that was elected<br />
last December on the basis of the<br />
amended electoral law. The opposition<br />
had boycotted the elections on the pretext<br />
that the amendment was aimed at<br />
hurting their chances of securing a majority<br />
in the house. The opposition is also<br />
pushing for wide-scale amendments that<br />
will move <strong>Kuwait</strong> towards having full parliamentary<br />
system, in which the cabinet is<br />
formed from the parliament’s majority.<br />
Senior opposition figures have indicated<br />
on many earlier occasions that they will<br />
continue to press their demands for an<br />
elected cabinet even if the Constitutional<br />
Court upholds the amendment to the<br />
electoral law.<br />
Traffic officer<br />
beaten up<br />
By Hanan Al-Saadoun<br />
KUWAIT: A traffic police officer approached authorities at<br />
Adan police station complaining that eight youth beat him<br />
up while he was doing his duty. The policeman said he<br />
received a report about some people driving recklessly in the<br />
Adan Area. Upon reaching the area, he closed the road to<br />
prevent them from escaping. The enraged youth beat him<br />
up. He was able to note down the number of one of the cars<br />
driven by those youth.<br />
Poles smashed<br />
An official working at the MEW reported to the Taima<br />
police that 11 lighting poles were smashed on purpose to<br />
steal electric cables inside. He said the theft happened at the<br />
Convoy Road.<br />
Citizen assaulted<br />
A <strong>Kuwait</strong>i man reported to the police that a person<br />
assaulted him and tried to run him over in his car at Wafra<br />
Road near kilo 12. He supplied the police with his car number.<br />
Investigation is on.<br />
Infant’s body<br />
Detectives at the Mubarak Al-Kaber governorate were trying<br />
to identify a person who left a newly born baby near a<br />
citizen’s house. The infant died of lack of care. Security<br />
sources said that the infant’s body was taken to the medical<br />
examiner as there were doubts that stray dogs could have<br />
mauled the infant.<br />
parliament’s regular session, the committee’s<br />
rapporteur MP Abdullah Al-Tamimi stated to<br />
reporters.<br />
He added that the decree was unanimously<br />
approved in presence of Counselor Ahmad Al-<br />
Ajeel, head of Supreme National Elections<br />
Commission, Counselor Faisal Khuraibet,<br />
Counselor Salem Al-Khudair, Counselor<br />
Abdulaziz Al-Majed, and Counselor Mohammad<br />
AbuSlaib.<br />
Moreover, MP Al-Tamimi noted that the committee<br />
is to submit its report to the agenda of<br />
tomorrow’s session as urgent to vote for. —- KUNA<br />
KUWAIT: Bangladesh Embassy in <strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
hosted a reception on April 1, <strong>2013</strong> at the<br />
Crowne Plaza Hotel on the occasion of<br />
42nd anniversary of the Independence and<br />
National Day of Bangladesh. On this occasion,<br />
Dr. Mohammed Barrak Alhaifi,<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>’s Minister for Health was the Guest<br />
of Honour.<br />
A large number of high level <strong>Kuwait</strong>i<br />
dignitaries, diplomats, media personnel,<br />
Embassy officials and their spouses, members<br />
of Bangladesh Military Contingent<br />
(BMC) in <strong>Kuwait</strong> and Bangladesh community<br />
representatives attended the event.<br />
The program began with the national<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
—Photos by Joseph Shagra<br />
Bangladesh Embassy holds<br />
National Day reception<br />
anthems of <strong>Kuwait</strong> and Bangladesh played<br />
by the Band of Bangladesh Military<br />
Contingent in <strong>Kuwait</strong>. Syed Shahed Reza,<br />
Ambassador of Bangladesh to <strong>Kuwait</strong> and<br />
the Guest of Honour Dr Mohammed Barrak<br />
Alhaifi cut a decorated cake prepared specially<br />
for the occasion.<br />
Throughout the program, the BMC band<br />
entertained the audience by playing<br />
enthralling tunes. A number of documentaries<br />
and vivid slide shows displayed the<br />
culture, traditions, religions, and beautiful<br />
landscape of Bangladesh. The distinguished<br />
guests were also served delicious<br />
traditional food.
kuwait digest<br />
South Korea<br />
and <strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
By Dr Wael Al-Hasawi<br />
The South Korean ambassador gave us a piece of<br />
‘advice’ recently when he warned during a public<br />
event that <strong>Kuwait</strong> will end up exhausting all its savings<br />
by 2017 unless it diversified its sources of income<br />
instead of depending exclusively on oil exports as was<br />
the case now.<br />
The ambassador also explained that <strong>Kuwait</strong> was in a<br />
better condition than his country in 1961 as a result of oil,<br />
but since then, South Korea focused on free economy<br />
and depended on small and medium businesses until<br />
this sector became employer of nearly 88 percent of the<br />
country’s labor force.<br />
The ambassador’s remarks encouraged me to look up<br />
statistics about what South Korea has achieved since<br />
1961, and compare it to what we have accomplished during<br />
the same period. I would like to share some of what I<br />
found in order to give a better idea about how delusional<br />
we continue to remain while enjoying our current wealth<br />
and disregarding our future.<br />
Unfortunately, we are suffering the repercussions of<br />
consecutive parliaments setting an example in ignorance,<br />
incompetency, greed and indifference, in addition<br />
to a government that lacks resolve and appeases the MPs<br />
or lives in their fear. In the meantime, South Korea<br />
achieved the following:<br />
• Became the 11th largest economy in the world, and<br />
one of the fourth largest in Asia.<br />
• Gross domestic product valued at $680 billion due to<br />
global demand on its industrial products.<br />
• Huge industrial productivity that is vibrant and<br />
developing, and includes fields such as automotives,<br />
steel, fabrics and food products.<br />
• One of the world’s best industrial countries in the<br />
main fields of automotives (Kia - Hyundai), electronics (LG<br />
and Samsung), steel and others.<br />
• Improvement in the value of main industrial products<br />
which include: heavy industries, electronics, automotives,<br />
ships (in which it ranks second after Japan), light<br />
industries such as clothes, shoes, etc.<br />
• With a market share of 92.3 percent, South Korea is<br />
the world’s largest exporter of industrial products, ahead<br />
of Japan, the United States and other major industrial<br />
countries.<br />
• Services improvement including: transportation by<br />
54 percent, insurance and financial services by 29 percent,<br />
and tourism by 17 percent.<br />
• Scientific research is considered one of the main<br />
focal points in the development of South Korea’s industry,<br />
which is why the state allocates nearly 7.1 percent of<br />
its GDP to it, the highest in the world. — Al-Rai<br />
kuwait digest<br />
Golden key to<br />
expats’ case<br />
By Iqbal Al-Ahmad<br />
The good thing about criticism is that it brings attention<br />
to a certain error, while the best reaction would<br />
be one that is professional and based on clear and<br />
deliberate application of mind. On the other hand, a bad<br />
response would come in the form of a swift reaction that<br />
leads to rushed answers in fear of further criticism.<br />
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor probably has<br />
one of the highest rates of corruption and bureaucratic<br />
red tape among all the state departments. Minister<br />
Thekra Al-Rashidi came to office late last year only to find<br />
it burdened with problems so huge that I pray to God<br />
that He helps her in handling these. But as long as she<br />
finds no cooperation from the people around her, she<br />
would be like a doctor writing out a prescription without<br />
proper diagnosis.<br />
It appears that pressure resulting from incessant<br />
media criticism has led minister Al-Rashidi to make hasty<br />
decisions without first studying the issue to make sure<br />
that the proposed solutions are feasible. I do not know<br />
how else I can describe the proposal of putting a maximum<br />
cap on the time for which foreigners can stay in<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>. The proposal is being studied as a possible solution<br />
to the country’s expatriate population bloating to<br />
create demographic imbalance.<br />
I still remember very well when <strong>Kuwait</strong> had lost immediately<br />
after the Iraqi Invasion a very experienced physician<br />
in Dr. George Abouna, the world famous kidney<br />
transplant surgeon. The experience he gained through<br />
years of working in <strong>Kuwait</strong>i hospitals contributed to him<br />
reaching international status. <strong>Kuwait</strong> became a pioneer in<br />
kidney transplant during his time in the country.<br />
He left for another country after <strong>Kuwait</strong> missed the<br />
chance to grant him citizenship, a decision which was<br />
part of the state’s policy to ‘address the demographic<br />
imbalance.’ The result was <strong>Kuwait</strong> losing out on the experience<br />
of a man who achieved success equal to what has<br />
been achieved by thousands of people who were naturalized.<br />
The golden key to addressing the increase in the<br />
number of expatriate labor forces is to tackle the menace<br />
of visa traffickers. They are the people who will not be<br />
affected by the proposed solution which will rather harm<br />
the interests of all the employers in <strong>Kuwait</strong>.<br />
Does it make sense that after a worker is trained on a<br />
certain job and gains good experience, becoming excellent<br />
at what he does, we simply ask him to leave? The<br />
problem we have is not about quantity, but quality.<br />
Therefore, any deportation policies should focus on keeping<br />
skilled labor forces while getting rid of marginal labor<br />
forces who work so hard to earn the money that is eventually<br />
paid to the employers who blackmail them to<br />
renew their visas.<br />
The many years for which a foreigner stays in the<br />
country is a testimony to their good demeanor and experience<br />
in their field of work. This also applies to domestic<br />
workers. When they spend years with the same employer,<br />
this means they have been very devoted. Should they,<br />
then, be rewarded with deportation?<br />
I know the minister is under a lot of pressure, but an<br />
error is never fixed by another more serious error. When<br />
an issue is studied comprehensively and swift reactions<br />
are avoided, the results would be clear and successful.<br />
Take for example the <strong>Kuwait</strong>i constitution - a great document<br />
that came after thorough research. Not only does it<br />
address current issues, but it also takes into account<br />
future prospects.<br />
Issuing decisions and changing them every other day<br />
only leads to making the problem more complicated.<br />
Meanwhile, we are still waiting for a decision that puts an<br />
end to the visa traffickers’ trade. —Al-Qabas<br />
The political crises in <strong>Kuwait</strong> can be analyzed<br />
with the help of many examples, and there are<br />
many lessons to be learnt from such an analysis.<br />
The opposition’s demands included rejection of<br />
the Amiri decree that reduced the number of votes<br />
from four to one, setting up of a parliamentary and<br />
elected government, dissolution of the current<br />
National Assembly and new elections based on a system<br />
of five constituencies and four votes per voter.<br />
These demands did not receive popular support<br />
because a majority of the <strong>Kuwait</strong>i people do not<br />
believe that the society is ready for a Parliamentary<br />
government or formation of political parties in a society<br />
divided along tribal and sectarian lines where<br />
these loyalties still supersede national loyalty.<br />
The opposing majority attempted to provoke the<br />
street and carried out licensed and unlicensed mass<br />
demonstrations. When these attempts failed, it<br />
resorted to night demonstrations in residential areas<br />
where demonstrations are not allowed. There were<br />
attempts to instigate clashes with the security personnel,<br />
but such wishes did not come true. They also<br />
tried to set up the human rights organizations<br />
against the government but failed.<br />
Finally, columnist and lawyer Mohammad<br />
Abdelqader Al-Jassim announced that the opposition<br />
has failed.<br />
Despite the disintegration and the collapse of the<br />
opposing majority, its statements and threats<br />
became shriller while its politics became increasingly<br />
self-contradictory. This indicated that the opposition<br />
has lost its path. Some people, writing on the internet<br />
and in the media, called for reconciliation with<br />
the government, but others did not want to admit<br />
defeat and their mistakes.<br />
Among the latter was former MP Musallam Al-<br />
Barrak, who said, “We do not have what we can concede<br />
to the government. (There cannot be any) dialogue<br />
with the authority and political powers must<br />
coordinate among themselves...Confronting the government<br />
does not worry us.” The question remains as<br />
to why is the opposition so fissiparous, and who is<br />
the big winner from the political movement?<br />
Of the many reasons that led to the fragmentation<br />
and collapse of the opposition, the key reasons are<br />
the inherent contradictions and differences.<br />
The opposition includes political Islam groups<br />
such as Muslim Brotherhood, Salaf Movement, and<br />
LOCAL<br />
KUWAIT: An aerial view shows Souq Sharq. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh<br />
kuwait digest<br />
A lesson from our crises<br />
The media has recently published several reports<br />
about the government’s plans to resolve some<br />
of the entrenched problems in <strong>Kuwait</strong> that have<br />
snowballed into a crisis, including the intractable traffic<br />
jams, massive overcrowding at public medical facilities,<br />
and the demographic imbalance.<br />
However, most of these proposals are not prudent<br />
and it seems no proper studies were carried out<br />
before pitching these ideas. In the most part, the proposals<br />
discriminate against the expatriates, and thus<br />
violate article 22 of the <strong>Kuwait</strong>i Constitution.<br />
That article says: “Relations between employers<br />
and employees and between landlords and tenants<br />
shall be regulated by law on economic principles, due<br />
regard being given to the rules of social justice.”<br />
Among these proposals is a decision approved by<br />
the Ministry of Health to give <strong>Kuwait</strong>i patients the<br />
sole right to check into outpatient clinics during the<br />
morning shift. Not only is such a proposal discriminatory,<br />
unjust and inhuman, but it also violates the principles<br />
of medicine which is based on diagnosing and<br />
treating patients regardless of nationality, gender or<br />
race. It is unconstitutional, violates the principles of<br />
social justice, and does not take into account the fact<br />
that the expatriate community outnumbers the<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>i national population. The new proposal follows<br />
the same path of discriminatory practices that<br />
the Ministry of Health already practices, including<br />
having a list of certain medications that are only given<br />
to <strong>Kuwait</strong>is.<br />
Another proposal attributed to the Interior<br />
Ministry is about increasing the fees that expatriates<br />
By Dr Shamlan Al-Essa<br />
Umma Party. It also has tribal MPs and MPs from the<br />
nationalist faction and the only thing that brings<br />
them together is the animosity towards the government.<br />
There is no clear intellect or ideology and all that<br />
they agree upon are the popular demands through<br />
which they try to garner public opinion of <strong>Kuwait</strong>is.<br />
The opposition does not have a common vision or a<br />
working program through which it can try to win<br />
public opinion, except the daily criticism of the government’s<br />
performance.<br />
What defeated all these tactics of the opposition is<br />
the new government’s functioning style as it refused<br />
to bow before the opposition’s demands to cancel<br />
the court trials of some MPs who stormed the<br />
National Assembly, burned Al-Juwaihel’s election<br />
headquarters and stormed the premises of Al-Watan<br />
channel. The government did not back off from putting<br />
into the dock those youth and MPs who insulted<br />
the office of the Amir. Trials are on, and everyone<br />
must respect and abide by the law.<br />
The government proved that it is stronger than all<br />
the MPs raising their demands in the media and<br />
counseling it to turn the page and forgive what happened<br />
in the past. The government proved that it is<br />
stronger than the rabble rousers in the street and the<br />
screaming politicians.<br />
What is the lesson of from all these crises? The<br />
most important lesson is that the opposition is weaker<br />
than many think. The only organization that can<br />
exhort the street to rise is the Muslim Brotherhood<br />
but it is more interested in aligning itself with the<br />
government for financial and moral interests. So, it<br />
cannot take a stand against the government since it<br />
is actually hand in glove with it.<br />
The government must realize that the public opinion<br />
in <strong>Kuwait</strong> wants a strong government that implements<br />
the law, does not play with the constitution,<br />
and does not allow anyone to violate the law even if<br />
such a person was to be a member of parliament.<br />
People want a strong government that works to<br />
strengthen democracy and freedoms, fights corruption<br />
and does not hesitate to take action. <strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
today needs its people to focus their energies on<br />
work and production as there is no room for screamers<br />
and naysayers like many in the opposition.<br />
Development requires that the much needed<br />
reforms are expedited.—Al-Watan<br />
kuwait digest<br />
Discriminatory proposals<br />
By Waleed Al-Rujaib<br />
have to pay for obtaining or renewing a driver’s<br />
license and car registrations. The ministry considers<br />
this discriminatory proposal a ‘solution’ to the problem<br />
of traffic jams.<br />
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor<br />
is reportedly studying a proposal to set a maximum<br />
cap for the number of years an expatriate worker can<br />
stay for in <strong>Kuwait</strong>. That cap could be set somewhere<br />
between five to ten years. The proposal has been<br />
strongly rejected by those in the commercial, educational<br />
and health fields where people believe it will<br />
‘empty’ the country of all skilled labor force.<br />
In a recent seminar about dilution of freedoms in<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>, Dr. Fawaz Faran diagnosed <strong>Kuwait</strong>’s problems<br />
in general in these words: “<strong>Kuwait</strong> addresses the<br />
symptoms but ignores the disease itself.”<br />
I think this is a very accurate diagnosis if we take<br />
into account the aforementioned proposals that fail<br />
to address the root causes of any problem.<br />
It is mismanagement and a culture of corruption<br />
seeping through our state departments that is<br />
responsible for these problems. Lack of hospital construction<br />
projects and shortage in bed capacity is<br />
what actually needs to be addressed in the health<br />
sector. Meanwhile, traffic jams require radical solutions<br />
that address the absence of any reliable and<br />
improved public transportation system, poor road<br />
infrastructure as well as corruption in obtaining driving<br />
licenses without fulfilling the norms. The demographic<br />
imbalance was also chiefly caused by rapid<br />
increase in marginal labor forces as a result of leniency<br />
in prosecuting visa traffickers.—Al-Rai<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
kuwait digest<br />
The real faces<br />
behind masks<br />
By Thaar Al-Rashidi<br />
It seems that it is time for some people to end the<br />
sham political masked ball dance going on for<br />
some time as their masks have been coming<br />
apart, largely because these are no more needed.<br />
First they sported the mask slogan of “raising the<br />
ceiling of demands.” Then came the “aggressive<br />
opposition” mask, followed by the “sharp political<br />
speech” mask and the “freedom” mask. One after<br />
the other, the masks fell. All those masks were nothing<br />
except tools which were used in one or the other<br />
scene enacted on the political theater’s stage.<br />
The play is now almost over. Everyone knows the<br />
real faces behind the masks.<br />
Some observers were shocked by the shifted<br />
positions. Personally, I was not surprised by many<br />
opposition figures shifting stances. As I mentioned<br />
in my articles in the past, some among the opposition<br />
were allied directly or indirectly with those on<br />
the other side.<br />
The change of positions lately is nothing but the<br />
practice of changing partners during a political conflict.<br />
In plain Arabic language, the internal opposition<br />
today is partly a reflection of the conflict<br />
among the big wings. The story, which is clear to<br />
some, is only a tale of one follower, and one who is<br />
being followed. No longer can the opposition hide<br />
its internal conflict and that is why it has spelled it<br />
out. This is the reality today - the opposition is kicking<br />
the opposition, while the authority is merely<br />
looking on, amused. Whether those in authority are<br />
involved or not, they do have a free ring side seat<br />
and are watching what is going on.<br />
What does the intra-opposition conflict tell us?<br />
Why are they kicking each other? There is no doubt<br />
that the opposition was, to some extent, being held<br />
hostage to open and secret coalitions with the big<br />
four influential figures calling the shots for many<br />
years now. It was now natural that the conflict<br />
among the big four expands and affects some of<br />
their allies.<br />
The natural and logical question is when was the<br />
opposition penetrated? The answer is very simple,<br />
as simple as the one that the old man shepherding<br />
a herd of camels spouted for the benefit of a beautiful<br />
educated TV program host. When she asked for<br />
how long have you been growing camels, the old<br />
man hesitated a little, and then said,<br />
“Since...since...long ago.” Yes, your opposition was<br />
penetrated “since ...long ago.” — Al-Anbaa<br />
kuwait digest<br />
Worst cabinet in<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> history<br />
By Abdullatif Al-Duaij<br />
It is a shame to see the opposition group debating<br />
the issue of having an elected cabinet,<br />
something supposed to be a resolved matter for<br />
democrats in the first place. It is a democratic issue<br />
that needs no argument to begin with.<br />
Furthermore, our constitution confirms that<br />
appointing ministers as parliament members is an<br />
idea that was coined by the <strong>Kuwait</strong>i legislators, and<br />
is something no other democratic system practices.<br />
It is a shame that after 50 years of practicing<br />
democracy, there is still skepticism about the idea<br />
of an ‘elected’ cabinet.<br />
I am using the term ‘elected’ loosely because<br />
there is no such a thing as an elected cabinet.<br />
There is a parliamentary cabinet formed by the<br />
majority in parliament. <strong>Kuwait</strong> had one parliamentary<br />
cabinet, which - perhaps coincidently - is<br />
regarded as the worst cabinet in the history of<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>. It was the fourth cabinet that was founded<br />
on January 3, 1965 and headed by the late Sheikh<br />
Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah. It was formed, or more<br />
precisely was forced by the parliament’s majority<br />
following the resignation of a ‘national’ cabinet<br />
that the government had appointed only a few<br />
days before.<br />
Not only was this cabinet the worst in <strong>Kuwait</strong>’s<br />
history, but it also laid the foundations for the tradition<br />
of turning ministers into ‘senior employees’,<br />
as the majority of ministers at that time were not<br />
members of the ruling family. They were not merchants<br />
similar to those who were appointed by the<br />
government and were eventually overthrown. It<br />
was a one hundred percent ‘elected’ cabinet, as it<br />
was chosen by a majority of MPs in the 1963 parliament<br />
that was legitimately elected by the people,<br />
the source of all power.<br />
Democratic system cannot be improved by<br />
making empty promises, nor does it happen by<br />
skipping significant historic steps - just as what the<br />
opposition is doing today. The majority in the<br />
annulled 2012 parliament is strikingly similar to<br />
the majority in the 1963 parliament. The only difference<br />
is in their position towards the government.<br />
The 2012 majority’s position could shift completely<br />
if the government was to get rid of their<br />
civil and reformist attitude which started with the<br />
beginning of the reign of HH the Amir Sheikh<br />
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.<br />
Aside from all the calls about opposition and<br />
democracy, the majority in the scrapped 2012 parliament<br />
is just like the one which opposed the<br />
nationalist cabinet nearly 50 years ago. They share<br />
the same goals and position against the concept of<br />
civil state as well as real development and reform.<br />
It is sad that the opposition has distorted the democratic<br />
struggle, and made obvious things like<br />
moving towards a full parliamentary system a<br />
debatable issue or even a taboo subject.<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>’s destiny is to move towards a full parliamentary<br />
system. It is the natural course of things<br />
for any democratic society, and all the <strong>Kuwait</strong>is,<br />
people and rulers, accepted this 50 years ago.<br />
Therefore, it is a disgrace to allow the issue of parliamentary<br />
cabinet to become a rejected or questionable<br />
issue these days. — Al-Qabas
LOCAL<br />
ITQAN Academy moves to new headquarters<br />
KUWAIT: As part of the continuous<br />
development plans witnessed in ITQAN<br />
Academy since its launch last July,<br />
Boubyan Bank announced the moving<br />
of the Academy to the new headquarters<br />
inside the campus of Gulf University<br />
for Science & Technology (GUST).<br />
Commenting on this step, Adel Al-<br />
Hammad, GM - Human Resources Group<br />
of Boubyan Bank, said: “The moving of<br />
ITQAN Academy to the new headquarters<br />
is considered as a qualitative leap in<br />
its history, as it is now part of GUST’s<br />
campus, thus providing the privacy of<br />
the professional academic study,<br />
whether for MBA or Bachelor’s students<br />
or even training courses participants.”<br />
“This leap represents a new, remarkable<br />
addition in the Academy’s short<br />
history, which reflects the extent of care<br />
paid by the Bank to its human resources<br />
and its ability and continuous endeavors<br />
to create more positive work atmosphere<br />
in a way that is ultimately reflected<br />
on their expertise and customer service,”<br />
added Al-Hammad.<br />
From now on, all the training courses<br />
for the Bank’s staff including MBA and<br />
Bachelor’s programs will be held in the<br />
permanent headquarters assigned for<br />
serving trainees inside the University.<br />
Al-Hammad also highlighted that the<br />
partnership with GUST will open new<br />
vistas for the Academy, whether<br />
through the type of programs provided<br />
or the distinguished lecturers, which will<br />
contribute to the continuous development<br />
of the Bank’s staff.<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> govt to enforce<br />
law, improve health care<br />
KUWAIT: <strong>Kuwait</strong> government is determined<br />
to enforce law to crack down<br />
on crime and address status of expatriates<br />
living here illegally, while building<br />
more hospitals and further<br />
improve health care for citizens.<br />
Deputy prime minister and interior<br />
minister Sheikh Ahmad Humoud Al-<br />
Sabah and his ministry’s officers<br />
briefed a cabinet meeting on Monday<br />
about implementation of recommendations<br />
by MPs during a recent parliamentary<br />
session over the security situation<br />
in <strong>Kuwait</strong>.<br />
Sheikh Ahmad and the officers said<br />
the interior ministry would develop<br />
role of police stations and addressing<br />
status of expatriates whose residencies<br />
have expired, Minister of state for<br />
cabinet affairs and minister of state for<br />
municipal affairs, Sheikh Mohammad<br />
Abdullah Al-Sabah, said in a state-<br />
More hospitals in the offing<br />
ment after the cabinet meeting,<br />
chaired by His Highness the Prime<br />
Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-<br />
Hamad Al-Sabah.<br />
The ministry officials said they<br />
planned to seek assistance of international<br />
expertise to boost security<br />
measures against crime, and enforce<br />
security and stability nationwide, he<br />
said.<br />
Meanwhile, minister of health Dr<br />
Mohammad Al-Haifi and health<br />
undersecretary Khaled Al-Sahlawi<br />
briefed the cabinet members about<br />
plans to establish hospitals, and<br />
expand capacity of current hospitals<br />
and medical centers.<br />
They said the health ministry<br />
sought to further facilitate health care<br />
for citizens, shortening time of<br />
appointments, improving quality of<br />
nursing, and recruiting specialists and<br />
On his part, Dr. Osama Al-Hares,<br />
Director - Centre of Alumni & Corporate<br />
Relations (CACR) at GUST emphasized<br />
that ITQAN Academy reflects a strategic<br />
partnership between the University and<br />
Boubyan Bank. Al-Hares noted that the<br />
Academy’s programs are among the<br />
best training programs provided in the<br />
region stressing that they are closely<br />
related to staff’s career path as the<br />
Bank’s staff need to develop their capabilities<br />
in an academic and practical<br />
manner whose results are reflected on<br />
their performance.<br />
Al-Hares added that: through its<br />
strategic partnership with Boubyan<br />
Bank, GUST seeks to support the Bank<br />
Management’s efforts to make the best<br />
investment in national human resources<br />
sending critical patient cases for treatment<br />
abroad.<br />
The cabinet welcomed visiting<br />
President of the Maldives Mohammad<br />
Waheed Hassan.<br />
They cabinet members approved<br />
economic and technical cooperation<br />
agreement with Malta, a health care<br />
memorandum of understanding<br />
(MoU) with Mexico, a health service<br />
cooperation MoU with Cuba, and air<br />
transport agreement with Saudi<br />
Arabia.<br />
They took note of a letter from<br />
Turkish President Abdullah Gul, chairman<br />
of OIC’s standing Commercial<br />
and Economic Committee, to His<br />
Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-<br />
Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah regarding<br />
the document of the COMSEC’s vision<br />
that Gul presented to the OIC summit<br />
in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.— KUNA<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>i diving coach warns against<br />
degradation of marine environment<br />
KUWAIT: A <strong>Kuwait</strong>i female diving<br />
coach warned against the increasing<br />
risks facing the <strong>Kuwait</strong>i marine environment<br />
and diving sites in the country.<br />
Salwa Abdulrahim said that the<br />
degradation in diving sites in <strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
are greatly contributed to fishermen’s<br />
abuse who use non-edible fish<br />
species as baits and place their traps<br />
in non-fishing zones, she pointed out.<br />
She further explained that damaged<br />
nets are also thrown into the<br />
waters which become a graveyard to<br />
marine creatures. Her warnings<br />
extended to waste and ship oil seeping<br />
into the sea that become detrimental<br />
to plankton, crucial food<br />
source to fish.<br />
This careless human interference<br />
has majorly affected marine life and<br />
has prevented it from going through<br />
its own cycle of cleaning and healing.<br />
Overfishing, that is when people<br />
fish during fish breeding seasons, in<br />
another factor that harms marine<br />
environment. She called on those<br />
people who take fishing as a hobby to<br />
put small fish back into the sea in<br />
order to breed.<br />
“Despite the destruction of our<br />
marine life, it is still beautiful,”<br />
Abdulrahim said, pointing out that<br />
she has organized undersea photo<br />
shooting courses to provide people<br />
with an opportunity to take in marine<br />
beauty.<br />
“The best time for enjoying undersea<br />
marine life beauty is during the<br />
winter seasons as well as the end of<br />
May, when sea waters are clear from<br />
any pollutants,” she said.<br />
The Area surrounding Garooh<br />
Island, she said, is considered one of<br />
the best diving areas in <strong>Kuwait</strong> due to<br />
abundance in corals and marine<br />
organisms. However, the islands of<br />
Kubbar and Um El Maradem have less<br />
marine beauty since they are negatively<br />
affected by their closeness to<br />
the shore.<br />
Abdulrahim expressed disappointment<br />
in the lack of comprehensive<br />
environmental awareness campaigns<br />
in the country, calling on education<br />
and media institutions as well as diving<br />
training centers to organize such<br />
campaigns.<br />
Salwa Abdulrahim is a Scuba<br />
School International (SSI) executive<br />
director. She went under advanced<br />
and professional diving courses in<br />
Egypt and Germany. — KUNA<br />
Information minister heads<br />
cultural planning committee<br />
KUWAIT: Culture, Arts and intellectual planning committee<br />
in the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters<br />
held its first meeting yesterday, headed by the Minister of<br />
Information, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and<br />
Chairman of the National Council, Sheikh Salman Sabah<br />
Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah.<br />
Sheikh Salman said that the committee should followup<br />
cultural plans and projects of the National Council in<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> and abroad. He added, the committee would also<br />
assure compatibility of those programs with state institutes<br />
and set priorities for youth affairs, stressing on the<br />
importance of adopting additional ideas and active projects<br />
aimed at developing youth capabilities.<br />
He also stressed on keeping in mind that such projects<br />
or publications issued by the National Council do not<br />
contradict with publications, television and radio laws.<br />
Sheikh Salman encouraged joining youth within the<br />
National Council’s activities, and enabling them to succeed<br />
in all fields of arts and culture.<br />
The Minister also assured activating media and marketing<br />
policies of the council’s programs in the aim of<br />
reinforcing and supporting the uprising of the “<strong>Kuwait</strong>i<br />
citizen” in all fields.<br />
Meanwhile, Sheikh Salman praised all initiatives and<br />
recent theatre presentations, highlighting the importance<br />
of adopting children and youth theatre.<br />
“We look forward to the National Council’s active role<br />
in spreading awareness and adopting projects and cultural<br />
activities in the country,: he said.<br />
“We are at a stage in need of investing in national<br />
manpower in various fields of the country”, adding “we<br />
look forward to finding strategies for tourism and entertainment<br />
through various programs within the National<br />
Council”. The Committee consists of its head Dr Hamad<br />
Al-Habad, Deputy Dr Haila Al-Mukaimi, Dr Wafa Al-Saif,<br />
Engineer Mahmoud Al-Musawi, Khalifa Al-Failkawi and<br />
Rawan Al-Jesmi. —KUNA<br />
BEIRUT: <strong>Kuwait</strong> Red Crescent Society<br />
(KRCS) announced here yesterday<br />
launching the second stage of “loaf of<br />
bread” project in Lebanon to aid Syrian<br />
refugees in cooperation with the<br />
Lebanese Red Cross Society (LRCS).<br />
The KRCS head envoy, Musaad Al-<br />
Enizi said that the project will be<br />
implemented in three stages starting<br />
next Thursday. The first stage includes<br />
distributing bread loaves to a total of<br />
3,000 families of Syrian refugees in the<br />
northern port city of Tripoli for a whole<br />
month, while the second stage would<br />
start next Friday in Akkar, the northernmost<br />
province of the country, by<br />
in order to improve performance and<br />
upgrade work in the Bank. In addition,<br />
the Bank’s Training Division strives to<br />
adopt the best training programs and<br />
plans and e-learning technologies and<br />
techniques that keep pace with international<br />
training levels.<br />
Noteworthy is that Boubyan Bank has<br />
signed in early June 2012 an agreement<br />
for the establishment of ITQAN Academy<br />
in cooperation with GUST to act as a<br />
centre for developing the Bank’s human<br />
resources in an academic manner by<br />
providing latest specialized programs,<br />
administrative sciences, and programs<br />
accredited by international institutions,<br />
in correspondence with work environment<br />
in Boubyan Bank and in compliance<br />
with the Islamic Shari’ah.<br />
offering bread loaves to 3,500 families,<br />
whereas the third stage will kick off in<br />
coastal town of Sidon by next Monday,<br />
offering bread loaves to 2,500 families<br />
of Syrian refugees, Al-Enizi affirmed.<br />
KRCS will supply the Syrian<br />
refugees with 3,800,000 bread loaves<br />
to be distributed to 9,000 families of<br />
Syrian refugees on a daily basis for a<br />
whole month besides one liter of olive<br />
oil for each family.<br />
KRCS contracted with several bakeries<br />
in Tripoli, Akkar and Sidon to<br />
implement the project perfectly, and<br />
deliver the bread at the required<br />
speed, especially that the needs of<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
In cooperation with GUST, the<br />
Academic Partner, the Academy provides<br />
the Bank’s staff with a number of<br />
training programs by giving them the<br />
opportunity to get 55% of the of MBA<br />
credits, and 50% of Bachelor’s credits. A<br />
group of the teaching staff of the<br />
University possessing academic and<br />
practical experience in addition to internationally<br />
certified trainers in training<br />
and development in Boubyan Bank have<br />
executed these specialized training programs<br />
in many fields comprising<br />
accounting, finance, banking sciences,<br />
management and leadership for the<br />
Bank’s managers and staff joining ITQAN<br />
Academy as well as the MBA program<br />
and Bachelor’s degree in specialized<br />
administrative sciences.<br />
KRCS launches second stage of<br />
‘Loaf of Bread’ for refugees<br />
Syrian refugees are increasing on daily<br />
basis. Al-Enizi hailed the effort exerted<br />
by KRCS Chairman Barjas Al-Barjas in<br />
following up with the humanitarian<br />
efforts of the society in countries hosting<br />
the Syrian refugees.<br />
United Nations High Commissioner<br />
for Refugees (UNHCR) spokeswoman<br />
Dana Suleiman, in remarks to KUNA,<br />
praised the humanitarian aid offered<br />
by <strong>Kuwait</strong> to Syrian refugees, and<br />
hailed the distinguished role of KRCS<br />
in this field. The needs of the Syrian<br />
refugees are greatly increasing after<br />
they reached a total of 397,000, she<br />
affirmed.— KUNA
LOCAL<br />
KUWAIT: Police on Monday recovered the<br />
body of a man, half-buried in the ground in<br />
Shaddadiya near a major university project,<br />
after a security guard noticed it and called to<br />
alert them. Examination carried out by criminal<br />
investigators revealed that the victim sustained<br />
a fatal blow to the head, leading detectives<br />
to suspect that foul play was involved.<br />
The victim was identified as a 30-year-old<br />
Egyptian man after detectives found his wallet<br />
in his pocket. Preliminary investigations indicated<br />
that the man was likely to have been<br />
killed 24 hours before the body was discovered.<br />
The body was taken to the forensic<br />
department after crime scene investigators<br />
examined the scene.<br />
Search for rapists<br />
Police are looking to identify and arrest<br />
three male suspects accused of sexually<br />
assaulting two teenagers they kidnapped in<br />
Salmiya recently. According to the police<br />
report, the suspects first kidnapped one boy<br />
and then forced another into their vehicle<br />
before driving to a remote location where they<br />
assaulted them physically and sexually. The<br />
two Jordanian teenagers headed to the area’s<br />
police station after the suspects left them and<br />
escaped.<br />
Student killed<br />
A student died in Sulaibikhat after he was<br />
hit by a car on his way home. Paramedics<br />
rushed to the scene shortly after the accident<br />
was reported, and pronounced the Egyptian<br />
boy dead on the spot. The body was taken to<br />
the coroner while a <strong>Kuwait</strong>i driver who reportedly<br />
accidentally ended up hitting the child<br />
was taken into custody for further action.<br />
Officer hurt<br />
A policeman was seriously wounded while<br />
being in pursuit of three suspects who were<br />
caught in Hawally for possessing drugs. Two<br />
patrol officers gave a chase to a vehicle after<br />
the driver ignored orders to pull over for reckless<br />
driving. They were able to intercept and<br />
stop the car and then arrested two <strong>Kuwait</strong>i<br />
men while their third accomplice managed to<br />
escape on foot. The suspects were referred to<br />
the Drug Control General Department after 13<br />
drug pills were found from their car. The officer<br />
reportedly fractured his knee while trying to<br />
overpower the suspects who put up strong<br />
resistance.<br />
Farwaniya crackdown<br />
More than 40 women were arrested on<br />
Sunday on charges of prostitution during an<br />
operation carried out in Al-Farwaniya.<br />
Security officers reportedly raided nine<br />
homes during the crackdown after obtaining<br />
warrants based on investigations which confirmed<br />
that the places were being used for illegal<br />
activities. A total of 46 women, described<br />
as “prostitutes” in the police report, were<br />
arrested. Three of the detainees are African<br />
nationals while the rest belong to different<br />
Asian nationalities. The women were taken to<br />
the proper authorities for further action, along<br />
with a number of men who were also caught<br />
during the campaign.<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
KUWAIT: Public Relations Director at the Fire Department, Lt Col Khalil Al-Amir, delivered an informative lecture in both Arabic and English language to the workers at the JW Marriott Hotel yesterday. During the lecture and live<br />
demonstration that focused on ways to use fire fighting equipment and how to carry out an evacuation till firefightersí arrival, Al-Amir advised that the best strategy was to stay calm and not let confusion prevail.<br />
KOC projects progressing<br />
in full swing<br />
KUWAIT: Deputy Managing Director of<br />
Services at <strong>Kuwait</strong> Oil Company (KOC)<br />
Ismail Abdullah said yesterday that the<br />
company has a number of projects aimed<br />
to develop Ahmadi City.<br />
Abdullah told reporters that KOC has<br />
started off with the rehabilitation of markets<br />
and buildings as initial projects. He<br />
added during the opening of the 8th travel<br />
and tourism exhibition today organized by<br />
KOC that the company aims to develop<br />
Ahmadi City to become more distinctive<br />
and beautiful, noting that an adequate<br />
budget has been earmarked for these projects.<br />
As for the new Ahmadi Hospital building,<br />
Abdullah explained that the work is<br />
progressing well and in full swing, saying<br />
the hospital would serve all the workers in<br />
the oil sector. He said the new hospital<br />
would be opened in 2015. — KUNA<br />
MPs to examine<br />
oil installations<br />
KUWAIT: The National Assembly will<br />
form a delegation to inspect Mina<br />
Mubarak, border marks and oil installations<br />
located along the northern borders<br />
of the country.<br />
The parliament, during a regular session<br />
yesterday, approved a request by a<br />
member of the assembly to form the delegation<br />
for this inspection mission. The<br />
bureau of the assembly will be tasked<br />
with establishing it. MPs, during yesterday’s<br />
session, in response to a written<br />
request by the chairman of the parliamentary<br />
committee of health and social<br />
affairs, approved adjourning the period<br />
for presenting its report regarding condition<br />
of public hospitals, health insurance<br />
for <strong>Kuwait</strong>is and privatization of health<br />
services to the next session. The issue of<br />
medical treatment abroad was exempted<br />
for further investigation.<br />
They okayed another letter, presented<br />
by the head of the parliamentary health<br />
committee, requesting that the Audit<br />
Bureau be tasked with preparing a study<br />
about the treatment abroad in the fiscal<br />
years 2012-2011 and 2012-<strong>2013</strong>. The<br />
study should be submitted to the assembly<br />
within three months.<br />
They also responded positively to<br />
request by Minister of State for Planning<br />
and Development and Minister of State<br />
for National Assembly Affairs Dr. Rola<br />
Dashti for specializing the Thursday session<br />
for following on recommendations<br />
of the security issues’ session, discussing<br />
health topics and delaying debates on<br />
demographic issue and unemployment<br />
to later sessions.<br />
Discussing two other proposals was<br />
delayed for two weeks, upon a government<br />
request, one related to the formation<br />
of a temporary committee for examining<br />
recent personnel promotion in the<br />
oil sector and the other concerning the<br />
formation of a fact-finding commission<br />
to ponder problems involving <strong>Kuwait</strong>i<br />
students in Jordan. — KUNA<br />
Foul play suspected<br />
in death of Egyptian<br />
Officer hurt in car chase<br />
Theft cases<br />
Two thieves impersonated as police officers<br />
to commit a theft in Jahra recently. Officers at<br />
the area’s police station were approached by<br />
two Iranian men who complained of having<br />
been robbed of KD5000 and a cell phone. They<br />
explained that two people in national dress<br />
(dishdasha) approached them at their work<br />
place and then stole their belongings after<br />
claiming that they were investigation officers.<br />
Probe is on.<br />
Meanwhile, Hawally police nabbed an<br />
Egyptian man who duped many pedestrians of<br />
their cell phones by claiming to be in an emergency<br />
situation and borrowing their phones.<br />
Investigations began to trace the suspect after a<br />
number of Asian men reported losing their<br />
phones in the same fashion. The suspect would<br />
reportedly approach his victim and ask to make<br />
an important phone call, then escape as soon as<br />
he was handed the cell phone. The man was<br />
caught red-handed in an ambush near a building<br />
in the area while he was trying to rob a<br />
pedestrian.<br />
Ingrate son<br />
Search is on for a young man who reportedly<br />
tried to assault his father when his request to<br />
buy a new car was rejected. Police were called<br />
on Sunday night to an Andalus house where the<br />
incident was reported. The youngster reportedly<br />
went berserk after his father asked him to wait<br />
till he learnt to drive better before he buys him a<br />
brand new car. He reportedly tried to attack his<br />
father but his older brother intervened. He disappeared<br />
before police arrived at the scene.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Indian court ends travel ban on Italy ambassador<br />
KERBET AL-KHALDIYE: A Syrian woman carries her children near their makeshift refugee camp in the mountains in the area of Kherbet Al-Khaldiye, on the Syria-Turkey border. — AFP<br />
News<br />
in brief<br />
Saudi deports Yemenis<br />
SANAA: Thousands of Yemeni workers have been expelled<br />
from Saudi Arabia after it imposed new labor constraints<br />
affecting millions of expatriates in the oil-rich kingdom, an<br />
official said yesterday. The new regulations introduced by the<br />
Saudi labor ministry aim to reduce the number of foreign<br />
workers to create jobs for millions of unemployed Saudis.<br />
“Thousands of Yemenis had to leave Saudi Arabia. They were<br />
victims of an arbitrary application of the new regulations,” a<br />
Yemeni government official said. He said workers saw their<br />
residency permits torn into pieces by Saudi government representatives.<br />
Under the new rules, foreigners are allowed to<br />
work only for their legal sponsors in the kingdom while their<br />
spouses cannot take up jobs. Many foreigners enter Saudi<br />
Arabia on the sponsorship of a Saudi national but end up<br />
working for others, or set up their own businesses. Around<br />
one million Yemenis live in neighboring Saudi Arabia, transferring<br />
around $4 billion annually to their impoverished<br />
nation, according to non-official estimates.<br />
‘Restoring BBC’s reputation’<br />
LONDON: New BBC director-general Tony Hall took up his<br />
post yesterday, starting the task of restoring the reputation<br />
of the world’s biggest broadcaster that has been rocked by a<br />
child sex abuse scandal. Hall walked into the BBC’s<br />
Broadcasting House headquarters in central London to tackle<br />
an in-tray topped with the fallout from police investigations<br />
which concluded that the corporation’s late presenter<br />
Jimmy Savile was one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders.<br />
The British Broadcasting Corporation was subsequently damaged<br />
by a botched television report wrongly indicating that<br />
a lawmaker was a paedophile.<br />
KHERBET AL-KHALDIYEH: For millions of Syrians displaced by<br />
fighting, every day is a struggle to survive, and for those in<br />
Kherbet Al-Khaldiye, that means eating and drinking whatever<br />
they can forage. “We eat herbs and collect stagnant rainwater to<br />
drink and wash in,” says 24-year-old Hisham, his head covered in<br />
a red and white chequered keffiyeh scarf. Hisham, who sports a<br />
budding blonde beard, was about to enter university when the<br />
fighting that has engulfed Syria erupted in 2011. Now he has<br />
joined the wave of his compatriots displaced by the conflict. In<br />
Kherbet Al-Khaldiyeh, a makeshift camp near the Turkish border,<br />
Hisham shows off a nearly-dry rivulet of water, infested with fungi<br />
and insects, surrounded by a swarm of children, many of<br />
whom have contracted skin infections because of the dirty<br />
water. Naida, 35, has seven young children. She bathes them in<br />
the infested water because the nearest clean water supply is several<br />
kilometers away.<br />
“We pick herbs like mint and mallow in the countryside and<br />
we cook them. We don’t have anything else to eat,” she says. “My<br />
husband used to work in a quarry, breaking stone, but now we<br />
have no more resources and no one to help us. Once we<br />
brought a kilo of potatoes per family-how can we all live on a<br />
potato a week?” Every so often, along with a group of other<br />
women, Naida goes to the nearest village in search of potable<br />
water. “We carry the cans on our heads for several miles,” she<br />
says, her blue eyes faded with exhaustion. Ibrahim, 25, was living<br />
in a village near the Minnigh airport-a key flashpoint between<br />
Syrian rebel forces and the regime. The non-stop air raids and<br />
shelling eventually forced him to flee, along with his two sons,<br />
and around 20 other families. His village was able to save a few<br />
of their animals and bring them along. “Each day we slaughter a<br />
chicken like that one,” he says, glancing at a paltry specimen as it<br />
passes. “That chicken would be for all of us, can you imagine<br />
how much each person gets?” he says with a bitter smile.<br />
More than a million Syrians have left the country since<br />
peaceful protests against the regime of President Bashar Al-<br />
Assad erupted in March 2011, spiraling into a civil war after his<br />
forces unleashed a brutal crackdown on dissent. But not everyone<br />
is able to cross the border and escape the violence, with<br />
many lacking passports or sufficient money to make the journey.<br />
Those residents have been forced to seek the safest places<br />
they can within Syria.<br />
For the roughly 100 people here, the safest place available<br />
was this strip of countryside in Aleppo province, where they live<br />
among the scattered remains of Roman ruins, a few kilometers<br />
from the Turkish border. At first, they were living in holes in the<br />
ground, lined with straw to provide some<br />
protection against the cold and the snow,<br />
Naida says. Now they have managed to<br />
get tents marked with the logo of the<br />
United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.<br />
In cold and unhealthy living conditions,<br />
the little makeshift village also<br />
struggles on with almost no access to<br />
Page 11<br />
medicine, particularly for sick children.<br />
“By the time they get to the nearest<br />
pharmacy, in Azaz (in northern Syria) or in<br />
Turkey, the child is dead,” 25-year-old Issa<br />
says, dressed in a warm coat in camouflage<br />
colours that came from Syrian rebel<br />
fighters.<br />
Seated on a stone, set back from the<br />
Jerusalem deal boosts<br />
Jordan in Holy City<br />
Displaced Syrians eat herbs to survive<br />
Air raids force thousands to flee<br />
Saleh hospitalized<br />
RIYADH: Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who<br />
has been accused of meddling in his country’s fragile political<br />
transition, was in Saudi Arabia yesterday for treatment, a<br />
Yemeni diplomat said. Saleh arrived for medical tests and<br />
treatment in the Saudi capital on Monday, his party, General<br />
People’s Congress (GPC), said. He spent time recovering in a<br />
Riyadh hospital in June 2011 after an attack on his compound<br />
left him seriously wounded. A Yemeni diplomat confirmed<br />
to AFP that Saleh was in Riyadh and sources in the<br />
GPC said that Saudi Arabia chartered a plane to take him to<br />
the kingdom. Saleh was admitted to hospital, the head of the<br />
GPC parliamentary bloc, Sultan Al-Barakani, said. He did not<br />
elaborate on the nature of the treatment. After 33 years as<br />
Yemen’s head of state, Saleh left power in February 2012 as<br />
part of an agreement for the transition of power in the country,<br />
which also gave him and his family immunity from prosecution.<br />
He last visited Saudi Arabia in November 2011, when<br />
he travelled to Riyadh to sign the transitional agreement in<br />
the presence of Saudi King Abdullah, one of the plan’s main<br />
sponsors. —Agencies<br />
Page 8<br />
other residents, 80-year-old Rajab<br />
observes the life of the makeshift village<br />
in the middle of nowhere. “Under the<br />
tent, you feel the wind, the cold,” says<br />
Rajab, the patriarch of a family of 40<br />
people. “Who can live in these conditions?<br />
Look around you, who can live like<br />
this?” —AFP
INTERNATIONAL<br />
Jerusalem deal boosts Jordan in Holy City<br />
AMMAN: A Jordan-Palestinian<br />
deal entrusting King Abdullah II<br />
with the defense of Muslim holy<br />
sites in Jerusalem appears to be<br />
aimed at engaging Amman in<br />
future peace talks with Israel,<br />
experts say. The deal signed<br />
between the Jordanian monarch<br />
and Palestinian president<br />
Mahmud Abbas on Sunday confirmed<br />
a verbal agreement dating<br />
back to 1924 that gave the kingdom<br />
custodianship over the city’s<br />
holy sites.<br />
But its timing, hot on the heels<br />
of a March 20-24 regional tour by<br />
US President Barack Obama, has<br />
intrigued analysts with some linking<br />
it to the deadlocked peace<br />
process and others seeing it as a<br />
possible shield against future<br />
JERUSALEM: A general view shows Al-Aqsa Mosque (center) and the Dome of the Rock in<br />
the old city of Jerusalem. A deal signed between the Jordanian King Abdullah II and<br />
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has confirmed a verbal agreement dating back to<br />
1924 that gave the kingdom custodianship over the city’s holy sites. —AFP<br />
action by Israel. “It might be a sign<br />
for the start of efforts led by<br />
Obama to resume peace talks as it<br />
shows that the Palestinian<br />
Authority and Jordan have creative<br />
solutions for Jerusalem,” said Oraib<br />
Rintawi, head of the Al-Quds<br />
Centre for Political Studies.<br />
“It boosts Jordan’s role in the<br />
Jerusalem question, giving legal<br />
and political means to tackle the<br />
issue internationally with the<br />
recognition of the Palestinians and<br />
Israel.” On Sunday the king and<br />
Abbas stressed their “common goal<br />
to defending” Jerusalem and its<br />
sacred sites against attempts to<br />
Judaise the Holy City, particularly<br />
the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque<br />
compound. “In this historic agreement,<br />
Abbas reiterated that the<br />
king is the custodian of holy sites in<br />
Jerusalem and that he has the right<br />
to exert all legal efforts to preserve<br />
them, especially Al-Aqsa mosque,”<br />
the palace said in a statement.<br />
The status of Jerusalem is one<br />
of the most contentious issues in<br />
the long-running Israeli-Palestinian<br />
conflict, and the Al-Aqsa compound<br />
is the scene of frequent<br />
clashes between Palestinians and<br />
Israelis. Israel, which occupied<br />
Arab east Jerusalem during the<br />
1967 Six-Day War and later<br />
annexed it, claims both halves of<br />
the city to be its “eternal and undivided<br />
capital”, a move that has not<br />
been recognised by the international<br />
community.<br />
But the Palestinians want the<br />
Kurdish-Turkey peace<br />
process faces impasse<br />
PKK demands legal guarantees for withdrawal<br />
ISTANBUL: Turkey’s peace process with Kurdish<br />
militants faces a hurdle as the rebels demand<br />
legal protection to prevent any military attack on<br />
them during their planned withdrawal after<br />
decades of fighting, a call rejected by the government.<br />
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)<br />
declared a ceasefire with Turkey last month in<br />
response to an order from its jailed leader<br />
Abdullah Ocalan after months of talks with<br />
Ankara to halt a conflict which has killed more<br />
than 40,000.<br />
The next planned step is a withdrawal of PKK<br />
fighters from Turkish territory to their bases in<br />
the mountains of northern Iraq, but the militants<br />
say they could be vulnerable to attack from<br />
Turkish troops unless parliament gives them<br />
legal protection. “The guerrillas cannot withdraw<br />
unless a legal foundation is prepared and measures<br />
are taken, because guerrillas suffered major<br />
attacks when they left in the past,” PKK commander<br />
Cemil Bayik told Kurdish Nuce TV in an<br />
interview aired late on Monday.<br />
Hundreds of PKK fighters are estimated to<br />
have been killed in clashes with security forces<br />
during a previous withdrawal in 1999 after<br />
Ocalan’s capture and conviction for treason.<br />
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has said he guarantees<br />
there would be no repeat of such clashes<br />
Sudan frees<br />
7 political<br />
prisoners<br />
KHARTOUM: Sudan freed seven political prisoners yesterday,<br />
a day after President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir ordered<br />
the release of all such detainees. The amnesty came after<br />
Sudan and South Sudan agreed in March to end hostilities<br />
and resume cross-border oil flows after coming close to<br />
war a year ago. Khartoum had accused its southern neighbor<br />
of supporting rebels trying to topple Bashir.<br />
Seven members of an opposition group were released<br />
from Kober prison in Khartoum at dawn on Tuesday, witnesses<br />
said. They had been held since January after being<br />
accused of meeting a group of Sudanese rebels in Uganda<br />
who planned to overthrow Bashir. Farouk Abu Issa, head<br />
of the National Consensus Forces grouping of the main<br />
opposition parties, confirmed the release of the seven.<br />
“We demand all other political prisoners be released,” he<br />
said.<br />
Rights groups have accused the government of holding<br />
an unspecified number of dissidents since the security<br />
services cracked down on small protests against austerity<br />
measures unveiled by Bashir last year. In February, a UN<br />
human rights expert visiting Sudan said authorities were<br />
holding opposition figures and other detainees without<br />
trial and denying them urgent medical care. Bashir did not<br />
say when, and how many, prisoners would be released in<br />
his speech to parliament on Monday.<br />
“I announce today my decision to release all political<br />
prisoners,” said the president, in power since 1989. “I also<br />
renew a commitment to create a climate to hold a national<br />
dialogue with the other political forces.” Issa called for<br />
Bashir to take further measures, including lifting a ban on<br />
newspapers which had been critical of the government.<br />
Sudan’s weak and fractured opposition have tried to bring<br />
“Arab Spring” protests to Khartoum, but failed to mobilize<br />
mass support.<br />
Vice President Ali Osman Taha last week invited rebel<br />
groups to help prepare a new constitution following the<br />
secession of South Sudan in July 2011. Khartoum has<br />
accused Juba of backing rebels of the Sudan People’s<br />
Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-North) which took up<br />
arms in two border states around the time of South<br />
Sudan’s declaration of independence. Rebels of the SPLM-<br />
North sided with the south during the civil war with<br />
Khartoum that led up to South Sudan’s secession but were<br />
left inside Sudan after the partition. —Reuters<br />
but is against legislation, instead saying the<br />
rebels should disarm before withdrawing to<br />
remove the risk of firefights with Turkish forces.<br />
“We don’t care where those withdrawing<br />
leave their weapons or even whether they bury<br />
them. They must put them down and go.<br />
Because otherwise this situation is very open to<br />
provocation,” Erdogan said in a television interview<br />
late on Friday. Milliyet newspaper reported<br />
security sources as saying about 700 of 1,500 PKK<br />
militants believed to be in Turkey may be allowed<br />
to reintegrate into society rather than withdrawing<br />
as they have not taken part in armed attacks.<br />
POLITICAL RISK<br />
The PKK has rejected a withdrawal without<br />
legal protection. “A withdrawal as called for by<br />
Erdogan is not on our movement’s agenda,” PKK<br />
leaders in northern Iraq said at the weekend, calling<br />
for government action to advance the peace<br />
process. “It is essential for the lasting and healthy<br />
development of the process that some concrete,<br />
practical steps are taken in order to convince our<br />
forces,” the group said in a statement.<br />
Erdogan has taken a considerable political<br />
risk in allowing negotiations with Ocalan, reviled<br />
by most Turks, to unfold publicly. The government<br />
has said little about what reforms it would<br />
make to persuade the PKK to disarm. The PKK,<br />
designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the<br />
United States and European Union, launched its<br />
insurgency in 1984 with the aim of carving out<br />
an independent state in mainly Kurdish southeast<br />
Turkey, but later moderated its goal to<br />
autonomy.<br />
Pro-Kurdish politicians are focused on boosting<br />
minority rights and stronger local government<br />
for the Kurds, who make up about 20 percent<br />
of Turkey’s population of 75 million people.<br />
Erdogan said he would meet on Thursday members<br />
of a “wise people” commission who will prepare<br />
a report on the peace process for the government<br />
within one month. The pro-Kurdish<br />
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) is separately<br />
calling for a parliamentary commission to monitor<br />
the process.<br />
Efforts to resolve the legal protection dispute<br />
are likely to top the agenda in planned talks<br />
between a BDP delegation and Ocalan in his jail<br />
on Imrali island, south of Istanbul. The visit is<br />
expected this weekend, a Justice Ministry official<br />
said. The visit, which may bring an order from<br />
Ocalan for the withdrawal to begin, will follow<br />
celebrations by Ocalan’s supporters to mark his<br />
birthday on April 4 at his birthplace in southeast<br />
Turkey. —Reuters<br />
KHARTOUM: A political prisoner from Kober prison greets a relative following<br />
his release in the early hours of yesterday, after Sudanese President<br />
Omar Al-Bashir said that he will release all political detainees. —AFP<br />
BAGHDAD: Gunmen attacked a contracting company in<br />
Iraq’s Akkas gasfield on Monday, killing at least three local<br />
workers and kidnapping two more before burning their<br />
camp in the remote western desert. Akkas, operated by<br />
Korea Gas Company (KOGAS) in Anbar province near the<br />
Syrian border, is still not producing gas.<br />
But the attack is another indication of increased insurgent<br />
presence along the frontier where Syria’s war is<br />
spilling into Iraq. “Gunmen in vehicles attacked the headquarters<br />
of a local company hired by KOGAS to do work in<br />
the field,” said the mayor of nearby Al Qaim town, Farhan<br />
Ftaikhan. “They killed an engineer and two workers and<br />
kidnapped two more. Before they left they set fire to vehicles<br />
and offices.”<br />
eastern sector as the capital of<br />
their promised state and fiercely<br />
oppose any Israeli attempt to<br />
extend sovereignty there. The Al-<br />
Aqsa mosque compound is<br />
referred to as the Temple Mount by<br />
Jews and Al-Haram Al-Sharif by<br />
Muslims. It houses both the Dome<br />
of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque-<br />
Islam’s third holiest shrines-and is<br />
venerated by Jews as the site<br />
where King Herod’s temple stood<br />
before it was destroyed by the<br />
Romans in 70 AD.<br />
‘SOMETHING’S COOKING’<br />
“The agreement indicates that<br />
something is cooking and that<br />
steps are expected very soon to<br />
find a Palestinian-Israeli settlement,”<br />
said political analyst Labib<br />
Kamhawi.<br />
“The deal helps Jordan become<br />
publicly more active in Palestinian<br />
territories.” But Kamhawi said he<br />
was “pessimistic” and the timing<br />
was “suspicious”. “I think Israel is<br />
planning to do something in<br />
Jerusalem and the agreement was<br />
necessary to help clear the way. We<br />
might see developments that are<br />
not in the interest of Jerusalem or<br />
the Palestinians.”<br />
Rintawi said the deal also backs<br />
the 1994 Jordanian-Israeli peace<br />
treaty. “It completes articles related<br />
to the custodianship of holy sites.<br />
At the same time it clears any misunderstanding<br />
about custodianship<br />
matters and competition<br />
between Jordan and the<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Palestinians.” Article 9 of the peace<br />
treaty says Israel recognizes<br />
Jordan’s “special role in protecting”<br />
Muslim shrines in Jerusalem.<br />
Jordanian and Palestinian officials<br />
insist Sunday’s agreement has<br />
nothing to do with the peace<br />
process. “Although it could be true<br />
that the agreement came following<br />
increased Israeli Judaisation<br />
campaigns, it is not related to<br />
peace negotiations,” a senior<br />
palace officials said on condition of<br />
anonymity.<br />
“The main reason is to pave the<br />
way for Jordanian legal defense of<br />
Muslim holy sites in the region,<br />
particularly that Al-Aqsa is under<br />
direct danger by Israel.” The<br />
Palestinian ambassador to Jordan,<br />
Atallah Khairy, agreed. “The<br />
Jordanian custodianship in<br />
Jerusalem is very essential because<br />
any legal vacuum in the Holy City<br />
will be exploited by Israel,” he said,<br />
adding that “the king had been<br />
feeling that Israeli schemes in the<br />
city were growing.”<br />
Jordan administers the Muslim<br />
holy sites in Jerusalem through its<br />
ministry of Awqaf and religious<br />
affairs. Abbas on Monday told<br />
reporters in Ramallah that the deal<br />
consolidates past agreements with<br />
Jordan, has nothing to do with<br />
Obama’s visit and is not related “at<br />
all with the negotiations”. Direct<br />
talks between Israel and the<br />
Palestinians collapsed in autumn<br />
2010 in an intractable spat over<br />
settlement building.—AFP<br />
CAIRO: Egyptian satirist and television host Bassem Youssef is surrounded<br />
by his supporters upon his arrival at the public prosecutor’s office in the<br />
high court in Cairo. —AFP<br />
Egypt launches fresh<br />
probe against satirist<br />
CAIRO: Egypt’s prosecution is probing<br />
complaints of “threatening public security”<br />
against popular satirist Bassem Youssef,<br />
who is already on bail facing charges of<br />
insulting the president and offending<br />
Islam. Judicial sources and Youssef said the<br />
public prosecutor ordered the probe on<br />
Monday following a complaint by a lawyer.<br />
The state security prosecution, which<br />
handles national security cases, will conduct<br />
the investigation. “A new complaint against<br />
me has been referred to state security prosecution,<br />
for spreading rumors and false news,<br />
and disturbing public tranquility after the<br />
last episode,” Youssef wrote on Twitter. “It<br />
seems they want to drain us physically, emotionally<br />
and financially,” he added.<br />
The prosecutor also ordered an investigation<br />
into complaints against two journalists<br />
over a television program that discussed<br />
Youssef’s case, a source from the<br />
prosecutor’s office said. One of the journalists,<br />
Shaimaa Aboul El Kir, who works as a<br />
Middle East consultant for the New Yorkbased<br />
Committee to Protect Journalists,<br />
said she was being investigated for an<br />
interview in which she defended Youssef. “I<br />
attended Youssef’s questioning and then<br />
did an intervention on television. They (the<br />
complainants) consider what I did as a ‘disturbing<br />
to public security’,” she said.<br />
Prosecutors are also investigating Jaber<br />
Al-Qarmuti, the anchor El Kir spoke to on<br />
the show aired by the private television<br />
channel ONTV. Judicial sources said Youssef<br />
is being investigated along with the head<br />
of the CBC television channel which airs his<br />
weekly program Albernameg (The Show),<br />
which is modeled on Jon Stewart’s satirical<br />
The Daily Show. The complaint against<br />
them appears to accuse Youssef of stoking<br />
criticism of Islamists and obliquely calling<br />
No group claimed responsibility for the late-night<br />
assault, but security officials say the local wing of Al-<br />
Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq, is regaining ground in the<br />
remote hills, caves and villages along the Syrian border.<br />
Ten years after the US-led invasion, Iraq still struggles with<br />
political instability and Sunni Islamist fighters who often<br />
attack Shiite Muslims to try to provoke the kind of sectarian<br />
confrontation that killed thousands at the height of the<br />
war.<br />
But Al-Qaeda in Iraq is also now linked to Sunni<br />
Islamists fighting in neighboring Syria. Officials say it has<br />
been invigorated by arms, insurgents and support flowing<br />
to rebels battling against President Bashar Al-Assad across<br />
the border. The Akkas strike was the second large attack<br />
for a “civil war”.<br />
Youssef, who regularly skewers the<br />
country’s ruling Islamists on his wildly popular<br />
show, was released on $2,200 bail on<br />
Sunday after an interrogation that lasted<br />
nearly five hours. He was questioned on<br />
accusations of offending Islam through<br />
“making fun of the prayer ritual” and of<br />
insulting President Mohamed Morsi by<br />
“making fun of his international standing.”<br />
He now joins the ranks of several colleagues<br />
in the media who face charges of<br />
insulting the president.<br />
The soaring number of legal complaints<br />
against journalists has cast doubt on<br />
Morsi’s commitment to freedom of expression-a<br />
key demand of the popular uprising<br />
that toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The<br />
United States on Monday expressed concern<br />
at the proceedings against Youssef,<br />
saying it was evidence of a “disturbing<br />
trend” of mounting restrictions on freedom<br />
of expression. “We are concerned that the<br />
public prosecutor appears to have questioned<br />
and then released on bail Bassem<br />
Youssef on charges of insulting Islam and<br />
President Morsi,” US State Department<br />
spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in<br />
Washington.<br />
“This, coupled with recent arrest warrants<br />
issued for other political activists, is<br />
evidence of a disturbing trend of growing<br />
restrictions on the freedom of expression.”<br />
Under Egypt’s legal system, complaints are<br />
filed to the public prosecutor, who decides<br />
whether there is enough evidence to refer<br />
the case to trial. Suspects can be detained<br />
during this stage of investigation. Rights<br />
lawyers say there have been four times as<br />
many lawsuits for insulting the president<br />
under Morsi than during the entire 30 years<br />
that Mubarak ruled.—AFP<br />
Gunmen attack Iraq’s gasfield, kill 3 workers<br />
on Monday. Earlier, a suicide bomber driving a fuel tanker<br />
packed with explosives hit a local government compound<br />
and killed at least nine people in the northern city of Tikrit.<br />
Attacks on Iraq’s energy sector are less common, and<br />
usually hit pipelines, as country builds up its oil production<br />
to more than 3 million barrels per day after signing massive<br />
deals with foreign companies to develop its reserves.<br />
Iraq, which holds the world’s 10th largest gas reserves, has<br />
said the priority for the Akkas field would be domestic<br />
consumption once it starts production. Baghdad signed a<br />
final deal for the field, which has reserves of 5.6 trillion<br />
cubic feet, in October 2011 after months of delays because<br />
of disagreements between the central government and<br />
Anbar provincial officials over terms. —Reuters
BAMAKO: The EU began a top-to-toe<br />
overhaul of Mali’s ragtag army yesterday<br />
to help its soldiers take the place<br />
of foreign troops defending the west<br />
African nation against an Islamist<br />
insurgency. The first of four battalions<br />
arrived in Koulikoro, 60 kilometers<br />
from the capital Bamako, to train<br />
under battle-hardened European<br />
instructors as part of a wider effort to<br />
bring the army up to scratch as quickly<br />
as possible.<br />
“The 570 men of the Malian army<br />
have just arrived at the training site in<br />
Koulikoro,” Lieutenant-Colonel Philippe<br />
de Cussac, spokesman for the<br />
European Union Training Mission in<br />
Mali (EUTM) said. “Initially, the training<br />
will be very general. Afterwards, there<br />
will be a specialized training in<br />
telecommunications, artillery and<br />
engineering. We will also train special<br />
forces elite snipers.” Around 200 trainers<br />
will come from France, the United<br />
Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania,<br />
Luxembourg and Ireland, de Cussac<br />
said.<br />
France, which sent 4,000 troops to<br />
its former colony in January to block<br />
an advance on the capital from the<br />
north by Al-Qaeda-linked fighters, is<br />
the lead country in the 10-week mission.<br />
Paris is preparing to hand over to<br />
a UN-mandated African force of 6,300<br />
in the coming weeks, placing a spotlight<br />
on Mali’s poorly-paid, illequipped<br />
and badly-organized armed<br />
forces.<br />
The Malian military fell apart last<br />
year when well-armed Islamist extremists<br />
seized the country’s vast northern<br />
desert, terrorizing locals with amputations<br />
and executions performed under<br />
a brutal interpretation of sharia Islamic<br />
law. The French-led intervention quickly<br />
drove out the insurgents but significant<br />
pockets of resistance remain in<br />
the Ifoghas mountains as well as in the<br />
northern cities of Gao and Timbuktu.<br />
In the latest spate of violence,<br />
Islamist gunmen used the confusion<br />
created by a suicide bomber on<br />
Saturday to infiltrate Timbuktu and<br />
engage French and Malian troops in<br />
fighting that left at least eight rebels, a<br />
soldier and a civilian dead. A<br />
spokesman for the Movement for<br />
Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, one<br />
of three armed Islamist groups operating<br />
in northern Mali, was quoted by<br />
the Mauritanian online news portal<br />
ANI, as threatening France and its<br />
allies with “more jihadist actions”.<br />
Around half of the estimated 6,000<br />
remaining Malian troops will train over<br />
the next year with the EUTM, which<br />
INTERNATIONAL<br />
EU troops begin Mali training mission<br />
will run on a budget of 12.3 million<br />
euros ($15.8 million), with a first batch<br />
expected to be ready for combat in the<br />
north by early July. Once trained, each<br />
of the four Mali battalions will have a<br />
unified command with an infantrymobile<br />
core, backed by artillery and<br />
engineering, and a logistics component.<br />
French General Francois<br />
Lecointre, who heads the EUTM, said<br />
the Malian army’s poor and “heterogeneous”<br />
equipment, made up of material<br />
donated by richer nations over two<br />
decades, was a big problem for the<br />
mission.<br />
The bigger issue however is the<br />
army’s lack of a clear hierarchy and<br />
chain of command, with little team<br />
spirit, he said. The United States had<br />
initially begun an ambitious program<br />
to train a new generation of Malian<br />
officers as part of a counter-terrorism<br />
program in North and West Africa but<br />
the effort ended in embarrassment for<br />
Washington. One of the officers who<br />
attended several courses with the US<br />
military, Captain Amadou Sanago, led<br />
a coup against the Malian government<br />
last March, prompting Washington to<br />
suspend its security assistance.<br />
And when militants pushed out of<br />
the north last year, some of the Malian<br />
army units ended up defecting, with<br />
Napolitano hosts talks<br />
as deadlock drags on KANO: Weekend attacks on three com-<br />
ROME: Italian President Giorgio<br />
Napolitano yesterday hosted experts<br />
from two working groups aimed at finding<br />
common ground for bickering political<br />
leaders who have failed to form a new<br />
government as Prime Minister Mario<br />
Monti’s cabinet limps on. Elections in the<br />
euro-zone’s third largest economy more<br />
than a month ago resulted in a threeway<br />
split between Pier Luigi Bersani’s<br />
centre-left, Silvio Berlusconi’s centreright<br />
and a new protest party led by former<br />
comedian Beppe Grillo.<br />
Talks have proved inconclusive and<br />
Napolitano on Saturday said he was setting<br />
up two working groups-one for<br />
political reforms, the other for economic<br />
ones-as a way of trying to forge an<br />
agreement at least on a few fundamental<br />
reforms. The groups include constitutional<br />
expert Valerio Onida and will look into<br />
cutting bureaucratic costs and reducing<br />
the number of lawmakers in the Italian<br />
parliament - 945 including deputies in<br />
the lower house and senators in the<br />
upper house.<br />
Emergency economic measures are<br />
also on the agenda as the country<br />
endures its sixth consecutive quarter of<br />
recession and the unemployment rate<br />
remains close to record highs at 11.6 percent.<br />
Some experts say Napolitano’s initiative<br />
could be aimed at forging a crossparty<br />
government deal similar to the one<br />
struck in the Netherlands in October<br />
2012 two months after inconclusive<br />
polls. But Berlusconi’s People of Freedom<br />
party has already criticized the move as a<br />
delaying tactic, insisting there should be<br />
new elections if no solution can be found<br />
to the deadlock. A recent poll indicated<br />
that the 76-year-old Berlusconi-a scandal-tainted<br />
billionaire tycoon who has<br />
called for the abolition of an unpopular<br />
property tax imposed by Monti and criticized<br />
Germany’s role in Europe would<br />
win elections. “The house is burning. No<br />
one would understand more delays,” said<br />
Angelino Alfano, secretary general of<br />
Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party.<br />
The SWG poll published last week gave<br />
Berlusconi 32.5 percent compared to<br />
29.6 percent for Bersani.<br />
“Napolitano wanted to send a reassuring<br />
signal... and show that 10 intelligent<br />
and well-intentioned people can<br />
agree on some useful objectives for the<br />
future of the country,” said Sergio<br />
Romano, a columnist for the Corriere della<br />
Sera daily. The 87-year-old Napolitano’s<br />
tactic appeared to be working, with borrowing<br />
costs down and the Milan stock<br />
market trading in positive territory after<br />
falling slightly at the start of the session.<br />
Napolitano considered resigning over<br />
the crisis but was persuaded not to by<br />
European Central Bank chief Mario<br />
Draghi, Italian media reported.<br />
A resignation “would have exposed<br />
the country to a very grave risk in terms<br />
of its international credibility,” Ugo De<br />
Siervo, former head of Italy’s top court,<br />
said in La Repubblica daily. De Siervo said<br />
Napolitano’s plan was to “encourage the<br />
parties to show greater responsibility”<br />
and prepare for the end of his mandate<br />
on May 15, by which time parliament has<br />
to elect a new president. Napolitano cannot<br />
call new elections because he is in<br />
the last months of his seven-year mandate<br />
but his successor would be able to<br />
do so. Monti’s government will stay in<br />
place with interim powers until a new<br />
government is formed.— AFP<br />
UK ‘plotted’ to kill Congo’s Lumumba<br />
LONDON: A former British intelligence officer claimed that<br />
Britain played a role in the assassination of Congolese independence<br />
hero Patrice Lumumba, one of her friends has told the<br />
British media. Before she died three years ago, Daphne Park-who<br />
was sent as an MI6 officer to the Belgian Congo in 1959 - told a<br />
fellow member of Britain’s House of Lords that she had helped<br />
coordinate Britain’s role in Lumumba’s elimination two years later.<br />
The claim will spark surprise because the former colonial power<br />
Belgium concluded in 2001 that it had a “moral responsibility”<br />
in the assassination of Lumumba, Congo’s first democraticallyelected<br />
prime minister. David Lea said in a letter to the London<br />
Review of Books that he had a conversation with Park in 2009 —<br />
a year before she died-in which they discussed the likelihood of<br />
Britain’s MI6 foreign intelligence agency being involved in<br />
Lumumba’s death. “It so happens that I was having a cup of tea<br />
with Daphne Park a few months before she died,” Lea said.<br />
“I mentioned the uproar surrounding Lumumba’s abduction<br />
and murder, and recalled the theory that MI6 might have had<br />
something to do with it. ‘We did,’ she replied. ‘I organized it’.” “It<br />
was a conversation-stopper. I was stunned,” Lea said, adding that<br />
he concluded from the exchange that whoever was directly culpable<br />
for Lumumba’s death, the British government was “at the<br />
centre of the spider’s web”. His letter was in response to a new<br />
book on the British secret services called “Empire of Secrets:<br />
British Intelligence, the Cold War and the Twilight of Empire”.<br />
Park is said to have had a high degree of influence in the<br />
region after she was appointed consul and first secretary in<br />
Leopoldville-now known as Kinshasa-in 1959, one year before<br />
Congo won its independence from Belgium. The CIA is also<br />
believed to have played a role in organizing the plot to eliminate<br />
Lumumba, because of his growing alliance with the Soviet Union.<br />
Lumumba was killed by firing squad after a coup led by Joseph-<br />
Desire Mobutu. Mobutu renamed the country Zaire. It is now<br />
known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lumumba’s death<br />
is to be the subject of a judicial probe in Belgium after a court<br />
gave the go-ahead last year.— AFP<br />
LEOPOLDVILLE: File picture taken in December 1960,<br />
shows soldiers guarding Patrice Lumumba (right),<br />
Prime Minister of then Congo-Kinshasa, and Joseph<br />
Okito (left), vice-president of the Senate, upon their<br />
arrest in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa). — AFP<br />
Tanzania quarry<br />
collapse kills 13<br />
ARUSHA: At least 13 people were killed in the northern<br />
Tanzanian city of Arusha when the sides of a quarry caved in, a<br />
local official said yesterday. “There are 13 dead but rescuers<br />
managed to save two people,” said Mulongo Magessa, governor<br />
of Arusha province, of the accident that took place late<br />
Monday morning, days after a building collapse killed 36 people<br />
in the east African nation’s commercial capital.<br />
“One person remains in hospital, the other has been<br />
released,” Magessa added. Those who died were believed to<br />
have been digging in the small quarry for rocks and sand for<br />
use at construction projects in Arusha. Security forces and<br />
local volunteers pulled out the bodies of the victims on<br />
Monday, local media said. Tanzania has been hit by heavy seasonal<br />
rains causing flash floods that weakened the sides of the<br />
quarry, which is understood to have been illegal. Digging at<br />
the site was declared illegal in 2006 after a similar incident in<br />
which several people died.<br />
Meanwhile, rescuers said they had ended the search in the<br />
port city of Dar es Salaam four days after the building collapse,<br />
saying the final number killed in that accident was 36.<br />
“We have now called off the rescue operation,” the city’s commissioner<br />
Saidi Mecky Sadicky told reporters. Two children<br />
were among the dead. Local residents had turned out to supply<br />
rescuers with food, water and medication.<br />
“I want to thank all those who participated in this exercise,<br />
the people of Dar es Salaam and Tanzania will forever be<br />
grateful,” Sadicky added. Between 60 and 70 were initially<br />
thought to have been around the partially-built 16-storey<br />
building when it came crashing down on Friday morning in<br />
the Kisutu area of the coastal city. Sadicky said investigations<br />
were continuing into the cause of the building collapse, and<br />
that police were holding eight people for questioning.<br />
Dar es Salaam, a major port for east Africa and home to<br />
some four million people, is rapidly expanding, and is one of<br />
the world’s fastest growing cities, according to United Nations<br />
figures. Construction projects crowd the city, including several<br />
high-rise developments, although the majority of people live<br />
in simple, informal housing.—AFP<br />
munities in volatile and ethnically<br />
divided central Nigeria have left 19<br />
people dead and displaced some 4,500<br />
others, a local official said yesterday.<br />
The attacks were believed to be<br />
reprisals in a dispute involving mainly<br />
Muslim Fulanis and the mostly<br />
Christian Atakar ethnic group.<br />
“From the death toll we’ve compiled,<br />
19 people including women and children<br />
were killed by gunmen we suspect<br />
to be Fulani herdsmen in attacks on<br />
three communities on Saturday night<br />
through Sunday,” local government official<br />
Kumai Badu said of the violence in<br />
the Kaura district, a remote region of<br />
Kaduna state.<br />
Fulanis in the area tend to be<br />
nomadic herdsmen, while Atakar are<br />
mainly farmers. Land disputes often<br />
flare up between the two groups. Badu<br />
added that some 4,500 people were displaced<br />
and two camps had been set up<br />
to house them. “Apart from the gun<br />
weapons and hardware falling into the<br />
hands of Islamist militants. It was a<br />
sobering outcome for the US, which<br />
has touted the idea of training foreign<br />
armies to fight terror threats instead of<br />
launching more ground wars with<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
American troops. The experience<br />
helped shape the Obama administration’s<br />
cautious response to the French<br />
military intervention in Mali, with the<br />
US providing only limited support to<br />
French forces.— AFP<br />
TIMBU<strong>KT</strong>U: Malian soldiers enter the historic city of Timbuktu occupied for<br />
10 months by Islamists who imposed a harsh form of sharia.— AFP<br />
19 killed in Nigeria<br />
Communities battle in volatile central Nigeria<br />
attacks, the assailants also set fire to<br />
homes,” he said. Kaduna state police<br />
commissioner Olufemi Adenaike confirmed<br />
that “some villages were<br />
attacked by gunmen suspected to be<br />
Fulani”, but said he could not yet provide<br />
a death toll.<br />
“There has been some misunderstanding<br />
between the Fulani and the<br />
Atakar communities for some time,” he<br />
said. “We have dispatched our men for a<br />
thorough assessment of the situation.”<br />
Southern Kaduna state, where the<br />
attack occurred, is located in the Middle<br />
Belt region dividing Nigeria’s mainly<br />
Christian south and its mostly Muslim<br />
north. Hundreds were killed in riots in<br />
southern Kaduna after 2011 elections,<br />
with most of the victims Muslim,<br />
according to Human Rights Watch.<br />
Speaking of the weekend violence,<br />
Badu said “the attack we believe was in<br />
response to the poisoning of some<br />
herds by some local farmers over<br />
encroachment into their farmlands”.<br />
Dozens have been killed over the last<br />
couple of weeks in similar ethnic violence<br />
in neighboring Plateau state.<br />
Last week, violence involving rival<br />
ethnic groups killed at least 36 people<br />
and left dozens of houses burnt in<br />
Plateau. Those casualties were in addition<br />
to at least 23 people killed in<br />
attacks the previous week in Plateau on<br />
March 20 and 21.<br />
Security was boosted in those areas<br />
for Sunday’s Easter holiday, as was the<br />
case in much of the country, since<br />
churches have previously been targeted<br />
for attacks on Christian holidays. Nigeria<br />
is Africa’s largest oil producer and most<br />
populous nation with some 160 million<br />
people and 250 ethnic groups. Ethnic<br />
violence regularly breaks out over local<br />
politics, land or other factors. Islamist<br />
extremist group Boko Haram has also<br />
extended a deadly insurgency into parts<br />
of the country’s centre in addition to its<br />
attacks in the north, further complicating<br />
the situation.— AFP
INTERNATIONAL<br />
Suspicion in Texas DA death shifts to white supremacists<br />
KAUFMAN: Two days after a Texas district attorney<br />
(DA) and his wife were found shot to death in<br />
their home, authorities have said little about their<br />
investigation or any potential suspects. But suspicion<br />
in the slayings shifted to a white supremacist<br />
gang with a long history of violence and retribution<br />
that was also the focus of a December law<br />
enforcement bulletin warning that its members<br />
might try to attack police or prosecutors.<br />
Four top leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood of<br />
Texas were indicted in October for crimes ranging<br />
from murder to drug trafficking. Two months later,<br />
authorities issued the bulletin warning that<br />
the gang might try to retaliate against law<br />
enforcement for the investigation that led to the<br />
arrests of 34 of its members on federal charges.<br />
Kaufman County District Attorney Mike<br />
McLelland and his wife were found dead Saturday<br />
in their East Texas home.<br />
The killings were especially jarring because<br />
they happened just a couple of months after one<br />
of the county’s assistant district attorneys, Mark<br />
Hasse, was killed in a parking lot near his courthouse<br />
office. McLelland was part of a multiagency<br />
task force that took part in the investigation<br />
of the Aryan Brotherhood. The task force also<br />
included the FBI, the Drug Enforcement<br />
Administration as well as police departments in<br />
Houston and Fort Worth.<br />
Investigators have declined to say if the group<br />
is the focus of their efforts, but the state<br />
Department of Public Safety bulletin warned that<br />
the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas is “involved in<br />
issuing orders to inflict ‘mass casualties or death’<br />
to law enforcement officials involved in the recent<br />
case.” Terry Pelz, a former Texas prison warden and<br />
expert on the Aryan Brotherhood said killing law<br />
enforcement representatives would be uncharacteristic<br />
of the group. “They don’t go around killing<br />
officials,” he said. “They don’t draw heat upon<br />
themselves.”<br />
But Pelz, who worked in the Texas prison system<br />
for 21 years, added that the gang has a history<br />
of threatening officials and of killing its own<br />
CONNECTICUT: Police are positioned outside the home of Nancy Lanza in this<br />
December 18, 2012 file photo in Newtown, Connecticut. Detectives searching the<br />
Newtown school shooter’s house found that he and his mother kept a startlingly<br />
large arsenal of rifles, pistols and other weapons including swords, newly released<br />
details showed. — AFP<br />
Connecticut lawmakers<br />
unveil gun control plan<br />
HARTFORD: With an announcement of<br />
sweeping proposals to curb gun violence,<br />
Connecticut lawmakers said they are hoping<br />
to send a message to Congress and<br />
other state legislators across the country: A<br />
bipartisan agreement on gun control is<br />
possible. Legislative leaders on Monday<br />
revealed proposals spurred by the Dec 14<br />
Newtown school shooting following weeks<br />
of bipartisan, closed-door negotiations.<br />
A vote is expected Wednesday in the<br />
General Assembly, where Democrats control<br />
both chambers, making passage all but<br />
assured. “Democrats and Republicans were<br />
able to come to an agreement on a strong,<br />
comprehensive bill,” said Senate President<br />
Donald E Williams Jr, a Democrat from<br />
Brooklyn, who called the proposed legislation<br />
the strongest, most comprehensive bill<br />
in the country. “That is a message that<br />
should resound in 49 other states and in<br />
Washington, DC. And the message is: We<br />
can get it done here and they should get it<br />
done in their respective states and nationally<br />
in Congress.”<br />
The massacre reignited the gun debate<br />
in the country and led to calls for increased<br />
gun control legislation on the federal and<br />
state levels. While some other states,<br />
including neighboring New York, have<br />
strengthened their gun laws, momentum<br />
has stalled in Congress, whose members<br />
were urged by President Barack Obama last<br />
week not to forget the shooting and to<br />
capitalize on the best chance in years to<br />
stem gun violence.<br />
The Connecticut deal includes a ban on<br />
new high-capacity ammunition magazines<br />
like the ones used in the massacre at Sandy<br />
Hook Elementary School that left 20 children<br />
and six educators dead. There are also<br />
new registration requirements for existing<br />
magazines that carry 10 or more bullets,<br />
something of a disappointment for some<br />
family members of Newtown victims who<br />
wanted an outright ban on the possession<br />
of all high-capacity magazines and traveled<br />
to the state Capitol on Monday to ask lawmakers<br />
for it.<br />
The package also creates what lawmakers<br />
said is the nation’s first statewide dangerous<br />
weapon offender registry, creates a<br />
new “ammunition eligibility certificate,”<br />
imposes immediate universal background<br />
checks for all firearms sales, and extends<br />
the state’s assault weapons ban to 100 new<br />
types of firearms and requires that a<br />
weapon have only one of several features<br />
in order to be banned.<br />
The newly banned weapons could no<br />
longer be bought or sold in Connecticut,<br />
and those legally owned already would<br />
have to be registered with the state, just<br />
like the high-capacity magazines. Senate<br />
Minority Leader John McKinney, a Fairfield<br />
Republican whose district includes<br />
Newtown, said Republicans and Democrats<br />
have understood they needed to “rise<br />
above politics” when they decided to come<br />
up with a legislative response to the massacre.<br />
“At the end of the day, I think it’s a<br />
package that the majority of the people of<br />
Connecticut I know will be proud of,” he<br />
said.<br />
The bill also addresses mental health<br />
and school security measures, including<br />
gun restrictions for people who’ve been<br />
committed to mental health facilities and<br />
restoration of a state grant for school safety<br />
improvements. After clearing the state legislature,<br />
the bill would be sent to Gov<br />
Dannel P Malloy, who has helped lead<br />
efforts to strengthen the state’s gun laws<br />
but has not yet signed off on the proposed<br />
legislation. Earlier Monday, Malloy voiced<br />
support for the Newtown families and their<br />
desire to ban the possession of largecapacity<br />
magazines.<br />
Ron Pinciaro, executive director of<br />
Connecticut Against Gun Violence, said his<br />
group will live with the lawmakers’ decision<br />
not to ban them as other states have done.<br />
He said the leaders made their decision<br />
based on what was politically feasible. “We<br />
have to be satisfied. There are still other<br />
things that we want, we’ll be back for in later<br />
sessions,” he said. “But for now, it’s a<br />
good thing.” Robert Crook, executive director<br />
of the Connecticut Coalition of<br />
Sportsmen, contended the bill would not<br />
have changed what happened at Sandy<br />
Hook Elementary School, where gunman<br />
Adam Lanza fired off 154 shots with a<br />
Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle within five<br />
minutes.<br />
He went through six 30-round magazines,<br />
though half were not completely<br />
empty, and police said he had three other<br />
30-round magazines in addition to one in<br />
the rifle. “They can register magazines and<br />
do all the rest of this stuff. It isn’t going to<br />
do anything,” he said. Gun owners, who’ve<br />
packed public hearings at the state Capitol<br />
in recent months, voicing their opposition<br />
to various gun control measures, are concerned<br />
they’ve been showing up “for virtually<br />
nothing” after learning about the bill,<br />
Crook said. —AP<br />
member or rivals. He suggested if the Aryan<br />
Brotherhood was behind the slayings in Kaufman<br />
County, some sort of disruption in the gang’s<br />
operations might have prompted their retaliation.<br />
That disruption might have come last year, when<br />
federal prosecutors in Houston in November<br />
announced indictments against 34 alleged members<br />
of the gang, including four of its top leaders<br />
in Texas. At the time, prosecutors called the<br />
indictment “a devastating blow to the leadership”<br />
of the gang.<br />
Meanwhile, deputies escorted some Kaufman<br />
County employees into the courthouse Monday<br />
after the slayings stirred fears that other public<br />
employees could be targeted. Law enforcement<br />
officers were seen patrolling outside the courthouse,<br />
one holding a semi-automatic weapon,<br />
while others walked around inside. Deputies were<br />
called to the McLelland home by relatives and<br />
friends who had been unable to reach the pair,<br />
according to a search warrant affidavit.<br />
When they arrived, investigators found the<br />
two had been shot multiple times. Cartridge casings<br />
were scattered near their bodies, the affidavit<br />
said. Authorities have not discussed a<br />
motive. “I don’t want to walk around in fear every<br />
day ... but on the other hand, two months ago, we<br />
wouldn’t be having this conversation,” County<br />
TEXAS: Law enforcement officials walk out of the home of Kaufman District Attorney Mike McLelland near<br />
Forney, Texas. McLelland and his wife were both murdered at their home Saturday. — AP<br />
NUEVO LAREDO: The bodies of nine men, most<br />
of them dismembered, were found inside a sport<br />
utility vehicle with Texas license plates in northeastern<br />
Mexico, prosecutors said Monday.<br />
Authorities made the discovery after receiving a<br />
report late Sunday of an abandoned vehicle near<br />
Ciudad Victoria, the capital of the state of<br />
Tamaulipas, which borders Texas, the state prosecutor’s<br />
office said in a brief statement.<br />
Northern Mexican states are the scene of turf<br />
wars between powerful drug cartels vying for<br />
control of lucrative trafficking routes to the<br />
United States, with decapitations among the brutal<br />
fear tactics. More than 70,000 people have<br />
died in drug-related violence since 2006, with the<br />
cartels fighting each other, as well as troops<br />
deployed by the government to combat the<br />
gangs. Elsewhere in Mexico, officials said five<br />
people, including a 45-year-old US man, were<br />
killed in two bar shootings in the western city of<br />
Guadalajara late Sunday. Prosecutors suspect<br />
organized crime was behind those two attacks.<br />
MEXICO BAR SHOOTINGS<br />
A 45-year-old US man was among five people<br />
killed in two bar shootings in Mexico’s second<br />
biggest city, with a grenade used in one of the<br />
attacks, authorities said Monday. Officials said a<br />
total of 45 rounds were fired off with 9mm handguns<br />
in the attacks in the western city of<br />
Guadalajara late Sunday, wounding another 17<br />
people. Witnesses said a single gunman opened<br />
fire outside the bar in each attack.<br />
The shootings took place 15 minutes apart<br />
and appeared to be aimed at the owners of the<br />
bars, who are related, said senior prosecutor<br />
Jorge Villasenor. He added that investigators suspect<br />
organized crime was involved “due to the<br />
type of weapon that was used.” “The attack was<br />
Judge Bruce Wood, the county’s top administrator,<br />
said Monday at a news conference.<br />
The killings also came less than two weeks<br />
after Colorado’s prison chief was shot to death at<br />
his front door, apparently by an ex-convict. Law<br />
enforcement agencies throughout Texas were on<br />
high alert, and steps were being taken to better<br />
protect other DAs and their staffs. In Harris<br />
directed at these places, not at a specific person.<br />
This is the line of investigation that we are looking<br />
into,” he said. The two bar owners are being<br />
questioned in order to determine a possible<br />
motive. Two people, including the American,<br />
were killed when a gunman opened fire on the<br />
“Gol” bar where people had watched the Chivas-<br />
America football derby, prosecutors said. The<br />
American was identified by a female companion<br />
as Jeff Lydell Comer. The other victim was a 20year-old<br />
Mexican man. Both were customers at<br />
the bar. Fifteen minutes earlier, a gunman<br />
attacked the “Ruta 66” bar in a different neigh-<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
County, which includes Houston, District Attorney<br />
Mike Anderson said he accepted the sheriff’s offer<br />
of 24-hour security for him and his family.<br />
Anderson said he also would take precautions at<br />
his office, the largest of its kind in Texas, with<br />
more than 270 prosecutors.<br />
“I think district attorneys across Texas are still<br />
in a state of shock,” Anderson said Sunday.<br />
McLelland, 63, was the 13th prosecutor killed in<br />
the US since the National Association of District<br />
Attorneys began keeping count in the 1960s.<br />
Kaufman County Sheriff David Byrnes would not<br />
give details Sunday of how the killings unfolded<br />
and said there was nothing to indicate for certain<br />
whether the DA’s slaying was connected to<br />
Hasse’s. El Paso County, Colo., sheriff’s spokesman<br />
Sgt Joe Roybal said investigators had so far found<br />
no evidence connecting the Texas killings to the<br />
Colorado case, but added: “We’re examining all<br />
possibilities.”<br />
Colorado’s corrections director, Tom Clements,<br />
was killed March 19 when he answered the doorbell<br />
at his home outside Colorado Springs. Evan<br />
Spencer Ebel, a white supremacist and former<br />
Colorado inmate suspected of shooting<br />
Clements, died in a shootout with Texas deputies<br />
two days later about 100 miles from Kaufman. In<br />
an Associated Press interview shortly after the<br />
Colorado slaying, McLelland himself raised the<br />
possibility that Hasse was gunned down by a<br />
white supremacist gang.<br />
McLelland, elected in 2010, said his office had<br />
prosecuted several cases against such gangs, particularly<br />
one known as the Aryan Brotherhood.<br />
The groups have a strong presence around<br />
Kaufman County, a mostly rural area dotted with<br />
subdivisions, with a population of about 104,000.<br />
No arrests have been made in Hasse’s Jan 31 slaying.<br />
After that attack, McLelland said, he carried a<br />
gun everywhere around town, even when walking<br />
his dog. He figured assassins were more likely<br />
to try to attack him outside. He said he had<br />
warned all his employees to be constantly on the<br />
alert. — AP<br />
Nine bodies found in<br />
US vehicle in Mexico<br />
US man among 5 dead in bar shootings<br />
CARACAS: Venezuelan opposition candidate<br />
Henrique Capriles on Monday accused acting<br />
president Nicolas Maduro of unfairly using state<br />
media and money in his campaign to succeed<br />
the late Hugo Chavez. The accusations come two<br />
weeks before voters choose a new president following<br />
the death of Chavez, the flamboyant<br />
leader who governed oil-rich Venezuela for 14<br />
years and launched a self-styled leftist “revolution.”<br />
“The state media have become a propaganda<br />
wing of a political party,” Capriles alleged, referring<br />
to the socialist party of Maduro, Chavez’s<br />
handpicked successor. In free and fair balloting,<br />
candidates are supposed to have the same<br />
access and the same rights, Capriles told a press<br />
conference.<br />
But Maduro, a former bus driver and union<br />
leader, is relying on “all of the state’s resources ...<br />
and all of the state’s power structure” to run his<br />
campaign, Capriles charged. The campaign does<br />
not officially began until yesterday, but Capriles<br />
said Maduro had spent 46 hours on state TV<br />
since Chavez’s death on March 5. Capriles went<br />
on to urge the National Electoral Council to be<br />
impartial and enforce campaign rules ahead of<br />
the April 14 vote.<br />
Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas<br />
fired back on Twitter, saying state television had<br />
broadcast Capriles’s press conference live<br />
“despite his orders to prevent access for journalists”<br />
from state media. Villegas also again invited<br />
Capriles to be interviewed on state television,<br />
after the opposition candidate denied an earlier<br />
request, saying state media is biased against him.<br />
GUADALAJARA: Forensic personnel work at the scene of a crime where four people were shot<br />
dead, in a bar of Guadalajara, Mexico. — AFP<br />
Later Monday night, Capriles joined a march<br />
against insecurity in the country, railing against<br />
the government for failing to address the pressing<br />
issue.<br />
borhood, firing shots and throwing a grenade.<br />
A 28-year-old customer and a 30-year-old<br />
employee were found shot dead outside the bar<br />
while a 23-year-old waitress later died of her<br />
gunshot wounds.<br />
The explosion injured an unspecified number<br />
of people. The prosecutor’s office said 17 people<br />
were wounded but did not specify how many in<br />
each attack. Four other men were killed in other<br />
attacks on Sunday across Guadalajara, which has<br />
endured some of the drug-related violence that<br />
has left 70,000 people dead in Mexico since<br />
December 2006. — Agencies<br />
Capriles cries foul ahead<br />
of Venezuelan election<br />
CARACAS: Venezuelan opposition candidate<br />
for the upcoming April 14 presidential election,<br />
Henrique Capriles Radonski gestures<br />
during a night march in Caracas. — AFP<br />
“There is not a single proposal for the government<br />
to defeat violence and give peace to<br />
Venezuelans,” Capriles said before a crowd of<br />
hundreds of thousands. In the first three months<br />
of the year, Venezuela recorded 3,400 murders,<br />
interior and justice minister Nestor Reverol said<br />
Monday on state television. In 2012, the country<br />
saw 16,000 homicides, a 14 percent increase over<br />
the year before, he added, vowing to strengthen<br />
security measures. Unofficial tallies put the figure<br />
even higher, with the Venezuelan Observatory of<br />
Violence citing 21,000 murders in 2012.<br />
Maduro, 50, formerly served as Chavez’s foreign<br />
minister and vice president. Miranda state<br />
governor Capriles, 40, lost to Chavez in an<br />
October election. Chavez, who came to embody<br />
a resurgent Latin American left while channeling<br />
Venezuela’s vast oil wealth into social programs<br />
for the poor, died last month after a long battle<br />
with cancer. During his 14 years in power Chavez<br />
developed a vast media apparatus consisting of<br />
at least five television broadcast channels, two<br />
newspapers and dozens of local radio stations<br />
carrying the government’s message.<br />
Maduro leads Capriles by a 20-point margin,<br />
according to a poll out Monday by Hinterlaces,<br />
which indicated Maduro would win 55 percent of<br />
the vote compared to Capriles’s 35 percent. A<br />
previous survey on March 19 gave Maduro a similar<br />
margin of 18 points. In an exclusive interview<br />
with AFP over the weekend, Maduro insisted the<br />
“revolution” was united behind him. “I trust that<br />
people will go to the polls to vote for Maduro<br />
because we are like a family that lost its father,”<br />
he said. —AFP
KABUL: As the one-year countdown to<br />
Afghan elections begins, the man who<br />
lost out last time in a corrupt and chaotic<br />
poll is weighing up whether to risk<br />
another shot at the presidency. Abdullah<br />
Abdullah pulled out of the second round<br />
of the 2009 election after massive voterigging<br />
by President Hamid Karzai’s supporters<br />
that badly shook the US-led international<br />
effort to rebuild Afghanistan.<br />
The next election is due on April 5,<br />
2014, but many doubt it will be held on<br />
schedule. There are no front-runners and<br />
foreign donors fear another flawed poll<br />
could bury gains secured since the fall of<br />
the Taleban in 2001. Abdullah, an urbane<br />
former eye surgeon, remains embittered<br />
towards Karzai and doubts the president<br />
will step down without a fight-despite<br />
the fact he is barred from standing for a<br />
third term.<br />
He accuses Karzai, 55, of plotting to<br />
deceive the electorate in spite of repeated<br />
pledges to step down next year.<br />
“President Karzai will make an effort to<br />
extend his tenure,” the 52-year-old predicted<br />
in an interview at his heavilyguarded<br />
private residence in Kabul. “The<br />
president’s best option is to create an<br />
emergency security situation so every-<br />
one says ‘under these circumstances how<br />
can we have elections?’, then he calls a jirga<br />
(tribal meeting) to support him staying<br />
on,” Abdullah said. “He doesn’t show<br />
any signs of being someone who is now<br />
leaving in one year’s time.”<br />
Abdullah served as Karzai’s foreign<br />
minister from 2001 to 2005, but is now<br />
leader of the National Coalition of<br />
Afghanistan, the closest thing to an<br />
opposition group in a country where<br />
central government is traditionally weak.<br />
A former aide to the late anti-Soviet<br />
fighter Ahmad Shah Massoud, Abdullah<br />
commands support among minority<br />
Tajiks but not the Pashtuns, the dominant<br />
ethnic group from which Karzai and<br />
most members of the Taleban hail.<br />
Recalling the turbulent 2009 election,<br />
Abdullah said he was wary of campaigning<br />
again for the presidency. The<br />
Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC)<br />
threw out around one third of votesabout<br />
half a million-cast for Karzai, sparking<br />
the run-off from which Abdullah ultimately<br />
withdrew “in the best interests of<br />
the nation”. “I don’t want any candidate<br />
to go through what I did during the elections,”<br />
said Abdullah, who collected just<br />
over 30 percent of the first round vote.<br />
INTERNATIONAL<br />
Karzai’s old rival edges towards 2014 election run<br />
KATHMANDU: A Nepalese Hindu woman worships and offers fruit to a cow, regarded<br />
as an incarnation of the Hindu Goddess of prosperity Laxmi, during the Tihar (Diwali)<br />
festival in Kathmandu. Police in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu have launched a campaign<br />
to round up cows roaming the streets, blaming the sacred animals for car accidents<br />
and traffic jams. — AFP<br />
Nepal traffic police herd<br />
Kathmandu’s holy cows<br />
KATHMANDU: Police in Nepal’s capital<br />
Kathmandu have launched a campaign to<br />
round up cows roaming the streets, blaming<br />
the sacred animals for car accidents and traffic<br />
jams. “The stray cows and oxen have been<br />
a big nuisance in Kathmandu streets. They<br />
not only cause accidents, but also make the<br />
streets untidy,” Pawan Giri, spokesman for the<br />
Kathmandu Metropolitan Traffic Police said.<br />
“We see traffic jams because the drivers<br />
who try to avoid the cows often crash into<br />
other vehicles.” He said the captured animals<br />
would be detained until their owners paid a<br />
fine of approximately $60 for their release.<br />
Cows are a regular sight in the smog-choked<br />
capital and are often found eating from piles<br />
of garbage on the roadside. Regarded as an<br />
incarnation of the Hindu Goddess of prosperity<br />
Laxmi, the beasts are treated as sacred<br />
in Nepal, where the majority of the population<br />
is Hindu.<br />
During the annual Tihar festival in the<br />
autumn, Hindus spend a day worshipping<br />
them by offering food and gifts. The traffic<br />
police say they have rounded up 18 animals<br />
since launching the operation Monday and<br />
they plan to continue this drive for several<br />
weeks. While the abolishment of a Hindu<br />
monarchy in 2008 launched a secular era,<br />
Nepalese authorities still routinely arrest<br />
people for killing cows, mainly in rural areas.<br />
Cow slaughter remains illegal in Nepal and<br />
can carry a prison sentence of up to 12<br />
years. — AFP<br />
Indian court ends travel<br />
ban on Italy ambassador<br />
NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court lifted<br />
yesterday a three-week order banning Italy’s<br />
ambassador from leaving the country after<br />
Italy sent two marines back to India to face<br />
trial over the deaths of two Indian fishermen.<br />
The court had earlier banned the ambassador,<br />
Daniele Mancini, from leaving after Italy<br />
announced it would not send the accused<br />
marines back after a home visit. But the<br />
Italian government changed its mind and<br />
sent the two back on March 22.<br />
“It’s good news,” Diljeet Titus, a lawyer<br />
representing the Italian marines, said of the<br />
court’s decision. “The travel restriction on the<br />
ambassador has been vacated as the undertaking<br />
was complied with, Italy kept its<br />
word.” The accused, Massimiliano Latorre and<br />
Salvatore Girone, are charged with murder<br />
for shooting the two fishermen off the coast<br />
of the southern state of Kerala last year while<br />
serving as security guards on a cargo ship.<br />
They say they fired warning shots at a<br />
fishing boat believing it to be a pirate vessel.<br />
The case has caused outrage in Italy, which<br />
says the incident happened in international<br />
waters and the men should not be tried in<br />
India. Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi resigned<br />
over the decision to return the pair to India.<br />
The marines are due to be tried in a special<br />
federal court in New Delhi, but the court has<br />
yet to be established. “The government has<br />
sought time, saying they are taking steps to<br />
form this special court. But they have nothing<br />
to show for it,” said Titus.<br />
Rome’s right wing mayor plans to turn off<br />
the lights of ancient landmarks the<br />
Colosseum and the Imperial Forum for the<br />
first time on Wednesday to “draw attention to<br />
the shameful case of the two marines”. Also<br />
today, Italian neo-fascist group Casapound is<br />
due to protest in front of the seat of government<br />
in Rome, calling for Italy to close its<br />
embassy to India and to expel the Indian<br />
ambassador. The group also wants outgoing<br />
Prime Minister Mario Monti to resign his<br />
position as Senator for life. — Reuters<br />
Court frees three monks<br />
after anti-Muslim attack<br />
COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan court yesterday<br />
freed three Buddhist monks and 14 others<br />
suspected of torching a Muslimowned<br />
clothing store in an attack that<br />
scaled up the country’s religious tensions.<br />
In the latest in a wave of attacks<br />
targeting minority Muslims, an angry<br />
mob of hardline Buddhists vandalized<br />
and set fire to the store in a suburb of<br />
Colombo, leading police to boost security<br />
for Muslim businesses nationwide.<br />
“The case was dropped because the parties<br />
(police and the victim) did not want<br />
to proceed,” a court official said, declining<br />
to be named, after the 17 suspects<br />
were discharged.<br />
“The magistrate warned the monks to<br />
follow Buddha’s teachings or face serious<br />
consequences,” the official said. The owner<br />
of the smashed Fashion Bug store was<br />
not immediately available for comment,<br />
but the management had previously said<br />
that they suffered extensive damage and<br />
their staff were living in fear after<br />
Thursday’s attack.<br />
Local television footage, some of it<br />
posted on YouTube, showed a Buddhist<br />
monk bringing down a store CCTV camera<br />
in front of a cheering mob outside<br />
the store, watched by at least four police<br />
constables.<br />
Another monk is seen threatening a<br />
news cameraman who was later hospitalised<br />
after being assaulted by the mob.<br />
Sri Lanka’s main Muslim political party in<br />
the ruling coalition said the attack was a<br />
“sequel” to an ongoing hate campaign<br />
against minority Muslims.<br />
Muslims constitute about 10 percent<br />
of the country’s 20 million population,<br />
the second largest minority after the<br />
mainly Hindu ethnic Tamils. Seventy percent<br />
of the population are Sinhalese and<br />
mostly Buddhists. — AFP<br />
Afghan opposition leader, Abdullah Abdullah<br />
“In one district 5,000 people voted<br />
one by one, while in the next district officials<br />
under the supervision of the police<br />
just provided 5,000 votes. If the elections<br />
are rigged this time, it is a recipe for a<br />
major crisis.” Many observers suggest<br />
Abdullah offers few solutions to<br />
Afghanistan’s many problems and has<br />
not cultivated enough support to have a<br />
chance of winning. But, with a year to go<br />
until the scheduled poll he said he was<br />
PESHAWAR: Dozens of suspected militants<br />
attacked a major power station in northwest<br />
Pakistan with mortars and rocket-propelled<br />
grenades and killed seven people, police said<br />
yesterday. The assault, in the run-up to May 11<br />
general elections, destroyed the biggest power<br />
station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, suspending<br />
electricity supply to half of the major<br />
city of Peshawar.<br />
It served as a reminder that Pakistan’s leaders<br />
have failed to tackle a Taleban insurgency<br />
that remains potent despite a series of security<br />
crackdowns. Pakistan’s Taleban, which is close<br />
to Al-Qaeda, has threatened to escalate violence<br />
ahead of the polls, including attacks on<br />
political rallies. Police official Mohammad Ishaq<br />
said two people, a policeman and a security<br />
guard, were killed on the spot and five others<br />
died after being kidnapped in Monday’s incident.<br />
The bullet-riddled bodies of the captives<br />
have been recovered, the official added. There<br />
was no immediate claim of responsibility.<br />
“They entered the grid station and started setting<br />
ablaze each and every thing. They kidnapped<br />
nine people and killed five of them later<br />
and threw their bodies in the fields,” Ishaq<br />
said.<br />
Four Water and Power Department employees<br />
who were kidnapped were still missing, he<br />
said. The militants had destroyed the entire<br />
grid station, said Shaukat Afzal, a spokesman of<br />
the Peshawar Electric Supply Company.<br />
“People may face some extra power load shedding<br />
in the coming days,” he added. Pakistan’s<br />
military has failed to break the back of the<br />
Taleban, despite numerous offensives against<br />
their strongholds in the semiautonomous tribal<br />
areas near the Afghan border.<br />
SECURITY CONCERNS<br />
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s outgoing ruling party<br />
yesterday called off a major public rally<br />
designed to kickstart its re-election campaign<br />
in favor of smaller events, officials said. The<br />
Taleban have directly threatened the Pakistan<br />
People’s Party (PPP) and its secular coalition<br />
partners, and a string of recent attacks is raising<br />
fears that violence could mar the run-up to<br />
May 11 elections.<br />
The PPP said last week it would start its<br />
working hard behind the scenes and-if<br />
he were to stand-would not this time<br />
back down in the event of a run-off.<br />
“It would not be like the last time<br />
when I said I would swallow this bitter<br />
pill for the sake of the country,” he said. “I<br />
haven’t said I am a candidate. I am doing<br />
what candidates do-talking to people,<br />
networking, expanding supporters, but a<br />
decision has not happened yet.” While it<br />
is not yet clear who will run in 2014, the<br />
campaign with a public rally in Garhi Khuda<br />
Bakhsh, the village housing the Bhutto family<br />
mausoleum, on the anniversary of the hanging<br />
of its founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on April 4,<br />
1979. The party holds public rallies on the<br />
anniversary every year. But yesterday, a party<br />
spokesman in the nearby town of Naudero said<br />
the gathering would take place in a hall and<br />
would be closed to all but state media. PPP<br />
politicians would also hold separate events in<br />
other districts, he said.<br />
“We are not organizing a big national-level<br />
rally this time. Meetings are being held at district<br />
level separately,” Ghulam Mustafa Leghari<br />
said. Zulfiqar’s daughter and former PPP Prime<br />
Minister, Benazir Bhutto, was killed in a gun<br />
and suicide attack after an election rally in<br />
Rawalpindi in 2007. The PPP was elected in<br />
2008 on a wave of public sympathy. President<br />
Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto’s widower, will address<br />
Thursday’s meeting in Naudero, Leghari said,<br />
but he did not confirm whether Bilawal, chairman<br />
of the party and Bhutto’s son, would also<br />
attend.<br />
“Only official media will be allowed to cover<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
lengthy list of possible candidates<br />
includes Karzai’s brother Qayyum, warlord<br />
turned provincial governor Atta<br />
Mohammad Noor, and former interior<br />
minister Ali Ahmad Jalali.<br />
At least 26 people were killed in sporadic<br />
attacks on polling day in 2009, and<br />
Karzai was only declared the winner 10<br />
weeks later, after fraud investigations,<br />
delayed results and Abdullah’s eventual<br />
withdrawal. Recent visitors to Kabul<br />
including US Secretary of State John<br />
Kerry have stressed that Afghanistan<br />
must hold a legitimate vote or risk being<br />
abandoned by Western governments<br />
after foreign combat troops withdraw<br />
next year.<br />
One growing concern has been<br />
Karzai’s plan to scrap the UN-backed ECC,<br />
which includes foreign representatives,<br />
in favor of a new all-Afghan tribunal. Last<br />
week the UN called for an impartial electoral<br />
dispute body to be set up at once<br />
and for a respected figure to be appointed<br />
head of the Independent Electoral<br />
Commission, which is currently leaderless.<br />
“Either we have rule of law or we are<br />
a failed state. This election is an opportunity<br />
and a real test ahead of us,” Abdullah<br />
said. — AFP<br />
Militants attack Pakistan<br />
power station; Seven die<br />
Pakistan party scraps rally amid security concerns<br />
DHAKA: Bangladesh police have arrested<br />
three atheist bloggers for defaming Islam and<br />
the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), police said<br />
yesterday, amid demands from religious fundamentalists<br />
for an Internet crackdown. The<br />
arrests of the three, who were paraded in<br />
hand-cuffs at a press conference yesterday,<br />
came after pressure from Islamists who have<br />
organized a march to the capital to demand<br />
the death penalty for atheist bloggers.<br />
“They have hurt religious feelings of the<br />
people by writing against different religions<br />
and their prophets and founders including<br />
the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH),” deputy<br />
commissioner of Dhaka police Molla Nazrul<br />
Islam said. The three could face 10 years in jail<br />
if convicted under the country’s cyber laws,<br />
which outlaw “defaming” a religion, Islam said.<br />
He denied the arrests were linked to the<br />
threats from Islamists whose march to the<br />
capital is set to take place on Saturday.<br />
The debate between militant atheists and<br />
fundamentalists has been a popular subject in<br />
Bangladesh’s blogosphere and on social<br />
media for years, but it took a deadly turn in<br />
February when an atheist blogger was murdered.<br />
The arrests came as the nation has<br />
been hit by protests over a war crimes tribunal<br />
trying leading figures during the 1971 war<br />
of independence. Protests encouraged by secular<br />
bloggers have seen hundreds of thousands<br />
of people take to the streets demanding<br />
the execution of leaders of the Jamaat-e-<br />
Islami party, the country’s largest Islamic party<br />
PESHAWAR: A Pakistani man looks at the destroyed electricity power plant following an attack<br />
by gunmen in Badh Bher, a suburb of Peshawar yesterday. Dozens of gunmen attacked an electricity<br />
plant in northwest Pakistan, killing seven people and disrupting power to 100,000 people<br />
overnight. — AFP<br />
and key opposition.<br />
Islamists have in turn held demonstrations<br />
demanding the trials be halted and have also<br />
begun targeting bloggers. The government<br />
has blocked about a dozen websites and<br />
blogs to stem the violence. It also set up a<br />
this meeting. Other media can stand outside<br />
and take the feed from Pakistan Television,”<br />
Leghari added. Local party officials denied the<br />
rescheduling had anything to do with security<br />
concerns and senior spokesmen were not<br />
immediate reachable. “It (the change) is only a<br />
technical reason. Our candidates are busy with<br />
paperwork, scrutiny and the election campaign,”<br />
said Lateef Mughal, PPP information<br />
secretary in Zardari’s home town Karachi.<br />
Last week, main PPP spokesman Qamar<br />
Zaman Kaira said that 24-year-old Bilawal, who<br />
is too young to contest a seat, would make few<br />
public appearances “due to security concerns”.<br />
The revised arrangements for tomorrow stand<br />
in stark contrast to the major campaign rallies<br />
that the PPP’s main rivals have already held. On<br />
March 25 opposition leader Nawaz Sharif,<br />
widely tipped to win the election, attracted<br />
tens of thousands in the northwestern town of<br />
Mansehra. Cricket legend Imran Khan, contesting<br />
elections for the first time and considered a<br />
possible kingmaker after the polls, has also<br />
pulled in crowds of tens of thousands at major<br />
public events across the country. — Agencies<br />
Bangladesh arrests<br />
3 atheist bloggers<br />
panel, which included intelligence chiefs, to<br />
snoop for blasphemy in the social media. Last<br />
week the country’s telecoms regulator<br />
ordered two sites to remove hundreds of<br />
posts of seven bloggers whose writings it said<br />
offended Muslims. — AFP<br />
RAJSHAHI: Students of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islam beat a police officer in the northwestern<br />
city of Rajshahi, about 260 kms from the capital Dhaka yesterday. — AFP
INTERNATIONAL<br />
Japan welcomes JFK daughter as mooted US envoy<br />
TOKYO: The mooted appointment of the daughter<br />
of assassinated US president John F Kennedy to the<br />
high-profile post of ambassador to Japan, was greeted<br />
enthusiastically in Japan yesterday. Caroline<br />
Kennedy, 55, who was an early supporter of Obama’s<br />
2008 primary campaign before he took on and beat<br />
Hillary Clinton’s Democratic machine, has long been<br />
a rumored candidate for the plum Tokyo post.<br />
Kennedy is in the advanced stages of the selection<br />
process, an administration official told AFP.<br />
Earlier Monday, both The Washington Post and New<br />
York <strong>Times</strong> reported that she was actively being vetted<br />
for the appointment. Japan’s top government<br />
spokesman said it would be a “big news” for the<br />
country if she gets the nomination. “Late President<br />
Kennedy was a figure familiar to many Japanese,”<br />
Yoshihide Suga said at a regular press conference on<br />
Tuesday.<br />
“It would be big news, and would deepen people’s<br />
feeling of friendliness (to the United States),” he<br />
said, adding that he would refrain from commenting<br />
further until a final decision was made. Kennedy<br />
would fit the long tradition of presidents naming<br />
high profile envoys to key US ally Japan, who have<br />
included former vice president Walter Mondale and<br />
former senators Mike Mansfield and Howard Baker.<br />
But she would also take up the post at a time of great<br />
diplomatic peril, given North Korea’s fierce military<br />
threats against the United States and its key regional<br />
partners.<br />
The crises had prompted some diplomatic<br />
observers in Washington in recent weeks to suggest<br />
that Kennedy could be passed over for a more experienced<br />
diplomatic hand. But Kennedy’s chances may<br />
have been enhanced by the arrival as secretary of<br />
state of John Kerry, who was close to Caroline<br />
Kennedy’s beloved uncle, late senator Edward<br />
Kennedy. The White House and State Department<br />
both declined to comment on the reports that<br />
Kennedy was close to being named, but did not deny<br />
them outright.<br />
While politics and public service runs in Kennedy’s<br />
blood, she has long resisted the public role of her<br />
father, his brothers, Robert F. Kennedy and Edward<br />
Kennedy, and many of their progeny. For a time in<br />
late 2008 and early 2009, she toyed with the idea of<br />
running for the New York Democratic Senate seat<br />
vacated by Hillary Clinton when Clinton became<br />
Obama’s first-term secretary of state. But the wealthy<br />
Kennedy pulled out after a rough political ride amid<br />
claims she was being foisted upon the New York<br />
electorate with nothing but her family name as a<br />
qualification.<br />
Kennedy, whom many Americans remember as a<br />
tragic little girl at her father’s 1963 funeral at<br />
Arlington National Cemetery, caused a sensation in<br />
2008, and fury in Clinton circles, when she broke<br />
from her intensely private world to back Obama. In a<br />
New York <strong>Times</strong> column titled “A President Like My<br />
Father” Kennedy wrote of never having seen a president<br />
who matched up to the way people still talked<br />
about JFK. Now, she said, “I believe I have found a<br />
man who could be that president.” If nominated, and<br />
confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy would succeed<br />
current US Ambassador to Japan John Roos, a former<br />
Obama campaign donor. — AFP<br />
PYEONGTAEK: A US Air Force F-16 fighter jet (center) lands on the runway during their military exercise at the Osan US Air Base in Pyeongtaek,<br />
south of Seoul, South Korea yesterday. — AP<br />
US deploys warship off South<br />
Korea amid soaring tensions<br />
North Korea says region on brink of nuclear war<br />
SEOUL: The United States has positioned a warship<br />
off the Korean coast as a shield against ballistic<br />
missile attack as South Korea’s new president<br />
vowed swift retaliation against a North<br />
Korean strike amid soaring tensions on the<br />
peninsula. But Washington also said it had seen<br />
no worrisome mobilization of armed forces by<br />
the North Koreans despite bellicose rhetoric over<br />
a ramping up of international sanctions against<br />
Pyongyang over nuclear weapons tests.<br />
“If there is any provocation against South<br />
Korea and its people, there should be a strong<br />
response in initial combat without any political<br />
considerations,” South Korean President Park<br />
Geun-hye told the defense minister and senior<br />
officials. North Korea says the region is on the<br />
brink of a nuclear war in the wake of UN sanctions<br />
in response to its February nuclear test and<br />
a series of joint US and South Korean military<br />
drills that have included a rare US show of aerial<br />
power. In Washington, the White House has said<br />
the United States takes seriously North Korea’s<br />
war threats. But White House spokesman Jay<br />
Carney said on Monday: “I would note that<br />
despite the harsh rhetoric we are hearing from<br />
Pyongyang, we are not seeing changes to the<br />
North Korean military posture, such as largescale<br />
mobilizations and positioning of forces.”<br />
North Korea further escalated its rhetoric on<br />
Saturday by saying it was entering a “state of war”<br />
with South Korea in response to what it termed<br />
the “hostile” military drills.<br />
A US defense official said the USS McCain, an<br />
Aegis-class guided-missile destroyer used for ballistic<br />
missile defense, was being positioned off<br />
the peninsula’s southwestern coast. “This is a<br />
prudent move that provides greater missile<br />
defense options should (they) become neces-<br />
SYDNEY: Global media baron Rupert Murdoch<br />
yesterday accused the government of his native<br />
Australia of “disgraceful and racist” language<br />
over a crackdown on visas for skilled migrants.<br />
The Australian-born News Corporation chief<br />
condemned the centre-left Labor government’s<br />
rhetoric about the tightening of the 457-class<br />
skilled visa program amid claims of abuse by<br />
employers and disadvantage to local workers. “I<br />
think the way that they’re talking about the 457<br />
is pretty disgraceful and racist, but I’m a big one<br />
for encouraging immigration, I think that’s the<br />
future,” Murdoch told Sky News on a business<br />
visit to northern Australia.<br />
“A mixture of people-just look at America-is<br />
just fantastic,” he added. Murdoch said there<br />
were “difficulties for generations of migrants<br />
UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly<br />
overwhelmingly approved the first UN treaty<br />
regulating the multibillion-dollar international<br />
arms trade yesterday, a goal sought for over<br />
a decade to try to keep illicit weapons out of<br />
the hands of terrorists, insurgent fighters and<br />
organized crime. The resolution adopting the<br />
landmark treaty was approved by a vote of<br />
154 to 3 with 23 abstentions.<br />
As the numbers appeared on the electronic<br />
board, loud cheers filled the assembly<br />
chamber. A group of treaty supporters sought<br />
a vote in the 193-member world body after<br />
Iran, North Korea and Syria blocked its adoption<br />
by consensus at the end of a two-week<br />
sary,” said the official, speaking on condition of<br />
anonymity. The ship was not expected to participate<br />
in any exercises, the official added.<br />
South Korea has changed its rules of engagement<br />
to allow local units to respond immediately<br />
to attacks, rather than waiting for permission<br />
from Seoul. Stung by criticism that its response<br />
to the shelling of a South Korean island in 2010<br />
was tardy and weak, Seoul has also threatened to<br />
target young North Korean leader Kim Jong-un<br />
and to destroy statues of the ruling Kim dynasty<br />
in the event of any new attack, a plan that has<br />
outraged Pyongyang.<br />
CHINA CALLED TO HELP<br />
North Korea stepped up its rhetoric in early<br />
March, when US and South Korean forces began<br />
annual military drills that involved the flights of<br />
US B-2 stealth bombers in a practice run, prompting<br />
the North to put its missile units on standby<br />
to fire at US military bases in South Korea and in<br />
the Pacific. The United States also deployed F-22<br />
stealth fighter jets on Sunday to take part in the<br />
drills. The Pentagon said it was the fourth time F-<br />
22s had been deployed to South Korea.<br />
Australia, a close US ally and rotating UN<br />
Security Council member, said it would urge<br />
China to help enforce sanctions banning the flow<br />
of technology and equipment to North Korea.<br />
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who leaves<br />
on Friday for Beijing, plans to call on Chinese<br />
leaders to help bolster stop-and-search provisions<br />
for shipping to and from North Korea,<br />
Foreign Minister Bob Carr said. Canberra also<br />
plans its own banking and financial sanctions.<br />
“The immediate priority is to see the sanctions<br />
agreed on by the Security Council are properly<br />
enforced,” Carr said yesterday.<br />
KIM JONG-UN TIGHTENS GRIP<br />
North Korea has cancelled an armistice agreement<br />
with the United States that ended the<br />
Korean War and has cut all hotlines with US<br />
forces, the United Nations and South Korea. At a<br />
recent meeting of North Korea’s ruling Workers<br />
Party Central Committee, leader Kim Jong-un<br />
rejected the notion that Pyongyang was going to<br />
use its nuclear arms development as a bargaining<br />
chip for foreign aid for the impoverished<br />
nation.<br />
“The nuclear weapons of Songun Korea are<br />
not goods for getting US dollars and they are ...<br />
(not) to be put on the table of negotiations<br />
aimed at forcing the (North) to disarm itself,”<br />
KCNA news agency quoted him as saying.<br />
Songun is the Korean word for the “Military First”<br />
policy preached by Kim’s father who used it to<br />
justify the use of the impoverished state’s scarce<br />
resources to build a 1.2-million strong army and<br />
pursue development of weapons of mass<br />
destruction. At the meeting, Kim appointed a<br />
handful of personal confidants to the party’s<br />
politburo, further consolidating his grip on power<br />
in the second full year of his reign.<br />
Former premier Pak Pong-ju, a key confidant<br />
of the leadership dynasty, was re-appointed to<br />
the post from which he was fired in 2007 for failing<br />
to implement economic reforms. Pak,<br />
believed to be in his 70s, is viewed as a key ally<br />
of Jang Song-thaek, the young Kim’s uncle and<br />
also a protege of Kim’s aunt. Pak is viewed as a<br />
pawn in a power game that has seen Jang and<br />
his wife re-assert power over military leaders.<br />
Analysts said the move would not likely change<br />
North Korea’s approach to a confrontation that<br />
appears to have dragged the two Koreas closer<br />
to war. — Reuters<br />
Murdoch slams ‘racist,<br />
disgraceful’ Australia<br />
sometimes if there are too many from one area,<br />
but they meld in a couple of generations and it<br />
leads to tremendous creativity in the community”.<br />
He said skilled migration was vital to economic<br />
growth in Australia’s north, which is in the<br />
grip of a mining and resources boom with billions<br />
of dollars of investment slated for the coming<br />
years.<br />
Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury rejected<br />
the remarks, saying there was “nothing racist<br />
about standing up for jobs and job opportunities<br />
for Australians”. There is little love lost<br />
between Murdoch’s Australian operations News<br />
Limited and Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s Labor<br />
government-ministers have accused his newspapers<br />
of campaigning for regime change. News<br />
Limited has, in turn, been highly critical of the<br />
final negotiating conference last Thursday.<br />
The three countries voted “no” yesterday’s resolution<br />
while Russia and China, both major<br />
arms exporters, abstained.<br />
Many countries, including the United<br />
States, control arms exports. But there has<br />
never been an international treaty regulating<br />
the estimated $60 billion global arms trade.<br />
Australian Ambassador Peter Woolcott, who<br />
chaired the negotiations, said the treaty will<br />
“make an important difference by reducing<br />
human suffering and saving lives.”<br />
“We owe it to those millions - often the<br />
most vulnerable in society - whose lives have<br />
been overshadowed by the irresponsible and<br />
government’s proposed media reforms which<br />
came in the wake of Britain’s phone-hacking<br />
scandal.<br />
Gillard’s Labor has been criticized by the leftleaning<br />
Greens party, commentators and some<br />
business leaders for plans to crack down on 457s<br />
in an election year, accused of angling for the<br />
anti-immigration vote. According to the immigration<br />
department, growth in 457 visas has significantly<br />
outstripped national employment<br />
growth, suggesting “the program is being<br />
increasingly driven by temporary visa holders<br />
seeking to remain in Australia instead of the<br />
demands of the Australian labor force”. The number<br />
of 457 visa holders expanded 21.5 percent<br />
between February 2012 and February <strong>2013</strong> to<br />
107,510. — AFP<br />
illicit international trade in arms,” he told the<br />
assembly just before the vote.<br />
The treaty will not control the domestic<br />
use of weapons in any country, but it will<br />
require countries that ratify it to establish<br />
national regulations to control the transfer of<br />
conventional arms, parts and components<br />
and to regulate arms brokers. It covers battle<br />
tanks, armored combat vehicles, large-caliber<br />
artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters,<br />
warships, missiles and missile launchers,<br />
and small arms and light weapons.<br />
A phrase stating that this list was “at a minimum”<br />
was dropped, according to diplomats,<br />
at the insistence of the United States.<br />
Caroline Kennedy<br />
JAKARTA: The elite police unit on the front<br />
line of Indonesia’s lauded terrorism clampdown<br />
faces fresh allegations of torture and<br />
unlawful killings, raising concerns it is<br />
fuelling the jihadist cause. Detachment 88<br />
was established after the 2002 bombings on<br />
Bali that killed 202 people, mostly Western<br />
tourists, and has gained strong public support<br />
after claiming the scalps of some of the<br />
region’s most-wanted extremists. But last<br />
month a video emerged in which officers<br />
from the anti-terror unit interrogated a suspect<br />
writhing in pain after he had been shot<br />
in the chest and forced to strip to his underwear.<br />
“Why did you shoot me? I surrendered,” he<br />
screams, as police repeatedly yell back that<br />
he ask Allah for forgiveness. “You’re going to<br />
die,” they say, trampling on three other suspects,<br />
shooting into the ground to intimidate<br />
them. The suspect who was shot in the video,<br />
Rahman Kalahe, survived the incident and<br />
was sentenced to 19 years’ jail over his role in<br />
the beheading of three Christian schoolgirls<br />
and the murder of a priest in Poso.<br />
However, the footage has prompted the<br />
National Human Rights Commission to<br />
reopen its investigation into the 2007 raid,<br />
while Islamic groups and members of parliament<br />
have made calls to disband<br />
Detachment 88. “Detachment 88 has used<br />
torture, killings and intimidation, but they are<br />
never held accountable. The unit must be dissolved,”<br />
said Din Syammsuddin, chairman of<br />
the nation’s second-largest Muslim organization,<br />
Muhammadiyah, who took the video to<br />
police.<br />
The government insists that its security<br />
forces have “great respect for human rights”.<br />
“There are standard operating procedures in<br />
the handling of terrorism. It is not true that<br />
Detachment 88 employs a shoot-to-kill<br />
approach,” presidential spokesman Julian<br />
Aldrin Pasha said. “Any actions contrary to the<br />
law, including human rights law, will be<br />
processed. Without exception for anyone.<br />
This country upholds and enforces the rule of<br />
law,” he said. The Detachment 88 unit, which<br />
gets funding and training from the United<br />
States and Australia, has been successful in<br />
quelling the kind of militant attacks on civilian<br />
targets that rocked Indonesia in the past<br />
decade.<br />
Indonesia’s battle with terror is now being<br />
fought almost entirely between militants and<br />
police, much of it in Poso district-a known<br />
hotbed for militant activity on Sulawesi<br />
island, where the videotaped raid took place.<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Indonesia anti-terror cops<br />
accused of ‘fuelling jihad’<br />
This shift in the nature of terrorism in<br />
Indonesia has raised concerns that the unit’s<br />
treatment of suspects is fuelling revenge<br />
attacks. Since the establishment of<br />
Detachment 88, Indonesian police have<br />
killed at least 90 suspects in counterterrorism<br />
operations, the International Crisis Group<br />
reported.<br />
But fully 50 of them have been killed since<br />
2010, a year after the last major deadly attack<br />
in the nation. “You can see why people get<br />
angry when the police start shooting people<br />
just because they have a copy of a book on<br />
jihad in their rooms,” Todd Elliot, Jakartabased<br />
terrorism analyst with Concorde<br />
Consulting said. “When we haven’t seen a<br />
major attack in years and police are killing<br />
terror suspects every two months, you can<br />
understand why people are asking questions.”<br />
National Anti-Terror Agency chief<br />
Ansyaad Mbai denies the unit is trigger-happy,<br />
saying the deaths happen because terror<br />
suspects rarely surrender and are often<br />
armed. The numbers seem to support his<br />
argument-in the same period that 50 suspects<br />
were killed, 21 police were slain trying<br />
to make arrests or investigate extremist activity.<br />
In October, two officers investigating an<br />
alleged terrorist camp in Poso were found<br />
dead and buried in a hole with their throats<br />
slit. “Terrorism is an extraordinary crime that<br />
requires extraordinary operations,” Mbai said.<br />
“They don’t respect Indonesians’ rights, so<br />
why are we suddenly so concerned with<br />
theirs?” he said. “Since Detachment 88 was<br />
established, we have captured 850 terrorists.<br />
Yes, dozens have been killed, but most were<br />
taken alive.” Mbai sees the video as the latest<br />
tactic in a long-standing campaign against<br />
the unit, likely from political factions or hardline<br />
Islamic groups that regularly paint<br />
Detachment 88 as anti-Muslim. The rights<br />
commission has recommended Detachment<br />
88 employ a more transparent evaluation<br />
process and the unit be held accountable for<br />
any extra-judicial killings.<br />
But Mbai said: “I don’t agree with these<br />
calls to hold officers to account through legal<br />
procedures. This will just demoralize the unit.”<br />
Problems within Detachment 88 are not<br />
unique to the unit. The UN’s Special<br />
Rapporteur on Torture in 2008 found that<br />
torture and abuse of suspects during arrest<br />
and police detention were widespread in<br />
Indonesia. “The video indicates a definite<br />
need for better human rights training. The<br />
whole police institution in Indonesia is still in<br />
need of reform,” Elliot said. — AFP<br />
BEKASI: Indonesian Christian Pastor Torang Simanjuntak (bottom) delivers mass next<br />
to the ruins of the Taman Sari Batak Christian Protestant Church in Bekasi, on the outskirts<br />
of Jakarta as minority Christians mark Easter amid rising cases of religious<br />
intolerance. On March 21 the local government demolished the half constructed<br />
church in front of its weeping congregation. Indonesia’s 240 million people identify<br />
themselves as Muslim but the constitution guarantees freedom of religion. — AFP<br />
UN adopts treaty to regulate global arms trade<br />
Supporters complained that this limited the<br />
treaty’s scope. The treaty prohibits states that<br />
ratify it from transferring conventional<br />
weapons if they violate arms embargoes or if<br />
they promote acts of genocide, crimes against<br />
humanity or war crimes. It also prohibits the<br />
export of conventional arms if they could be<br />
used in attacks on civilians or civilian buildings<br />
such as schools and hospitals.<br />
In considering whether to authorize the<br />
export of arms, the treaty says a country must<br />
evaluate whether the weapon would be used<br />
to violate international human rights or<br />
humanitarian laws or be used by terrorists or<br />
organized crime. They must also determine<br />
whether the weapons transfer would contribute<br />
to or undermine peace and security.<br />
The treaty also requires parties to the<br />
treaty to take measures to prevent the diversion<br />
of conventional weapons to the illicit<br />
market.<br />
Ammunition was been a key issue in negotiations,<br />
with some countries pressing for the<br />
same controls on ammunition sales as arms,<br />
but the US and others opposed such tough<br />
restrictions. The final text calls for each country<br />
that ratifies the treaty to establish regulations<br />
for the export of ammunition “fired,<br />
launched or delivered” by the weapons covered<br />
by the convention. — AP
Iranian women jump for a picture as they celebrate the ancient festival of Sizdeh Bedar in a park in western<br />
Tehran yesterday. Sizdah is the Persian word for thirteen and leaving the house on the thirteenth day of<br />
Farvardin, the first month of Iranian calendar, and spending the day outdoors with the family has been a<br />
national tradition since ancient times in Iran. — AP<br />
Amnesty slams resumption of executions<br />
Continued from Page 1<br />
2007. “In a region where executions are sadly all too<br />
commonplace, <strong>Kuwait</strong> marked a beacon of hope by<br />
declining to execute people for almost six years,” Harrison<br />
said in a statement. “That hope has been extinguished...<br />
We deplore this resumption of executions, regardless of<br />
the crime.”<br />
Public attorney Mohammad Al-Duaij, who supervised<br />
UAE, Canada end visa row<br />
Continued from Page 1<br />
The UAE in Jan 2011 started charging Canadians<br />
$1,000 for a six-month multiple entrance visa, while<br />
three-month and one-month visas cost $500 and $250<br />
respectively. The steep hikes in obtaining a visa for the<br />
UAE came as the two countries had been at odds over<br />
landing rights in Canada for UAE-based carriers and the<br />
closure of a UAE military base to Canadian use. Canada<br />
the executions, said another 48 people are on death row<br />
awaiting a final decision on their sentences by HH the<br />
Amir. The state has executed a total of 69 men and three<br />
foreign women since it introduced the death penalty in<br />
mid-1960. Most of those condemned have been convicted<br />
murderers or drug traffickers. “<strong>Kuwait</strong> should halt any<br />
further executions and should commute all death sentences<br />
and revise the law to exclude this most final of<br />
penalties,” Amnesty said. — AFP<br />
was forced a few months earlier to close a military base<br />
in Dubai that was part of a key supply route to<br />
Afghanistan after refusing to grant the UAE’s two<br />
national carriers more landing rights. Baird was transport<br />
minister at the time, when more than 25,000<br />
Canadians were living in the UAE and bilateral trade was<br />
valued at $1.5 billion annually, according to the UAE.<br />
Since then, Iraq has become Canada’s largest trading<br />
partner in the Middle East, Baird noted. — AFP<br />
NEWS<br />
Continued from Page 1<br />
The issue of Palestinians in Israeli prisons is a deeply<br />
sensitive one and it frequently sparks mass demonstrations<br />
across the occupied territories which tend to develop<br />
into violent clashes with the military. One of the main<br />
points of concern is prisoners on long-term hunger strike<br />
who are held without charge, or the conditions of their<br />
arrest.<br />
Abu Hamdiyeh’s death sparked protests in prisons<br />
across Israel as well as clashes with the Israeli army in<br />
Hebron. The Israel Prisons Service confirmed he had died<br />
of cancer yesterday morning, saying disturbances had broken<br />
out in four prisons as the news spread in Ketziot,<br />
Eshel, Ramon and Nafha. In Hebron, around 300 demonstrators<br />
threw stones at troops near the entrance to the<br />
Old City, with soldiers firing tear gas and rubber bullets, an<br />
AFP correspondent said. And in Jerusalem’s Old City,<br />
police arrested three people after dozens of Palestinian<br />
demonstrators began throwing stones at Damascus Gate,<br />
spokeswoman Luba Samri said.<br />
Qadura Fares, head of the Ramallah-based Prisoners<br />
Club, was the first to break news of Abu Hamdiyeh’s death,<br />
blaming Israel for its “refusal to release him for treatment”.<br />
Prisoner affairs minister Issa Qaraaqa said it was a “vicious<br />
crime” which had come about due to Israel’s “stalling over<br />
giving him the right to be treated following a late cancer<br />
diagnosis.”<br />
Gaza’s ruling Hamas said it was following with the<br />
“greatest concern” the developments and warned that<br />
Israel would “regret its continuing crimes,” spokesman<br />
Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP. Abu Hamdiyeh, a senior Fatah<br />
official from the preventative security services, began<br />
complaining of throat problems about nine months ago.<br />
Two months ago he was diagnosed with cancer of the<br />
oesophagus. According to the Prisoners Club, 25 inmates<br />
serving time in Israeli jails are currently suffering from can-<br />
Continued from Page 1<br />
Yangon to bury the victims, with<br />
many among the crowd voicing suspicions<br />
the fire was started deliberately. A<br />
teacher, who was awoken as flames<br />
tore through the building and who<br />
helped evacuate survivors, told AFP he<br />
had smelt petrol during the blaze -<br />
echoing the testimony of several witnesses.<br />
“I think someone started the fire<br />
intentionally,” said Khin Maung Hla, 35,<br />
adding the victims were aged between<br />
12 and 15. Waiting to bury her 13-yearold<br />
boy, Nyunt Zaw wept uncontrollably.<br />
“I lost my youngest son. I am devastated,”<br />
she told AFP. “The school just<br />
reopened yesterday and now my son is<br />
dead,” wept Ohnmar Lwin as she also<br />
buried her child.<br />
Emergency services had to break<br />
down locked doors to free the children<br />
sleeping in a dormitory, according to<br />
government spokesman Ye Htut.<br />
“Please don’t believe some news on the<br />
Internet portraying this case as a religious<br />
conflict,” he posted on his<br />
Facebook page. But, against the background<br />
of the recent sectarian violence,<br />
many Muslims were “very suspicious”<br />
about the latest fire, said Mya Aye, a<br />
Muslim member of the 88 Generation<br />
Students’ pro-democracy group. “We<br />
are worried and sad because innocent<br />
children died,” he said. Communal tensions<br />
are high in the former army-ruled<br />
country after at least 43 people died<br />
last month in a wave of intra-religious<br />
violence that saw mosques and homes<br />
burned down in several towns. The<br />
government has imposed emergency<br />
rule and curfews in some areas.<br />
Yangon’s chief minister Myint Swe<br />
told reporters authorities had launched<br />
a probe into the fire, adding that initial<br />
findings suggested a fault with wiring<br />
under the staircase was to blame. He<br />
said about 70 children were trapped<br />
upstairs when the blaze broke out. “The<br />
children could not get out of the building<br />
because there were iron bars (on<br />
the windows) and the only way out was<br />
the stairs,” he said, adding that the victims<br />
died of suffocation. Electrical fires<br />
are common because of poor safety<br />
standards in poverty-stricken Myanmar,<br />
which is emerging from decades of military<br />
rule.<br />
Two Muslim guards at the building<br />
failed to react to an alarm, said Yangon<br />
police chief Win Naing, adding one was<br />
in custody and the other had run away.<br />
Myint Swe said witness reports of a<br />
smell of fuel could be explained by the<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Palestinians protest after inmate dies...<br />
cer. The Palestine Liberation Organisation has warned that<br />
more terminally ill prisoners could die.<br />
The Israel Prisons Service said Abu Hamdiyeh was diagnosed<br />
in February and was being treated by experts.<br />
“About a week ago, after being diagnosed as terminal, the<br />
ISP appealed to the release committee to secure his early<br />
release, a process which had been started but not yet concluded,”<br />
a statement said. It said he was serving life for his<br />
involvement as “a recruiter and dispatcher in an attempted<br />
terror attack at Cafe Cafit in Jerusalem in 2002.<br />
Separately, Khaled Meshaal’s reelection as head of the<br />
Islamist Hamas movement was officially confirmed yesterday,<br />
drawing a cautious welcome from the rival Fatah<br />
movement which rules the West Bank. The reelection of<br />
the charismatic 56-year-old as the overall head of the<br />
Palestinian Islamist movement which rules Gaza, was<br />
widely seen as a shoo-in, with his new mandate secured<br />
by a vote in Cairo late on Monday. “The Shura Council held<br />
a meeting in Cairo to elect a leader and members of the<br />
political bureau,” a Hamas statement said. The movement’s<br />
leadership “renewed confidence in the political bureau,<br />
headed by Khaled Meshaal,” during after a late-night<br />
Monday vote of the Shura Council which groups Hamas<br />
leaders from Gaza, the West Bank and overseas, it said.<br />
His reelection was welcomed as a positive step by a<br />
senior member of Palestinian president Abbas’ Fatah<br />
movement. “Meshaal is a pragmatic person and may be<br />
more malleable than others in Hamas,” Fatah Central<br />
Committee member Mahmud Alul told Voice of Palestine<br />
radio. “This may help... to achieve reconciliation,” he said,<br />
referring to efforts to bridge years of bitter rivalry<br />
between the two Palestinian national movements. “All we<br />
want is a capable movement that can lead Hamas. There<br />
needs to be a leadership that can impose a political will -<br />
one approach and not contradictory ones - especially in<br />
terms of reconciliation and the overall Palestinian cause,”<br />
he said. — Agencies<br />
13 boys dead in blaze at Myanmar Muslim...<br />
generator used to power the building.<br />
Muslim leader Shine Win told AFP earlier<br />
that he had spoken to students and<br />
teachers who reported slipping on an<br />
oily liquid on the ground floor while<br />
escaping, and urged the government<br />
to “reveal the truth”.<br />
US ambassador Derek Mitchell in a<br />
statement expressed “heartfelt condolences”<br />
to the loved ones of all those<br />
affected. “Given the severity of this<br />
event, we encourage the government<br />
to work closely with members of the<br />
community to conduct a thorough and<br />
transparent investigation into the<br />
cause of the fire,” he said. Yangon has<br />
been tense but mostly peaceful following<br />
the religious clashes which broke<br />
out in the town of Meiktila and later<br />
spread. The conflict poses a major challenge<br />
for President Thein Sein, who has<br />
won international praise for his reform<br />
efforts since taking office two years<br />
ago. The situation has calmed in recent<br />
days after the former general on<br />
Thursday vowed a tough response to<br />
the violence, which he blamed on<br />
“political opportunists and religious<br />
extremists”. Violence involving<br />
Buddhists and Muslims in the western<br />
state of Rakhine last year left at least<br />
180 people dead. -— Agencies
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Issues<br />
Big Pharma down,<br />
not out, after<br />
India patent blow<br />
By Ben Hirschler and Kaustubh Kulkarni<br />
by a landmark patent defeat, Western drugmakers<br />
will be wary about launching new products in<br />
India, but they cannot afford to quit a country tipped<br />
to be the world’s eighth largest market for medicines by<br />
2016. Makers of patented drugs will in future have to get<br />
more creative about doing business in India, including<br />
striking deals with local firms to sell cheaper versions of<br />
their drugs, industry experts believe. The decision by<br />
India’s Supreme Court on Monday not to allow a patent on<br />
Novartis AG’s cancer drug Glivec angered but did not surprise<br />
US and European drug companies, given past intellectual<br />
property (IP) setbacks. And it is unlikely to send<br />
them rushing for the exit. “India is too big to ignore,” said<br />
Amit Backliwal, who heads South Asian operations for<br />
leading healthcare information provider IMS Health.<br />
“Companies will definitely get cautious, and it definitely<br />
means a change in their business model, but I don’t think<br />
they will pull out.”<br />
On paper, there is huge potential in India’s rapidly<br />
growing $13 billion-a-year drugs market, which is driven<br />
these days by chronic diseases such as diabetes as well as<br />
infections. So far, though, it has failed to become a moneyspinner<br />
for the world’s top pharmaceutical companies,<br />
despite a new law in 2005 allowing drug patents for the<br />
first time. Innovative patented drugs make up no more<br />
than 5 percent of sales, according to IMS, and they have<br />
been under siege after a series of rulings allowing generics<br />
firms to over-ride patents for cancer drugs like Bayer AG’s<br />
Nexavar.<br />
New Delhi has pulled no punches in its fight with Big<br />
Pharma, both by raising the bar for patents and being<br />
ready to issue so-called compulsory licences that open the<br />
door for cheap generics when patented drugs are deemed<br />
unaffordable. In the face of such hurdles, some companies<br />
are already building new business models. Roche Holding,<br />
for example, plans to offer cut-price versions of two blockbuster<br />
cancer drugs Herceptin and MabThera under an<br />
alliance with Indian generics firm Emcure Pharmaceuticals.<br />
It is a scheme that Ajay Kumar Sharma, associate director<br />
of the pharmaceutical and biotech practice at business<br />
consultancy Frost & Sullivan, believes other drugmakers<br />
could now emulate.<br />
India’s stance on IP has long been a thorn in the side of<br />
Western business, prompting calls by Pfizer Inc and other<br />
US firms last month for more pressure on the country to<br />
reform policies that can block US exports. The argument<br />
cuts little ice in India, where officials see differential pricing<br />
- steep discounts for less well-off markets - as an obvious<br />
option for Western companies. “It is up to them to<br />
decide on India. Don’t forget, India is a large market, a<br />
country of 1.2 billion,” said Raghunath Mashelkar, former<br />
director general of the Council for Scientific and Industrial<br />
Research and an architect of India’s IP policies.<br />
With differential pricing common in industries from<br />
autos to mobile phones, he argues pharmaceutical firms<br />
must find new ways to make products affordable for lower-income<br />
groups. “Drugmakers will have to work out<br />
strategies for the lower sections, to give affordable access<br />
to medicines and make money by large volumes and<br />
smaller margins,” he told Reuters. “And then they will look<br />
at the middle and the upper sections and make money<br />
through smaller volumes but higher margins.”<br />
It is a calculated risk, yet a number of drugmakers are<br />
already coming around to the view that trading volume<br />
for price is the way forward. One of those is<br />
GlaxoSmithKline Plc, which has a large footprint in India<br />
and has just invested $900 million to raise its stake in its<br />
consumer healthcare subsidiary. GSK’s diversified<br />
approach to healthcare is shared by a number of rivals,<br />
including Novartis, that also have big interests in over-thecounter<br />
(OTC) remedies and branded generics, in addition<br />
to innovative medicines.<br />
It is this non-prescription sector that is set to dominate<br />
in India, driving double-digit percentage growth in a market<br />
that IMS has forecast will reach $24-34 billion by 2016,<br />
vaulting the country to eighth from 14th in the global<br />
league table. PricewaterhouseCoopers puts sales by 2020<br />
at $49 billion. Much of the new business will still come<br />
from cheap generics made by local companies, but<br />
Western firms are also seeking to put their brands on<br />
unpatented medicines, prompting the likes of Abbott<br />
Laboratories and Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd to buy up Indian<br />
companies. With sales of patented drugs in Western countries<br />
slowing, emerging markets are a vital growth driver<br />
for drugmakers. India cannot be ignored, but there are<br />
clearly better bets elsewhere. — Reuters<br />
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The editor reserves the right to edit<br />
any submission as necessary.<br />
By Elena Becatoros<br />
B arbed<br />
wire-topped walls stretch across the narrow,<br />
twisted streets of Nicosia’s walled medieval<br />
city, where abandoned buildings extend across a<br />
no-man’s land. On the other side, Turkish Cypriots have<br />
been watching with fascination - and consternation - as<br />
the economy of their long prosperous southern neighbors<br />
implodes. Separated by a militarized border, Greek<br />
Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots had no contact for the<br />
best part of 30 years from the mid-1970s onwards; they<br />
have only been able to cross from one side to the other<br />
for the last decade. Torn apart by inter-ethnic strife that<br />
climaxed in a 1974 Turkish invasion, the two sides have<br />
much to be bitter about.<br />
But bitterness is not the dominant sentiment in<br />
northern Nicosia, as the southern side that once proudly<br />
trumpeted its membership in the euro currency goes<br />
into meltdown. “I am very sorry about it,” said Selcuk<br />
Ekendal, a soft-spoken Turkish Cypriot pensioner<br />
watching friends play cards in a coffee shop, not far<br />
from the barricades dividing north from south. This is<br />
not just a southern affair, he insists: “The crisis is everywhere.”<br />
But the truth is, the crisis doesn’t directly affect<br />
Turkish Cypriots. Without any financial ties to the south,<br />
and outside of the eurozone, the north has not been<br />
touched by the Greek Cypriot economic disintegration.<br />
Unrecognized by any country apart from Turkey, the<br />
breakaway Turkish Cypriot state has no direct trade<br />
partners apart from Turkey - making it almost entirely<br />
dependent on the large emerging power. That was<br />
once a curse but these days it’s looking increasingly<br />
like, if not a blessing, at least a safety net.<br />
To be sure, the north has long languished as an economic<br />
backwater, while the Greek Cypriots in the south<br />
enjoyed a post-invasion financial boom that many<br />
dubbed an ‘economic miracle’ and led to decades of<br />
sustained growth, eventually allowing them to clinch<br />
coveted EU membership.<br />
For Greek Cypriots, being part of the euro club now<br />
seems in many ways a shackle - because of the harsh<br />
conditions imposed on staying inside, and the even<br />
more frightening consequences of leaving. The Turkish<br />
Cypriot economy is so dependent on Turkey that it<br />
even uses the Turkish lira as its de facto currency. But<br />
these days, there’s an element of relief, although<br />
remarkably little gloating, in being able to watch the<br />
euro turmoil as a spectator.<br />
It’s a remarkable reversal of fortune. Although the<br />
1974 invasion left northern Cyprus with most of the<br />
country’s fertile agricultural land and rapidly growing<br />
tourist sites, the breakaway state’s political isolation<br />
came with a huge economic cost. Hundreds of thousands<br />
of Turkish settlers flowed into the island. Ankara<br />
spent billions sustaining them, and the newly formed<br />
government. It quickly became clear that the statelet<br />
14 ANALYSIS<br />
depended for its survival on Ankara, both economically<br />
and politically. To the south of the dividing line, the<br />
Greek Cypriot economy recovered fast from the invasion,<br />
eventually turning its part of the island into an<br />
off-shore banking hub that grew to dwarf the island’s<br />
gross domestic product by eight times - something<br />
economists had long warned was unsustainable. And<br />
unsustainable it was: Greek Cypriot banks tottered as<br />
they became overexposed to Greek debt that became<br />
toxic when that country’s economy crumbled over the<br />
last few years. Their collapse would have dragged<br />
down the entire economy and raised fears that Cyprus<br />
could end up becoming the first country to leave the<br />
17-nation eurozone. European officials rushed to patch<br />
together some kind of rescue, but insisted that ordinary<br />
Greek Cypriot savers had to contribute, too.<br />
While politicians tried to work out what would work,<br />
banks in the south were shut down for nearly two<br />
weeks to prevent people draining their accounts. A<br />
new last-minute bailout agreement sparing ordinary<br />
savers averted disaster - but for Greek Cypriots, the<br />
economic pain is probably just beginning. Turkish<br />
Cypriots, on the other hand, have slowly seen their<br />
tourism industry blossom.<br />
But Turkish Cypriots said they knew exactly how the<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Reelection may better Hamas ties with West<br />
By Adel Zaanoun<br />
K haled<br />
Meshaal’s reelection as leader of Hamas,<br />
which controls the Gaza Strip, provides a chance<br />
for the Islamist group to improve ties with the<br />
international community, analysts say. The veteran<br />
leader was chosen Monday to serve another four-year<br />
term despite indications he might be forced aside by<br />
the movement’s powerful and more radical leadership<br />
in Gaza. Based in exile, the pragmatic politician’s more<br />
moderate line on Israel and inter-Palestinian reconciliation<br />
has given him wide-ranging support in the Arab<br />
world and some sympathy in the West.<br />
“Meshaal’s differences with Hamas’s more radical<br />
leadership, and flexibility on issues like reconciliation<br />
and peace, presents him to the world as a rational<br />
leader whom it is possible to deal with,” said Walid Al-<br />
Mudallal, a politics professor at Gaza’s Islamic<br />
University. “He excels in... relations with the Arab<br />
world,” and his reelection “will give a big enough<br />
chance to improve Hamas’s ties with the West and to<br />
market it as a movement that isn’t hostile,” he said.<br />
Meshaal’s comments last year that he was willing<br />
to “give a chance” to talks with Israel may make him<br />
more palatable to the international community, but it<br />
sat uncomfortably within a movement whose charter<br />
calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. Late last<br />
year, Meshaal said he would not seek another term as<br />
Hamas chief, but the ongoing upheaval in the Middle<br />
East changes in the region forced a rethink.<br />
“Arab and regional changes were the fundamental<br />
reason for Meshaal changing his mind about candidacy,<br />
and for his victory,” said Mukhaimer Abu Saada, a<br />
politics professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza. “No<br />
one has his political experience,” he added, saying his<br />
candidacy was supported by Hamas leaders across the<br />
territories as well as externally. “Hamas faces the challenges<br />
of Palestinian reconciliation, confronting Israel,<br />
and relations with Egypt. Meshaal is able with his experience<br />
to bring Hamas through its difficult challenges.”<br />
Hamas has a long and bitter history of rivalry with<br />
the Fatah movement of president Mahmoud Abbas<br />
which governs the West Bank, is viewed as a terrorist<br />
organisation by Israel, and has strained ties with Cairo<br />
which suspects Gazan involvement in a deadly attack<br />
on troops in Sinai last year. But with Meshaal at the<br />
helm, things could well change, Abu Saada said. “Two<br />
years ago, the international community saw political<br />
Islam as a danger and wouldn’t deal with Meshaal. But<br />
the Arab revolutions and victory of political Islam mean<br />
the US and Europe want to re-examine their thoughts<br />
on this. Through Egypt and Qatar, Hamas has a plat-<br />
form to improve relations with Europe and the United<br />
States, he said.<br />
Salah Jumaa, a specialist on Palestinians for Egypt’s<br />
MENA news agency, said that “support from Cairo is a<br />
gateway to the world” for Hamas. “The Muslim<br />
Brotherhood played a role in Meshaal’s importance to<br />
the movement,” he said, referring to Egypt’s ruling<br />
Islamist party, from which Hamas stemmed. “Cairo<br />
hosting the Hamas meeting to elect Meshaal is proof<br />
that Egypt will support the movement in opening it up<br />
to the West.”<br />
Egypt played a central role in brokering reconciliation<br />
efforts between Hamas and Fatah which led to the<br />
signing of a deal in April 2011, although it has yet to be<br />
implemented. And Qatar has also proposed a mini Arab<br />
summit aimed at reconciliation which has been welcomed<br />
by both rival movements. Even for Israel, said<br />
Saada, “they will prefer someone they know” in charge<br />
of Hamas - even if it is a sworn enemy. In Sept 1997,<br />
agents of Israel’s Mossad secret service disguised as<br />
Canadian tourists bungled an attempt to assassinate<br />
him on a street in Amman by injecting him with poison.<br />
But the avowed radical has gradually come around<br />
to an implicit acceptance of the notion of a Palestinian<br />
state alongside Israel, although the Jewish state has so<br />
far reserved judgement. — AFP<br />
Turkish Cypriots: Solidarity tinged with relief<br />
people of the south were feeling in their crisis. “We<br />
have experienced what Greek Cypriots have experienced<br />
a long time ago, about 12 years ago, when a lot<br />
of banks went bankrupt and people lost a lot of money,”<br />
said Hassan Chirakli, an affable Turkish Cypriot who<br />
runs a shop selling traditional Turkish sweets. Turkey<br />
suffered a deep financial crisis in 2001 that forced the<br />
country to overhaul its banking system by restructuring<br />
and recapitalizing failed banks. Turkish authorities<br />
took over more than a dozen struggling banks - and<br />
with the Turkish Cypriot economy so closely linked to<br />
that of its protector nation, the effects in impoverished<br />
northern Cyprus were brutal.<br />
In this photo taken March 24, <strong>2013</strong>, Selcuk Ekendal, 72, speaks to AP inside a coffee shop in the Turkish<br />
Cypriot part of the divided capital Nicosia. — AP<br />
The closest the two sides have come to resolving the<br />
island’s division came a few years later, in 2004, with a<br />
peace plan brokered by then-UN Secretary General Kofi<br />
Annan. With hopes high, the deal was put to separate<br />
votes in the north and the south. The Turkish Cypriots<br />
accepted the plan, but the Greek Cypriots rejected it.<br />
Chirakli says the answer to the financial woes on either<br />
side lies with reunifying the island. “If the Greek<br />
Cypriots had said yes to the Annan plan, it would have<br />
been completely different,” he said. “This is what I wanted<br />
all the way, and I still want it. Some sort of a solution<br />
to this country.” — AP
Athletes get two-year ban<br />
MOSCOW: Former world and Olympic champions Svetlana Krivelyova and<br />
Olga Kuzenkova have been banned for two years each for failing drugs tests<br />
after their samples were re-examined, the Russian athletics federation (VFLA)<br />
said yesterday. The 42-year-old Kuzenkova, 2004 Olympic champion in the<br />
women’s hammer, tested positive at the 2005 world championships in Helsinki,<br />
where she also finished first. “Kuzenkova has been banned for two years starting<br />
from March 27, <strong>2013</strong>,” the VFLA said on its website (www.rusathletics.com).<br />
The VFLA annulled all her results from Aug. 12, 2005 to Aug. 11, 2007, meaning<br />
she will lose her 2005 world title. Cuba’s Yipsi Moreno, who finished second in<br />
Helsinki, will now get the gold medal. Krivelyova, 43, who<br />
won the women’s shot put gold at the 1992 Barcelona<br />
Olympics and the 2003 world championships in Paris,<br />
failed a test at the 2004 Athens Games.<br />
Krivelyova had already been stripped of the 2004<br />
bronze medal by the International Olympic Committee<br />
(IOC) after her sample was re-tested. She finished fourth in<br />
Athens but was promoted to third after her Russian<br />
team mate Irina Korzhanenko was stripped of gold<br />
after failing a drugs test for the anabolic steroid<br />
stanozolol.—Reuters<br />
Tigers get past Twins<br />
MINNEAPOLIS: Justin Verlander won on<br />
opening day for the first time in six<br />
attempts, pitching five shutout innings at<br />
frosty Target Field to send the defending<br />
American League champion Detroit Tigers<br />
past the Minnesota Twins 4-2 on Monday.<br />
Verlander (1-0) had been 0-1 in his previous<br />
five openers. Phil Coke got the last<br />
two outs for the first save by the Tigers’<br />
closer committee.<br />
Prince Fielder, wearing a black ski covering<br />
on his head, had two hits and an RBI<br />
to help spoil the first Twins start by Vance<br />
Worley (0-1).<br />
RED SOX 8, YANKEES 2<br />
In New York, Jon Lester and the Boston<br />
Red Sox got off to a quick start after a<br />
dreadful 2012 season, giving new manager<br />
John Farrell an opening day win over<br />
the depleted New York Yankees.<br />
Newcomer Shane Victorino led a<br />
revamped Red Sox lineup with three RBIs<br />
and rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. walked three<br />
times and scored twice in his big league<br />
debut. Boston’s big day against CC<br />
Sabathia (0-1) came a year after it lost its<br />
first three games under Bobby Valentine<br />
and went on to a 69-93 finish.<br />
Facing a Yankees lineup minus injured<br />
Derek Jeter for the first time since 2001<br />
and just three starters from opening day a<br />
year ago, Lester (1-0) gave up five hits and<br />
two runs in five sharp innings against the<br />
defending AL East champions.<br />
WHITE SOX 1, ROYALS 0<br />
In Chicago, Chris Sale outpitched<br />
James Shields, Tyler Flowers homered and<br />
the Chicago White Sox beat Kansas City in<br />
their season opener.<br />
Sale (1-0) showed the form that made<br />
him a 17-game winner and an All-Star in<br />
his first season as a starter. On a chilly<br />
day when the gametime temperature<br />
was 44, he allowed seven hits and struck<br />
out seven in 7 2-3 innings. Addison<br />
Reed worked the ninth for the save.<br />
Shields (0-1) was a tough-luck loser<br />
in his first start since the Royals<br />
acquired him from Tampa Bay in the offseason.<br />
Flowers homered leading off<br />
the fifth.<br />
MARINERS 2, ATHLETICS 0<br />
In Oakland, Felix Hernandez struck<br />
out eight on opening day in his first<br />
start since signing a $175 million, seven-year<br />
contract in February, and the<br />
Mariners beat the reigning AL West<br />
champion Oakland Athletics.<br />
King Felix surrendered one walk<br />
while pitching 7 2-3 scoreless innings.<br />
He didn’t allow a hit until John Jaso<br />
doubled to left-center with one out in<br />
the fourth, only a couple of hours after<br />
the pitcher gifted his former backstop<br />
with a Rolex watch for catching his perfect<br />
game in August against the Rays.<br />
Hernandez (1-0) outdueled Brett<br />
Anderson while making his sixth career<br />
opening day start and fifth in a row,<br />
retiring the first 10 batters of the game<br />
in order. Franklin Gutierrez hit a two-run<br />
single in the fifth to break a scoreless<br />
tie, and it held up for Hernandez.—AP<br />
MINNEAPOLIS: Justin Morneau No. 33 of the Minnesota Twins slides into second base<br />
with a double as Jhonny Peralta No. 27 of the Detroit Tigers and umpire Jim Wolf No.<br />
28 look on during the fourth inning. —AFP<br />
World Freestyle Football<br />
Champion ‘Tokura’ to judge Red<br />
Bull Wanna Panna in <strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
KUWAIT: The second Red Bull Wanna Panna<br />
football event in <strong>Kuwait</strong> will take place at<br />
the Marina Crescent on Thursday April 4 at<br />
7:00pm. The best 16 participants will play<br />
head to head and the winner will be the<br />
person who scores 3 goals or 1 panna. The<br />
competition will be held in a 6x6 meters<br />
cage with no time limit.<br />
Kotaro Tokuda aka “Tokura”, winner of the<br />
2012 Red Bull Street Style World<br />
Championship will be in <strong>Kuwait</strong> to judge<br />
the final matches and will be performing a<br />
freestyle show. “I’m happy to be in <strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
especially to meet the Panna and Freestyle<br />
players. I will try to help all the 16 finalists<br />
by giving them some tips that might help<br />
them in this competition or in their practice<br />
in the future.” said Tokura.<br />
Panna, Gate in Surinamese, is a type of<br />
street football in which fine dribbling<br />
counts However, Panna is more than just a<br />
Tokura World Champion in 2012<br />
football game; it is a lifestyle, completed<br />
with urban clothing and street slang. The<br />
trick is to impose yourself on your opponents<br />
through the nutmeg skill. Scoring a<br />
Panna is considered as the ultimate embarrassment<br />
to your rival, earning you respect<br />
and making you hero of the street.<br />
Competitors train for days, weeks and<br />
months to master the ultimate trick to<br />
knock their opponents.<br />
Panna is an exciting new variation of<br />
football, it teaches the importance of control<br />
and individual skills. Modern football<br />
relies on speed and skills and mastering<br />
Panna will help you achieve that goal. In<br />
recent years Panna football has taken on a<br />
new meaning; it is part today of a growing<br />
street football scene that includes<br />
freestylers. For any more info, please visit<br />
www.redbullmea.com or follow @redbullkuwait.<br />
SPORTS<br />
UCI blames team errors<br />
for Rasmussen decision<br />
PARIS: Alex Rasmussen’s removal from the Circuit de la Sarthe was<br />
due to administrative errors from the Danish rider’s Garmin-Sharp<br />
team, the International Cycling Union (UCI) said yesterday.<br />
The UCI said Rasmussen was not eligible to race after “documents<br />
he was required to provide to Ernst & Young to allow registration were<br />
not provided in time”.<br />
The governing body did not elaborate. Rasmussen wrote on his<br />
Twitter feed on Tuesday from western France: “Just got taken out of La<br />
Sarthe by the evil and powerful UCI. Lifetime ban in effect by the UCI<br />
apparently.”<br />
Rasmussen’s tweet led to some confusion with the UCI and pundits<br />
alike mentioning a possible mix-up with fellow Dane Michael<br />
Rasmussen, who this year confessed to doping over a 12-year period.<br />
Alex Rasmussen was initially cleared by the Danish Olympic<br />
Committee after he missed two tests and failed to provide his whereabouts<br />
once in an 18-month period, but the UCI appealed against the<br />
decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which imposed<br />
the ban on him. There is no lifetime ban on Alex Rasmussen whose<br />
suspension ended on Monday.—Reuters<br />
WASHINGTON: Bryce Harper<br />
homered in his first two at-bats<br />
and Stephen Strasburg retired 19<br />
batters in a row at one stretch as<br />
the defending NL East champion<br />
Washington Nationals opened<br />
the season with a 2-0 victory<br />
over the Miami Marlins on<br />
Monday.<br />
For Strasburg, this marked the<br />
start of what should be his first<br />
full season in the majors, with<br />
zero pitch or inning limits. The<br />
All-Star ace was dominant<br />
against a trade-depleted Marlins<br />
lineup that features Giancarlo<br />
Stanton and little else. The righthander<br />
went seven innings,<br />
matching his career high, and<br />
allowed three hits.<br />
Reigning NL Rookie of the<br />
Year Harper, a 20-year-old outfielder,<br />
hit solo shots over the<br />
out-of-town scoreboard in rightcenter<br />
field off Ricky Nolasco in<br />
the first and fourth innings. New<br />
closer Rafael Soriano got the<br />
save.<br />
DODGERS 4, GIANTS 0<br />
In Los Angeles, Clayton<br />
Kershaw launched his first career<br />
home run to break a scoreless tie<br />
in the eighth inning, then finished<br />
off a four-hitter that led<br />
the Los Angeles Dodgers past<br />
the San Francisco Giants.<br />
Kershaw became the first pitcher<br />
to throw a shutout and hit a<br />
home run in an opener since Bob<br />
Lemon for Cleveland in 1953,<br />
STATS said.<br />
Kershaw struck out seven,<br />
walked none and retired World<br />
Series MVP Pablo Sandoval on a<br />
grounder to end it. Matt Cain<br />
made his first career opening<br />
day start for the Giants in the<br />
loss. He allowed four hits in six<br />
scoreless innings, struck out<br />
eight and walked one.<br />
METS 11, PADRES 2<br />
In New York, Jonathon Niese<br />
stepped nicely into his new role<br />
as No. 1 starter for the Mets, and<br />
Collin Cowgill capped a successful<br />
New York debut with a grand<br />
slam in a rout of the San Diego<br />
Padres.<br />
Handed the opening day<br />
assignment in place of injured<br />
Johan Santana, Niese enjoyed a<br />
big afternoon with both his arm<br />
and bat. He breezed into the seventh<br />
inning against a Padres<br />
lineup missing slugger Chase<br />
Headley (broken thumb) and<br />
catcher Yasmani Grandal, suspended<br />
for the first 50 games<br />
after testing positive for testosterone.<br />
Marlon Byrd had a pair of RBI<br />
singles and fellow Mets newcomer<br />
John Buck was in the middle<br />
of three rallies as New York<br />
improved baseball’s best opening<br />
day record to 34-18 despite<br />
dropping its first eight openers.<br />
CUBS 3, PIRATES 1<br />
In Pittsburgh, Jeff Samardzija<br />
struck out nine in eight nearly<br />
flawless innings and the Chicago<br />
Cubs held on for a victory over<br />
the Pittsburgh Pirates.<br />
The right-hander allowed just<br />
two hits and walked one as the<br />
Chicago won on opening day for<br />
the first time since 2009.<br />
Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run<br />
homer and Wellington Castillo<br />
added an RBI double for the<br />
Cubs. Kyuji Fujikawa got a save<br />
in his major league debut after<br />
closer Carlos Marmol struggled.<br />
AJ Burnett, making the first<br />
opening day start of his lengthy<br />
career, gave up three runs on six<br />
hits in 5 2-3 innings, striking out<br />
10.<br />
BREWERS 5, ROCKIES 4<br />
In Milwaukee, Jonathan<br />
Lucroy hit a sacrifice fly in the<br />
10th inning to give the<br />
Milwaukee Brewers a victory<br />
over Colorado, ruining the first<br />
game for new Rockies manager<br />
Walt Weiss.<br />
Rickie Weeks sparked the winning<br />
rally when he stole second<br />
after he was hit by a pitch with<br />
one out. Adam Ottavino then<br />
issued an intentional walk to<br />
Ryan Braun and lost Aramis<br />
Ramirez to another walk before<br />
Lucroy ended the game with a<br />
fly ball to center field.<br />
A big “Luuuuuuc” thundered<br />
down from the Miller Park crowd<br />
of 45,781 as Weeks came home<br />
with the winning run and Lucroy<br />
was mobbed by his jubilant<br />
teammates.<br />
Ramirez also had a two-run<br />
double in Milwaukee’s three-run<br />
eighth inning as the Brewers<br />
won on opening day for the first<br />
time since 2008.<br />
BRAVES 7, PHILLIES 5<br />
In Atlanta, Freddie Freeman<br />
drove in three runs with three<br />
hits, including the first of three<br />
Atlanta home runs, and the<br />
Braves beat Cole Hamels and the<br />
Philadelphia Phillies.<br />
Dan Uggla and Justin Upton,<br />
making his Braves debut, also<br />
homered for Atlanta, which led<br />
National League teams with 49<br />
in spring training.<br />
Hamels (0-1) struggled in his<br />
Sun back on track<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
BEIJING: China’s double Olympic gold medallist Sun Yang has mended<br />
fences with his coach and laid down a marker ahead of this year’s World<br />
Championships by winning the 400m freestyle at the National Swimming<br />
Championships, local media reported.<br />
Sun’s relationship with coach Zhu Zhigen had reportedly soured amid<br />
concerns the 21-year-old swimmer’s private life was affecting his training.<br />
He was also suspended from all commercial activities in February for<br />
breaching a “series of team rules” and had one month’s training allowance<br />
withheld.<br />
Sun finished nearly four seconds ahead of his nearest<br />
rival at the meet on Monday and will look to<br />
improve steadily ahead of the July 19-Aug. 4 World<br />
Championship in Barcelona.<br />
“I am just 70 to 80 percent of my best level,” Sun<br />
was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. “My<br />
coach knows me better and I hope I can do better in<br />
the World Championships,” said the Olympic 400m and<br />
1,500m freestyle champion, who returned to normal<br />
training last month.—Reuters<br />
WASHINGTON: Pitcher Stephen Strasburg No. 37 of the Washington Nationals throws to a Miami Marlins batter during the first inning of their<br />
opening day game at Nationals Park.—AFP<br />
Nationals blank Marlins<br />
first opening day start. He gave<br />
up five runs on seven hits,<br />
including the three homers, with<br />
five strikeouts and one walk in<br />
five innings. The three homers<br />
allowed matched his high from<br />
last season.<br />
DIAMONDBACKS 6, CARDINALS 2<br />
In Phoenix, Ian Kennedy<br />
struck out eight in seven strong<br />
innings and the Arizona<br />
Diamondbacks used 15 hits to<br />
beat the St. Louis Cardinals.<br />
Kennedy (1-0) allowed two<br />
runs on five hits with one walk.<br />
St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright (0-1)<br />
went six innings, giving up four<br />
runs, three earned, on 11 hits. He<br />
struck out six with no walks.<br />
Arizona’s Gerardo Parra<br />
matched his career best with<br />
four hits, three of them doubles.<br />
Rookie A.J. Pollock was 3 for 4,<br />
including a two-run double, and<br />
Martin Prado doubled twice with<br />
an RBI and two runs scored for<br />
the Diamondbacks.<br />
Interleague<br />
ANGELS 3, REDS 1, 13 innings<br />
In Cincinnati, Chris Iannetta<br />
hit a solo homer early in the<br />
game and a bases-loaded single<br />
in the 13th inning, powering the<br />
Los Angeles Angels past the<br />
Cincinnati Reds in the majors’<br />
first interleague season opener.<br />
The Angels loaded the bases<br />
with two outs in the 13th off J.J.<br />
Hoover, who walked two and hit<br />
Hank Conger, the Angels’ final<br />
position player. Iannetta worked<br />
the count full, fouled off a pair of<br />
pitches, then singled to left.<br />
Ernesto Frieri, the Angels’ seventh<br />
pitcher, finished off the<br />
Reds’ longest opening game<br />
since 1975, when they beat the<br />
Dodgers 2-1 in 14 innings.—AP<br />
MLB results/standings<br />
Boston 8, NY Yankees 2; Washington 2, Miami 0; NY Mets 11, San Diego 2;<br />
Chicago Cubs 3, Pittsburgh 1; Milwaukee 5, Colorado 4 (10 Innings); Chicago<br />
White Sox 1, Kansas City 0; Detroit 4, Minnesota 2; LA Angels 3, Cincinnati 1 (13<br />
Innings); LA Dodgers 4, San Francisco 0; Atlanta 7, Philadelphia 5; Seattle 2,<br />
Oakland 0; Arizona 6, St. Louis 2.<br />
American League<br />
Eastern Division<br />
W L PCT GB<br />
Boston 1 0 1.000 -<br />
Baltimore 0 0 0 0.5<br />
Tampa Bay 0 0 0 0.5<br />
Toronto 0 0 0 0.5<br />
NY Yankees 0 1 0 1<br />
Central Division<br />
Chicago White Sox 1 0 1.000 -<br />
Detroit 1 0 1.000 -<br />
Cleveland 0 0 0 0.5<br />
Kansas City 0 1 0 1<br />
Minnesota 0 1 0 1<br />
Western Division<br />
Houston 1 0 1.000 -<br />
LA Angels 1 0 1.000 -<br />
Seattle 1 0 1.000 -<br />
Oakland 0 1 0 1<br />
Texas 0 1 0 1<br />
National League<br />
Eastern Division<br />
Atlanta 1 0 1.000 -<br />
NY Mets 1 0 1.000 -<br />
Washington 1 0 1.000 -<br />
Miami 0 1 0 1<br />
Philadelphia 0 1 0 1<br />
Central Division<br />
Chicago Cubs 1 0 1.000 -<br />
Milwaukee 1 0 1.000 -<br />
Cincinnati 0 1 0 1<br />
Pittsburgh 0 1 0 1<br />
St. Louis 0 1 0 1<br />
Western Division<br />
Arizona 1 0 1.000 -<br />
LA Dodgers 1 0 1.000 -<br />
Colorado 0 1 0 1<br />
San Diego 0 1 0 1<br />
San Francisco 0 1 0 1
Michael Clarke<br />
Just what Robert Guerrero was thinking<br />
remains a mystery, at least for now. He’s<br />
not saying and, after the idiotic move<br />
that got him arrested with a gun at a<br />
New York airport, that’s probably a<br />
good thing.<br />
Dumb doesn’t even begin to<br />
describe packing heat for a trip to the<br />
Big Apple to promote his May 4 fight<br />
with Floyd Mayweather Jr. As tough as<br />
the New York media can be at times, it<br />
wasn’t necessary to bring a .40-caliber<br />
Smith & Wesson pistol in case things<br />
got real nasty.<br />
The good news is that the<br />
Mayweather fight is still on, and<br />
Guerrero remains in training. The bad<br />
news is that the threat of possible jail<br />
time hanging over his head may be one<br />
distraction too many in a fight where<br />
Guerrero must be at his very best.<br />
Forgive Mayweather if he’s spent the<br />
last few nights at his Big Boy Mansion in<br />
Las Vegas laughing with his yes men<br />
about the whole thing. He may beat up<br />
or berate women if they give him a<br />
rough time, but so far he seems to be<br />
pretty careful - with good reason -<br />
when it comes to guns.<br />
The Guerrero camp is doing its best<br />
to tone things down, and you have to<br />
believe the fighter really wasn’t aware<br />
of New York’s tough gun laws when he<br />
packed his pistol - legally registered in<br />
his home state of California - in a locked<br />
box and put it in his suitcase for his trip.<br />
That’s not surprising because fighters in<br />
general tend not to be up on local laws<br />
unless they find themselves breaking<br />
one. I mean, the guy told the ticket<br />
agent at the JFK Airport counter that he<br />
had the gun in his suitcase when he<br />
checked in. That by itself may keep him<br />
out of jail in a state so stringent about<br />
gun control that former New York<br />
Giants receiver Plaxico Burress was sentenced<br />
to three years in prison for<br />
shooting himself with his own unregistered<br />
weapon.<br />
At the very least, though, Guerrero<br />
ruined a great story line for the bout.<br />
He was supposed to be the good guy in<br />
this fight, a humble and hard-working<br />
boxer who praises God in every other<br />
sentence, up against a thug who spent<br />
more than two months in jail last summer<br />
for assaulting his ex-girlfriend<br />
while two of their children watched.<br />
Until last Thursday, he played the<br />
role well. I talked to him a few weeks<br />
SPORTS<br />
Being dumb is kind to describe Guerrero’s arrest<br />
Two years on, Clarke still has<br />
the stomach for the fight<br />
SYDNEY: Australian cricketing prospects<br />
have rarely looked bleaker than when<br />
Michael Clarke took over the Test captaincy<br />
after the last Ashes series but only an<br />
out-and-out optimist would declare the<br />
outlook that much brighter two years on.<br />
While his personal stock has risen inexorably<br />
on the back of a torrent of runs,<br />
Clarke’s Australia could hardly be said to<br />
be looking ready, willing and able to contest<br />
back-to-back test series against<br />
England this year.<br />
At the weekend, Clarke celebrated the<br />
second anniversary of his appointment as<br />
Australia’s 43rd test captain with a night<br />
in hospital suffering from gastroenteritis.<br />
If the illness was a lingering reminder<br />
of the recent tour of India, it was not the<br />
only unpleasantness to accompany him<br />
back from the sub-continent.<br />
The 4-0 test drubbing not only once<br />
again exposed the frailties of the<br />
Australian batting but also featured offfield<br />
problems, most notably when four<br />
players were dropped for not performing<br />
a post-match assignment.<br />
Clarke pugnaciously defended the<br />
“homework-gate” exclusions as necessary<br />
to foster the team ethic required to fulfil<br />
the ambition he starkly laid out two years<br />
ago - to become number one ranked<br />
team in all forms of the game.<br />
The Australians flirted with taking the<br />
top test ranking off South Africa in their<br />
home series at the end of last year but<br />
ultimately went down 1-0 to the Proteas.<br />
They are currently ranked fourth.<br />
Clarke will have plenty of time to<br />
reflect on how much progress has been<br />
made over the last two years in the next<br />
seven to 10 weeks as he recovers from<br />
hamstring and lower back injuries that<br />
ruled him out of the final test in India.<br />
What he probably did not anticipate<br />
when he succeeded Ricky Ponting was<br />
defending his team against the accusation<br />
that they were the worst Australian<br />
side to ever take the field.<br />
“All of us understand our performances<br />
over the last four tests were not acceptable,”<br />
he wrote in a column for an<br />
Australian website this week.<br />
“But, that said, we are only a couple of<br />
months removed from advancing to within<br />
one test match of taking the number<br />
one ranking from South Africa.<br />
“That suggests all is not lost and talk of<br />
us being the worst Australian team in history<br />
is a bit harsh. One bad tour doesn’t<br />
define a squad and I’m confident we can<br />
KUWAIT: <strong>Kuwait</strong> Swedish Cricket Club<br />
sponsored by <strong>Kuwait</strong> Swedish Cleaning<br />
Services Company and patronized by Assad<br />
Khan concluded another successful tournament<br />
for the 5th year running.<br />
Mirage CC captained by Rameshbabu<br />
won the prestigious <strong>Kuwait</strong> Swedish Trophy,<br />
beating Lions Cricket Club lead by the diehard<br />
cricketer Sayed Quadri (Lion King) by<br />
11 runs. The tournament played under the<br />
aegis of <strong>Kuwait</strong> Veterans Cricket Committee<br />
(KVCC) which is headed by Mahmoud<br />
Abdullah (Abu Nader) Chairman MG Cricket<br />
take the fight to England.”<br />
Clarke singled out the performances of<br />
batsmen Phil Hughes, Ed Cowan and<br />
Steve Smith as positives to come out of<br />
the tour, along with the workrate of seamers<br />
such as James Pattinson, Peter Siddle<br />
and Mitchell Starc.<br />
Whereas Ponting during his reign as<br />
captain was not on the selection panel<br />
and therefore able to shrug off, or even<br />
share, media incredulity at mismanagement<br />
of players, Clarke has no such luxury.<br />
Along with South African coach Mickey<br />
Arthur, Clarke is part of the four-man panel<br />
and must take his share of responsibility.<br />
Leaving aside “homework-gate”, the<br />
most baffling decision in India was to<br />
drop spinner Nathan Lyon from the<br />
Hyderabad test, which Australia lost by an<br />
innings and 135 runs.<br />
Although Lyon is not, and would never<br />
claim to be, another Shane Warne, he has<br />
been a solid test bowler and returned to<br />
take nine wickets in the final match in<br />
Delhi - a “good reward for effort” according<br />
to Clarke.<br />
Still, if the India tour was the nadir for<br />
the Clarke-led Australia team, there have<br />
been plenty of highlights too. Clarke, who<br />
turned 32 on Tuesday, has led the team to<br />
12 wins, six defeats and five draws in 23<br />
tests.<br />
There have been series sweeps of India<br />
(4-0) and Sri Lanka (3-0) at home, series<br />
wins in West Indies and Sri Lanka as well<br />
as a 1-1 draw in an extraordinary series in<br />
South Africa.<br />
There has also been his own remarkable<br />
form since he took the job, 2,533 test<br />
runs at an average of 68.45 with one triple<br />
century, three double centuries and five<br />
other hundreds. Clarke repeatedly, and<br />
apparently genuinely, trots out the line<br />
that he would trade all his runs for victories<br />
for his team.<br />
And, as Ponting discovered to his cost<br />
after three Ashes defeats, Australian captains<br />
will only ultimately be defined by<br />
how they fare against England.<br />
“Everyone in Australian cricket knows<br />
how much the Ashes means to the country<br />
and we will do everything within our<br />
power to turn the ship around after our<br />
disappointing tour of India,” he wrote in<br />
his column. “The players know how big<br />
the next 12 months are and it is still our<br />
aim to win back the urn and make<br />
Australia proud.”—Reuters<br />
Club included ten of the top veteran teams<br />
in <strong>Kuwait</strong>.<br />
Winning the toss and electing to bat<br />
Mirage CC got off to a flying start openers<br />
Fahim and Chauhan hitting a quick fire 50 in<br />
5 overs with Fahim plundering 18 runs in<br />
the 4th over hitting a massive six and 2<br />
fours. Khalid gave Lions their first breakthrough<br />
removing Chauhan caught trying<br />
to hook him. Lion’s spinner Vijay struck<br />
twice in the seventh over removing Fahim<br />
with a full toss and the experienced<br />
Chinmaya off successive deliveries slowing<br />
earlier and he was full of confidence<br />
that he could handle a big fight and<br />
everything that surrounds it.<br />
“I’ve been preparing for this<br />
throughout my career,” the WBC welterweight<br />
champ said. “I know the media<br />
is going to be crazy - everything is<br />
going to be crazy. But I’m ready for this.”<br />
Turns out he wasn’t quite as ready as<br />
he thought. He didn’t have enough<br />
sense to leave his gun - unloaded,<br />
along with the three magazines he had<br />
in his bag - home, and he didn’t have<br />
enough sense not to bring a gun registered<br />
in California to a state where gun<br />
control laws are among the toughest in<br />
the U.S.<br />
“I hope that Mr. Guerrero fights better<br />
than he thinks,” Queens District<br />
Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.<br />
“For anyone who hasn’t gotten<br />
the message, let me be crystal clear.<br />
You cannot bring an unlicensed<br />
weapon - loaded or unloaded - into this<br />
county or this city. And if you do, you<br />
will be arrested and face felony<br />
charges.”<br />
Unfortunately for Guerrero, the<br />
questions he gets over the next five<br />
weeks will not just be about how he<br />
CHICAGO: Defenseman Michal Rozsival scored<br />
in the fifth round of shootout after Jonathan<br />
Toews also connected in the tiebreaker, and the<br />
Chicago Blackhawks pulled out a 3-2 win over<br />
the Nashville Predators on Monday night.<br />
Rozsival, who hasn’t scored a regulation goal<br />
this season, beat Pekka Rinne with a high shot in<br />
his first attempt in a shootout this season.<br />
Patrick Kane scored his team-leading 19th<br />
goal and rookie Brandon Saad scored in regulation<br />
to help the Blackhawks win their second<br />
straight. The Predators were outshot 27-11<br />
through the first two periods, but stormed back<br />
in the third to erase a 2-0 deficit on goals by<br />
Dave Legwand and rookie Taylor Beck and force<br />
overtime. Craig Smith scored in the second<br />
round of the shootout for Nashville, but the<br />
Predators dropped their third straight (0-1-2).<br />
Corey Crawford made 25 saves for Chicago,<br />
while Rinne stopped 38 shots for Nashville.<br />
DUCKS 4, STARS 0<br />
In Dallas, Viktor Fasth made 26 saves for his<br />
third shutout of the season, and Bobby Ryan had<br />
a goal and an assist to lead Anaheim over reeling<br />
Dallas. Corey Perry and Matt Beleskey also<br />
scored and Ryan Getzlaf added two assists for<br />
the Ducks, who completed a four-game road trip<br />
(2-1-1). Teemu Selanne had an empty-netter in<br />
the last minute.<br />
Despite having to travel, it was the Pacific<br />
Division-leading Ducks that displayed more<br />
energy and passion. Kari Lehtonen, making his<br />
15th straight start, came up with 26 saves for<br />
Dallas, which is 1-3-0 in its last four outings -<br />
allowing 16 goals in the process.<br />
CANADIENS 4, HURRICANES 1<br />
In Montreal, Carey Price made 18 saves in his<br />
300th NHL game to lead Montreal over Carolina.<br />
Max Pacioretty scored twice, while Andrei<br />
Markov and Jeff Halpern also scored for<br />
Montreal, which swept the season series and<br />
remains unbeaten in 10 games against the<br />
Southeast Division this season.<br />
Jordan Staal scored and Justin Peters stopped<br />
25 shots for the Hurricanes, who have only one<br />
victory in their past nine games. The win gives<br />
Montreal a three-point lead over the idle Boston<br />
Bruins in the race for the Northeast Division title.<br />
Montreal’s Colby Armstrong had to be helped off<br />
the ice after a hard collision in the third.<br />
SHARKS 3, CANUCKS 2<br />
In San Jose, Joe Thornton had a goal and an<br />
assist during a second-period scoring flurry and<br />
San Jose beat Vancouver for its fifth straight victory.<br />
Andrew Desjardins and Logan Couture also<br />
scored for San Jose, which broke a scoreless tie<br />
with three goals in a span of 2:13 against<br />
Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider.<br />
Chris Higgins and Alexandre Burrows scored<br />
to pull Vancouver within one, but the Sharks prevailed<br />
and extended their longest win streak<br />
since taking seven straight to open the season.<br />
San Jose remains in the No. 6 playoff position<br />
in the Western Conference but trails Los Angeles<br />
by just one point for the fifth spot. The Canucks<br />
sit at No. 4 in the West.<br />
RANGERS 4, JETS 2<br />
In New York, Derek Stepan scored twice,<br />
including the go-ahead goal in the third period,<br />
to lead New York over Winnipeg.<br />
Ryan Callahan had a goal and three assists as<br />
the Rangers snapped a two-game losing streak,<br />
picking up two vital points in their fight to hold<br />
onto a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.<br />
New York started the night clinging to eighth<br />
place. Rick Nash also scored for New York and<br />
Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves. The Southeast<br />
Division-leading Jets got goals from Nik<br />
Antropov and Zach Bogosian in their third<br />
straight loss. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 31 shots<br />
for Winnipeg.<br />
fought for years to get his big break<br />
and now plans to capitalize on it.<br />
Writers will want to know what kind of<br />
guy packs a gun for business trips as<br />
much as they will want to know his<br />
plan for Mayweather. That’s too bad,<br />
because up until last week there wasn’t<br />
a lot not to like about Guerrero. This is a<br />
guy who a few years back gave up a<br />
title because his wife was sick with<br />
leukemia and he wanted to be at her<br />
bedside trying to nurse her back to<br />
health rather than train for a fight.<br />
It cost Guerrero more than a year of<br />
his career, but his wife, Casey, beat her<br />
disease and is now healthy. He would<br />
become a national spokesman for the<br />
bone-marrow match organization “Be<br />
the Match.” “People ask how are you<br />
going to deal with the media this and<br />
media that under the microscope,”<br />
Guerrero told me a few weeks ago.<br />
“Nothing compares to the pressure of<br />
what my wife went through and standing<br />
by her side. Nothing compares to<br />
stressing and not knowing what’s going<br />
on and watching her go through<br />
chemo, radiation and bone marrow<br />
transplant surgeries.”<br />
Maybe not, but facing a possible<br />
BLUES 4, WILD 1<br />
In St. Paul, Jaden Schwartz and Andy<br />
McDonald each had a goal and an assist, Brian<br />
Elliott stepped in and made 19 saves, and St.<br />
Louis snapped a three-game losing streak with a<br />
win over Minnesota. Kevin Shattenkirk and<br />
Barret Jackman also had goals for St. Louis.<br />
Dany Heatley scored for the Wild, whose<br />
home winning streak ended at four games.<br />
Minnesota lost for just the sixth time in its last 21<br />
games overall. St. Louis began the day out of the<br />
playoffs and staring at a stretch with six of its<br />
next seven games coming on the road.<br />
RED WINGS 3, AVALANCHE 2<br />
In Detroit, Damien Brunner ended his 15game<br />
scoring drought and Jimmy Howard made<br />
a late save to help Detroit hold off Colorado.<br />
Justin Abdelkader scored late in the first period,<br />
Danny Cleary put Detroit ahead by two at<br />
6:28 of the second and Brunner had a one-timer<br />
a few minutes later. Colorado avoided a shutout<br />
with a power-play goal at 14:08 of the third period<br />
when Jamie McGinn’s backhander from<br />
between the circles sailed over a sprawling<br />
Howard. Matt Duchene made it 3-2 with 1:18<br />
left, but Howard’s glove save on PA Parenteau<br />
with 7 seconds left prevented overtime. Howard<br />
finished with 22 saves for Detroit, which had lost<br />
two straight.<br />
OILERS 4, FLAMES 1<br />
In Edmonton, Justin Schultz had a goal and<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
four years in prison on a felony gun<br />
charge with the biggest fight of his<br />
career coming up has to come close.<br />
The pressure of a big fight is immense<br />
to begin with - especially if it is your<br />
first - and now Guerrero must enter the<br />
ring knowing he has a court date in<br />
New York just 10 days later.<br />
He was already a big underdog<br />
against Mayweather, but at least<br />
Guerrero was someone you could cheer<br />
for. Promoters counted on that to help<br />
sell the part of the pay-per-view that<br />
Mayweather and his bad boy persona<br />
can’t deliver.<br />
Guerrero’s story is still pretty good,<br />
but now you have to wonder: Is he the<br />
compassionate and religious man who<br />
spent all those nights at the hospital, or<br />
is he some kind of loose cannon who<br />
can’t rest comfortably at night without<br />
his pistol by his side?<br />
My guess is he’s the first, a good<br />
man who made a bad mistake. I still<br />
believe in Guerrero’s upside, but how<br />
he handles this in the next few weeks<br />
will likely tell the story. No, dumb<br />
doesn’t come close to describing what<br />
Guerrero did. But it’s a pretty good<br />
place to start.—AP<br />
Blackhawks soar over Predators<br />
down Mirages run rate and making them<br />
lose their momentum. Chandrakant (23),<br />
Ravi (20), Hamid (16) and Ganesh (21)<br />
played sensibly to ensure that Mirage CC<br />
reached a fighting total of 154 in their allotted<br />
20 overs. For Lions, Faisal 3 for 20 in 4<br />
overs was the most successful bowler.<br />
In response, Lion’s openers Wahid and<br />
Nadeem started briskly giving them a<br />
steady start reaching 47 without loss in 6<br />
overs. Mirage bowlers Sasi and Fahim bowling<br />
tightly did not give them a chance to<br />
score freely and take advantage of the field<br />
EDMONTON: Mike Cammalleri No. 13 of the Calgary Flames and Lennart Petrell No. 37 of the<br />
Edmonton Oilers battle for position in front of Devan Dubnyk No. 40 of the Edmonton Oilers. —AFP<br />
Eastern Conference<br />
Atlantic Division<br />
W L OTL GF GA PTS<br />
Pittsburgh 28 8 0 123 84 56<br />
New Jersey 15 12 9 89 100 39<br />
NY Rangers 17 15 3 82 86 37<br />
NY Islanders 17 16 3 103 113 37<br />
Philadelphia 15 17 3 95 108 33<br />
Northeast Division<br />
Montreal 23 7 5 111 84 51<br />
Boston 22 8 4 97 75 48<br />
Ottawa 19 10 6 89 76 44<br />
Toronto 20 12 4 112 100 44<br />
Buffalo 13 17 6 94 113 32<br />
Southeast Division<br />
Winnipeg 18 17 2 91 110 38<br />
Carolina 16 16 2 93 101 34<br />
Washington 16 17 2 102 101 34<br />
Tampa Bay 15 18 1 110 103 31<br />
Florida 11 19 6 88 125 28<br />
NHL results/standings<br />
two assists and Edmonton continued its drive for<br />
a playoff spot, beating Calgary for its fourth win<br />
in a row.<br />
Taylor Hall, Ryan Jones and Nail Yakupov also<br />
scored for the Oilers, who have gone 7-2-2 in<br />
their past 11 games. With the win, the Oilers<br />
kept pace in the tight Western Conference playoff<br />
race, sitting in a tie with Columbus, one point<br />
back of eighth-place St. Louis. Brian McGratton<br />
scored for the Flames, who said goodbye to Jay<br />
Bouwmeester after the defenseman was traded<br />
to the Blues shortly before the game. The Flames<br />
have lost two in a row and six of their past eight.<br />
ISLANDERS 3, DEVILS 1<br />
In Newark, Frans Nielsen set up two early<br />
goals, Evgeni Nabokov made 24 saves and New<br />
York continued its playoff push with a victory<br />
over New Jersey.<br />
Josh Bailey and Travis Hamonic were the beneficiaries<br />
of Nielsen’s passes, and John Tavares<br />
added his 22nd goal of the season as the<br />
Islanders won for the fourth time in five games.<br />
New York’s only loss was a 2-0 setback to the<br />
Pittsburgh Penguins, the winners of 15 straight<br />
games.<br />
Alexei Ponikarovsky scored for the Devils,<br />
who are 0-1-3 since forward Ilya Kovalchuk was<br />
sidelined with a shoulder injury more than a<br />
week ago. Martin Brodeur finished with 18<br />
saves. Matt Martin had a knockout of Devils forward<br />
Tom Kostopoulos midway through the<br />
first period.—AP<br />
NY Islanders 3, New Jersey 1; NY Rangers 4, Winnipeg 2; Montreal 4, Carolina 1; Detroit 3, Colorado 2; St.<br />
Louis 4, Minnesota 1; Chicago 3, Nashville 2 (SO); Anaheim 4, Dallas 0; Edmonton 4, Calgary 1; San Jose 3,<br />
Vancouver 2.<br />
restrictions in the first six overs. A brilliant<br />
piece of fielding by Jai with a direct hit from<br />
boundary caught Wahid short of the crease<br />
and gave Mirage their first break through.<br />
Mirage’s bowlers Chinmaya, and Hamid<br />
contained the Lions batsmen and drying up<br />
the boundaries. Mirage’s captain Ramesh<br />
took a gamble by holding back their slow<br />
bowlers and finishing the quota of their fast<br />
bowlers before the slog overs which paid off<br />
as the asking rate kept creeping up steadily.<br />
With the introduction of Azeez in the 16th<br />
over, Lion’s batsmen trying to keep up with<br />
Western Conference<br />
Central Division<br />
Chicago 27 5 3 119 76 57<br />
Detroit 18 13 5 94 94 41<br />
St. Louis 18 14 2 98 94 38<br />
Columbus 15 14 7 87 97 37<br />
Nashville 14 14 8 89 99 36<br />
Northwest Division<br />
Minnesota 21 12 2 98 90 44<br />
Vancouver 19 11 6 94 93 44<br />
Edmonton 15 13 7 91 96 37<br />
Calgary 13 17 4 94 118 30<br />
Colorado 12 19 4 86 111 28<br />
Pacific Division<br />
Anaheim 24 7 5 111 90 53<br />
Los Angeles 20 12 3 103 88 43<br />
San Jose 18 11 6 88 86 42<br />
Dallas 16 16 3 94 107 35<br />
Phoenix 14 15 6 94 101 34<br />
Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the<br />
standings and are not included in the loss column (L)<br />
Mirage Cricket Club beat Lions to clinch <strong>Kuwait</strong> Swedish Cup<br />
the required run rate started to slog out and<br />
kept losing their wickets.<br />
Azeez returned with match figures of 4<br />
for 18 in his 3 overs. Needing 16 runs in the<br />
final over Lions only managed to get 5 thus<br />
losing the match by 11 runs.<br />
The tournament concluded with a presentation<br />
ceremony where Chief Guest Asad<br />
Khan and the Guest of Honor Mahmoud<br />
Abdulla gave away the trophies and honored<br />
each player with individual gifts, Fahim<br />
of Mirage CC was adjudged the Man of the<br />
match for his all round performance.
Daryl Impey<br />
NEW YORK: The photograph of Kevin<br />
Ware in a hospital bed with the NCAA<br />
regional championship trophy propped<br />
up alongside like a giant get-well card<br />
makes it all easier to take.<br />
But hours earlier, in those first few<br />
heartbeats after his leg snapped<br />
grotesquely in a corner of the frame as<br />
CBS televised Sunday’s Midwest regional<br />
final between his Louisville team and<br />
Duke, no one dared look. Even CBS<br />
couldn’t.<br />
Its cameras lingered first on Duke’s<br />
Tyler Thornton, who had just made the 3point<br />
shot on the same play - freezing<br />
momentarily, covering his eyes with his<br />
hand, and then looking back to be sure<br />
what he had seen only from the edge of<br />
his peripheral vision actually happened.<br />
Then Thornton grimaced, covered his<br />
heart with both hands, and as the camera<br />
shot widened to take in the expressions<br />
of shock and anguish among Ware’s<br />
teammates on the Louisville bench and<br />
in the stands, there was no longer any<br />
doubt. “I got sick to my stomach, and I’m<br />
kind of the resident authority on broken<br />
legs,” said former NFL quarterback Joe<br />
Theismann, who suffered a similar compound<br />
fracture on a Monday Night<br />
Football game in 1985. “A lot came rushing<br />
back. I still remember what every-<br />
thing looked like when it happened, still<br />
feel the moisture on my back lying on the<br />
grass, the large second hand on the<br />
scoreboard sweeping. Everything.”<br />
Theismann sent Ware a text almost<br />
immediately and followed up in a brief<br />
phone conversation Monday. “I just<br />
offered any help I could, maybe with the<br />
psychological and emotional aspects of<br />
the rehab down the road. It’s not something<br />
you’d put on a resume, but I believe<br />
being able to talk to somebody who’s<br />
been through that might help.<br />
“And Kevin sounded good. He’s in a<br />
good place. He’s going to get the best<br />
medical attention, and I’m sure, he’s<br />
already got way more attention than he<br />
needs. ... Remember, the Internet barely<br />
existed in 1985. Back then, you got hurt,<br />
you went to the hospital, started to rehab<br />
and tried to come back. Not many people<br />
paid much attention. This went worldwide<br />
in a matter of seconds,” Theismann<br />
said. The injury to Ware’s right leg caused<br />
the tibia to poke out from his shin - and<br />
like Theismann’s. As curiosity and dread<br />
competed for attention in the minds of<br />
viewers, CBS gave its producers roughly<br />
40 seconds to watch the replays, decide<br />
whether to show the play again, and if so,<br />
in how much detail.<br />
They settled on one replay from the<br />
SPORTS<br />
Trophy meant more than any get-well card<br />
Impey sprints to stage win<br />
VITORIA: South Africa’s Daryl Impey yesterday<br />
won the second stage of the Tour<br />
of the Basque Country but Italy’s<br />
Francesco Gavazzi, whom he beat in the<br />
sprint for the line, took the leader’s green<br />
jersey. Spain’s Angel Vicioso, who finished<br />
third on Monday, filled the same position<br />
again on the 170.2km stage from Elgoibar<br />
to Vitoria.<br />
The 28-year-old Impey was following<br />
up his second stage win in the race last<br />
year. Helped by his teammates he held on<br />
strongly to prevail in the dash for the finish.<br />
Gavazzi replaced Australian Simon<br />
Gerrans at the top of the overall standings.<br />
The stage was marked by a solo breakaway<br />
by Amets Txurraka with the peloton<br />
swooping six kilometres from the line.<br />
Today’s third stage takes the riders<br />
164.7km from Vitoria to Trapagaran.—AFP<br />
Tennis trend: Players 30<br />
and older enjoy success<br />
KEY BISCAYNE: Andy Murray watches all<br />
of the recent success by players in their<br />
30s and likes what he sees. Men 30 and<br />
older made a big splash at the Sony<br />
Open last week, including semifinalist<br />
Tommy Haas, at 34 the oldest player in<br />
the ATP Tour’s top 50, and runner-up<br />
David Ferrer, who lost a thrilling final to<br />
Murray. Serena Williams, 31, became the<br />
oldest women’s champion.<br />
It’s a trend that might continue into<br />
the clay-court season that began on<br />
Monday, and beyond. “It has been quite<br />
interesting,” said Murray, 25. “Guys are<br />
reaching their peak later in their careers.<br />
The average age at the top 100 has<br />
increased by a few years since I first came<br />
on the tour.”<br />
The Sony Open had 22 thirtysomething<br />
men in the draw, compared with<br />
12 a decade ago. Twenty years ago, there<br />
were only four men 30 or older.<br />
Ferrer, who turns 31 on Tuesday, and<br />
31-year-old Jurgen Melzer staged the<br />
first all-thirtysomething men’s quarterfinal<br />
at Key Biscayne since 2003. Add Haas,<br />
and for only the third time since 1990,<br />
three men 30 or older reached the quarterfinals<br />
of a Masters event.<br />
“I think about it - Haas at 34,” Sam<br />
Querrey said. “Hey, I’m 25. I really hope<br />
that I can go for nine good more years. It<br />
gives me more motivation and more<br />
hope that I can have a nice, long career<br />
like those guys.” Bjorn Borg retired at 25.<br />
Boris Becker was done playing full-time<br />
at 28. Patrick Rafter quit at 28, and Marat<br />
Safin and Gustavo Kuerten walked away<br />
at 29. Andy Roddick retired last year<br />
shortly after turning 30.<br />
But the style of play has changed,<br />
with trips to the net much more infrequent<br />
than in the past. Top players can<br />
win by hugging the baseline.<br />
“A lot of the guys that used to play<br />
serve and volley had a lot of problems<br />
with their backs and their knees and<br />
hips, and finished when they were 28 or<br />
29 years old,” Murray said. “And now guys<br />
are probably training better. There are<br />
better training methods, and people<br />
probably understand how to recover<br />
from matches better and are learning<br />
new things all the time about how the<br />
body works.”<br />
Many former No. 1 women retired<br />
before 30 as well, including Monica Seles,<br />
Justine Henin, Martina Hingis, Kim<br />
Clijsters and Jennifer Capriati.<br />
The No. 1-ranked Williams joked last<br />
week about buying a Rolls-Royce in<br />
response to a mid-life crisis when she<br />
turned 30. But she might be more dominant<br />
than ever, and her conditioning<br />
seems at a peak for the challenges of<br />
clay. Two other thirtysomethings are<br />
ranked in the women’s top 15 - Li Na and<br />
Roberta Vinci, a late-bloomer ranked a<br />
career-high No. 13 at age 30.<br />
As tennis takes on a more mature<br />
look, teen sensations are becoming less<br />
common. On the men’s side, Becker was<br />
a two-time Wimbledon champion before<br />
he turned 20. Mats Wilander won his first<br />
major title at 17, Borg at 18, Pete<br />
Sampras at 19.<br />
But the most recent teenage men’s<br />
Grand Slam champion was a 19-year-old<br />
Rafael Nadal at the 2005 French Open.<br />
Again, Querrey sees changes in the style<br />
of play as a factor.<br />
“Compared to 20 years ago, I think<br />
guys can hit the ball bigger now,” he said.<br />
“A man can just overpower and blow<br />
away an 18-year-old boy. I think 20 years<br />
ago with the rackets and the way people<br />
played, guys couldn’t just blow through<br />
an 18- or 19-year-old. Guys weren’t big<br />
power guys. You couldn’t hit the ball<br />
through players as much, so it allowed<br />
some of the younger players to feel their<br />
way into the game.<br />
“Nowadays I feel that’s tougher to do.<br />
There is a bigger difference between the<br />
way a bigger, stronger man plays compared<br />
to an 18- or 19-year-old.”<br />
Haas, who turns 35 today, is a muscular<br />
6-foot-2 and 190 pounds (1.88 meters<br />
and 86 kilograms). And he’s No. 14 this<br />
week, the highest he has been ranked in<br />
five years.<br />
The German said he and other thirty<br />
somethings on the tour know how to<br />
take care of their bodies and are properly<br />
conditioned.<br />
“I think what it comes down to is the<br />
older you get, you would assume you get<br />
wiser,” he said. “Now with nutrition and<br />
everything you can do, the right training,<br />
the trainers that you have, it just helps<br />
you mentally. “You just know what works<br />
for you best. You might do a lot of lifting;<br />
you might do a lot of cardiovascular<br />
workout. You try to figure out what helps<br />
you the best if you want to keep on riding<br />
it for as long as you can.”—AP<br />
other end of the court, a second from the<br />
original angle, and no more. Sean<br />
McManus, the head of CBS Sports, said,<br />
“We did not try to highlight it. I think we<br />
did the right thing.”<br />
Agreed. But that didn’t stop the photos,<br />
videos and exchanges on social<br />
media from exploding instantaneously.<br />
A day later, after Louisville coach Rick<br />
Pitino visited the recuperating Ware and<br />
reported that he left the trophy behind<br />
with this instruction - “‘Just make sure<br />
you don’t lose it’” - the story still simmers.<br />
The initial reaction, explained<br />
Syracuse professor of popular culture<br />
Robert Thompson, is simply a sign of the<br />
times. On the other hand, the continuing<br />
interest in the story shows how little<br />
human nature has changed. “Neither of<br />
those mean we’re terrible people. I think<br />
it speaks more to this need we feel now<br />
to bear witness. Look at the technology<br />
that’s in place. Couple it with the image<br />
of a human body doing something that<br />
seems so alien in that instant - something<br />
that’s both disturbing AND striking<br />
- and there’s this almost creepy desire to<br />
watch it over and over again,” he said.<br />
“And you know, we’ve seen car crashes<br />
in NASCAR races and terrible collisions<br />
in the NFL, and in a sense, that’s become<br />
part of the narrative. That’s not the case<br />
MEMPHIS: Mike Conley drove for a<br />
layup with 0.6 seconds left as the<br />
Memphis Grizzlies rallied to beat<br />
the San Antonio Spurs 92-90<br />
Monday for their third straight victory.<br />
The Grizzlies matched their<br />
franchise record with their 50th<br />
win this season, and they won their<br />
12th straight at home. They pulled<br />
out a win in a game where Conley’s<br />
bucket gave them their first lead<br />
since 18-16 late in the first quarter.<br />
Conley scored the final five<br />
points and finished with 23. Jerryd<br />
Bayless had 17 points, Marc Gasol<br />
16, Zach Randolph 11 points and<br />
10 rebounds, and Tayshaun Prince<br />
had 11 points. Tony Parker had 25<br />
points for the Spurs. Parker tried to<br />
beat the buzzer with a jumper that<br />
was too late.<br />
PACERS 109, CLIPPERS 106<br />
In Los Angeles, Roy Hibbert had<br />
26 points and 10 rebounds before<br />
fouling out, Paul George added 23<br />
points and 10 assists, and Indiana<br />
barely completed a sweep of its<br />
four-game road trip by beating Los<br />
Angeles in a battle of division leaders.<br />
Hibbert made all eight of his<br />
shots in the first half and finished<br />
11 for 14 from the field to help his<br />
team extend its winning streak to<br />
five and increase its Central<br />
Division lead to 6 1/2 games over<br />
idle Chicago.<br />
All five Pacers starters scored in<br />
double figures, with David West<br />
getting 16 and backcourt mates<br />
Lance Stephenson and George Hill<br />
chipping in with 13 apiece.<br />
Jamal Crawford scored 25<br />
points off the bench for the Pacific<br />
Division-leading Clippers, whose<br />
magic number to clinch the first<br />
division title in the franchise’s 43year<br />
history remained at two. They<br />
failed on their third attempt at<br />
their 50th victory, which would<br />
break the franchise record set by<br />
the 1974-75 Buffalo Braves. Blake<br />
Griffin had 17 points.<br />
JAZZ 112, TRAIL BLAZERS 102<br />
In Salt Lake City, Al Jefferson<br />
scored 24 points, Mo Williams hit<br />
six 3-pointers and Utah beat<br />
Portland to extend its winning<br />
streak to a season-best five games.<br />
The win was Utah’s second in<br />
four days over the Blazers (33-41),<br />
losers of five straight. Wesley<br />
Matthews scored 23 for Portland,<br />
still without leading scorer<br />
LaMarcus Aldridge because of a<br />
sprained ankle. Rookie standout<br />
Damian Lillard added 17 points,<br />
including three 3-pointers to break<br />
the NBA’s single-season rookie<br />
record (166) for 3s.<br />
Utah moved a half-game ahead<br />
of the idle Los Angeles Lakers for<br />
the eighth Western Conference<br />
playoff spot, and two games ahead<br />
of Dallas.<br />
ROCKETS 111, MAGIC 103<br />
In Houston, Omer Asik matched<br />
with basketball, which is a big part of<br />
what made it so jarring,” Thompson<br />
added. “Just look at his teammates’ reaction<br />
in the moment after. But then you<br />
know they rallied and won the game for<br />
him. That’s what’s shoring this whole<br />
thing up - this continuing fascination -<br />
especially since, so far, it looks like a happy<br />
ending is within reach.”<br />
And with luck, Ware’s story will play<br />
out that way. Pitino reported the surgery<br />
was successful and that, barring an infection,<br />
Ware will be back in Louisville in<br />
time for the charter flight to the Final<br />
Four in Atlanta, which happens to be<br />
Ware’s hometown.<br />
“Kevin had a good night. He’s not in a<br />
whole lot of pain,” Pitino said during a<br />
conference all Monday. “I know right<br />
before the surgery, when he was able to<br />
watch the players at the press conference,<br />
the nurses and doctors told me<br />
that was the first time he broke down<br />
and cried, when the players were talking<br />
about him.”<br />
Those of us old enough to witness<br />
Theismann’s injury remember that it wasn’t<br />
until Giants linebacker Lawrence<br />
Taylor panicked that anyone - ABC’s production<br />
and broadcast crews included -<br />
had any idea how bad the Redskins’ quarterback<br />
had been hurt. ABC quickly put<br />
his career high with 22 points and<br />
grabbed 18 rebounds, and<br />
Houston beat Orlando without<br />
James Harden and Chandler<br />
Parsons.<br />
Jeremy Lin had 19 points and 11<br />
assists, and Francisco Garcia had 14<br />
points, five assists and three blocks<br />
for the Rockets, who hardly missed<br />
their top two scorers until Orlando<br />
made a late run. Harden sat out for<br />
the second straight game with a<br />
sore right foot and Parsons missed<br />
the game with an illness. Rookie<br />
Maurice Harkless scored a careerhigh<br />
28 points and Beno Udrih had<br />
17 points and 10 assists for the<br />
Magic.<br />
The Rockets won for the eighth<br />
time in 10 home games and inched<br />
closer to their first playoff berth<br />
since the 2008-09 season. Houston<br />
holds the No. 7 seed in the Western<br />
Conference.<br />
TIMBERWOLVES 110, CELTICS 100<br />
In Minneapolis, Nikola Pekovic<br />
bruised and battered the overmatched<br />
Boston front line for 29<br />
points to lead Minnesota.<br />
Andrei Kirilenko had 17 points,<br />
nine rebounds and five assists, and<br />
Dante Cunningham scored 19<br />
points off the bench for the<br />
Wolves, who delivered coach Rick<br />
Adelman his 998th career victory.<br />
Avery Bradley scored 19 points<br />
for Boston, which was playing<br />
without Paul Pierce and Kevin<br />
Garnett. The Celtics, who started<br />
the day 21/2 games ahead of<br />
eight-seeded Milwaukee in the<br />
Eastern Conference playoff race,<br />
have lost seven of their last nine<br />
games. This one snapped an 11game<br />
winning streak against the<br />
Wolves, who beat Boston for the<br />
first time since Garnett was traded<br />
there in 2007.<br />
BUCKS 131, BOBCATS 102<br />
In Milwaukee, Larry Sanders<br />
had a career-high 24 points and 13<br />
rebounds in Milwaukee’s highestscoring<br />
total in more than four<br />
years.<br />
Monta Ellis had 19 points, a<br />
career-high 14 assists and six<br />
steals to help Milwaukee pull 1 1/2<br />
games behind seventh-place<br />
Boston in the Eastern Conference<br />
playoff race. Ersan Ilyasova added<br />
22 points for the Bucks, J.J. Redick<br />
scored 20, and Brandon Jennings<br />
19. Milwaukee, which had lost five<br />
of six, remained solidly in the<br />
eighth position in the East, with a<br />
six-game lead over idle<br />
Philadelphia. Kemba Walker scored<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
up replays, seemingly more impressed by<br />
its ability to show a reverse-angle of the<br />
hit than by the damage it caused.<br />
It wasn’t until it came back from a<br />
commercial break and was about to<br />
show the replay a third time, that the network<br />
warned viewers of the graphic<br />
nature of the video. The way the various<br />
depictions of Ware’s injury quickly<br />
bounced around the globe may have left<br />
some wishing that even that simple<br />
warning was attached beforehand.<br />
“We’ve become an ‘I-want-to-know-itnow’<br />
culture,” Theismann said. “But for all<br />
the attention at the moment, it’s his emotions<br />
that Kevin will have to deal with at<br />
some point, and mostly on his own.<br />
That’s where his teammates will come in.<br />
There will be plenty people offering help,<br />
but if you’ve ever competed at any level,<br />
you know you wind up playing and trying<br />
to win for somebody.<br />
“His teammates showed that by the<br />
way they finished the Duke game. It’s the<br />
guys you laugh and sweat and bleed and<br />
cry alongside that will give him the<br />
encouragement to fight back. Just before<br />
I got off the phone, I told him, ‘A year<br />
from now, you’ll be the comeback player<br />
of the year,’ and he said, ‘ I’m going to<br />
work for it. ‘ I told him I’d be watching.”<br />
He won’t be the only one.—AP<br />
Grizzlies and Pacers advance<br />
LOS ANGELES: (Left to right) Matt Barnes No. 22 of the Los Angeles Clippers, Lamar Odom No. 7 of the<br />
Clippers, Tyler Hansbrough No. 50 of the Indiana Pacers and Ryan Hollins No. 15 of the Clippers battle for<br />
a loose ball in the second half at Staples Center. —AFP<br />
Eastern Conference<br />
Atlantic Division<br />
W L PCT GB<br />
NY Knicks 46 26 .639 -<br />
Brooklyn 42 31 .575 4.5<br />
Boston 38 36 .514 9<br />
Philadelphia 30 43 .411 16.5<br />
Toronto 27 47 .365 20<br />
Central Division<br />
Indiana 48 27 .640 -<br />
Chicago 40 32 .556 6.5<br />
Milwaukee 36 37 .493 11<br />
Detroit 25 50 .333 23<br />
Cleveland 22 51 .301 25<br />
Southeast Division<br />
Miami 58 15 .795 -<br />
Atlanta 42 33 .560 17<br />
Washington 27 46 .370 31<br />
Orlando 19 56 .253 40<br />
Charlotte 17 57 .230 41.5<br />
SALT LAKE CITY: Utah Jazz’s Derrick Favors (15) goes to the basket as<br />
Portland Trail Blazers’ Meyers Leonard (11) defends in the fourth<br />
quarter during an NBA basketball game.—AP<br />
NBA results/standings<br />
Detroit 108, Toronto 98; Atlanta 102, Cleveland 94; Milwaukee 131, Charlotte 102; Memphis 92, San Antonio 90; Houston<br />
111, Orlando 103; Minnesota 110, Boston 100; Utah 112, Portland 102; Indiana 109, LA Clippers 106.<br />
Western Conference<br />
Northwest Division<br />
Oklahoma City 54 20 .730 -<br />
Denver 50 24 .676 4<br />
Utah 39 36 .520 15.5<br />
Portland 33 41 .446 21<br />
Minnesota 27 46 .370 26.5<br />
Pacific Division<br />
LA Clippers 49 26 .653 -<br />
Golden State 42 32 .568 6.5<br />
LA Lakers 38 36 .514 10.5<br />
Sacramento 27 47 .365 21.5<br />
Phoenix 23 51 .311 25.5<br />
Southwest Division<br />
San Antonio 55 19 .743 -<br />
Memphis 50 24 .676 5<br />
Houston 41 33 .554 14<br />
Dallas 36 37 .493 18.5<br />
New Orleans 26 48 .351 29<br />
27 points to lead the Bobcats, and<br />
Gerald Henderson had 17.<br />
HAWKS 102, CAVALIERS 94<br />
In Atlanta, Devin Harris scored a<br />
season-high 25 points and Josh<br />
Smith nearly added a triple-double<br />
as Atlanta improved its<br />
chances of securing home-court<br />
advantage in the first round of the<br />
playoffs.<br />
Smith had 18 points, 14<br />
rebounds and eight assists before<br />
a sparse crowd in Philips Arena to<br />
help the Hawks (42-33) pull within<br />
one game of Brooklyn (42-31) for<br />
fourth place in the Eastern<br />
Conference.<br />
Reserve Marreese Speights<br />
scored 14 of his 22 in the final<br />
quarter, but the Cavs (22-51) did<br />
not seriously threaten after pulling<br />
within 58-56 early in the third period.Shaun<br />
Livingston, starting with<br />
Kyrie Irving not playing in the second<br />
night of a back-to-back, had<br />
14 points and six assists in<br />
Cleveland’s ninth straight loss.<br />
PISTONS 108, RAPTORS 98<br />
In Toronto, Greg Monroe scored<br />
24 points, Jose Calderon had 19<br />
points and nine assists against his<br />
former team, and Detroit snapped<br />
a three-game losing streak.<br />
Rodney Stuckey scored 18<br />
points, Jonas Jerebko had 10 of his<br />
15 in the fourth quarter and rookie<br />
Khris Middleton added 11 as the<br />
Pistons won for just the third time<br />
in 19 games.<br />
Rudy Gay scored 34 points,<br />
Jonas Valanciunas had 17 and<br />
DeMar DeRozan 15 as the Raptors<br />
lost for the seventh time in eight<br />
games. Toronto was outscored 33-<br />
19 in the final quarter.—AP
Di Canio ducks<br />
fascism questions<br />
LONDON: New Sunderland manager Paolo<br />
Di Canio described the controversy over his<br />
appointment as “ridiculous and pathetic”<br />
and refused to answer questions about<br />
whether he held fascist beliefs in his first<br />
news conference yesterday.<br />
Di Canio, 44, replaced Martin O’Neill at<br />
the relegation-threatened Premier League<br />
team on Sunday, a move that sparked the<br />
resignation of a British former government<br />
minister from the club’s board.<br />
David Miliband, a departing Member of<br />
Parliament and a former Foreign Secretary,<br />
stepped down because of remarks the ex-<br />
Swindon Town boss made to Italian news<br />
agency ANSA in 2005 when he said: “I am a<br />
fascist, not a racist”.<br />
“I don’t have to answer any more this<br />
question, there was a very good statement<br />
from the club, (with) very, very clear words<br />
that came out from me,” the Italian said on<br />
Tuesday in an effort to steer talk away from<br />
politics and back to football.<br />
“I don’t want to talk any more about politics<br />
for one reason because I’m not in the<br />
House of Parliament, I’m not a political person,<br />
I will talk about only football.”<br />
Di Canio had sought to dampen the fires<br />
on Monday by releasing a statement that<br />
suggested he had been quoted out of context.<br />
“I expressed an opinion in an interview<br />
many years ago. Some pieces were taken<br />
for media convenience,” he said.<br />
Di Canio’s appointment led the Durham<br />
Miners Association (DMA), a powerful<br />
workers’ organisation in the north-east of<br />
England, to ask for the return of a banner<br />
that is on permanent display at the club’s<br />
Stadium of Light.<br />
“The appointment of Di Canio is a disgrace<br />
and a betrayal of all who fought and<br />
died in the fight against fascism,” the DMA’s<br />
general secretary Dave Hopper said.<br />
“Everyone must speak out and oppose<br />
this outrage and call on (club chairman)<br />
Ellis Short and the Sunderland board to<br />
reverse their decision.”<br />
Asked if he had a message for the DMA,<br />
Di Canio said: “I have said many, many<br />
words in the past and people have picked<br />
the words they wanted. I can’t keep going<br />
on about my life and my family. The people<br />
who are talking in this way, they don’t<br />
understand Paolo Di Canio.”<br />
The Italian was given the job after a 1-0<br />
defeat to Manchester United on Saturday<br />
prompted the surprise sacking of<br />
O’Neill.Sunderland are 16th in the 20-team<br />
table and without a win in eight games.<br />
Asked whether he thought he could<br />
steer Sunderland away from relegation<br />
danger, Di Canio said he would bet everything<br />
he had on them not finishing in the<br />
bottom three.<br />
“When I got the call from Ellis Short, I<br />
felt fire in my belly. I would have swum to<br />
Sunderland to take the job,” he added.<br />
“The press like to call me the mad Italian<br />
but I would confidently bet everything I<br />
have on Sunderland remaining in the top<br />
flight.”<br />
Di Canio had a colourful playing career<br />
with clubs including Juventus, AC Milan,<br />
Lazio, West Ham United and Celtic, but has<br />
never managed in the top flight and joins<br />
Sunderland six weeks after quitting thirdtier<br />
Swindon Town.<br />
Never far from the headlines, he is<br />
remembered for pushing over a referee<br />
while playing for Sheffield Wednesday in<br />
England and drew outrage in 2005 when<br />
he celebrated his Lazio side’s derby win<br />
over AS Roma with a fascist-style salute.<br />
“With my energy I’m sure we can get<br />
something from the next seven games. I<br />
hope my ways give the team more confidence<br />
on the pitch,” he added.<br />
“Players need to fight for the shirt - go<br />
out on that pitch ready to sweat and shed<br />
blood for the club. “It’s important that the<br />
fans are happy with how the team perform<br />
and I hope to achieve that. We’re all working<br />
towards the same goal.<br />
“I want to take things step by step.<br />
Firstly, it’s Chelsea (on Sunday) and we will<br />
be fully focused for that game.”—Reuters<br />
BLOEMFONTEIN: In this June 27, 2010 file photo made from a combination of six<br />
photos, Germany’s goalkeeper Manuel Neuer looks at a ball that hit the bar to<br />
bounce over the line during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between<br />
Germany and England. —AP<br />
FIFA picks GoalControl<br />
goal-line tech system<br />
GENEVA: FIFA opted for GoalControl yesterday<br />
as its goal-line technology system<br />
for the Confederations Cup and 2014 World<br />
Cup in Brazil.<br />
The German camera-based, ball-tracking<br />
system was the last of four contenders<br />
to win a FIFA contract that starts with the<br />
Confederations Cup in June.<br />
FIFA chose GoalControl-4D over three<br />
rival projects: GoalRef and Cairos, which<br />
both use magnetic fields; and Hawk-Eye,<br />
another camera system. It’s already used in<br />
tennis and cricket, and its English parent<br />
company was bought by World Cup sponsor<br />
Sony Corp. before it began FIFAendorsed<br />
testing in 2011.<br />
GoalControl was licensed by FIFA only<br />
one month ago, and owner Dirk<br />
Broichhausen told The Associated Press<br />
then that its simplicity was key.<br />
“Our innovation, and also a difference<br />
looking to other competitors, is that we can<br />
use standard goals, balls and nets. There is<br />
no modification necessary,” Broichhausen<br />
said.<br />
GoalControl uses 14 high-speed cameras<br />
- seven trained on each goalmouth -<br />
and passed FIFA-approved tests in February<br />
in German stadiums in Duesseldorf and<br />
Gelsenkirchen. All four systems met FIFA’s<br />
demand that a signal is transmitted to the<br />
referee’s watch within one second if a goal<br />
should be awarded. “We want to offer tournament<br />
organizers and leagues and clubs<br />
not to have to change anything on the<br />
pitch. The investment in the technology is<br />
enough,” Broichhausen said<br />
He estimated that GoalControl will cost<br />
$260,000 per stadium to install, and $3,900<br />
per match to operate. FIFA said the cost of<br />
installation - at six scheduled<br />
Confederations Cup stadiums and 12 for<br />
the World Cup - was considered.<br />
“The respective bids were also judged<br />
on cost and project management factors<br />
such as staffing and time schedules for<br />
installation,” soccer’s governing body said<br />
in a statement.<br />
FIFA’s contract with GoalControl for the<br />
World Cup can be reviewed if there are<br />
problems at the 16-match Confederations<br />
Cup - or before.<br />
“The use of GoalControl-4D in Brazil is<br />
subject to a final installation test at each<br />
stadium where the system will be installed,”<br />
FIFA said.<br />
FIFA, through its rule-making panel<br />
known as IFAB, approved goal-line technology<br />
last July, when Hawk-Eye and GoalRef<br />
passed the rigorous testing process. Those<br />
systems were tested at the Club World Cup<br />
in Japan last December, before Cairos and<br />
GoalControl had even been licensed.<br />
FIFA President Sepp Blatter wanted<br />
goal-line technology in Brazil after England<br />
midfielder Frank Lampard had a goal disallowed<br />
against Germany at the 2010 World<br />
Cup.<br />
FIFA withdrew previous opposition to<br />
publicizing goal-line rulings. Now, competition<br />
organizers can choose whether decisions<br />
are shown to fans on big screens in<br />
stadiums and television viewers. In tennis<br />
and cricket, anticipation of a decision provided<br />
by Hawk-Eye has become part of the<br />
experience.<br />
“It’s not secret,” Blatter said after the IFAB<br />
meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland. “Once we<br />
have the technology and it shows it’s a goal<br />
or not a goal, we have to be transparent,<br />
otherwise there’s no need to do it.”<br />
Referees still have the final say on<br />
awarding a goal, or even using goal-line<br />
technology when it is installed. Mandatory<br />
pre-game tests give match officials the<br />
option to switch off the technology if they<br />
doubt its accuracy that day.<br />
Hawk-Eye, GoalRef and Cairos will try to<br />
persuade other soccer clients, such as the<br />
English Premier League or German’s<br />
Bundesliga, to choose their systems before<br />
next season begins in August.—AP<br />
Matches on TV<br />
(Local Timings)<br />
UEFA Champions League<br />
Real Madrid v Galatasaray 21:45<br />
Aljazeera Sport +4<br />
Malaga V Dortmund 21:45<br />
Aljazeera Sport +5<br />
SPORTS<br />
Photo of the day<br />
Petr Kraus (Czech Republic) performs during the Red Bull Shred the Island in Manama, Bahrain. www.redbullcontentpool.com<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Drogba back to where<br />
he began for Real clash<br />
MADRID: The wheel will have<br />
come full circle for Galatasaray forward<br />
Didier Drogba when he takes<br />
to the pitch for today’s Champions<br />
League quarter-final first leg match<br />
at Real Madrid.<br />
The Ivory Coast international,<br />
who turned 35 this month, made<br />
his debut in Europe’s elite club<br />
competition at Real’s Bernabeu stadium<br />
in September 2003 playing<br />
for Ligue 1 side Olympique<br />
Marseille. Although he scored to<br />
put Marseille ahead in the 26th<br />
minute, goals from Roberto Carlos<br />
and Luis Figo and a double from<br />
Brazilian Ronaldo fired Real’s<br />
“Galacticos” to an easy 4-2 group<br />
stage victory. “It will be very special<br />
for me, I will never forget that day,”<br />
Drogba was quoted as saying in<br />
Galatasaray’s club magazine this<br />
week.<br />
“It was very important for my<br />
career,” added the former Chelsea<br />
player. Drogba was Chelsea’s key<br />
performer on their run to a first<br />
Champions League triumph last<br />
season before quitting the London<br />
club for a stint in China and then<br />
moving to Turkey.<br />
He struck the winning penalty in<br />
the final shootout against Bayern<br />
Munich having earlier kept Chelsea<br />
in the match with a crashing header<br />
two minutes from the end of regular<br />
time that levelled the score at<br />
1-1.<br />
“I just grabbed this chance to be<br />
able to play at the highest level in<br />
Europe again without thinking,” he<br />
said. “That’s why I am here. To have<br />
the opportunity to win again.”<br />
Today’s clash, the fourth<br />
between the clubs in UEFA competition,<br />
also pits Drogba against his<br />
former manager at Chelsea Jose<br />
Mourinho, who is bidding to lead<br />
Real to the 10th European crown<br />
that has eluded the club since<br />
2002.<br />
The pair were together at<br />
Stamford Bridge from 2004 to 2007<br />
MADRID: Debutants Malaga have toppled<br />
European giants AC Milan and Porto on their<br />
way to the Champions League quarter-finals and<br />
have another former winner in their sights when<br />
they host Borussia Dortmund today.<br />
Coach Manuel Pellegrini and his players have<br />
propelled the Costa del Sol club to unprecedented<br />
success despite uncertainty over the commitment<br />
of their Qatari owner and cash-flow problems<br />
that prompted a ban from UEFA competition<br />
from next season.<br />
Chilean Pellegrini has moulded a squad of<br />
experienced campaigners including Joaquin,<br />
Martin Demichelis, Jeremy Toulalan and Roque<br />
Santa Cruz into a highly efficient outfit, with<br />
promising youngsters like Isco providing a creative<br />
spark.<br />
After beating seven-times European champions<br />
Milan 1-0 at the Rosaleda stadium on the<br />
way to topping Group C, Malaga dispatched<br />
2004 winners Porto 2-0 in the last round on a<br />
festive night for local fans including Hollywood<br />
actor Antonio Banderas.<br />
They are brimming with confidence ahead of<br />
the first leg with Dortmund-who won the<br />
Champions League in 1997 — according to former<br />
Spain winger Joaquin.<br />
“If we are here it is because we have proved<br />
we are a great team,” the 31-year-old told a news<br />
conference on Monday. “This is the time when<br />
the great teams express themselves and we<br />
have not said the last word here at the Rosaleda,”<br />
he added.<br />
“We need to be an aggressive team, playing<br />
the way we know and taking the initiative.”<br />
Malaga’s success is in large measure down to<br />
MADRID: Galatasaray’s Didier Drogba from Ivory Coast controls the ball during a training session in<br />
Madrid. Galatasaray will play Real Madrid today in a quarterfinal first leg Champions League soccer<br />
match. —AP<br />
and won Premier League titles in<br />
2005 and 2006. Drogba said<br />
Mourinho and his Galatasaray<br />
counterpart Fatih Terim were excellent<br />
motivators. “Fatih Terim is a lot<br />
like Mourinho in that he is very<br />
close to the players and always talking<br />
with them,” he said.<br />
“The psychological factor is very<br />
important in soccer and Terim is<br />
very meticulous in that respect.”<br />
While Real have fallen in the semifinals<br />
the past two seasons, it is<br />
almost a quarter of a century since<br />
Galatasaray last reached the last<br />
four.<br />
Alongside Drogba, the other<br />
heavyweight in their ranks is<br />
Dutchman Wesley Sneijder, who<br />
won the Champions League with<br />
Mourinho at Inter Milan in 2010.<br />
Their attacking trident is completed<br />
by Burak Yilmaz, who is joint<br />
top scorer in the competition with<br />
Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo on eight<br />
goals.<br />
“Our only weapon against Real<br />
Madrid is that we are not afraid,”<br />
Terim, a former Turkey, AC Milan<br />
and Fiorentina boss, told reporters<br />
on Saturday.<br />
“That’s the way we have always<br />
played,” he added. “Our strongest<br />
side is that we are not afraid to lose,<br />
their well-drilled defence, one of the meanest in<br />
La Liga this season, and preventing Dortmund<br />
from scoring an away goal could be key to their<br />
chances of progressing after next week’s return<br />
leg. Malaga have kept nine clean sheets in their<br />
12 European home games, including against<br />
Milan in October and the success against Porto<br />
last month.<br />
If they reach the semi-finals, they will match<br />
the debut-season achievement of La Liga rivals<br />
Villarreal under Pellegrini in the 2005-06 season.<br />
Known as “the engineer”, the cerebral<br />
Pellegrini led an unfancied Villarreal team to the<br />
last four before they were narrowly beaten by<br />
Premier League side Arsenal.<br />
“This is a tie lasting 180 minutes in which we<br />
have to be intelligent, dominate the match but<br />
without forgetting the return leg,” Pellegrini told<br />
a news conference after Malaga’s 3-1 La Liga victory<br />
at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.<br />
“Hopefully we will go to Dortmund with a solid<br />
advantage,” added the former Real Madrid<br />
coach, who was sacked in 2010 to make way for<br />
Jose Mourinho.<br />
Dortmund have several players battling for<br />
fitness after a hard-fought 2-1 victory at VfB<br />
Stuttgart that kept them in a distant second<br />
place in the Bundesliga on Saturday.<br />
With only one trophy to chase for after losing<br />
the domestic battle to Bayern Munich this season,<br />
they are eager to leave their mark on<br />
Europe’s elite club competition.<br />
“That was a good preparation for Malaga<br />
because it will be equally intense in the one-onones,”<br />
coach Juergen Klopp said of their<br />
Stuttgart win.<br />
or to be eliminated.”<br />
Probable teams:<br />
Real Madrid: 41-Diego Lopez;<br />
17-Alvaro Arbeloa, 3-Pepe, 4-Sergio<br />
Ramos, 5-Fabio Coentrao; 6-Sami<br />
Khedira, 14-Xabi Alonso; 22-Angel<br />
Di Maria, 10-Mesut Ozil, 7-Cristiano<br />
Ronaldo; 9-Karim Benzema<br />
Galatasaray: 1-Fernando<br />
Muslera; 27-Emmanuel Eboue, 26-<br />
Semih Kaya, 13-Dany Nounkeu, 11-<br />
Albert Riera; 14-Wesley Sneijder,<br />
10-Felipe Melo, 8-Selcuk Inan, 4-<br />
Hamit Altintop; 17-Burak Yilmaz,<br />
12-Didier Drogba Referee: Svein<br />
Oddvar Moen (Norway). —Reuters<br />
Malaga eyeing Dortmund scalp<br />
Defender Marcel Schmelzer, who broke his<br />
nose in the game, is doubtful but he said he was<br />
determined to play using a face mask after<br />
undergoing surgery. “It was fixed and stitched so<br />
as not to waste time because next up is<br />
Wednesday but with a face mask,” the Germany<br />
international said.—Reuters<br />
MALAGA: Malaga’s Brazilian forward Julio<br />
Baptista attends a training session at<br />
Rosaleda stadium on the eve of the UEFA<br />
Champions league football match against<br />
Borussia Dortmund.—AFP
Pizarro dethrones Messi in<br />
AP global football rankings<br />
PARIS: It takes something extra special<br />
to dethrone Lionel Messi. So that’s<br />
exactly what Bayern Munich striker<br />
Claudio Pizarro did, scoring four goals<br />
in a 9-2 demolition of Hamburg to<br />
knock the Barcelona superstar into second<br />
place in the latest Associated Press<br />
global football rankings.<br />
The fact that the Peruvian striker<br />
hadn’t even scored a league goal since<br />
the final day of last season made his<br />
achievement even more spectacular.<br />
“He’s the symbol of team which<br />
totally dominated its subject, where<br />
pretty much every player deserved a<br />
place in the Top 10,” said Cedric<br />
Rouquette of Eurosport in France.<br />
Pizarro collected 133 points to<br />
Messi’s 99, with Dutch winger Arjen<br />
Robben pulling in 71 points to move<br />
into third spot by contributing two<br />
goals - one a sublime chip from the<br />
edge of the penalty area - as Bayern<br />
taught Hamburg a lesson.<br />
In the team rankings, Bayern earned<br />
148 points from a possible 150 after its<br />
scintillating display of attacking football.<br />
“They were in completely different<br />
stratosphere,” said James Thorogood of<br />
Bundlesliga.com in Germany. “The<br />
Bundesliga’s runaway leaders carved<br />
the Red Shorts apart like they were a<br />
Sunday league team, and arguably<br />
should have broken the double-digits<br />
mark.”<br />
Filip Bondy of the New York Daily<br />
News noted that Bayern is now only<br />
really tested by other teams in Europe.<br />
“They’re leading the table by 20 points<br />
and now they score nine goals in a single<br />
match. Is it too late to apply for<br />
admission to La Liga?” Bondy joked.<br />
“Because it sure looks as if Bayern has<br />
outgrown the Bundesliga.”<br />
Juventus’ consistency contrasts with<br />
the glitzy football played in Munich, but<br />
Antonio Conte’s team took another<br />
decisive step toward the Serie A title by<br />
winning 2-1 at Inter Milan with a performance<br />
as determined as Bayern’s<br />
was swaggering.<br />
Juventus totaled 119 points to rise<br />
from third to second, with Manchester<br />
United, Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain<br />
tied for third place. PSG and United<br />
enjoy commanding leads in their<br />
domestic leagues and moved closer to<br />
wrapping up the titles with 1-0 wins,<br />
KUWAIT: An enterprising knock of 63<br />
runs by opener Jagath Roshantha<br />
paved way for Ahli United Bank<br />
recording their first victory over Gulf<br />
Bank in the ongoing <strong>Kuwait</strong> Banks<br />
club league trophy organized by<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> Cricket. Winning the toss and<br />
electing to bat first, Jagath, the<br />
stocky right handed batsman gave a<br />
positive impetus by launching into<br />
the attack right from the word go<br />
and consolidated his team’s position<br />
with a 88 runs second wicket partnership<br />
with Saud Qamar.<br />
Getting into his rhythm and coming<br />
down the track, Jagath clubbed<br />
some handsome looking strokes to<br />
score 63 runs which had 5 boundaries.<br />
Saud Qamar struck a quick 32<br />
runs and Sajid who followed next<br />
was more enterprising as he hit 3<br />
fours & 3 huge sixes to score 38 runs<br />
in just 12 balls to bring the AUB total<br />
to a mammoth 175 runs in 20 overs.<br />
away to Sunderland and at home to<br />
Montpellier, respectively.<br />
Juve’s march to the title is perhaps<br />
the ultimate example of teamwork,<br />
considering that top scorer Fabio<br />
Quagliarella has managed only eight<br />
league goals this season.<br />
That puts him light years behind<br />
Messi’s astonishing mark of 43. Yet the<br />
veteran forward - who has never managed<br />
more than 13 league goals in a<br />
Serie A season - is pivotal in his team’s<br />
setup for his tireless running and battling<br />
qualities.<br />
Meanwhile, Gareth Bale added<br />
another excellent strike in an outstanding<br />
season to take his league tally to 17<br />
goals. The Welshman climbed to fourth<br />
spot with 57 points, while Napoli striker<br />
Edinson Cavani jumped two places to<br />
fifth after scoring twice in the 5-3 win at<br />
Torino.<br />
Although Napoli is nine points<br />
behind Juventus, it remains two points<br />
clear of AC Milan in the race for second<br />
place.<br />
Cavani only played the last 25 minutes<br />
but still did enough, Rouquette<br />
said, to “help the Neapolitans turn a<br />
crazy match in their favor” and take his<br />
season’s haul to 22 league goals and 71<br />
in 97 career matches for the club.<br />
Just behind PSG, Napoli and United<br />
in the team rankings is Manchester City.<br />
While unlikely to cut United’s 15-point<br />
lead at the top with eight matches left,<br />
City bounced back to form with a 4-0<br />
thumping of Newcastle - just in time for<br />
next Monday’s trip to United.<br />
Having received full marks in the<br />
previous rankings, Barca dropped to<br />
seventh spot with 38 points after a 2-2<br />
draw at Celta Vigo in which Messi<br />
scored for an unprecedented 19th<br />
straight league game.<br />
“Scoring in 19 consecutive matches<br />
and against every team in the league is<br />
a Lionel Messi record that will probably<br />
never be beaten, unless he breaks it<br />
himself,” panelist Mike McGrath of<br />
England’s Sun newspaper and Wardles<br />
news agency said.<br />
In a reflection of their respective seasons,<br />
Barca’s draw was still enough to<br />
keep it ahead of Real Madrid, which<br />
dropped from second place to 10th following<br />
a lackluster 1-1 deadlock at Real<br />
Zaragoza.—AP<br />
Jawad, Rafat & Bilal bowled well for<br />
Gulf Bank taking a wicket each.<br />
Gulf Bank, chasing almost 9 runs<br />
an over had an early set back as they<br />
lost both the openers with 24 runs on<br />
board but skipper Rafat Khan &<br />
Tanveer stood firm to counter attack<br />
the AUB bowlers with a determined<br />
stand of 45 runs for the fourth wicket.<br />
Sensing the need to have a further<br />
breakthrough, AUB skipper<br />
Mahmoud Bastaki introduced himself<br />
from the garden end and immediately<br />
struck by having Rafat Khan caught<br />
at sweeper cover by Fahad Bastaki for<br />
15 runs.<br />
Mahmoud Bastaki exhibiting his<br />
years of experience maintained a<br />
steady off & middle stump line to run<br />
through the Gulf Bank middle order<br />
batting line up to have an impressive<br />
bowling figure of 4-14 in 4 overs.<br />
Tanveer who fought a lone battle was<br />
run out after making a valuable 31<br />
runs with 2 huge sixes. Gulf Bank<br />
scored 91 runs in 15 over, thus leaving<br />
AUB victorious by 84 runs.<br />
Mahmoud Bastaki was rightly presented<br />
with the Player of the match<br />
award for his skillful bowling performance.<br />
In the second match of the day,<br />
Burgan Bank notched a 43 runs victory,<br />
over <strong>Kuwait</strong> International Bank.<br />
Batting first on a beautiful batting<br />
strip, Burgan kept a steady run flow<br />
as Dilip (17 runs) & one drop Arthur<br />
played sensible cricket to add 40 runs<br />
for the second wicket. Striking the<br />
cherry with awesome power, Arthur<br />
hit a breezy 58 runs in just 39 ball<br />
with 6 fours and 3 sixes.<br />
The introduction of wily off spinner<br />
and veteran of many battles,<br />
Robin Lasarado from the garden end<br />
put brakes on Burgan scoring. The<br />
masterly bowler Robin (2-16) spun a<br />
web around the talented Burgan<br />
SPORTS<br />
batsmen and skipper Manoj Mishra<br />
(2-31) operating from the co-operative<br />
end restricted the scoring flow to<br />
a great extend. Efficient and athletic<br />
in the field, Ali Asghar of KIB took<br />
three stunning catches to support<br />
the effort of the KIB bowlers.<br />
Waheed’s late onslaught of 26 runs<br />
enabled Burgan to post a decent<br />
total of 162 in 20 overs.<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> International Bank openers<br />
Khurshid Ali & Ali Asghar launched a<br />
promising start to add 42 runs for the<br />
opening partnership and the duo<br />
batting with perfect timing gave a fitting<br />
reply to the run chase. Reading<br />
the pitch condition, Syed Ejaz Ali, the<br />
Burgan skipper who led commandingly,<br />
introduced left arm spinner<br />
Asharaf who removed the potentially<br />
dangerous opener Ali Asghar for a<br />
well struck 21 runs and squared up<br />
Nadeem to have the middle stump<br />
uprooted.<br />
On a slow & bouncy pitch, the<br />
Burgan spinners were literally<br />
unplayable as Manohar, Waheed &<br />
skipper Ejaz Ali bowled superbly to<br />
skittle the KIB team to 119 runs. KIB<br />
opener Khurshid Ali remained<br />
unbeaten with a patient 31 runs &<br />
skipper Manoj Mishra scoring 14 runs<br />
were the main contributors for KIB.<br />
Asharaf (2-19), Manohar (3-24),<br />
Waheed (2-9) & Syed Eijaz Ali (3-22)<br />
bowled well for Burgan Bank. Mr.<br />
David Thorpe, General Manager,<br />
Finance & Planning, <strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
International Bank presented the<br />
Player of the match award to Arthur<br />
for his excellent batting display.<br />
In the third match of the day,<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> Finance House (KFH) chalked<br />
out an easy 8 wicket victory over Ahli<br />
Bank of <strong>Kuwait</strong> (ABK). ABK won the<br />
toss and elected to bat first and soon<br />
were in deep trouble as they lost<br />
their star batsman Pervaiz in the very<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
QPR closer to the drop<br />
after defeat at Fulham<br />
Fulham 3<br />
LONDON: Fulham withstood a fierce<br />
fightback from Queens Park Rangers<br />
to beat their west London rivals 3-2<br />
on Monday and push Harry<br />
Redknapp’s side closer to Premier<br />
League relegation.<br />
Dimitar Berbatov’s double and an<br />
own goal put the hosts 3-0 up in the<br />
first half but Rangers, adrift in the<br />
bottom three, stormed back and the<br />
home team were forced to cling on<br />
after midfielder Steve Sidwell was<br />
sent off 11 minutes from time.<br />
Two errors from Rangers centre<br />
back Christopher Samba, signed for<br />
an undisclosed club record fee from<br />
Anzhi Makhachkala in January,<br />
helped Berbatov fire 10th-placed<br />
Fulham into a two-goal lead midway<br />
through the first half.<br />
Samba tripped Ashkan Dejagah<br />
just inside the box and Berbatov<br />
scored from the penalty spot after<br />
eight minutes. The Bulgarian doubled<br />
Fulham’s advantage with his 13th<br />
league goal of the season after<br />
Samba dwelt in possession on the<br />
edge of his own area and the former<br />
Manchester United striker seized on<br />
the loose ball to shoot past keeper<br />
Julio Cesar.<br />
Samba was not the only Rangers<br />
defender to suffer, Clint Hill putting<br />
through his own net on 41 minutes<br />
when John Arne Riise’s cross hit him<br />
and flew in.<br />
Adel Taarabt gave the visitors a<br />
lifeline with a well-taken goal just<br />
before halftime and soon after the<br />
restart Loic Remy’s penalty, awarded<br />
after Taarabt was tripped by Giorgios<br />
Karagounis, was saved by Mark<br />
Schwarzer.<br />
Remy quickly made amends when<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> International Bank team Burgan Bank team<br />
Ahli United Bank, Burgan Bank & KFH win<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> Banks Club Cricket League — <strong>2013</strong><br />
he smashed the ball home just minutes<br />
later from Stephane Mbia’s<br />
through ball and Rangers had other<br />
chances to take at least a point after<br />
Sidwell was shown a straight red card<br />
for a rash challenge on Armand<br />
Traore. Rangers, who have seven<br />
matches to play, are seven points<br />
adrift of safety. They remain 19th on<br />
23 points, the same as bottom club<br />
Reading. Aston Villa are 18th on 30<br />
Ahli Bank <strong>Kuwait</strong> team Ahli United Bank team<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> Finance House team<br />
QPR 2<br />
LONDON: Queens Park Rangers Cameroonian defender Stephane Mbia (left) vies for the ball with Fulham’s<br />
Costa Rican forward Bryan Ruiz (right) during the English Premier League football match.—AFP<br />
points with Wigan Athletic just above<br />
the relegation places, also on 30 having<br />
played one game fewer.<br />
“We’re not giving up,” QPR manager<br />
Redknapp told Sky Sports television.<br />
“We’ve got to beat Wigan on<br />
Sunday now.<br />
“We’ve got to keep going. We<br />
need another 14 points and we must<br />
make sure we win four games and<br />
draw two.”—Reuters<br />
National must stay unique — Aintree chief<br />
LONDON: Safety and welfare should<br />
always be a priority in jumps racing<br />
but the Grand National must remain<br />
a test of horse and jockey and not<br />
lose its unique character, according<br />
to Aintree racecourse chief John<br />
Baker. The deaths of two horses during<br />
last year’s race and two in 2011<br />
brought equine safety into focus and<br />
prompted an official inquiry amid<br />
calls by animal welfare groups for the<br />
National, first run in 1839 and now<br />
with an estimated global television<br />
audience of 600 million, to be<br />
banned.<br />
A number of modifications were<br />
subsequently recommended, with<br />
the organisers making alterations to<br />
iconic fences such as the notorious<br />
Becher’s Brook.<br />
“They (the National fences) still<br />
need jumping, they still need respect<br />
and it remains a challenge for horse<br />
and jockey which is what it should<br />
be,” Baker, overseeing his first<br />
National on Saturday, told Reuters.<br />
According to British Horseracing<br />
Authority figures, 10 horses have<br />
been fatally injured in the Grand<br />
National since 2000.<br />
“We have made some hugely significant<br />
changes in terms of safety<br />
and welfare of the Grand National<br />
and we need to be saying: ‘We are<br />
proud of what we have done’,” Baker<br />
said. “This is the greatest race in the<br />
world, those fences still need to be<br />
respected...we’ve maintained that,<br />
we’re very strong in that the distance<br />
of the race is unique, the number of<br />
runners is unique and we need to<br />
retain the character of the Grand<br />
National. “We have to get the balance<br />
right from protecting that uniqueness<br />
and character and moving with<br />
the times and trying to make sure<br />
that safety and welfare is on top of<br />
our agenda.”—Reuters<br />
first over. Soon after Balwant &<br />
Sunder fell to some brilliant catches<br />
held by Zahed & Fazal and the hostile<br />
pace bowling of KFH never let the<br />
ABK batsmen to go on top.<br />
It was left for Abishek to stand<br />
amongst the ruins to steady the ship<br />
and along with John who scored a<br />
painstaking 19 runs, which helped<br />
ABH to score 98 runs. Faraz 2-10,<br />
Abdulla 2-12 & Zahid 2-28 were the<br />
main wicket takers for KFH.<br />
KFH team started the chase in a<br />
belligerent mood, plundering 63 runs<br />
in just 4 overs, Zahid was at his very<br />
best scoring 38 runs of 18 balls and<br />
Abdulla the other opener hammered<br />
a stroke filled knock of 43 runs in<br />
just 20 balls. KFH reached their target<br />
in the 8th over loosing two wickets<br />
and ABK’s Sunder claiming both of<br />
them. Abdulla of KFH was declared<br />
Player of the match for his all-round<br />
performance.
Nationals<br />
blank Marlins<br />
15<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Drogba back to<br />
18<br />
where he began<br />
for Real clash<br />
FIFA picks GoalControl goal-line tech system Page 18<br />
PARIS: Barcelona’s Alexis Sanchez (right) vies with Paris Saint Germain’s Christophe Jallet during their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg match between PSG and Barcelona at Parc des Princes stadium. — AP<br />
PSG earn well deserved draw<br />
PARIS: Baise Matuidi’s goal deep in stoppage<br />
time earned Paris Saint Germain a deserved 2-2<br />
draw in in their Champions League quarter-final<br />
first leg against Barcelona at Parc des Princes<br />
here yesterday.<br />
Barca appeared to have snatched the win<br />
when Xavi Hernandez converted from the spot in<br />
the last minute of normal time after Zlatan<br />
Ibrahimovic had cancelled out Lionel Messi’s first<br />
half opener.<br />
The penalty was awarded when PSG goalkeeper<br />
Salvatore Sirigu charged out and brought<br />
down Alexis Sanchez. Messi put the Spanish<br />
giants into a 38th minute lead when set up<br />
superbly by Daniel Alves. This was the Argentine<br />
four-time world footballer of the year’s 57th goal<br />
Bayern see off<br />
Juventus to inch<br />
towards semis<br />
MUNICH: Bayern Munich have one foot in the Champions<br />
League semi-finals after their 2-0 win at home to Juventus<br />
yesterday in the quarter-final, first leg clash.<br />
Munich needed less than a minute to take the lead over<br />
the Italians through a thunderous strike by Austria defender<br />
David Alaba before Germany’s Thomas Mueller grabbed<br />
Bayern’s second at the Allianz Arena with an hour gone.<br />
With both sides top of their respective leagues,<br />
Bundesliga giants Bayern are bidding to reach their third<br />
Champions League final in four years while Juventus have<br />
won all five of their previous European quarter-finals against<br />
German teams.<br />
But Juventus will have to produce a top performance<br />
next week if they are to maintain that record as Bayern dominated<br />
this match.<br />
Munich coach Jupp Heynckes demonstrated Bayern’s<br />
strength in depth by leaving Peru striker Claudio Pizarro on<br />
the bench-despite scoring four goals in Saturday’s 9-2 rout<br />
of Hamburg-with Mario Mandzukic starting as the lone striker.<br />
Brazil star Luiz Gustavo came in for the suspended Javi<br />
Martinez alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger in Munich’s<br />
defensive midfield.<br />
For Juventus, strikers Alessandro Matri and Fabio<br />
Quagliarella paired up again in attack, while the trio of<br />
Giorgio Chiellini, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Claudio Marchisio<br />
were all brought into Antonio Conte’s 3-5-2 formation.<br />
Bayern needed just 26 seconds to take the lead when<br />
Alaba launched a left-footed rocket from 35 metres out<br />
which gave Juventus goalkeeper Gianlugi Buffon no chance.<br />
The ball took a slight deflection off Juventus’ Arturo Vidal<br />
on the way to the bottom right-hand corner in what was<br />
one of the fastest goals in Champions League history.<br />
Toni Kroos’ early groin injury meant Bayern had to shuffle<br />
their midfield with Arjen Robben coming onto the rightwing,<br />
Mueller moving into the middle with Franck Ribery on<br />
the left.<br />
Both Ribery and Robben kept Buffon busy with crisp<br />
shots, while Schweinsteiger curled a free-kick just over the<br />
top right-hand corner of the goal.<br />
in all competitions this season. But Messi’s night<br />
came to a premature end when he suffered a<br />
right hamstring injury and failed to emerge for<br />
the second half. He is due to undergo tests to<br />
determine the extent of the damage today.<br />
Ibrahimovic, who had an unhappy one season<br />
spell with Barca, put PSG back in the game<br />
when pouncing on a rebound after a Thiago Silva<br />
header in the 79th minute ricocheted off the far<br />
post. Then Matuidi popped up in the fourth<br />
minute of injury time to give PSG hope for the<br />
return leg at the Camp Nou next week.<br />
The big-spending French club’s coach Carlo<br />
Ancelotti sprang a surprise when electing to<br />
start 37-year-old English star David Beckham.<br />
It was the veteran midfielder’s first champions<br />
MUNICH: Juventus’ defender Giorgio Chiellini (top) vies<br />
for the ball with Bayern Munich’s Croatian striker Mario<br />
Mandzukic during the UEFA Champions League quarter<br />
final football match. — AFP<br />
Munich kept up the pressure and the second goal came<br />
on 63 minutes when Gustavo fired in a long-range shot,<br />
which Buffon parried, but Mandzukic was on hand to square<br />
the ball for Mueller to tap in.<br />
There was more bad news for the Italians as midfielders<br />
Vidal and Lichtsteiner will both miss the return leg after<br />
picking up second-half bookings.<br />
With Munich aiming to become the first German club to<br />
claim the treble of domestic league, cup and Champions<br />
League titles, Bayern can wrap up the Bundesliga on<br />
Saturday if they win at Eintracht Frankfurt. With seven<br />
games left and a 20-point lead, it would be the earliest confirmed<br />
title win in the German league’s history. — AFP<br />
League appearance since coming on as a substitute<br />
for AC Milan in a 4-0 drubbing by former<br />
club Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2010.<br />
Beckham, speaking to ITV television, reflected:<br />
“In the first half, especially the first ten minutes<br />
we had a few very good chances, then they<br />
got their goal, it was an uphill battle but I think<br />
we deserved a draw tonight.”<br />
On being named in the starting line-up he<br />
said: “The manager has shown a lot of confidence<br />
in me in games and in big moments,<br />
tonight was a big moment for the club.<br />
“I’m pretty much at the same level as I was at<br />
AC Milan, it was only three years ago, I’m enjoying<br />
being part of these nights again, they don’t<br />
get better than this.”<br />
On PSG’s prospects to qualify for the semifinals<br />
he added: “Our chances are better than<br />
they were at 2-1 - it’s going to be difficult but no<br />
reason not to go there and get a result.”<br />
And ever the gentleman he offered good<br />
wishes to the injured Messi, saying: “We all hope<br />
Messi is fit and ready to go - we wish him the<br />
best.” Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain striker<br />
Zlatan Ibrahimovic heaped praise on his former<br />
team-mate Lionel Messi, but insisted it was too<br />
soon to describe the Argentine as the greatest<br />
player of all time.<br />
Messi, who turns 26 this year, scored his 43rd<br />
goal of the season in La Liga at the weekend,<br />
becoming the first player ever to score against<br />
every other team in the league in consecutive<br />
LONDON: After a collective blow-out in the Champions<br />
League, England has a three-pronged attack on Europe’s<br />
second tier competition with Chelsea, Tottenham<br />
Hotspur and Newcastle United all vying for Europa<br />
League success.<br />
The three Premier League sides were all kept apart in<br />
the draw for the last eight and head into Thursday’s quarter-final<br />
first legs looking to earn back some of the country’s<br />
European lustre.<br />
European champions Chelsea host Russian outfit<br />
Rubin Kazan, London rivals Tottenham welcome Swiss<br />
side Basel and Newcastle travel to Benfica.<br />
Fenerbahce’s clash with Lazio is the only quarter-final<br />
not to feature a Premier League club. For Chelsea, tomorrow’s<br />
match against Rubin is the start of a gruelling fixture<br />
pile-up that involves playing five matches in 13 days<br />
as they look to do battle in three<br />
competitions.<br />
Defeat to Southampton in the<br />
Premier League on Saturday left them looking vulnerable<br />
in a three-way fight with Tottenham and Arsenal for the<br />
final two Champions League qualification spots.<br />
But victory over Manchester United in an FA Cup quarter-final<br />
replay 48 hours later set them up nicely for an<br />
end-of-season push for silverware.<br />
“My priority is the top four and trying to win the next<br />
game, in the Europa League,” Chelsea’s persistently<br />
under-fire interim manager Rafa Benitez said after<br />
Monday’s hard-fought 1-0 win.<br />
“We’re in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, quarter-finals<br />
of the Europa League. It’s a great season at the moment.<br />
It could be even better.”<br />
Chelsea start as overwhelming favourites but Rubin<br />
are no pushovers having knocked out holders Atletico<br />
Madrid and their La Liga rivals Levante in two previous<br />
rounds to reach a European quarter-final for the first time.<br />
The club from the Volga region, the last remaining<br />
Russian side in the competition, warmed up for the<br />
Chelsea clash with a 2-0 home win over Lokomotiv<br />
Moscow on Saturday, moving them into fourth place in<br />
the league table.<br />
Tottenham, who like Chelsea are almost certainly pri-<br />
games.<br />
The Argentine has broken endless goalscoring<br />
records in recent times. “I think today for<br />
sure Messi is the best player in the world,” said<br />
Ibrahimovic, who played alongside the reigning<br />
world player of the year at the Camp Nou in the<br />
2009-10 season.<br />
“He has been winning this golden ball for so<br />
long now (he has won it four times in a row),<br />
maybe they should change it’s name to Messi<br />
from the Ballon d’Or.<br />
“He breaks every record there is and is still<br />
young, but is he the best ever? “I think he has<br />
to quit football and then you can say if he is the<br />
best there has been. We can talk about it now,<br />
but when he quits playing I will answer.” — AFP<br />
Preview<br />
English clubs eye redemption<br />
Europa League<br />
oritising their fight for a top-four finish in the Premier<br />
League, host Basel, the Swiss champions for the last three<br />
seasons.<br />
The Swiss have lost only two league matches since<br />
Murat Yakin, a former Switzerland defender, took over as<br />
coach at the end of October and are unbeaten domestically<br />
this year. They are the only reigning domestic champions<br />
still in the Europa League.<br />
They last reached the quarter-finals of a European<br />
competition in 2005/06 when Middlesbrough knocked<br />
them out of the then UEFA Cup.<br />
“We are extremely excited about this draw,” said Yakin.<br />
“Tottenham Hotspur are a great team from a wonderful<br />
city. We have nothing to lose against them. We have<br />
earned the opportunity to play against teams like these.<br />
It’s already a huge accomplishment to be in the last eight<br />
of the Europa League.”<br />
For Newcastle, the Europa<br />
League is a distraction from their<br />
domestic battle to avoid relegation with the club three<br />
points above the drop zone following a crushing 4-0<br />
defeat to Manchester City on Saturday. Manager Alan<br />
Pardew, who was handed a remarkable eight-year contract<br />
at the start of the season, has promised fans that his<br />
side will put in an improved display in Lisbon.<br />
“It’s one of the great European adventures, trust me,”<br />
Pardew said. “Their stadium is going to be rocking on<br />
Thursday night - and after our result they will be looking<br />
forward to us coming.<br />
“But we will certainly be better than we were on<br />
Saturday.” Fenerbahce host Lazio with the Turkish side<br />
looking to improve on a dismal record against Italian<br />
teams, having lost 10 of 13 clashes to date.<br />
Lazio are fifth in Serie A after their 2-1 win over<br />
Catania on Saturday but still have an outside chance of<br />
finishing third and a place in the Champions League next<br />
season.<br />
Coach Vladimir Petkovic, who speaks eight languages,<br />
said of Fenerbahce: “They are very good, especially at<br />
home. Turkish sides don’t usually shine when they play<br />
away, however. “We have great respect for them but they<br />
are not unbeatable.” — Reuters
Business<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Chinese tanker loads<br />
Iran oil, first since July<br />
Page 22<br />
Record unemployment<br />
clouds euro-zone hopes<br />
Page 25<br />
UAE strategic hub for foreign investments Page 26<br />
NICOSIA: Finance Minister Michalis Sarris resigned yesterday,<br />
hours after a judicial probe was launched into<br />
how Cyprus was pushed to the verge of bankruptcy<br />
before having to agree a crippling euro-zone bailout. He<br />
said he was stepping down as he would need to cooperate<br />
with judges probing the failure of Laiki Bank, of<br />
which he was chairman for much of last year. The bank’s<br />
collapse was a major contributor to the island’s near<br />
financial meltdown.<br />
President Nicos Anastasiades accepted his resignation<br />
with “sadness” and lauded his “high political ethos”<br />
for stepping down to facilitate the probe. The president<br />
named current labor minister, 40-year-old economist<br />
Haris Georgiades, to replace Sarris, spokesman Christos<br />
Stylianides said.<br />
Zeta Emilianidou, permanent secretary at the commerce<br />
ministry, becomes the first woman in the cabinet,<br />
taking over Georgiades’s post, Stylianides added.<br />
Meanwhile, the government wrapped up talks with<br />
international lenders that will open the way for Cyprus<br />
to receive a 10-million euro bailout, Stylianides said.<br />
“Today we have completed the forming of the memorandum,<br />
which is a precondition for the loan agreement,”<br />
he said, adding that the period to implement the<br />
deal was extended by two years to 2018 to “ease pressure<br />
on the economy.” And the central bank announced<br />
an easing of capital controls imposed last week, raising<br />
the limit on business transactions from 5,000 euros to<br />
25,000 and allowing people to issue cheques of up to<br />
9,000 euros.<br />
With public anger mounting, the government set up<br />
a judicial inquiry on Tuesday into the banking collapse.<br />
Anastasiades called on the three-judge commission-<br />
George Pikkis, Panayiotis Kallis and Yiannakis<br />
Constantinides-to investigate himself and his family<br />
members as a “matter of priority” and with “extra vigour”.<br />
This is seen as a move to counter unsubstantiated<br />
allegations that his relatives used privileged information<br />
to get money out of the country before deposits were<br />
locked down. Accusations have also been made against<br />
other leading politicians and business figures that they<br />
took advantage of their position to protect their assets<br />
from a hit on bank deposits imposed by EU-led creditors<br />
last month. Anastasiades said nobody was immune from<br />
the inquiry, not even his extended family or the law firm<br />
in which he was a partner until recently. “A series of acts<br />
or omissions from those authorized to manage the<br />
economy or the banking system led the country to the<br />
brink of bankruptcy, the dissolution of one its largest<br />
banks and the loss of billions from an impairment of<br />
deposits,” Anastasiades said at the swearing-in ceremo-<br />
ny. The massive losses suffered by savers in the island’s<br />
two largest banks in the first euro-zone rescue package<br />
to punish larger depositors has sparked huge resentment<br />
against anybody seen as having taken unfair<br />
advantage to shirk their share of the burden.<br />
The president lauded what he said was the “high<br />
political ethos and political sensitivity” reflected by<br />
Sarris’ resignation, which he said “constitutes a phenomenon<br />
of a new approach with regard to what is happening<br />
in the Cypriot political life.” Central bank official<br />
Ambani brothers<br />
bury hatchet with<br />
telecom deal<br />
Page 23<br />
Cyprus finance minister quits<br />
Probe to unravel causes of crisis, bailout<br />
MOSCOW: Cyprus’ Finance Minister Michalis Sarris (center) leaves after his meeting with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at the building of Russian Finance Ministry in<br />
Moscow. —AP<br />
Yiangos Demetriou told state radio meanwhile that<br />
savers in the island’s largest lender, Bank of Cyprus,<br />
would also be able to access 10 percent of their deposits<br />
over 100,000 euros.<br />
But he added that the representatives of the troikathe<br />
European Central Bank, the European Union and the<br />
International Monetary Fund-had asked for more information<br />
before agreeing to release the full 40 percent of<br />
deposits over that threshold that savers can be sure of<br />
retaining. — AFP
LJUBLJANA: Slovenia’s central bank governor Marko Kranjec speaks during a press<br />
conference in Ljubljana yesterday. — AFP<br />
Slovenian CB slashes<br />
<strong>2013</strong> growth forecast<br />
LJUBLJANA: Slovenia’s economy will contract<br />
more than previously expected this<br />
year, the central bank said yesterday, forecasting<br />
gross domestic product to shrink<br />
by 1.9 percent. In its previous prediction,<br />
the central bank said the economy would<br />
contract by 0.7 percent.<br />
Slovenia will start a modest recovery in<br />
2014, with 0.5-percent growth speeding up<br />
to 1.4 percent of GDP in 2015, the bank also<br />
said. Central bank governor Marko Kranjec,<br />
also a member of the European Central<br />
Bank’s governing body, warned however<br />
that: “Much will depend this and next year<br />
on what will the state do.”<br />
“Risks are high and a clear message that<br />
we want to stabilize the economic situation<br />
cannot be avoided,” he told journalists. In<br />
2014, “much will still depend on the international<br />
environment but mainly on the<br />
domestic situation,” he added. The new<br />
centre-left government, appointed last<br />
month, has promised to continue implementing<br />
measures adopted by the previ-<br />
EXCHANGE RATES<br />
Commercial Bank of <strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
US Dollar/KD .2770000 .2880000<br />
GB Pound/KD .4300000 .4450000<br />
Euro .3620000 .3780000<br />
Swiss francs .2970000 .3160000<br />
Canadian Dollar .2770000 .2920000<br />
Australian DLR .2940000 .3010000<br />
Indian rupees .0040000 .0068000<br />
Sri Lanka Rupee .0020000 .0035000<br />
UAE dirhams .0772190 .0779950<br />
Bahraini dinars .7523200 .7598810<br />
Jordanian dinar .3930000 .4110000<br />
Saudi riyals .0720000 .0770000<br />
Omani riyals .7375180 .7449300<br />
Egyptian pounds .0370000 .0440000<br />
CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES<br />
US Dollar/KD .2843000 .2864000<br />
GB Pound/KD .4323210 .4355140<br />
Euro .3644300 .3671220<br />
Swiss francs .2993260 .3015370<br />
Canadian dollars .2793690 .2814330<br />
Danish Kroner .0488760 .0492370<br />
Swedish Kroner .0435620 .0438840<br />
Australian dlr .2962260 .2984140<br />
Hong Kong dlr .0366200 .0368910<br />
Singapore dlr .2291820 .2308750<br />
Japanese yen .0030170 .0030400<br />
Indian Rs/KD .0000000 .0053060<br />
Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 .0022660<br />
Pakistan rupee .0000000 .0029210<br />
Bangladesh taka .0000000 .0036790<br />
UAE dirhams .0774340 .0780060<br />
Bahraini dinars .7544120 .7599840<br />
Jordanian dinar .0000000 .4050920<br />
Saudi Riyal/KD .0758340 .0763940<br />
Omani riyals .7387290 .7441860<br />
Philippine Peso .0000000 .0070670<br />
Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.<br />
ASIAN COUNTRIES<br />
Japanese Yen 2.987<br />
Indian Rupees 5.283<br />
Pakistani Rupees 2.906<br />
Srilankan Rupees 2.251<br />
Nepali Rupees 3.313<br />
Singapore Dollar 229.280<br />
Hongkong Dollar 36.787<br />
Bangladesh Taka 3.614<br />
Philippine Peso 7.009<br />
ous government-including pension and<br />
labor reforms and a plan to create a socalled<br />
bad bank. At the same time, it says it<br />
plans to “soften” austerity measures aimed<br />
at cutting public sector spending. “We are<br />
still waiting for the government’s program<br />
to be presented shortly and hope it will<br />
help stabilize the situation,” Kranjec said.<br />
“The government... has to do whatever is<br />
necessary to stabilize the economic and<br />
financial conditions,” he added, urging<br />
Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek to “make it<br />
clear she is serious about such measures.”<br />
In its economic forecast last week, the<br />
government’s Macroeconomic Analysis and<br />
Research Institute (UMAR) also predicted a<br />
1.9-percent contraction this year, followed<br />
by modest 0.2-percent growth in 2014.<br />
Last year, the economy contracted by<br />
2.3 percent of GDP. On inflation, the central<br />
bank kept its forecast unchanged yesterday,<br />
predicting a 2.3-percent hike in consumer<br />
prices this year and by 1.4 percent in<br />
2014. — AFP<br />
CBQ plans bond sale<br />
to boost capital<br />
DUBAI: Commercial Bank Of Qatar (CBQ),<br />
which is buying a majority stake in<br />
Turkish lender Alternatifbank, has picked<br />
two banks for a potential bond sale to<br />
boost its core capital, sources said.<br />
The sale of a capital-boosting bond, a<br />
rare move in the Gulf, would help assuage<br />
analysts’ concerns over CBQ’s capital position<br />
which have been exacerbated by its<br />
recent agreement to buy the controlling<br />
stake in Alternatifbank. CBQ, the Gulf<br />
state’s third-largest bank by market value,<br />
has hired Morgan Stanley Inc and Bank Of<br />
America Merrill Lynch for the issue of a<br />
Tier 1 bond, two sources familiar with the<br />
matter said, speaking on condition of<br />
anonymity as the matter is not public.<br />
CBQ declined to comment. Tier 1 capital<br />
is the main measure of a bank’s financial<br />
strength and Gulf banks will eventually<br />
be expected to comply with tighter<br />
Basel III global standards for Tier 1 ratios,<br />
which will be gradually introduced over<br />
the coming years. The sale of capitalboosting<br />
bonds is still rare in the Gulf but<br />
the trend has been growing in recent<br />
months with two UAE-based lenders, Abu<br />
Dhabi Islamic Bank and Dubai Islamic<br />
Bank selling sharia-compliant Tier 1 debt<br />
to shore up their capital ratios.<br />
CBQ has never sold a Tier 1 bond<br />
before but completed a $600 million tenyear<br />
Tier 2 bond in 2009 as part of a $1.6<br />
billion two-part offering which, at the<br />
time, was the largest ever issue from an<br />
emerging market financial institution.One<br />
of the sources said CBQ was aiming to sell<br />
a benchmark-sized bond, which is typically<br />
at least $500 million in size.<br />
Dubai-based brokerage Arqaam<br />
Capital said in a March 26 note that the<br />
bank would need to raise fresh equity of<br />
about 4.8 billion Qatari riyals ($1.32 billion)<br />
in order to address its weak capital<br />
base. The broker expects CBQ to raise the<br />
capital through a combination of a Tier 1<br />
bond sale and a rights issue.<br />
In March, CBQ agreed to buy a 70.8<br />
percent stake in Alternatifbank, valued at<br />
$460 million based on Alternatif’s book<br />
value of $328 million at the end of<br />
December. The final price will be based<br />
on two times the Turkish lender’s book<br />
value as at June 30, <strong>2013</strong>, the bank has<br />
said. In the Gulf region, CBQ owns a near-<br />
35 percent stake in National Bank of<br />
Oman and 40 percent in United Arab<br />
Bank. — Reuters<br />
Thai Baht 9.730<br />
Irani Riyal - transfer 0.271<br />
Irani Riyal - cash 0.273<br />
GCC COUNTRIES<br />
Saudi Riyal 76.150<br />
Qatari Riyal 78.463<br />
Omani Riyal 741.720<br />
Bahraini Dinar 758.470<br />
UAE Dirham 77.758<br />
ARAB COUNTRIES<br />
Egyptian Pound - Cash 41.450<br />
Egyptian Pound - Transfer 41.410<br />
Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.332<br />
Tunisian Dinar 182.160<br />
Jordanian Dinar 403.260<br />
Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.916<br />
Syrian Lier 3.102<br />
Morocco Dirham 33.821<br />
EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES<br />
US Dollar Transfer 285.450<br />
Euro 371.090<br />
Sterling Pound 432.740<br />
Canadian dollar 280.400<br />
Swiss Franc 303.030<br />
US Dollar Buying 284.250<br />
GOLD<br />
20 Gram 298.000<br />
10 Gram 150.000<br />
5 Gram 77.500<br />
UAE Exchange Centre WLL<br />
COUNTRY SELL DRAFT SELL CASH<br />
Australian Dollar 301.98 300.000<br />
Canadian Dollar 285.17 283.000<br />
Swiss Franc 305.72 305.000<br />
Euro 369.44 368.000<br />
US Dollar 285.25 286.250<br />
Sterling Pound 437.63 437.000<br />
Japanese Yen 3.10 3.300<br />
Bangladesh Taka 3.657 3.740<br />
Indian Rupee 5.259 5.400<br />
Sri Lankan Rupee 2.249 2.450<br />
Nepali Rupee 3.293 3.450<br />
Pakistani Rupee 2.963 2.980<br />
UAE Dirhams 77.73 78.500<br />
Bahraini Dinar 759.51 758.500<br />
Egyptian Pound 41.29 41.300<br />
Jordanian Dinar 406.37 413.000<br />
BUSINESS<br />
BEIJING: A Chinese tanker loaded crude in Iran<br />
in March, according to shipping data and an<br />
industry official, the first time a China-flagged<br />
ship has transported Iranian crude since EU sanctions<br />
imposed last July stopped insurers covering<br />
the shipments.<br />
The United States and Europe imposed tough<br />
sanctions in 2012 that aim to choke Iran’s oil revenue<br />
and force the Islamic Republic to halt its<br />
disputed nuclear program. Unable to find insurance<br />
for its own vessels because of the sanctions,<br />
China has relied mainly on the National Iranian<br />
Tanker Company (NITC) to ship Iran’s crude to<br />
Chinese refineries over the past nine months. If<br />
China has put in place a system of insurance for<br />
its own vessels allowing them to participate in<br />
the trade again, the country’s refineries could<br />
boost imports. China is Iran’s largest trade partner<br />
and biggest oil client, buying around 440,000<br />
barrels per day (bpd) in 2012. The Chineseowned<br />
supertanker Yuan Yang Hu, with capacity<br />
to carry 2 million barrels of crude, called at Iran’s<br />
Kharg Island on March 20-21 and is en route to<br />
China, shipping tracking data showed.<br />
The vessel is owned by Dalian Ocean, a subsidiary<br />
of state shipping giant China Ocean<br />
Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO). An official<br />
at COSCO’s general manager’s office said she was<br />
unaware of the matter and the company’s press<br />
official was not available for comment.<br />
Norwegian marine and energy insurance<br />
group Skuld said it provided protection and<br />
indemnity (P&I) cover - insurance for ocean going<br />
ships against pollution and injury claims - for the<br />
Yuan Yang Hu. “We insure ships on a yearly basis<br />
and do not usually know what particular activity<br />
a ship is engaged in at any one time,” Skuld said<br />
in a statement. “An owner is not obliged to<br />
inform Skuld about the trade he is conducting<br />
with the vessel.” Skuld said compliance with EU’s<br />
regulations was of the “utmost importance”. “Any<br />
member who falls within the scope of this exclusion<br />
or engages in activity which is contrary to<br />
any other provision in the insurance terms and<br />
conditions runs the risk of prejudicing their P&I<br />
cover,” it said. “The operation of the exclusion is<br />
automatic - the exclusion will apply without us<br />
being required to give notice to owners.” An<br />
industry official with knowledge of the shipment<br />
told Reuters separately that the tanker’s insurance<br />
and reinsurance had been arranged in<br />
China. He was unable to provide more details.<br />
“This is the first Chinese vessel (since the<br />
ban)... as one of the lifters got special approval<br />
from the authorities to lift Iranian oil on a trial<br />
basis,” said the official, who requested anonymity<br />
due to the sensitivity of the matter. “Insurance is<br />
also handled by the Chinese side.”<br />
Iran’s fleet has struggled to deliver oil to its<br />
biggest buyers China, India and South Korea, all<br />
of whom had to switch to Iranian vessels for<br />
delivery after the EU sanctions came into place.<br />
China’s Iranian imports fell 21 percent in 2012<br />
from 2011 to 440,000 bpd partly due to shipping<br />
problems. The fall meant China qualified for an<br />
exemption to US sanctions, which require buyers<br />
of Iranian crude to continually reduce imports.<br />
Beijing has repeatedly stated its opposition to<br />
Omani Riyal 742.38 740.000<br />
Qatari Riyal 78.77 78.500<br />
Saudi Riyal 76.27 76.500<br />
Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd<br />
Rate for Transfer Selling Rate<br />
US Dollar 285.100<br />
Canadian Dollar 284.185<br />
Sterling Pound 435.515<br />
Euro 367.425<br />
Swiss Frank 300.234<br />
Bahrain Dinar 754.810<br />
UAE Dirhams 77.600<br />
Qatari Riyals 78.255<br />
Saudi Riyals 75.990<br />
Jordanian Dinar 401.895<br />
Egyptian Pound 41.253<br />
Sri Lankan Rupees 2.254<br />
Indian Rupees 5.250<br />
Pakistani Rupees 2.895<br />
Bangladesh Taka 3.626<br />
Philippines Pesso 6.994<br />
Cyprus pound 699.365<br />
Japanese Yen 4.030<br />
Thai Bhat 9.810<br />
Syrian Pound 4.030<br />
Nepalese Rupees 3.370<br />
Malaysian Ringgit 91.985<br />
Bahrain Exchange Company<br />
COUNTRY SELL CASH SELLDRAFT<br />
Europe<br />
British Pound 0.4267132 0.4357132<br />
Czech Korune 0.0061866 0.0181866<br />
Danish Krone 0.0449108 0.0499108<br />
Euro 0.3607049 0.3682049<br />
Norwegian Krone 0.0446604 0.0498604<br />
Scottish Pound 0.4241508 0.4316508<br />
Swedish Krona 0.0396009 0.0446009<br />
Swiss Franc 0.2951579 0.3021579<br />
Australasia<br />
Australian Dollar 0.2869837 0.2989837<br />
New Zealand Dollar 0.2306706 0.2406706<br />
Uganda Shilling 0.0001118 0.0001118<br />
America<br />
Canadian Dollar 0.2736595 0.2826595<br />
Colombian Peso 0.0001488 0.0001668<br />
US Dollars 0.2833500 0.2856500<br />
Asia<br />
Bangladesh Taka 0.0035948 0.0036498<br />
Cape Vrde Escudo 0.0031691 0.0033991<br />
Chinese Yuan 0.0449179 0.0499179<br />
Eritrea-Nakfa 0.0165100 0.0196100<br />
Al Mulla Exchange<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Chinese tanker loads<br />
Iran oil, first since July<br />
Insurance arrangements for tanker unclear<br />
unilateral sanctions outside of the United<br />
Nations, such as those imposed by the United<br />
States. But it qualified for an exemption anyway,<br />
after the shipping delays and a contract dispute<br />
led to the sharp fall in imports.<br />
COSCO’s chairman Wei Jiafu told Reuters last<br />
July, just weeks after the European insurance ban<br />
took effect, that the Chinese government could<br />
follow Japan’s example and provide insurance for<br />
Chinese tankers.<br />
Japan found a way around the EU ban last<br />
year when the government stepped in to provide<br />
$7.6 billion in coverage to tankers carrying<br />
Iranian crude bound for Japanese ports.<br />
Insurance companies use reinsurers to hedge<br />
their risk, and the reinsurance market is mostly<br />
based in Europe. The EU sanctions prevent those<br />
reinsurers from participating in transactions that<br />
facilitate Iranian crude exports. The same problem<br />
has also arisen in India for refiners seeking<br />
insurance for plants that process Iranian crude.<br />
China largest refiner Sinopec processes nearly<br />
all the Iranian crude imported into the country,<br />
which is shipped in by Sinopec’s trading arm<br />
Unipec and state trader Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp.<br />
Even without any new arrangement on insurance,<br />
oil traders have said deliveries have, since<br />
late 2012, “improved significantly” after NITC<br />
deployed old tankers and also took delivery of<br />
several new vessels from Chinese shipyards.<br />
In the first two months of <strong>2013</strong>, China imported<br />
about 410,000 bpd of Iranian crude, 3 percent<br />
more than a year earlier, according to Chinese<br />
customs data. — Reuters<br />
Altimo’s $3.7bn bid<br />
undervalues Orascom<br />
DUBAI: Altimo is taking a cheap shot at Egypt’s<br />
Orascom Telecom Holding. The firm controlled<br />
by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman has<br />
offered to buy out minorities in the Cairo-listed<br />
operator, which has interests sprawling from<br />
Bangladesh to Canada. The bid values the firm at<br />
$3.7 billion, a 10 percent premium to the current<br />
market value. If a dispute with Algeria over<br />
Orascom’s most profitable asset, Djezzy, is<br />
resolved soon, that will look measly.<br />
The Russian firm is offering 70 cents for each<br />
Orascom share. Regional broker Prime Holding<br />
calculates that amount is equivalent to around<br />
half the multiple of EBITDA of recent transactions<br />
by Orascom, and a 20 percent discount to<br />
the operator’s sum of the parts. A higher valuation<br />
looks increasingly realistic amid signs that<br />
Algeria is ready to end the two-year-old dispute<br />
over Djezzy, which is independently valued at<br />
$6.5 billion and provides 60 percent of<br />
Orascom’s operating EBITDA.<br />
The move on Orascom, already half-controlled<br />
by Altimo subsidiary Vimpelcom, looks<br />
like a pre-emptive attempt by the Russian firm<br />
to capture more of the potential upside from<br />
Djezzy for itself. Investors were expecting<br />
Vimpelcom to lead a buyout - but only after the<br />
Djezzy dispute was settled.<br />
The reason for Vimpelcom’s parent making<br />
the move is unclear. Vimpelcom is busy reducing<br />
its net debt, but the $20 billion firm could<br />
afford to buy the shares it doesn’t already own<br />
and still hit its leverage targets for 2015, say<br />
analysts at Citi.<br />
Altimo may be planning a broader restructur-<br />
ing of its own telecoms interests or Vimpelcom<br />
could gain from the buyout in the future. Egypt’s<br />
regulator, which has delayed a number of M&A<br />
deals post-uprising for political reasons, should<br />
scrutinize the relationship between Altimo and<br />
Vimpelcom.<br />
Minority shareholders should be nervous.<br />
Orascom could be left with low liquidity without<br />
a delisting. France Telecom’s local unit Mobinil is<br />
already listed in Cairo with almost no free float.<br />
But the low-ball offer might not get far, especially<br />
as the government has recently introduced a<br />
new capital gains tax. Only those desperate to<br />
exit troubled Egypt will be tempted.<br />
Russia’s Altimo has submitted an application<br />
to tender an offer for Cairo-listed Orascom<br />
Telecom Holding, Egypt’s Financial Supervisory<br />
Authority said on March 31. The offer values the<br />
firm at 70 cents per share or $3.7 billion. Altimo<br />
owns more than half of Vimpelcom, which in<br />
turn owns 52 percent of Orascom. Vimpelcom<br />
has said it will not sell its stake under the offer.<br />
If the offer is approved by Egyptian regulators,<br />
the price will be converted into Egyptian<br />
pounds for locally-held shares based on the official<br />
exchange rate two days before the settlement.<br />
The Egyptian pound has lost 10 percent of<br />
its value since the start of <strong>2013</strong>. —Reuters<br />
Qatar spending could<br />
fall after 2017: FM<br />
DUBAI: Qatar’s government budget spending is<br />
expected to stay at about this year’s level until<br />
2017, after which it could drop, Qatari Finance<br />
and Economy Minister Youssef Kamal said yesterday.<br />
Qatar plans to boost government spending<br />
by 18 percent to 210.6 billion riyals ($57.8 billion)<br />
in the <strong>2013</strong>/14 fiscal year that began on Monday,<br />
as it steps up a big infrastructure building program.<br />
“The budget of course until the year 2015<br />
or 2017 will be the same level, but later on it<br />
could go down again because most of the infrastructure<br />
would be completed at that time,” said<br />
Kamal, speaking to reporters at a meeting of<br />
Arab finance ministers and central bankers in<br />
Dubai. Earlier, Qatar’s central bank said it planned<br />
to issue 3 billion riyals of conventional bonds and<br />
1 billion riyals of sukuk in the local currency every<br />
quarter. Asked if this meant Qatar would become<br />
less active issuing international bonds, Kamal<br />
replied: “We are still open to the international<br />
market - it depends on opportunities and also on<br />
the level of debt to the GDP (gross domestic<br />
product). Today the foreign debt to GDP of the<br />
state of Qatar is around 12 percent. It’s nothing.”<br />
Asked about the possibility of a Qatari dollar<br />
sovereign bond issue this year, he said: “We study<br />
the international market and if there is a good<br />
opportunity we will be active within that opportunity.”<br />
—Reuters<br />
Guinea Franc 0.0000443 0.0000503<br />
Hong Kong Dollar 0.0342580 0.0373580<br />
Indian Rupee 0.0052050 0.0052699<br />
Indonesian Rupiah 0.0000244 0.0000295<br />
Jamaican Dollars 0.0028547 0.0038547<br />
Japanese Yen 0.0029535 0.0031336<br />
Kenyan Shilling 0.0032711 0.0035011<br />
Malaysian Ringgit 0.0882472 0.0952472<br />
Nepalese Rupee 0.0031376 0.0033378<br />
Pakistan Rupee 0.0028723 0.0029123<br />
Philippine Peso 0.0065441 0.0070141<br />
Sierra Leone 0.0000730 0.0000760<br />
Singapore Dollar 0.2258670 0.2318670<br />
Sri Lankan Rupee 0.0019515 0.0022535<br />
Thai Baht 0.0093454 0.0099454<br />
Arab<br />
Bahraini Dinar 0.7512658 0.7597658<br />
Egyptian Pound 0.0399153 0.0419453<br />
Ethiopeanbirr 0.0129967 0.0194967<br />
Ghanaian Cedi 0.1486950 0.1504850<br />
Iranian Riyal 0.0000794 0.0000799<br />
Iraqi Dinar 0.0001738 0.0002338<br />
Jordanian Dinar 0.3973239 0.4048239<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>i Dinar 1.0000000 1.0000000<br />
Lebanese Pound 0.0001752 0.0001952<br />
Moroccan Dirhams 0.0215277 0.0455277<br />
Nigerian Naira 0.0012152 0.0018502<br />
Omani Riyal 0.7309380 0.7419380<br />
Qatar Riyal 0.0778056 0.0785886<br />
Saudi Riyal 0.0756400 O.0762800<br />
Sudanese Pounds 0.0480305 0.0485805<br />
Syrian Pound 0.0031875 0.0034076<br />
Tunisian Dinar 0.1792045 0.1852045<br />
UAE Dirhams 0.0763447 0.0777947<br />
Yemeni Riyal 0.0012887 0.0013887<br />
Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000)<br />
US Dollar 284.800<br />
Euro 369.200<br />
Pound Sterling 436.250<br />
Canadian Dollar 282.800<br />
Japanese Yen 3.065<br />
Indian Rupee 5.250<br />
Egyptian Pound 41.250<br />
Sri Lankan Rupee 2.253<br />
Bangladesh Taka 3.619<br />
Philippines Peso 6.978<br />
Pakistan Rupee 2.896<br />
Bahraini Dinar 758.250<br />
UAE Dirham 77.600<br />
Saudi Riyal 76.100<br />
*Rates are subject to change
BUSINESS<br />
Ambani brothers bury hatchet with telecom deal<br />
MUMBAI: India’s billionaire Ambani<br />
brothers, who fought a very public feud<br />
for spoils of their father’s business<br />
empire, signed yesterday a $220-million<br />
deal in the first tangible sign of a corporate<br />
reconciliation. Reliance Jio<br />
Infocomm, the telecom unit of Mukesh<br />
Ambani-led Reliance Industries, signed<br />
the agreement with Reliance<br />
Communications, the flagship firm of<br />
the Anil Ambani group, to share their<br />
fibre-optic communications networks.<br />
The long rumored pact is the “first in<br />
an intended comprehensive framework<br />
of business co-operation” between<br />
Reliance Jio and RCom, to use each other’s<br />
infrastructure across Indian cities,<br />
the companies said.<br />
This will provide “optimal utilization<br />
of existing and future infrastructure of<br />
both companies on a reciprocal basis”,<br />
they added in separate but identical<br />
statements.<br />
There have been increasing signs of a<br />
warming of ties between the brothers<br />
since their fight for control of Reliance<br />
erupted after their rags-to-riches father,<br />
Dhirubhai, died in 2002 without leaving<br />
a will.<br />
“It is a positive sign that the brothers<br />
are keen to work together,” said a fund<br />
manager with a state-run brokerage<br />
firm, who asked to remain unnamed.<br />
The pair ended up splitting the Reliance<br />
group left by their father that was India’s<br />
most valuable listed company.<br />
After a protracted court case that<br />
saw their mother, Kokilaben, act as<br />
peacemaker, the brothers agreed to<br />
bury the hatchet and tear up a noncompetition<br />
agreement that prevented<br />
them from entering the same sectors.<br />
In 2011, Mukesh and Anil came<br />
together to dedicate a memorial to their<br />
father, and their mother declared the<br />
enmity over, telling reporters: “There is<br />
love between the brothers.”<br />
Tuesday’s agreement, while small in<br />
value, was the first tangible evidence of<br />
an end to the business rift between<br />
Mukesh, India’s wealthiest man, and his<br />
younger sibling Anil. News of the agree-<br />
OMAHA: Matthew Miller of Omaha shops for a car in Omaha, Nebraska. March<br />
turned out to be the best month for auto sales in at least six years in the US. — AP<br />
US factory orders<br />
up 3% in February<br />
WASHINGTON: US factories rose sharply in<br />
February from January on a surge in<br />
demand for volatile aircraft. The gain offset<br />
a drop in key orders that signal business<br />
investment.<br />
The Commerce Department said yesterday<br />
that factory orders increased 3 percent<br />
in February. That’s up 1 percent decline in<br />
January and the biggest gain in five<br />
months. The increase was due mostly to a<br />
jump in orders for commercial aircraft.<br />
Those orders rose 95.1 percent. Orders for<br />
motor vehicles and parts also increased 1.4<br />
percent. Orders for all durable goods,<br />
which are products expected to last at least<br />
three years, jumped 5.6 percent. Orders for<br />
nondurable goods, such as processed food<br />
and clothing, rose 0.8 percent.<br />
Despite the gains, the report showed<br />
that a key measure of business investment<br />
plans fell. That could mean that some companies<br />
were worried in February about<br />
steep federal spending cuts that started on<br />
March 1. Core capital goods, which include<br />
machinery and equipment orders, fell 3.2<br />
percent. Demand for construction machinery,<br />
turbines and generators all fell sharply.<br />
Orders for computers and electronic products<br />
rose slightly.<br />
Economists closely watch these orders<br />
because they signal business investment<br />
plans. Still, the decline followed a 6.7 percent<br />
surge in January, the largest in nearly<br />
three years. Analysts said that when aver-<br />
aging the two months, business investment<br />
orders showed a solid increase for the<br />
January-March quarter. Many expect the<br />
gains to resume this spring, helped by a<br />
stronger job market that has kept consumers<br />
spending. Consumers stepped up<br />
spending in February after their income<br />
jumped. The gain occurred even after<br />
Social Security taxes increased in January,<br />
reducing take-home pay for most<br />
Americans.<br />
Many economists raised their growth<br />
forecasts after the report was released.<br />
Some are predicting growth could increase<br />
to around 3 percent in the January-March<br />
quarter, up from 0.4 percent in the previous<br />
three months. Other data show that some<br />
companies may start to pull back because<br />
of the government spending cuts. The<br />
Institute for Supply Management reported<br />
Monday that US manufacturing activity<br />
expanded more slowly in March than<br />
February, held back by weaker growth in<br />
production and new orders.<br />
But factories did hire at the fastest pace<br />
in nine months, which was seen as an<br />
encouraging sign ahead of Friday’s report<br />
on employment in March. The economy<br />
has added an average of 200,000 jobs a<br />
month from November through February,<br />
which helped lower the unemployment<br />
rate in February to a four-year low of 7.7<br />
percent. Economists predict a similar level<br />
of hiring in March. — AP<br />
Blue-chips help Dubai<br />
halt slump; Oman up<br />
MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS<br />
DUBAI: Dubai’s index rebounded from a twomonth<br />
low yesterday, although thin trading<br />
left investors unsure whether these gains<br />
marked the end of a recent downward trend.<br />
Most Middle East markets edged higher in<br />
lackluster trade. Dubai’s measure index<br />
climbed 1 percent. About 79 million shares<br />
traded, which was 58 percent higher than a<br />
day earlier, but still less than half the <strong>2013</strong><br />
average of 177 million shares. “The market was<br />
very quiet so it’s very difficult to say this marks<br />
a change in trend,” said Sebastien Henin, portfolio<br />
manager at The National Investor. “Maybe<br />
some investors think the market has fallen<br />
enough.” The index has declined in four out of<br />
six sessions, reducing year-to-date gains to<br />
13.6 percent.<br />
It is down 5.3 percent since Feb. 24’s 39month<br />
peak and has broadly followed a similar<br />
pattern to 2012 when an early-year surge gave<br />
way to a sustained slump from early March.<br />
But those bald numbers fail to show a crucial<br />
difference this year compared to last, said<br />
Henin. “Last year, it was speculative money<br />
coming into small- and mid-cap stocks that<br />
pushed the market higher, but this time it’s<br />
only about three or four large stocks - the<br />
quality names - that are responsible for most<br />
of the rally,” said Henin. Therefore the market<br />
can better hold onto its early-year gains as<br />
these are backed up by company fundamentals,<br />
with Emaar Properties, bank Emirates NBD<br />
and telecom operator du the main drivers of<br />
the rally. Emaar climbed 3 percent and<br />
Emirates NBD added 1 percent, but du fell 0.4<br />
percent. All are up more than 30 percent this<br />
year.Oman’s index rose 0.7 percent to rebound<br />
from a five-week low. It is down 2.7 percent<br />
from March 26’s 22-month high.<br />
The recent slump was due to investors<br />
booking some early-year gains as well as many<br />
stocks going ex-dividend, said Adel Nasr,<br />
United Securities brokerage manager.<br />
Investors used these cash dividends to buy<br />
back stocks at lower prices, driving Tuesday’s<br />
rebound. “It’s speculation on first-quarter<br />
results,” said Nasr. “If earnings beat expectations<br />
I would expect the market to rally to the<br />
end of the year.” Many investors have targeted<br />
the likes of OM Invest and Oman National<br />
Investment Corp Holding (ONIC), because<br />
these companies invest in Gulf equities and so<br />
should benefit from a broadly positive regional<br />
trend this year. OM Invest and ONIC climbed<br />
5.5 and 3.1 percent respectively. Saudi Arabia’s<br />
index rose for a sixth session in eight, but will<br />
remain in a sideways range as investors are<br />
unsure how best to profit from the country’s<br />
growing economy, which is forecast to expand<br />
4 percent in <strong>2013</strong>. “Saudi has one of the best<br />
stories from a macroeconomic perspective,<br />
but taking a position on that is trickier<br />
because the largest sector - petrochemicals - is<br />
not really related to the domestic economy,”<br />
said Henin. “People are hunting for domestic<br />
plays.” That would normally make consumer<br />
stocks a target, but these have already rallied,<br />
said Henin.<br />
Investors are also wary of banking stocks,<br />
Saudi’s other heavyweight sector, due to worries<br />
that provisions and tight net interest margins<br />
will constrain profit growth.<br />
Telecoms is attracting little interest - No.2<br />
operator Mobily is near a six-year high and former<br />
monopoly Saudi Telecom Co has been<br />
making negative headlines after a second<br />
chief executive quit in less than a year last<br />
month and its fourth-quarter profit fell 79 percent.<br />
Egypt’s main share index fell 0.4 percent,<br />
its third straight decline, to slump to a 16week<br />
low. “Bearish momentum is slowing<br />
down,” wrote Pharos brokerage. — Reuters<br />
This combo of file pictures shows chairman and managing director of Reliance<br />
Industries Mukesh Ambani (left) and chairman of India’s Reliance Power Anil<br />
Ambani. — AFP<br />
ment heightened speculation among<br />
analysts about further collaboration<br />
between the brothers as well as about a<br />
DUBAI: Pressure for Oman to keep increasing its<br />
state spending every year is decreasing because<br />
the country has finished building most of the<br />
infrastructure it needs, finance minister Darwish<br />
Al-Balushi said yesterday.<br />
Speaking to reporters at a meeting of Arab<br />
finance ministers and central bank governors in<br />
Dubai, he said that in contrast to last year, Oman<br />
did not expect this year to spend more than it<br />
had originally budgeted. “As far as the budget is<br />
concerned, we have in this year’s budget taken<br />
all the anticipated expenditure to sustain the<br />
expected growth. We do see any unexpected<br />
expenditure to occur during the year,” he said.<br />
Asked whether it was sustainable for Oman<br />
to continue raising its spending over the medium<br />
term, he replied: “Not necessarily. It depends<br />
how oil prices will behave and also our level of<br />
production.<br />
“However, we think that most of our infrastructure<br />
has been completed, therefore we do<br />
not have pressure on increasing expenditure.”<br />
Balushi also said his government did not now<br />
plan to issue conventional bonds or sukuk this<br />
year. Oman’s central bank chief Hamood<br />
Sangour Al-Zadjali had said last month that the<br />
government was likely to issue its first sukuk,<br />
denominated in rials, towards the end of <strong>2013</strong> or<br />
at the start of next year.<br />
Meanwhile, Oman’s central bank has granted<br />
Islamic banks a one-year relaxation of rules on<br />
the amount of foreign assets which they can<br />
hold, to give time for Islamic financial instruments<br />
to be developed domestically.<br />
Oman’s first full-fledged Islamic banks, Bank<br />
Nizwa and Al Izz International Bank, were established<br />
late last year and are now starting to operate<br />
as the country introduces Islamic finance.<br />
Under rules announced by the central bank in<br />
December, the two banks can hold no more<br />
than 40 percent of their net worth in the form of<br />
foreign currency-denominated assets.<br />
This threatens to hurt their profitability, how-<br />
possible merger of the two Reliance<br />
telecom companies. RCom’s shares leapt<br />
as much as 17.2 percent to a high of<br />
ever, because Oman has not yet developed a<br />
market in sukuk (Islamic bonds) or other shariacompliant<br />
instruments which the banks could<br />
use to manage their liquidity.<br />
Al-Zadjali said that for the first six months,<br />
the limit would be raised to 75 percent, and it<br />
would be 50 percent for the following six<br />
months. Then the 40 percent limit would apply.<br />
“After that they can have local sukuk and they<br />
can be building local credits,” Zadjali said at a<br />
meeting of Arab central bankers and finance<br />
ministers in Dubai. “It’s a definite period, it’s one<br />
year...until they set the client base.” Last year, the<br />
two lenders raised a combined 100 million rials<br />
($260 million) through their initial public offers<br />
of shares, with Bank Nizwa having 150 million<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
66.9 rupees after the news before retracing<br />
some of their gains to close up nearly<br />
11 percent at 63.3 rupees. Mukesh<br />
Ambani’s Reliance Jio is unlisted.<br />
The deal will help Reliance Jio<br />
Infocomm roll out its high-speed fourthgeneration<br />
(4G) services. Mukesh<br />
Ambani is planning to establish an ultrafast<br />
4G telecommunications carrier later<br />
in <strong>2013</strong>. Analysts say sharing fibre-optic<br />
networks and other infrastructure such<br />
as telecom towers could prove mutually<br />
beneficial by helping Mukesh reduce<br />
costs at the same time as boosting the<br />
fortunes of Anil’s debt-laden group.<br />
RCom will have reciprocal access to<br />
the optic fibre infrastructure which<br />
Reliance Jio will build in the future, the<br />
companies said.<br />
“Both brothers have a presence in<br />
telecom. Their working together makes<br />
sense at a time when the cost of doing<br />
business is high and the economic<br />
environment is tough,” said Sonam<br />
Udasi, head of research with IDBI<br />
Capital. — AFP<br />
Pressure on Oman to<br />
raise spending eases<br />
State completes infrastructure projects<br />
DUBAI: DAMAC Properties, a privately-held<br />
Dubai developer, is considering listing its shares<br />
on the stock market and has approached banks<br />
with proposals for advisory roles as it bets on a<br />
recovery in the emirate’s real estate market.<br />
The developer has submitted requests to a<br />
handful of leading international banks, three<br />
sources aware of the plan said, speaking on condition<br />
of anonymity as the matter is not public. It<br />
would be the first major property firm in the<br />
United Arab Emirates to launch an initial public<br />
offering (IPO) since the property market collapsed<br />
in 2009, after similar plans by familyowned<br />
Al Habtoor Group were shelved last year.<br />
An IPO by a big Dubai name would also jolt<br />
moribund equity markets in the region. The last<br />
listing on the Dubai Financial Market index was<br />
in March 2009, while the Abu Dhabi bourse has<br />
seen only a couple of minor sales since 2008. The<br />
IPO plan is at an initial stage and it was not clear<br />
whether the listing was planned in Dubai or in<br />
another international market. No details on the<br />
DUBAI: A general view shows the opening session of the Arab Finance Ministers meeting in<br />
Dubai yesterday. — AFP<br />
potential valuation for the business was available.<br />
DAMAC said a potential IPO is one of the<br />
options considered for the company’s future<br />
growth but gave no additional details. “As a<br />
company of our size and scope, we are continually<br />
looking at all growth possibilities and an IPO<br />
is one of these routes,” said Niall McLoughlin,<br />
senior vice president at DAMAC Properties.<br />
Dubai’s property market has recovered gradually<br />
in the last one year after a 60 percent<br />
plunge in prices as investors fled the emirate following<br />
the global financial crisis.<br />
“The Dubai real estate sector is pretty hot<br />
right now so they would want to capitalize on<br />
that sentiment,” said one equity banker, declining<br />
to be named as he was not allowed to speak<br />
to the media. “They are one of the biggest<br />
developers in Dubai - when you’re driving<br />
around, you see their billboards everywhere -<br />
and the obvious comparison, Emaar Properties,<br />
has been doing pretty well recently.”<br />
rials in paid-up capital and Al Izz having 100 million<br />
rials. Oman’s first sovereign sukuk issue is<br />
expected in about a year; the finance minister<br />
said earlier yesterday that the issue would not<br />
occur within <strong>2013</strong>.<br />
The rules also state that Islamic banks are<br />
allowed to hold a maximum of 30 percent of<br />
their net worth in sovereign sukuk, so pressure<br />
will remain on the industry to develop other rialdenominated<br />
Islamic products to manage liquidity.<br />
Islamic banks in Oman have limited<br />
investment options partly because the country’s<br />
Islamic banking rules essentially ban the use of<br />
commodity murabaha, a common tool used by<br />
Islamic banks around the world to invest surplus<br />
funds. — Reuters<br />
Dubai developer Damac<br />
plans share listing<br />
BEIJING: Swedish furniture giant IKEA’s President and CEO Mikael Ohlsson delivers a speech to<br />
university students in Shanghai yesterday on the development of IKEA’s global business. — AFP<br />
Emaar Properties’ shares have risen 36 percent<br />
year-to-date on the back of increased revenue<br />
from hospitality and retail businesses. The<br />
developer has approached banks, including<br />
HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and<br />
Goldman Sachs, the sources said. The company<br />
is yet to pick an advisor for the proposed float,<br />
the sources said.<br />
Led by Hussain Sajwani, DAMAC symbolized<br />
the flamboyance in Dubai’s property market during<br />
the boom years, handing out sports cars and<br />
luxury yachts to customers of penthouses and<br />
duplex homes.<br />
The developer slowed down during the<br />
downturn but returned with new projects as<br />
Dubai’s real estate market stages a gradual<br />
recovery. DAMAC, formed in 2002, has completed<br />
37 buildings and has another 66 buildings<br />
under construction across the Middle East and<br />
North Africa region. It recently announced a plan<br />
to build a $1 billion development in partnership<br />
with Viacom Inc’s Paramount Group. — Reuters<br />
Egypt taxi drivers<br />
storm finance<br />
ministry gates<br />
CAIRO: Egyptian taxi drivers stormed the gates of<br />
the finance ministry in Cairo yesterday during a<br />
protest against the terms of loan payments on<br />
their cars, security officials said. Other taxi drivers<br />
in the protest were upset that the government had<br />
not yet replaced their old black and white taxis<br />
with the more recent white cars that are equipped<br />
with meters.<br />
Ministry employees armed with clubs and<br />
chairs prevented the drivers from entering the<br />
building. Egypt had replaced most antiquated<br />
black and white taxis in Cairo with more modern<br />
white ones over the past four years, but some older<br />
models were not eligible for the program.<br />
The new taxis were bought through financing,<br />
and many drivers now say they cannot afford to<br />
keep up with payments amid increasing inflation.<br />
Taxis, relatively cheap compared with Western<br />
fares, are one of the main forms of transportation<br />
in Cairo. — AFP
BUSINESS<br />
Oil above $111, Saudi sees stronger demand<br />
LONDON: Oil edged further above $111 a barrel<br />
yesterday as the prospect of stronger demand in<br />
Asia outweighed concern over the pace of economic<br />
recovery in top consumer the United<br />
States. Demand for crude from Saudi Arabia is<br />
likely to rise over the coming months, Saudi Oil<br />
Minister Ali Al-Naimi said on Monday - a sign the<br />
OPEC heavyweight sees a recovery in its biggest<br />
export market, Asia. China, the world’s secondlargest<br />
oil consumer, imported just over 1 million<br />
barrels a day from the Kingdom last year, up more<br />
than 7 percent from 2011.<br />
Brent gained 44 cents to $111.52 a barrel by<br />
1053 GMT. US crude rose 4 cents to $97.11 a barrel.<br />
“The fact that oil prices have been able to gain<br />
despite negative framework conditions of late -<br />
weaker data from China and the US just now, and<br />
a firmer US dollar, weaker equity markets and rising<br />
US inventories last week - can be interpreted<br />
as a sign of an incipient trend reversal,”<br />
Commerzbank said in a research note. But some<br />
investors anticipate downward pressure on oil<br />
prices as cooling US factory activity in March suggests<br />
the world’s largest economy lost some<br />
momentum at the end of the first quarter.<br />
“You see the US economy settling into a long<br />
hard grind of moderate growth of around 1 to 1.5<br />
percent. Growth in previous recoveries was closer<br />
to 3.5 percent,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst<br />
at CMC Markets, in Sydney.<br />
“With this kind of growth, the United States is<br />
going to struggle to bring down unemployment,<br />
which is a real drag on the economy.”<br />
US crude could also be pushed lower by a<br />
pipeline leak in Arkansas that threatens to<br />
increase the supply of oil coming from Canada to<br />
the US Midwest. Exxon Mobil continued efforts to<br />
clean up thousands of barrels of heavy Canadian<br />
crude oil spilled from a near 65-year-old pipeline<br />
in the US state. Exxon’s Pegasus pipeline, which<br />
can carry more than 90,000 barrels per day (bpd)<br />
of crude to Texas from Illinois, is used to supply US<br />
Gulf Coast refineries. “Any kind of bottleneck will<br />
cause weakness in the mid-continent, so you<br />
could see some temporary weakness in WTI,” said<br />
Tony Nunan, a risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp in<br />
Tokyo, referring to West Texas Intermediate-grade<br />
crude oil. —Reuters<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
SYDNEY: A passenger boat makes a turn in front of the National Maritime museum at<br />
darling harbor in Sydney yesterday. It has been widely tipped there will be no<br />
change to the current cash rate when the RBA hands down its monthly interest rate<br />
yesterday. — AFP<br />
Australia keeps<br />
rates on hold<br />
SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank kept<br />
interest rates on hold at 3.0 percent yesterday,<br />
saying global downside risks appeared<br />
to have eased but domestic pressures were<br />
lingering. Reserve Bank of Australia governor<br />
Glenn Stevens said there were a “number<br />
of indications that the substantial easing<br />
of monetary policy during late 2011<br />
and 2012 is having an expansionary effect”<br />
but more time was needed.<br />
The stubbornly high Australian dollar is<br />
squeezing local industries despite a drop in<br />
export prices, while households and businesses<br />
remained cautious. Globally, however,<br />
the picture is improving, with the United<br />
States expanding at a “moderate” pace<br />
while growth in key market China had “stabilized<br />
at a fairly robust pace”, shoring up<br />
similar improvements across Asia.<br />
“Global growth is forecast to be a little<br />
below average for a time, but the downside<br />
risks appear to be reduced,” said Stevens<br />
following the bank’s monthly meeting on<br />
monetary policy. “At today’s meeting, the<br />
board judged that it was prudent to leave<br />
the cash rate unchanged.”<br />
Stevens noted that growth had been<br />
close to long-term averages in 2012, underpinned<br />
by “very large increases” in mining<br />
spending, which offset weakness in other<br />
industries. “Looking ahead, the peak in<br />
resource investment is drawing close. There<br />
will, therefore, be more scope for some<br />
other areas of demand to strengthen,” he<br />
said.<br />
JOHANNESBURG: South African platinum<br />
producer Lonmin PLC appointed Anglo<br />
American Platinum (Amplats) executive<br />
Ben Magara as its new chief executive yesterday<br />
as it strives to rebound from a wave<br />
of deadly strikes which hammered it last<br />
year. Magara, who will start in July, will be<br />
tasked with guiding Lonmin’s turnaround<br />
and improving industrial relations at the<br />
company after illegal strikes last year triggered<br />
violence which killed 46 people,<br />
including 34 strikers shot dead by police in<br />
a single day at its Marikana mine.<br />
A Zimbabwean national who ran Anglo<br />
America’s South African coal operations<br />
before taking over engineering and capital<br />
projects at Amplats, Magara faces a militant<br />
labor force which closed Marikana for a day<br />
last month, embarrassing Lonmin as it<br />
hosted a media tour.<br />
Industry sources say he has invaluable<br />
experience of South Africa’s highly-charged<br />
labor and political environment, in which<br />
mining executives do not have just<br />
investors to please. “He seems to get - more<br />
than almost anyone else - that the mining<br />
game has changed and that your stakeholders<br />
are as important as your shareholders,”<br />
said a senior lawyer who has worked<br />
with Magara.<br />
“For a company like Lonmin, that<br />
doesn’t seem to have that institutional<br />
nous, this is a great hire,” the lawyer said.<br />
South Africa’s mining landscape has been<br />
radically transformed by the emergence of<br />
the militant Association of Mineworkers<br />
and Construction Union, which has<br />
poached members from the once dominant<br />
National Union of Mineworkers in a<br />
bloody turf war that was at the root of last<br />
year’s violence.<br />
The government and the ruling African<br />
National Congress also have the mining<br />
industry under a microscope and have<br />
lashed out at plans by Lonmin rival<br />
Amplats, the world’s biggest platinum producer,<br />
to cut up to 14,000 jobs to restore<br />
profits. Lonmin had been searching for a<br />
new chief executive since the end of last<br />
year, when Ian Farmer officially stepped<br />
aside due to illness.<br />
The company has been recovering and<br />
in January said production in the last three<br />
months of 2012 bounced back more<br />
strongly than expected from crippling<br />
strikes. Platinum, used in catalytic converters<br />
in cars, has come under pressure since<br />
the global economic downturn. The strikes,<br />
weak platinum prices and high costs forced<br />
Lonmin to turn to investors in November to<br />
raise $817 million to avoid breaching lending<br />
terms. Lonmin said Simon Scott, who<br />
has been acting chief executive since<br />
August 2012, will resume his role as chief<br />
financial officer when Magara joins.<br />
Lonmin’s shares in London were down 0.5<br />
percent at midday. — Reuters<br />
Inflation and wages were both contained,<br />
he added, supporting the bank’s<br />
view that an “accommodative stance”<br />
remained appropriate. “The board will continue<br />
to assess the outlook and adjust policy<br />
as needed to foster sustainable growth<br />
in demand and inflation outcomes consistent<br />
with the target over time,” he said.<br />
The Australian dollar was little moved<br />
by the widely expected decision, dipping<br />
from $1.0460 to $1.0450. Analysts said the<br />
commentary suggested there would have<br />
to be a significant deterioration in economic<br />
indicators before the RBA took action,<br />
with further cuts looking unlikely in the<br />
near term.<br />
“The signs of improvement that we’re<br />
currently seeing would have to peter out or<br />
there would have to be some sort of global<br />
shock, and they certainly don’t seem in any<br />
rush to move,” said AMP Capital Investors<br />
economist Shane Oliver.<br />
Rates have since December been at 3.0<br />
percent, a historic low not seen since the<br />
global financial crisis and well below their<br />
most recent peak of 4.75 percent in October<br />
2011. Ratings giant Fitch affirmed Australia’s<br />
AAA credit rating last week, meaning it is<br />
among only a handful of nations with the<br />
coveted top-flight rating from all three<br />
major agencies including Moody’s and<br />
Standard & Poor’s. The economy grew 0.6<br />
percent in the three months to December as<br />
exports lifted, but analysts have warned of a<br />
subdued picture overall. — AFP<br />
Lonmin picks Amplats<br />
exec to lead rebound<br />
Trade body eyes<br />
integrity tests<br />
for bankers<br />
LONDON: Thousands of financial sector<br />
workers risk being frozen out of the industry<br />
unless they pass mandatory tests measuring<br />
their personal ethics and integrity.<br />
The Chartered Institute for Securities &<br />
Investment (CISI), a professional body for<br />
individuals working, or seeking careers in<br />
wealth management and capital markets,<br />
wants all of its members to undergo<br />
integrity screening or face losing their<br />
membership, as it battles to restore public<br />
faith in finance.<br />
Until now, only individuals offering<br />
financial advice had to take such a test as a<br />
condition of their CISI status and to comply<br />
with UK rules on how investment funds<br />
are sold to savers. Bankers working in areas<br />
like corporate finance and mergers and<br />
acquisitions, and traders in bonds, shares<br />
and derivatives have no such regulatory<br />
requirements imposed upon them.<br />
But the CISI said yesterday that systematic<br />
checks on the ethics and integrity of<br />
workers across the entire financial services<br />
industry were long overdue. “There has<br />
been much talk about a number of initiatives<br />
which are aimed at restoring trust in<br />
financial services. This is one that has come<br />
to fruition and today we are introducing a<br />
real change,” CISI Chief Executive Simon<br />
Culhane said.<br />
Based in London, the CISI is an international<br />
organization with offices in financial<br />
centres such as Dublin, Singapore, Dubai<br />
and Mumbai. Around 7,300 of CISI’s 40,000<br />
members have sat the Integrity Matters<br />
test since it was introduced in late 2008.<br />
The CISI hopes the additional roll out will<br />
reassure savers that the industry is serious<br />
about ending so-called ‘casino-banking’.<br />
The test offers users six dilemmas, all<br />
based on real life examples from the<br />
financial sector. Each dilemma evolves<br />
over a series of time periods, with each<br />
response determining how the scenario<br />
develops. As well as demanding compliance<br />
across its entire global membership,<br />
the CISI said it would no longer accept<br />
entry-level candidates for its capital markets<br />
qualifications unless they had passed<br />
the exam first.<br />
Some institutions including Bank of<br />
America require staff working in retail<br />
investment advisory roles to take examinations<br />
set by, or belong to, approved bodies<br />
like the CISI so they can more easily<br />
demonstrate competence of their employees<br />
to regulators.—Reuters
MOSCOW: The Russian central bank kept<br />
its main refinancing rate unchanged at<br />
8.25 percent yesterday but appeared hint<br />
at future rate cuts amid pressure from policymakers<br />
for a action to boost economic<br />
activity. The Bank Rossii appeared to leave<br />
the door open for a cut in the future by<br />
saying inflation, currently high at 7.2 percent,<br />
should return to within its target<br />
range in the second half of the year.<br />
While keeping the benchmark rate<br />
unchanged, it also snipped several more<br />
minor rates by 25 basis points including<br />
longer-term rates for liquidity operations<br />
in a bid to push forward faltering activity.<br />
The bank gave a downbeat assessment of<br />
Russia’s economic growth prospects, saying<br />
that recent data pointed towards a<br />
continued slowing of growth and risks of a<br />
further slowdown.<br />
“The decision (to hold the headline<br />
rate) has been taken against the background<br />
of an estimation of the inflation<br />
risks and the prospects for economic<br />
BUSINESS<br />
Russia CB keeps main interest rate unchanged<br />
LONDON: Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, talks to an<br />
employee of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), during the opening<br />
in central London yesterday. —AP<br />
UK manufacturing<br />
shrinks again,<br />
mortgages fall<br />
LONDON: Britain’s manufacturing activity<br />
shrank for a second consecutive month in<br />
March, a survey showed yesterday, leaving<br />
the country’s more resilient services<br />
sector as the best hope of avoiding a new<br />
recession.<br />
The Markit/CIPS manufacturing purchasing<br />
managers’ index came in at 48.3, only<br />
slightly above February’s surprisingly poor<br />
reading of 47.9, and a touch weaker than<br />
the consensus forecast.<br />
The output component of the survey fell<br />
in March at its fastest pace since October.<br />
There were signs of weakness in the key<br />
housing market too. While lending to<br />
Britain’s consumers ticked up in February,<br />
the number of mortgage approvals for<br />
house purchases fell for a second month,<br />
Bank of England data showed. Nonetheless,<br />
the value of home-backed lending rose.<br />
But there was better news from the<br />
country’s largest business survey which<br />
showed that export orders with British firms<br />
rose strongly in the first three months of<br />
<strong>2013</strong> and confidence about the next 12<br />
months picked up.The Markit PMI survey<br />
suggests that manufacturing exerted an<br />
even bigger drag on growth between<br />
January and March than it did in the fourth<br />
quarter of 2012, when it accounted for a<br />
third of the economy’s 0.3 percent contraction.<br />
“The onus is now on the far larger service<br />
sector to prevent the UK from slipping<br />
into a triple-dip recession,” said Rob<br />
Dobson, senior economist at Markit.<br />
Official GDP data for the first quarter<br />
won’t be released until April 25 but the evidence<br />
so far suggests a strong risk that<br />
Britain will record a second consecutive<br />
quarter of contraction - the technical definition<br />
of recession. A third recession in less<br />
than five years would be an embarrassment<br />
for the government which is sticking to<br />
tough austerity measures.<br />
“All this still points to a very subdued<br />
economy, which will keep the pressure on<br />
the BoE to do more to offset the UK’s tight<br />
fiscal stance,” said James Knightley, an economist<br />
with ING, referring to Tuesday’s data.<br />
“However, our central case remains for a nochange<br />
decision this week.”<br />
The Bank of England’s policymakers<br />
meet today and tomorrow. More action,<br />
possibly in the form of renewed government<br />
bond-buying or quantitative easing<br />
(QE), is only expected later this year.“We<br />
don’t think that that is going to be sufficient<br />
to push the (bank) into the sanctioning QE<br />
as soon as this week,” said Philip Shaw, an<br />
economist with Investec. “But nonetheless,<br />
the committee can’t be altogether happy<br />
with some of these indicators which have<br />
shown the economy remaining in uncertain<br />
mode.”<br />
The Markit report blamed the poor performance<br />
of manufacturing in March on<br />
tough market conditions, subdued client<br />
confidence and ongoing bad weather. New<br />
orders from abroad contracted for the 15th<br />
month running in March. The survey<br />
blamed the fall on weak demand from<br />
Europe and strong competition in US and<br />
South Asian markets.<br />
In further bad news for UK policymakers,<br />
there were also signs that inflation pressures<br />
were picking up. Output prices rose at<br />
the fastest pace in three months while input<br />
prices picked up sharply, driven by the<br />
weakness of sterling and higher energy and<br />
food costs.<br />
Manufacturing accounts for around a<br />
fifth of British economic output. Surveys of<br />
the construction and service sectors for<br />
March are due to be released today and<br />
tomorrow respectively.<br />
There have been signs that the services<br />
sector is faring better than manufacturing.<br />
It grew at its fastest pace in five months in<br />
February, according to Markit and official<br />
data showed it notched up its best performance<br />
in January for five months. —Reuters<br />
Yemen discusses aid with<br />
IMF, eyes faster growth<br />
DUBAI: The International Monetary Fund is discussing<br />
fresh financial aid to Yemen with the government<br />
of the impoverished country, a senior IMF<br />
official said yesterday.<br />
Masood Ahmed, director of the IMF’s Middle<br />
East and Central Asia department, told reporters<br />
that the talks focused on a new financial program<br />
for Yemen. “We have a team that has been working<br />
with authorities over the last couple of weeks and<br />
they made good progress in those discussions,” he<br />
said ahead of a meeting of Arab finance ministers<br />
and central bank governors in Dubai. “We are<br />
working with the authorities to see how we can<br />
support Yemen over the coming years,” he added,<br />
without saying when agreement on the aid might<br />
be reached, or how much money might be<br />
involved. The IMF resumed lending to Yemen in<br />
April last year, approving the payment of a $93.7<br />
million loan to help the country with its balance of<br />
payments deficit, which had been worsened by a<br />
year of political turmoil. Ibrahim Al-Nahari, Yemen’s<br />
central bank sub-governor for foreign operations<br />
and research, told Reuters that the new IMF facility<br />
might be as large as $500 million. “We are at the<br />
beginning stage (of the IMF talks). The program<br />
will be an extended facility to the magnitude of<br />
$450-500 million over three years.”<br />
In an interview with Reuters late on Monday,<br />
Yemen’s central bank governor said he was comfortable<br />
with the current level of interest rates and<br />
that he expected economic growth to accelerate<br />
to about 7 percent this year. The central bank<br />
slashed its main interest rate by 3 percentage<br />
points to a three-year low of 15 percent in<br />
February, helped by a sharp fall of inflation, in an<br />
effort to support economic recovery in the volatile<br />
Arab state. Asked whether he expected to cut<br />
interest rates again in coming months, Governor<br />
Mohammed Awad bin Hamam said: “Will see, wait<br />
and see.” February’s rate cut was the first since<br />
October, when the central bank began an easing<br />
cycle. Yemen’s economy improved last year but<br />
recovery remains fragile in the second-poorest<br />
Arab state after Mauritania; a third of Yemen’s 25<br />
million people live on less than $2 a day.<br />
Hamam said he expected the Yemeni economy<br />
to pick up speed this year after it grew 4.5 percent<br />
in 2012; the non-oil sector expanded about 6 percent<br />
last year. “I expect this year will be better,<br />
maybe it will be 7 percent,” he said of economic<br />
growth. That is more optimistic than the IMF’s latest<br />
public forecast of 4 percent growth for Yemen.<br />
The IMF said in January that Yemen’s central bank<br />
had room to reduce interest rates gradually to support<br />
growth, but warned that the political transition<br />
after the overthrow of president Ali Abdullah<br />
Saleh in February 2012, and security concerns -<br />
particularly attacks on key oil and electricity facilities<br />
- were risks to the economic outlook.<br />
Inflation in Yemen dived to 5.8 percent in the<br />
final quarter of 2012 from a peak of 25 percent in<br />
October 2011. Hamam said the central bank’s foreign<br />
currency reserves currently stood at $6 billion,<br />
adding that he expected $2 billion worth of aid to<br />
arrive this year from international donors. Last year<br />
wealthy Gulf Arab states, Western governments<br />
and other donors pledged $7.9 billion in aid over<br />
several years to Yemen, but only a small fraction<br />
has so far arrived. “Now, we are at the start and we<br />
have not received that much. We are waiting for<br />
the amount to be collected by the ministry of planning,”<br />
Hamam said. —Reuters<br />
growth,” the bank said.<br />
“The Bank Rossii will continue to monitor<br />
the inflation risks and the risks of economic<br />
slowdown,” the bank said, adding<br />
that its next monetary policy meeting was<br />
scheduled for the first half of May.<br />
The bank cut its three-month refinancing<br />
rate to 6.75 percent from 7.00 percent<br />
and for 12 months to 7.75 from 8.00 percent.<br />
But crucially the rates for its most<br />
widely-used one day and one week operations<br />
were unchanged at 5.50 percent.<br />
BRUSSELS: “Unacceptably” high<br />
euro-zone unemployment ran at a<br />
record 12 percent in February, official<br />
data showed yesterday, with more<br />
than 19 million people on the dole a<br />
“tragedy” for Europe.<br />
The figures and a weak manufacturing<br />
sector report added to the<br />
gloom after data earlier this year had<br />
encouraged some hope the European<br />
economy might finally have touched<br />
bottom.<br />
Analysts said the reports pointed<br />
instead to worse to come, with the<br />
jobless queues likely to grow as the<br />
debt crisis continues to sap the economy.<br />
“Such unacceptably high levels<br />
of unemployment are a tragedy for<br />
Europe,” said a spokeswoman for EU<br />
Employment Commissioner Laszlo<br />
Andor. “The EU has to mobilize all<br />
available resources to create jobs ...<br />
young people in particular need help,”<br />
she said.<br />
The Eurostat data agency said<br />
unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone<br />
at 12 percent was unchanged<br />
from January when the figure was initially<br />
given as 11.9 percent. In the full<br />
27-member EU, unemployment in<br />
February rose to 10.9 percent from<br />
10.8 percent, with 26.34 million out of<br />
work. Some 33,000 joined the jobless<br />
queues in the euro-zone and 76,000 in<br />
the EU over the month of February,<br />
Eurostat said. Compared with a year<br />
earlier, the increase was 1.78 million in<br />
the euro-zone and 1.81 million in the<br />
EU.<br />
The highest unemployment rates<br />
in February were in Spain with 26.3<br />
percent and neighbor Portugal, on<br />
17.5 percent. Greece was put at it 26.4<br />
percent but this figure is for<br />
December, the latest available. The<br />
lowest rates were 4.8 percent in<br />
Austria and 5.4 percent in Germany,<br />
Europe’s biggest economy.<br />
With youth unemployment a huge<br />
cause of concern, Eurostat said the<br />
jobless rate for under-25s ran at 23.9<br />
percent in the euro-zone and 23.5 percent<br />
in the EU. Among the countries<br />
with the highest youth jobless levels,<br />
Capital Economics said in a note to clients<br />
that the language of the statement<br />
reflected the extent to which Russia’s economic<br />
policymakers were “in a bind” as<br />
they sought to balance inflation worries<br />
with concerns about sluggish growth.<br />
But with inflation forecast to fall “interest<br />
rates are likely to be lowered over the<br />
coming months, and we are sticking to<br />
our forecast for a total of 75 basis points of<br />
cuts to key rates by the end of this year,”<br />
Capital Economics said.<br />
Spain was on 55.7 percent, followed<br />
by Portugal on 38.2 percent and Italy<br />
with 37.8 percent. Greece was the<br />
highest with 58.4 percent but this was<br />
also for December.<br />
Howard Archer of IHS Global<br />
Insight said the figures marked a “dis-<br />
mal landmark” at 12 percent-already<br />
very close to the official EU <strong>2013</strong> forecast<br />
of 12.2 percent. Archer said<br />
unemployment was now up for a consecutive<br />
22nd month and even if the<br />
report did show the jobless numbers<br />
were not rising as fast as before, “an<br />
overall turnaround in euro-zone labor<br />
markets still looks some way off.”<br />
The second quarter outlook is “far<br />
from bright,” he said, and unemployment<br />
could “very well near 12.5 percent<br />
late in <strong>2013</strong> or early in 2014.”<br />
Jennifer McKeown at Capital<br />
Economics was equally downbeat.<br />
The February data “is further confirmation<br />
of the underlying weakness<br />
of the economy,” Mckeown said.<br />
Manufacturing data meanwhile<br />
showed the slump deepening sharply<br />
as even Germany was dragged down.<br />
The Markit Eurozone Manufacturing<br />
Purchasing Managers Index fell to 46.8<br />
points in March, up from an initial estimate<br />
of 46.6 but well short of the<br />
already weak 47.9 posted in February.<br />
The outcome left the closely followed<br />
indicator at a three-month low<br />
and below the 50-points boom-bust<br />
line since August 2011. Germany at 49<br />
points slipped to a two-month low<br />
while “rates of decline gathered pace<br />
in all the other nations ... with the<br />
exception of France,” Markit said in a<br />
statement.<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
The decision comes as the central bank<br />
goes through a shake-up ahead of the<br />
arrival of Kremlin economic advisor Elvira<br />
Nabiullina in the summer as its new chief<br />
to replace the long-serving incumbent<br />
Sergei Ignatyev. While respected as an<br />
economist who served as a capable economy<br />
minister to 2012, Nabiullina is a close<br />
ally of President Vladimir Putin and some<br />
analysts have expressed concern that the<br />
Kremlin will have a greater influence over<br />
the central bank. —AFP<br />
Record unemployment<br />
clouds euro-zone hopes<br />
Over 19 million people on the dole<br />
France stood at 44 points, a threemonth<br />
high, while Italy was on 44.5,<br />
its lowest for seven months and Spain<br />
on 44.2, a five-month low.<br />
Manufacturing “looks likely to have<br />
acted as a drag on the economy in the<br />
first quarter, with an acceleration in<br />
NOCOSIA: People queue up outside a Bank of Cyprus (BOC) branch in the centre of the capital<br />
Nicosia yesterday. —AFP<br />
LONDON: A man leaves a branch of Laiki Bank UK, a subsidiary of Cyprus<br />
Popular Bank (Laiki Bank), in north London. —AFP<br />
Laiki Bank UK branch<br />
avoids Cypriot fallout<br />
LONDON: Customers of the British unit of<br />
failed bank Laiki will be protected from the<br />
levy that was part of the euro-zone nation’s<br />
bailout deal, the Bank of England announced<br />
yesterday.<br />
The announcement, made by the BoE’s<br />
new finance watchdog the Prudential<br />
Regulation Authority, means that Laiki Bank<br />
UK customers will avoid any Cypriot levy on<br />
their accounts and will be able to access their<br />
accounts as normal. The BoE said in a statement<br />
that about £270 million ($410 million,<br />
320 million euros) in deposits from Laiki Bank<br />
UK would be transferred to Bank of Cyprus<br />
UK, and placed in the British government’s<br />
compensation scheme that guarantees up to<br />
£85,000 per saver.<br />
Crisis-hit Cyprus was rescued with a 10billion-euro<br />
($13-billion) EU-IMF bailout last<br />
week. As part of the rescue deal, Laiki or<br />
‘Popular Bank’ will shut and merge with Bank<br />
of Cyprus. Depositors in Cyprus with more<br />
than 100,000 euros in the two banks-the<br />
island’s biggest — face losing a large chunk<br />
of their money.<br />
“Cyprus Popular Bank Public Co Ltd operating<br />
in the UK under the trading name ‘Laiki<br />
Bank UK’ has today reached an agreement<br />
with Bank of Cyprus UK Ltd to transfer all<br />
deposits to Bank of Cyprus UK, a UK subsidiary<br />
fully regulated by the Prudential<br />
Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial<br />
Conduct Authority,” the BoE said in a statement.<br />
“The agreement does not affect access<br />
to bank accounts and therefore all customers<br />
who had an account with Laiki Bank UK will<br />
be able to access funds as normal and do not<br />
need to do anything.” The Cyprus crisis saw<br />
capital controls imposed for the first time by<br />
a euro-zone economy to prevent financial<br />
meltdown. Under the bailout deal agreed in<br />
Brussels last week, Cyprus must raise 5.8<br />
billion euros to qualify for the full 10-billion-euro<br />
loan from the “troika” of the<br />
European Union, European Central Bank and<br />
International Monetary Fund. —AFP<br />
the rate of decline in March raising the<br />
risk that the downturn may also intensify<br />
in the second quarter,” Markit chief<br />
economist Chris Williamson said in a<br />
statement.<br />
“The surveys paint a very disappointing<br />
picture across the region,”<br />
Williamson said.<br />
The Cyprus debt bailout appeared<br />
not to have had any impact so far, he<br />
said, but “the concern is that the latest<br />
chapter in the (euro-zone debt)<br />
crisis will have hit demand further in<br />
April.” —AFP<br />
Greek CB sees delay<br />
in recapitalization<br />
ATHENS: Greece’s central banker has forecast that an<br />
eagerly-awaited recapitalization of the country’s crisis-hit<br />
leading banks could be delayed by a few weeks<br />
to May.<br />
“The recapitalization will be over in a few weeks,”<br />
Bank of Greece governor George Provopoulos told<br />
state television NET in a late Monday interview.<br />
“According to the program, it will have to be completed<br />
in April. I would say this date is slightly unrealistic,<br />
there could be a delay of a few weeks... it could<br />
go to the end of May,” Provopoulos said.<br />
The recapitalization of Greek banks, who took a<br />
major blow last year in helping the country reduce its<br />
sovereign debt, is a condition for the continued<br />
release of EU-IMF rescue loans for Greece’s crisis-hit<br />
economy.<br />
A sum of 50 billion euros out of the total EU-IMF<br />
bailout fund of 240 billion euros has been earmarked<br />
for this purpose. At least 10 percent of new capital<br />
must come from private investors to keep the banks<br />
from being effectively nationalized.<br />
A key stumbling block to the process has been an<br />
ongoing merger between Greece’s leading lender,<br />
National Bank, and third-ranked Eurobank.<br />
Provopoulos on Monday acknowledged the concern<br />
of Greece’s so-called troika of creditors-the EU, IMF<br />
and European Central Bank-that the new entity will<br />
both dominate the market and will be tough to<br />
recapitalize.<br />
“(The creditors) do not like the creation of such a<br />
major player with a market share of around 40 percent,”<br />
Provopoulos said. “The troika says, and I can<br />
also say, that there will be a greater difficulty in a<br />
combined National Bank-Eurobank entity, with capital<br />
needs in the order of 1.5 billion euros or slightly<br />
higher, a very large sum under the current circumstances.<br />
So there is a concern that if private investors<br />
cannot be found, it will come under state control,” he<br />
added.<br />
Senior troika representatives are returning to<br />
Athens this week to resume an audit of reforms that<br />
was suspended last month.<br />
Their report will determine whether Athens will<br />
receive a loan disbursement of 2.8 billion euros pending<br />
since March. Provopoulos noted that even if a<br />
bank had to turn to the Hellenic financial stability<br />
fund for help, “it’s not exactly state control.”<br />
“In the Stability Fund there is ECB representation,<br />
and the EU Commission, and the troika has oversight.<br />
In no way would the troika want a major bank to<br />
operate as a traditional (state) bank. I am also concerned<br />
and would not want it to happen. I do not<br />
think it will,” he said. —AFP
DUBAI: The Ford Mustang will soon become the<br />
newest member of a very exclusive club - vehicles<br />
in continuous production for 50 years. To help mark<br />
this milestone, 50 companies will sell products<br />
including watches, T-shirts, model cars and more<br />
that celebrate the Mustang’s first 50 years.<br />
“During its first 49 years of production, Mustang<br />
has come to evoke a variety of emotions in our customers<br />
- freedom, independence and being true to<br />
one’s self - just to name a few,” said John Nens,<br />
Ford’s team lead for Global Brand Licensing. “We’re<br />
marking this Mustang milestone with a distinctive<br />
collection of licensed products from select manufacturers<br />
that will carry the unique Mustang 50<br />
Years logo.” All of the new merchandise will be easily<br />
identified with a custom logo that celebrates 50<br />
years of Mustang.<br />
The logo was crafted by Ford designer Michael<br />
Thomson. It features the Mustang’s trademark gal-<br />
loping pony in silhouette over the characters “50<br />
YEARS.” This new icon has a clean and sophisticated<br />
appearance in either white on black or black on<br />
white. Only 50 companies will be licensed to create<br />
products bearing this special logo including highquality<br />
die cast models, videogames, watches and<br />
apparel.<br />
“We’re working closely with our licensees to<br />
ensure every item reflects the unique qualities of<br />
Mustang,” said Nens. “Like the car itself, we want our<br />
licensed products to convey an attitude of strength,<br />
passion and the highest quality.”<br />
Over upcoming weeks and months, other Ford<br />
licensees will reveal a variety of Mustang products<br />
featuring the Mustang 50 Years logo to mark this<br />
special moment in automotive history and kick off<br />
the next 50 years of Mustang. From the Tuskegee<br />
Airmen to 50 Years of Mustang<br />
Celebrating its centennial this year, Union, NJ-<br />
BUSINESS<br />
Ford marks countdown to 50 years of Mustang<br />
Gulf Bank names ‘Best<br />
Retail Bank in <strong>Kuwait</strong>’<br />
Award by Asian Banker for 3rd year running<br />
KUWAIT: Gulf Bank has been named the<br />
‘Best Retail Bank in <strong>Kuwait</strong>’ for the third<br />
consecutive year by The Asian Banker, one<br />
of Asia’s leading consultancies in financial<br />
services research, benchmarking and intelligence.<br />
The awards ceremony was held on<br />
21 March in Seoul - South Korea during The<br />
Asian Banker’s annual international awards<br />
dinner.<br />
In selecting Gulf Bank for the <strong>2013</strong><br />
award, The Asian Banker and an international<br />
panel of judges carefully assessed<br />
the Bank’s overall performance and services<br />
it provides its customers against a stringent<br />
set of criteria and compared these<br />
results against those of its local banking<br />
competitors.<br />
Accepting the award on behalf of Gulf<br />
Bank was Khaled Al-Mutawa, General<br />
Manager, International Banking and<br />
Investments at Gulf Bank, who said: “The<br />
Asian Banker is a renowned and much<br />
respected title, and we are very honored<br />
to have been selected by it to receive<br />
this award once again. For Gulf Bank,<br />
this is a great achievement, as it underlines<br />
our long term commitment and<br />
success in delivering to our customers<br />
the range and standards of product and<br />
services they are looking for. This award<br />
helps to endorse the Bank’s position as a<br />
leader in the <strong>Kuwait</strong>i market and reinforces<br />
its reputation as a provider of high<br />
quality and innovative financial services.<br />
We will continue to maintain our commitment<br />
towards our customers with<br />
energy and enthusiasm, and on behalf of<br />
everyone at Gulf Bank, I would like to<br />
thank The Asian Banker and its panel of<br />
distinguished international judges for<br />
this prestigious endorsement of our<br />
efforts.”<br />
ABK offers free safe deposit<br />
boxes for World MasterCard,<br />
Prestige card holders<br />
KUWAIT: Al-Ahli Bank of <strong>Kuwait</strong>’s World<br />
MasterCard and Prestige cardholders can<br />
now avail a free safe deposit box available<br />
at numerous ABK branches.<br />
In the words of Stewart Lockie, GM,<br />
Retail Banking at ABK, “At ABK we strive to<br />
provide premium services to our customers,<br />
some related to banking and others<br />
related to lifestyle, in order to cater to a<br />
diverse segment. Our initiative like a free<br />
safe deposit box for a year comes as an<br />
added value to the wide range of services<br />
and benefits already in the reach of World<br />
KUWAIT: Bentley Motors announces its financial<br />
results for the year ending 31 December 2012,<br />
reporting a significantly increased operating<br />
profit of euros 100.5 million compared to euros<br />
8 million in 2011. Bentley boosted its total<br />
turnover by 29.9 percent to euros 1.453 billion<br />
and its profit margin increased to 7 percent.<br />
Demonstrating the global reach of Bentley’s<br />
business, exports accounted for 87.3 percent of<br />
Bentley’s total turnover, equating to a total<br />
export value of Euros 1.269 billion. The company’s<br />
market share in the luxury segment rose by<br />
4.9 percentage points to 20.1 percent.<br />
Bentley also made a strong start to the New<br />
Year. Deliveries to customers grew by 39.5 per-<br />
MasterCard and Prestige cardholders.”<br />
Lockie added “Free safe deposit boxes<br />
allow customers to keep their valuables<br />
in a secure place, especially while travelling.<br />
Since boxes are offered in various<br />
branches around <strong>Kuwait</strong>, it gives customers<br />
the much required flexibility.<br />
Branches with safe deposit boxes are<br />
Ahmadi, Fahaheel, Farwaniya, Hadiyah,<br />
Jahra ,Jabriya, Jleeb, Salmiya, Sharq,<br />
Shuwaikh, Al-Qurain, Zahra, Al-Andalus<br />
and Sabah Hospital and of course the<br />
main branch at head-office.”<br />
DUBAI: Sultan bin Saeed Al-Mansouri, Minister<br />
of Economy stressed that the UAE has become a<br />
strategic hub for foreign investments and leading<br />
international establishments, thanks to its<br />
solid economic fundamentals and wise economic<br />
policies that are based on openness, diversity<br />
and flexibility. Nowadays, the UAE enjoys a leading<br />
status as pivotal destination for investments.<br />
Al-Mansouri said the “Investment Map<br />
Project” is the latest initiative launched by the<br />
Ministry aimed at attracting foreign investment<br />
capital and promoting UAE among investors.<br />
Furthermore, it enlightens potential businessmen<br />
from around the globe about investment<br />
opportunities and better understand the realities<br />
here.<br />
He said the ministry of economy is keen to<br />
develop the economic legislative system in the<br />
country as it continues to work on putting the<br />
final touches on a number of draft laws to<br />
enhance UAE business performance, most<br />
notably the foreign investment law, corporate,<br />
industry and small and medium enterprises, competition<br />
and intellectual property rights protection.<br />
All these draft laws are in their final stages.<br />
The new investment law will give extra protection<br />
for foreign investors, and includes incentives<br />
to encourage foreign investment, and aims<br />
to enhance the investment climate in the UAE<br />
and to ensure economic diversification in line<br />
with UAE Vision 2021.<br />
Sultan bin Saeed Al-Mansouri said that the<br />
AIM which is held under the patronage of<br />
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum,<br />
UAE Vice President has gained an ever increasing<br />
regional and international attention since its<br />
inception two years ago, especially in light of<br />
political, economic, financial and climate crises<br />
which still threaten the future of the world.<br />
The meeting has become a comprehensive<br />
platform in bringing the attention of government,<br />
decision makers, private sector and other<br />
related entities including the civil society as it<br />
offers exclusive discussions to exchange views<br />
between participants from around the world.<br />
This event is also important as it allows the concluding<br />
of trade deals and ratification of the<br />
agreements between the countries of the world.<br />
Al Mansouri hailed the efforts of Ministry of<br />
Foreign Trade headed by Sheikha Lubna bint<br />
Khalid Al-Qasimi, the Minister of International<br />
Cooperation and Development and her role in<br />
making this meeting a success in its past editions.<br />
The Ministry of Foreign Trade was the host<br />
of this event, however Ministry of Economy will<br />
now host this event as MOFT tasks were shifted<br />
to MoE as per the new cabinet formation<br />
announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid<br />
Al-Maktoum. The Ministry of Economy will build<br />
on efforts to make this event a destination for<br />
Bentley boosts profits and turnover<br />
Operating profit rose to 100.5m euros in 2012<br />
cent in the first two months of <strong>2013</strong>. “With the<br />
new Flying Spur due to arrive with customers in<br />
the middle of the year, we expect to see a double<br />
digit growth rate for the rest of <strong>2013</strong>,” Dr<br />
Wolfgang Schreiber, Bentley’s Chairman and<br />
CEO, said.<br />
The global growth and expansion of the<br />
Bentley brand was driven by 16 new global dealers<br />
in 2012, taking the total number to 173 dealerships<br />
in 50 countries. This year, 40 more new<br />
Bentley showrooms will open around the world.<br />
Commenting on the results, Dr Schreiber<br />
said: “Our performance in 2012 and in the beginning<br />
of <strong>2013</strong> underlines Bentley’s position as the<br />
leading manufacturer of luxury vehicles and a<br />
based Schott NYC was one of the first manufacturers<br />
to sign on for the 50 Years licensing program.<br />
Irving and Jack Schott established their company<br />
the same year Ford began producing the Model T<br />
on the first moving assembly line. Great-grandson<br />
and COO Jason Schott runs the family business<br />
today, along with his mother Roz Schott, president,<br />
and his uncle, Steven L. Colin, CEO, producing premium<br />
jackets, shirts and accessories.<br />
During World War II, Schott NYC dedicated its<br />
entire capacity to making sheepskin bomber jackets,<br />
leather flight jackets and peacoats for American<br />
soldiers, sailors and pilots fighting overseas. Among<br />
those who went into battle in Schott jackets were<br />
the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group, better known<br />
as the Tuskegee Airmen.<br />
“I can’t think of a better partner with whom to<br />
celebrate our 100th anniversary,” said Jason Schott.<br />
“We are honored to collaborate with an iconic fami-<br />
investors from around the world.<br />
Minister of Economy also stressed on the<br />
importance of the third edition of this meeting<br />
which be held on April 30. He said that the AIM<br />
draws a true picture of the global economic<br />
landscape in light of the crises and challenges. It<br />
also monitors the repercussions of these crises<br />
on foreign direct investment, referring to the<br />
accelerated change in the international econo-<br />
ly business that shares our commitment to domestic<br />
production.”<br />
While the Ford Mustang is classically identified<br />
with the wild horse of the American West, it was<br />
actually named for the famed North American P-51<br />
fighter plane, the preferred mount of the Tuskegee<br />
Airmen in the final year of the war.<br />
Over the next half-century, the Schott Perfecto<br />
leather jacket figured prominently in iconic images<br />
of Marlon Brando, James Dean, Peter Fonda, the<br />
Ramones and Bruce Springsteen. Today Jay-Z, Lady<br />
Gaga and Adam Levine can all be spotted in Schott<br />
jackets. Later this year, Schott NYC will reveal a limited-edition<br />
leather jacket celebrating 50 years of<br />
Mustang. “The Mustang attitude of freedom and<br />
mobility is universal and enduring, and fans around<br />
the world will be honoring that heritage with<br />
numerous celebrations as we move forward,” said<br />
Steve Ling, Ford Car Marketing manager.<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
UAE strategic hub for<br />
foreign investments<br />
Mansouri outlines ‘investment map project’<br />
truly global brand. Through sound investment<br />
and product planning, we now have our<br />
strongest model line-up ever and are increasing<br />
our market share.”<br />
The results follow another successful year in<br />
2012 in which the company achieved global<br />
growth of 22 percent with 8,510 cars delivered<br />
to customers, with the top three regions comprising<br />
the US (2,457), China (2,253) and the UK<br />
(1,031)1. These sales were driven by the introduction<br />
of a host of new models such as the<br />
Continental GT and GTC V8. The Continental<br />
family accounted for 62 percent of total sales,<br />
the Flying Spur contributed 25 percent and the<br />
Mulsanne 13 percent.<br />
UAE Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed<br />
Al-Mansouri<br />
KHOBAR: Sadara Chemical Co, a joint venture<br />
between Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical , raised<br />
7.5 billion riyals ($2 billion) from the sale of an Islamic<br />
bond to fund a large petrochemical complex in the<br />
east of the kingdom.<br />
The Islamic bond, or sukuk, which has a lifespan of<br />
16 years, was priced at 95 basis points over the sixmonth<br />
Saudi interbank offered rate (Saibor), a statement<br />
from Sadara said yesterday.<br />
The sale is part of a $12.5 billion debt to fund the<br />
construction of the project, which will produce more<br />
than 3 million tonnes of petrochemicals each year<br />
when completed in 2016. The $19.3 billion facility,<br />
located at Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia’s<br />
Eastern Province, will be the world’s largest chemical<br />
complex ever built in a single phase. Strong demand<br />
from investors in Saudi Arabia meant the sukuk’s size<br />
my in light of the multiplicity of attractive investment<br />
destinations. The new realities require concerted<br />
efforts and professional implementation<br />
of creativity and innovation in planning for<br />
future projects.<br />
He described the UAE as a motivating environment<br />
for investors, as it allows full ownership<br />
in free zones, and has state of the art infrastructure,<br />
availability of efficient and highly qualified<br />
manpower, the protection of intellectual property<br />
rights and laws against piracy, strategic geographical<br />
location which is a gateway to the<br />
MENA and South Asia for international companies<br />
that look for premium investments.<br />
Al-Mansouri emphasized on promising<br />
investment opportunities in the aviation,<br />
tourism and hospitality, retail, health care, industry,<br />
oil and gas, renewable energy, financial services,<br />
logistics and education.<br />
The minister underlined that UAE economy<br />
has countless features and characteristics<br />
including premium investment environment<br />
supported by security, political stability and<br />
modern infrastructure. This is in addition to the<br />
strategic location as international trade hub providing<br />
access to all regional and international<br />
markets as well as advanced laws that protect<br />
capital, investment and flexible economic legislations<br />
and low custom tariffs with rates ranging<br />
from zero to 5 % and the absence of income tax.<br />
He stressed on the importance of the foreign<br />
direct investment to the United Arab Emirates<br />
and its impact on sustainable development, and<br />
role in strengthening the national economy, and<br />
success of UAE’s strategy to build a sustainable<br />
economy based on knowledge and innovation,<br />
and in line with UAE Vision 2021.<br />
Aramco, Dow JV raises<br />
$2 billion from sukuk<br />
was increased from the original target of 5.25 billion<br />
riyals, which was covered 2.6-times, the statement<br />
said. Given the huge amount of liquidity local<br />
investors have to deploy and the limited number of<br />
sukuk instruments to invest in, a sukuk offering from<br />
an Aramco-linked entity was always going to attract<br />
high demand. Sadara’s prospectus, released at the<br />
launch of the transaction last month, said the firm<br />
could increase the amount raised to as much as $2.5<br />
billion-equivalent.<br />
Deutsche Bank, Riyad Bank, Alinma Bank and<br />
Bank Al Bilad arranged the sukuk. The sukuk is the<br />
second project finance sukuk sold in Saudi Arabia.<br />
The first was the 3.75 billion riyal ($1 billion) issue in<br />
October 2011 from Saudi Aramco Total Refining and<br />
Petrochemical Co (SATORP), a joint venture between<br />
Aramco and France’s Total. — Reuters
ALBUQUERQUE: It’s the end of the line<br />
for Roadrunner, a first-of-its-kind collection<br />
of processors that once reigned as the<br />
world’s fastest supercomputer. The $121<br />
million supercomputer, housed at one of<br />
the nation’s premier nuclear weapons<br />
research laboratories in northern New<br />
Mexico, will be decommissioned Sunday.<br />
The reason? The world of supercomputing<br />
is evolving and Roadrunner has<br />
been replaced with something smaller,<br />
faster, more energy efficient and cheaper.<br />
Still, officials at Los Alamos National<br />
Laboratory say it’s among the 25 fastest<br />
supercomputers in the world.<br />
“Roadrunner got everyone thinking in<br />
new ways about how to build and use a<br />
supercomputer,” said Gary Grider, who<br />
works in the lab’s high performance computing<br />
division. “Specialized processors<br />
are being included in new ways on new<br />
systems and being used in novel ways.<br />
Our demonstration with Roadrunner<br />
caused everyone to pay attention.” In<br />
2008, Roadrunner was first to break the<br />
elusive petaflop barrier by processing just<br />
over a quadrillion mathematical calculations<br />
per second.<br />
Los Alamos teamed up with IBM to<br />
build Roadrunner from commercially<br />
available parts. They ended up with 278<br />
refrigerator-size racks filled with two dif-<br />
technology<br />
End of the line for Roadrunner supercomputer<br />
Crisis hotlines<br />
turning to text<br />
to reach teens<br />
NEW YORK: They stream in from teens around<br />
the United States, cries for help often sent in by<br />
text message. “I feel like committing suicide,” one<br />
text read. “What’s the suicide hotline number?”<br />
Another asked: “How do you tell a friend they need<br />
to go to rehab?”<br />
DoSomething.org, an organization that<br />
encourages activism among young adults, gets<br />
plenty of text messages asking for help, but it isn’t<br />
a hotline. So the nonprofit’s CEO, Nancy Lublin, is<br />
leading an effort to establish an around-the-clock<br />
text number across trigger issues for teens in the<br />
hope that it will become their emergency line, perhaps<br />
reaching those who wouldn’t otherwise seek<br />
help using more established methods of telephone<br />
talking or computer-based chat.<br />
“Most of the texts we get like this are about<br />
things like being bullied,” Lublin said. “A lot of<br />
things are about relationships, so we’ll get texts<br />
from kids about breakups, or ‘I like a boy, what<br />
should I do?’ But the worst one we ever got said,<br />
‘He won’t stop raping me. It’s my dad. He told me<br />
not to tell anyone. Are you there?’”<br />
Lublin hopes the Crisis Text Line, due to launch<br />
in August, will serve as a New York-based network,<br />
shuttling texts for help to partner organizations<br />
around the country, such as The Trevor Project for<br />
gay, lesbian, bisexual and questioning youth or<br />
other groups already providing hotlines on dating<br />
and sexual abuse to bullying, depression and eating<br />
disorders.<br />
As more teens have gone mobile, using their<br />
phones as an extension of themselves, hotline<br />
providers have tried to keep up. Fewer seem to<br />
operate today than in decades past. A smattering<br />
reach out through mobile text, including Teen Line<br />
in Los Angeles, though that service and others<br />
offer limited schedules or specialize in narrow<br />
areas of concern when multiple problems might<br />
be driving a teen to the brink.<br />
Some text providers operate in specific places<br />
or rely on trained teen volunteers to handle the<br />
load across modes of communication. Several<br />
agreed that text messaging enhances call-in and<br />
chat options for a generation of young people<br />
who prefer to communicate by typing on their<br />
phones, especially when they don’t want parents,<br />
teachers, friends or boyfriends to listen in.<br />
Katie Locke, 26, in Philadelphia was one of<br />
those teens in 2006, when she found herself in a<br />
suicidal panic after a fight with an old friend. At 18,<br />
she said she grabbed her phone, left her college<br />
dorm room and headed out in the cold to sit on a<br />
bench to talk with a worker on a crisis phone line<br />
she knew from one of her favorite blogs. The number<br />
was the only one she had handy and it didn’t<br />
offer text, which she would have preferred.<br />
“People don’t always have the (mobile phone)<br />
minutes or aren’t in a position where they can<br />
speak aloud if they’re in danger from somebody<br />
around them,” Locke said. “I know for me there<br />
were other times when I probably should have<br />
called a crisis hotline and didn’t because of the<br />
anxiety about calling. That was such an enormous<br />
barrier, to have to dial a phone number.”<br />
Brian Pinero, director of the National Dating<br />
Abuse Helpline run by a nonprofit called Love is<br />
Respect, knows that lesson well. The organization<br />
launched phone and computer-based chat in<br />
2007, and chat quickly grew to the more heavily<br />
used method of contact. The Austin, Texas-based<br />
group launched text in 2011 and it’s now about 20<br />
percent of the operation, Pinero said.<br />
According to research from the Pew Internet &<br />
American Life Project, one in four teens is a “cellmostly”<br />
Internet user. Texting among teens<br />
increased from about 50 texts a day in 2009 to<br />
about 60, with the number running into hundreds<br />
for some.<br />
“Phone calls are not the way young people<br />
express themselves,” said Danah Boyd, a senior<br />
researcher at Microsoft Research and an assistant<br />
professor of media, culture and communication at<br />
New York University.<br />
Comparisons of text hotline volume and efficiency<br />
are hard to come by. Researcher Deb<br />
Levine, executive director and founder of the nonprofit<br />
ISIS, for Internet Sexuality Information<br />
Services, said it’s clear the number of hotlines of all<br />
kinds has declined significantly since a heyday in<br />
the 1980s. But chat and text help have been on the<br />
rise for more than two years, she said. Most are<br />
small-scale operations serving specific communities,<br />
said Levine.<br />
The Planned Parenthood Federation of<br />
America is in its second year of running one of the<br />
largest text and chat outreach operations for people<br />
ages 15 to 24, targeting African-American and<br />
Latino youth through promotional campaigns on<br />
MTV, websites and mobile providers, social media,<br />
wallet cards, video and Seventeen magazine.<br />
Through February, nearly 185,000 conversations<br />
- 22,447 via text - were recorded, according<br />
to Planned Parenthood. About a third of conversations<br />
on health-related topics - including birth<br />
control, abortion and pregnancy tests - were with<br />
users both under 25 and African-American or<br />
Latino.<br />
Debbie Gant-Reed sees the need every day.<br />
She’s the crisis lines coordinator at a 24-hour help<br />
line in Reno, Nevada, called the Crisis Call Center.<br />
The center has been providing 24-hour text help<br />
for two and a half years, fielding about 500 text<br />
conversations a month.<br />
“We’re now taking texts from all over the country,”<br />
she said. “You can chat all you want but you’re<br />
going to get older people. Young people don’t<br />
chat. They text.” —AP<br />
Six European countries move<br />
against Google over privacy<br />
PARIS: Authorities in six European countries<br />
have taken steps to force US Internet giant<br />
Google to comply with EU privacy rules, France’s<br />
Cnil data protection agency said yesterday.<br />
France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,<br />
Spain, and the United Kingdom “have launched<br />
actions on 2 April <strong>2013</strong> on the basis of the provisions<br />
laid down in their respective national legislation”<br />
to force Google to bring its privacy policy<br />
in line with European regulations, Cnil said in a<br />
statement. In October last year the data protection<br />
agencies of the 27 EU states warned Google<br />
that its new confidentiality policy did not comply<br />
with European law and gave it four months to<br />
make changes or face legal action. When that<br />
TORONTO: With smartphone and tablet<br />
users getting younger, new apps can help<br />
parents of 2-to-13-year-olds monitor and<br />
control their children’s use of the Internet.<br />
A Pew Research Center study shows that<br />
more than one-third of American teenagers<br />
own a smartphone, up from more than a<br />
fifth in 2011. For nearly half of these users,<br />
the phone is their main way of getting<br />
online, making it difficult for parents to<br />
supervise their behavior.<br />
“When you have a smartphone, you basically<br />
have the Internet in your pocket wherever<br />
you are - away from your parents’ eyes,”<br />
said Anooj Shah, a partner in Toronto-based<br />
company Kytephone, which develops apps.<br />
Kytephone’s namesake app allows parents<br />
to control the apps and sites their children<br />
use and the people they receive texts<br />
and calls from. The company on Monday<br />
released Kytetime for 13-to-17-year-olds. The<br />
new app has many of the same features as<br />
Kytephone but does not include the ability<br />
to block calls.<br />
Earlier this month, Net Nanny, a monitor-<br />
deadline expired in February several European<br />
data protection agencies set up a task force to<br />
pursue coordinated action against Google.<br />
Cnil said it had seen no changes to Google’s<br />
privacy policy after the company’s representatives<br />
met on March 19 with the task force that<br />
includes the data protection agencies of France,<br />
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the<br />
United Kingdom. Cnil added it had notified<br />
Google that it had launched an inspection procedure.<br />
Google rolled out the new privacy policy<br />
in March 2012, allowing it to track users across<br />
various services to develop targeted advertising,<br />
despite sharp criticism from US and European<br />
consumer advocacy groups. —AFP<br />
Apps help parents monitor<br />
children’s Internet use<br />
ing software company, released a browser<br />
app for Apple Inc’s iOS devices to filter Web<br />
content and block profanity.<br />
“Smartphones and tablets have added<br />
new technology, with new challenges (for<br />
parents) - full Web browsing capability,<br />
unlimited texting, access to hundreds of<br />
thousands of good, bad and malicious apps,”<br />
said Russ Warner, chief executive officer of<br />
the Salt Lake City-based company.<br />
The Android version of Net Nanny, which<br />
sells for $12.99, can control which apps a<br />
child uses. The app is also available for iOS<br />
devices, with fewer applications, for $4.99.<br />
The company is also introducing Net<br />
Nanny Social, a subscription, Web-based tool<br />
to help parents monitor problems such as<br />
cyberbullying, sexual predators and identity<br />
theft on social networks including Facebook<br />
and Twitter. The service costs $19.99 per year.<br />
For parents of 2-to-8-year-olds, Bostonbased<br />
Playrific has a free app with a locked<br />
browser that allows only content suitable for<br />
children, including educational videos, interactive<br />
games and books. —Reuters<br />
ferent types of processors, all linked<br />
together by 55 miles of fiber optic cable. It<br />
took nearly two dozen tractor trailer trucks<br />
to deliver the supercomputer from New<br />
York to northern New Mexico.<br />
The supercomputer has been used<br />
over the last five years to model viruses<br />
and unseen parts of the universe, to better<br />
understand lasers and for nuclear<br />
weapons work. That includes simulations<br />
aimed at ensuring the safety and reliability<br />
of the nation’s aging arsenal. As part of<br />
the U.S. nuclear stockpile stewardship program,<br />
researchers used Roadrunner’s<br />
high-speed calculation capabilities to<br />
unravel some of the mysteries of energy<br />
BEIJING: Apple apologized to<br />
Chinese consumers after government<br />
media attacked its repair policies<br />
for two weeks in a campaign that<br />
reeked of economic nationalism.<br />
A statement Apple posted in<br />
Chinese on its website Monday said<br />
the complaints had prompted “deep<br />
reflection” and persuaded the company<br />
of the need to revamp its repair<br />
policies, boost communication with<br />
Chinese consumers and strengthen<br />
oversight of authorized resellers.<br />
State broadcaster CCTV and the<br />
ruling Communist Party’s flagship<br />
newspaper, People’s Daily, had led<br />
the charge against the American<br />
company. They accused Apple Inc. of<br />
arrogance, greed and “throwing its<br />
weight around” and portrayed it as<br />
just the latest Western company to<br />
exploit the Chinese consumer.<br />
The attacks quickly backfired,<br />
though, and were mocked by the<br />
increasingly sophisticated Chinese<br />
consumers who revere Apple and its<br />
products. State-run media also inadvertently<br />
revived complaints over<br />
shoddy service by Chinese companies.<br />
Nonetheless, Apple responded<br />
with an apology from CEO Tim Cook.<br />
“We’ve come to understand through<br />
this process that because of our poor<br />
communication, some have come to<br />
feel that Apple’s attitude is arrogant<br />
and that we don’t care about or value<br />
feedback from the consumer,” Cook’s<br />
Chinese statement said, as translated<br />
by The Associated Press. “For the concerns<br />
and misunderstandings passed<br />
on to the consumer, we express our<br />
sincere apologies.”<br />
Although Apple enjoys strong<br />
support from Chinese consumers,<br />
the vehemence of the attacks and<br />
the importance of the Chinese market<br />
appeared to have persuaded the<br />
company to appear contrite.<br />
The People’s Daily newspaper ran<br />
an editorial last Wednesday headlined<br />
“Strike down Apple’s incomparable<br />
arrogance.” “Here we have the<br />
Western person’s sense of superiority<br />
making mischief,” the newspaper<br />
wrote. “If there’s no risk in offending<br />
the Chinese consumer, and it also<br />
makes for lower overheads, then why<br />
not?”<br />
Chinese observers accused<br />
flow in weapons.<br />
Los Alamos has been helping pioneer<br />
novel computer systems for decades. In<br />
1976, the lab helped with the development<br />
of the Cray-1. In 1993, the lab held<br />
the fastest supercomputer title with the<br />
Thinking Machine CM-5.<br />
“And to think of where we’re going to<br />
be in the next 10 to 15 years, it’s just mindboggling,”<br />
said lab spokesman Kevin<br />
Roark.<br />
Right now, Los Alamos - along with scientists<br />
at Sandia National Laboratories in<br />
Albuquerque and Lawrence Livermore<br />
National Laboratory in California - is using<br />
a supercomputer dubbed Cielo. Installed<br />
People’s Daily of gross hypocrisy and<br />
pointed out that the newspaper had<br />
maintained a stony silence when<br />
Chinese companies were implicated<br />
over food safety, pollution and other<br />
scandals. Meanwhile, CCTV was<br />
shamed when it emerged that<br />
celebrities had been recruited to<br />
blast Apple on Weibo, China’s version<br />
of Twitter, in what had been billed as<br />
a grassroots campaign.<br />
“The public responded in two<br />
ways to this incident,” popular commentator<br />
Shi Shusi wrote on his<br />
Weibo account. “One group supports<br />
this criticism but quite a number of<br />
people felt that there are state<br />
monopolies which have severely violated<br />
customer’s rights, but which are<br />
not being exposed.”<br />
Popular business magazine<br />
Caijing said its readers identified a<br />
long list of abusers, including state<br />
banks that lend to those with political<br />
connections while stiffing ordi-<br />
nary savers with low rates on<br />
deposits; a government oil company<br />
that sets gas prices and other rates as<br />
it sees fit; and state telecom<br />
providers notorious for their lack of<br />
customer service.<br />
“If media is going to go after<br />
Apple, let’s hope they spare some<br />
thought for those big Chinese communications<br />
companies and other<br />
monopolies, the ones that enrich<br />
special interests in the name of being<br />
publicly owned,” Cai Tongqi, a lawyer<br />
from the eastern province of Jiangsu,<br />
wrote on Weibo.<br />
Consumers seem unfazed by the<br />
state media’s attacks on Apple.<br />
Perusing the wares at an Apple<br />
reseller in Beijing’s tony China World<br />
mall, recent college graduate Zeng<br />
Lu said she considered the controversy<br />
a sign of the Chinese consumer’s<br />
growing maturity.<br />
“It’s great to see Chinese consumers<br />
standing up for their rights,<br />
but it’s ridiculous for the People’s<br />
Daily to get involved,” Zeng said.<br />
“They should be criticizing state companies<br />
instead.”<br />
Apple’s popularity flies in the face<br />
of China’s ardent attempts to push its<br />
own brands and develop internationally<br />
competitive companies. The<br />
company also has resisted trends to<br />
enter joint ventures and move<br />
research and development to China.<br />
It also ignores big state media such<br />
as CCTV and People’s Daily. Apple<br />
relies on Chinese factories, though, to<br />
make iPads, iPhones and other popular<br />
products.<br />
Sales of Apple products in the<br />
region, which includes Taiwan and<br />
Hong Kong, grew 67 percent to $6.8<br />
billion in the first three months of<br />
<strong>2013</strong>, compared with the same period<br />
a year earlier, according to the<br />
company. Apple sold 2 million<br />
iPhone 5s during the first weekend it<br />
was available in China, in December.<br />
The region is Apple’s third largest<br />
market, accounting for 13 percent of<br />
all sales last year. More than 17,000<br />
outlets sell its products in mainland<br />
China, a figure that includes 11 Apple<br />
stores and 400 premium resellers. In<br />
January, Cook said he expects China<br />
to replace North America as its<br />
largest source of revenue in the foreseeable<br />
future.<br />
The attacks on Apple center on<br />
complaints over Apple’s repair policies<br />
in China - specifically its practice<br />
of only replacing faulty parts rather<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
in 2010, it’s slightly faster than<br />
Roadrunner, takes up less space and came<br />
in at just under $54 million.<br />
Roark said in the next 10 to 20 years, it’s<br />
expected that the world’s supercomputers<br />
will be capable of breaking the exascale<br />
barrier, or one quintillion calculations per<br />
second. There will be no ceremony when<br />
Roadrunner is switched off Sunday, but<br />
lab officials said researchers will spend the<br />
next month experimenting with its operating<br />
system and techniques for compressing<br />
memory before dismantling<br />
begins. They say the work could help<br />
guide the design of future supercomputers.<br />
—AP<br />
Apple apologizes in China<br />
after service criticism<br />
Apple accused of arrogance, greed<br />
BARCELONA: A hostess holds a new smartphone “Galaxy<br />
Grand” by Samsung at the <strong>2013</strong> Mobile World Congress in<br />
Barcelona in this February 26, <strong>2013</strong> file photo. Smartphones<br />
using the Android platform boosted their US market share in<br />
recent months, extending their lead over Apple’s iPhone, a new<br />
survey shows. Android, the free mobile operating system from<br />
Google, accounted for 51.2 percent of US smartphone sales in<br />
the three-month period ending in February, said the survey<br />
from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. —AFP<br />
than providing new iPhones, as it<br />
does in other markets. Critics say that<br />
allows Apple to avoid having to<br />
extend its service warranty by another<br />
year.<br />
Until Monday, the Cupertino,<br />
BEIJING: People walk past an Apple store in Beijing yesterday. Apple chief executive Tim Cook<br />
has apologised to Chinese consumers after the US technology giant was subjected to a barrage<br />
of criticism in state-run media over alleged “arrogance” and double standards. —AFP<br />
California-based company had kept<br />
silent apart from issuing a statement<br />
March 23 explaining its repair policy<br />
and pledging its deep respect for the<br />
Chinese consumer.<br />
Yet consumers and analysts say<br />
the complaints hardly justify Beijing’s<br />
campaign of vilification. Such nationalist<br />
outbursts are not uncommon,<br />
although previous campaigns<br />
against foreign companies have<br />
often been tied to perceived national<br />
slights, as often befalls Japanese<br />
firms in China. Beijing accused<br />
Google of being an arm of American<br />
“information imperialism” after the<br />
company announced in March 2010<br />
that it would cease censoring its<br />
search responses inside mainland<br />
China and instead send visitors to its<br />
uncensored search engine in Hong<br />
Kong.<br />
Beijing is also angry over<br />
Washington’s efforts to exclude<br />
Chinese high-tech firms Huawei<br />
Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Corp. from<br />
the US market, amid worries over security.<br />
A spending bill signed by President<br />
Barack Obama two weeks ago includes<br />
a clause barring NASA, the National<br />
Science Foundation and the Justice<br />
and Commerce Departments from<br />
contracting with firms tied to the<br />
Chinese government.<br />
Washington and Beijing have also<br />
sparred over more recent hacking<br />
attacks, including a forensically<br />
detailed report by cybersecurity firm<br />
Mandiant that tied Chinese hacking<br />
to a unit of the People’s Liberation<br />
Army based in Shanghai.<br />
Apple, however, may have been<br />
singled out simply because it is “the<br />
biggest open target,” said Jim<br />
McGregor, senior counselor at consultancy<br />
APCO Worldwide. “We’re still<br />
seeing a lot of things wrapped up in<br />
economic nationalism,” McGregor<br />
said.<br />
Even before Monday’s apology,<br />
he had predicted Apple would make<br />
a show of contrition to get its relations<br />
with the Chinese authorities<br />
back on track. Duncan Clark, managing<br />
director of BDA China Ltd., a<br />
Beijing research firm, said the assault<br />
probably stems from a combination<br />
of factors, including the failure of<br />
Chinese companies to make breakthroughs<br />
in high-end consumer<br />
electronics. “There’s a general sense<br />
of frustration that China can’t move<br />
further up the value chain,” Clark<br />
said. —AP
Dar Al Shifa Hospital honors Professor Ahmed Noureddine<br />
KUWAIT: Dar Al Shifa Hospital recently<br />
held an honorary ceremony for Dr.<br />
Ahmed Adel Noureddine - Consultant<br />
Plastic Surgery, on his 50th visit to Dar<br />
Al Shifa hospital, as part of the hospital’s<br />
keenness on showing appreciation<br />
to the skills and expertise of its<br />
visiting doctors and strengthening<br />
relationships between the doctors and<br />
the hospital. This comes in line with<br />
Dar Al Shifa Hospital’s main objective<br />
of developing talents and expertise<br />
from around the world while also providing<br />
the latest medical technology<br />
and modern equipment to deliver<br />
best practice services to its patients.<br />
On this occasion, Dr Yousef Al<br />
Zafairy - Medical Advisor at Dar Al<br />
Shifa Hospital said: “We are proud of<br />
the collaboration we have with<br />
Professor Ahmed Adel Noureddine,<br />
given the depth of his medical expertise,<br />
commitment to the hospital<br />
through his 50 visits, and dedicating<br />
his services to our patients.”<br />
“Dr. Ahmed Adel Noureddine is<br />
well-known in his respective field and<br />
we extend our sincere appreciation to<br />
his remarkable medical achievements<br />
through the successful cosmetic and<br />
reconstructive surgeries he has performed<br />
at Dar Al Shifa Hospital,” added<br />
Dr Al Zafairy.<br />
The partnership between Dr Adel<br />
and the hospital reflects the hospital’s<br />
keenness to deliver the best optimum<br />
healthcare solutions through Dr. Adel’s<br />
skills and expertise in order to allow<br />
patients achieve their desired results.<br />
Dr. Ahmed Adel is the first Arab<br />
doctor to become the Diplomat of the<br />
American Board of Hair Restoration<br />
PRAGUE: Picture taken on May 5, 2012 shows Czech youth shouting slogans<br />
as they take part in a march calling for the legalization of marijuana, in<br />
Prague. Cannabis for therapeutic use has been legalised in Czech Republic<br />
from April 1, <strong>2013</strong>. —AFP<br />
Marijuana goes<br />
on sale in Czech<br />
PRAGUE: Medical marijuana legally went on<br />
sale yesterday in pharmacies across the Czech<br />
Republic for patients suffering from cancer,<br />
Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis or psoriasis.<br />
The new law does not foresee health<br />
insurance coverage for marijuana, touted by<br />
some as a medical miracle drug.<br />
The prescription-only drug formally<br />
became legal on Monday, but was virtually<br />
unavailable as most pharmacies across the<br />
ex-communist European Union state of 10.5<br />
million were closed over to the Easter long<br />
weekend.<br />
Prague will first import the drug for about<br />
a year, reportedly from Israel or the<br />
Netherlands, until the State Institute for Drug<br />
Control starts issuing licences to local grow-<br />
NEWARK: New Jersey Governor Chris<br />
Christie signed a bill into law on Monday banning<br />
children under 17 from using commercial<br />
tanning beds, a move stemming from the<br />
case of a local woman accused of taking her<br />
5-year-old daughter into a tanning booth.<br />
Christie said that while he does not favor<br />
government regulation of small business, the<br />
new law was important for protecting the<br />
safety of minors. “Governmental regulation of<br />
the private sector should always be carefully<br />
scrutinized, and sparingly adopted,” he said in<br />
a statement. “The new restrictions imposed<br />
by this bill followed a single but breathlessly<br />
reported incident of a parent bringing a<br />
minor child into a tanning facility.”<br />
Patricia Krentcil of Nutley, New Jersey, was<br />
arrested in April 2012 after her daughter<br />
showed up at school with a sunburn and officials<br />
accused her of taking the child into a<br />
tanning booth.<br />
Krentcil, who became known in tabloid<br />
stories as the “Tan Mom,” testified that her<br />
ers for a maximum of five years.<br />
The institute will also determine the crop<br />
area and organise tenders for marijuana purchases<br />
from farmers. An EU member since in<br />
2004, the Czech Republic provides some of<br />
the most liberal access to soft drugs in<br />
Europe.<br />
People holding up to 15 grammes (0.53<br />
ounces) of marijuana or growing up to five<br />
plants of cannabis risk just a small fine-an<br />
approach that often attracts smokers from<br />
other countries such as neighbouring Poland,<br />
where tougher laws apply.<br />
A 2011 national report on narcotics said<br />
16.1 percent of Czechs aged 15-34 admitted<br />
to having used marijuana in that year, down<br />
from 20.3 percent a year earlier. — AFP<br />
Australia-led study in<br />
epilepsy breakthrough<br />
SYDNEY: An Australia-led study has identified a<br />
gene associated with a common form of epilepsy<br />
which could lead to earlier diagnosis, a<br />
researcher said yesterday.<br />
Melbourne University academic Ingrid<br />
Scheffer said a number of genes linked to<br />
epilepsy were known to scientists, but these<br />
related to rare families in which a large number<br />
of members had the condition.<br />
“The reason that this discovery is very important<br />
is that it’s not just for rare families, we think<br />
it will be a gene that will be important for people<br />
without a family history,” Scheffer told AFP.<br />
“So it’s changing the game in terms of being<br />
important for a much broader number of people<br />
with focal epilepsy.”<br />
Focal, or partial, seizures start in one part of<br />
the brain and affect the part of the body controlled<br />
by that part of the brain. Scheffer said a<br />
clinical diagnosis could not be made for epilepsy<br />
without seizures of some kind but the finding<br />
could aid genetic counselling and diagnosis-particularly<br />
in cases where everything else in the<br />
brain is normal.<br />
“When you have epilepsy people always say,<br />
‘Why have I got this?’ And this is the next level,<br />
which is the gene test,” she said. “So they will be<br />
able to be tested for this gene, and that’s important<br />
in terms of understanding the cause, in<br />
terms of treatment, and hopefully this will one<br />
day help outcomes.<br />
“And it’s also important in terms of genetic<br />
counselling for their own children,” she said,<br />
meaning people would be able to assess the risk<br />
for their own offspring if they were found to<br />
have the gene.<br />
The research comes after new gene detection<br />
techniques allowed scientists to pinpoint<br />
the abnormality, finding it in 12 percent of the<br />
80 families studied, in which one or more members<br />
had epilepsy. “That’s huge to find a gene<br />
that picks up 12 percent, 12 percent of the common<br />
cause of epilepsy,” Scheffer said.<br />
“I think that it means that if you look at anybody<br />
with focal epilepsy-without an abnormality<br />
on their MRIs, what we call a structural abnormality-my<br />
guess is that it will be 2-4 percent of<br />
them will have this cause.”<br />
The research, published in the April issue of<br />
the journal Nature Genetics, also involved scientists<br />
in Europe and Canada.<br />
Most of the families studied were Australian,<br />
but the group included some from Spain, Israel,<br />
Italy and elsewhere, Scheffer said. — AFP<br />
NJ bans children<br />
from tanning beds<br />
own chocolate-brown hue came from many<br />
hours spent under the intense ultraviolet<br />
light of a tanning bed or out in the sun soaking<br />
up rays.<br />
She denied exposing her daughter to a<br />
tanning session, and a grand jury opted not<br />
to indict her on charges of endangering the<br />
welfare of a child.<br />
New Jersey was already one of several<br />
states that have regulations prohibiting anyone<br />
age 14 or younger from tanning with<br />
commercial ultraviolet devices because of the<br />
risk of skin cancer. The new law extends that<br />
ban to older teenagers.<br />
Signing the bill into law, Christie noted the<br />
skin cancer risk and also that tanning before<br />
age 35 has been shown to increase the risk<br />
for melanoma by 75 percent.<br />
Under the new law, youth age 17 and older<br />
must have a parent or guardian present for<br />
an initial consultation with a tanning salon. It<br />
also bans children under 14 from getting<br />
spray tans in tanning salons. — Reuters<br />
HEALTH & SCIENCE<br />
Surgery (ABHRS), and a pioneer in Hair<br />
transplantation surgeries across<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> as well as the region. Dr. Adel<br />
was also Deputy General Secretary of<br />
IPRAS (International Confederation for<br />
Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic<br />
Surgery) and was elected President of<br />
the Egyptian Society of Plastic and<br />
Reconstructive Surgeons (ESPRS).<br />
Dr Adel is also known for conducting<br />
a wide range of comprehensive<br />
medical based cosmetic procedures in<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> that include body contouring<br />
and facial rejuvenation. Body contouring<br />
refers to any surgical procedure<br />
that alters different areas of the body,<br />
whether it is in a massive weight loss<br />
patient or not. Dr. Adel has performed<br />
body contouring through over 100<br />
cases of abdominoplasty (tummy<br />
tucks) in <strong>Kuwait</strong>, breast reductions and<br />
M’HAMID: Omar Razzouki gazes intently at the<br />
wooden box, marvelling at what might be the<br />
solution to the perennial water woes that he<br />
and other nomads like him across the Sahara<br />
desert face daily. More than 330 million people<br />
in sub-Saharan Africa, or around 40 percent of<br />
the population, do not have access to clean<br />
drinking water, according to a report published<br />
to mark world water day by British NGO<br />
WaterAid.<br />
The World Health Organisation estimates<br />
that this lack of drinking water is the reason for<br />
nearly nine out of every 10 deaths linked to<br />
diarrhoea.<br />
In the Sahara, nomads are among those suffering<br />
most from limited access to water, particularly<br />
during the hotter periods when rising salt<br />
levels in water drawn from wells make it<br />
undrinkable.<br />
The “nomadic festival” held earlier this month<br />
in M’Hamid, in Morocco’s southern desert<br />
region, was an opportunity for the pioneers of a<br />
portable water purification device to showcase<br />
their invention.<br />
It uses a process as old as the sky. “It’s simple.<br />
It emulates the natural cycle of cloud condensation,”<br />
explained Alain Thibault, an ex-sailor who<br />
had to confront the issue of fresh water shortages<br />
at sea.<br />
The experience gave him the idea several<br />
years ago of reproducing the process using just<br />
a “small machine that is easy to make and easy<br />
to use.”<br />
The “waterpod” allows desert-dwellers to<br />
turn water extracted from wells into clean drinking<br />
water through evaporation and condensation,<br />
using the heat of the sun, a technology<br />
that the Arabs were among the first to develop<br />
as far back as the 16th century.<br />
The device, which resembles a large letter<br />
box, currently costs around 500 euros ($650).<br />
But the inventors have already given courses at<br />
a college in Tiznit, on Morocco’s Atlantic coast,<br />
to teach students how to produce them more<br />
cheaply.<br />
“The waterpod is made of wood, cork, stainless<br />
steel and glass,” said Thierry Mauboussin,<br />
who is helping to promote the water project in<br />
augmentations, lifts, and male breast<br />
reduction (gynecosmastia). He has<br />
also performed several successful<br />
facial rejuvenations - a cosmetic or<br />
medical procedure used to increase or<br />
restore the appearance of a younger<br />
age to human face - including ble-<br />
Dr Ahmed Adel<br />
Morocco. “It works with solar energy, so no fossil<br />
fuel.” Noureddine Bourgab, the president of the<br />
nomad festival at M’Hamid, also praised the<br />
environmental value of the new device, which<br />
he hoped could “put an end to the problem of<br />
salty water for the desert nomads.”<br />
“It’s a technique that embodies the real<br />
meaning of sustainable development and protection<br />
of the environment,” he said.<br />
Razzouki, a nomad from the M’Hamid region,<br />
was concentrating hard on figuring out how the<br />
waterpod works. “This could resolve many of<br />
our water problems,” he said, noting that the<br />
box was light, and “we won’t have the problem<br />
of salty water everywhere we go.”<br />
M’Hamid El Ghizlane, Morocco’s gateway to<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
pharoplasty, rhinoplasty, neck rejuvenation,<br />
face lifting, injection lipo,<br />
peels, botox, fillers and modern cosmeceuticals<br />
(cosmetic products with<br />
biologically active ingredients implying<br />
to have medical or drug-like benefits).<br />
He has also performed several<br />
hair transplantation surgeries in<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> at Dar Al Shifa Hospital.<br />
On this occasion, Dr. Ahmed Adel<br />
said: “It gives me great pleasure to be<br />
able to contribute with my skills to<br />
help patients in <strong>Kuwait</strong> achieve their<br />
desired results in the field of plastic<br />
surgery. With the outstanding administration<br />
and the hospital’s overall<br />
ambition to provide the latest technologies<br />
and plastic surgery services<br />
available, it is always a promising success<br />
to partner with Dar Al Shifa<br />
Hospital by all means.”<br />
Desert nomads marvel at<br />
water purifying device<br />
Uses a process as old as the sky<br />
BEIJING: China reported yesterday<br />
that four more people in one province<br />
were seriously sickened by a bird flu<br />
virus new to humans while cities<br />
along the eastern seaboard stepped<br />
up public health measures to guard<br />
against a disease that has already<br />
caused two deaths.<br />
The health bureau of eastern<br />
Jiangsu province said in a notice on<br />
its website that three women, aged<br />
45, 48 and 32, and an 83-year-old<br />
retired man, from different cities in<br />
the province, were all critically ill<br />
with the H7N9 virus, a diagnosis confirmed<br />
by the provincial disease prevention<br />
center.<br />
the Sahara, is an oasis on the edge of the Draa<br />
valley surrounded by rolling sand dunes, 40<br />
kilometres (25 miles) from the Algerian border.<br />
The construction 40 years ago of a hydroelectric<br />
dam further up the valley to provide for<br />
the growing population and tourist trade at<br />
Ouarzazate, along with the relentless desertification<br />
of the region, has taken a heavy toll on<br />
water supplies.<br />
So there are high hopes for the waterpod,<br />
one of which can produce six litres of pure<br />
water daily from 12 litres of brackish water,<br />
according to its creators.<br />
They give it an estimated lifespan of 20 to 40<br />
years, with just a daily clean needed to keep it in<br />
good condition. — AFP<br />
M’HAMID: Scientists show a nomad how to assemble a “waterpod” near the village of<br />
M’hamid El Ghizlane, southeast of Zagora, on March 16, <strong>2013</strong>. The “waterpod” allows<br />
desert-dwellers to turn water extracted from wells into clean drinking water through<br />
evaporation and condensation, using the heat of the sun, a technology that the<br />
Arabs were among the first to develop as far back as the 16th century. — AFP<br />
China: 4 new rare bird flu<br />
cases, new steps taken<br />
Based on the bureau’s statement,<br />
only one of the patients appeared to<br />
come into daily contact with birds -<br />
the 45-year-old woman, who was<br />
described as a poultry butcher. The<br />
four cases did not appear to be connected,<br />
and people who have had<br />
close contact with the patients have<br />
not reported having fevers or respiratory<br />
problems, it said.<br />
The provincial health bureau said it<br />
was strengthening measures to monitor<br />
suspicious cases and urged the<br />
public to stay calm, joining Beijing and<br />
China’s financial capital, Shanghai, in<br />
rolling out new steps to respond to<br />
the relatively unknown virus.<br />
The four latest cases follow three<br />
earlier ones reported Sunday, including<br />
two men who died in Shanghai,<br />
resulting in the city activating an<br />
emergency plan that calls for heightened<br />
monitoring of suspicious flu cases.<br />
Under the contingency plan,<br />
schools, hospitals and retirement facilities<br />
are to be on the alert for fevers,<br />
and administrators are to report to<br />
health authorities if there are more<br />
than five cases of flu in a week.<br />
Cases of severe pneumonia with<br />
unclear causes are to be reported daily<br />
by hospitals to health bureaus, up<br />
from the weekly norm. The plan also<br />
called for stronger monitoring of peo-<br />
AHMEDABAD: Improving autism patients, 27 year old Payal Kapoor (C-R) and 8 year old Prasam (C-L)<br />
celebrate World Autism Day in Ahmedabad yesterday. Autism patients with their parents celebrated<br />
World Autism Day with a team of doctors and Autism Awareness Campaign volunteers under<br />
guidence of renowned Psychotherapist and Neuro-Psychiatrist Vinod Kumar Goyal at his Parth<br />
Hospital in Ahmedabad. Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social<br />
interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. — AFP<br />
ple who work at poultry farms or are<br />
exposed to birds.<br />
The level-3 response plan, the second-lowest<br />
in a four-stage scale,<br />
reflects higher concern after the H7N9<br />
bird flu virus led to the deaths of two<br />
men in Shanghai and seriously sickened<br />
a woman in the city of Chuzhou<br />
360 kilometers (230 miles) west.<br />
“The health bureau will take effective<br />
and powerful measures to prevent<br />
and control the disease, to make<br />
sure the flu epidemic is effectively<br />
guarded against and to safeguard the<br />
health of the city’s residents,” said Xu<br />
Jianguang, head of the Shanghai<br />
Health Bureau.<br />
The H7N9 strain, so named for the<br />
combination of proteins on its surface,<br />
has previously been considered not<br />
easily transmitted to humans, unlike<br />
the more virulent H5N1 strain, which<br />
began ravaging poultry across Asia in<br />
2003 and has since killed 360 people<br />
worldwide.<br />
Health officials said this week there<br />
was no evidence that any of the three<br />
earlier cases, who were infected over<br />
the past two months, had contracted<br />
the disease from each other, and no<br />
sign of infection in the 88 people who<br />
had closest contact with them.<br />
Health authorities in Beijing also<br />
upped the capital’s state of readiness,<br />
ordering hospitals to monitor for cases<br />
of bird flu and pneumonia without<br />
clear causes, the official Xinhua News<br />
Agency reported.<br />
The announcements, as lacking in<br />
details as they are, show that the government<br />
is mildly more transparent in<br />
handling health crises than it was a<br />
decade ago during the SARS pneumonia<br />
epidemic. Then, as rumors circulated<br />
for weeks of an outbreak of an<br />
unidentified disease in southern<br />
Guangdong province, government<br />
silence contributed to the spread of<br />
the virus to many parts of China and<br />
to two dozen other countries. — AP
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong>
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Announcements<br />
Kalanjali presents instrumental fusion<br />
Instrumental Fusion by Indian Symphony - Dr Mani<br />
Bharathi (violin) and troupe - of Keyboard player;<br />
Tabla and Pads, will perform for the first time for<br />
music lovers in <strong>Kuwait</strong>. They will perform ever green<br />
melodies from Tamil and Hindi films and devotional<br />
songs. Venue: Indian Community School (Senior Branch)<br />
Salmiya. Time: 6.30 pm onwards. Date: April 27, <strong>2013</strong><br />
(Saturday).<br />
CRYcket <strong>2013</strong> tournament<br />
Friends of CRY Club (FOCC) announces 16th CRY<br />
(Child Rights & You) cricket tournament for children<br />
and will be held at the GC grounds at Jaleeb Al-<br />
Shuyoukh on Friday, 12th Apr <strong>2013</strong> from 6:30 a.m to 4:30<br />
pm. The one day “CRYcket” tournament is a very popular<br />
annual family event, participated by children under 14. 12<br />
teams each are set to participate in the Under-12 and<br />
Under-14 divisions initially in four groups in round robin<br />
fashion leading to 4 winners who will clash in the semifinals.<br />
The last date for registration of Teams is 5th Apr<br />
<strong>2013</strong>. For more details & game rules, visit the FOCC website<br />
http://www.focckwt.org<br />
Basketball Academy<br />
The new Premier Basketball Academy offers coaching<br />
and games every Friday and Saturday from 10 am<br />
onwards for 6 to 18 year olds, boys and girls.<br />
Located in Bayan Block 7, Masjed Al-Aqsa Street by<br />
Abdullah Al-Rujaib High School. Free Basketball and Tee<br />
Shirts for all participants, with certificates and special<br />
awards on completion of each 6 week course. Qualified<br />
and experienced British and American Coaches, Everyone<br />
Welcome.<br />
Aye Mere Humsafar<br />
An event with renowned artist from Indian Cinema.<br />
îAye Mere Humsafarî on Friday 12th April @<br />
American International School (AIS). A concept of<br />
real voice from Bollywood. High energy orchestra with<br />
Melody Queen Alka Yagnik charming playback singer<br />
Vinod Rathod (accompanied by female playback singer &<br />
standup comedian Sangeeta Kopalkar and young standup<br />
comedian Ashok Mishra.<br />
Tuesday:<br />
** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups<br />
Tornado Alley 3D 10:30am, 6:30pm, 8:30pm<br />
Flight of Butterflies 3D 11:30am, 9:30pm<br />
To The Arctic 3D 12:30pm, 7:30pm<br />
Born to be Wild 3D 5:30pm<br />
Wednesday:<br />
** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups<br />
To The Arctic 3D 10:30am<br />
Tornado Alley 3D 11:30am, 6:30pm, 9:30pm<br />
Flight of Butterflies 3D 12:30pm, 7:30pm<br />
Journey to Mecca 5:30pm<br />
Born to be Wild 3D 8:30pm<br />
Thursday:<br />
** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups<br />
Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30am, 5:30pm, 8:30pm<br />
Born to be Wild 3D 11:30am<br />
Tornado Alley 3D 12:30pm, 7:30pm, 9:30pm<br />
To The Arctic 3D 6:30pm<br />
Friday:<br />
Fires of <strong>Kuwait</strong> 2:30pm<br />
Tornado Alley 3D 3:30pm, 5:30pm, 8:30pm<br />
To The Arctic 3D 4:30pm, 7:30pm<br />
Flight of Butterflies 3D 6:30pm<br />
Born to be Wild 3D 9:30pm<br />
Saturday:<br />
** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups<br />
Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30am, 1:30pm, 8:30pm<br />
Tornado Alley 3D 11:30am, 2:30pm,<br />
5:30pm, 7:30pm, 9:30pm<br />
To The Arctic 3D 12:30pm, 6:30pm<br />
Born to be Wild 3D 3:30pm<br />
Journey to Mecca 4:30pm<br />
Notes:<br />
All films are in Arabic. For English, headsets are<br />
available upon request.<br />
“Fires of <strong>Kuwait</strong>” is in English. Arabic headsets are<br />
available upon request.<br />
Film schedule is subject to changes without notice.<br />
Write to us<br />
IMAX<br />
Send to What’s On<br />
upcoming events, birthdays or<br />
celebrations by email:<br />
local@kuwaittimes.net<br />
Fax: 24835619 / 20<br />
The Gulf University for Science and<br />
Technology (GUST) welcomed<br />
renowned activist Dr. Ahmad al-<br />
Khatib for a seminar entitled: Arab<br />
Spring: Reality and Inspiration, organized<br />
by Dr. Mohammed Hasanen,<br />
Assistant Professor, Social Sciences &<br />
Humanities at GUST. There was a large<br />
attendance at the auditorium with stu-<br />
WHAT’S ON<br />
dents, staff and faculty lining the seats<br />
to listen to what Dr. Al-Khatib had to say.<br />
Dr. Al-Khatib talked about the Arab<br />
Spring in general and its history, what<br />
the world has been through before and<br />
how it got to this point through the<br />
development of youth movements all<br />
over the world. He believes that the<br />
Arab Spring confirmed that Arabs will<br />
fight for their rights and their dignity.<br />
Dr. Al-Khatib discussed the differences<br />
and his take on peaceful versus<br />
violent protests and movements as well<br />
as the role that technology has played<br />
throughout these movements and revolutions.<br />
Although the topic was<br />
extremely sensitive, Dr. Al-Khatib<br />
remained very diplomatic especially<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Dr Al-Khatib lectures at GUST, Arab Spring<br />
Dr Ahmad al-Khatib<br />
Elsa Lahoude appointed as Director of<br />
Rooms Division at Marina Hotel <strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
Marina Hotel has recently appointed<br />
Elsa Lahoude as Director of<br />
Rooms Division. Elsa has been in<br />
the hospitality sector for over 15 years,<br />
working with some of the most<br />
renowned 5-star hotel companies across<br />
the globe. In her new role at Marina Hotel<br />
Elsa will be responsible for front office,<br />
back office, transportation,<br />
Housekeeping, laundry and uniform<br />
departments.<br />
Speaking on Elsa’s appointment Mr.<br />
Nabil Hammoud, General Manager said:<br />
“Elsa has proven herself to be highly passionate<br />
about the luxury hotel industry<br />
and her 15 plus years of experience will<br />
The English School Fahaheel recently opened a<br />
new contemporary Main Library which has been<br />
exclusively designed to offer the latest technologically<br />
advanced education methods and a user friendly<br />
design for all students and staff. This Library aims at fur-<br />
certainly make her an asset to the hotel.<br />
We are confident Elsa’s remarkable leadership<br />
and management skills will continue<br />
to reaffirm Marina Hotel’s position as<br />
one of the leading hotels in <strong>Kuwait</strong>.”<br />
Elsa originates from Lebanon but lived<br />
for most of her life in Europe. Elsa holds a<br />
Master Degree in Strategic Tourism &<br />
Hospitality from Institute of Research and<br />
Higher Studies in Tourism (IREST) -<br />
Pantheon-Sorbonne University- France.<br />
She started her career at Hotel Noga<br />
Hilton; Cannes in 1996, and has worked in<br />
senior capacities with companies such as<br />
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, The<br />
Dorchester Group, Leading Hotels,<br />
Marriott and Hilton across various markets<br />
around the world mainly in Paris and<br />
London. She has a strong background in<br />
Finance and Operations.<br />
Most recently she was the Director of<br />
rooms at Hotel Missoni <strong>Kuwait</strong> and was a<br />
part of the pre-opening team as well.<br />
“It is a privilege to be working at<br />
Marina Hotel <strong>Kuwait</strong>. I am delighted to be<br />
part of this renowned five star hotel and I<br />
look forward to working together with<br />
the team. The property offers a unique<br />
mix of a strategic location and superb<br />
facilities, given its reputation for luxury,<br />
service and excellence; I am very much<br />
looking forward to my new role” said Elsa.<br />
ther encouraging reading at ESF. The school also boasts<br />
of a colourful specially designed Lower School Library.<br />
Library Classes are held for students throughout the<br />
week with the use of computers so students are<br />
informed of techniques to use the Library more effec-<br />
when answering hot-button questions<br />
by the audience, out of respect for the<br />
country, the audience and the university.<br />
GUST was honored to host such a<br />
prominent <strong>Kuwait</strong>i figure and hopes to<br />
continue providing its students with the<br />
opportunities to listen and learn from<br />
experienced members of the society in<br />
all fields and walks of life.<br />
Elsa Lahoude<br />
New contemporary library at ESF<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> Tamilosai Poets<br />
Association convened their special<br />
monthly meeting on 1st<br />
March <strong>2013</strong>, Friday morning. The 83rd<br />
monthly meeting was arranged to solemnize<br />
the trilateral celebrations of<br />
Global Women’s Day, Global alternatively-abled<br />
people’s day and thanksgiving<br />
ceremony for the success of<br />
their recently held mega program in<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>. The function hall was named<br />
as “Semmozhi Yenthiya Mummakalir<br />
Arankam” to commemorate the Tamil<br />
legendary female singer icon<br />
D.K.Pattammal, first Tamil Muslim lady<br />
and writer Sitthi Junaidha Begam and<br />
popular writer cum doctor Lakshmi.<br />
The function commenced with the<br />
recitation of Tamil Anthem at 9:30 am.<br />
The association’s information<br />
Communicator Rani Mohan presided<br />
over the meet, anchored the happenings.<br />
General Secretary Vittukatti<br />
Masthan delivered the welcome<br />
address during the event. Dr Kumar,<br />
the Tamilosai’s chief, in his presidential<br />
address shared the association’s<br />
vision & mission as well as the brief<br />
biographies of the three veteran<br />
ladies and their noble services rendered<br />
for the society, to justify the<br />
cause of labeling the hall in their<br />
names. Poets Mayilai Subramanian,<br />
“Aruvikavi” Anandaravi, Muthupet<br />
Yaqoob Ali, Muthuramalingam and<br />
Ilankai Ganesan-all chanted heart<br />
touching poems on alternatively<br />
abled people and women’s welfare.<br />
Pandimuthu offered a mind provoking<br />
lecture on women’s status in the contemporary<br />
community.<br />
Singers Kalibullah, Ganesh,<br />
Lukemaan, Ramakrishnan along with<br />
Dr. Kumar, Ranimohan, Lalitha Mani<br />
and baby Anugraha Mani entertained<br />
the audience with their sweet soaked<br />
songs in the gathering. Messrs.<br />
Valanadan, Eng. Dhayalan,<br />
V.Muthuraman & Ravichandran, Hassan<br />
Mohammed-TMCA, all greeted<br />
Tamilosai in their speech for its active<br />
participation in the mass blood donation<br />
camp on <strong>Kuwait</strong> National Day.<br />
A wonderful debate in the title,<br />
“Women’s most glorifying quality!” was<br />
conducted by the vice-president<br />
Anbazhagan chaired as the Jury for the<br />
sub-titles (1) Softness,<br />
(2)Dutifulness,(3)Talent and<br />
(4)Patience of Women well argued by<br />
G. Anbarasan, UK Sivakumar,<br />
Pattukkottai Sathya and “Namma paattu”<br />
Manickam respectively. The remarkable<br />
quality of Women’s patience won<br />
the verdict, admired by the audience.<br />
Later on, Tamilosai’s honorary president<br />
Sadhiq Batcha felicitated<br />
Vittukatti Masthan for his 30th wedding<br />
Anniversary with a magnificent<br />
memento to his credit. Also, many<br />
others greeted him with their precious<br />
poetry and splendid songs. Dr<br />
Kumar along with Balraj and Dr Anwar<br />
Batcha awarded the certificates of<br />
merit to the performers in the recent<br />
Mega Program. This included honoring<br />
of Sujatha Rajendran-the co-ordinator<br />
of “Bharatha Naattiyam”, baby<br />
Malavika Vidhugopan, dancer of<br />
Bharatham, Anne Francis, Sofia Rajan,<br />
Chithirai Selvi, Robert and Ashok for<br />
their co-ordinations of cultural<br />
dances performed during the Mega<br />
event. The chief guest for the gathering,<br />
Jubriya Rashidkhan-TVS Cargo &<br />
Travel Co., <strong>Kuwait</strong> wished the association<br />
for its future success and thanked<br />
all.<br />
Masthan deeply expressed his<br />
grateful words of gratitude to all of<br />
the sponsors, supporters, performers,<br />
volunteers. Prof. Paul Manuvel,<br />
Treasurer H. Azisudeen, Gangai Gopal,<br />
Former President cum Musician<br />
Francis Iruthayaraj, special guests<br />
from India-Orator Pattukkottai<br />
Rajappa and “Kalakkal” Kaangeyan for<br />
their dedicated participation in “INBA<br />
THAMIZH ISAI VIZHA” to make it a<br />
tively. The Library like the rest of ESF I provides students<br />
with high speed wireless internet connectivity.<br />
The Library is now planning a writing competition<br />
and plans are underway for more surprises in the near<br />
future.<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> Tamilosai celebrates World Women’s Day!<br />
roaring success. Deputy Treasurer<br />
Mannai Raja delivered the vote of<br />
thanks in the meet. Finally, after reciting<br />
“Vaazhiya Senthamizh.”, the function<br />
came to an end at 2:30 pm with a<br />
lovely lunch served to all of the attendees.
WHAT’S ON<br />
Fifteen Touristic Enterprises Company employees took part in a course that was held at the company’s head office in Shuwaikh and focused on improving creativity<br />
in the work field. The course took place between the 24th and 28th of last month and held in cooperation with the Future Pioneers Institute for Training.<br />
GUST student club iGive organizes Week of Change<br />
iGive, the youth voluntary club<br />
founded at the Gulf University for<br />
Science and Technology (GUST)<br />
organized the “Week of Change” where<br />
various activities, competitions, lectures,<br />
and workshops were organized<br />
for students, staff and faculty. The aim<br />
of the event was to inspire youth to<br />
take part in volunteer work throughout<br />
the community in various ways and to<br />
be the change they wish to see. The<br />
event was a 5-day program divided up<br />
into different categories that target<br />
each aspect of everyone’s interests and<br />
the diverse areas citizens should contribute<br />
to and work on to help advance<br />
society.<br />
The Week of Change started with<br />
Environmental day, which focused on<br />
educating staff and students about the<br />
environment by giving them the opportunity<br />
to participate and register in<br />
recycling programs with different<br />
organizations. They also made their way<br />
to the outdoors area of GUST to engage<br />
in a flower planting activity followed by<br />
a lecture by Omar Al-Awadhi from<br />
Green Plastic Factory discussing reducing<br />
waste, reusing old products and the<br />
importance of recycling to save the<br />
environment and what people in<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> can do to interact in activities<br />
that help put a stop to global warming.<br />
The second day focused on Special<br />
Needs and the importance of making<br />
sure they get to interact and be a part<br />
of the community. Different organizations<br />
such as Al-Kharafi Kids Center and<br />
Abeer 2 set up tables where they<br />
passed out brochures, and registered<br />
students to volunteer with them. The<br />
centers also brought along a few of<br />
their students. GUST staff and students<br />
were blessed with the experience of<br />
getting to volunteer and play with the<br />
children from the two centers and give<br />
them tours around campus. They also<br />
attended classes and spent break time<br />
spreading smiles and making new<br />
friends, which gave them the opportunity<br />
to experience a day as typical college<br />
students.<br />
The following day was Human Rights<br />
Day, which was dedicated to spreading<br />
awareness about how individuals<br />
should be treated in and out of the<br />
community. Staff and students got to<br />
partake in a cupcake competition<br />
where each had to test their creativity,<br />
decorate a cupcake then give it as a gift<br />
to a GUST maintenance worker. The<br />
activity was then followed by a lecture<br />
by female humanitarians, two <strong>Kuwait</strong>i<br />
activists Bibi Al-Ayoub and Haya Al-<br />
Shatti who talked about helping<br />
refugees and workers in and out of<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>. American citizen living in<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>, Sheryl Mairza, and Founder of<br />
Operation Hope was present and<br />
screened a documentary of her project<br />
to provide aid and relief to street workers.<br />
Then there was Ambition Day,<br />
where former CEO of Zain, Khalid Al-<br />
Omar and Founder of Marketing Clinic,<br />
Omar Al-Houti engaged in a lecture and<br />
workshop to share their knowledge<br />
about “How to be Successful” with GUST<br />
students.<br />
The final day was themed around<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>’s National Day where Ghanima<br />
Al-Fahad attended and talked about<br />
traditions, old phrases that are no<br />
longer used and the history of <strong>Kuwait</strong>.<br />
The Week of Change closed with an<br />
award ceremony where every participant<br />
received a certificate of participation<br />
for all their hard work and effort of<br />
being part of the Week of Change program.<br />
The event was succeeded in raising<br />
awareness and came through with<br />
getting youth involved in the community<br />
and engaging in volunteer work.<br />
BSK students visit Aquarium<br />
at the Scientific Centre<br />
As part of their creative curriculum,<br />
the Year 2 children at The British<br />
School of <strong>Kuwait</strong> (BSK) were visited<br />
by Neptune, King of the Underwater<br />
Kingdom, who challenged them to find<br />
out more about his watery world. The<br />
children were thrilled to take up the task<br />
and set about researching the creatures<br />
that live in our oceans and seas. In order<br />
to find out more, the children visited the<br />
Aquarium at the Scientific Centre, to<br />
explore <strong>Kuwait</strong>’s illustrious past further<br />
and to observe sea creatures in their<br />
habitat.<br />
To share their findings with Neptune<br />
the children composed poems, designed<br />
posters and wrote information books.<br />
The Year 2 children and teachers took<br />
great pride in their work and wanted to<br />
share King Neptune’s message that the<br />
oceans and seas are not only important<br />
to the creatures that live in them but also<br />
to our lives in <strong>Kuwait</strong>. To spread this message<br />
they visited the BSK Reception<br />
classes to talk to younger children about<br />
sea creatures and how to look after our<br />
environment. They also organised a special<br />
exhibition of their work to show other<br />
pupils and parents what they had<br />
achieved. Parents were amazed at the<br />
quality of the work on display and the<br />
Reception children were inspired.This<br />
week the Year 2 children found three<br />
dragons eggs in their new Balmoral complex,<br />
so another exciting week was<br />
beginning at BSK.<br />
ASSE holds training program<br />
American Society of Safety<br />
Engineers, <strong>Kuwait</strong> Chapter organized<br />
a three days training program<br />
on ‘Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA)’<br />
at Kohinoor Banquets Hall, Fahaheel,<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong>, in collaboration with<br />
International Risk Control Asia (IRCA),<br />
India. The three days training program<br />
was held from 20th to 22nd March <strong>2013</strong>.<br />
The training session was commenced<br />
with a welcome note by G. Sampath<br />
Reddy, Secretary ASSE <strong>Kuwait</strong> chapter<br />
and introduced the tutor Rajneesh<br />
Kumar. Rajneesh Kumar, IRCA operations<br />
in India started the session with his curriculum,<br />
* Understanding the concepts of<br />
Risk Management such as Risk Analysis,<br />
Risk Assessment and Risk Control *<br />
Familiarize with the process of QRA and<br />
the software’s in use * To understand the<br />
methodology of FTA and ETA * To know<br />
the quality aspects in QRA & be able to<br />
evaluate QRA reports from external consultants.<br />
The final exam conducted on<br />
22nd March <strong>2013</strong>. There were 22 delegates<br />
who attended this training.<br />
Condolence meeting<br />
Commemorating the sad demise<br />
of the honorable president of the<br />
People’s Republic of Bangladesh -<br />
late Mohammed Zillur Rahman,<br />
Bangladesh Awami Jubo League,<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> Chapter convened on a condolence<br />
meeting & prayer mahfil that was<br />
held on March 22.<br />
The program was presided over by<br />
Salim Jahangir and presented by Harun<br />
ur Rashid respectively the acting president,<br />
and general secretary of<br />
Bangladesh Awami Jubo League<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> Chapter. Ataul Gani Mamun Vice<br />
President of Bangladesh Awami League<br />
attended the program as the guest of<br />
honour. The special guests were<br />
Assistance General Secretary Akbar<br />
Hossain, Accusative Member Sahamsul<br />
Alam Bangladesh Awami League,<br />
Rafiaul Islam Vice President, Awami<br />
Foundation, <strong>Kuwait</strong> Chapter. Saiful<br />
Islam Mansur Vice President of<br />
Bangladesh Awami Jubo League<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> chapter had highlighted briefly<br />
the colorful life sketch of the Late<br />
President of The Republic - Mohammed<br />
Zillur Rahaman.<br />
The congregation whole heartedly<br />
prayed especially for the late President<br />
and betterment of the Republic of<br />
Bangladesh in general.<br />
Embassy<br />
Information<br />
EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA<br />
The Australian Embassy <strong>Kuwait</strong> does not<br />
have a visa or immigration department.<br />
All processing of visas and immigration<br />
matters in conducted by The Australian<br />
Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com<br />
(VFS)<br />
immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel:<br />
+971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa<br />
Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> applications can be lodged at the<br />
Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor,<br />
Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem<br />
Street, opposite the Central Bank of <strong>Kuwait</strong>,<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> City, <strong>Kuwait</strong>. Working hours and days:<br />
09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their<br />
website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information.<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> citizens can apply for tourist visas<br />
on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.<br />
n n n n n n n<br />
EMBASSY OF CANADA<br />
The Embassy of Canada in <strong>Kuwait</strong> does<br />
not have a visa or immigration department.<br />
All processing of visa and immigration<br />
matters including enquiries is conducted<br />
by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi,<br />
UAE. Individuals who are interested in working,<br />
studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada<br />
should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu<br />
Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca,<br />
E-mail: abdbi-imenquiry@international.gc.ca.<br />
The Embassy of<br />
Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St,<br />
Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at<br />
www.<strong>Kuwait</strong>.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is<br />
open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through<br />
Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to<br />
12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens<br />
are provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sunday<br />
through Wednesday.<br />
n n n n n n n<br />
EMBASSY OF CYPRUS<br />
In its capacity as EU Local Presidency<br />
in the State of <strong>Kuwait</strong>, the Embassy of<br />
the Republic of Cyprus, on behalf of<br />
the Member States of the EU and associated<br />
States participating in the Schengen cooperation,<br />
would like to announce that as from<br />
2nd October 2012 all Schengen States’<br />
Consulates in <strong>Kuwait</strong> will use the Visa<br />
Information System (VIS). The VIS is a central<br />
database for the exchange of data on shortstay<br />
(up to three months) visas between<br />
Schengen States. The main objectives of the<br />
VIS are to facilitate visa application procedures<br />
and checks at external border as well<br />
as to enhance security. The VIS will contain<br />
all the Schengen visa applications lodged by<br />
an applicant over five years and the decisions<br />
taken by any Schengen State’s consulate.<br />
This will allow applicants to establish<br />
more easily the lawful use of previous visas<br />
and their bona fide status. For the purpose of<br />
the VIS, applicants will be required to provide<br />
their biometric data (fingerprints and<br />
digital photos) when applying for a<br />
Schengen visa. It is a simple and discreet<br />
procedure that only takes a few minutes.<br />
Biometric data, along with the data provided<br />
in the Schengen visa application form, will<br />
be recorded in the VIS central database.<br />
Therefore, as from 2nd October 2012, firsttime<br />
applicants will have to appear in person<br />
when lodging the application, in order to<br />
provide their fingerprints. For subsequent<br />
applications within 5 years the fingerprints<br />
can be copied from the previous application<br />
file in the VIS. The Cypriot Presidency would<br />
like to assure the people of <strong>Kuwait</strong> and all its<br />
permanent citizens that the Member States<br />
and associated States participating in the<br />
Schengen cooperation, have taken all necessary<br />
technical measures to facilitate the rapid<br />
examination and the efficient processing<br />
of visa applications and to ensure a quick<br />
and discreet procedure for the implementation<br />
of the new VIS.<br />
EMBASSY OF KENYA<br />
The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya<br />
wishes to inform the Kenyan community<br />
residents throughout <strong>Kuwait</strong> and the<br />
general public that the Embassy has acquired<br />
new office telephone numbers as follows:<br />
25353982, 25353985 - Consular’s enquiries<br />
25353987 - Fax Our Email address:<br />
info@kenyaembkuwait.com.<br />
n n n n n n n<br />
EMBASSY OF MEXICO<br />
The Embassy of Mexico to <strong>Kuwait</strong> has<br />
the pleasure to announce the opening<br />
of its Consular Section where visa applications<br />
are already being handled. The<br />
Consular Section is open to the public from<br />
Sundays-Thursdays 09.00-12.00 hrs. at Cliffs<br />
Complex in Salmiya, Villa No. 6 (3rd floor).<br />
n n n n n n n<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
EMBASSY OF SOUTH AFRICA<br />
On the occasion of Easter Sunday and Family Day,<br />
the South African Embassy will be closed from<br />
Sunday, March 31 to Monday, April 1, <strong>2013</strong>. The<br />
Embassy will resume it’s normal working hours on Tuesday,<br />
2 April <strong>2013</strong>, from Sunday to Thursday. Please note that the<br />
working hours will be from 8:00 to 16:00 & the Consular<br />
Section operation hours will from 8:30 to 12:30.<br />
n n n n n n n<br />
EMBASSY OF GERMANY<br />
The Consular Section of the Embassy of<br />
the Federal Republic of Germany is being<br />
relocated to its new premises in the<br />
Symphony Tower and remains closed from<br />
04.04.<strong>2013</strong> to 08.04.<strong>2013</strong>. During this period of<br />
time the Embassy is unable to process any visas<br />
or deal with general consular matters. Kindly note<br />
that as of 09.04.<strong>2013</strong> the details of the Consular<br />
Section of the Embassy are as follows: Embassy of<br />
the Federal Republic of Germany Consular<br />
Section Salem Al-Mubarak St. Symphony Tower 2,<br />
Block 2, 8th Floor Salmiya, <strong>Kuwait</strong>.
00:45 I Shouldn’t Be Alive<br />
01:35 Untamed & Uncut<br />
02:25 Wildest Islands<br />
03:15 Shamwari: A Wild Life<br />
03:40 Shamwari: A Wild Life<br />
04:05 World Wild Vet<br />
04:55 Call Of The Wildman<br />
05:20 Dark Days In Monkey City<br />
05:45 Shamwari: A Wild Life<br />
06:10 Shamwari: A Wild Life<br />
06:35 Wildlife SOS<br />
07:00 The Really Wild Show<br />
07:25 Baboons With Bill Bailey<br />
07:50 Baboons With Bill Bailey<br />
08:15 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101<br />
09:10 Jeff Corwin Unleashed<br />
09:35 Jeff Corwin Unleashed<br />
10:05 Wildest Islands<br />
11:00 Animal Cops Philadelphia<br />
11:55 Call Of The Wildman<br />
12:20 Wildlife SOS<br />
12:50 RSPCA: On The Frontline<br />
13:15 RSPCA: On The Frontline<br />
13:45 Animal Precinct<br />
14:40 Wildest Islands<br />
15:30 Dark Days In Monkey City<br />
16:00 The Really Wild Show<br />
16:30 Dogs/Cats/Pets 101<br />
17:25 Weird Creatures With Nick<br />
Baker<br />
18:20 Breed All About It<br />
18:45 Breed All About It<br />
19:15 Monkey Life<br />
19:40 Bondi Vet<br />
20:10 Call Of The Wildman<br />
20:35 Dark Days In Monkey City<br />
21:05 Wildest Islands<br />
22:00 Wildest Islands<br />
22:55 Wild France<br />
23:50 Animal Cops Miami<br />
00:40 Come Dine With Me<br />
01:30 Masterchef: The Professionals<br />
01:55 Masterchef: The Professionals<br />
02:20 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow<br />
03:05 Mitch And Matt’s Big Fish<br />
03:30 Cash In The Attic<br />
04:15 Bargain Hunt<br />
05:00 House Swap<br />
05:45 Gok’s Clothes Roadshow<br />
06:35 French Food At Home<br />
07:00 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen<br />
Secrets<br />
07:25 Rick Stein’s Spain<br />
08:15 Homes Under The Hammer<br />
09:10 Bargain Hunt<br />
09:55 Antiques Roadshow<br />
10:45 Extreme Makeover: Home<br />
Edition<br />
11:25 Masterchef: The Professionals<br />
11:50 Baking Made Easy<br />
12:20 Come Dine With Me<br />
13:05 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen<br />
Secrets<br />
13:30 French Food At Home<br />
13:55 Cash In The Attic<br />
14:40 Bargain Hunt<br />
15:25 Antiques Roadshow<br />
16:15 Extreme Makeover: Home<br />
Edition<br />
17:00 Homes Under The Hammer<br />
17:55 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard<br />
18:20 The Good Cook<br />
18:45 Baking Made Easy<br />
19:15 French Food At Home<br />
19:40 Come Dine With Me<br />
20:35 Extreme Makeover: Home<br />
Edition<br />
21:20 Antiques Roadshow<br />
22:15 Bargain Hunt<br />
23:00 Homes Under The Hammer<br />
23:55 Cash In The Attic<br />
00:00 BBC World News America<br />
00:30 BBC World News America<br />
01:00 Newsday<br />
01:30 Asia Business Report<br />
01:45 Sport Today<br />
02:00 Newsday<br />
02:30 Asia Business Report<br />
02:45 Sport Today<br />
03:00 Newsday<br />
03:30 Asia Business Report<br />
03:45 Sport Today<br />
04:00 BBC World News<br />
04:30 Asia Business Report<br />
04:45 Sport Today<br />
05:00 BBC World News<br />
05:30 Asia Business Report<br />
05:45 Sport Today<br />
06:00 BBC World News<br />
06:30 Hardtalk<br />
07:00 BBC World News<br />
07:30 World Business Report<br />
07:45 BBC World News<br />
08:00 BBC World News<br />
08:30 World Business Report<br />
08:45 BBC World News<br />
09:00 BBC World News<br />
09:30 World Business Report<br />
09:45 BBC World News<br />
10:00 BBC World News<br />
10:30 World Business Report<br />
10:45 BBC World News<br />
11:00 BBC World News<br />
11:30 Hardtalk<br />
12:00 BBC World News<br />
12:30 World Business Report<br />
12:45 Sport Today<br />
13:00 BBC World News<br />
13:30 BBC World News<br />
14:00 GMT With George Alagiah<br />
14:30 GMT With George Alagiah<br />
15:00 BBC World News<br />
15:30 World Business Report<br />
15:45 Sport Today<br />
16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain<br />
16:30 Impact With Mishal Husain<br />
17:00 Impact With Mishal Husain<br />
17:30 Hardtalk<br />
18:00 Global With John Sopel<br />
18:30 Global With John Sopel<br />
19:00 Global With John Sopel<br />
19:30 World Business Report<br />
19:45 Sport Today<br />
20:00 BBC World News<br />
20:30 BBC Focus On Africa<br />
21:00 World News Today With<br />
Zeinab Badawi<br />
21:30 World News Today With<br />
Zeinab Badawi<br />
22:00 World News Today With<br />
Zeinab Badawi<br />
22:30 World Business Report<br />
22:45 Sport Today<br />
23:00 Business Edition With Tanya<br />
Beckett<br />
23:30 Hardtalk<br />
00:45 Wacky Races<br />
01:35 Duck Dodgers<br />
02:00 Duck Dodgers<br />
02:25 Dastardly And Muttley<br />
02:50 Dastardly And Muttley<br />
03:00 Dexter’s Laboratory<br />
03:30 Wacky Races<br />
03:55 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries<br />
04:20 Tom & Jerry<br />
04:45 The Garfield Show<br />
05:00 Bananas In Pyjamas<br />
05:25 Gerald McBoing Boing<br />
05:45 Jelly Jamm<br />
06:00 Ha Ha Hairies<br />
06:25 Bananas In Pyjamas<br />
06:50 Lazytown<br />
07:15 Krypto: The Super Dog<br />
07:40 Baby Looney Tunes<br />
08:05 Gerald McBoing Boing<br />
08:30 Cartoonito Tales<br />
08:55 Lazy Town<br />
09:45 Baby Looney Tunes<br />
10:10 Krypto: The Super Dog<br />
10:35 Cartoonito Tales<br />
11:00 Jelly Jamm<br />
11:25 Gerald McBoing Boing<br />
11:50 Lazy Town<br />
12:40 Jelly Jamm<br />
13:00 Tom & Jerry Kids<br />
13:25 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo<br />
13:50 Moomins<br />
14:20 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries<br />
14:45 Tiny Toons<br />
15:10 The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo<br />
15:35 Taz-Mania<br />
16:00 Tom & Jerry Tales<br />
16:25 Moomins<br />
16:50 The Garfield Show<br />
17:15 The Looney Tunes Show<br />
17:40 Tiny Toons<br />
18:05 Taz-Mania<br />
18:30 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries<br />
THOR ON OSN ACTION HD<br />
18:55 The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo<br />
19:20 Pink Panther And Pals<br />
19:45 The Looney Tunes Show<br />
20:10 Taz-Mania<br />
20:35 Puppy In My Pocket<br />
21:00 What’s New Scooby-Doo?<br />
21:25 Looney Tunes<br />
21:50 Dexter’s Laboratory<br />
22:15 Tom & Jerry Tales<br />
23:05 Pink Panther And Pals<br />
23:30 Pink Panther And Pals<br />
23:55 Moomins<br />
00:30 Grim Adventures Of...<br />
01:20 Johnny Test<br />
02:10 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien<br />
02:35 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien<br />
03:00 The Amazing World Of<br />
Gumball<br />
03:25 Regular Show<br />
03:50 Ben 10: Omniverse<br />
04:15 Scooby-Doo! Mystery<br />
Incorporated<br />
04:40 Powerpuff Girls<br />
05:05 Evil Con Carne<br />
05:30 Cow & Chicken<br />
06:00 Casper’s Scare School<br />
06:30 Angelo Rules<br />
07:00 Dreamworks Dragons: Riders<br />
Of Berk<br />
07:25 The Amazing World Of<br />
Gumball<br />
07:45 Scooby Doo! Mystery<br />
Incorporated<br />
08:10 Evil Con Carne<br />
08:55 Adventure Time<br />
09:45 Regular Show<br />
10:35 Angelo Rules<br />
11:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien<br />
11:50 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien<br />
12:15 Hero 108<br />
12:40 Hero 108<br />
13:05 Mucha Lucha !<br />
13:30 Angelo Rules<br />
14:20 Evil Con Carne<br />
15:10 Ben 10<br />
15:35 Ben 10<br />
16:00 Johnny Test<br />
16:35 Scooby Doo! Mystery<br />
Incorporated<br />
17:00 Ben 10: Omniverse<br />
17:25 Dreamworks Dragons Riders<br />
Of Berk<br />
17:50 The Amazing World Of<br />
Gumball<br />
18:15 Adventure Time<br />
18:40 Regular Show<br />
19:05 Total Drama Action<br />
19:30 Total Drama Action<br />
19:55 Starwars: The Clone Wars<br />
20:20 Ben 10: Omniverse<br />
20:45 Hero 108<br />
21:10 Young Justice<br />
21:35 Green Lantern: The Animated<br />
Series<br />
22:00 Ben 10<br />
22:25 Ben 10<br />
22:50 Mucha Lucha !<br />
23:15 Mucha Lucha !<br />
23:40 Powerpuff Girls<br />
00:00 Amanpour<br />
00:30 World Sport<br />
01:00 Piers Morgan Tonight<br />
02:00 World Report<br />
02:30 World Sport<br />
03:00 Anderson Cooper 360<br />
04:00 Piers Morgan Tonight<br />
05:00 Quest Means Business<br />
06:00 The Situation Room<br />
07:00 World Sport<br />
07:30 News Special<br />
08:00 World Report<br />
09:00 World Report<br />
10:00 World Sport<br />
10:30 Inside Africa<br />
11:00 World Business Today<br />
12:00 World One<br />
12:30 Inside The Middle East<br />
13:00 Amanpour<br />
13:30 CNN Newscenter<br />
14:00 Piers Morgan Tonight<br />
15:00 News Stream<br />
16:00 World Business Today<br />
17:00 International Desk<br />
18:00 Global Exchange<br />
TV PROGRAMS<br />
19:00 World Sport<br />
19:30 Inside The Middle East<br />
20:00 International Desk<br />
21:00 Quest Means Business<br />
22:00 Amanpour<br />
22:30 CNN Newscenter<br />
23:00 Connect The World With<br />
Becky Anderson<br />
00:15 Outback Truckers<br />
01:10 Yukon Men<br />
02:05 Finding Bigfoot<br />
03:00 Mythbusters<br />
03:55 Border Security<br />
04:20 Auction Kings<br />
04:50 Baggage Battles<br />
05:15 How Do They Do It?<br />
05:40 How It’s Made<br />
06:05 Sons Of Guns<br />
07:00 Mythbusters<br />
07:50 Ultimate Survival<br />
08:45 Dual Survival<br />
09:40 Border Security<br />
10:05 Auction Kings<br />
10:30 Baggage Battles<br />
10:55 How Do They Do It?<br />
11:25 How It’s Made<br />
11:50 Outback Truckers<br />
12:45 Yukon Men<br />
13:40 Finding Bigfoot<br />
14:35 Border Security<br />
15:05 Auction Kings<br />
15:30 Baggage Battles<br />
16:00 Inventions That Shook The<br />
World<br />
16:55 Dual Survival<br />
17:50 Mythbusters<br />
18:45 Sons Of Guns<br />
19:40 How Do They Do It?<br />
20:05 How It’s Made<br />
20:35 Auction Kings<br />
21:00 Baggage Battles<br />
21:30 James May’s Man Lab<br />
22:25 Superhuman Showdown<br />
23:20 Mythbusters<br />
00:05 How Tech Works<br />
00:30 Wallace & Gromit’s World Of<br />
Invention<br />
01:00 Prototype This<br />
01:50 Stuck With Hackett<br />
02:15 Stuck With Hackett<br />
02:45 Da Vinci’s Machines<br />
03:35 Prototype This<br />
04:25 Mighty Ships<br />
05:15 Gadget Show - World Tour<br />
05:40 How Tech Works<br />
06:05 Through The Wormhole With<br />
Morgan Freeman<br />
07:00 Da Vinci’s Machines<br />
07:50 Oddities<br />
08:15 Oddities<br />
08:40 Gadget Show - World Tour<br />
09:05 How Tech Works<br />
09:30 Scrapheap Challenge<br />
10:25 Science Of The Movies<br />
11:15 The Kustomizer<br />
12:05 Through The Wormhole With<br />
Morgan Freeman<br />
13:00 The X-Testers<br />
13:25 The X-Testers<br />
13:50 Weird Connections<br />
14:20 Gadget Show - World Tour<br />
14:45 How Tech Works<br />
15:10 Da Vinci’s Machines<br />
16:00 Smash Lab<br />
16:55 Nextworld<br />
17:45 Mighty Ships<br />
18:35 Meteorite Men<br />
19:30 Space Pioneer<br />
20:20 NASA’s Greatest Missions<br />
21:10 Gadget Show - World Tour<br />
21:35 How Tech Works<br />
22:00 Space Pioneer<br />
22:50 Stuck With Hackett<br />
23:15 Stuck With Hackett<br />
23:40 Gadget Show - World Tour<br />
00:10 Hannah Montana<br />
00:35 Brandy & Mr Whiskers<br />
01:00 Brandy & Mr Whiskers<br />
01:25 Replacements<br />
01:50 Replacements<br />
02:15 Emperor’s New School<br />
02:40 Emperor’s New School<br />
03:05 Brandy & Mr Whiskers<br />
03:30 Brandy & Mr Whiskers<br />
03:55 Replacements<br />
04:20 Replacements<br />
04:45 Emperor’s New School<br />
05:10 Emperor’s New School<br />
05:35 Brandy & Mr Whiskers<br />
06:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse<br />
06:25 Doc McStuffins<br />
06:40 Suite Life On Deck<br />
07:05 A.N.T Farm<br />
07:30 A.N.T Farm<br />
07:55 Jessie<br />
08:20 Jessie<br />
08:45 Good Luck Charlie<br />
09:10 Good Luck Charlie<br />
09:35 Austin And Ally<br />
10:00 Austin And Ally<br />
10:25 Shake It Up<br />
10:50 Shake It Up<br />
11:15 Suite Life On Deck<br />
11:40 Suite Life On Deck<br />
12:05 Hannah Montana<br />
12:30 Wizards Of Waverly Place<br />
12:55 Wizards Of Waverly Place<br />
13:20 Jessie<br />
13:45 A.N.T. Farm<br />
14:10 A.N.T. Farm<br />
14:35 Austin And Ally<br />
15:00 Austin And Ally<br />
15:25 Good Luck Charlie<br />
15:50 Jessie<br />
16:15 Shake It Up<br />
16:40 A.N.T. Farm<br />
17:00 Finding Nemo<br />
18:40 Toy Story Toons<br />
18:45 That’s So Raven<br />
19:10 Cory In The House<br />
19:35 Good Luck Charlie<br />
20:00 Jessie<br />
20:25 Wizards Of Waverly Place<br />
20:50 Wizards Of Waverly Place<br />
21:15 Phil Of The Future<br />
21:40 Hannah Montana<br />
22:05 Jonas<br />
22:30 Sonny With A Chance<br />
22:55 Wizards Of Waverly Place<br />
23:20 Wizards Of Waverly Place<br />
23:45 Hannah Montana<br />
00:00 Dirty Soap<br />
00:55 Style Star<br />
01:25 THS<br />
03:15 Style Star<br />
03:40 Extreme Close-Up<br />
04:10 E!es<br />
05:05 THS<br />
06:00 THS<br />
07:50 Style Star<br />
08:20 Opening Act<br />
09:15 Opening Act<br />
10:15 THS<br />
12:05 Khloe And Lamar<br />
12:35 Khloe And Lamar<br />
13:05 Married To Jonas<br />
13:35 Married To Jonas<br />
14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New<br />
York<br />
15:00 Style Star<br />
15:30 THS<br />
16:30 Extreme Close-Up<br />
17:00 Giuliana & Bill<br />
18:00 E! News<br />
19:00 Fashion Police<br />
20:00 THS<br />
21:00 Kourtney And Kim Take Miami<br />
22:00 Chasing The Saturdays<br />
22:30 E! News<br />
23:30 Chelsea Lately<br />
00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives<br />
00:30 Outrageous Food<br />
00:55 Unwrapped<br />
01:20 Unwrapped<br />
01:45 Pizza Outside The Box<br />
02:35 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives<br />
03:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives<br />
03:25 Unique Eats<br />
03:50 Andy Bates Street Feasts<br />
04:15 Andy Bates American Street<br />
Feasts<br />
04:40 Chopped<br />
05:30 Iron Chef America<br />
06:10 Food Network Challenge<br />
07:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives<br />
07:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives<br />
07:50 Unique Eats<br />
08:15 Andy Bates Street Feasts<br />
08:40 Andy Bates American Street<br />
Feasts<br />
09:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To<br />
Basics<br />
09:30 The Next Iron Chef<br />
10:20 Extra Virgin<br />
10:45 Extra Virgin<br />
11:10 Everyday Italian<br />
11:35 Unwrapped<br />
12:00 Iron Chef America<br />
12:50 Reza’s African Kitchen<br />
13:15 Barefoot Contessa<br />
13:40 Barefoot Contessa<br />
14:05 Extra Virgin<br />
14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives<br />
14:55 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives<br />
15:20 Guy’s Big Bite<br />
15:45 Chopped<br />
16:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To<br />
Basics<br />
17:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To<br />
Basics<br />
17:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives<br />
17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives<br />
18:15 Reza’s African Kitchen<br />
18:40 Guy’s Big Bite<br />
19:05 Tyler’s Ultimate<br />
19:30 Chopped<br />
20:20 Chopped<br />
21:10 Iron Chef America<br />
22:00 Charly’s Cake Angels<br />
22:25 Charly’s Cake Angels<br />
22:50 Unique Sweets<br />
23:15 Unique Sweets<br />
23:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives<br />
00:30 Dr G: Medical Examiner<br />
01:20 A Haunting<br />
02:05 Couples Who Kill<br />
02:55 Deadly Women<br />
03:45 I Almost Got Away With It<br />
04:30 Dr G: Medical Examiner<br />
05:20 A Haunting<br />
06:10 Murder Shift<br />
07:00 Mystery Diagnosis<br />
07:50 Street Patrol<br />
08:15 Street Patrol<br />
08:40 Real Emergency Calls<br />
09:05 Who On Earth Did I Marry?<br />
09:30 On The Case With Paula Zahn<br />
10:20 Murder Shift<br />
11:10 Disappeared<br />
12:00 Mystery Diagnosis<br />
12:50 Street Patrol<br />
13:15 Street Patrol<br />
13:40 Forensic Detectives<br />
14:30 On The Case With Paula Zahn<br />
15:20 Real Emergency Calls<br />
15:45 Who On Earth Did I Marry?<br />
16:10 Disappeared<br />
17:00 Murder Shift<br />
17:50 Forensic Detectives<br />
18:40 On The Case With Paula Zahn<br />
19:30 Disappeared<br />
20:20 Nightmare Next Door<br />
21:10 Couples Who Kill<br />
22:00 Evil, I<br />
22:25 Evil, I<br />
22:50 I Almost Got Away With It<br />
23:40 I Almost Got Away With It<br />
00:15 The Kimchi Chronicles<br />
Conclude<br />
00:45 Silk Road<br />
01:40 Thailand<br />
02:05 Brazil<br />
02:35 Climbing Yosemite<br />
03:30 The Real Midnight Express<br />
04:25<br />
05:20 Austria<br />
06:15 Tbilisi<br />
06:40 Room With A View<br />
07:10 Route 62: The Longest Wine<br />
Route In The World<br />
07:35 The Kimchi Chronicles<br />
Conclude<br />
08:05 Silk Road<br />
09:00 Thailand<br />
09:25 Brazil<br />
09:55 Climbing Yosemite<br />
10:50 The Real Midnight Express<br />
11:45<br />
12:40 Athens To Atlanta<br />
13:35 New Forest<br />
14:00 New York City<br />
14:30 Route 62: The Longest Wine<br />
Route In The World Cont<br />
14:55 The Kimchi Chronicles Begin<br />
15:25 Three Gorges Dam<br />
16:20 Buenos Aires<br />
16:45 Beirut, Lebanon<br />
17:15 Stock Car<br />
18:10 Colombia Ambush<br />
19:05<br />
20:00 Route 62: The Longest Wine<br />
Route In The World Cont<br />
20:30 The Kimchi Chronicles Begin<br />
21:00 New Forest<br />
21:30 New York City<br />
22:00 Key West<br />
22:55 Vienna<br />
23:20 Italian Superstition<br />
23:50 Accra, Ghana<br />
00:00 RoboCop 2-PG15<br />
02:15 Hell-18<br />
04:00 RoboCop 3-PG15<br />
06:00 The Presence-PG15<br />
08:00 Smoke Screen-PG15<br />
10:00 Battle: Los Angeles-PG15<br />
12:00 The Ring-PG15<br />
14:00 Smoke Screen-PG15<br />
16:00 Thor-PG15<br />
18:00 The Ring-PG15<br />
20:00 Green Lantern-PG15<br />
22:00 Thor-PG15<br />
01:00 Interview With A Hitman-<br />
PG15<br />
03:00 The Proud Family Movie-FAM<br />
05:00 Enter The Phoenix-PG15<br />
07:00 Espions-PG15<br />
09:00 Interview With A Hitman-<br />
PG15<br />
10:45 Lorenzo’s Oil-PG15<br />
13:00 Twins Mission-PG15<br />
15:00 Warbirds-PG15<br />
17:00 The Marc Pease Experience-<br />
PG15<br />
19:00 The Deep Blue Sea-PG15<br />
21:00 A Dangerous Method-18<br />
23:00 The Crazies-18<br />
00:30 The Daily Show With Jon<br />
Stewart<br />
01:00 The Colbert Report<br />
01:30 The New Normal<br />
02:00 The New Normal<br />
03:00 Hot In Cleveland<br />
04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay<br />
Leno<br />
05:30 Hope & Faith<br />
07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon<br />
08:30 Hope & Faith<br />
09:00 Hot In Cleveland<br />
09:30 How I Met Your Mother<br />
11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay<br />
Leno<br />
13:00 Hope & Faith<br />
15:00 How I Met Your Mother<br />
15:30 The Daily Show With Jon<br />
Stewart<br />
16:00 The Colbert Report<br />
17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon<br />
18:00 Ben And Kate<br />
19:00 Modern Family<br />
19:30 The Mindy Project<br />
20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay<br />
Leno<br />
21:00 The Daily Show With Jon<br />
Stewart<br />
21:30 The Colbert Report<br />
22:00 Weeds<br />
22:30 South Park<br />
23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon<br />
02:00 American Horror Story<br />
04:00 Six Feet Under<br />
07:00 Fairly Legal<br />
09:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show<br />
11:00 Fairly Legal<br />
17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show<br />
19:00 The Finder<br />
20:00 Franklin & Bash<br />
21:00 Awake<br />
22:00 The Carrie Diaries<br />
23:00 Six Feet Under<br />
00:00 Switched At Birth<br />
01:00 American Horror Story<br />
02:00 The Americans<br />
03:00 Greek<br />
04:00 House Of Cards<br />
05:00 Grey’s Anatomy<br />
06:00 Switched At Birth<br />
07:00 Emmerdale<br />
07:30 Coronation Street<br />
08:00 White Collar<br />
10:00 Grey’s Anatomy<br />
11:00 House Of Cards<br />
12:00 Emmerdale<br />
12:30 Coronation Street<br />
A DANGEROUS METHOD ON OSN CINEMA<br />
13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show<br />
14:00 White Collar<br />
15:00 Switched At Birth<br />
16:00 Emmerdale<br />
16:30 Coronation Street<br />
17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show<br />
18:00 White Collar<br />
19:00 The Finder<br />
20:00 Franklin & Bash<br />
21:00 Awake<br />
22:00 The Carrie Diaries<br />
23:00 Greek<br />
00:00 Battle: Los Angeles<br />
02:00 RoboCop 2<br />
04:15 Hell<br />
06:00 RoboCop 3<br />
08:00 The Presence<br />
10:00 Smoke Screen<br />
12:00 Battle: Los Angeles<br />
14:00 The Ring<br />
16:00 Smoke Screen<br />
18:00 Thor<br />
20:00 The Ring<br />
22:00 Green Lantern<br />
00:00 Take Me Home Tonight-18<br />
02:00 The Goods: Live Hard, Sell<br />
Hard-18<br />
04:00 Smooch-PG15<br />
06:00 Jumping The Broom-PG15<br />
08:00 Rebound-PG<br />
10:00 Desperately Seeking Santa-<br />
PG15<br />
12:00 Smooch-PG15<br />
14:00 The Family Stone-PG15<br />
16:00 Desperately Seeking Santa-<br />
PG15<br />
18:00 Morning Glory-PG15<br />
20:00 Stuck On You-PG15<br />
22:00 Take Me Home Tonight-18<br />
01:00 A L’origine-PG15<br />
03:15 Phenomenon-PG<br />
05:15 1941-PG15<br />
07:15 The Chorus-PG15<br />
09:00 Virtual Lies-PG15<br />
11:00 Offline-PG15<br />
13:00 Caesar Must Die-PG15<br />
14:45 Virtual Lies-PG15<br />
16:30 Anna And The King-PG15<br />
19:00 Dead Again-PG15<br />
21:00 Bloodworth-18<br />
23:00 Eternal Sunshine Of The<br />
Spotless Mind-PG15<br />
01:00 Vampires Suck-PG15<br />
03:00 Water For Elephants-PG15<br />
05:00 Perfect Plan-PG15<br />
07:00 Black Forest-PG15<br />
09:00 Web Of Lies-PG15<br />
11:00 Transformers: Dark Of The<br />
Moon-PG15<br />
13:30 Muhammad And Larry-PG15<br />
14:30 The Help-PG15<br />
17:00 Web Of Lies-PG15<br />
19:00 Chronicle-PG15<br />
21:00 The Thing-18<br />
23:00 Anonymous-18<br />
01:00 Winner & The Golden Child:<br />
Part II<br />
03:00 A Fairy Tale Christmas<br />
04:30 Mickey’s Twice Upon A<br />
Christmas<br />
06:00 Marco Antonio<br />
08:00 Turtle Hero: Part I<br />
10:00 Looney Tunes: Back In Action<br />
11:30 Marco Macaco<br />
13:00 Easter Egg Escapade<br />
14:45 Mickey’s Twice Upon A<br />
Christmas<br />
16:00 Olentzero And The Magic Log<br />
18:00 Looney Tunes: Back In Action<br />
20:00 Barnyard<br />
22:00 Easter Egg Escapade<br />
23:45 Olentzero And The Magic Log<br />
00:00 Failure To Launch-PG15<br />
02:00 Cheaper By The Dozen-PG<br />
04:00 Green Lantern: Emerald<br />
Knights-PG15<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
06:00 Last Holiday-PG15<br />
08:00 Hugo-PG<br />
10:15 Jetsons: The Movie-FAM<br />
12:00 New Year’s Eve-PG15<br />
14:00 The Pirates! Band Of Misfits-<br />
PG<br />
15:45 Hugo-PG<br />
18:00 Seeking Justice-PG15<br />
20:00 Columbus Circle-PG15<br />
22:00 Your Sister’s Sister-18<br />
00:00 PGA European Tour<br />
Highlights<br />
01:00 NRL Full Time<br />
01:30 Premier League Darts<br />
05:00 Super League<br />
06:30 NRL Full Time<br />
07:00 Super Rugby<br />
09:00 Super Rugby Highlights<br />
10:00 Top 14<br />
12:00 PGA European Tour<br />
Highlights<br />
13:00 Super Rugby Highlights<br />
14:00 NRL Premiership<br />
16:00 NRL Full Time<br />
16:30 PGA Tour Highlights<br />
17:30 Super Rugby<br />
19:30 Ladies European Tour<br />
Highlights<br />
20:30 PGA European Tour Weekly<br />
21:00 Inside The PGA Tour<br />
21:30 Trans World Sport<br />
22:30 Super Rugby Highlights<br />
23:30 Top 14<br />
00:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter<br />
03:00 Trans World Sport<br />
04:00 Super Rugby<br />
05:00 PGA Tour Highlights<br />
06:00 PGA European Tour<br />
Highlights<br />
07:00 WWE Vintage Collection<br />
08:00 PGA Tour Highlights<br />
09:00 PGA European Tour<br />
Highlights<br />
10:00 AFL Premiership<br />
12:30 AFL Premiership Highlights<br />
13:30 Premier League Darts<br />
17:00 ICC Cricket 360<br />
17:30 Futbol Mundial<br />
18:00 NHL<br />
20:00 Super Rugby<br />
22:00 Futbol Mundial<br />
22:30 European Tour Weekly<br />
23:00 Inside The PGA Tour<br />
00:00 NRL Full Time<br />
00:30 Top 14 Highlights<br />
01:00 World Pool Masters<br />
02:00 World Cup Of Pool<br />
03:00 Golfing World<br />
04:00 Rome Marathon<br />
07:00 Golfing World<br />
08:00 Asian Tour Highlights<br />
09:00 World Pool Masters<br />
10:00 World Cup Of Pool<br />
11:00 Trans World Sport<br />
12:00 Top 14 Highlights<br />
12:30 ICC Cricket 360<br />
13:00 Golfing World<br />
14:00 Asian Tour Highlights<br />
15:00 Futbol Mundial<br />
15:30 World Pool Masters<br />
16:30 World Cup Of Pool<br />
17:30 Pro 12<br />
19:30 Super League<br />
21:00 Futbol Mundial<br />
21:30 Asian Tour Highlights<br />
22:30 Super League<br />
00:00 WWE Bottom Line<br />
01:00 Ping Pong World<br />
02:00 US Bass Fishing<br />
03:00 NHL<br />
05:00 NHL<br />
07:00 WWE Vintage Collection<br />
08:00 WWE NXT<br />
09:00 Ping Pong World<br />
10:00 US Bass Fishing<br />
11:00 NHL<br />
13:00 WWE SmackDown<br />
15:00 Adventure Challenge<br />
16:00 Triahlon UK<br />
17:00 UFC<br />
20:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter<br />
21:00 NHL<br />
23:00 WWE Experience
Classifieds<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong><br />
SHARQIA-1<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 12:45 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 3:00 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 5:15 PM<br />
TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) 7:30 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 9:30 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 12:05 AM<br />
SHARQIA-2<br />
THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 1:30 PM<br />
JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) 3:30 PM<br />
THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 5:45 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 7:45 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 10:00 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 12:15 AM<br />
MUHALAB-1<br />
TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) 12:45 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 3:00 PM<br />
TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) 5:15 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 7:30 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 9:30 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 11:45 PM<br />
MUHALAB-2<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 1:00 PM<br />
SIDE EFFECTS (DIG) 3:30 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 5:30 PM<br />
AL HAFLA (DIG) 7:45 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 9:45 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 12:05 AM<br />
FANAR-1<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 1:00 PM<br />
IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) 3:45 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 6:00 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 8:15 PM<br />
IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) 10:30 PM<br />
IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) 12:30 AM<br />
FANAR-2<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 1:30 PM<br />
THE TALL MAN (DIG) 4:00 PM<br />
THE TALL MAN (DIG) 6:15 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 8:30 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 10:45 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 1:00 AM<br />
MARINA-1<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 1:00 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 3:15 PM<br />
TRUTH OR DARE (DIG) 5:30 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 7:30 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 9:45 PM<br />
KON-TIKI (DIG) 12:05 AM<br />
MARINA-2<br />
AL HAFLA (DIG) 1:30 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 1:15 PM<br />
SNITCH (DIG) 3:30 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 5:45 PM<br />
AL HAFLA (DIG) 8:00 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 10:15 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 12:30 AM<br />
AVENUES-1<br />
THE TALL MAN (DIG) 1:00 PM<br />
THE TALL MAN (DIG) 3:30 PM<br />
THE TALL MAN (DIG) 6:00 PM<br />
LOVE AND HONOR (DIG) 8:30 PM<br />
THE TALL MAN (DIG) 10:30 PM<br />
THE TALL MAN (DIG) 12:45 AM<br />
AVENUES-2<br />
HIMMATWALA (DIG) (HINDI) 12:30 PM<br />
HIMMATWALA (DIG) (HINDI) 3:30 PM<br />
Arrival Flights on Wednesday 3/4/<strong>2013</strong><br />
Airlines Flt Route Time<br />
QTR 148 DOHA 00:15<br />
JZR 267 BEIRUT 00:20<br />
JZR 539 CAIRO 00:40<br />
QTR 6130 DOHA 01:00<br />
ETH 620 ADDIS ABABA 01:45<br />
GFA 211 BAHRAIN 01:55<br />
UAE 853 DUBAI 02:25<br />
ETD 305 ABU DHABI 02:30<br />
FDB 67 DUBAI 03:10<br />
MSR 612 CAIRO 03:15<br />
OMA 643 MUSCAT 03:20<br />
QTR 138 DOHA 03:30<br />
THY 770 ISTANBUL 04:35<br />
DHX 170 BAHRAIN 05:10<br />
FDB 69 DUBAI 05:50<br />
KAC 412 MANILA/BANGKOK 06:15<br />
JZR 555 ALEXANDRIA 06:20<br />
BAW 157 LONDON 06:30<br />
JZR 529 ASSIUT 06:40<br />
KAC 206 ISLAMABAD 07:25<br />
KAC 382 DELHI 07:30<br />
FDB 53 DUBAI 07:45<br />
KAC 302 MUMBAI 07:50<br />
KAC 352 COCHIN 08:05<br />
KAC 344 CHENNAI 08:20<br />
UAE 855 DUBAI 08:25<br />
ETD 933 ABU DHABI 08:30<br />
ABY 125 SHARJAH 08:50<br />
QTR 132 DOHA 09:00<br />
FDB 55 DUBAI 09:15<br />
IRA 603 SHIRAZ 09:25<br />
ETD 301 ABU DHABI 09:30<br />
GFA 213 BAHRAIN 10:40<br />
MEA 404 BEIRUT 10:55<br />
TMA 213 BEIRUT 11:00<br />
JZR 165 DUBAI 11:35<br />
JZR 561 SOHAG 12:00<br />
KAC 284 DHAKA 12:05<br />
KNE 470 JEDDAH 12:10<br />
IZG 4167 MASHAD 12:40<br />
UAE 871 DUBAI 12:45<br />
MSR 610 CAIRO 13:00<br />
THY 766 ISTANBUL 13:10<br />
CLX 792 LUXEMBOURG 13:15<br />
KNE 480 TAIF 13:25<br />
GFA 219 BAHRAIN 13:40<br />
KAC 672 DUBAI 13:40<br />
QTR 140 DOHA 13:45<br />
FDB 57 DUBAI 13:50<br />
KAC 790 MEDINAH 13:55<br />
KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY<br />
(28/03/<strong>2013</strong> TO 03/04/<strong>2013</strong>)<br />
HIMMATWALA (DIG) (HINDI) 6:30 PM<br />
HIMMATWALA (DIG) (HINDI) 9:30 PM<br />
LOVE AND HONOR (DIG) 12:30 AM<br />
360º- 1<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 1:15 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 3:30 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 6:00 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 8:30 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 10:45 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 1:00 AM<br />
360º- 2<br />
AL HAFLA (DIG) 1:15 PM<br />
AL HAFLA (DIG) 3:45 PM<br />
AL HAFLA (DIG) 6:00 PM<br />
AL HAFLA (DIG) 8:00 PM<br />
AL HAFLA (DIG) 10:15 PM<br />
AL HAFLA (DIG) 12:30 AM<br />
AL-KOUT.1<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 1:00 PM<br />
NO FRI+SAT<br />
THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 1:30 PM<br />
FRI+SAT<br />
THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 3:30 PM<br />
JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (DIG-3D) 5:30 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 7:45 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 10:00 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 12:15 AM<br />
AL-KOUT.2<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 12:45 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 3:00 PM<br />
THE TALL MAN (DIG) 5:15 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 7:30 PM<br />
THE TALL MAN (DIG) 9:45 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 12:05 AM<br />
BAIRAQ-1<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 2:00 PM<br />
THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 4:15 PM<br />
THE CROODS (DIG-3D) 6:15 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 8:15 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 10:30 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG-3D) 12:45 AM<br />
BAIRAQ-2<br />
IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) 1:45 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 3:45 PM<br />
IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) 6:00 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 8:00 PM<br />
IN THEIR SKIN (DIG) 10:15 PM<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 12:15 AM<br />
PLAZA<br />
JAFFA (DIG) (TELUGU) 5:30 PM<br />
NO THU+ TUE+WED<br />
AL HAFLA (DIG) 6:15 PM<br />
THU+ TUE+WED<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG) 8:30 PM<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG) 10:45 PM<br />
LAILA<br />
THE CROODS (DIG) 6:00 PM<br />
NO WED<br />
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN (DIG) 8:00 PM<br />
NO WED<br />
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION (DIG) 10:30 PM<br />
NO WED<br />
AJIAL.1<br />
RED WINE (DIG) (MALAYALAM) 6:30 PM<br />
RED WINE (DIG) (MALAYALAM) 9:30 PM<br />
FOR SALE<br />
Mazda Two car Salon model<br />
2011, white color, four<br />
cylinder, 1500CC engine,<br />
very excellent original condition,<br />
60,000km done,<br />
installment possible with or<br />
without down payment,<br />
cash price KD 1,950/- negotiable.<br />
Contact: 66507741.<br />
(4363)<br />
2-4-<strong>2013</strong><br />
SITUATION WANTED<br />
Female, MBA with over 11<br />
years experience in all functions<br />
of HR/Admin.<br />
Transferable Visa 18. Can<br />
join immediately, knowledge<br />
of English, Hindi,<br />
Arabic. Please contact:<br />
94062123. (C 4358)<br />
2-4-<strong>2013</strong><br />
British male consultant<br />
engineer work in petrol<br />
chemical and manufacturing<br />
industries in leading<br />
companies in Europe and<br />
UK. 20 years experience,<br />
seeking job in <strong>Kuwait</strong>. Mob:<br />
50936694, 25742132.<br />
1-4-<strong>2013</strong><br />
MATRIMONIAL<br />
B.D.S Doctor, Christian girl,<br />
born and brought up in<br />
<strong>Kuwait</strong> seeking proposal<br />
from professionally qualified<br />
boys. 30 years, fair,<br />
height 150cm. Contact<br />
email:<br />
proposal.dentist@yahoo.com<br />
(C 4361)<br />
1-4-<strong>2013</strong><br />
CHANGE OF NAME<br />
Raja Mohamed s/o R.M.<br />
Yousuf holder of Indian<br />
Passport No. F5609683<br />
change my name to Raj<br />
Mohamed. (C 4366)<br />
3-4-<strong>2013</strong><br />
I, Moiz Ali Mazaf Aziz, holder<br />
of Indian Passport No:<br />
F9295029 hereby change<br />
my name to Aziz Mazaf.<br />
(C 4362)<br />
I, ABUL HASANSA DULI S/O<br />
RAHMATH ALI, holder of<br />
Indian Passport No:<br />
IRC 6692 MASHAD 14:00<br />
MSR 575 CAIRO/SHARM EL SHEIKH 14:15<br />
SVA 500 JEDDAH 14:30<br />
KAC 788 JEDDAH 15:00<br />
KAC 538 SHARM EL SHEIKH/SOHAG 15:50<br />
RJA 640 AMMAN 15:55<br />
QTR 134 DOHA 16:15<br />
JZR 787 RIYADH 16:15<br />
IYE 824 SANAA/DOHA 16:30<br />
ETD 303 ABU DHABI 16:35<br />
FDB 71 DUBAI 16:50<br />
JZR 357 MASHAD 16:50<br />
UAE 857 DUBAI 16:55<br />
ABY 127 SHARJAH 17:10<br />
SVA 510 RIYADH 17:20<br />
GFA 215 BAHRAIN 17:20<br />
UAL 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 17:25<br />
JZR 177 DUBAI 17:30<br />
KNE 462 MEDINAH 17:45<br />
JZR 777 JEDDAH 17:50<br />
KAC 542 CAIRO 18:15<br />
QTR 144 DOHA 18:25<br />
KAC 786 JEDDAH 18:30<br />
KAC 166 PARIS/ROME 18:40<br />
FDB 63 DUBAI 18:55<br />
KAC 618 DOHA 19:10<br />
KAC 774 RIYADH 19:25<br />
KAC 674 DUBAI 19:25<br />
MSR 606 LUXOR 19:30<br />
JAI 572 MUMBAI 19:35<br />
KAC 102 NEW YORK/LONDON 19:35<br />
FDB 61 DUBAI 20:00<br />
OMA 647 MUSCAT 20:00<br />
ABY 129 SHARJAH 20:05<br />
MEA 402 BEIRUT 20:15<br />
AXB 489 COCHIN/MANGALORE 20:35<br />
KLM 417 AMSTERDAM 21:05<br />
ALK 229 COLOMBO 21:10<br />
UAE 859 DUBAI 21:15<br />
ETD 307 ABU DHABI 21:30<br />
QTR 136 DOHA 21:35<br />
GFA 217 BAHRAIN 21:45<br />
DHX 372 BAHRAIN 22:00<br />
QTR 146 DOHA 22:00<br />
FDB 59 DUBAI 22:20<br />
AIC 975 CHENNAI/GOA 22:25<br />
JZR 239 AMMAN 22:30<br />
JZR 185 DUBAI 22:40<br />
UAL 981 BAHRAIN 22:40<br />
JZR 135 BAHRAIN 23:00<br />
DLH 636 FRANKFURT 23:10<br />
JAI 574 MUMBAI 23:20<br />
THY 772 ISTANBUL 23:45<br />
G3925520, issued at <strong>Kuwait</strong>,<br />
on 13.11.2007 permanent<br />
resident of 3/81 A, middle<br />
street, SP Pattinam (Post),<br />
Ramnad dist., Tamil Nadu<br />
and presently working at<br />
Sharq - <strong>Kuwait</strong>, do hereby<br />
change my name from<br />
ABUL HASANSA DULI S/O<br />
RAHMATH ALI to ABUL<br />
HASAN S/O RAHMATH ALI<br />
with immediate effect.<br />
(C 4364)<br />
2-4-<strong>2013</strong><br />
MISCELLANEOUS<br />
I, Zafar Khalil, holder of<br />
Pakistani Passport No.<br />
KG347400 change my date<br />
of birth old 02-11-1968, to<br />
new 02-11-1969 proved by<br />
the Embassy. (C 4365)<br />
2-4-<strong>2013</strong><br />
Departure Flights on Wednesday 3/4/<strong>2013</strong><br />
Airlines Flt Route Time<br />
AIC 982 AHMEDABAD/HYDERABAD/AHMEDABAD 00:05<br />
JAI 573 MUMBAI 00:20<br />
UAL 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 00:25<br />
DLH 637 FRANKFURT 00:30<br />
THY 773 ISTANBUL 02:20<br />
QTR 6131 DOHA 02:30<br />
THY 765 SABIHA 02:40<br />
ETH 621 ADDIS ABABA 02:45<br />
UAE 854 DUBAI 03:45<br />
FDB 68 DUBAI 03:50<br />
MSR 613 CAIRO 04:15<br />
OMA 644 MUSCAT 04:20<br />
ETD 306 ABU DHABI 04:20<br />
QTR 139 DOHA 04:25<br />
QTR 149 DOHA 05:15<br />
JZR 560 SOHAG 05:35<br />
FDB 70 DUBAI 06:30<br />
GFA 212 BAHRAIN 07:00<br />
THY 771 ISTANBUL 07:10<br />
JZR 164 DUBAI 07:25<br />
KAC 537 SHARM EL SHEIKH/SOHAG 08:00<br />
BAW 156 LONDON 08:25<br />
FDB 54 DUBAI 08:25<br />
KAC 789 MEDINAH 09:15<br />
KAC 671 DUBAI 09:25<br />
ABY 126 SHARJAH 09:30<br />
KAC 787 JEDDAH 09:35<br />
UAE 856 DUBAI 09:50<br />
FDB 56 DUBAI 09:55<br />
QTR 133 DOHA 10:00<br />
KAC 117 NEW YORK 10:00<br />
ETD 302 ABU DHABI 10:15<br />
IRA 602 SHIRAZ 10:25<br />
ETD 934 ABU DHABI 10:30<br />
JZR 356 MASHAD 11:00<br />
GFA 214 BAHRAIN 11:25<br />
KAC 541 CAIRO 11:30<br />
MEA 405 BEIRUT 11:55<br />
TMA 209 DOHA 12:00<br />
KAC 175 FRANKFURT/GENEVA 12:10<br />
JZR 776 JEDDAH 12:25<br />
KAC 103 LONDON 12:30<br />
JZR 786 RIYADH 12:50<br />
KAC 785 JEDDAH 13:00<br />
KNE 461 MEDINAH 13:10<br />
JZR 176 DUBAI 13:20<br />
IZG 4168 MASHAD 13:45<br />
MSR 611 CAIRO 14:00<br />
THY 767 ISTANBUL 14:10<br />
KNE 481 TAIF 14:15<br />
UAE 872 DUBAI 14:15<br />
Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)<br />
DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION<br />
GFA 220 BAHRAIN 14:25<br />
FDB 58 DUBAI 14:30<br />
CLX 792 VIETNAM 14:45<br />
QTR 141 DOHA 14:55<br />
IRC 6693 MASHAD 15:00<br />
MSR 576 SHARM EL SHEIKH/CAIRO 15:00<br />
KAC 673 DUBAI 15:05<br />
KAC 617 DOHA 15:45<br />
SVA 503 MEDINAH/JEDDAH 15:45<br />
KAC 773 RIYADH 16:00<br />
RJA 641 AMMAN 16:55<br />
JZR 238 AMMAN 17:05<br />
QTR 135 DOHA 17:15<br />
ETD 304 ABU DHABI 17:20<br />
IYE 824 SANAA 17:30<br />
FDB 72 DUBAI 17:35<br />
JZR 538 CAIRO 17:40<br />
ABY 128 SHARJAH 17:50<br />
UAE 858 DUBAI 18:15<br />
SVA 511 RIYADH 18:20<br />
GFA 216 BAHRAIN 18:20<br />
JZR 184 DUBAI 18:30<br />
JZR 266 BEIRUT 18:40<br />
UAL 982 BAHRAIN 18:40<br />
KNE 471 JEDDAH 18:45<br />
QTR 145 DOHA 19:25<br />
FDB 64 DUBAI 19:35<br />
JZR 134 BAHRAIN 20:05<br />
MSR 619 ALEXANDRIA 20:30<br />
JAI 571 MUMBAI 20:35<br />
FDB 62 DUBAI 20:40<br />
ABY 120 SHARJAH 20:45<br />
KAC 361 COLOMBO 20:50<br />
KAC 331 TRIVANDRUM 20:50<br />
OMA 648 MUSCAT 20:55<br />
KAC 351 COCHIN 21:05<br />
MEA 403 BEIRUT 21:15<br />
DHX 171 BAHRAIN 21:50<br />
KLM 417 DAMMAM/AMSTERDAM 22:05<br />
ETD 308 ABU DHABI 22:15<br />
ALK 230 COLOMBO 22:20<br />
UAE 860 DUBAI 22:25<br />
KAC 381 DELHI 22:30<br />
QTR 137 DOHA 22:35<br />
KAC 301 MUMBAI 22:40<br />
GFA 218 BAHRAIN 22:45<br />
DHX 373 BAHRAIN 23:00<br />
FDB 60 DUBAI 23:00<br />
KAC 205 ISLAMABAD 23:00<br />
QTR 147 DOHA 23:05<br />
KAC 283 DHAKA 23:45<br />
KAC 415 KUALA LUMPUR/JAKARTA 23:50<br />
JZR 528 ASSIUT 23:55
CROSSWORD 148<br />
ACROSS<br />
1. The elementary stages of any subject (usually<br />
plural).<br />
4. A person who lives in the dales of Northern<br />
England.<br />
12. A dark-skinned member of a race of people<br />
living in Australia when Europeans arrived.<br />
15. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part<br />
of an organism.<br />
16. Capable of having having clear evidence of<br />
eliminated without trace.<br />
17. A workplace for the conduct of scientific<br />
research.<br />
18. Put a new facing on, as of a garment.<br />
20. At full speed.<br />
21. Goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment.<br />
22. A city in south central Mexico (southeast of<br />
Mexico City) on the edge of central Mexican<br />
plateau.<br />
23. An analytic or interpretive literary composition.<br />
25. A color varying around light grayish brown.<br />
29. National capital of Kiribati.<br />
32. (Christianity) Saved from the bondage of<br />
sin.<br />
36. An Asian river between China and Russia.<br />
37. A sharply directional antenna.<br />
40. A quantity of no importance.<br />
41. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a<br />
skewer usually with vegetables.<br />
42. Two items of the same kind.<br />
43. Supply with battlements.<br />
45. In bed.<br />
48. The address of a web page on the world<br />
wide web.<br />
49. Imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of<br />
the time) from 206 BC to 221 and expanded its<br />
boundaries and developed its bureaucracy.<br />
50. Metal or plastic sheath over the end of a<br />
shoelace or ribbon.<br />
51. Mexican revolutionary leader (1877-1923).<br />
53. Held in slavery.<br />
56. Essential oil or perfume obtained from<br />
flowers.<br />
58. A radioactive transuranic element produced<br />
by bombarding plutonium with neutrons.<br />
59. A loose sleeveless outer garment made<br />
from aba cloth.<br />
60. Become less tense.<br />
62. A soft silver-white or yellowish metallic element<br />
of the alkali metal group.<br />
64. Not normal.<br />
67. God of love and erotic desire.<br />
70. Dutch physicist who first formulated the<br />
wave theory of light (1629-1695).<br />
72. The upper angle between an axis and an<br />
offshoot such as a branch or leafstalk.<br />
74. (British) Your grandmother.<br />
75. American novelist (1909-1955).<br />
76. A crystalline amino acid that occurs in many<br />
proteins.<br />
78. The products of human creativity.<br />
79. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was<br />
formed by an explosion.<br />
80. The quality of being honest.<br />
81. Being one more than ninety.<br />
DOWN<br />
1. An association of people to promote the welfare<br />
of senior citizens.<br />
2. Cheese containing a blue mold.<br />
3. A small restaurant where drinks and snacks<br />
are sold.<br />
4. Remove the claws from (a cat).<br />
5. A passageway between buildings or giving<br />
access to a basement.<br />
6. A white soft metallic element that tarnishes<br />
readily.<br />
7. (Old Testament) The eldest son of Isaac who<br />
would have inherited the Covenant that God<br />
made with Abraham and that Abraham passed<br />
on to Isaac.<br />
8. A guided missile fired from shipboard<br />
against an airborne target.<br />
9. A master's degree in business.<br />
10. American prizefighter who won the world<br />
heavyweight championship three times (born<br />
in 1942).<br />
11. A Uralic language spoken by a Samoyed<br />
people of northern Siberia.<br />
12. By bad luck.<br />
13. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake<br />
Chad.<br />
14. Be obedient to.<br />
19. A capacitance unit equal to one billion<br />
farads.<br />
24. A river in eastern France.<br />
26. A thermionic vacuum tube having three<br />
electrodes.<br />
27. (astronomy) The angular distance of a celestial<br />
point measured westward along the celestial<br />
equator from the zenith crossing.<br />
28. Half the width of an em.<br />
30. Pertaining to or resembling amoebae.<br />
31. Prolific Flemish baroque painter.<br />
33. Small wildcat of the mountains of Siberia<br />
Tibet and Mongolia.<br />
34. United States swimmer who in 1926<br />
became the first woman to swim the English<br />
Channel (1903- ).<br />
35. A large commercial and industrial city in<br />
northeastern Texas.<br />
38. A condensed but memorable saying<br />
embodying some important fact of experience<br />
that is taken as true by many people.<br />
39. The basic unit of money in Suriname.<br />
44. Being in competition.<br />
46. A port in eastern Georgia near the mouth of<br />
the Savannah river.<br />
47. The absence of mental stress or anxiety.<br />
52. A republic in the Middle East in western<br />
Asia.<br />
54. (South African) A camp defended by a circular<br />
formation of wagons.<br />
55. A French abbot.<br />
57. Intelligence derived from the interception<br />
and processing and analysis of foreign telemetry.<br />
61. An antianxiety agent (trade name Xanax) of<br />
the benzodiazepine class.<br />
63. (anatomy) A fold or wrinkle or crease.<br />
65. The capital and largest city of Norway.<br />
66. Long coarse hair growing from the crest of<br />
the animal's neck.<br />
68. Made from residue of grapes or apples after<br />
pressing.<br />
69. (prefix) Opposite or opposing or neutralizing.<br />
71. An affirmative.<br />
73. A field covered with grass or herbage and<br />
suitable for grazing by livestock.<br />
77. An associate degree in nursing.<br />
Yesterday’s Solution<br />
34 stars<br />
STAR TRACK<br />
Aries (March 21-April 19)<br />
This is, indeed, a time of opportunity and good times. However, you<br />
also tend to harbor unrealistic hopes, exaggerate the possibilities, and lack a sense of<br />
realism. If things seem to be running smoothly around you, they are, so let them.<br />
Disappointment in a friend or lover and possibly the realization that you have been<br />
neglecting your own needs for socializing, affection, and companionship is indicated<br />
today. In either case, loneliness and feelings of desolation could be the mood.<br />
Perhaps you are sacrificing pleasure and love for the sake of achievements or to<br />
meet responsibilities.<br />
Taurus (April 20-May 20)<br />
If someone is talking behind your back, now is the time to find out<br />
about it and take appropriate steps to deflect it. Conversely, it’s a time you can unearth<br />
some of your own best kept secrets you might have forgotten about and clear the air.<br />
Your needs for love, companionship, friendship, and sharing are very strong now, and<br />
you won’t want to be alone at home or work. In fact, you feel like relaxing and enjoying<br />
the beautiful side of life rather than laboring or concentrating on mundane tasks. A significant<br />
development in a close relationship or strong feelings of attraction to someone<br />
you encounter, are very likely at this time.<br />
Gemini (May 21-June 20)<br />
This is a favorable time to socialize with people you have professional<br />
ties with, as the positive feelings you generate now are likely to be an aid to you in the<br />
future. Beautifying the place where you interface with the public and an increased concern<br />
about your own physical appearance are also brought out now. You could become<br />
more emotionally at this time, especially about people with a strong attachment from<br />
your past. You care more passionately and respond instinctively and emotionally to<br />
whatever happens to you at this time. Also, you are energized and invigorated now and<br />
eager to be involved in projects that benefit your children, family, or home.<br />
Cancer (June 21-July 22)<br />
You have a low tolerance for boredom and following rules today and<br />
you make some creative changes and discoveries, experiment with new possibilities, or<br />
invent a new way of doing things. Take advantage of any unusual offers or opportunities.<br />
Put your intuitive feelers out there before you jump in or commit to anyone right now or<br />
you might run into a cold reception. People taking themselves too seriously are probable<br />
today, so try not to be one of them. Take it all with the idea and respect that others may<br />
be having problems.<br />
Leo (July 23-August 22)<br />
This is a good time to let your relax and play a bit, try to do this on your<br />
own initiative and enjoy before someone else pushes you into it. Let the urge carry you,<br />
as tight schedules can get too compromised if you fight it. Rest and relaxation is not just<br />
time off, its renewal and refreshing your mental capability to keep it together later on.<br />
Matters of the heart are on your mind and you may want to play match maker now,<br />
maybe even for yourself. This is a very good time to go to a social gathering or somewhere<br />
you can interact with others that you might have something in common with,<br />
don’t stay home and let this energy pass you by!<br />
Virgo (August 23-September 22)<br />
You are very bold and adventurous right now and you cannot tolerate<br />
delays, restrictions, or any form of authority that prevents you from behaving exactly as<br />
you please. Your drive for personal freedom and insistence on your rights is pressing, and<br />
a confrontation in which you have to stand up for yourself is likely. If you are a normally<br />
shy person, well it’s time to get some courage up and step out into the bright lights in<br />
any of your most intimate relationships. This isn’t a time to think you don’t deserve everything<br />
you’re little heart desires, quite the opposite in fact. YOU DO deserve everything<br />
your heart desires so speak up!<br />
Word Search<br />
Daily SuDoku<br />
Libra (September 23-October 22)<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Conflicts and confrontations may be unavoidable, but do try to avoid<br />
situations which you know will provoke or irritate you. Working alone is best at this time.<br />
At this time you must guard against being too aggressive, coming on too strong, or trying<br />
to force your own will and thereby arousing hostility in others. Also, frustrated desires<br />
and obstacles to achieving your aims can evoke enormous anger in you, and you may do<br />
something rash and regrettable. Special attention to and from a partner is what you<br />
should be trying for today, and flattery will get you everywhere if you use it with that fine<br />
skill you have worked on for some time. Set aside some private time so no one else can<br />
get in the way of the feelings you want to share.<br />
Scorpio (October 23-November 21)<br />
You may have to deal with one annoying individual who could<br />
appear to be looking for an argument today. The best approach is to avoid confrontation<br />
while resolutely staying your current course. Because you are not<br />
feeling very obliging or compromising, this is not a good time to try to come to<br />
an agreement with someone you are close to. However, you need to get your<br />
grievances out in the open before the tension builds up to an unmanageable<br />
level.<br />
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)<br />
It may seem that circumstances, other people, or the whole world is<br />
against you today! You could feel overwhelmed by demands, outside pressures, or your<br />
responsibilities and you are looking at your life with serious doubt or pessimism. Others<br />
don’t seem to help, even if they try to; solitary activity or reflection is called for now. A<br />
friend or lover may come to mean everything to you at this time. Romance and other<br />
things that tug at your emotions come your way as a new cycle begins. This is a creative<br />
period for you, a time to take a chance, a time to be appreciated and admired and to take<br />
some risks.<br />
Capricorn (December 22-January 19)<br />
Others may find you especially witty and eccentric just now. You<br />
may have insights or breakthroughs in regard to your living situation or life circumstances.<br />
Others value you for your independence and unique qualities. It’s<br />
nice to be appreciated isn’t it. Dreams, wishes, and fantasies about love are<br />
strong now, and you may be infatuated with someone you meet at this time,<br />
who knows they could be the one, but be careful your own expectations aren’t<br />
so high you end up disappointed later.<br />
Aquarius (January 20- February 18)<br />
If recently the same problem has come up without any resolution,<br />
today could involve you getting to the nitty gritty of the issue. Resolution<br />
of this problem may clear bad feelings and bring you closer to someone. You<br />
may be forced to put something on hold for a while. Giving is a wonderful quality,<br />
but receiving is important too. This is a time when having your needs take<br />
the forefront is in order. Don’t allow yourself to be just the provider of comfort<br />
and affection today. Let others dote on you, and show you the affection you<br />
truly deserve.<br />
Pisces (February 19-March 20)<br />
Impatience with colleagues or people in authority could work against<br />
you today, so steer clear of over-reacting or trying to get things entirely your own way.<br />
You draw the line with a professional in association with a legal or monetary situation.<br />
Love blooms even further at the restaurant or cinema. Secrets may come to light that<br />
leave you perplexed and upset. Issues you thought long resolved are likely to come to<br />
the surface once more. An honest talk with those involved is the only way to put these<br />
persistent problems to rest once and for all. Apologies, forgiveness, and understanding<br />
will be necessary from both sides of these slights.<br />
Yesterday’s Solution<br />
Yesterday’s Solution
For labor-related inquiries<br />
and complaints:<br />
Call MSAL hotline 128<br />
Sabah Hospital 24812000<br />
Amiri Hospital 22450005<br />
Maternity Hospital 24843100<br />
Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700<br />
Chest Hospital 24849400<br />
Farwaniya Hospital 24892010<br />
Adan Hospital 23940620<br />
Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300<br />
Al-Razi Hospital 24846000<br />
Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9<br />
Kaizen center 25716707<br />
Rawda 22517733<br />
Adaliya 22517144<br />
Khaldiya 24848075<br />
Kaifan 24849807<br />
Shamiya 24848913<br />
Shuwaikh 24814507<br />
Abdullah Salem 22549134<br />
Nuzha 22526804<br />
Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764<br />
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Mirqab 22456536<br />
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Salmiya 25746401<br />
Jabriya 25316254<br />
Maidan Hawally 25623444<br />
Bayan 25388462<br />
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W Hawally 22630786<br />
Sabah 24810221<br />
Jahra 24770319<br />
New Jahra 24575755<br />
West Jahra 24772608<br />
South Jahra 24775066<br />
North Jahra 24775992<br />
North Jleeb 24311795<br />
Ardhiya 24884079<br />
Firdous 24892674<br />
Omariya 24719048<br />
N Khaitan 24710044<br />
Fintas 23900322<br />
Ophthalmologists<br />
Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444<br />
Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222<br />
Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171<br />
Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999<br />
Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700<br />
Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223<br />
Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223<br />
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)<br />
Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510<br />
Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660<br />
Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478<br />
Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996<br />
Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988<br />
Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166<br />
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426<br />
General Practitioners<br />
Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123<br />
Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312<br />
Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920<br />
Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465<br />
Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528<br />
Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781<br />
Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501<br />
Urologists<br />
Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534<br />
Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955<br />
Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660<br />
Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120<br />
Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427<br />
Psychologists<br />
/Psychotherapists<br />
information<br />
GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE<br />
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Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414<br />
Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558<br />
Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518<br />
Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622<br />
Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184<br />
Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967<br />
Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000<br />
Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201<br />
Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638<br />
Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265<br />
Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075<br />
Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999<br />
Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549<br />
Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559<br />
Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554<br />
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Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581<br />
Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241<br />
PRIVATE CLINICS<br />
Soor Center<br />
Tel: 2290-1677<br />
Fax: 2290 1688<br />
Plastic Surgeons<br />
Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272<br />
Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700<br />
Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60<br />
Family Doctor<br />
Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581<br />
Psychiatrists<br />
Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047<br />
Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0<br />
Gynaecologists & Obstetricians<br />
DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581<br />
Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321<br />
Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539<br />
Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406<br />
Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272<br />
Dr. Salem soso 22618787<br />
General Surgeons<br />
Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044<br />
Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148<br />
Internists, Chest & Heart<br />
Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939<br />
Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300<br />
Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004<br />
Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515<br />
Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446<br />
Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3<br />
info@soorcenter.com<br />
www.soorcenter.com<br />
Paediatricians<br />
Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898<br />
Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300<br />
Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444<br />
Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099<br />
Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514<br />
Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100<br />
Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282<br />
(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon<br />
Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar,<br />
FRCS (Canada) 25655535<br />
Dentists<br />
Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581<br />
Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2<br />
Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226<br />
Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444<br />
Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557<br />
Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888<br />
Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755<br />
Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111<br />
Neurologists<br />
Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324<br />
Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875<br />
Gastrologists<br />
Dr. Sami Aman 22636464<br />
Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030<br />
Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135<br />
Kaizen center<br />
25716707<br />
Endocrinologist<br />
Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330<br />
Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888<br />
Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924<br />
Physiotherapists & VD<br />
Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291<br />
Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288<br />
Rheumatologists:<br />
Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060<br />
Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290<br />
Internist, Chest & Heart<br />
DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210<br />
Dr. Mohammad Zubaid<br />
MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC<br />
Assistant Professor Of Medicine<br />
Head, Division of Cardiology<br />
Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital<br />
Consultant Cardiologist<br />
Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555<br />
MD, PH.D, FACC<br />
Inaya German Medical Center<br />
Te: 2575077<br />
Fax: 25723123<br />
William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677<br />
Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
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Pitt gives Jolie<br />
great-grans ring<br />
Brad Pitt gave Angelina Jolie his great-grandmother’s wedding ring to wear on her<br />
trip to Africa. The ‘Salt’ actress decided to remove her £250,000 engagement ring for<br />
her recent UN visit to the Congo and Rwanda because she didn’t want to be “ostentatious”<br />
and shortly before she flew out, her fiancé surprised her by giving her the plain<br />
gold band to wear instead. A source said:” She said she didn’t want to wear her engagement<br />
ring because she thought it was important not to be ostentatious with clothes and<br />
jewellery when in a poor region. “Brad said he completely understood why she couldn’t<br />
wear her engagement ring, but he really wanted to give Angelina something special and<br />
more understated to wear instead. Angelina seemed truly touched by the special gift of<br />
his great-grandmother’s wedding ring, and it meant a lot to be able to take it on the trip<br />
with her.” According to insiders on the trip, Angelina - who raises six children with Brad -<br />
was enamored by the replacement ring. The source added to Grazia magazine: “She couldn’t<br />
stop playing with the replacement ring, which everyone was calling the ‘trick ring’.”<br />
Holmes reportedly<br />
dating a jazz musician<br />
The 34-year-old actress - who has been single since her marriage to Tom Cruise ended<br />
nine months ago - has been on a string of dates with Peter Cincotti, 29, though have<br />
been arriving and leaving venues separately to avoid raising suspicion. A source said:<br />
“It’s early days but Katie and Peter have been on quite a few dates. “They met up two<br />
weeks ago at the New York Observer’s 25th anniversary party. They have a lot in common -<br />
he’s a total stage buff.” The couple have known each other for a few years but only started<br />
dating recently, though the singer-and-pianist has already been given the seal of approval<br />
by the former ‘Dawson’s Creek’ star’s friends. The source added to Grazia magazine: “They<br />
have only been seeing each other a few weeks but he’s incredibly charming, the type to<br />
buy her flowers and treat her like a lady. “Katie’s had a few dates but nothing came of<br />
them. But her friends are happy she is seeing Peter, they think he could be a good fit.” As<br />
well as a new romance, Katie - who has six-year-old daughter Suri with Tom - is said to be<br />
looking for a new home as the lease on her New York apartment will soon be up. The<br />
source said: “This could be the perfect time for Katie to really work out what she wants<br />
from life.” Though Katie’s representatives denied she and Peter were planning a musical<br />
collaboration, they said only “no comment” when asked if they were dating.<br />
Mayer keeping romances private<br />
John Mayer has learned to keep his personal life private. The 35-year-old singer - who<br />
has previously boasted about his romances with stars including Jennifer Aniston and<br />
Jessica Simpson - insists he won’t be speaking about his recent split from Katy Perry<br />
after eight months of dating. Asked about the end of their<br />
romance on Ellen DeGeneres’ show, he said: “It was a very private<br />
relationship going in. It was a private relationship during and it’s a<br />
private relationship, still. “I can understand asking the question<br />
based on some previous answers I have given but I have finally<br />
learned how to put the wall between one thing and the other.”<br />
Despite his fame, John admitted he struggles with romance and<br />
says finding love is “tricky”. He added: “I’m on the same journey as<br />
everyone else. Coupling is a tricky thing.” Last year, the ‘Gravity’ hitmaker<br />
was forced to take a break from music after suffering from<br />
serious throat problems, and he admits he has now curbed his partying<br />
ways, particularly his love of whiskey, to help protect his voice. He explained: “‘Half of<br />
it is over use and singing and singing and singing. The other stuff is you know, what you<br />
put into your body. And, I’m getting to that age now your body doesn’t just shake everything<br />
off and it didn’t help that I really loved, love, loved scotch. “It’s just like applying poison<br />
to your body. It’s like applying a shellac of poison. It’s just delicious, wonderful poison<br />
that makes you not care how late you’re out till or where you’re going. “But I had to really<br />
say I like singing and writing more than I like delicious scotch so I had to really dial it down.<br />
And, I’m a little more boring now.”<br />
36 LIFESTYLE<br />
F e a t u r e s<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
David and Victoria<br />
Beckham don’t<br />
‘hold’ their kids back<br />
David and Victoria Beckham don’t<br />
“hold” their children back in life.<br />
The soccer star and his wife are<br />
keen for their four kids - Brooklyn, 14,<br />
Romeo, 10, Cruz, eight, and 20-monthold<br />
Harper - to have a “normal”<br />
upbringing and have made sure to<br />
teach them the boundaries that come<br />
with their freedom. Speaking to CNN<br />
World Sport’s Pedro Pinto, David said:<br />
“My eldest [Brooklyn] now is at the age<br />
where he wants to do things and he<br />
wants to go places and you have to<br />
hold him back, or we have to hold him<br />
back. “You have to explain it to him<br />
that there are certain things that he<br />
can’t do. But to be honest, with our<br />
children, we let them do 99 per cent of the things they want to do because we want them to lead a normal life.” David, 38, is currently playing for<br />
Paris St Germain, splitting his time between the family home in London and the French capital, and although the sportsman finds it difficult being<br />
away for long periods of time, he is grateful the children “understand” his need to work. He added: “When you speak about the sacrifices, that’s<br />
obviously the sacrifice that I have to make as a father and as a husband, being away from my family. “It’s only for a short time but its difficult being<br />
away from the children every single day. But they understand it, they understand that Daddy works hard.” While he plays in France, David has<br />
swapped his favorite British meal of pie and mash for the country’s traditional cuisine, including snails. He said: “I love French food I must admit.<br />
Obviously living here at the moment, I’ve always loved French Cuisine. “I like snails actually. I like snails funnily enough.”<br />
LaBeouf thinks<br />
Baldwin got him fired<br />
Shia LaBeouf thinks Alec Baldwin may have got him fired from ‘Orphans’. The<br />
‘Transformers’ actor exited the Broadway play due to “creative differences” weeks<br />
before it was due to open, and after admitting he and his would-be co-star didn’t connect<br />
as “men”, he acknowledged the ‘30 Rock’ star could have been instrumental in his<br />
departure from the production. He told TV talk show host David Letterman: “I’m pretty passionate<br />
and impulsive, and he’s a very passionate individual as well. And I think that impulsiveness<br />
and that passion makes for, ya know, some fireworks. “Me and Alec had tension as<br />
men. Not as artists but as men.” The host then suggested: “Alec went to the producers and<br />
said, ‘I can’t take it another day. Fire him,’ “ prompting his guest to reply: “I think that<br />
might’ve been what happened.” Despite the tensions between them, Shia - who was seated<br />
on the front row for the first night of ‘Orphans’ - went on to praise Alec as “awesome”. Alec<br />
recently suggested the ‘Lawless’ star isn’t a true theatre actor and wouldn’t have coped with<br />
the demands of a stage production. Referring to one of Shia’s tweets which read “The theatre<br />
belongs not to the great but to the brash”, Alec said: “I can tell you that, in all honesty, I<br />
don’t think he’s in a good position to be giving interpretations of what the theatre is and<br />
what the theatre isn’t. “I mean, he was never in the theatre. He came into a rehearsal room<br />
for six or seven days. “There are people who are film actors who have a great legacy in the<br />
theatre. Some of the greatest movie stars had really serious theatre careers and still do. And<br />
many film actors, though, who are purely film actors, they’re kind of like celebrity chefs, you<br />
know what I mean? You hand them the ingredients, and they whip it up, and they cook it,<br />
and they put it on a plate, and they want a round of applause.”<br />
Levine doesn’t want<br />
to end up divorced<br />
Adam Levine insists he will never get married - because he doesn’t<br />
want to divorce. The Maroon 5 frontman - who is currently dating<br />
model Behati Prinsloo and previously romanced Victoria’s Secret<br />
beauty Anne Vyalitsyna - is happy to never tie the knot because he doesn’t<br />
think modern unions are capable of lasting forever. He told the latest<br />
issue of NYLON<br />
Guys magazine: “I’m<br />
doing pretty well. If<br />
you don’t get married,<br />
you can’t get<br />
divorced. Why<br />
couldn’t we learn<br />
from the devastatingly<br />
low percentage<br />
of successful<br />
marriages that our<br />
last generation<br />
went through?”<br />
Despite his busy<br />
schedule, Adam -<br />
who is also a coach<br />
on US reality TV<br />
show ‘The Voice’ -<br />
insists he will never<br />
complain about his<br />
heavy workload as<br />
his success could disappear at any time. He added: “It’s a lot. But it might<br />
not be a lot someday. I don’t like to complain. You have this moment. It<br />
doesn’t last forever. You should probably try and enjoy it.” And the<br />
‘Payphone’ hitmaker also claimed he doesn’t worry about reports Shakira<br />
is earning double his salary for appearing on ‘The Voice’. He said: “She’s<br />
Shakira dude! She’s a international superstar! I don’t care. It’s just money.”<br />
Decker ‘intimidated’ by Aniston<br />
Brooklyn Decker refused to do yoga with Jennifer Aniston as she felt “intimidated”<br />
by her perfect body. The 25-year-old model starred alongside the<br />
actress in the 2011 comedy ‘Just Go With It’ and felt awestruck seeing her in a<br />
bikini. Asked who she would want if she could choose anyone as a body double,<br />
she told Women’s Health magazine: “It’s got to be Jennifer. “She’s so active and had<br />
to be in a bikini for ‘Just Go With It’ - she just had this glow about her. I was a bit<br />
awestruck! I was invited to do yoga with her on set but they had so many good<br />
yogis I was intimidated and chickened out.” While her own figure is the envy of<br />
many women, Brooklyn credits her husband, tennis ace Andy Roddick, for helping<br />
her feel confident in herself. She said: “The biggest thing for me about being with<br />
Andy is that athletes in general tend to appreciate different things about women’s<br />
bodies.” Despite being keen to stay healthy, the ‘What to Expect When You’re<br />
Expecting’ star claims that being on film sets makes it virtually impossible not to<br />
indulge when there are calorific treats available 24 hours a day. She said: “Imagine<br />
the best junk food you’ve ever seen, available 24 hours a day - that’s what sets are<br />
like. There are sweets and doughnuts in front of me all the time. My rule of thumb<br />
is that if I’m working, I eat healthily. “I have such a sweet tooth that I can’t let<br />
myself indulge because work is where I spend most of my time, so when I’m at<br />
work, no bad food.”<br />
Sarah Harding: I’m<br />
200 per cent better<br />
Sarah Harding is “200 per cent better” after rehab. The Girls Aloud<br />
singer checked into a rehabilitation facility for three weeks in<br />
October 2011 to be treated for an addiction to sleeping pills and<br />
alcohol, and believes her attitude to life has improved dramatically since.<br />
She said: “I’m 200 percent better in terms of my inner strength and attitude.<br />
I’m a lot calmer. I still have<br />
my hyper days, but I just take<br />
one day at a time. “In the band<br />
it was a rollercoaster. And yes, I<br />
have learned from my mistakes.”<br />
The 31-year-old blonde<br />
was in a bad place following<br />
the break-up of her relationship<br />
to former fiancÈ Tom Crane, but<br />
she claims she doesn’t have to<br />
restrict her alcohol intake<br />
nowadays because it was a “different”<br />
time. She explained:<br />
“I’m just like any normal person,<br />
I have a drink. Back then I was<br />
going through a break-up. That<br />
was then and this is now and,<br />
yes, things are different. “I still<br />
like the odd night out with my friends and on tour we had an after-party<br />
in London, another in Manchester and one in Dublin, which people set<br />
up for us.” Sarah also credits her more grown-up lifestyle in the English<br />
countryside with helping turn her life around and getting over her<br />
“crazy” partying phase. She told the new issue of LOOK magazine: “In<br />
your 20s, you’re supposed to be a little bit crazy. You’re getting to know<br />
where you are, and for me my life was crazy anyway because of what I<br />
was doing for a job. “It’s easy to get drawn into that. But these days I’m<br />
out of London and in the countryside.” —Bangshowbiz
Nora Ephron’s last play is about the<br />
world of New York tabloids, and it’s<br />
a lot like the messy subject she<br />
looks at - overindulgent, overstuffed and<br />
raucous. That’s its charm as well as its undoing.<br />
“Lucky Guy,” starring Tom Hanks sporting<br />
a wedge of a mustache, focuses on<br />
Mike McAlary, the city’s one-time dominant<br />
tabloid reporter. His rise and fall and rise<br />
again during the 1980s and ‘90s helped<br />
define the transition from boys-will-beboys<br />
notepad journalism to the buttonedup,<br />
professional digital recorders of today.<br />
Ephron’s play, which opened Monday at<br />
the Broadhurst Theatre, has touches of film<br />
noir, a ton of testosterone and profanity<br />
and moments of humor but not too much<br />
elegance or heft. It’s Ephron’s valentine to<br />
those hard-charging, heavy-smoking, gruff<br />
reporters she met in newsrooms with ink in<br />
their veins and booze on their breath.<br />
Ephron’s humor can be heard, but only<br />
faintly. At times, watching it is more like<br />
enduring a verbal assault by drunken Irish-<br />
American frat boys. Hanks, making his<br />
Broadway debut, is classic Hanks - lovable,<br />
touching and funny. “It’s New York City,<br />
who can relax?” he says at the beginning,<br />
before turning to someone in the audience.<br />
“Are you relaxed?” He makes a great<br />
Broadway debut, making McAlary a lovable<br />
rogue we have to root for even if we sometimes<br />
shouldn’t.<br />
McAlary, who bounced from tabloid to<br />
tabloid during his career, was a star even<br />
before he got the first interview with Abner<br />
Louima, a Haitian immigrant who was<br />
sodomized and beaten by white police officers<br />
at a station house in 1997. McAlary<br />
would win the Pulitzer Prize the next year<br />
but would die of cancer a few months later<br />
at age 41. Ephron, who died of leukemia<br />
last summer at age 71, gained fame as the<br />
writer of films such as “You’ve Got Mail” and<br />
“Sleepless in Seattle,” which both also<br />
starred Hanks. Ephron has structured the<br />
play chronologically, but as if it were a story<br />
told in a bar, with the supporting actors<br />
pulling each other into onstage roles (“Who<br />
wants to play Eddie Hayes?” one actor asks<br />
37 LIFESTYLE<br />
F e a t u r e s<br />
Singer Psy performs 'Gangnam Style' at the MTV EMA's 2012 at Festhalle Frankfurt on November 11, 2012 in Frankfurt am Main,<br />
Germany.<br />
Psy’s new song features ‘Psy<br />
style’ take on Korean dance<br />
South Korean rapper Psy is promising a<br />
“Psy style” take on a traditional Korean<br />
dance to accompany the release next<br />
week of the highly-anticipated follow-up to his<br />
global hit “Gangnam Style”. The new single,<br />
titled “Gentleman”, comes out on April 12, and<br />
the 35-year-old star will promote it with a special<br />
concert the next day in the South Korean<br />
capital Seoul. “I’ve been working and reworking<br />
on it continuously and I think the latest version<br />
will be the final one,” Psy told a local TV news<br />
program on Monday.<br />
US film director Martin Scorsese delivers the <strong>2013</strong><br />
Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities entitled<br />
‘Persistence of Vision: Reading the Language of<br />
Cinema’ at the Kennedy Center in Washington. —AP<br />
Scorsese appeals<br />
for ‘visual literacy’<br />
Film director Martin Scorsese urged Americans on Monday to<br />
pay greater heed to “visual literacy” and to embrace their rich<br />
cinema heritage before it literally fades away. Scorsese<br />
appealed for a greater national commitment to film restoration and<br />
preservation when he delivered the annual Jefferson humanities<br />
lecture at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in<br />
Washington. Like never before, people today are buffeted by<br />
images, said the 70-year-old Oscar-winning director of such<br />
acclaimed motion pictures as “The<br />
Departed,” “Raging Bull,” “Goodfellas,” “Taxi Driver” and, most<br />
recently, “Hugo.”<br />
“That’s why I believe we need to stress visual literacy in schools,”<br />
said Scorsese, the first filmmaker ever to deliver the Jefferson<br />
address since it was launched in 1972 by the federally funded<br />
National Endowment for the Humanities. “Young people need to<br />
understand that not all images are out there to be consumed like,<br />
you know, fast food and then forgotten,” he said. “We need to educate<br />
them to understand the difference between moving images<br />
that engage their humanity and their intelligence, and moving<br />
images that are just selling them something.”<br />
Speaking in a slightly musty wood-panelled auditorium within<br />
the gargantuan Kennedy arts complex, the fast-talking and bespectacled<br />
native New Yorker welcomed the innovations that digital<br />
technology has brought to his craft. Thanks in part to digitization,<br />
the Film Foundation-a non-profit he founded in 1990 — has helped<br />
to save more than 500 fragile old films that otherwise would have<br />
been lost to decomposition. “Today we have some really wonderful<br />
tools,” said Scorsese, who last week announced plans with<br />
Hollywood studio Miramax to make a television version of his Oscarnominated<br />
2002 film “Gangs of New York.”<br />
But to fully comprehend the language of moving images, it is<br />
essential to “preserve everything” from blockbusters to home<br />
movies by way of films that may not look like works of art on first<br />
showing, he said. To prove his point, Scorsese screened a clip from<br />
“Vertigo”-hailed today as a work of genius, but at the time of its<br />
release in 1958 regarded as just another in a string of crowd-pleasing<br />
Alfred Hitchcock psycho thrillers.<br />
“It came very very close to being lost to us,” he said, adding that<br />
over time, viewers can identify and appreciate elements in a film<br />
that might not be evident upon its initial release. Scorsese also<br />
unspooled portions of painstakingly restored 1958 British ballet film<br />
“The Red Shoes”-a seven-year effort in which he was closely<br />
involved-and a long-forgotten black-and-white Thomas Edison<br />
movie from 1894 of two boxing cats that foretold today’s cult obsession<br />
with YouTube cat videos.<br />
“Just as we learned to take pride in our poets and writers, and in<br />
jazz and blues, we need to take pride in our cinema, a great<br />
American art form,” he told his well-heeled Washingtonian audience.<br />
“It’s a big responsibility, and we need to say to ourselves that the<br />
time has come” to look beyond weekend box office numbers and<br />
start caring for films as if they were “the oldest book in the Library<br />
of Congress,” he said. —AFP<br />
“This is another very rousing song. Its title is<br />
‘Gentleman’. The dance is one known to all<br />
Koreans but new to foreigners. This will be presented<br />
in Psy style,” he said. After the Seoul<br />
concert, he will embark on a gruelling tour<br />
schedule of Europe and Asia in May and June.<br />
Psy, whose real name is Park Jae-Sang, soared<br />
to global stardom after “Gangnam Style”-a<br />
satire of luxurious lifestyles in an affluent Seoul<br />
district-went viral on YouTube and topped<br />
charts worldwide.<br />
The video, featuring his signature horse-rid-<br />
ing dance, has clocked nearly 1.5 billion views<br />
on the video-sharing site.The singer has been<br />
awarded one of South Korea’s highest cultural<br />
honors, the Okgwan Order of Cultural Merit,<br />
and was performed last month at the inauguration<br />
ceremony of new president Park Geun-<br />
Hye. In his interview, Psy forecast a long and<br />
bright future for the K-pop phenomenon which<br />
has become South Korea’s most high-profile<br />
cultural export in recent years. “It will be only a<br />
matter of time before K-Pop will produce many<br />
others like Psy,” he said. —AFP<br />
Tom Hanks shines in<br />
messy ‘Lucky Guy’<br />
This theater image released by<br />
Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows Tom<br />
Hanks as tabloid columnist Mike<br />
McAlary, left, and Courtney B Vance<br />
as editor Hap Hairston during a performance<br />
of ‘Lucky Guy,’ playing at the<br />
Broadhurst Theatre in New York. —AP<br />
Review<br />
the ensemble. At another point, someone<br />
says while walking offstage: “And by the<br />
way, that is the end of me in this story.”) It’s<br />
cute at first, but soon grows grating.<br />
Ephron also has broken one of the cardinal<br />
rules of journalism - show, don’t tell.<br />
There is far too much expository writing<br />
and at various points, characters will tell<br />
the audience something and then pointlessly<br />
repeat it when they return to the<br />
scene. Adding to the frantic nature of the<br />
piece is all the modern toys thrown at it -<br />
projected images, archive footage, TV sets,<br />
smoke machines, desks whizzing by, even a<br />
live camera broadcasting a TV interview. (In<br />
one, the TV cameras block the view of the<br />
screaming newspaper headlines projected<br />
onto the back wall). Under George C.<br />
Wolfe’s direction, no scene can just breathe.<br />
So most don’t connect.<br />
With a cast of 14, only two of whom are<br />
women, Ephron has effectively surrendered<br />
the stage to the guys, even admitting at<br />
one point through one of her female characters:<br />
“This is a story about guys, guys with<br />
cops, cops with guys. It’s a very guy thing.”<br />
The women she does show are either a<br />
ball-busting, f-bomb spewing emasculator<br />
(a great Deirdre Lovejoy in two roles) or a<br />
sainted, calm, supportive spouse (a limp<br />
Maura Tierney as McAlary’s wife.)<br />
The dozen male actors swagger and<br />
bellow and carouse in various newsroom<br />
and cop roles. Some standouts: Courtney B.<br />
Vance is superb as one of McAlary’s favorite<br />
editors, almost stealing the show from<br />
Hanks, no easy feat. Christopher McDonald<br />
also is elegant cool as McAlary’s lawyer, and<br />
Peter Gerety is having entirely too much<br />
drunken fun onstage. The script veers from<br />
one scene to the next, often without building<br />
tension or meaning. The inside-baseball<br />
nature of the story - filled with freewheeling<br />
references to the city’s tabloid<br />
past and editors few may know - may confuse<br />
audience-members not in the business<br />
or New Yorkers.<br />
There’s a hysterical scene where both<br />
McAlary and his editor pump up their morphine<br />
drips while both at the hospital and<br />
another funny bit about the Atkins’ diet.<br />
But there’s also an unnecessarily noir<br />
funeral - complete with casket and a<br />
cliched umbrella - as well as a moving and<br />
excruciating monologue by Louima about<br />
his attack. Add to that various newsroom<br />
craziness and domestic squabbles<br />
between McAlary and his wife. They all<br />
stubbornly refuse to add up to much more<br />
than their parts.<br />
After 16 scenes over two hours,<br />
McAlary emerges as a complex figure,<br />
both self-aggrandizing and yet also someone<br />
who genuinely seems to want to “right<br />
wrongs.” He chased big paychecks as well<br />
as big stories, and Ephron seems to be<br />
bewitched by this lovable scamp. But the<br />
play leaves little lasting impression, like a<br />
day-old tabloid. —AP<br />
American pop queen Madonna is in<br />
Malawi to inspect the schools she<br />
has built in the impoverished African<br />
country, the native home of her adopted<br />
two children, her manager said yesterday.<br />
“We are coming to visit the 10 schools that<br />
she recently finished building with an<br />
organization called BuildOn,” said<br />
Madonna’s philanthropy manager Trevor<br />
Nielson. “Those schools which are now<br />
open and operating are serving 3,800 students,”<br />
he told AFP. The schools were built<br />
over the past nine months. Education minister<br />
Eunice Kazembe had last year challenged<br />
a claim by her charity Raising<br />
Malawi that it built 10 schools, saying they<br />
were rather classroom blocks, and not<br />
schools.<br />
But Nielson said the structures were<br />
schools complying with national standards.<br />
“There’s no controversy, the schools are<br />
built to the exact national standards of<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Madonna in Malawi to<br />
inspect schools project<br />
Malawi, like every other Malawian school,”<br />
he said. “The bottom line is that 3,800 children<br />
are going to school now who were<br />
not going to school before.” Initially she<br />
wanted to build a large $15-million girls<br />
academy, but the plan was abandoned<br />
after “a large amount of money went missing”.<br />
The academy was replaced by plans to<br />
build schools, in order to reach more children.<br />
Madonna, said to be the single largest<br />
international philanthropic donor to<br />
Malawi, also supports childcare in the<br />
country which is home to nearly a million<br />
children orphaned by AIDS. On Sunday she<br />
visited one of the orphanages she sponsors<br />
in the capital Lilongwe. Madonna arrived<br />
on Sunday with David Banda and Mercy<br />
James, the two children she adopted from<br />
the small landlocked African country sandwiched<br />
between Tanzania, Mozambique<br />
and Zambia. —AFP<br />
Angelina Jolie to<br />
sell jewelry line to<br />
fund overseas schools<br />
Angelina Jolie has opened another<br />
girls school in Afghanistan and<br />
plans to fund more from the proceeds<br />
of a jewelry line going on sale this<br />
week that she helped to design, celebrity<br />
website E! News reported on Monday.<br />
Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the<br />
United Nations High Commissioner for<br />
Refugees, funded the girls-only primary<br />
school in an area outside Kabul that has a<br />
high refugee population, E! News said in<br />
an exclusive report. The school educates<br />
200-300 girls, E! said. It showed pictures of<br />
the school, which opened in November,<br />
and a plaque acknowledging Jolie’s contribution.<br />
Jolie also funded a girl school in eastern<br />
Afghanistan that opened in 2010, according<br />
to the UNCHR. Jolie’s representatives<br />
did not return calls for comment. E! said<br />
that Jolie plans to pay for more schools by<br />
sellinga “Style of Jolie” jewelry line that she<br />
helped create with jewelry maker Robert<br />
Procop. Procop designed the engagement<br />
ring given to the actress by her partner<br />
Brad Pitt in April 2012. “Beyond enjoying<br />
the artistic satisfaction of designing these<br />
jewels, we are inspired by knowing our<br />
work is also serving the mutual goal of<br />
providing for children in need,” Jolie was<br />
quoted as telling the website.<br />
Procop’s website said the “first funds<br />
from our collaboration together have been<br />
dedicated to the Education Partnership for<br />
Children in Conflict (founded by Jolie) to<br />
build a school in Afghanistan.” According<br />
to the Style of Jolie website, the newly<br />
expanded collection includes versions of<br />
the black and gold necklace that the<br />
actress wore to the premiere of her 2010<br />
movie “Salt,” a pear-shaped citrine and<br />
gold necklace, and rose gold and emerald<br />
tablet-shaped rings, earrings and<br />
bracelets. No price details were released.<br />
The jewelry will go on retail sale for the<br />
first time on April 4 through Kansas City<br />
jewelry store Tivol, Tivol said. Procop told<br />
E! that it was “an honor to have the opportunity<br />
to be part of creating this line with<br />
Angie, as we both believe every child has<br />
right to an education.” Jolie is not the first<br />
celebrity to open schools in faraway<br />
places. Both Oprah Winfrey and Madonna<br />
have funded the building of schools in<br />
South Africa and Malawi in the past six<br />
years, although both ran into trouble.<br />
Madonna’s project provoked controversy<br />
over costs and mismanagement, while a<br />
staff member at Winfrey’s school was<br />
arrested on charges of assault and abuse
Theia dress, Jones & Jones, $495. Kate Spade bangles,<br />
Handbags in the City, $38 each. Earrings, Bijoux<br />
Inspired Jewels, $83. Foley + Corinna clutch, foleyandcorinna.com,<br />
$150.<br />
Burberry boot, $225, handbag, $1,295, and<br />
dress, $495; all Nordstrom, $225. Rachel<br />
Mulherin necklace, Rachel Mulherin, $82.<br />
On Anna (left): Theia gown, Jones & Jones, $995. Jimmy<br />
Choo clutch, Nordstrom, $650. Earrings, $210; La Vie<br />
Parisienne necklace, $455; both Bijoux Inspired Jewels.<br />
Plaza Suite fascinator, Hats in the Belfry, $129. On<br />
Bethany: Theia cocktail dress, Jones & Jones, $450.<br />
Jimmy Choo clutch, Nordstrom, $1,250. Scala fascinator,<br />
Hats in the Belfry, $45. Necklace, Bijoux Inspired Jewels,<br />
$3,275. Kate Spade ring, Handbags in the City, $98.<br />
Theory pants, $220, and fringe top, $325; Alice +<br />
Olivia tweed jacket, $495; all L’Apparenza. Kate<br />
Spade purse, $318; Prada glasses, $475; both<br />
Handbags in the City. Pearl earrings, Jones &<br />
Jones, $98. Rococo Rocks necklace, Bijoux<br />
Inspired Jewels, $590. United Nude Ultra<br />
Rockerfeller slingbacks, epitomeatl.com, $440.<br />
Think film noir-inspired<br />
looks for spring.<br />
Beauty, drama-even a<br />
hint of danger-emanate<br />
from the black and white<br />
shades suitable for this season’s<br />
femme fatales. — MCT<br />
lifestyle<br />
F e a t u r e s<br />
Jason Wu dress, Ruth Shaw, $2,250. Earrings, $94; Oliver<br />
Webber bracelet, $345; both Bijoux Inspired Jewels.<br />
Diane Von Furstenberg clutch, Handbags in the City,<br />
$295.<br />
Slideshow<br />
Miss Wu silk collared dress, Nordstrom, $495. Chloe Alice Springs Large Tote, Nordstrom,<br />
$1,995. Cuff, Jones & Jones, $98. Rococo Rocks bird necklace, Bijoux Inspired Jewels,<br />
$350. —MCT photos<br />
On Bethany (left): Marc Cain print pants, $318; Athena earrings, $78; both Jones &<br />
Jones. Rag & Bone blazer, Ruth Shaw, $795. Avec fringe top, Lori K, $110. Isabelle Fiore<br />
bag, urbanminx.com, $350. Rococo Rocks necklace, Bijoux Inspired Jewels, $460. On<br />
Anna: Theory pants, $220, and fringe top, $325; Alice + Olivia tweed jacket, $495; all<br />
LíApparenza. Kate Spade purse, $318; Prada glasses, $475; both Handbags in the City.<br />
Pearl earrings, Jones & Jones, $98. Rococo Rocks necklace, Bijoux Inspired Jewels,<br />
$590.<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
On Anna (left): DKNY perforated leather jacket, $995; Rag<br />
& Bone leather pants, $895; both Ruth Shaw. Muse dress,<br />
Jones & Jones, $165. Rachel Mulherin bib necklace,<br />
Rachel Mulherin, $130. Plaza Suite fascinator, Hats in the<br />
Belfry, $129. Kate Spade tote, $398; Dior sunglasses,<br />
$395; both Handbags in the City. On Bethany: Alice +<br />
Olivia leather jacket, $880, and dress, $798; both<br />
L’Apparenza. Marc Jacobs handbag, Nordstrom,$1,395.<br />
Rachel Mulherin necklace, Rachel Mulherin, $130. Tom<br />
Ford sunglasses, Handbags in the City, $495. La Vie<br />
Parisienne earrings, Bijoux Inspired Jewels, $70.<br />
Marc Cain dress, Jones & Jones, $568.<br />
Earrings, Jones & Jones, $115. Kate Spade<br />
bangle, $148, and ring, $78; both Handbags<br />
in the City. United Nude Ultra Rockefeller<br />
bootie, solestruck.com, $485.<br />
Performers walk through the street during Lagos Carnival in Lagos, Nigeria, Monday. Performers filled the streets of Lagos’ islands Monday as part of the Lagos Carnival, a major festival in Nigeria’s largest city during Easter weekend.<br />
— AP/AFP photos
By Ellen Creager<br />
It’s sleek, shiny and sensational. But let’s add two more<br />
words to describe Chicago for tourists: darn expensive.<br />
On Feb 1, admission to the Art Institute of Chicago<br />
jumped to $23 for out-of-state visitors. In the past month, a<br />
host of other price hikes that affect tourists have also taken<br />
effect: Museum of Science and Industry ticket prices rose.<br />
The Chicago Transit Authority hiked the price of passes to<br />
ride the L and city buses. Parking prices downtown<br />
jumped. Even the toll on the Chicago Skyway went up.<br />
Chicago has the highest tax burden for travelers in the<br />
nation, even higher than New York and Boston, the Global<br />
Business Travel Association reported last fall, when it compared<br />
cities’ taxes on hotel rooms, car rental and meals.<br />
Chicago has 2.7 million residents and 43.6 million visitors a<br />
year. It doesn’t need to offer constant cut-rate attractions.<br />
That’s the power of a popular city.<br />
So how can you visit without going broke?<br />
Visit in winter. With more than 33,000 hotel rooms in<br />
the downtown district and an occupancy rate of only 50<br />
percent in January and 52 percent in February, Chicago<br />
hotel prices in winter are about half of what they are in the<br />
summer and fall, when occupancy can hit over 90 percent.<br />
For example, the weekend of Jan 25-27, rates before taxes<br />
were $139 for the historic Palmer House Hilton, $135 for<br />
the Fairmont Chicago and $92 for Embassy Suites. Even<br />
adding the city’s steep 16.4 percent per night hotel tax to<br />
those prices won’t break the bank.<br />
I like Chicago in winter for other reasons, too.<br />
Psychologically, it seems to have more room. It still is<br />
breathtakingly beautiful on a sunny day. Skating at<br />
Millennium Park is free, and so is clowning around at the<br />
Bean (the shiny Cloud Gate sculpture in the park). If you<br />
can handle the bracing wind off Lake Michigan, strolling<br />
and shopping are relaxing this time of year.<br />
In winter, you can still ride the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier<br />
for $6, or take in the winter views from the John Hancock<br />
Observatory or watch the crowds from a window seat at<br />
lifestyle<br />
T r a v e l<br />
the nearby Ghirardelli chocolate shop while sipping hot<br />
cocoa.<br />
In winter, it’s easier to get restaurant reservations —<br />
and Chicago Restaurant Week is running now through Feb.<br />
10. With more than 250 restaurants participating, prices for<br />
a prix fixe menu start at $22 for lunch and $33 or $44 for<br />
dinner (for details, see www.eatitupchicago.com). It’s also a<br />
great time for theater. Get discount tickets for shows during<br />
Chicago Theater Week, Feb 12-17, with dozens of theaters<br />
participating (www.chicagotheatreweek.com).<br />
In winter, you also might score tickets for the hottest<br />
Visitors to the John Hancock observatory floor don’t have to fight the crowds of summer.<br />
Tourists at<br />
Millennium Park still<br />
visit the Cloud Gate<br />
sculpture, better<br />
known as the Bean,<br />
despite the cold.<br />
show in the country, “The Book of Mormon,” if you are flexible<br />
with your dates or seeking a single seat on weekends.<br />
The musical at the Bank of America Theatre has been<br />
extended through Sept 8. When I arrived in Chicago in late<br />
January, I heard grumbling from hotel clerks and even<br />
transit workers about all the new price hikes around town.<br />
Some affect residents, but most of the increases seem<br />
meanly aimed at tourists. For example:<br />
See the skyline of Chicago without getting cold,<br />
from inside the Lego store inside Water Tower Place,<br />
where many of the city’s iconic buildings are recreated<br />
out of Legos.<br />
Snowmen cookies in a bakery window in Chicago’s loop add to<br />
the winter fun.<br />
The cost of a day pass often used by tourists to ride buses<br />
and the L is now $10, a 74 percent hike over the old<br />
price of $5.75. You now need to ride at least five times in<br />
one day to make the pass worthwhile, because individual<br />
trips are $2.25. Prices for seven-day and 30-day passes also<br />
went up Jan 14.<br />
It’s now $5 to take public transit from O’Hare airport to<br />
downtown, up from $2.25. Art Institute of Chicago tickets<br />
for out-of-state visitors are now $23 (they were $18).<br />
Museum of Science and Industry tickets for out-of-state<br />
visitors are $18 (they were $16). And there are no more free<br />
days for out-of-state visitors to any Illinois museum —<br />
those were dropped 18 months ago.<br />
It’s now $6.50 per hour to park in the Loop, the highest<br />
city parking meter rate in the nation. Parking near downtown<br />
is now $4 an hour, and neighborhood parking is $2<br />
an hour. Parking prices rose Jan 1.<br />
The toll for the Chicago Skyway is now $4, up 50 cents.<br />
So how can a simple visitor from out of state still enjoy<br />
Chicago? Come now. If you have two or fewer people,<br />
don’t bring a car to Chicago — the parking alone costs<br />
more than mass transit or taxis, about $45 to $55 a day,<br />
even if you self-park. Take the train or a bus. Stay with a relative<br />
or friend. Seek out small neighborhood restaurants.<br />
Save your money for the few things that really matter to<br />
you — the symphony, a play, a museum, a great jazz club, a<br />
Chicago pizza, an American Girl doll with her very own hot<br />
air balloon, or just a hot cup of cocoa while looking out at a<br />
bustling Magnificent Mile.—MCT<br />
Winter in Chicago should include a stop at the Ghirardelli<br />
chocolate shop near the Water Tower, where you can get hot<br />
chocolate for $3.50. — MCT photos<br />
A small customer looks at the dreamy wares at<br />
the American Girl store in Water Tower Place in<br />
Chicago. The balloon pictured is really for sale,<br />
for $150.<br />
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Visitors can skate for<br />
free in Millennium<br />
Park downtown, surrounded<br />
by the<br />
Chicago skyline.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, <strong>2013</strong><br />
Psy’s new song<br />
features ‘Psy style’<br />
take<br />
37<br />
on Korean dance<br />
People wearing clown costumes ride a bicycle during the Humorina carnival in Odessa on April 1, <strong>2013</strong>. Thousands of people take part in Humorina, an annual festival of humor, in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa on and<br />
around April Fools’ Day since 1973. — AFP<br />
San Francisco’s other<br />
Chinatown - the real one<br />
There are two Chinatowns in San Francisco, one where tourists can<br />
buy conical straw hats and tacky souvenirs, and a second where<br />
the locals live, shop and eat. There are no defined boundaries-you<br />
don’t cross a street and step from Tourist Chinatown to Authentic<br />
Chinatown. Rather, the two overlap. A visitor can leave a neon-lit store,<br />
loaded down with bamboo back scratchers and plastic Buddhas, and a<br />
half-block away turn down a dingy alley dotted with shops and businesses<br />
where no English is spoken.<br />
“Chinatown is not a closed attraction. Anybody can visit,” said Linda<br />
Lee, proprietor of All About Chinatown Walking Tours (allaboutchinatown.com),<br />
which has been showing people around for more than 30<br />
years. “Walk up Grant Avenue, the main street, then go to the rest (of the<br />
area) for authentic tours.”<br />
What Chinatown is is a bustling neighborhood. On one recent weekday<br />
morning, men and women jammed the sidewalks outside markets<br />
where oranges and mushrooms and other produce-some strikingly exotic-were<br />
sold along with live fish and crabs; an elderly gentleman shuffled<br />
down the street, Chinese music blaring from a radio under his coat; laundry<br />
hung on balconies and from clotheslines strung over narrow alleys.<br />
This is everyday life in Chinatown, and visitors are welcome. Any<br />
street in Chinatown will have an authentic shop or business or two. But<br />
explore side streets and alleys. For example, Waverly Place, on a long<br />
block between Washington and Clay streets, has beautiful architecture as<br />
well as a plethora of delightful smells. Cut down Ross Alley, between<br />
Jackson and Washington streets, and you’ll find the Golden Gate Fortune<br />
Cookie Factory, a 40-year-old institution that churns out 20,000 handmade<br />
fortune cookies a day (and where a 50-cent donation is requested<br />
for photos). Step into any number of herbal pharmacies or tea shops,<br />
and be overwhelmed by the fragrance. The people are friendly and welcoming,<br />
even if you don’t speak their language. — MCT<br />
A woman deftly folds and inserts fortunes into cooling cookies at the<br />
Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company, which produces 20,000 handmade<br />
fortune cookies a day in San Francisco’s Chinatown. — MCT<br />
This is not a TripAdvisor Top-10 list you want to<br />
be on. Runner-up status for world’s germiest<br />
tourist attraction goes to Seattle’s Gum Wall<br />
in Post Alley, second only to Ireland’s Blarney<br />
Stone. It’s a form of people’s participatory art<br />
apparently started by improv Market Theatre-goers<br />
in the early 1990s, who thought better of sticking<br />
their gum under seats and started leaving it on the<br />
brick wall outside. Over the years it’s grown vertically,<br />
horizontally and now is spreading to the wall<br />
Jean Yang gets help from Ankur Dhar in adding a<br />
wad to the Gum Wall in Post Alley.<br />
The curtain went up once more at one of Japan’s most<br />
important theatres yesterday after the famous playhouse,<br />
dedicated to the centuries-old kabuki performing art, was<br />
rebuilt for the fourth time. An elaborate ceremony involving<br />
incantations and large “taiko” drums was held as a big digital<br />
countdown clock, installed six months ago, ticked away the last<br />
few minutes ahead of the official opening. The theatre, called<br />
Kabuki-za, was first established on the site in 1889, but has now<br />
been rebuilt four times, this time as part of a 29-storey office<br />
block.<br />
The previous building, erected in 1951 to replace one heavily<br />
damaged in World War II, was demolished in 2010 due to worries<br />
over its ability to withstand earthquakes. Despite cold rain, more<br />
than 100 people, many wearing full formal kimono, queued up<br />
for seats on the top balcony to watch a single act, paying 2,000<br />
yen ($22), against about 20,000 yen for the highest grade seats.<br />
Breathless television reporting showed the scenes inside the<br />
four-storey venue, where visitors walked across ornate carpets on<br />
their way to stock up on the delicate “bento” lunch boxes that are<br />
customary during a performance. The 2,000-seat theatre-akin in<br />
cultural significance to Shakespeare’s Globe theatre in London-is<br />
the spiritual home of Japan’s indigenous kabuki, a highly stylized<br />
art in which all-male casts perform in extravagant costumes and<br />
mask-like facial makeup.—AFP<br />
on the west side of the alley, with gum stuck to the<br />
signs requesting “No Gum This Side, Thank You.”<br />
Visiting Cal, Berkeley senior Jean Yang called it<br />
“community pointillism.” The closer you get the<br />
more you see, though it’s not exactly Jackson<br />
Pollock.<br />
There’s a wedding proposal from 170 pieces of<br />
gum: “Will You Marry Me Nikki J.” There are business<br />
cards, coins, Chinese fortune-cookie fortunes,<br />
the Swedish and Brazilian flags, a 12th Man<br />
Seahawks tribute, gum wrappers and love notes.<br />
The Pike Place Market estimates the wall holds<br />
750,000 wads of gum. Its Preservation and<br />
Development Authority works to keep the 8-foothigh,<br />
54-foot-wide curiosity from going too far.<br />
Clearly, the germiest lists are not scientific: The<br />
Gum Wall beat out Paris’ sewer tour and India’s<br />
Karni Mata Rat Temple.— MCT<br />
Geisha women pose in front of the re-built Kabukiza theatre<br />
in Tokyo yesterday before they enter to watch second stage of<br />
the day of Japanese traditional kabuki act. — AFP<br />
Displays left in<br />
gum include a<br />
Swedish flag<br />
and a heart<br />
containing the<br />
name Clara. An<br />
estimated<br />
750,000 gum<br />
wads are on<br />
the wall in<br />
Seattle,<br />
Washington.<br />
—MCT