ARAb StAtES diSMAyEd At WESt'S cOMPlAcENcy - Kuwait Times

SUBSCRIPTION 

Swimming pools in 

Kuwait ready 2for 

summer season 

SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013 JAMADA ALTHANI 24, 1434 AH No: 15798 

US military 

plane crashes 

in Kyrgyzstan 

7 

AFC to introduce 

ethics 

44 

committee 

150 Fils 

Arab states dismayed 

at West’s complacency 

Nuclear Israel jeopardizes NPT: Kuwait Envoy 

MOUNTAIN VIEW: A member of the Solar Impulse crew rides an electric bike alongside the plane as it takes off from Moffett Field NASA 

Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California yesterday.—AFP 

Solar-powered plane takes off 

SAN FRANCISCO: A solar-powered airplane that developers 

hope to eventually pilot around the world took off early 

yesterday from San Francisco Bay on the first leg of an 

attempt to fly across the United States with no fuel but the 

sun’s energy. 

The plane, dubbed the Solar Impulse, departed shortly 

after 6 am local time from Moffett Field, a joint civil-military 

airport near the south end of San Francisco, heading first to 

Phoenix on a slow-speed flight expected to take 15 to 20 

hours. The spindly looking plane barely hummed as it took 

flight in the still northern California morning as the sun was 

just beginning to peek out over the Santa Cruz Mountains 

to the east. After additional stops in Dallas, St Louis and 

Washington, DC, with pauses at each destination to wait for 

favorable weather, the flight team hopes to conclude the 

plane’s cross-country voyage in about two months at John 

F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. 

Swiss pilots and co-founders of the project, Bertrand 

Piccard and Andre Borschberg, will take turns flying the 

plane, built with a single-seat cockpit, with Piccard at the 

controls for the first flight to Arizona. He is tentatively 

scheduled to land in Phoenix at 1 am local time today. 

The project began in 2003 with a 10-year budget of 90 

million euros ($112 million) and has involved engineers 

from Swiss escalator maker Schindler and research aid from 

Belgian chemicals group Solvay - backers who want to test 

new materials and technologies while also gaining brand 

recognition. — Reuters 

‘Massacre’ feared as 

war comes to Banias 

US reporter ‘hostage’ in Damascus 

DAMASCUS: Syrian troops yesterday bombarded 

Sunni areas of the Mediterranean 

city of Banias, a monitoring group said, 

warning of a new “massacre,” as 

Washington said for the first time it was 

looking at arming rebels. The opposition 

National Coalition earlier denounced a 

“large-scale massacre” by troops and militiamen 

on Thursday in a Sunni village near 

Banias, a new front in Syria’s war, citing witness 

reports of civilians being stabbed to 

death. 

“The Coalition calls on the Arab League 

and the United Nations to act rapidly to 

save the civilians of Bayda, Banias and other 

villages across Syria,” it said in a statement, 

accusing the regime of “war crimes and 

genocide”. “Several sources in the village 

say at least 50 people were killed in summary 

executions and shelling in Bayda village,” 

a southern suburb of the Alawite-majority 

city, Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian 

Observatory for Human Rights said. 

Meanwhile, a US journalist missing in wartorn 

Syria is believed to be held by government 

intelligence agents at a detention 

center near Damascus, a spokesman for his 

family said yesterday. 

James Foley, a 39-year-old freelancer 

who has filed reports for GlobalPost, 

Agence France-Presse and other outlets, 

has been missing in Syria for nearly six 

months. Foley’s family and employers insist 

that he was working as an objective, professional 

reporter within Syria, and have called 

for his release. Syrian officials have never 

acknowledged having any news of his 

whereabouts. — Agencies 

Max 36º 

Min 23º 

GENEVA: Arab states including Kuwait are 

dismayed at complacency by some 

Western powers toward Israel’s abstention 

from cooperating with the international 

community on banning nuclear arms, an 

official of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign 

Affairs said. 

Ambassador Jassem Al-Mubaraki, the 

Director of International Organizations 

Department, said in a statement yesterday, 

Arab officials expressed criticism of these 

powers’ stance during meetings of the 

preparatory commission of the Nuclear 

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) signatory 

states. 

Arab Group, to prove good intentions in 

this respect, had 

formed a “troika, “ 

comprising Egypt, 

Tunisia and Morocco, 

that held talks with 

the United States on 

this issue, Al- 

Mubaraki said. 

The Americans, 

during these discussions, 

asked the 

Jassem Al-Mubaraki 

Arab officials to refrain from blaming 

Washington for failure of holding a special 

conference on clearing the Middle East of 

nuclear weapons, scheduled in Helsinki in 

end of last year, the ambassador said. He 

indicated they also criticized the Arabs for 

shedding too much light on Israel’s nuclear 

capacities, but failing to do so regarding 

nuclear program of Iran. 

The Americans deduced, by examining 

statements by Arab states’ representatives 

and delegates of Non-Aligned Movement 

countries at meetings of the commission, 

that “these countries generally tended to 

hold them, along with other Western powers 

and Canada, responsible for failure of 

holding the Helsinki conference for sake of 

appeasing Israel,” ambassador Al-Mubaraki 

explained. “Such unwavering stances 

means there will be no progress in our 

efforts to establish a world free of nuclear 

weapons and a Middle East clear of these 

arms,” he added. 

Western powers have no intention, 

whatsoever, to exert pressure on Israel to 

cooperate on the nuclear issue, he said. 

“Moreover, they have no desire to compel 

it with anything regarding respect for the 

Continued on Page 8

SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013 

LOCAL 

Number of lifeguards 

depends on visitors 

Swimming pools in Kuwait ready for summer season 

By Nawara Fattahova 

KUWAIT: For the children to feel safe while 

swimming, it is necessary to have a lifeguard 

at the swimming pool. Some parents 

don’t feel safe to let their children swim 

and play in the swimming pool alone, so 

they stay with them all the time while in 

the pool. However, if there were to be a lifeguard, 

they would feel more comfortable 

to let their children swim alone. 

There is no special regulation indicating 

a specific number of lifeguards to be present 

at the swimming pools. Each club or 

place is providing a certain number of 

these guards, and the number differs from 

one place to another. Certain hotels do not 

have any lifeguards. The clubs and utilities 

of the Touristic Enterprises Company are 

the most popular as far as swimming pools 

are concerned. Captain Essam Badawi, a 

swimming trainer and supervisor of the lifeguards 

at the Sha’ab Sea Club, explained 

that lifeguards’ presence is important at all 

the swimming pools, especially those for 

children. 

“The number of visitors is crucial to 

deciding how many lifeguards should be 

available. The number ranks between one 

to four lifeguards, depending upon the 

occupancy of the pool. For instance, when 

its high tide, most people go to the beach 

and swim in the sea, leaving the pools 

almost empty. During the low tide, the 

pools are crowded. Also, during the weekends, 

the pools are more occupied than 

during the weekdays, so the number of lifeguards 

is higher,” he told the Kuwait Times. 

The lifeguards are well-trained and certified. 

“The guards are educated and they 

speak English. They have to concentrate 

and deal with the children. Even if parents 

are with them, we are still responsible for 

them. Guiding the children is more important 

than rescuing. The guards give people 

and especially the children directions on 

how to swim, which is more important than 

saving. The guard doesn’t have to wait till 

there is a drowning person or somebody 

calls for help to act. Prevention is always 

better,” added Badawi. 

The lifeguards are always present at the 

Club. “Even if the swimming pool is closed, 

the club remains open. So there should be 

a guard to watch the swimming pool, as 

sometimes children may try to jump in the 

pool and their parents may not come to 

know. We have to guard the pools and tell 

them it is forbidden to swim in it in this 

period,” he stated. 

The availability of lifeguards is basic 

requirement for the swimming pools. “In all 

swimming pools of the company, we have 

lifeguards available all the time. We have a 

budget to employ more guards in case the 

need arises. At the Sha’ab Club, we didn’t 

have any accidents, yet we remain careful. 

Also, on days when the pool is used for 

women, we have women guards who 

remain present. At our club, there are two 

guards as the pool is not so crowded, while 

at the Messilah Beach, for instance, there 

are more than 10 guards,” he further said. 

The water condition of the swimming 

pools is also very important. Badawi 

explained, “We always take that we have 

clean water. Every month the inspectors 

from the Ministry of Health come to run a 

check, and sometimes they come randomly 

or once a week. They have special instruments 

to measure the state of the water, so 

sometimes we actually invite them to check 

out the quality.” 

The hotels are the other places that provide 

swimming facilities. The Crowne Plaza 

Hotel has three lifeguards watching two 

swimming pools and they have never experienced 

an accident at the pool. The Palms 

Beach Hotel and Spa also has two swimming 

pools, one for the adults and one for 

the children. They have three to four lifeguards 

for both the swimming pools. The 

Hilton Kuwait Resort has five lifeguards for 

two swimming pools, besides having 

guards at the beach. 

Surprisingly a four star hotel that is not 

along the beach has one swimming pool 

but without any lifeguard. The employee in 

charge noted that they did not face any 

accidents or problems ever, and that the 

pool is never crowded, so they do not provide 

a lifeguard. They have also put up a 

sign that the guest would be personally 

responsible if he chooses to swim. 

The lifeguards are well-trained and certified. “The 

guards are educated and they speak English. They 

have to concentrate and deal with the children. 

Even if parents are with them, we are still responsible 

for them. Guiding the children is more important 

than rescuing. The guards give people and 

especially the children directions on how to 

swim, which is more important than saving. 

A child enjoying her swim


Merging project 

KUWAIT: Sources said Kuwait Fire Service Directorate 

approved the merging project with the Interior Ministry 

under the name Public Authority for Civil Defence. The 

sources said there will be several meetings and sessions 

with concerned authorities to implement the merger and 

declare it. 

Meanwhile the Fire Service approved the project to link 

all departments with fiber optics, because it will be easy to 

communicate and transfer data between all departments 

and centers. —Al-Shahed 

Arab media experts 

meet in Tunis 

TUNIS: Arab media experts entrusted with setting out Arab 

media development mechanisms convened here on Thursday. 

Advisor at the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information Khaled Al- 

Khalfan is attending the three-day meeting, which discusses how 

to put in place the Arab media charter and a media strategy. The 

agenda also includes suggestions for effective mechanisms for 

monitoring and assessing the Arab media performance and 

acceptance, cancellation and suspension of the membership of 

Arab federations and organizations. 

The conferees are expected to come up with a vision for 

enabling Arab mass media to deliver their basic message for the 

Arab world and its essential issues. —KUNA 

Kuwait to negotiate 

with Dow on fine 

KUWAIT: A delegation from the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation is 

expected to hold talks either tomorrow (Sunday) or on Monday 

with Dow Chemicals officials in the United States regarding a $2.5 

billion fine the Gulf state is required to pay for canceling a project 

with the American company a few years ago, a local daily reported 

yesterday quoting sources with knowledge of the case. 

Dow Chemical had won last year an international court 

order stipulating that the Petrochemical Industries Company, a 

wholly owned subsidiary of KPC, pay the fine for canceling a 

contract to establish a $7.4 billion joint venture project. The 

Kuwaiti government had called off the deal to establish K-Dow 

Petrochemicals late 2008 under pressure from the parliament, 

prompting Dow Chemical to sue for damages as per a penalty 

clause in the contract. 

The sources who spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity 

said that the delegations includes KPC CEO Farouq Al-Zanki, 

PIC CEO and Managing Director Maha Husain, KPC Managing 

Director for Legal Affairs Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah and KPC 

Managing Director for Financial Affairs Ali Al-Hajri. The team is 

given authority to seek quittance “according to the best available 

solutions”, the sources said. They also expressed optimism about 

the team’s chances of reaching a deal by which the amount of 

the fine could be reduced. 

In other news, a parliamentary committee probing alleged 

violations in hiring and promotion decisions carried out in the 

KPC has reportedly found evidence of misconduct. “Our investigations 

confirm that manipulation had happened and that several 

of the complaining employees were subjected to injustice”, 

said parliament’s petitions and complaint committee Essam Al- 

Dabous. The committee is expected to release its report during a 

press conference tomorrow containing a recommendation based 

on which the parliament can vote to waive the promotions. 

Separately, Al-Jarida reported yesterday that the Public 

Prosecution started summoning former Ministry of Social 

Affairs and Labor officials for investigations in a case filed by 

minister Thekra Al-Rashidi regarding suspected violations in a 

deal with a car rental company. According to sources familiar 

with the ongoing investigations, there are five officials suspected 

to be involved in violations which led to around KD 5 

million in losses. — Al-Rai & Al-Jarida 

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Trade Union 

Federation became the latest group to condemn 

the Interior Ministry’s step of deporting 

expatriates for committing ‘grave’ traffic 

violations, and opened the door for foreigners 

affected by such stipulations to file complaints.“Deporting 

expatriate labor forces 

for traffic violations is an individual act on 

the Interior Ministry’s part”, said KTUF 

President Fayez Al-Mutairi as quoted by Al- 

Jarida daily yesterday. “We categorically 

denounce such imprudent behaviors which 

affect the fate of expatriate workers and 

their families”. 

Undersecretary Assistant for Traffic 

Affairs Major General Abdulfattah Al-Ali had 

announced last week that 213 expats were 

deported for committing ‘grave’ traffic violations 

since the Interior Ministry launched 

campaigns late April. “Deporting an illegal 

resident or a person who entered Kuwait 

illegally is understandable, but a worker 

who came to Kuwait legally and follows the 

law should be most welcomed to stay”, Al- 

Mutairi said during a press conference 

Wednesday night. 

He further urged any expatriate worker 

“who becomes subjected to injustice as a 

result of the Interior Ministry’s behavior to 

local 

Kuwaitis in Gitmo forced-fed 

KUWAIT: An American delegation is 

expected to arrive in Kuwait on May 30, 

2013 in order to resume negotiations which 

the Gulf state hopes would lead to the 

release of its two remaining nationals in the 

Guantanamo Bay prison, a local daily 

reported yesterday quoting one of the prisoner’s 

father. 

Khalid Al-Odah, father of Fawzi Al-Odah 

who along with Fayez Al-Kandari are last 

Kuwaitis in Guantanamo out of 12 originally 

held there, revealed in the meantime that 

his son was hospitalized due to complications 

of being forced-fed. At least 100 

inmates have reportedly been on a hunger 

strike to protest against being held without 

KTUF denounce deportations, 

welcomes expats’ complaints 

charges or trial. “After the strike enter its 

third month, the inmates had their rights 

confiscated by being forced-fed with 8- 

10mm wide tubes in a process resulting in 

several health risks”, Al-Odah told Al-Rai. 

According to an e-mail Al-Odah 

received from his son’s lawyer, the prisoners 

are being tied to chairs with their heads 

set in a vertical base, before a tube is inserted 

in their noses to pass food to their stomachs. 

“The strike started in protest against 

the behavior of new guards assigned at the 

prison, which include provocative inspections 

during which copies of the Holy 

Quran were mistreated”, Al-Odah said. He 

further urged the Kuwaiti government to 

‘Violation of human rights’ 

“take more serious steps to put pressure on 

the American administration for the release 

of our children”. The US military confirmed 

last week that 40 medical back up teams 

arrived at the Guantanamo Bay to administer 

treatment to keep the protesters alive, 

and confirmed that 21 inmates are being 

forced-fed. US President Barack Obama 

revived on Tuesday a promise he had made 

during his 2008 presidential elections campaign 

to shut down the controversial 

prison camp. In order for it to happen, this 

decision needs to be approved by the 

Congress where Republicans who have 

majority in the House of Representatives 

oppose such step.— Al-Rai 

lodge a complaint at the expatriate labor 

forces office in the KTUF”, vowing to “stand 

by their side”. 

The event organized to mark the Labor 

Day was attended by Minister of Social 

Affairs and Labor Thekra Al-Rashidi; who in 

March announced a plan to deport 100,000 

foreigners annually as part of the Gulf state’s 

efforts to restore demographic balance. 

Kuwait is home to around 2.6 million expatriates 

who make up nearly two thirds of the 

state’s total population of 3.8 million according 

to official statistics. Details of the plan, by 

which the government looks to deport a million 

foreigners in ten years, are yet to be 

revealed, but Al-Rashidi had previously hinted 

that individuals to be targeted are chiefly 

going to be ‘marginal labor forces’ or workers 

who usually accept menial labor and 

often stay in the country without valid visas. 

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti Association for Basic 

Evaluators of Human Rights released a statement 

calling the deportations an “exaggerated 

penalty”, a “violation of human rights”, 

an “unpractical solution for the traffic problem” 

and “arbitrary use by deportation 

authorities”. The association also warned 

from the consequences of similar steps 

which includes “hurting Kuwait’s international 

reputation” and “making foreigners 

lose the feeling of social security in Kuwait 

when they find themselves facing the threat 

of deportation at any moment”. 

“Deportation sentences must be handed by 

an independent authority which is the judiciary 

in order for the government to avoid 

being accused of committing injustice”, 

reads the statement as published by Al-Rai 

yesterday. The association also called for 

clear definitions to explain the nature of the 

grave violations “and their direct impact on 

public safety”. This comes while a report 

published by Al-Watan newspaper yesterday 

indicated that 19 new expatriates could be 

deported soon for committing violations 

which warrant for deportation including 

driving without a driver’s license, crossing 

the red traffic light for a second time, using 

private vehicles to carry passengers and 

exceeding speed limits by 40 km. The report 

which quotes sources with knowledge of the 

case indicates that the Traffic General 

Department sent the names of the 19 expats 

to the Immigration Investigations General 

Department, and that there are an additional 

33 people currently held for investigations 

on similar charges. 

— Al-Jarida, Al-Rai & Al-Watan 

Kuwait envoy attends graduation 

of Islamic studies in Philippines 

KUALA LUMPUR: Kuwait’s 

Ambassador to the Philippines, 

Waleed Al-Kandari, as special guest, 

attended the commencement ceremony 

yesterday of graduate students 

of the Institute of Islamic Studies at 

the University of the Philippines. 

Ambassador Al-Kandari lauded 

Philippines’ educational monument, 

wishing the graduates all success and 

best of luck in their future careers, 

Kuwaiti Embassy in the Philippines 

said in a statement to KUNA. 

During the ceremony, which was 

also attended by Secretary of the 

Philippines National Commission on 

Muslim Filipinos, Mehol Sadain, the 

Kuwaiti Ambassador presented Prof 

Julkipli Wadi, the Institute’s Dean, with 

a commemorative wooden-made 

Kuwaiti dhow, and took part in handing 

symbolic gifts to graduates. 

For his part, Prof Wadi, who also 

presented Al-Kandari with a commemorative 

shield, expressed his gratitude 

and appreciation for the Kuwaiti 

Ambassador’s attendance of the ceremony 

and praised his efforts in 

strengthening bilateral cultural cooperation. 

— KUNA


LOCAL 

kuwait digest 

No bungee jumping 

for expatriates! 

By Labeed Abdal 

local@kuwaittimes.net 

Al-Saadoun and company 

According to former parliament speaker Ahmad Al- 

Saadoun, the Gulf Cooperation Council security 

agreement that Kuwait is supposed to join gives the 

government the chance to put further restrictions on freedoms 

while providing more protection to authorities and 

governments. This approach against freedom, public opinions 

and people’s right to keep a watchful eye on public politics 

was also shown in the unified media law that the government 

proposed. And while Al-Saadoun says that the new 

GCC agreement is ‘a lot worse’ than the old one, I believe 

that the unified media draft law which the government 

eventually retracted is worse by several degrees than the 

current press law. 

This approach followed by the government proves their 

intention to restrain popular forces, limit freedom of civil 

institutions, as well as silence the oppositions and even critics 

of public policy. I agree with Al-Saadoun in criticizing and 

even expressing concern from the government’s predicted 

approach. On the other hand, I do give the government an 

‘excuse’ because in reality they are meeting the “populist” 

demands promoted by Al-Saadoun’s associates, and ignored 

by those who are supposed to be concerned with national 

democratic work. The cabinet, or more specifically the cabinet 

led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah 

which was eventually overthrown by the “public movement”, 

kuwait digest 

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij 

had previously rejected or expressed reservation on the GCC 

agreement. Our government also refused to interfere in 

Bahrain’s internal events, which prompted demands by the 

“heroes of public movement” to send Kuwaiti forces to the 

island-kingdom. Not only did they request intervention in 

Bahrain’s internal affairs, but also filed a grilling against then 

premier Nasser Al-Mohammad on allegations of ‘siding with 

Iran against Bahrain’. Al-Saadoun’s allies welcomed the confederation 

idea that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia proposed. 

Some of them even called for immediate merger with the 

Saudi kingdom despite knowing - or at least they should - 

that the KSA and the five other GCC countries are connected 

together by the security agreement. 

On the media side, Ahmad Al-Saadoun and his allies 

grilled information ministers on multiple occasions on the 

pretext of “failure to prosecute newspapers and TV stations” 

that criticized them, or to demand that certain outlets be 

shut down. Unfortunately, Al-Saadoun dragged what is left of 

national forces with him and with the tribal-religious alliance 

to demand in Al-Andalus, Al-Aqailah and the Iradah Square 

for “silencing corrupt media outlets”. 

These are the best politicians we can offer, and the supposed 

‘freedom fighters’ that we have. Do we blame the government 

after that when it approves the GCC security agreement 

or proposes a ridiculous unified media law? 

Iwas asked by a local Arabic newspaper about the possibility 

of the government increasing the service charges applicable 

to expats and citizens on services rendered by the government. 

My immediate direct answer was yes, if we can guarantee 

that the services will be available for everyone on demand, 

with better quality, and promptly delivered without the unnecessary 

red tape and without even a whiff of Wasta. 

I think we should agree that we are a country that is making 

provisions in its budget for a huge sum of money to be spent 

on services and that this amount is now reaching billions of 

dollars. All that we need to do is to make sure that first class 

service is delivered at a notice of 24 hours and we will be able 

to convincingly attract investors from all over the world and 

will be able to proudly say that we are the best and you should 

come here. We have everything that you may want, and you 

can get your office and license in one single day. We should 

agree that there should be some kind of concern across the 

GCC states that funds should not go down the drain, and a 

spending without any kind of cap will definitely mean spending 

what we gained in critical times in history. Yes, we need to 

re-think our position and rework the relevant decisions as we 

must someday need to put a control valve on spending. 

Moreover, we really need a well formulated plan to control 

the work force and the expats’ population since the latter now 

are twice the number of Kuwaiti nationals. 

Yet, we need not forget or threaten the well settled and 

legal workers, by mixing them up with the marginal or illegal 

workers, since we need to keep smooth the work flow, production 

and achievements in both private and public sectors. We 

should avoid purely reactive measures or replicating a copypaste 

job that any neighbouring Gulf country has done as in 

each case, history and economic structures differ. We must put 

in place measures that help encourage local and foreign 

investors who need a stable and robust investment-friendly 

environment. We have legal grounds depending on the investment 

plan and an approved budget, and we need not take any 

risks by scrapping or delaying the relevant bylaws. 

We need to iron out the aberrations if we see these at any 

local or regional level and must not hesitate in applying the 

correctives. We would be able to relieve the public of any worry 

by exercising due care, remaining focused and paying attention. 

After coming up with a clear set of rules in a small country 

like Kuwait, we will surely achieve a desirable outcome which 

can have no chance of backfiring. We must not allow any 

administrative bungee jumping. 

Recipe to reform public policies 

kuwait digest 

When someone feels joint-pain he should be initially and 

properly diagnosed before doctors could decide on the 

best treatment strategy. Similarly, when productivity 

assessment apparatuses in state institutions (if we have any) 

senses a malfunction, or when national cadres feel neglected 

and alienated, this indicates that we are in need to ‘diagnose’ 

the problem and set proper remedies for the problems. The following 

are some issues that urgently need to be tackled: 

l The first issue is the government’s executive plan and its 

remoteness from being productive for not focusing on selecting 

competent manpower because we lack the mechanism of to 

detect them. We also lack direct evaluation of state institutions 

and its executive potentials. So, there is need to adapt mechanisms 

to revive productivity and, at the same time, protect institutions 

from corruption. 

l The second issue is about enabling and encouraging youth 

to start their own businesses. The effort currently exerted in 

youth programs is only good media-wise with no real implementation. 

Many young entrepreneurs have had difficulties getting 

foundation capital, facilities to run the business and some 

failed to differentiate between mature and professional business. 

I believe we need to evaluate small projects and their 

effectiveness in business. We should indentify the obstacles the 

youth have been facing in order to set the right solutions. 

According to studies, funding business has been the prime hurdle 

followed by finding local and regional marketing channels. 

Young people also need incentives to tempt them cut loose 

with government work and start their own business. 

l The third issue is the government’s capability to balance 

and coordinate between suggested ideas and their possible parliamentary 

and public reactions. Ideas and proposals have been 

released as statements that are reacted to by writers’ articles 

By Nada Sulaiman Al-Mutawa 

and then some fragile parliamentary statements. Take the 

media law, public services’ fees and recently, compulsory enlistment 

and sharing the responsibility of protecting Kuwait, for 

example. 

l The fourth issue is Kuwait’s absence on the world’s productivity 

and scientific and technological inventions map. We are 

also standing by and watching professional (Asian) technicians 

seep out to other neighboring states while we settle for marginal 

useless ones. We need a real strategy to change our perception 

of labor quality and work on recovering ‘immigrant minds’. 

l Last but not least, dear readers.....best regards to you all 

from the core of science, knowledge and condensed cultural 

doses; Harvard campus. The scene before me now shows 

students from far and wide and all nationalities stand in consolidation 

with Boston City after the recent sorrowful incident.


Brothers, sisters 

brawl in Farwaniya 

By Hanan Al-Saadoun 

KUWAIT: A security source said a fight broke out 

between six members of a Kuwaiti family in Farwaniya 

governorate. Two sisters and one brother on one side 

and three brothers on the other used sharp objects and 

fire arm. The sisters and their brother handed police 

medical reports stating injuries they sustained. A case 

of threatening to kill and verbal insults was filed. 

Egyptian injured 

A 30 year old Egyptian was severely injured in the 

knee during a motorcycle accident on Arabian Gulf 

Road. He was taken to Mubarak Hospital. Another 69 

year old Egyptian sustained a fractured right leg when 

he was run over by a car. Paramedics rushed him to 

Adan hospital. 

Attempted suicide 

A 30 year old Egyptian sustained burns on his face 

and hands during his attempted suicide inside the central 

prison. He was rushed to Sabah Hospital. 

Broken left hand 

An 18 year old Kuwaiti sustained a broken left hand 

during a car accident in Hadiya area. He was taken to 

Adan Hospital. 

KUWAIT: Authorities at the Cairo 

International Airport arrested a man 

who arrived from Kuwait with a large 

number of bladed weapons in his custody. 

The Syrian man raised suspicions 

after arriving in a Kuwait Airways flight, 

prompting customs officers to search 

his luggage. He was put under arrest 

after nearly a hundred pieces including 

daggers and swords were found in his 

suitcases. (Rai) 

Student wanted for murder threat 

Search is on for a high school student 

accused of murder threat charges pressed 

by a Sulaibiya high school principal. The 

suspect reportedly headed to the principal’s 

office Wednesday afternoon to 

inquire about the school’s decision to 

expel him. The principal had taken the 

decision due to the student’s low performance, 

bad behavior and repeated absence. 

The teenager reportedly showered the 

principal with verbal assault and attempted 

to attack him, and then escaped after 

threatening him with murder. Police first 

headed to the student’s house as registered 

in the school’s records, but found 

out that he had given a false address. 

Investigations are ongoing. (Anba) 

Ex-convict arrested 

An ex-convict was arrested recently 

for drug trafficking, which he reportedly 

returned to after serving time in jail on 

similar charges. The Kuwaiti man was 

arrested in Al-Nugra after being lured to 

a trap in which he sold 3 grams of heroin 

to an undercover agent. The set up was 

planned based on information that 

police received indicating that the suspect 

resumed drug trafficking shortly 

after being released from the Central Jail 

where he spent six years. More amounts 

of heroin as well as hashish and drug 

pills were found in the suspect’s house. 

(Anba) 

Man fabricates attempted murder 

A man faces multiple charges after he 

fabricated an attempted murder case to 

cover up for his suicide attempt. The 

Egyptian man was reportedly found by 

his wife bleeding in the bathtub of his 

Nugra apartment, and claimed after his 

condition stabilized that he was 

local 

Passenger from Kuwait arrested 

with suitcase-full of knives 

Man fabricates attempted murder 

attacked by two people who stormed 

the apartment and then escaped after 

closing the door from the outside. 

However, investigations revealed that 

the door was actually locked from the 

inside while a second key was placed on 

the door lock from the outside. The man 

eventually confessed of faking the case 

and that he had actually attempted suicide 

after officials at his company 

accused him of stealing KD 75,000. 

(Watan) 

Child molester in custody 

A child molester was arrested in 

Maidan Hawally after harassing a 12- 

year-old girl in an apartments building. 

The suspect reportedly followed the 

Kuwaiti child to the elevator and tried to 

take advantage of her, which triggered 

her screams that caught the attention of 

the building’s keeper. The Palestinian 

man tried to escape after punching the 

Egyptian keeper in the face, but a number 

of people present at the time caught 

him. Police were soon present at the 

scene and placed the suspect under 

arrest. (Rai) 

Spiritual counselor Dr Nuna 

heals the world her ways 

By Sunil Cherian 

When a 10th grader from Indian Community 

School, Amman branch asked Dr Sneh Lata 

Goel, affectionately known as Dr Nuna, during 

an interview conducted as part of a student assignment 

about her opinion on teenagers having boyfriends or 

girlfriends, she took a wise stance. 

Her response was simple to follow but complex for 

many. She wanted all kids to have an open, communicative 

and straightforward relationship with parents. 

Images of interlocking triangles 

She did not argue for a strong yes or no to the boy’s 

clever question. But more cleverly, she knew if a child 

shares everything that goes on in his/her daily life, 

things would fall naturally and normally in their respective 

places without clash or conflict. “I’m only being scientific 

here”, Dr Nuna, a PhD holder in spirituality and 

spiritual counseling from Corllins University, US said. 

When this reporter met Dr Nuna at her beautiful and 

sprawling 3-storey residence in Mangaf, she surprised 

me with thousands of Sri Chakras - images of interlocking 

triangles - the house adorns. Her house seemed to 

generate energy emanating from creative visualizations. 

Her hand-drawn paintings and drawings speak 

volumes of positive energies. No wonder folks of all 

walks are friends to Dr Nuna - some people call her aunty 

- and the experienced say they go back filled with 

energies, shedding all negative toxins from the mind as 

if they had a refreshing mind-spa session. 

Sri Chakra - the happiness generating image - is an 

instrument formed by nine interlocking triangles that 

surround and radiate out from the central point, the 

junction point between the physical universe and its 

un-manifest source. A geometric-design emblem or 

instrument of contemplation and its effect in life is 

what Dr Nuna is passionately striving to spread. She has 

been in Kuwait since 1974 and now lives with her son 

after her husband Viswapal Goel died last year. Most 

people take home the images Dr Nuna has made and 

place them at their workplace or home as per Dr Nuna’s 

instructions. 

“The instrument of happiness influences our 

thoughts and imagination positively. They help the 

individual marshal the resources necessary to accomplish 

what is desired. A design for meditation is a therapeutic 

tool in modern psychotherapies. An image helps 

the common folks to establish a harmony that facilitates 

opportunities and lucky breaks. Some people call 

it miracle. For me it’s real”, Dr Nuna said. 

It is miraculous when thinking of Dr Nuna’s ways of 

handling common people who approach her with common 

problems. She educates, entertains and enlightens 

Dr Sneh Lata Goel 

them through visuals and words sweetened in truth 

and reality. “There is no problem alive and active in 

nature”, she said. 

“We create problems and our ego is the main culprit”. 

When I asked her to tell me a ‘case’ from her 

many years-long counseling experiences, she told me 

the story of a divorced lady doctor whose desperate 

husband approached Dr Nuna. “After extracting some 

hints from the husband, I went to the doctor posing as 

a patient. While diagnosing I surprised her with the 

information I had about her life. She instantly gave in 

and was able to shed her problems with her tears”, Dr 

Nuna said. As she is talking, quips, quotes and anecdotes 

flow like the Ganga in monsoon. Here is one: 

Sunlight is everywhere. It is up to you to open the window. 

What advice is she keeping to herself while counseling 

people? “Catch the bird tight, it will die; catch it 

loose, it will fly; catch with care”.


Syria oppn blames regime 

for village deaths 

8 

S Africa officials fired 

over wedding scandal 

9 

Pakistani ‘critical’ in 

India after jail attack 11 

US military 

plane crashes 

in Kyrgyzstan 

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan: A military transport 

plane crashed in mountains with 

three crew members aboard shortly 

after taking off from a United States airbase 

in Kyrgyzstan yesterday, officials 

said, with so far no survivors found. The 

C-130 American refuelling plane fell in 

the northern Chuy province at around 

2:55 pm local time (0855 GMT), the 

emergency ministry said. 

“The plane definitely belongs to the 

US transit centre. On board were three 

crew members. Their fate is unknown,” 

the emergency situations minister 

Kubatbek Boronov said in a televised 

comment after rushing to the scene. “I 

cannot exclude that the three 

American pilots could have died, being 

burnt up alive in the explosion,” he 

said, adding that the search operation 

would continue at least until nightfall. 

The Manas airbase is key to US military 

operations in Afghanistan, used to ferry 

troops into the country, refuel warplanes 

and evacuate wounded soldiers. 

The US base said it was still confirming 

the report. “So far we cannot confirm 

this information. If this in fact happened, 

we will be able to later give 

accurate information,” a spokeswoman 

for the base told AFP, speaking in 

Russian. —AFP 

BISHKEK: The remains of a crashed US KC-135 Stratotanker plane are seen on a hill near the villages of Chorgolo and Cholok-Aryk, 180 km from the Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek yesterday. 

— AFP 

Close Iran, N Korea nuke networks: US 

‘Iran supplying bullets that kill Syrian civilians’ 

GENEVA: The United States said yesterday 

that Iran and North Korea were trying to 

obtain high-tech materials linked to their 

nuclear programs in violation of UN sanctions. 

Iran was also sending weapons and ammunition 

to Syrian government forces despite a 

ban, said Thomas Countryman, Assistant 

Secretary for International Security and 

Nonproliferation. 

“Both Iran and North Korea have developed 

channels that enable them to continue 

to export and continue to procure the items 

they need for their weapons industry,” he told 

a news briefing in Geneva. In comments to 

Reuters, he made clear he was referring to 

high-tech materials related to nuclear and 

other programs, including conventional 

weapons. 

Iran and North Korea are under UN sanctions 

banning sales of nuclear, missile and 

related high-tech material to them as well as 

the export of any military material, 

Countryman said. 

There was a determined international 

effort to enforce the UN sanctions and prevent 

such trade, he said. Regarding Iran’s 

alleged efforts, he said: “Certain Iranian 

procuring agents in high-tech places like 

China push very hard.” 

Asked about any cooperation between 

Iran and North Korea in nuclear matters, a US 

official, speaking on condition of not being 

identified, said: “They have contacts. We are 

watching it. 

Western experts say the two countries 

have cooperated on ballistic missile development 

and there is concern that cooperation 

may extend to the nuclear field, though no 

such link has been proven. 

North Korea, which conducted a third 

nuclear test in February, continues development 

of nuclear technology and long-range 

ballistic missiles that will move it closer to its 

stated goal of being able to hit the United 

States with an atomic weapon, a Pentagon 

report said on Thursday. 

Countryman led the US delegation to a 

two-week session that reviewed progress in 

implementing the 1970 nuclear Non- 

Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that aims to prevent 

the spread of atomic weapons. The Geneva 

talks end yesterday. “Obviously, more needs 

to be done in order for the regime in Iran to 

hear the message that it must seriously 

address its non-compliance with the Non- 

Proliferation Treaty,” he said. Critics say Iran is 

trying to achieve the ability to make nuclear 

bombs. Tehran denies this, saying it needs 

nuclear power for energy generation and 

medical purposes. Negotiators from the 

European Union and Iran will meet in Istanbul 

this month to discuss future diplomatic efforts 

to resolve the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear 

program. — Reuters


INTERNATIONAL 

Syrian opposition blames regime for village deaths 

At least 80 killed in 

Darfur tribal battles 

KHARTOUM: At least 80 people have been killed in the latest 

outbreak of fighting between Arab groups in western Sudan’s 

Darfur region, tribal leaders said yesterday. 

“Fighting was going on until last night and from our side 

we have 37 dead,” said Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, a leader of the Beni 

Halba tribe. He claimed more than 100 members of the rival 

Gimir group were also killed but a Gimir chief, Abaker Al- 

Toum, said 44 of his people had died. 

The fighting took place in Edd Al-Fursan, about 100 kilometres 

(60 miles) southwest of the South Darfur state capital 

Nyala. Both sides agreed they were fighting over land, with 

each side claiming ownership. The UN’s Office for the 

Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), cited the Sudan 

government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission as confirming 

“new inter-tribal fighting between the Gimir and Beni Halba 

tribes over land ownership” in South Darfur. 

“Seven people from the Gimir tribe were reportedly killed 

in an attack on 26 April. The fighting is continuing”, OCHA 

said in its weekly humanitarian bulletin issued late on 

Thursday. —AFP 

Arab states dismayed... 

Continued from Page 1 

international community where majority of states are in 

consensus on defining Israel as a rogue state, “ Al-Mubaraki 

said in the remarks. 

“Israel is a rogue state by all standards, for there is no other 

state in the world that deals with the United Nations” and other 

international agencies and organizations with contempt, he 

said, criticizing the Western trend to pressure India and 

Pakistan regarding their nuclear potential, while refraining 

from adopting such an approach toward Israel. 

Such policies and stands may eventually lead to nullifying 

the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty, ambassador Al-Mubaraki 

warned. Kuwait and other GCC states are bound with the US 

and other Western powers with alliances and cooperation 

treaties, however “we are at odds with them on this particular 

topic.” The commission, which began the meetings on April 

22, closed the sessions yesterday. — KUNA 

BEIRUT: Syria’s main opposition group 

yesterday accused President Bashar 

Assad’s regime of committing a “largescale 

massacre” in a Sunni village near the 

Mediterranean coast in which activists say 

at least 50 were killed with guns, knives 

and blunt objects. 

The killings in Bayda reflect the sectarian 

overtones of Syria’s civil war. Tucked in 

the mountains outside the Mediterranean 

coastal city of Banias, the village is primarily 

inhabited by Sunni Muslims, who 

dominate the country’s rebel movement. 

But it is located in the heartland of 

Assad’s Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite 

Islam that is the backbone of the regime. 

In amateur video purportedly taken 

after the killings, the bodies of at least 

seven men and boys are seen strewn in 

pools of blood on the pavement in front 

of a house as women weep around them. 

“Don’t sleep, don’t move,” one woman 

sobs, leaning over to touch one of the 

men, who appeared already dead. The 

video appears genuine and consistent 

with reporting by The Associated Press 

from the area. The war has largely split 

the country along sectarian lines, with the 

divide deepening over months of bloodshed. 

There has been heavy fighting in 

recent weeks between Sunnis and Shiites 

over villages near the Lebanese border, 

while Islamic extremists in the rebel ranks 

have injected a radical fervor, often referring 

to their adversaries with derogatory 

names insulting their sects. 

The regime has so far kept a relatively 

solid grip on the Alawite heartland, centered 

on the mountainous region along 

the coast. The area is dotted with Sunni 

villages, but they are surrounded by larger 

Alawite communities, so the anti-Assad 

revolt has had a harder time taking hold. 

Early Thursday, there was an eruption 

of fighting in Bayda and then in the afternoon, 

Syrian troops backed by gunmen 

from nearby Alawite villages swept into 

the village, according to the Britain based 

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 

They torched homes and used knives, 

guns and blunt objects to kill people in 

the streets, the group said. It said it has 

documented the names of at least 50 

dead in Bayda, but that dozens of villagers 

were still missing and the death toll 

could rise to as high as 100. 

Syria’s state news agency said late 

Thursday that the army conducted a raid 

in Bayda, killing several “terrorists” and 

seizing machine guns, automatic rifles 

and other weapons. The government 

refers to those trying to oust Assad as 

“terrorists.” Syrian troops were still in 

Bayda yesterday, conducting house to 

In this citizen journalism image released on Thursday by a group that calls 

itself The Syrian Revolution Against Bashar Assad, a Syrian man (center) 

identifies dead bodies, who were killed according to activists by Syrian 

forces loyal to Bashar Assad, in Bayda village. — AP 

KHARTOUM: Around 100 miners are estimated 

to have died inside a collapsed gold 

mine in Sudan’s Darfur region and nine rescuers 

trying to free them are now trapped, 

a miner said yesterday. 

“Nine of the rescue team disappeared 

when the land collapsed around them yesterday 

(Thursday),” said the miner, who had 

visited the scene and asked to remain 

anonymous. On Monday the unlicensed 

desert gold mine began to collapse in Jebel 

Amir district, more than 200 kilometres 

(125 miles) northwest of the North Darfur 

state capital El Fasher. The stench of death 

is now seeping out of the baked earth, the 

miner said. “Yesterday eight bodies have 

been found and still they are looking for 

the others,” he said. “According to a count 

by people working in the mine, the number 

of people inside is more than 100.” On 

Thursday the Jebel Amir district chief, 

Haroun al-Hassan, said “the number of 

people who died is more than 60”, but it 

was unclear whether anyone might still be 

alive. Hassan could not be reached yesterday. 

Earlier he said rescuers were using 

hand tools out of fear that machinery 

would cause a further collapse. 

But the ground fell around some of the 

rescuers anyway. Production from unofficial 

gold mines has become a key revenue 

source for the cash-strapped government 

in Khartoum. It is also a tempting but dangerous 

occupation for residents of Sudan’s 

poverty-stricken western region of Darfur 

which has been devastated by a decade of 

civil war. A humanitarian source said earlier 

this year that close to 70,000 people were 

digging for gold in Jebel Amir. Sudan is trying 

to boost exports of the precious metal 

and other non-petroleum products after 

house searches, according to the 

Observatory’s director, Rami Abdul 

Rahman. He added that phone and 

Internet service to the village was cut, 

making it impossible to verify the final 

death toll or pin down more details on 

what happened. 

If confirmed, the bloodshed in Bayda 

would be the latest in a string of alleged 

mass killings in Syria’s civil war. Last 

month, activists said government troops 

killed more than 100 people as they 

seized two rebel-held suburbs of 

Damascus. 

On Thursday, President Barack Obama 

said his administration was looking at 

every option to end the bloodshed in 

Syria. Speaking at a news conference in 

Mexico City, Obama said the administration 

was proceeding cautiously as it 

looked at options to ensure that what it 

does is helpful to the situation rather than 

making it more deadly or complex. 

In Washington, US Defense Secretary 

Chuck Hagel, became the first top 

American official to publicly acknowledge 

that the administration was rethinking its 

opposition to arming the Syrian rebels. 

Hagel said Thursday that “arming the 

rebels - that’s an option,” but added that 

the administration was looking at all 

options. The Syrian conflict, now in its 

third year, started with largely peaceful 

protests against Assad’s rule in March 

2011, but shifted into an armed insurgency 

as opposition supporters took up 

weapons to fight a harsh regime crackdown 

on dissent. — AP 

100 dead, rescuers trapped 

in Darfur mine disaster 

AL-ABIDIYA: Sudanese men panning for gold at the village of Al-Abidiya, in 

northern Sudan. Around 100 miners are estimated to have died inside a collapsed 

gold mine in Sudan’s Darfur region and nine rescuers trying to free 

them are now trapped, a miner said yesterday. — AFP 

the separation of South Sudan two years 

ago left Khartoum without three-quarters 

of its crude oil production. 

The lost oil accounted for most of 

Khartoum’s export earnings and half of its 

fiscal revenues, sending inflation above 40 

percent while the currency plunged in value 

on the black market. Sudan’s Mining 

Minister Kamal Abdel Latif said traditional 

mining produced 41 tons of gold worth 

$2.5 billion (1.9 billion euros) from January 

to November last year. In 2011, the government 

estimated there were more than 

200,000 unlicensed artisanal gold producers, 

generating most of the country’s output 

of the resource. Sudan’s central bank 

has entered the market, trying to buy from 

the small producers. 

Seven weeks of clashes over gold 

between two Arab tribes in Jebel Amir early 

this year killed more than 500 members of 

the Beni Hussein tribal group, a Benni 

Hussein member of parliament for the area 

said previously. The violence uprooted an 

estimated 100,000 people. The fighting 

between the Beni Hussein and Rezeigat 

erupted when a leader of the latter tribe who 

is a border guard officer apparently laid claim 

to a gold-rich area inside Beni Hussein territory, 

Amnesty International said. —AFP


INTERNATIONAL 

Afghan father guns down daughter over ‘affair’ 

KABUL: In front of 300 villagers, Halima’s 

father shot her in the head, stomach and 

waist-a public execution overseen by local 

religious leaders in Afghanistan to punish 

her for an alleged affair. 

Halima, aged between 18 and 20 and a 

mother of two children, was killed for 

bringing “dishonour” on her family in a 

case that underlines how the country is 

still struggling to protect women more 

than 11 years after the fall of Taliban 

regime. 

Police in the northwestern province of 

Badghis said Halima was accused of running 

away with a male cousin while her 

husband was in Iran, and her father 

sought advice from Taliban-backed clerics 

on how to punish her. 

“People in the mosque and village 

started taunting him about her escape 

with the cousin,” Badghis provincial police 

chief Sharafuddin Sharaf said. 

“A local cleric who runs a madrassa 

told him that she must be punished with 

death, and the mullahs said she should be 

executed in public. 

“The father killed his daughter with 

three shots as instructed by religious elders 

and in front of villagers. We went there 

two days later but he and his entire family 

had fled.” Amnesty International said the 

killing, which occurred on April 22 in the 

village of Kookchaheel in Badghis 

province, was damning evidence of how 

little control Afghan police have over 

many areas of the country. 

“Violence against women continues to 

be endemic in Afghanistan and those 

responsible very rarely face justice,” 

Amnesty’s Afghanistan researcher Horia 

Mosadiq said. “Not only do women face 

violence at the hands of family members 

for reasons of preserving so-called ‘honour’, 

but frequently women face human 

rights abuses resulting from verdicts 

issued by traditional, informal justice systems.” 

Police in Baghdis, a remote and impoverished 

province that borders 

Turkmenistan, said Halima had run away 

with her cousin to a village 30 kilometres 

(20 miles) away. Her father found her after 

10 days and brought her back home, 

where clerics told him he must kill her in 

front of the villagers to assuage his family’s 

humiliation. A Badghis-based 

women’s rights activist said he had seen 

video footage of Hamila’s execution, 

which was not able to obtain. 

“On the video, she is shot three times 

in front of 300-400 people. Her brother 

witnesses her death and breaks down in 

tears,” said the activist, who declined to be 

named to avoid reprisals. 

“She is sitting on her knees in the dust, 

wearing a large chador veil. A mullah 

announces her funeral prayers first, then 

her father shoots her from behind with an 

AK-47 at a distance of about five metres. 

“We have learned that a Taleban shadow 

governor in the region asked the mullahs 

to issue the death penalty for her. 

“The local religious council first said she 

should be stoned to death, but since the 

cousin was not there, they decided that 

she should be shot.” —AFP 

S Africa officials fired 

over wedding scandal 

Gupta party guests land in air force base 

LONDON: Former British servicemen Patrick Hemessey 

(left) and Jake Wood (right) arrive with Mary Fitzgerald 

(second right) and an interpreter named as Mohammed 

(2L) at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in central 

London yesterday to deliver a petition signed by over 75 

thousand people calling for asylum for Aghan interpreters 

who served the British army. — AFP 

Afghan interpreters 

take legal action 

to stay in UK 

LONDON: Lawyers for three Afghan interpreters who served 

with British forces fighting the Taleban in southern 

Afghanistan said yesterday they had launched a legal challenge 

to a government decision not to let them settle in 

Britain. The three argue they should be entitled to the same 

treatment as interpreters with British forces in the Iraq war 

who were given exceptional leave to remain in Britain and 

financial help. 

The interpreters say they face the threat of being attacked 

by the Taleban in their homeland because of their work with 

foreign forces. Lawyers have lodged proceedings against 

British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Defence 

Secretary Philip Hammond at the High Court on their behalf. 

And campaigners were set to deliver a petition signed by 

nearly 70,000 people supporting the three to Downing Street 

later. 

The law firm Leigh Day says one of the three Afghans they 

are representing, named only as Abdul, remains in 

Afghanistan, where he and his family have been receiving 

threats by text message. 

“The recent threats made against Abdul and his family further 

underline the very real dangers these men and their families 

face as a direct result of their work, and incredible bravery, 

in support of the British forces in Afghanistan,” Rosa Curling 

from the firm said. 

“The government has a duty to ensure that they are not left 

exposed to the very real dangers posed by the Taleban. “The 

failure by the UK government to extend to the Afghan interpreters 

the resettlement package offered to Iraqi interpreters 

is unlawful and discriminatory.” — AFP 

JOHANNESBURG: Five South African 

officials, including police and military 

commanders, have been suspended 

after a chartered plane carrying about 

200 guests from India to a lavish family 

wedding was allowed to land at a South 

African air force base, the government 

said yesterday. The scandal, in which the 

passengers allegedly bypassed customs 

procedures on their way to a gaudy 

entertainment complex, has angered 

many South Africans who see the 

episode as a case of cronyism linking big 

business and the highest levels of government 

in a country where corruption 

is a growing problem. 

The government sought to stem 

public outrage over the incident, 

launching an investigation into how the 

Airbus A330 was given permission to 

land Tuesday at the Waterkloof Air Force 

Base and ordering it to fly on Thursday 

to a civilian international airport in 

Johannesburg. The wedding festivities 

wrapped up yesterday. 

The guests attended the wedding of 

Vega Gupta, whose Indian immigrant 

family has powerful business interests in 

South Africa, and groom Aakash 

Jahajgarhia in an extravaganza spanning 

several days at Sun City, a leisure 

center northwest of Johannesburg. 

Some South African current and former 

officials also attended. Justice Minister 

Jeff Radebe said the suspended officials 

included two brigadier generals at the 

air force base and the head of state protocol, 

Bruce Koloane. 

He said the government is “gravely 

concerned at this violation of the security 

protocol and total disregard of established 

practice for clearing the landing 

of aircraft in a military facility that is of 

strategic importance to the country.” 

Radebe added: “Our particular concern 

is that the aircraft was carrying international 

passengers who do not fit the category 

of government officials or VIPs on 

official duty.” According to authorities, 

two police officers and a reservist were 

also arrested for working for a private 

JOHANNESBURG: Members of the Gupta wedding party check in at O R Tambo 

International Airport in Johannesburg for their flight back to India yesterday. — AFP 

security company that provided escort 

vehicles - black BMWs equipped with 

illegal emergency lights and false registrations 

- during the wedding guests’ 

transfer from the military base to Sun 

City. Authorities were also investigating 

the alleged use of marked police vehicles 

in the incident, Radebe said. 

The Democratic Alliance, an opposition 

political party, said in a statement 

that parliament should open an investigation 

and alleged that the government’s 

reaction was as an attempt to 

protect President Jacob Zuma and 

Cabinet ministers from the “political fallout” 

of the scandal by targeting lowerranking 

officials. South African media 

reports said a son and a nephew of 

Zuma were among the guests at the lavish 

wedding. SABC, South Africa’s state 

broadcaster, quoted Virendra Gupta, 

India’s high commissioner, as saying 

permission for the plane to land at the 

base had been requested because of 

security concerns for VIPs and “senior 

political figures from India” on the flight. 

The South African government, however, 

said it did not have a record of 

notification from the Indian High 

Commission. Instead, it said, India’s 

defense attache in South Africa requested 

clearance from the air force, which 

consulted the office of state protocol 

without informing the military chief. 

SABC quoted businessman Atul 

Gupta as saying Gupta investments 

have brought jobs to South Africa and 

boosted tourism since the family began 

operating in the country in the 1990s. 

Atul Gupta is chairman of the familyowned 

TNA media group. The family is 

also involved in technology and other 

interests. 

Photographs of the wedding ceremony 

showed the couple of traditional 

Indian attire as they floated on a platform 

across a pool at the Palace of the 

Lost City, one of Sun City’s deluxe locations. 

The bride was also photographed 

joining the groom after stepping out of 

a sculpture of a giant lotus flower. 

While many South African newspapers 

focused on the scandal, the Guptaowned 

The New Age newspaper carried 

a front-page headline on the event: “A 

union of elegance and tradition.” — AP


INTERNATIONAL 

Anti-EU party gains in British local elections 

LONDON: The anti-European Union UK 

Independence Party made big gains in 

local elections, siphoning support from 

Prime Minister David Cameron’s 

Conservatives in a vote that underlined 

the threat it poses to his re-election 

chances in 2015. 

Early results showed UKIP had won 42 

council seats - as many as Labour - after 

seven of 35 councils had been declared 

and that it had polled an average 26 percent 

of the vote, the best result by a 

fourth party since World War Two. UKIP, 

which wants Britain to leave the 

European Union and an end to “opendoor 

immigration”, also pushed 

Cameron’s Conservatives into third place 

in an election for a national parliamentary 

seat in northern England, a humiliating 

blow for the prime minister. 

The results showed UKIP could split 

the centre-right vote at the next national 

election, making it harder for Cameron 

to defeat Labour, which leads his 

Conservatives by up to 10 percent in 

opinion polls as economic austerity persists. 

Yesterday’s outcome is also likely to 

reignite questions about Cameron’s 

leadership from malcontents within his 

Belgian mystery: 

Who is hiding 

the stolen money? 

ZEDELGEM, Belgium: On a Saturday evening two weeks ago 

in Zedelgem, townsfolk were disturbed by the wail of a siren 

and the shriek of tires, the din of a high-speed car chase that 

broke the tranquility of their sleepy city. 

Suddenly, cash was flying through the air like confetti at 

carnival. Dozens of people rushed out of homes or cars to 

grab a share of the accidental bounty: about 1 million euros 

($1.3 million) in all. The small fortune had flown from a safe 

that cracked open when the fleeing robbers panicked and 

threw it out the window. “It was,” recalled Mayor Patrick 

Arnou, “a rainstorm of money.” Everyone from kids to the elderly 

ran out to take part in the free-for-all. 

Now, the cops want the money back, and the townspeople 

face a thorny dilemma: Play things badly, and you could 

face two years in jail. Keep a poker face, and the money could 

be yours to keep. 

A veil of suspicion has fallen over the town: Neighbors 

watch neighbors as police go door to door, questioning 

townsfolk about what they did - and what they saw others 

do. “People talk about nothing else any more in this town,” 

said Arnou. “In the street itself, there is an atmosphere of bitterness.” 

Some Zedelgem inhabitants who missed the windfall said 

they understood the actions of their fellow townsfolk, but 

insisted the size of the cash pile should have made them 

think twice. “If it were a 20 euro note,” said 77-year-old pensioner 

Hector Clarysse, “I’d pick it up, too, and join in.” 

But he added: “If you pick up so much money, you know 

it’s not normal.” It all started when the robbers broke into a 

home in a neighboring town, and made off with the safe. The 

getaway car was soon identified; by chance a motorcycle 

police officer spotted it and gave chase. When the cop and 

robbers hit Zedelgem’s Ruddervoordsestraat, a street lined 

by simple red-brick row houses, the thieves tried to shake off 

the officer by throwing the safe in his way. As it careened 

down the asphalt, the box shot open: A cloud of bills - some 

worth as much as 500 euros - swirled through the air and 

drifted down. 

Dozens of wide-eyed people flooded the street, grabbing 

handfuls of cash. Drivers got out of their cars, snatched money 

and sped away. One lady even came out of her house with 

a broom, Arnou said, and swept the money inside. —AP 

Cameron’s Conservatives face test 

own party who complain he is too liberal 

and to pile pressure on him to take a 

tougher stance on Europe and immigration, 

issues on which he has already 

tacked to the right. 

Full results of the elections for more 

than 2,000 council seats in England and 

Wales are expected later yesterday. UKIP 

LONDON: UK Independent Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage addresses the 

media in central London yesterday. — AFP 

BELFAST: A 47-year-old man originally 

convicted of murdering two British 

soldiers in Northern Ireland was 

acquitted yesterday following a retrial. 

Brian Shivers had denied any involvement 

in the attack outside the 

Massereene Army barracks in Antrim 

in March 2009. 

Sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and 

Patrick Azimkar, 21, were gunned 

down as they came out to collect a 

pizza delivery, in the first murders of 

soldiers in Northern Ireland since 

1997. Two other soldiers and two pizza 

delivery men were seriously 

wounded in the attack. 

It took place hours before the soldiers 

were due to fly to Afghanistan. 

Judge Donnell Deeny delivered his 

judgement after the retrial without a 

jury at Belfast Crown Court. The prosecution 

case against Shivers was based 

on DNA evidence found on matchsticks 

and a mobile phone in and 

around the abandoned, partially 

burned-out getaway vehicle used in 

the attack. But the defence insisted 

that the genetic traces did not prove 

he was involved on the night of the 

shootings. 

The judge questioned why hardened 

Catholic dissidents opposed to 

British rule of Northern Ireland would 

choose to work with Shivers, who suffers 

from cystic fibrosis and was 

engaged to a Protestant woman. 

“He was an unlikely associate for 

this hardened gang to rely on,” he 

said. Last year, Shivers was convicted 

of the murders of the two soldiers and 

ordered to serve at least 25 years, but 

that judgement was quashed earlier 

this year by Northern Ireland’s Court 

of Appeal. — AFP 

said it had tapped a wider public disenchantment 

with Britain’s three mainstream 

parties, which it argues are effectively 

all left-leaning social democratstyle 

parties. 

“We’ve got three parties who have 

given away the ability to govern our own 

country, who have led us into near bankruptcy 

and who have pursued open 

door immigration policies,” Nigel Farage, 

UKIP’s leader, told BBC radio. 

“We want to fundamentally change 

British politics. It can happen.” Though 

represented in the European Parliament, 

UKIP currently has no MPs in the British 

parliament. 

Labour, which has controlled South 

Shields since 1935, held onto the national 

parliamentary seat that was previously 

occupied by David Miliband, brother of 

Labour leader Ed Miliband and a former 

foreign minister. But UKIP won 24 percent 

of the vote, its second highest result 

in such an election. 

Grant Shapps, the chairman of the 

Conservative party, said his party, the 

senior partner in a two-party coalition, 

had heard the voters’ message “loud and 

clear”. “We are offering a lot of the things 

that people say they’re concerned 

about,” he said. But he emphasised the 

local nature of the election. “People’s 

aren’t voting for who runs the country, 

they’re voting for local councils.” The real 

choice at the next national vote in 2015 

would be between Labour and the 

Conservatives, he said. — Reuters 

N Ireland man cleared of 

killing British soldiers 

BELFAST: Brian Shivers (second left) looks on as his lawyer Naill Murphy (right) 

reads out a brief statement to the media outside Belfast High Court in Belfast, 

Northern Ireland yesterday after the former was acquitted in a retrial of the 

murder of two British soldiers. — AFP 

Pope calls for ‘greater aid’ for 

Syrian refugees in Lebanon 

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis called yesterday 

for greater humanitarian aid for Syrian 

refugees in Lebanon and surrounding countries, 

after meeting with Lebanese President 

Michel Sleiman at the Vatican. 

“The huge number of Syrian refugees who 

have sought refuge in Lebanon and the 

neighboring countries gives rise to particular 

concern,” the Vatican said following the talks. 

“Greater humanitarian aid is called for, for the 

refugees and the suffering population, with 

the support of the international community,” 

it said. The United Nations in mid-April said 

that Lebanon was housing 400,000 Syrians 

who have fled the conflict now in its third 

year which has killed more than 70,000 people. 

Those fleeing war-ravaged Syria included 

a quarter of a million children, the Vatican 

noted. At the meeting, the pontiff and 

Sleiman also discussed the “delicate situation 

of Christians throughout the Middle East.” 

Christians in the region have felt under threat 

from the rise of political Islam following the 

Arab Spring. 

They have been uneasy about showing 

support for rebels against Syria’s President 

Bashar Al-Assad and the secular Baathists 

who have largely safeguarded freedom of 

belief. Francis and Sleiman also discussed 

their hopes for “the quick and fruitful 

resumption of negotiations between Israel 

and the Palestinians, which is ever more 

necessary for peace and stability in the 

region.” — AFP


BHIKHIWAND: Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi consoles 

Dalbir Kaur near the body of her brother Sarabjit 

Singh, who died after he was bludgeoned with a brick by 

two fellow inmates at a Pakistani prison. — AP 

Bangladesh building 

crash toll passes 500 

DHAKA: The death toll from the collapse of a factory complex in 

Bangladesh passed 500 yesterday as the prime minister said Western 

retailers had to share some responsibility for the plight of garment 

workers. It also emerged that an engineer who had warned that the 

building may be unsafe before it imploded on April 24 was being 

questioned by police after becoming the latest person to be arrested 

over the disaster. 

With bulldozers clawing away at the mountain of rubble at the 

site, the number of bodies being recovered from the country’s deadliest 

industrial disaster has been increasing sharply. Lieutenant Mir 

Rabbi, an officer in a special army control room set up to coordinate 

the rescue operation, told AFP the “death toll now stands at 511”, a 

sharp rise on the figure of 441 compiled by authorities on Thursday 

evening. 

Dozens more people are thought to have been buried alive after 

the eight-storey building collapsed in Savar, which lies around 30 

kilometres (20 miles) to the northwest of Dhaka. 

Around 3,000 garment workers were on shift at the time of the 

disaster in the Rana Plaza compound, which housed five different 

textile factories. 

Spain’s Mango, Britain’s low-cost Primark chain and the Italian 

label Benetton were among the retailers who have confirmed having 

products made at Rana Plaza where the typical worker took home 

less than 40 dollars a month. 

The collapse was the latest in a series of disasters to befall the $20 

billion industry, which accounts for 80 percent of the country’s 

exports. A fire at another factory compound killed 111 workers last 

November and witnesses say the latest disaster happened after bosses 

insisted staff remain at their workstations even though cracks had 

been detected in the building. 

In an interview with CNN, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina defended the industry’s safety record, saying the recent deadly 

explosion at a fertiliser plant in the United States showed that no 

country was immune. 

“Anywhere in the world, any accident can take place,” she said. 

Some Western fashion brands have said they are considering their 

futures in Bangladesh and Disney has already announced it is pulling 

out of the country. 

The prime minister insisted that “Bangladesh now is a place for 

good conditions for the investment” but she also suggested that 

Western firms drawn to the country by cheap labour costs could hike 

salaries. —AFP 

SRINAGAR: A Pakistani prisoner in India 

was critical yesterday after being attacked 

by an inmate, an official said, in apparent 

tit-for-tat jail violence that has strained 

relations between the neighbors. 

The attack came after Sarabjit Singh, an 

Indian convicted in Pakistan for spying and 

deadly bombings, died on Thursday following 

a savage beating in Lahore prison, 

sparking a furious response from Indian 

politicians. Singh was cremated with state 

honors yesterday in his native village in 

northwestern India where hundreds of 

angry demonstrators shouted “Down with 

Pakistan!” as they gathered to pay their 

tributes. 

The injured Pakistani prisoner-a convicted 

murderer named Sanaullah Ranjaywas 

assaulted early Friday in the northern 

city of Jammu, a day after India’s home 

ministry ordered stepped up security for 

jailed Pakistanis. Ranjay was in critical condition 

and was to be airlifted to a hospital 

in the city of Chandigarh for treatment, K 

Rajendra, the state’s director general of 

prisons, told AFP. 

“It was a scuffle between the Pakistani 

prisoner and Vinod Kumar, who is an ex- 

Indian army soldier. Both of them were 

serving life imprisonment,” Rajendra said. 

Ranjay was photographed with a 

swollen black eye and a bloodied beard as 

he was rushed into hospital in Jammu 

where he was underwent surgery. “This 

obvious retaliation to the death of Indian 

prisoner Sarabjit Singh is condemnable,” 

said a statement from the Pakistan foreign 

ministry, which asked for a police probe. 

“We would also remind the government 

of India of its responsibility in ensuring 

the safety and security of all Pakistani 

prisoners lodged in Indian jails,” it added. 

Rajesh Kumar, the police chief for 

Jammu province, told AFP that police had 

registered a case and had begun investigating. 

The Indian foreign ministry promised 

consular access to Pakistan and proposed 

a meeting of authorities from both 

countries to suggest measures to avoid 

“such tragic incidents in future”. 

The violence is likely to cause further 

friction between nuclear-armed India and 

Pakistan, whose ties were hit by a border 

flare-up earlier this year that undermined 

efforts to build trust. 

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 

condemned the “barbaric and murderous 

attack” on Sarabjit Singh on Thursday 

and New Delhi complained that its diplomats 

were denied access to the prisoner as 

he fought for his life. 

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata 

Party and Sarabjit Singh’s family attacked 

the government for being too soft on 

Pakistan, while the parliament’s lower 

house passed a resolution condemning 

the death. 

On Friday, hundreds of mourners gathered 

in Singh’s hometown of Bhikhiwind 

INTERNATIONAL 

Pakistani ‘critical’ in 

India after jail attack 

Singh cremated with state honors 

KARACHI: Relatives and supporters gather 

in front of the bodies of slain election candidate, 

Saddiq Zaman Khattack (top) and 

his younger son, Naseer Khattack 6, at a 

hospital mortuary in Karachi yesterday following 

a gunmen attack. Zulfiqar, 

Pakistan’s main state prosecutor in the 

2007 murder of former prime minister 

Benazir Bhutto and the 2008 Mumbai 

attacks was shot dead in Islamabad en 

route to court, police said. — AFP 

JAMMU: Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah Ranjay is carried on a stretcher to be shifted 

to another city for treatment, in Jammu yesterday. The prisoner in Kashmir 

was beaten seriously yesterday by another inmate, officials said. —AP 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s main state prosecutor 

in the 2007 murder of former prime 

minister Benazir Bhutto and the 2008 

Mumbai attacks was shot dead in 

Islamabad en route to court yesterday, 

police said. Chaudhry Zulfiqar was shot 

multiple times after gunmen intercepted 

his vehicle shortly after he left home in a 

busy, middle-class neighborhood of the 

capital. His bodyguard was also wounded 

and a woman passer-by killed. 

The assassination comes just days 

before Pakistan holds historic general 

elections on May 11, marking the first 

time that a civilian government completes 

a full-term in office and hands over to 

another at the ballot box. 

Zulfiqar was given extra government 

security last year after he was mentioned 

in threats received by police investigators 

working on the Bhutto case. The source of 

the threats was unclear, but one investigator 

said he was told not to appear in 

court at Zulfiqar’s behest by an unknown 

caller using a number in Afghanistan. 

to pay their last respects at a public 

ground where the body was displayed in a 

wooden coffin wrapped in the Indian flag. 

Rahul Gandhi, the vice-president of the ruling 

Congress party, and a host of other 

political leaders attended the last rites 

held on the outskirts of the village close to 

the India-Pakistan border amid tight security. 

Sarabjit Singh was convicted 16 years 

ago for espionage and for his alleged 

involvement in a string of bomb attacks in 

Pakistan’s Punjab province that killed 14 

people in 1990. His mercy petitions were 

rejected by the courts and former president 

Pervez Musharraf. 

His family insists he was a farmer who 

became a victim of mistaken identity after 

inadvertently straying across the border 

while drunk. India’s government also 

denies he was a spy. — AFP 

Pakistan prosecutor 

in Bhutto, Mumbai 

cases shot dead 

“Chaudhry Zulfiqar was driving his car. He 

lost control and the car crushed a woman 

passer-by,” police officer Mohammad 

Yousuf told AFP. 

Medics said he died of his injuries 

before arriving at hospital. The gunmen, 

who are believed to have attacked from at 

least two different angles, fled and officers 

refused to speculate who was responsible. 

President Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto’s widower, 

condemned the killing and ordered a 

thorough investigation to “expose the 

real culprits involved in the murder”, his 

office said. Zulfiqar had been on his way 

to the latest hearing of the anti-terrorism 

court hearing the Bhutto case in the 

neighbouring city of Rawalpindi. 

He lost control of his car after being 

shot and hit the woman, who died 

instantly, witnesses and officers said. 

Abdul Mateen, who works at a nearby 

guest house, said he heard heavy gunfire. 

“When I came out I found a car moving 

out of control. It then descended into a 

side road. —AFP


Malaysia opposition 

has narrow lead 

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s opposition enjoys a very 

narrow lead over the long ruling National Front for the 

first time in a key poll issued yesterday, two days before 

an election in the Southeast Asian country. The survey 

carried out by the Merdeka Center also revealed a 

broad decline in support for Prime Minister Najib 

Razak, whose National Front has held power since 

independence from Britain in 1957. 

The survey, conducted between April 28 and May 2 

among 1,600 voters, showed 42 percent of respondents 

wanted the opposition Peoples’ Pact of former 

Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to govern the 

country. It credited the prime minister’s Front with 41 

percent. Seventeen percent were either unsure or 

refused to answer. It was the first time Merdeka had 

put such a question to voters. It was also the first time 

the opposition outscored the ruling coalition in any of 

its surveys, though the opposition has come out ahead 

in polls conducted by other organizations. 

Stocks on the local bourse fell 1.09 percent, reflecting 

unease over the poll and partly offsetting gains this 

week.“The fear of the outcome of the election and the 

uncertainty have been around for quite some time, but 

for those people who still have not sold, they have suddenly 

become fearful that the (National Front) may 

lose,” said Ang Kok Heng of Phillip Capital 

Management Sdn Bhd. 

Merdeka showed support for Najib had slipped to 61 

percent from 64 percent in March. Dips were recorded 

within all three main ethnic groups — 75 percent of 

majority Malays backed him against 76 percent in 

March, while support among minority Chinese fell to 

31 percent from 37 percent and among Indians to 68 

percent from 70 percent. 

Ethnic Malays are the bedrock of support for the 

coalition, which has been largely abandoned by ethnic 

Chinese voters, more than a quarter of Malaysians. 

Merdeka Center attributed the falls to the fleeting 

effect of government cash handouts to low-income 

groups and of increased pay and pensions for 1.4 million 

civil servants. 

The coalition suffered its worst electoral showing in 

2008, losing its two-thirds parliamentary majority for 

the first time. 

Most analysts predict the National Front will win 

narrowly tomorrow, but a failure to improve on the 

2008 result could cost Najib his job and raise uncertainty 

over policy. Despite robust economic growth of 5.6 

percent last year, those polled expressed most concern 

about economic conditions. 

The poll found support for Najib was highest among 

poorer Malaysians, reaching 75 percent among households 

earning less than 1,500 ringgit ($500) a month 

and lowest among households earning more than 

5,000 ringgit a month, at 43 percent. — Reuters 

KUALA LUMPUR: A robot from a bomb disposal 

squad checks a suspicious package after it was 

found with a notice “bomb” written on it at an opposition 

election office in Jinjang, outskirt of Kuala 

Lumpur yesterday. — AP 

INTERNATIONAL 

SEOUL: A South Korean police officer stands on an empty road at the customs, immigration and quarantine office 

near the border village of Panmunjom, that has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of 

Seoul, yesterday.—AP 

Last S Korean workers 

leave joint factory zone 

Project falls victim to military standoff 

PAJU, South Korea: South Korea yesterday 

withdrew its last remaining workers 

from a joint industrial zone in North Korea 

at risk of permanent closure due to soaring 

military tensions. 

It is the first time that Seoul has pulled 

out all its workers from the flagship project 

since it was opened in 2004, underscoring 

the severe deterioration in relations 

between the two Koreas. 

The Kaesong Industrial Zone-located 

10 kilometres (six miles) north of the frontier-was 

once a rare symbol of cross-border 

cooperation, but has fallen victim to 

the stand-off on the Korean Peninsula. 

Seoul last week ordered all remaining 

South Koreans to leave after Pyongyang 

banned entry by southerners, pulled out 

its own 53,000 workers and rejected the 

South’s call for talks on the impasse. Most 

South Koreans had left by early Tuesday, 

and the last seven workers returned yesterday 

after several days of talks with the 

North over issues such as unpaid wages 

for North Koreans, the Unification Ministry 

said. Seoul sent two vehicles loaded with 

$13 million in cash over the border as the 

last workers returned, to make the payments 

demanded by Pyongyang. Tension 

has been high since the North, angered by 

fresh UN sanctions sparked by its nuclear 

test in February and South-US military 

drills, issued a series of apocalyptic threats 

of a nuclear war against Seoul and 

Washington. Pyongyang has repeatedly 

blamed the South for the deadlock over 

the Kaesong Industrial Zone (KIZ). 

“All facts go to prove that the (South 

Korean) puppet forces are working hard to 

turn the sacred KIZ into a theatre of confrontation 

and source of a war against the 

north, not a zone for reconciliation and 

unity,” the North’s official KCNA news 

agency said yesterday in a commentary. 

“The puppet regime is getting frantic in 

its moves to have the KIZ closed by withdrawing 

all South side’s personnel from it,” 

it added. Previously the complex had 

remained largely immune to strains in 

cross-border relations. 

While neither side has gone so far as to 

declare a permanent shutdown, experts 

say the next step could be for the South to 

cut electricity supplies to the site. South 

Korean companies with interests at 

Kaesong have expressed shock at the sudden 

withdrawal. 

Hong Yang-Ho, head of the Kaesong 

Industrial District Management 

Committee, expressed hope that the two 

sides could still secure the future of the 

complex. “I believe there will be further 

discussion through various channels,” he 

told reporters at the border in Paju after 

his return, adding that the factories were 

safely locked and would remain intact 

despite the withdrawal. South Korea has 

urged North Korea to reconnect cross-border 

hotlines severed last month at the 

height of tensions, officials said.— AFP 

China indicts official 

in sex tape scandal 

BEIJING: Chinese prosecutors have filed corruption charges against a former city official 

at the center of a sex tape scandal in which developers allegedly hired women to 

sleep with officials then extort money or favors from them. 

The official Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday that prosecutors have indicted 

Lei Zhengfu, formerly Communist Party chief of a district in the southwestern 

megacity of Chongqing, for accepting bribes. The report did not provide details of the 

charges. Lei’s was the first, high-profile case to break in November when online video 

clips of him, in the throes of passion, went viral. 

Coming as China’s new leadership has vowed to crack down on rampant official 

corruption, the images of his jowly, pop-eyed face became targets of derision and disgust 

over government malfeasance. In January, 10 more officials were fired in relation 

to the scandal. The officials, who appeared in additional sex videos, were from districtand 

county-level government or party departments or state owned enterprises. The 

involvement of officials from across various departments exposed the intertwining of 

sex, money and politics and the often shady ties between real estate developers and 

local officials. Reports say a construction company hired women to sleep with Lei and 

the other officials, secretly videotaped the trysts, then used the tapes to extort construction 

contracts or other deals from them. Authorities have also been investigating 

the developers behind the alleged extortion scheme. Yetsreday, the People’s Daily 

newspaper said on its official Twitter-like microblog that Chongqing’s prosecutors 

were preparing to file charges of extortion and blackmail against the woman who had 

been allegedly hired to sleep with Lei. Calls to the city’s prosecutors’ office and the 

Communist Party propaganda department rang unanswered yesterday.—AP


Garrett Plath (right) holds a sign and Toni Zagami 

(left) wears a “Boston Strong” shirt as they stand 

outside the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home in North 

Attleborough, Massachusetts, where a vehicle 

believed to be carrying the body of Boston 

Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev 

arrived Thursday.—AP 

Boston suspect’s 

mortuary offers 

Muslim services 

BOSTON: Funeral arrangements for the Boston Marathon 

bombing suspect killed in a shootout with police are 

being handled by a funeral home that has experience with 

Muslim services. 

Peter Stefan, owner of Graham Putnam and Mahoney 

Funeral Parlors in Worcester confirmed yesterday he is 

handling funeral arrangements for Tamerlan Tsarnaev but 

he could not confirm whether he has possession of the 

body. Stefan says everybody deserves a dignified burial 

service no matter the circumstances of their death and he 

is prepared for protests. He says arrangements have yet to 

be worked out. 

Several protesters showed up outside a North 

Attleborough funeral home Thursday night where 

Tsarnaev’s body was taken following its release by the 

state medical examiner. Timothy Nay of the Dyer-Lake 

Funeral Home says he is no longer in possession of the 

body.—AP 

Anti-gun groups focus 

on Pryor with ads, visit 

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas: As one of five Democrats who opposed 

expanding background checks for firearm sales, US Sen. Mark 

Pryor of Arkansas is facing pressure from gun control groups who 

are urging him to rethink a position they suggest could haunt 

him during his re-election bid next year. 

Mayors Against Illegal Guns on Thursday brought the father of 

a student killed in the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting 

last year to Arkansas in the hopes of arranging a meeting with 

the two term senator. The director of the group also said it plans 

to soon air radio ads and mail direct mail pieces directed focused 

on Pryor. 

Pryor is among several lawmakers the group, co-founded by 

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is focusing on for opposing 

the background checks measure that failed in the Senate last 

month. Pryor and Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska are the only 

Democrats who opposed the measure who are seeking re-election 

next year. 

“This can easily become a dry policy issue where senators get 

their facts from the same place they get their campaign money. 

The way you change that is you sit them down with people who 

lost their children and didn’t have to,” Mark Glaze, executive 

director of the group, said. “It is the only thing that works in the 

end, in our experience.” 

Glaze said the group also planned to soon launch radio ads 

and a direct mail effort in Arkansas, with a focus on African- 

American voters - who tend to favor stronger background check 

measures - but said the group’s immediate focus as on getting 

Pryor to reconsider his position on background checks. 

“It is hard for me to imagine a combination of constituencies 

that would get Mark Pryor over the finish line if he doesn’t perform 

exceptionally well in the African American community,” 

Glaze said.—AP 

HOUSTON: A man who had fired a gun 

inside a ticketing area at Houston’s largest 

airport was killed after being confronted by 

a law enforcement official during an incident 

that sent people in the terminal 

scrambling and screaming, police said on 

Thursday. 

It’s unclear if the man fatally shot himself 

or was killed by a Homeland Security 

agent who had confronted him, said 

Houston police spokesman Kese Smith. 

The man’s name was not released by 

police, but they said he was about 30- 

years-old. 

Police say the man walked into the ticketing 

area in Terminal B at Bush 

Intercontinental Airport around 1:35 pm 

and fired at least one shot into the air. The 

agent, who was in his office, came out and 

confronted the man, telling him to drop his 

weapon, but the man refused, police said. 

“The suspect then turned toward the 

special agent. The special agent, fearing for 

his safety and all the passengers in the terminal, 

discharged his weapon at the same 

time it appears the suspect may have shot 

himself,” Smith said. The man died at the 

scene. An autopsy will be conducted. 

Police would not say what kind of 

weapon the man had. The terminal was 

closed immediately after the shooting. But 

later Thursday, parts of the terminal were 

reopened to passengers. The rest of the airport 

remained open after the shooting. 

Darian Ward, a spokeswoman for the 

Houston Airport System, said some passengers 

who were scheduled to leave from 

Terminal B were rerouted to other terminals. 

Dale Howard, of Tomball, was at the 

baggage handling area of the airport waiting 

for his sister to arrive on an incoming 

flight when he heard two shots fired from 

INTERNATIONAL 

Man killed after firing 

shot at Houston airport 

Incident sends people scrambling, screaming 

PHOENIX: Jodi Arias’ defense attorneys 

were set to present closing arguments in 

the murder case that has become a tabloid 

and cable TV sensation with its graphic 

tales of sex and lies and has attracted 

spectators from around the country who 

line up as early as 2 am for a chance to 

score a few open seats in the courtroom. 

Arias, 32, is charged with first-degree murder 

in the June 2008 death of her one-time 

boyfriend at his suburban Phoenix home. 

Authorities say she planned the attack on 

Travis Alexander after he wanted to end 

their relationship and prepared for a trip 

to Mexico with another woman. 

Arias initially denied any involvement 

then later blamed it on masked intruders. 

Two years after her arrest, she said she 

killed him in self-defense when he 

attacked her after a day of sex. If convicted 

of first-degree murder, Arias faces a potential 

death sentence or life in prison. Jurors 

also have the option of finding her guilty 

of second-degree murder, punishable by 

up to 25 years in prison, if they don’t 

believe she planned the attack but instead 

think it occurred in the heat of the 

moment. A third option is manslaughter, 

which carries a sentence of seven to 21 

years. 

Arias wept and looked away from 

jurors Thursday as prosecutor Juan 

Martinez concluded closing arguments by 

displaying a gruesome photo of 

Alexander’s back, covered in stab wounds, 

while describing her as a manipulative liar 

who meticulously planned the savage 

attack. He pounded his hand on a table, 

raising his voice occasionally but largely 

speaking in an almost whisper-like tone. 

Martinez said Arias lied from the start and 

is still lying, and hoped to fool the jury into 

believing she is the victim. 

“That’s what she wants you to believe,” 

Martinez said, the photo of Alexander’s 

dead body displayed on a large screen 

behind him. “But actually, in reality, it’s 

this,” he said, motioning toward the 

autopsy picture. The images displayed 

Thursday, one after another, of 

Alexander’s decomposed body covered in 

stab wounds, of his bruised face with a 

gunshot wound above the forehead, of 

the bloody scene of the killing, were too 

much for Alexander’s friends and family 

members. They sobbed and buried their 

faces in their hands. 

“This is an individual who will stop at 

nothing, and who will continue to be 

manipulative and will lie at every turn,” 

Martinez told jurors. Alexander suffered 

nearly 30 knife wounds, was shot in the 

head, and had his throat slit. Arias’ palm 

print was found in blood at the scene, 

along with nude photos of her and the victim 

from the day of the killing. 

Arias said Alexander grew physically 

abusive in the months before she killed 

him, but there was no evidence or testimony 

during the trial to corroborate her 

allegations. 

The defense has portrayed Alexander 

as a cheating womanizer who used Arias 

for sex and abused her physically and 

the floor above. A few seconds later, he 

said he heard three more shots. 

“People were screaming. I knew exactly 

what it was - gunfire,” Howard said. Police 

from an adjacent station rushed in, and 

Howard said he directed them to the floor 

above. 

Greg Newburn, who was in the terminal 

waiting for a flight to Oklahoma City, said 

he was sitting in a cafe area when he heard 

two gunshots and after a pause, several 

more. “It seemed like quite a few shots. 

Everyone was scrambling, running left and 

running right, turning tables up and hiding 

behind tables. Nobody knew what was 

happening. I couldn’t tell where the shots 

were coming from,” he said. 

Newburn, from Gainesville, Flordia, said 

it took him a few seconds to realize that 

the shots had come from the ticketing 

area, near the security checkpoint. —AP 

Defense set for closing 

arguments in Arias trial 

emotionally. Prosecutors depicted Arias as 

an obsessed ex-girlfriend who couldn’t 

come to grips with the ending relationship. 

Martinez told jurors that Arias had 

been stalking Alexander and arrived unannounced 

on the day she killed him, sneaking 

into his home at about 4 a.m. The two 

went to sleep together, then awoke and 

had sex. 

At some point, Martinez said, Arias 

decided it was time to carry out her murderous 

plan. Martinez displayed text messages 

that Alexander and Arias exchanged 

about a week before the killing. “I want 

you to understand how evil I think you 

are,” Alexander wrote to her. 

The key to a first-degree murder conviction 

lies with intent, and Martinez said 

repeatedly that Arias planned the killing 

well in advance. Arias’ grandparents had 

reported a .25 caliber handgun stolen 

from their Northern California home about 

a week before Alexander’s death - the 

same caliber used to shoot him. — AP 

PHOENIX: Defendant Jodi Arias listens to prosecutor Juan Martinez makes 

his closing arguments during her trial at Maricopa County Superior Court 

in Phoenix on Thursday.—AP


A water dropping helicopter gets ready to make a drop 

on a fire burning in Point Mugu State Park during a 

wildfire that burned several thousand acres in Ventura 

County, California.—AP 

California wildfire 

burns 15-mile 

path to Pacific 

LOS ANGELES: A Southern California wildfire carving a path to 

the sea grew to more than 15 square miles and crews prepared 

yesterday for another bad day of gusting winds and searing 

weather. 

“We’re going to be at Mother Nature’s mercy,” Ventura County 

fire spokesman Tom Kruschke said. The wind-whipped fire erupted 

Thursday in the Camarillo area, damaging 15 homes and a 

cluster of recreational vehicles in a parking lot. 

About 2,000 Ventura County homes remained threatened and 

evacuations remained in force although the fireline edged southwards 

toward Malibu. It was about 20 miles from the coastal 

enclave at daybreak. The blaze was 10 percent contained but the 

work of more than 900 firefighters and deputies was just beginning, 

fire officials said. 

The weather forecast called for parching single-digit humidity, 

highs in the 90s in some fire areas and morning winds of 20 to 30 

mph with gusts to 45 mph - slightly down from a day earlier. 

There’s still a chance of “explosive fire spread” before winds 

begin tapering off in the afternoon and cooler weather begins to 

kick in, said Curt Kaplan, a National Weather Service meteorologist 

in Oxnard. 

While winds calmed overnight, the fire that had burned about 

12 1/2 square miles by Thursday night had increased to around 

15 1/2 square miles by dawn. “It has grown throughout the 

night,” Kruschke said. “The fire has been coming down canyons 

all along Pacific Coast Highway and that’s where we’ve been concentrating 

a lot of our effort.” Air tankers were expected to 

resume water and fire retardant drops after daybreak, which 

showed molten lines of flames along the oceanside ridges and a 

vast, black charred landscape behind. Few homes were in the 

immediate area. 

Although the flames were generally heading seaward, the 

threat to homes behind its edge remained from hotspots and 

wind-driven embers, Kruschke said. “The fire can jump up at any 

time and any place,” he said.—AP 

AUSTIN, Texas: The powerful US gun lobby 

has spent much of the past year under 

siege, defending gun rights following mass 

shootings in Colorado and Connecticut 

and fighting mounting pressure for stricter 

laws across the country. Now, after a major 

victory over President Barack Obama with 

the defeat of a gun control bill in the US 

Senate, the National Rifle Association will 

gather in gun-friendly Texas this weekend 

for its annual convention. 

“If you are an NRA member, you 

deserve to be proud,” Wayne LaPierre, the 

NRA’s brash chief executive wrote to the 

organization’s 5 million members last 

week, telling them they “exemplify everything 

that’s good and right about 

America.” Obama pushed for ambitious 

gun control measures after 20 young children 

and six adults were shot to death in 

December at a Connecticut school by a 

gunman with a legally purchased highpowered 

rifle. But lawmakers in Congress, 

under pressure from the NRA and its vocal 

members, kept the proposals from moving 

forward. 

NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam 

predicted the convention will draw the 

largest crowd in its history. “The geography 

is helpful,” Arulanandam said. “The 

current (political) climate helps.” 

The NRA couldn’t have picked a friendlier 

place to refresh the troops. More than 

70,000 people are expected to attend the 

three-day “Stand and Fight”-themed event, 

which includes a gun trade show, political 

rally and strategy meeting. Texas, with its 

frontier image and fierce sense of independence, 

is one of the strongest gun 

rights states in the country. More than 

500,000 people are licensed to carry concealed 

handguns, including Gov. Rick 

Perry, who once bragged about shooting a 

coyote on a morning jog. And concealed 

handguns are allowed the state Capitol. 

Friday’s big event is a political forum 

with speeches from several conservative 

leaders, including Perry, former Republican 

vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, former 

presidential candidate Rick Santorum 

and Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican who 

has become one of the top conservative 

voices in Washington since being elected 

last year. LaPierre speaks to the convention 

today. 

For NRA member Mike Cox, a concealed 

handgun license instructor, the recent 

Senate vote showed not only the power of 

the NRA but demonstrated the need to 

recruit more members. 

“There’s a lot of enthusiasm right now,” 

Cox said. “This isn’t over by any means.” 

Gun control advocates say they will have a 

presence around the convention, with 

plans for a vigil for victims of gun violence, 

a petition drive to support background 

checks for gun purchases and a Saturday 

demonstration outside the convention 

center. Sandy Phillips, whose daughter was 

killed in the Colorado theater shooting in 

July 2012, met privately with Cruz this 

week. She said Cruz refused to budge on 

expanding background checks on gun purchases 

and told her he considered it the 

first step toward government confiscation 

INTERNATIONAL 

Top US gun lobby to 

hold big convention 

Over 70,000 to attend ‘Stand and Fight’ event 

of guns. “They’re always good at saying the 

right thing, ‘I’m so sorry for you loss and da 

da da da da,’” Phillips said. “If you’re really 

sorry for my loss, do something about it.” 

Despite polls that show most 

Americans favor some expansion of background 

checks, Ladd Everitt, spokesman 

for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, said 

a big challenge is matching the NRA’s 

grassroots organizing. “The NRA knows this 

issue is very much in play. People were 

sickened by that Senate vote,” Everitt said. 

Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who has 

supported gun rights in the past, has said 

he will reintroduce 

the bill to require criminal 

and mental health background checks for 

gun buyers at gun shows and online. And 

despite their loss in Congress, gun control 

advocates have scored significant victories 

at the state level. Lawmakers in Colorado 

passed new restrictions on firearms, including 

required background checks for private 

and online gun sales and a ban on ammunition 

magazines that hold more than 15 

rounds. —AP 

PROVIDENCE: Gun owner Tonya Ricketts, of Warwick (left) displays a placard 

during a rally in front of the Statehouse, in Providence. The National 

Rifle Association will gather in gun-friendly Texas this weekend for its 

annual convention.—AP 

Drought across the West spurs resurgence of faith 

BERNALILLO, New Mexico: Along the 

irrigation canal that cuts through the 

centuries-old New Mexico town of 

Bernalillo, a small group of churchgoers 

gathers to recite the rosary before tossing 

rose petals into the water. Remnants 

of a tradition that stretches back to the 

days of Spanish explorers, the humble 

offerings are aimed at blessing this 

year’s meager irrigation season and easing 

a relentless drought that continues 

to march across New Mexico and much 

of the western half of the United States. 

From the heart of New Mexico to 

West Texas and Oklahoma, the pressures 

of drought have resulted in a 

resurgence of faith - from Christian 

preachers and Catholic priests encouraging 

prayer processions to American 

Indian tribes using their closely guarded 

traditions in an effort to coax Mother 

Nature to deliver some much needed 

rain. 

On Sunday, congregations across 

eastern New Mexico and West Texas are 

planning a day of prayer for moisture 

and rain. “We’re worried, but we’re 

maintaining our traditional ways and 

cultural ways. Together we pray, and 

individually we pray,” said Peter Pino, 

administrator of Zia Pueblo. “We 

haven’t lost hope in the spiritual world, 

that they’ll be able to provide us 

resources throughout the year. 

“We’re not giving up. That’s pretty 

much all we can do at this point.” In its 

wake, the drought has left farmland 

idle, herds of cattle have been decimated, 

the threat of wildfire has intensified 

and cities are thinking twice about the 

sustainability of their water supplies. 

In New Mexico, the renewed interest 

in the divine and the tension with 

Mother Nature stems from nearly three 

years of hot, dry weather. There are 

spots around the state that have fallen 

behind in rainfall by as much as 24 inches 

(61 centimeters), causing rivers to 

run dry and reservoirs to dip to record 

low levels. In neighboring Texas and 

Oklahoma, the story is no different. The 

faithful gathered Wednesday night in 

Oklahoma City to recite a collection of 

Christian, Muslim and Jewish prayers for 

the year’s first worship service dedicated 

to rain. In Bernalillo, the parishioners 

from Our Lady of Sorrows church recited 

the rosary as they walked a few 

blocks from the church to the irrigation 

canal on a recent Friday evening. At the 

front of the procession, two men carried 

an effigy of San Isidro, the patron saint 

of farmers. 

“I think people need to pray for rain,” 

said Orlando Lucero, a school teacher 

and county commissioner who organized 

the procession. “We used to do it in 

every community and in every parish. It 

was a beautiful tradition that disappeared. 

Now I’m hoping that we can get 

other parishes involved.” 

In dry times, it’s natural for farmers 

and others who depend on the land to 

turn to God, said Laura Lincoln, executive 

director of the Texas Conference of 

Churches. Still, she and others said praying 

doesn’t take away the responsibility 

of people to do what they can to ease 

the effects of drought. 

Church leaders are urging their 

parishioners to conserve water and use 

better land-management practices like 

rotating crops. “We have to play our 

part,” said The Rev. William Tabbernee, 

head of the Oklahoma Conference of 

Churches. “Prayer puts us in touch with 

God, but it also helps us to focus on the 

fact that it is a partnership that we’re 

involved in. We need to cooperate with 

God and all of humanity to be responsible 

stewards of the gifts God has given 

us through nature.” —AP

Qatar extends buying spree to 

India with $1.3bn Bharti deal 

airline lipstick ban 

Business 


16 

Turks see red over 

17 

RBS eyes return 

19 

to private sector 

US jobs data points 

to sluggish economy 

20 

WASHINGTON: A jobs sign is seen on the front of the US Chamber of Commerce building in this photo in Washington, DC. — AFP 

EU sees deeper recession coming up 

Euro-zone members caught in fierce debate 

BRUSSELS: Recession in the crisis-hit euro-zone will be deeper 

than expected for the rest of the year, hitting even Europe’s 

biggest economies and leaving unemployment at record levels, 

the EU warned yesterday. Though signs of recovery could 

emerge in 2014, four of the euro-zone’s biggest economies- 

France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands-will see negative 

growth, the European Commission said in its spring forecast. 

Economic output in the 17-nation area-home to 340 million 

people and a global rival to the United States, Japan and 

emerging giants-will shrink by 0.4 percent this year, worse 

than the 0.3 percent forecast in February and after a 0.6 contraction 

last year. The failure of Europe’s economies to emerge 

from the debt crisis means record unemployment that last 

month saw 19 million people on the dole will endure, though 

differences are wide between richer euro-zone states to the 

north and those to the south. 

“In view of the protracted recession we must do whatever it 

takes to overcome the unemployment crisis in Europe,” said 

the EU’s commissioner for economic affairs Olli Rehn. Eurozone 

joblessness this year would hit a record 12 percent and 

11 percent across the whole 27-member EU. The rates vary 

hugely, with an alarming 27 percent in Spain and Greece, 

which Rehn said was “unbearably high”, but a low 4.7 percent 

in Austria and 5.4 percent in Germany. 

France, the euro-currency area’s second economy, will 

shrink by 0.1 percent in 2013 as weakness in household 

demand, a key economic driver, finally takes its toll. France will 

then rebound to 1.1 percent growth in 2014, the data said. But 

France, along with Spain and the Netherlands, will miss commitments 

to meet the EU’s 3 percent of GDP deficit ceiling. 

France will post a 3.9 percent deficit this year and a 4.2 percent 

shortfall next year. 

Rehn said it would be “reasonable” to provide Paris with an 

extra two years to meet the target-an offer also already made 

to Spain-but appeared to chide the country’s Socialist government, 

calling for “more important and urgent efforts” to trim 

spending. Spain will continue a hard slog from its crisis, 

brought on by the 2008 implosion of a decade-long housing 

boom, and should contract by 1.5 percent in 2013 before 

reversing to 1.4 percent growth in 2014. 

But Spanish public finances will remain dire well into next 

year with a government deficit of 6.5 percent in 2013 expected 

to worsen in 2014 to 7.0 percent as certain measures 

expire. The crisis will be hugely felt in recently bailed out 

Cyprus where output is expected to contract by 8.7 percent 

this year in the wake of a severe restructuring of the island 

nation’s key banking sector, including a controversial “haircut” 

on deposits. 

The Cypriot recession will prolong into 2014 and beyond, 

the Commision said, with the economy expected to contract 

by an overall 15 percent between 2012 and 2015. 

In a rare glimpse of encouragement, the Commission saw 

recovery in Greece by the end of the year after six consecutive 

years of recession. Athens is forecast to eke out 0.6 percent 

growth in 2014, after contracting sharply by 4.2 percent this 

year. With signs of recovery still wanting, euro-zone members 

are caught in a fierce debate over the way out of the crisis, 

with hard-hit countries to the south clamouring for an end to 

austerity policies championed by Germany and like-minded 

states to the north. 

The latest raft of grim data comes a day after the European 

Central Bank cut interest rates to a new record low in an effort 

to do its part to unwind a crisis now in its third year. — AFP


Qatar extends buying spree to 

India with $1.3bn Bharti deal 

Deal pushes India ahead of China 

NEW DELHI/DUBAI: Gulf state Qatar 

has bought a 5 percent stake in Indian 

telecoms firm Bharti Airtel Ltd for 

$1.26 billion, the firm said yesterday, 

extending an overseas buying spree 

from mainly developed countries to 

Asia’s third-largest economy. The deal 

is being channelled through Qatar 

Foundation Endowment and a source 

close to QFE said it would be an active 

investor in Bharti Airtel, securing a 

board seat at the world’s fourthbiggest 

mobile phone company by 

customers. 

“QFE is in for the long-term,” the 

source said, speaking on condition of 

anonymity. The purchase by QFE - an 

investment vehicle of the Qatar 

Foundation controlled by Sheikha 

Mozah, the second wife of the country’s 

Amir - pushes India ahead of 

China to top Asia’s inbound league 

table for mergers and acquisitions this 

year. According to Thomson Reuters 

data, India’s inbound M&A now totals 

$9.83 billion so far this year, compared 

with China’s $7.7 billion and 

Australia’s $6.9 billion. Qatar’s first 

major investment in a listed Indian 

company provides Bharti Airtel with 

much-needed capital that strengthens 

its balance sheet and future growth. 

LONDON: China, Russia and Kazakhstan are among the 

few trade allies still providing a lifeline to Iran’s vital steel 

and iron ore sector after most Western suppliers and buyers 

have cut ties due to growing sanctions pressure. While 

industry data shows steel imports have more than halved 

in the last year, Tehran has kept an inflow from some partners 

and slightly boosted domestic production of the 

material, used in construction and vehicle production but 

also potentially for nuclear use and munitions. 

Iran has also doubled exports of the steelmaking raw 

ingredient iron ore, worth about $3 billion a year at current 

prices. The country does not have enough capacity to 

use much more of its ore to produce steel, but exporting it 

provides much-needed income now its oil revenues are 

down by about 50 percent due to sanctions over its disputed 

nuclear programme. 

“This only allows Iran to ease the pain or offset some of 

the effects of what is happening because of sanctions. It 

does not enable them to overcome the sanctions,” said 

Scott Lucas, founder of the EA WorldView news site. 

“The Iranians are having to go to a shrinking number of 

customers to try and look for this increase in exports like 

iron ore to compensate for sharp drops in its main product, 

which is oil,” said Lucas, whose site provides analysis 

on Iran. While EU and US bans on specific ferrous products 

have pushed most Western players away, fearing repercussions 

on their international trade, Chinese interest in 

Iranian iron ore has increased, and China has increased 

steel supplies to Iran. 

Top steel producer China is now buying about 2 million 

tonnes of Iranian iron ore a month, double the amount it 

was buying in early 2012, data from consultancy the 

International Steel Statistics Bureau shows. “The growth in 

exports is absolutely true ... (The business) is growing from 

an infant to a small child,” said a spokesman for the Iran 

Iron Ore association. It is not yet a “key form of income at 

Bharti’s profit has fallen for three 

years in a row, hit by fierce competition 

in its main Indian market. 

Controlled by billionaire Sunil Mittal 

and also nearly a third owned by 

Southeast Asia’s top phone carrier 

SingTel , Bharti had $11.7 billion of net 

debt, or about 2.5 times its operating 

profit, as of end-March. It operates in 

20 Asian and African countries and 

has about 260 million mobile phone 

customers. The investment by QFE, a 

recently-established arm of the Qatar 

Foundation, is in line with the gas rich 

state’s strategy of picking minority 

stakes in large global companies such 

as Royal Dutch Shell, Tiffany & Co and 

Siemens. 

Those deals were made through 

Qatar Holding, the investment arm of 

the state sovereign wealth fund, 

which has emerged as one of the 

world’s most prolific investors with 

stakes in companies such as London 

miner Glencore Xstrata and Swiss 

banking giant Credit Suisse. Bankers 

close to the sovereign fund say it has 

an appetite for $30-$40 billion in global 

investments annually. 

Separately, the nonprofit Qatar 

Foundation has a main mandate of 

developing the state’s human capital 

and a knowledge-based economy, 

although it still owns commerciallooking 

investments such as telecoms 

firm Vodafone Qatar. 

Deal dynamics 

As part of the deal Bharti will issue 

199.9 million new shares at 340 rupees 

each, a 7.3 percent premium to the 

stock’s Thursday closing price, the 

company said yesterday. The telco’s 

shares closed 0.3 percent higher on 

Mumbai’s National Stock Exchange, 

having risen as much as 4.7 percent in 

early trade. The stock has fallen 4 percent 

in the last three months. 

The deal “should help ease the debt 

burden and improve investor confidence”, 

said Karan Mittal, a telecommunications 

analyst at ICICI Direct in 

Mumbai. Bharti, which recently raised 

$1.5 billion in overseas bonds, has an 

option to sell shares its majority-owned 

telecoms infrastructure unit Bharti 

Infratel. Bharti Airtel did not sell any 

shares when this unit went public last 

December. It is also looking to sell up 

to a quarter of its satellite television 

services arm, sources told Reuters in 

March. Goldman Sachs advised Qatar 

Foundation Endowment on the Bharti 

deal. — Reuters 

Trade allies throw lifeline 

to Iran’s vital steel sector 

this point”, he said, adding that cash was the primary payment 

choice. Market participants, however, say much of 

the trade now involves barter and funds deposited in 

bank accounts in China, South Korea and other countries 

that can be exchanged for goods. 

Tehran’s ambitious plans 

Tehran has ambitious plans to expand domestic steel 

output and hopes it can in the short term become self-sufficient. 

“Iran is in a position to produce more steel domestically; 

they have the technology, energy, iron ore to do 

that,” said Edwin Basson, director general of industry body 

WorldSteel. Nevertheless, industry experts say it will take 

the country many years to become independent from foreign 

producers, especially for semi-finished products such 

as billet. 

“We have enough factories, and they can make anything 

they want, but the raw product is often coming 

from abroad,” an Iranian property developer said by 

phone. While some of the finished products he needs 

such as steel beams come directly from China and Russia, 

others are manufactured by Iranian companies from billets 

coming from abroad, he said. 

Iran still has to contend with the dragnet of sanctions, 

which is cutting supplies of steel. New US regulations 

coming into effect on July 1 are set to tighten metals trade 

with Iran. Government sources in South Korea said steel 

exports to Iran had decreased a lot and would face 

tougher sanctions. “Those who continue to do business 

with Iran will face fewer competitors for Iranian business 

and will demand a risk premium on exports to Iran and a 

risk discount on imports from Iran. 

The net impact will be a continued drain on Iran’s foreign 

currency reserves,” said Mark Dubowitz, who has 

advised President Barack Obama’s administration and US 

lawmakers on sanctions. — Reuters 

business 

MICHIGAN: In this photo, Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly 

Plant employees cheer as the millionth Ford Mustang is 

driven off the assembly line in Flat Rock, Mich. — AP 

Boeing to build 

longest-range 

passenger jet 

PARIS/DUBAI: Boeing has shown airlines a blueprint for the 

world’s longest-range passenger jet, adding spice to a longawaited 

revamp of its 777 wide-body jet, people familiar 

with the matter said. Boeing launched a race against Airbus 

for sales of the newest long-haul jets by announcing it had 

begun selling an upgraded aircraft family code-named 

777X. First seen in the 1990s, the 777 cornered the market 

for large twin-engine aircraft able to fly routes previously 

only possible with four engines, earning it the nickname 

“mini-jumbo.” 

Analysts say the 777 is Boeing’s most profitable plane, 

thanks largely to the 777-300ER, a 365-seat version that 

began operations in 2004. Most of the industry’s attention is 

now focused on a future 400-seat version known as the 777- 

9X, which is Boeing Co’s response to a growing challenge 

from the largest version of Europe’s newest aircraft, the 

Airbus A350-1000. 

But talks between Boeing and potential buyers have also 

generated interest in a 777-8X that would be a successor to 

the 777-200LR, the industry’s current distance champion, 

with a range of more than 9,300 nautical miles (17,200 km), 

people briefed on the talks said. 

The 777-8X, boasting a range of 9,500 nautical miles 

(17,600 km), would be designed for some of the world’s 

longest trips such as from the Middle East to South America. 

“They are offering an ultra-long range aircraft in the 777-8X,” 

said an industry source briefed on the plans. “It’ll be the 

longest range aircraft in the business.” Boeing declined to 

comment on specifics, but spokeswoman Karen Crabtree 

said the company is working with customers to fine tune 

the details. Experts say ultra-long range planes deliver 

mixed benefits to airlines and so far the market for them 

remains a niche, overshadowed by the juggernauts 

designed for trunk routes. That is because when modern aircraft 

fly the longest 15-hour flights, the first few hours are 

spent mostly burning the fuel needed to carry even more 

fuel for the rest of the flight. These aircraft “carry more fuel 

to carry more fuel,” said consultant Richard Aboulafia of 

Virginia-based Teal Group. 

“They need a very big wing with lots of (fuel storage) 

capacity, which means lots of structure and weight.” Fuel is 

not the only source of extra weight. The long journey times 

also mean loading extra meals and a reserve crew, so that 

the fuel burned per hour - a measure of efficiency - can end 

up greater than if the plane simply stopped en route. Airlines 

must balance this against any extra revenue they can charge 

for a direct flight and the ability to eliminate the fuel wasted 

in climbing and descending twice, as well as en-route landing 

fees and other costs linked to a stopover. —Reuters


business 

Turks see red over 

airline lipstick ban 

Turkish consortium wins tender for third Istanbul airport 

BRUSSELS: EU commissioner Economic and 

Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn gives a press conference 

on the spring European Economic Forecast yesterday. 

— AP 

France to get more 

time to cut deficit 

BRUSSELS: France will get two more years to meet its budget 

deficit target because of the country’s poor economic outlook 

within a recession-hit euro zone, the European 

Commission said yesterday. Presenting economic forecasts 

for the next two years, Olli Rehn, the European monetary 

affairs ommissioner, also confirmed earlier statements that 

Spain would get the same leeway. 

Others, including the Netherlands, Slovenia and non 

euro-zone Poland, are likely to get a year more to get their 

budget gaps below the 3 percent of gross domestic product 

European Union ceiling. The formal decision will be 

announced on May 29, when the Commission will make 

macroeconomic recommendations. 

“France badly needs to unlock its growth potential and 

create jobs,” he said as he announced that Spain, Italy and 

the Netherlands as well as France - four of the euro zone’s 

five largest economies - would remain in recession this year. 

The granting of more time is a victory for French President 

Francois Hollande, who won elections promising a focus on 

growth and less on austerity but has little to show for his 

economic policies after a year in office. 

The extra time also underlines a shift of focus in the 17 

countries that share the euro from sharp fiscal consolidation 

in the first years of the sovereign debt crisis to economic 

growth, as earlier radical deficit cuts and European Central 

Bank action restored some market trust in euro zone 

finances. EU finance ministers had given France until this 

year to bring down its budget shortfall below 3 percent of 

GDP and set the deadline for Spain for 2014. But while 

France expects its economy to expand by 0.1 percent this 

year, the European Commission forecast a 0.1 percent contraction. 

“The recovery is now expected to be delayed... The 

French growth forecast is in our view overly optimistic,” 

Rehn told a news conference. France repeated yesterday it 

would bring the deficit below 3 percent in 2014, only one 

year later than the original deadline, but a finance ministry 

official said the 

Germany’s cautious approval 

The euro-zone as a whole will shrink more than expected 

this year and budget deficits in most countries will therefore 

decline more slowly, Rehn said, as the bloc struggles in its 

second year of contraction and its second recession since 

2009. Of the large countries only Germany, the largest euro 

zone economy, will manage to eke out 0.4 percent growth, 

even if less than the earlier expected 0.5 percent. 

It sees budget austerity as necessary to bring down bloated 

public accounts after a decade of credit-fuelled spending 

across much of Europe, even if many economists say such 

austerity has deepened the euro zone’s recession. 

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert gave 

only cautious approval to the Commission’s planned extensions, 

saying each country must be “checked on an individual 

basis”. The Commission now believes that the euro zone 

economy will shrink 0.4 percent this year and grow 1.2 percent 

next year, against projections from last February of a 0.3 

percent recession and 1.4 percent growth respectively. This 

is roughly in line with forecasts from the European Central 

Bank. “We must do whatever it takes to overcome the unemployment 

crisis in Europe. Fiscal consolidation is continuing, 

but its pace is slowing down,” Rehn said, referring to the 

record 19 million people out of work in the euro zone in 

March. — Reuters 

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s national airline has 

barred female flight attendants from wearing 

red lipstick and nail polish, striking a 

nerve among secular Turks worried the 

country is becoming more Islamic. Turkish 

Airlines, Europe’s fourth-biggest carrier, 

said the ban was aimed at keeping crews 

“artless and well-groomed with makeup in 

pastel tones”, as a natural look improved 

communication with passengers. “As a 

consequence of our current cabin uniforms 

not including red, dark pink, et 

cetera, the use of lipstick and nail polish in 

these colours by our cabin crew impairs 

visual integrity,” the statement said. 

Turkish Airlines declined a request for 

further comment. The guideline follows 

other restrictions on employees’ appearance 

and on serving alcohol. Critics say 

they reflect the influence of the government’s 

conservative religious values at the 

fast-growing state-run airline, one of 

Turkey’s most recognised brands. “This 

new guideline is totally down to Turkish 

Airlines management’s desire to shape the 

company to fit its own political and ideological 

stance,” Atilay Aycin, president of 

the airline’s Hava-Is labour union, told 

Reuters. 

“No one can deny that Turkey has 

become a more conservative, religious 

country.” Turkey is 99 percent Muslim but 

the NATO state and European Union candidate 

has a secular constitution. Prime 

Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, 

which traces its roots to a banned Islamic 

party, has relaxed the state’s control over 

the expression of religion, such as oncestrict 

limits imposed on wearing the 

Islamic-style headscarf. 

Such restrictions were aimed at reining 

in Islamism and improving women’s 

rights, but effectively prevented many 

devout women from studying at university 

or taking government jobs. Turkish 

Airlines scrapped its own ban on the headscarf 

more than a year ago, and covered 

women now work at check-in counters 

and at other positions in the company, 

Aycin said. Other Turkish carriers also have 

guidelines on the appearance of cabin 

personnel. 

MUMBAI: India’s central bank cut its main 

interest rate by 25 basis points yesterday 

in the third such move this year, but said 

there was “little space” for further reductions 

to help the slowing economy. After 

meeting in the financial capital Mumbai, 

the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that 

the benchmark repo rate, at which it lends 

to commercial banks, would fall to 7.25 

percent, as expected by most economists. 

After the decision, India’s Finance Minister 

P. Chidambaram, said that there was 

“scope for more rate cuts, if inflation came 

down further”. 

India’s headline inflation eased to a 

three-year-low of 5.96 percent in March, 

but the consumer price index is at 10.39 

percent, led mainly by high food prices. 

Explaining the rate cut, the RBI governor 

Duvvuri Subbarao said that “growth had 

decelerated continuously,” forecasting 

expansion of 5.7 percent in the new fiscal 

year-far below the government’s estimate 

of 6.0-6.5 percent. But Subbarao warned 

that there were “significant risks” to inflation 

in the near-term and said that “monetary 

policy cannot afford to lower its guard 

against the possibility of a resurgence of 

inflation pressures”. 

The governor also struck a cautious 

tone about future rate cuts, saying: 

“Overall, the balance of risks stemming 

from our assessment of the growth-inflation 

dynamics yields little space for further 

monetary easing.” The RBI’s decision to cut 

rates had been forecast by economists 

and business leaders, who have been calling 

for lower borrowing costs to help the 

economy, which grew at an estimated 5.0 

percent in the full year to March. 

Indian shares fell as much as 0.91 percent 

to 19,555.05, reacting to the news 

that further rate cuts were unlikely in coming 

months, but recovered marginally to 

19,613.10 points, down 0.62 percent. The 

cash reserve ratio-the percentage of 

deposits banks must keep with the central 

bank-was kept unchanged. 

The RBI’s decision to cut rates had been 

forecast by economists and business leaders, 

who have been calling for lower borrowing 

costs to help the economy, which 

grew at an estimated 5.0 percent in the 

full year to March. But they are unsure 

when the next rate cut could come. 

Goldman Sachs chief India economist 

Tushar Poddar expects the RBI to proceed 

slowly with future rate cuts. “The forward 

guidance suggests to us that the RBI is 

unlikely to cut again in its next policy 

meeting (of June 17),” he said. 

But Nomura economist Sonal Varma 

said that: “Given the recent fall in commodity 

prices, upside risks to inflation are 

likely to remain contained... creating more 

space for future rate cuts,” in a note to 

clients. Industry body Associated 

Chambers of Commerce and Industry of 

India (Assocham) criticised the RBI for 

being “over-cautious” on potential risks to 

India’s economy. 

“While there is a lot the government 

should do to improve governance, the RBI 

should not wash its hands off at the cost of 

economic growth, which is a must for fulfilling 

aspirations of the people,” 

Assocham president Rajkumar Dhoot said. 

The RBI yesterday reiterated that the government 

should take measures to encourage 

investment, as policy action was not 

enough to stimulate the economy. 

Subbarao said the biggest risk to 

India’s economy came from the current 

account deficit, which widened to a record 

6.7 percent of GDP in the December quarter. 

The government, led by Prime Minister 

Hidden agenda? 

The flag carrier caused a stir earlier this 

year when newspapers published mockups 

of a new Ottoman-style uniform for 

stewardesses with ankle-length dresses, a 

proposal the airline’s management 

appears to have since abandoned. That 

was followed by a ban on alcohol on 

planes flying to most domestic destinations 

and some Islamic countries. 

“They are objecting to the lipstick and 

nail polish that we have been using for 

years,” said Asli Gokmen, 30, a flight attendant 

who lost her job with more than 300 

others last year during a union protest and 

is petitioning for her position back. No current 

employees were available for comment. 

Turks worried the government is 

undermining the country’s secular order 

see a hidden agenda. On Twitter, women 

posted pictures after applying red lipstick. 

One wrote: “Why not just ban stewardesses 

altogether so we can all breathe a sigh 

of relief?” 

Some male Twitter users were indignant 

over the insinuation that red lipstick 

would induce a sexual frenzy. Turkish 

Airlines passenger Ahmet Yerli, 33, said he 

did not think the new guideline was a sign 

of creeping Islamisation but that the ban 

was still “absurd.” “I’ve never heard of a 

plane crashing because of a women’s lipstick,” 

he said before his flight. 

In another development, a consortium 

of Turkish construction firms won a tender 

yesterday to build and operate a planned 

third airport in Istanbul which Turkey says 

could eventually be the world’s largest, 

bidding 22 billion euros ($29 billion) for 

the project. —Agencies 

India’s central bank cuts rate 

Manmohan Singh, has been battered by a 

spate of corruption scandals and is keen to 

revive economic growth before facing voters 

in general elections due in 2014. The 

World Bank on Tuesday lowered its forecast 

for growth to 6.1 percent for the new 

fiscal year which started in April, from the 

7.0 percent projected six months ago. The 

RBI slashed rates by 25 basis points at its 

previous two meetings in March and 

January. Rates had previously been on 

hold for nine months. — AFP 

MUMBAI: An Indian security guard 

stands at the gate of the Reserve 

Bank of India (RBI) yesterday. —AP


Paul Otellini 

Intel’s CEO pick sticks to 

tried-and-true formula 

SAN FRANCISCO: In picking Brian Krzanich as its next CEO, 

Intel Corp. stuck to a familiar playbook amid a game-changing 

shift in computing that has raised worries about the future of 

the world’s largest chipmaker. Ever since Intel co-founders 

Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore ceded their roles as the first 

two CEOs, the company has always promoted the second-incommand 

to the helm. That started in 1987 with Andy Grove, 

who served as the top lieutenant under the co-founders. After 

learning the ropes under Grove, Craig Barrett took over as CEO 

in 1998 and then handed the reins to his understudy, Paul 

Otellini, in 2005.Krzanich, Intel’s chief operating officer, was 

named its sixth CEO on Thursday. He will start in two weeks. 

The succession formula worked well in a computing market 

dominated by desktop and laptop machines that ran on Intel’s 

microprocessors and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system. 

But if there is a time to break from that tradition, this 

would be it. Traditionally strong in personal computers, Intel is 

facing a threat from smartphones and tablet computers, which 

demand lower-energy processors that Intel is late to master. 

“We are a little disappointed that the board didn’t bring in 

new blood at this critical juncture for the company,” Wedbush 

Securities analyst Betsy Van Hees said. “We have seen a pretty 

significant shift in the tide, and they are now navigating some 

pretty tough currents. It would have been nice to have a fresh 

pair of eyes.” 

PC sales are declining as businesses and consumers 

embrace mobile computers - most of which don’t rely on 

Intel’s chips. Microsoft has even created a lightweight version 

of Windows that isn’t well suited for Intel’s processors. The 

upheaval contributed to a 15 percent decline in Intel’s profit 

last year. Intel has been scrambling to develop power-sipping 

chips and designs better suited for the needs of mobile 

devices. But even if that effort is successful, the company’s 

profit margins may be squeezed. That’s because mobile chips 

sell for much less than PC chips. 

Some analysts believe that Otellini, who is 62, decided to 

retire early because of the industry turmoil. The board had 

expected him to remain CEO until he turns 65 in 2015. “It’s time 

to move on and transfer Intel’s helm to a new generation of 

leadership,” Otellini said in November when he disclosed his 

plans to leave. His retirement created an opportunity for the 

Santa Clara, Calif., company to hire an outsider as CEO for the 

first time in its 45-year history. Although external candidates 

were considered during the six-month search, the board concluded 

that Krzanich is the best leader to tackle the mobile 

computing challenge. 

Krzanich, who is 52 and spent his entire career at the company, 

comes out of a manufacturing organization where meticulous 

attention is required to churn out processors with billions 

of minute details. Just because Intel promoted from within 

doesn’t mean there won’t be changes, RBC Capital Markets 

analyst Doug Freedman said. He believes Intel plans to 

become less focused on engineering technological breakthroughs 

so it concentrate on helping its customers develop 

their products. “Our view is Krzanich’s appointment was 

awarded as a result of changes in the future direction of the 

company, with these changes expected to become visible over 

the next few quarters,” Freedman said. 

Investors evidently weren’t disillusioned with Intel’s CEO 

choice, which had been widely expected. Intel’s stock rose 12 

cents to close Thursday at $24.11. Krzanich isn’t inheriting 

Otellini’s title of president. It will go instead to software chief 

Renee James, 48, creating a two-person “executive office” at 

the head of the company. 

Gartner Inc. analyst Sergis Mushell believes one of the reasons 

Intel promotes from within is because of the difficulty 

finding outsiders capable of running a business with the size 

and complexity of Intel. — AP 

DHAKA: In the aftermath of a building 

collapse that killed more than 500 people, 

Bangladesh’s garment manufacturers may 

face a choice of reform or perish. Home to 

five factories that supplied clothing to 

retailers in Europe and the United States, 

the shoddily constructed building’s collapse 

has put a focus on the high human 

price paid when Bangladeshi government 

ineptitude, Western consumer apathy and 

global retailing’s drive for the lowest cost 

of production intersect. Police said yesterday 

that more than 500 bodies have been 

pulled from the wreckage of the eightstory 

Rana Plaza building that collapsed 

nine days ago, sparking desperate rescue 

efforts, a national outpouring of grief and 

violent street protests. 

The tragedy followed the deaths of 

112 people five months ago in a blaze 

that swept through the Tazreen Fashions 

garment factory in Dhaka and the death 

of seven in a January blaze. With three 

disasters in quick succession, the reputation 

of Bangladesh’s $20 billion garment 

industry, already notorious for its low 

wages and dismal safety record, has 

plummeted. International clothing brands 

and retailers that said they could ensure 

worker safety in developing countries 

through self-regulation such as factory 

inspections have also suffered a blow to 

their credibility. 

Now, Bangladesh’s garment manufacturers 

fear that a backlash has been set in 

motion that threatens fortunes and livelihoods 

in a business that employs more 

than 3 million people and accounts for 

about 80 percent of the impoverished 

country’s exports. “It’s a crucial time for 

us,” said Atiqul Islam, president of the 

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and 

Exporters Association. “We are doing our 

best to improve the safety measures in 

the factories. We expect our buyers to 

bear with us and help us to overcome the 

current crisis. It’s not the time to turn 

away from us. That will hurt the industry 

and many of the workers will lose jobs.” 

The most potent warning so far has 

come from the European Union, which 

said it could restrict Bangladesh’s access 

to the crucial EU market if it fails to immediately 

take steps to ensure that basic 

labor standards are enforced. Bangladesh 

is a member of Europe’s “Everything But 

business 

Bangladesh retailers under 

pressure to fix factories 

‘It happens everywhere’: Finance minister 

Arms” program for the world’s poorest 

nations that exempts it from quotas and 

tariffs on all exports to the 27-nation EU 

except armaments. The EU is 

Bangladesh’s single biggest market with 

exports of 8 billion euros in 2011, the bulk 

of which was garments shipped for 

European retailers. 

“The sheer scale of this disaster and 

the alleged criminality around the building’s 

construction is finally becoming 

clear to the world,” EU foreign policy chief 

Catherine Ashton and trade commissioner 

Karel De Gucht said in an April 30 statement. 

They said they want any EU action 

to “incentivize” responsible management 

of the garment industry in Bangladesh. 

The United States is also reviewing 

Bangladesh’s preferential trade status, a 

development partly set in motion by the 

killing last year of a Bangladeshi labor 

rights organizer who had campaigned for 

years to improve factory safety. Garments 

are not included in the American trade 

preferences for Bangladesh but loss of its 

special market access would further taint 

its reputation in the US, its second largest 

export market.—AP 

DHAKA: A Bangladeshi woman looks at a wall filled with portraits of missing persons near the site of a garments 

factory that collapsed last week.—AFP 

Gold turns negative 

LONDON: Gold fell yesterday, as the dollar 

reversed earlier losses against a basket of 

currencies after US employment rose more 

than expected in April, pushing the unemployment 

rate to a four-year low. Data 

showing the world’s biggest economy 

added 165,000 jobs last month compared 

to an expected rise of 145,000 could help 

ease concerns of a sharp slowdown in the 

economy. Spot gold moved lower to trade 

at $1,464.76 an ounce by 1318 GMT, down 

0.1 percent, reversing a 1.5-percent gain to 

a two-week high of $1,487.80 earlier. US 

gold for June delivery also fell 0.4 percent 

to $1,460.10 an ounce. “Gold reversed initial 

gains as we have a combination of 

stronger dollar and better sentiment 

towards the economy after the jobs data,” 

Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg 

said. “But prices are still holding up well as 

there are still elements providing support, 

such as the strong physical demand and 

the implication of the ECB rate cut.” The 

dollar erased initial gains and rose against a 

basket of currencies after April payrolls 

pushed the unemployment rate to a fouryear 

low of 7.5 percent. 

Employment data in Europe and the 

United States are likely to be closely scrutinised 

in coming weeks for more clues on 

the longer-term prospects for the Fed’s 

monetary stimulus. “There will be a lot of 

focus on macroeconomic data in the coming 

weeks and months, especially on 

employment, indicators of price pressures 

and the impact of fiscal policy on growth,” 

UBS analyst Joni Teves said in a note. 

Sentiment had improved after a cut in 

interest rates by the European Central Bank 

and the US Federal Reserve’s decision to 

stick to its stimulus programme. The ECB 

cut its main interest rate by 25 basis points 

to a record low of 0.50 percent on 

Thursday, its first change for 10 months, 

after inflation fell well below the bank’s target 

and weak economic surveys increased 

doubts about a recovery. 

The decision came a day after the US 

Fed’s recommitment to its aggressive stimulus 

programme, and a month after the 

Bank of Japan stunned markets by promising 

to inject about $1.4 trillion into its economy 

to spur growth. Easy monetary policy 

extended gold’s bull run to a 12th consecutive 

year last year, as investors bought bullion 

to hedge against inflation and economic 

uncertainties.— Reuters


BUSINESS 

Westpac posts record first-half profit 

SYDNEY: Australian heavyweight 

Westpac Banking Corporation Ltd yesterday 

reported a better-than-expected 11 

percent increase in first-half net profit to a 

record Aus$3.3 billion ($3.4 billion) as it 

chases growth. The country’s second 

largest bank by market capitalisation said 

cash earnings, the preferred measure 

which strips out volatile items, were up 10 

per cent to Aus$3.53 billion against the 

first half last year. Analysts had forecast 

cash profit of Aus$3.47 billion for the six 

months to March 31. 

The bank noted that all its Australian 

businesses produced double-digit cash 

earnings growth and costs had also been 

reduced. Despite the record results, chief 

executive Gail Kelly said: “The operating 

environment continues to be challenging, 

with subdued lending growth. “However, 

in line with our strategy, we are actively 

targeting opportunities in higher growth 

areas where conditions are more 

favourable such as deposits, wealth, trade 

finance and natural resources.” 

“Momentum continued to build over 

the period, with all our Australian businesses 

producing double-digit cash earnings 

growth,” she said. Westpac said lending 

increased three percent to $15 billion, 

driven by Australian housing loans. 

Customer deposits soared 12 percent to 

$360 billion. “However you look at the 

headline numbers from Westpac this 

morning, they can only be seen one wayinvestor 

pleasing,” said IG market strategist 

Evan Lucas. 

Kelly said that Westpac’s capital 

strength helped it to pay a higher interim 

dividend of Aus$0.86 per share as well as 

a surprise special dividend of Aus$0.10. In 

early deals, Westpac shares rose but, IG 

market strategist Stan Shamu explained, 

it “turned negative as short-term traders 

who had positioned themselves for a 

monster result by the bank locked in 

gains”. Westpac shares closed down one 

percent at $33.55 while the benchmark 

ASX200 index was flat on 5,130 points. 

The results followed rival ANZ’s record 

$2.94 billion half-year net profit posted 

earlier this week. A rally in Australian bank 

shares in the past 12 months has pushed 

the market value of Westpac above $100 

billion with some analysts warning of a 

possible bubble in the sector. — AFP 

LONDON: State-backed Royal Bank of 

Scotland yesterday pushed for the 

British government to start selling its 82 

percent stake as early as next year even 

though it could mean a loss for taxpayers. 

Chairman Philip Hampton said the 

aim was to have a business in strong 

enough shape to start preparing a 

prospectus with the government for a 

sale from the middle of 2014. “It could 

be earlier, that’s a matter for the government,” 

Hampton said in an interview on 

the bank’s website. 

Britain pumped 45.5 billion pounds 

($71 billion) into RBS during the 2008 

financial crisis, leaving the government 

with a controlling stake. The bank has 

been through a big restructuring - shedding 

underperforming assets and cutting 

jobs. It reported its first quarterly 

profit in 18 months yesterday. But taxpayers 

are still sitting on a paper loss of 

19 billion pounds, based on RBS’s current 

share price. 

The government is keen to start selling 

its holding but is under pressure to 

get a good deal for taxpayers ahead of a 

general election in 2015. RBS is pushing 

LONDON: A blue sky over the headquarters of RBS Bank is seen yesterday. — AFP 

RBS eyes return 

to private sector 

RBS to show first profit in 18 months 

for a sale so it can run its business without 

state interference. Hampton has said 

the bank needed freedom to execute its 

recovery plan without political meddling.But 

rival Lloyds Banking Group, 39 

percent state-owned after a bailout in 

the crisis, could prove a more attractive 

business to sell. Lloyds reported a big 

jump in first quarter profit on Tuesday, 

pushing its shares close to a price where 

the government could break even if it 

sold out. Sources with knowledge of 

government plans told Reuters a sale of 

shares in RBS or Lloyds in 2014 was realistic. 

A decision would depend ultimately 

on the share performance of the two 

banks in the interim and whether the 

government would sell at a loss, the 

sources said. Other factors affecting the 

decision included the outcome of talks 

on capital requirements between the 

banks and Britain’s financial regulator 

and a review into banking standards by 

a parliamentary panel. The Treasury and 

UK Financial Investments (UKFI), which 

manages the government’s stakes, 

declined to comment. 

RBS Chief Executive Stephen Hester 

said the government might have to take 

a loss initially when it starts selling, given 

the depressed state of bank shares 

and tougher regulation of the industry. 

But he expected the UK taxpayer to 

make a profit in the long run. “There 

may well be a cogent case for starting at 

a lower price but I believe the average 

(sale) price can, and should, be above 

the government purchase price,” Hester 

told reporters. 

RBS shares were down 5.7 percent to 

290 pence at 1200 GMT, well below the 

407 pence mark which the government 

regards as its buy-in level. Under 

Hester, RBS has shed around 900 billion 

pounds in assets and is focusing on 

lending to British households and small 

businesses. He said the bank was starting 

to see a pick-up in loan demand, 

echoing comments from Lloyds, which 

said its core loan book had returned to 

growth quicker than expected. The 

long-term prospects for RBS and Lloyds 

are closely linked to Britain’s economy 

as their domestic focus means profitability 

will be constrained until UK 

growth picks up. —Reuters 

Economist to 

lead Canada’s 

central bank 

OTTAWA: The Bank of Canada on Thursday named an economist 

and longtime bureaucrat, Stephen Poloz, as its new governor, 

succeeding Mark Carney who is leaving to head the 

Bank of England next month. Poloz has worked in Canada’s 

public service for 25 years, including since 2011 as chief executive 

of Canada’s export credit agency, which helps Canadian 

exporters and investors expand their international business. 

“Mr. Poloz has significant knowledge of financial markets and 

monetary policy issues and extensive management experience,” 

David Laidley, chair of the bank’s search committee 

said in a statement. 

“We are confident Mr Poloz will make an outstanding contribution 

to the work of the bank and uphold its reputation as 

a leading central bank.” Poloz starts his new job on June 3, for 

a seven-year term, hinting on Tuesday at a press conference 

that he intends to stay the course on monetary policies set by 

his predecessor. During his term, Carney lowered the bank’s 

key interest rate to a near record low of 1.0 percent-where it 

still stands-in hopes of keeping the Canadian economy afloat 

during the worst global economic and financial upheaval in a 

century. “The global economy still has its fragilities or issues 

that it faces, so we aren’t out of the woods yet, and Canada 

will feel all of those shocks as they occur,” Poloz said. 

“But I think the framework that we work with here has 

proved itself very well and so I think we’re well equipped to 

press forward.” Analysts quickly noted that Poloz has otherwise 

not commented on monetary policy for some time and 

so it is hard to judge how he perceives the current central 

bank stance. 

Even so, the Bank of Canada’s rate decisions are taken by 

consensus by its governing council and so most analysts 

expect rates to remain at their current levels for now. Nomura 

bank analyst Charles St-Arnaud of Nomura bank commented 

that as chief economist at Export Development Canada, Poloz 

worked “intensely on the productivity and competitiveness 

issues that have been plaguing the Canadian economy over 

the past decade.” 

“This could be important given that the recent Bank of 

Canada forecast pegged a lot of hope on an export-led recovery,” 

he said. Citing a report released by Export Development 

Canada, Poloz told reporters to expect “pretty strong growth” 

in Canadian exports in the coming year as the recovery in the 

United States, Canada’s largest trading partner, picks up. He 

also noted that since 2008 many small companies in Canada 

had folded. “What we’re looking for now is the resumption of 

creation of new companies, and that is just beginning.” 

“So the supply side of the economy is also in a rebuilding 

phase,” he said. A native of Oshawa, Ontario, Poloz graduated 

from Queen’s University in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in 

economics, and subsequently received a master’s degree and 

a PhD in economics, both from the University of Western 

Ontario. He worked for Canada’s central bank from 1981 to 

1995, occupying increasingly senior positions including chief 

of the research department. He then spent five years with 

Montreal-based BCA Research before returning to the public 

sector. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty pointed to Poloz’s 

decades of experience in financial markets, forecasting and 

economic policy, to say: “I am confident he has the skills and 

experience required to lead the Bank of Canada at a time of 

global economic uncertainty.” Poloz said his appointment as 

the central bank’s ninth governor was both “an honor and a 

privilege.” — AFP


BUSINESS 

MOGADISHU: A Somalian porter carries a sack of 

imported noodles on his head, in the sea port in 

Mogadishu from a foreign vessel like many of 

which have been captured along with their crews 

in the last five years by sea-going Somali pirates 

for ransom. — AFP 

Jobs wanted: Somali 

ex-pirates seek pay 

MOGADISHU: For a fearsome pirate, even one in selfdeclared 

retirement, there is a notable lack of what literature 

has led one to expect: cutlass, eye-patch, hook or 

even a parrot. Instead, Mohamed Abdi Hassan, one of 

Somalia’s-if not the world’s-most notorious pirate chiefs, 

appears far more businessman than sea bandit, as he 

explains why he now wants to end the murderous 

hijacking of ships. Hassan, better known as “Afweyne” or 

“Big Mouth”, whose men once terrorised vast stretches 

of the Indian Ocean-generating millions of dollars in ransoms 

from seized ships-now claims to have renounced 

piracy. 

“The young men need to be trained, to get skills and 

get integrated into society,” Afweyne said, pulling out of 

his briefcase an official letter apparently nominating him 

as an “anti-piracy officer”. Afweyne, who says he earned 

his nickname as a child “because I would cry a lot”, 

claims to have persuaded almost a thousand young 

pirates to quit. 

“We are convincing the youths to give up piracy... I 

have influence, and have been mobilising the community... 

to keep the men from the water,” he told AFP over a 

cup of tea in an upmarket hotel in Somalia’s war-ravaged 

capital Mogadishu. Last year a United Nations 

report described Afweyne as “one of the most notorious 

and influential leaders” in Somalia. 

Pirate attacks have in recent years been launched as 

far as 3,655 kilometres (2,277 miles) from the Somali 

coast in the Indian Ocean. The World Bank last month 

calculated between $315 million and $385 million (242- 

295 million euros) has been paid in ransoms since 2005, 

a figure dwarfed by the estimated $18 billion that piracy 

costs the world economy annually. 

But Afweyne, a soft spoken and portly man in his 

fifties with an apparently kindly manner, shuns descriptions 

of himself as a pirate, and especially the Somali 

translation of “burcad badeed”, literally, the “scum of 

the sea”. “Perhaps you have heard a lot about this ship 

or that ransom... but 90 percent of what you hear in 

Somalia is false,” he said, opening his arms wide and 

chuckling to laugh off any suggestion he was dangerous. 

“I’m not saying I was not involved, for I was the 

one who initiated the fight,” he said, claiming he took 

up piracy after his fishing company was ruined by foreign 

fleets off Somalia after the country spiralled into 

civil war in 1991. “It was legitimate because there was 

no government, we were like orphans without a 

father,” he added. 

Afweyne, whose son is reportedly a feared pirate 

chief, was involved in the 2008 capture of the Saudiowned 

Sirius Star oil supertanker, released for a ransom 

of several million dollars. His or his son’s men were also 

involved in the 2008 capture of the MV Faina, a 

Ukrainian transport ship carrying 33 refurbished Sovietera 

battle tanks, which was released after a 134-day 

hijack for a reported three million dollars. —AFP 

US jobs data points 

to sluggish economy 

Unemployment rate to hold steady at 7.6% 

WASHINGTON: US employment 

growth likely picked up in April, but 

probably not by enough to counter 

other signs that suggest the economy 

has lost a step in recent weeks. 

Nonfarm payrolls are expected to have 

increased by 145,000 jobs, according 

to a Reuters survey of economists, after 

braking to a nine-month low of 88,000 

in March. Taken together, the job creation 

pace over the past two months 

would still be far below the average of 

200,000 for the first two months of this 

year. 

“That would be consistent with an 

economy that’s losing growth momentum 

but hasn’t fallen out of bed,” said 

Millan Mulraine, a senior economist at 

TD Securities in New York. Although 

the economy grew at a 2.5 percent 

annual pace in the first quarter, data on 

construction spending, retail sales and 

trade suggested it ended the period 

with less speed. Factory data for April 

imply the loss of momentum persisted 

early in the second quarter, setting the 

stage for a replay for a third straight 

year of what economists have called 

the spring swoon. 

Economists say uncertainty over the 

full impact of higher taxes and deep 

government spending cuts on already 

sluggish demand was making businesses 

reluctant to hire. 

A 2 percent payroll tax cut ended at 

the start of the year, and $85 billion in 

federal budget cuts went into effect on 

March 1. The forecast job gains should 

be just enough to hold the unemployment 

rate at a four-year low of 7.6 percent, 

though the rate could even fall as 

older Americans retire and younger 

people give up the hunt for work in 

frustration. 

The labor force participation rate - 

the share of working-age Americans 

who either have a job or are looking for 

one - hit a 34-year low in March. “We 

need more than 3 percent growth on a 

sustained basis to make real inroads in 

reducing not only the number of those 

counted as unemployed, but the 

legions of those who are nowhere to 

be found in the labor force data,” said 

Patrick O’Keefe, head of Economic 

NEW DELHI: Emerging Asia needs to be on guard against 

“asset bubbles” as central banks globally loosen monetary 

policy, the Asia Development Bank’s managing director 

warned yesterday. Last month Japan’s central bank 

announced it would pump $1.4 trillion into the economy 

over the next two years, administering unprecedented 

financial shock treatment to end two decades of growth 

stagnation through bold monetary expansion. 

The US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England have 

also embarked on more limited forms of “quantitative easing” 

or increasing the money supply to revive their 

economies. “The positive thing of quantitative easing out 

of Japan and other economies is that they will start to 

grow, but we have to be wary of building asset bubbles” 

Research at CohnReznick in Roseland, 

New Jersey. The Labor Department will 

release its April employment report on 

Friday at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT). 

High bar for Fed 

The continued sluggishness of job 

growth would likely bolster the resolve 

of the Federal Reserve to push forward 

with its efforts to spur a stronger recovery. 

On Wednesday, the US central 

bank said it would continue to buy $85 

billion in bonds each month and keep 

on buying until the labor market outlook 

improved substantially. It even 

said it would step up purchases should 

the need arise. 

“They have sort of tied their hand 

here; they set a very high bar for what 

constitutes a satisfactory improvement 

in the job market,” said Robert 

DiClemente, chief economist at 

Citigroup in New York. “This number 

will be a reminder that we are not 

there yet.” Economists are divided on 

the impact government spending cuts 

may have had on employment in April. 

Some see a minor hit, arguing that the 

government has been reducing hours 

for workers instead of resorting to outright 

lay-offs. 

Others, however, say there have 

been job losses in industries such as 

defense contracting. However, firsttime 

applications for state unemployment 

benefits have shown no sign of a 

pick-up in lay-offs and rose in only one 

week in April. “At the margin, the 

sequester is having an impact. You 

might see it in the hours worked rather 

than payroll jobs,” said John Canally, an 

economist for LPL Financial in Boston. 

While reducing hours keeps more people 

on the payroll, it does cut into economic 

growth. The composition of job 

growth in April is expected to be fairly 

encouraging, although little change is 

anticipated in manufacturing employment, 

which fell in March for the first 

time since September. 

Construction employment is seen 

snapping back after being slowed by 

unusually cold weather in March. That 

would mark an 11th straight month of 

gains, thanks to a recovering housing 

market. Job gains in the private services 

sector are expected to have picked 

up from March‘s nine-month low, 

although the retail sector remains a 

wild card. Retail employment fell in 

March after eight straight monthly 

increases. —Reuters 

NEW YORK: In this photo, traders gather at a post on the floor of the New 

York Stock Exchange. —AP 

ADB flags danger of Asia ‘asset bubbles’ 

and economic overheating, said ADB Managing Director 

Rajat Nag. Nag noted inflationary pressures are already “on 

the uptick” in many countries in Asia as economies reach 

full manufacturing capacity. “The robust growth that we 

have seen in Asia so far has eliminated slack productive 

capacity, so price pressures will begin to mount,” Nag told 

reporters ahead of the formal start of ADB’s two-day meeting 

of the board of governors in New Delhi today. 

Nag said a currency war was unlikely in Asia as a result 

of the fall of the Japanese yen due to the easing. The 

emerging Asian economies, such as India, China, Indonesia, 

and Thailand but not Japan — were on track for solid 

growth of around 6.6 percent this year driven by domestic 

and regional demand, he said. — AFP


www.kuwaittimes.net 

Bollywood marks 

India’s century 

of cinema PAGE 25 

This image shows actress 

Camilla Belle wearing a twotone 

Ferragamo Vara shoe in 

white and beige. — AP


The couple - who reconciled earlier this year after splitting 

briefly following the actress’ affair with director 

Rupert Sanders - have been spending a lot of time with 

Jules Mann-Stewart at her Malibu home but the ‘Twilight 

Saga’ actor is reportedly not happy about the arrangement 

because of the lack of intimacy. A source said: “Rob told 

Kristen that living with Jules has become unbearable. He says 

Jules is driving him nuts and he can’t take it. “Living with Jules 

has all but killed their love life. Neither of them have any 

libido when Jules is around.” Robert also hates when Kristen 

and her mother “gang up” on him. The source added to 

America’s OK! magazine: “They tease him if he doesn’t clean 

up properly after himself and worse still Jules keeps asking 

him all sorts of questions about their relationship.” It seems 

the living arrangement has only just turned sour as it was 

reported last month that the couple had enjoyed an idyllic 

Easter break at the Malibu house with other members of 

Kristen’s family. A source said recently: “Rob and Kristen celebrated 

Easter together at her mom’s house in Malibu. It was 

low-key and Kristen’s brothers were there as well. “During the 

day, Rob took the paddle board out. There is a private beach 

where Jules lives and that’s where Rob always goes paddle 

boarding. It’s very secluded and private. As far as I know, all is 

perfect in Rob and Kristen’s world. They are really happy to be 

back together.” And while he may not be experiencing much 

privacy, at least the ‘Bel Ami’ star will be eating well as Jules 

previously admitted she and her daughter love to stage cookoffs 

against one another. She said recently: “I made a sausagebased 

lasagne, and Kristen made a cheese and marinara. We 

had friends come over as blind judges and she won.” 

The fashion designer and soccer star - who 

have children Brooklyn, 14, Romeo, 10, 

Cruz, eight, and 21-month-old daughter 

Harper together - are currently renting a £2 

million mansion in the UK capital after moving 

over from Los Angeles in January ahead of 

David’s transfer to French club Paris Saint- 

Germain. They are now looking for a property 

to buy amid plans for Victoria to open her first 

ever clothing store. A source told The Sun 

newspaper: “They’ve been happy renting so 

far, with Victoria spending most of the week in 

London with the kids, while David stays in a 

luxury pad in Paris. “But they’re feeling settled 

back in Europe, and Victoria has expanded her 

fashion business in London, so it makes sense 

to sort out a home.” The couple are so serious 

about the move that they hope to put their US 

property on the market as soon as they can. 

The source added: “While they still have ties in 

LA, when the US housing market gets back on 

track, there’s a good chance they’ll sell up 

there.” However, Victoria, 39, and David - who 

turned 38 - seem to have dividing opinions 

about where they want to live, with the 

brunette beauty eager to purchase a home in 

the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea 

and the sportsman wanting to be more central 

and near his friends. The source said: “David 

would prefer Notting Hill, close to people like 

his best pal David Gardner. But Victoria would 

like their family home to be slightly removed.” 

The ‘Iron Man 3’ actress would love to follow in 

the footsteps of former actress Ellen DeGeneres 

and host her own chat show. A source told 

America’s Star magazine: “She thinks she can be a kind 

of New Age Ellen DeGeneres. She completely believes 

she has what it takes. “As much as Gwyneth is inspired 

by Ellen and other talk show hosts, she also thinks she 

can do it better than any of them.” It was recently 

revealed Gwyneth will front a 10-episode show called 

‘Second Chances’ on the AOL On Network, produced 

by Ryan Seacrest Productions, alongside her fitness 

guru pal Tracy Anderson, during which they will share 

stories of numerous women who have faced and overcome 

a variety of obstacles in their lives. AOL said: 

“Gwyneth Paltrow and Tracy Anderson spend time 

with women who’ve overcome hardship, injury, and 

setbacks to triumph in the face of adversity. “We’ll 

hear their inspiring stories firsthand, whether fighting 

back from a career-ending injury or transforming their 

lives and bodies through diet and exercise.” ‘American 

Idol’ host Ryan, 38, who already produces a number of 

reality shows including ‘Keeping Up With The 

Kardashians’ revealed he is excited to focus on digital 

shows. He said: “It’s a new focus for us, in the context 

of this company.”


The ‘X Factor’ USA judge says checking in to a treatment 

facility to help her overcome her struggles with 

bulimia and self-harming in 2010 was a life-changing 

move, especially because it proved who actually cared 

about her. She told Company magazine: “A couple of 

months before I went to rehab, I had a birthday party, and 

there were a couple of hundred people there. It was full of 

people who I considered my closest friends. “When I 

turned my phone on after being in rehab for three months, 

I expected lots of text messages and phone calls. I had four 

texts. That was a wake-up call.” The 20-year-old singer - 

who used to be friends with her fellow Disney stars Miley 

Cyrus and Selena Gomez - has cut most of her old pals out 

of her life and now only has a small support group of people 

she can rely on. Demi added: “I don’t have loads of 

friends. I used to, but then I realized, do any of them actually 

care? “Now I have people who, if I break my leg in the 

middle of the night, will come to the hospital with me. Or 

they’ll answer the phone at 4 am if I need them.” 

The 66-year-old singer admitted she was “really strongheaded” 

when she was a youngster which often caused 

problems with her mother Georgia Holt, who she has 

paid tribute to in new documentary ‘Dear Mom, Love Cher’. 

She told People magazine: “We were always close but we 

fought a lot when I was young. I was really strong-headed 

even then. “I did a couple of things like running away when I 

was 11. I hopped a train with my friends. I was adventurous 

but never disrespectful, She wouldn’t have put up with that.” 

Cher also revealed her mother wasn’t entirely supportive of 

her relationship with the late Sonny Bono, the father of her 

child Chaz Bono, at first. She said: “I had a little problem with 

her over Sonny but that didn’t take long to get over. She listened 

first before making a judgement so I could always talk 

to her about my romances. She stressed the importance of 

being sure that person you are with is the person you love.” 

The 17-year-old daughter of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger is 

dating stand-up paddleboarder Slater Trout and revealed 

the pair first starting talking to each other on the microblogging 

site. She told Vanity Fair: “We met through mutual flirting 

efforts on the Internet. Twitter is a modern-day public diary of 

your thoughts. You have to be careful, but at the same time it’s 

kind of fun not to be too careful.” The model also acknowledged 

that people may think her success comes from her famous parents 

but she insists she works hard for her career. Ireland explained: 

“For any kid raised under the circumstances I was raised-having a 

famous family-people often think you have everything laid out for 

you and you don’t need to work,” she said. “But everyone has to 

work for what they want, and everybody has to make a name for 

themselves.” Despite her stunning looks, Ireland went through an 

awkward phase but has now learned to love her looks. She said: “I 

went through a lot in middle school, and you always try so many 

different looks and try to be so many different people. I finally see 

that I’m awkward, I’m lanky, and I’m going to embrace it-make fun 

of myself and just laugh.” 

Lil Wayne is engaged 

The ‘Lollipop’ rapper has been dating Dhea Sodano for 

two years and in a trailer for Vinny Guadagnino’s ‘The 

Show With Vinny’, Wayne says “My fiancee is Italian,” 

when asked if he has ever eaten Italian food. However, it 

could simply be a joke as on Valentine’s Day 2012 he wrote on 

Twitter, “She said yes!” before adding: “Ohhhhhhh now I see 

why! I meant “she said yes” to being my valentine!!! 

Hahahahahahaha! Y’all krazy (sic).” The rapper - who has confirmed 

that he is epileptic and nearly died after his heart rate 

decreased to “30 percent” in March - suffered yet another 

seizure earlier this week. Speaking about his condition previously, 

he said: “[I’m] prone to seizures. This isn’t my first, second, 

third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh seizure. I’ve had a bunch 

of seizures, ya’ll just never hear about them. “But this time it 

got real bad ‘cause I had three of them in a row and on the 

third one, my heart rate went down to like 30 percent. 

Basically, I could’ve died.”—Bang Showbiz


Actor Robert Downey Jr (center) who plays Tony Stark in the “Iron Man” movies, gives a thumbs-up as 

he rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange. — AP 

‘Iron Man 3’ blasts off 

US blockbuster season 

Man 3” is expected to launch 

America’s summer blockbuster season 

with a bang this weekend, hav- 

“Iron 

ing already taken global box offices by 

storm, industry analysts say. Robert 

Downey Jr returns as the metal-suited 

Marvel superhero, in a sequel to the last 

“Iron Man” movie in 2010, but also playing 

off the back of last year’s comic-book mega 

hit “The Avengers,” which also featured 

him. The film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow 

and Ben Kingsley as well, has already made 

nearly $200 million around the world in the 

last week, and could earn a similar sum in 

its first weekend in North America. 

“The summer firework show has already 

begun for most of the world. Disney’s cash 

rocket... is expected to light up the box 

office with $165 million,” said Jeff Bock, 

box office analyst at industry tracker 

Exhibitor Relations. That may be short of 

the best opening weekend box office ever 

— $207 million for “The Avengers”-but it 

would be the biggest “Iron Man” debut 

after $98 million for the first one in 2008 

and the second three years ago. Downey 

Jr was in suitably relaxed mood when promoting 

the movie recently ahead of its US 

release, bantering with Paltrow, whose 

character’s teasing romance with his reaches 

new levels in this movie. 

“These guys are wimps, okay? The suit is 

not that bad,” Paltrow said after Downey Jr 

and metal-clad co-star Don Cheadle complained 

about how heavy their suits were, 

and how much they had to wear them on 

set compared to Paltrow. The “Iron Man” 

star shot back: “And Gwyneth by the way, 

she did come in and she was having a ball, 

and her kids were there and she was in 

rockin’ shape, so it was all nice and easy. I 

think she wore it once or twice. “It’s an 

accumulative issue,” he joked at a Beverly 

Hills press conference, before acknowledging: 

“I admit, we’re wimps.” 

In the new movie, Tony Stark, his billionaire 

playboy character who transforms 

himself into “Iron Man,” faces formidable 

terrorist The Mandarin, played by Kingsley. 

There are two baddies in all, with Anglo- 

Australian actor Guy Pearce playing evil 

scientist Aldrich Killian, who has developed 

a fluid that can turn people into superhuman 

mutants. 

“These movies are only ever as good as 

their bad guys,” said Downey Jr, paying 

tribute to his co-stars-who in turn heaped 

praise on the US star actor, who makes fun 

of his past problems with drugs and the 

law. “The truth is that these movies work 

Spielberg to direct 

‘American Sniper’ 

Steven Spielberg has his sights set 

on his next project, a movie about 

former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle. 

A spokeswoman for DreamWorks Studios 

says the filmmaker will direct Bradley 

Cooper in an adaptation of the best-selling 

book “American Sniper.” “Spread” 

screenwriter Jason Hall wrote the script 

based on the autobiography of Kyle, who 

was killed along with a friend earlier this 

year while at a North Texas gun range. An 

Iraq war veteran who they were trying to 

help deal with PTSD is charged with the 

killings. Kyle is considered to be the 

deadliest sniper in US military history. At 

the time of his death, he was working on 

another book, “American Gun: A History 

of the US in Ten Firearms.” The film will 

be a co-production of DreamWorks and 

Warner Bros. — AP 

because Robert has a really big picture creative 

mind about what these movies 

should feel like,” said Paltrow. “He is 

always asking... how can we make it feel 

like something we care about, and we 

want to watch. 

So I think... that’s why the movies keep 

working, and they’re not a weaker carbon 

copy of the one before.” Box office analyst 

Bock noted that in China, “Iron Man 3” 

made $21.5 million in just one day, a 

record he said-compared to $18 million 

taken by “The Avengers” there over two 

days last summer. 

“In fact, ‘Iron Man 3,’ straight out of the 

gate, may be the top movie of the summer,” 

he told AFP, adding that it was “definitely 

playing like a pseudo-sequel to” last 

year’s “The Avengers.” So will there be an 

“Iron Man 4?” “We never could have 

known what and who was going to come 

together for the third Iron Man. Usually, 

the third of anything struggles to even 

meet the first two, let alone the first one,” 

said Downey Jr. “So in all earnestness, 

things are very much in flux right now. 

Marvel has their plans and we’re all living 

and growing, so we’ll see what happens,” 

he added. “The future, as usual, is uncertain.” 

— AFP 

In this file photo, actor Bradley Cooper 

attends the premiere of Focus 

Features’ “The Place Beyond The 

Pines” at the Landmark Sunshine 

Theater in New York. — AP 

Video shows Reese 

Witherspoon’s arrest 

Adashboard-camera video of Reese Witherspoon’s 

recent disorderly-conduct arrest provides a rare 

glimpse of one of Hollywood’s best-known actresses 

unfiltered as she takes on a no-nonsense Georgia state 

trooper following her husband’s traffic stop. In video of 

the April 19 early-morning incident in Atlanta, posted 

Thursday by the website TMZ, the 37-year-old actress 

seeks to intercede as her husband is being administered a 

field sobriety test by the trooper. Trooper First Class J 

Pyland tells Witherspoon to stay in the couple’s vehicle no 

fewer than five times. For her part, Witherspoon is equally 

determined to get out and engage him, even at one point 

feigning pregnancy and saying she needs to use the bathroom. 

When the trooper starts to arrest her, she lets loose. 

Witherspoon turns to yell at him while being handcuffed 

and accuses the trooper of harassment, at one point 

prompting him to warn her, “You fight me, I promise you 

...” Witherspoon’s husband, Hollywood agent Jim Toth, 

mostly observes the exchange, but tries to calm her after 

the trooper’s warning about resisting arrest. 

TMZ posted the video from the trooper’s vehicle hours 

after Witherspoon appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning 

America” to apologize for her behavior. In her first sitdown 

interview about the arrest, the Oscar-winning 

actress and mother of three said she had “one too many” 

glasses of wine, and panicked after she and her husband 

were pulled over. “I have no idea what I was saying that 

night,” she said. “I literally panicked. I said all kinds of crazy 

things. I told them I was pregnant. I’m not pregnant.” 

The police report states Witherspoon asked the trooper, 

“Do you know my name?” and added, “You’re about to 

find out who I am.” The video shows the situation quickly 

escalating. In one video clip, the trooper appears to be 

examining Toth when Witherspoon, out of view, starts to 

get out of her vehicle. “Ma’am, get back in that car,” the 

trooper tells her. She apologizes, and asks if she can say 

something. “No ma’am,” he says, “get back in that car. I’m 

not going to repeat myself again.” 

Later, when Witherspoon continues to try to intervene, 

the trooper handcuffs her. “You better not arrest me! Are 

you kidding me?” she asks. “Nope,” he responds. She 

protests again, “I’m an American citizen!” The trooper 

leans toward her and says he told her to stay in the car. 

She repeats “This is beyond!” She turns to yell at the trooper 

as he’s handcuffing her and he raises his chin and warns 

her against resisting arrest. 

As Witherspoon is taken out of view, she can be heard 

asking, “Do you know my name sir?” When he says he 

doesn’t need to, she asks, “You don’t need to know my 

name?” He says “Not quite yet,” and she adds, “Oh really. 

OK, you’re about to find out who I am.” The trooper 

responds, “That’s fine. I’m not real worried about you, 

ma’am. I done told you how things worked. You want to 

get out and get up in my investigation, that’s OK.” As the 

trooper returns to Toth, he tells him, “I tried.” 

Toth says “I’m sorry,” and the trooper adds, “I absolutely 

100 percent tried.” Toth then tries to put some distance 

between him and his wife’s outburst. “I had nothing to do 

with that,” Toth tells the trooper. “I know,” he responds. 

Toth was charged with drunken driving and is due in court 

May 23. Witherspoon faces a May 22 court hearing on the 

disorderly conduct charge. 

Shortly after her jail release, the star of hit movies such 

as “Walk The Line,” “Legally Blonde,” “Sweet Home 

Alabama” and “Election” issued a statement saying there 

was “no excuse” for her behavior. “I was disrespectful to 

the officer who was just doing his job. The words I used 

that night definitely do not reflect who I am. I have nothing 

but respect for the police and I am very sorry for my 

behavior.” 

Two lawyers for Witherspoon, one in Los Angeles and 

one in Atlanta, did not immediately return calls from 

The Associated Press seeking comment Thursday. “There 

are so many lessons learned,” she told ABC on Thursday. 

“When a police officer tells you to stay in the car, you 

stay in the car,” she said. “I learned that for sure. I 

learned a lot.” — AP


Bollywood marks 

India’s century of cinema 

India’s movie industry toasted its 100th 

birthday yesterday with the release of two 

films celebrating its humble origins in the 

silent era and the influence of glamorous 

modern-day Bollywood. “Bombay Talkies” 

comprises four short stories inspired by 

India’s love of cinema, created by some of the 

country’s leading filmmakers. “You usually 

celebrate birthdays and that’s what we are 

doing today. Indian cinema turns 100 and we 

are acknowledging that,” said Zoya Akhtar, 

who directed the film along with Karan Johar, 

Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee. 

The acclaimed cast includes Nawazuddin 

Siddiqui and Rani Mukherjee, with a cameo 

from acting legend Amitabh Bachchan. The 

Indian Bollywood film actress Preity Zinta 

poses during the press meet for the Hindi 

film ‘Ishkq in Paris’ in Mumbai. 

film’s theme song features Bollywood A-listers 

such as Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Vidya 

Balan, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor. 

The movie will have a special gala screening 

at the Cannes film festival this month, where 

India is to be honoured as the “guest country” 

in its landmark year. 

“The four short stories are about passion 

for cinema and ingredients like drama, music, 

A man walks past a mural of Indian Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan from his classic film ‘Deewar’, at sunrise in Mumbai yesterday. 

dance and entertainment. All of these ingredients 

are a huge part of our films and culture,” 

said co-producer Ashi Dua. Its release comes 

100 years to the day since the opening in 

Bombay (now Mumbai) of “Raja (King) 

Harishchandra”, the first all-Indian silent feature 

film, based on the tale of a virtuous king 

from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. 

It marked the birth of one of the world’s 

most vibrant film industries, which produced 

almost 1,500 movies last year in various languages 

and corners of the country, with 

Hindi-language Bollywood leading the way. 

While “Bombay Talkies” explores life in the 

present, the second film opening on Friday is 

the award-winning “Celluloid Man”, which 

pays tribute to the founder of the National 

Film Archive of India, PK Nair. 

The documentary, so far only shown at festivals, 

showcases Nair’s lifetime dedication to 

preserving films that date back to the silent 

era, and it is peppered with clips from historic 

black-and-white productions. Thanks to the 

efforts of 80-year-old Nair, nine silent films 

out of 1,700 made in India have been preserved, 

although no records remain of many 

others. “Almost 70 percent of the films made 

before 1950 are lost, including some real 

gems like the first ‘talkie’,” Nair told AFP, refer- 

Bollywood actresses Meera Chopra (left) 

and Mahi Gill pose at a ceremony ahead of 

the forthcoming Hindi Film ‘Gang of 

Ghosts’ directed by actor Satish Kaushik in 

Mumbai. 

ring to the first Indian film with sound, 1931’s 

“Alam Ara” (The Light of the World). 

He said digital technology would help to 

preserve the cinematic gems that still exist for 

future generations. “There are currently about 

12,000 films awaiting digitisation.” Also on 

Friday, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee 

was to join stars and filmmakers at the annual 

National Film Awards in capital New Delhi, following 

a six-day festival showcasing the 

colourful history of Indian cinema. Awardwinners 

already announced include “Paan 

Singh Tomar”, a Hindi film starring Irrfan Khan 

about the Indian soldier and athlete who 

became a notorious bandit. The ceremony 

also celebrates works from various regional 

film hubs, in languages including Malayalam, 

Marathi, Telugu and Bengali. — AFP 

A fitness enthusiast does his morning walk past a statue of late Indian filmmaker Yash 

Chopra in Mumbai yesterday. — AFP photos 

An Indian employee of the New Excelsior 

Theatre prepares to remove a poster from 

a display board.


Director says spirit of 

‘45 ‘only way forward’ 

Children pose in front of a 2.8-meter tall confectionery house called “Jiyugaoka Sweets House”, created 

by Japanese patissier and confectionery artist Junko Yokoi (not pictured) in Tokyo yesterday. The 

confectionery house is decorated with 1,500 cookies, donuts, breads and sugar candies to celebrate 

Children’s Day on May 5 and will be displayed through May 6. — AFP 

‘Maisie’ tasteful with 

strong performances 

Review 

Abroken-family melodrama with a minimum of 

histrionics, Scott McGehee’s and David Siegel’s 

“What Maisie Knew” begins from scenes that will 

be familiar to most viewers who’ve witnessed a custody 

battle. Things get pretty orchestrated from that familiar 

scenario onward, but never to the point of unbelievability. 

The sad tidiness of the film’s resolution (and the way it 

departs from the Henry James book it’s based on) makes 

it all the more appealing. 

Maisie is a six-year-old New Yorker (Onata Aprile) in a 

position to know a great deal. She knows her rock-star 

mother (Julianne Moore) is too busy arguing with Dad 

(Steve Coogan) to pay for the pizza delivery she ordered; 

she knows Dad tries extra hard to be cute when her nanny 

Margo (Joanna Vanderham) is in the room. She knows 

Mom and Dad aren’t going to live together anymore, and 

there’s a lot of arguing over how much time she’ll spend 

with him. 

Most importantly, she knows how to keep some of 

these things at bay - as the adult relationships around her 

grow more disturbed, she coasts along as best she can, 

wisely choosing ignorance when Mom asks if Daddy (now 

in his own apartment, with the nanny there to help when 

Maisie’s with him) is ever so happy to see Margo that he 

gives her a kiss. 

He is, of course, and when he marries his former 

employee, Maisie’s mother Susanna feels she must compete 

in the court’s eyes - making her own home just as 

family-like by marrying a younger man (Alexander 

Skarsgrd’s Lincoln) she hardly knows. The closest thing to 

an innocent in all this aside from Maisie, Lincoln - a lanky 

Southerner whose body sometimes seems to fold inward 

on itself in deference to those around him - can’t help but 

befriend the girl, a development that (to a perhaps 

implausible degree) disturbs Susanna. “You don’t get a 

bonus for making her fall in love with you,” Susanna 

snaps at one point, making us wonder whether that’s a 

literal comment, and she has actually paid the bartender 

to be a prop husband. 

What’s more emotionally abusive to a child whose parents 

have split - failing to show up for days when it’s time 

for her to stay at your place (both sides are guilty here), or 

spending your time with her on loud, “he can’t get away 

with this” phone calls to a lawyer? Steve Coogan’s Beale is 

an up-front narcissist; Susanna needs her daughter’s welfare 

as an excuse to make everything about her own 

desires. 

Moore has the most complicated part to play here, as 

a woman who really believes she loves her daughter 

more than anything but is blind to what such a devotion 

might mean in practice. Over and over, she relies on 

Lincoln to pick Maisie up from school, watch her when a 

gig beckons, improvise when necessary. It’s inevitable 

that he will come to identify with Margot, who fills the 

same role for Beale. 

And another thing Maisie knows is to trust the people 

who actually take care of her - never voicing an allegiance 

that would exclude anyone she cares for, but eagerly 

accepting love that’s offered in the form of actions as well 

as words. In this modern take on a century-old story, that 

distinction remains the most valuable one of all. “What 

Maisie Knew,” a Millennium Entertainment release, is rated 

R for language. Running time: 98 minutes. — AP 

This image shows Onata Aprile (left) and Alexander 

Skarsgard in a scene from “What Maisie Knew.” — AP 

British director Ken Loach arrives for the closing ceremony 

of the 65th Cannes film festival. — AFP 

Director Ken Loach is not impressed. “Happy films for happy 

people” is the withering verdict of the man who made his 

name with the likes of “Cathy Come Home” and “Kes” on 

much of today’s film and television. Movies and programmes now 

“don’t ask questions... like a soft cushion for the brain... the life 

squeezed out of it by so many bureaucrats above,” he says. His latest 

film “The Spirit of ‘45”, an archive documentary about the 1945 

general election and the creation of the welfare state by Clement 

Attlee’s Labour government, is the Loach antidote to such visual 

“comfort food”. 

At a time when the 76-year-old filmmaker sees worrying parallels 

in the Britain of the 1930s, he believes it is timely to look back 

and remember “how we got out of it” last time. “I wanted to say 

that this (free health care, decent housing, financial support for 

the old and unemployed) is possible and... not an act of God,” he 

says. “That the neo-conservative idea of the free market and the 

kind of raw capitalism will never provide a dignified and secure 

life for people.” Loach, who is known for his socialist convictions, 

argues that you do not have to look far in modern-day Britain for 

echoes of the poverty that led to the establishment of the welfare 

state after World War II. And he deplores the failure of television 

and film to highlight and explore what is going on, viewing much 

of what is on offer on our screens as increasingly “irrelevant to 

what’s happening” in Britain today. 

“You think what’s going on in the country-it’s a society in 

chaos. There’s dysfunction, alienation amongst young people and 

you look at the TV drama and it no way reflects that,” the British 

director told AFP in an interview in Paris. What Loach sees in the 

most deprived pockets of some parts of Britain such as Liverpool, 

the northeast, Glasgow and east London is mass unemployment, 

great poverty of the sort “marked by obesity rather than starvation” 

and the rise of the far right. A generation of young people 

whose material security less than a decade ago seemed so assured 

now sees its future as “negligible”, he says. 

“Talking to young people, they don’t expect to get a job, they 

don’t expect to have a house, they don’t expect to necessarily 

even be able to bring up a family. “They’re not thinking politically 

but they’re saying that’s their future... a future without hope... I 

think the (1930s) parallel is there and it’s very dangerous.” Loach 

blames overly commercial and prescriptive television and film 

executives obsessed with market share for what he sees as a loss 

of choice. “Cathy Come Home”, written by Jeremy Sandford, 

about a family’s downward spiral into homelessness, highlighted 

a lack of proper housing in Britain and sparked public outrage 

when it was broadcast on the BBC in 1966. Today, however, he 

believes filmmakers would find it impossible to get something 

similar made due to the endless layers of “bureaucrats” working 

above them. “There were none really (then), it was just the producer 

and the head of drama and sometimes he would see it 

before it went out and sometimes he wouldn’t. “It was a very 

benign supportive process. It only lasted a few years and, yes, we 

had battles of course but the battle lines were drawn in a far more 

generous way, so that there was far more freedom.” 

Despite the difficulties, Loach’s output is prolific, with six films 

for the big screen in the last decade alone including “The Wind 

That Shakes the Barley” which won the 2006 Palme d’Or at 

Cannes. Retirement often crosses his mind, he says, when he feels 

like an “old racehorse” who is “not sure I can get round the 

course”. But for now “there’s too much to do, really”, including 

another film in the early planning stages with writer Paul Laverty. 

“We are hoping to do something in Ireland, maybe set in the 

1930s, 10 years after “The Wind That Shakes the Barley,” he 

adds.”We haven’t really worked it out yet, it’s just a twinkle in the 

eye at the moment.” — AFP


Rolling Stones release low-priced seats ahead of LA show 

Wild horses couldn’t drag many of 

the most die-hard of Rolling 

Stones fans to the kick-off of the 

band’s North American tour - at least not 

at prices of up to a whopping $600 a ticket. 

Three weeks after tickets went on sale, 

and a day before the British band take the 

stage yesterday, the Los Angeles Staples 

Center was far from sold out for the “50 

and Counting” gig. Secondary ticket sellers 

StubHub had more than 500 tickets 

available 24 hours before the May 3 

show, Good Seat tickets said they were 

slashing re-sale prices by 40 percent, and 

Epic Nation rolled out a 10 percent discount 

code. 

The veteran rock band announced on 

their official website this week that they 

were releasing an additional number of 

tickets at a modest $85, the only price 

point that quickly sold out for the May 3 

concert. According to the website, some 

of the $85 seats will be among the best 

seats in house in the “Tongue Pit,” with 

others spread around the arena. Buyers 

will be notified of their seat location on 

the day of the show. 

Concert promoters AEG denied they 

were cutting prices, saying tickets once 

thought to have an obstructed view had 

come to light after the tongue and lip 

shaped stage was set up. “Seeing (the 

stage) in this setting for the first time, we 

were able to determine that seats previously 

thought to have obstructed views 

were in fact unobstructed and could 

immediately be offered to fans for $85 

each,” AEG said in a statement. On 

Thursday, seats at prices ranging from 

$250 to $600 were still available, according 

to the AXS website operated by AEG, 

which owns the Staples Center arena that 

seats about 19,000 people. 

Biggest Stones tour in six years 

Yesterday’s show officially kicks off the 

band’s 17-date North American tour to 

mark their 50 years in the music business. 

It’s the biggest tour by the Stones in six 

years and follows a handful of dates in 

London, Paris and New York at the end of 

2012. Tickets for the London shows in 

November sold out swiftly despite complaints 

from fans over similarly high 

prices. “Having a $600 price point for 

prime seats is definitely pushing the 

envelope,” said Gary Bongiovanni, editorin-chief 

of Pollstar, a concert industry 

magazine. He noted it was a particularly 

tough sell to core Rolling Stones fans 

who have seen the band many times. “It’s 

easy for someone who has seen them to 

rationalize and say I’m not sure I want to 

skip my mortgage payment to see them 

again,” he told Reuters. 

Nevertheless Bongiovanni expects sales 

to pick up with the lower prices. “I wouldn’t 

expect a lot of empty seats because they’re 

repricing tickets to whatever it takes,” he 

said. The band played a more reasonably 

priced $20 “surprise” gig in Los Angeles last 

Saturday. The Rolling Stones last went on 

the road from 2005 to 2007, playing 144 

shows globally and grossing more than 

$550 million, one of the world’s most lucrative 

tours. —Reuters 

Ed Sheeran performs at the Nokia Lumia Concert at The Box in New York on Thursday, 

May 2, 2013. — AP 

Picture shows the organ of Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral in Paris. — AFP 

Where’s Lindsay Lohan? Not in rehab, apparently 

Lindsay Lohan appeared to have 

skipped out on a court-ordered 

rehab program on Thursday, 

before doing a disappearing act and 

Lindsay Lohan arrives at the amfAR 

(The Foundation for AIDS Research) 

gala in New York. — AFP 

possibly violating her probation again. 

Although her lawyer assured a Los 

Angeles judge on Thursday that she had 

checked in to start a 90-day stint 

imposed for a June 2012 reckless driving 

case, Lohan was photographed about 

the same time shopping in a Southern 

California electronics superstore. 

Santa Monica city prosecutor Terry 

White told the Los Angeles Times hours 

later that he had learned that Lohan, 26, 

spent only a few minutes at the rehabilitation 

facility in Newport Beach before 

leaving. “Ms. Lohan is in violation of her 

probation. That much is clear,” White 

told the newspaper. 

Lohan is still on probation for a 2011 

jewelry theft. Any violation could make 

her liable to arrest and being ordered to 

jail. Celebrity news outlet E!, quoting 

unidentified sources, said Lohan never 

got out of her car at the Morningside 

Recovery Center and that she may be 

headed back to New York. 

Calls to Lohan’s lawyer and publicist 

were not returned on Thursday and 

celebrity news websites reported no further 

sightings of the troubled “Mean 

Girls” actress. Lohan, 26, was sentenced 

to 90 days in a locked rehab center as 

part of a March plea deal. She avoided 

jail by pleading no contest to charges 

that she lied to police when she said she 

was not behind the wheel of a car that 

smashed into a truck in the beach city of 

Santa Monica in June 2012. 

Lohan had until Thursday to start her 

treatment and had initially agreed to go 

to a rehab center in New York. Her lastminute 

switch, reportedly because she 

could not smoke in the New York facility, 

left White fuming on Thursday 

because he said he had not had time to 

vet the Morningside Recovery Center. 

Officials at the Department of 

Alcohol and Drug programs said the 

center was not licensed to provide the 

kind of 24-hour residential alcohol or 

drug detox program that Lohan was 

ordered to attend. The center said in a 

statement that it operated sober living 

homes and certified outpatient services 

at a clinic and had “successfully treated 

thousands of patients through our program.” 

Its website shows pictures of sunsets 

on the beach, and offers clients group 

trips to Disneyland, sailing and kayaking. 

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James 

Dabney gave prosecutors a week to 

investigate the Morningside Recovery 

center. Lohan has spent at least five 

stints in rehab in the past six years for 

unspecified issues. — Reuters 

Family tried 

intervention for Jackson 

Apolice detective has testified that Michael Jackson’s mother 

told him the family had tried drug interventions for the 

singer, believing he was addicted to painkillers. But 

Katherine Jackson said her son refused any help, saying he didn’t 

have a drug problem. The testimony came on Thursday under 

questioning by lawyers for a concert promoter being sued by 

Katherine Jackson in connection with the star’s death. Police 

detective Orlando Martinez said Katherine Jackson spoke of several 

attempts by the family to do interventions and get Jackson 

into rehab. 

She also said she never met Dr Conrad Murray until after her 

son was dead. Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter 

after giving the anesthetic propofol to the pop star. Five days 

before Michael Jackson died, his manager called the singer’s doctor, 

told him Jackson was sick, and implored him to have blood 

tests done, according to a voicemail played Thursday in court. 

The message left by Frank Dileo was retrieved by police from 

the cellphone of Dr. Conrad Murray and played during the trial of 

a negligence lawsuit filed by Jackson’s mother against concert 

promoter AEG Live. “I’m sure you’re aware he had an episode last 

night,” the message said. 

“He’s sick ... We gotta see what he’s doing.” Plaintiff’s lawyer 

Brian Panish acknowledged outside court that the episode 

occurred on the day Jackson was told by Kenny Ortega, the 

director of his “This is It” concert, to go home from a rehearsal 

because he was pale and shivering. Panish suggested that if 

Dileo was aware of the incident, so were AEG executives. —AP


In this June 14, 1945 file photo, actress and singer Deanna 

Durbin (right) poses with her second husband, producer Felix 

Jackson, immediately after their wedding at The Little Church of 

the West in Las Vegas. 

In this May 30, 1939 file photo, actress Deanna Durbin sits with Vaughn Paul in the clubhouse 

of Hollywood Park in Los Angeles. 

Deanna Durbin, the teen sensation whose 

sparkling soprano voice and girl-nextdoor 

looks made her a star during 

Hollywood’s Golden Age, has died, a family 

friend said Wednesday. She was 91. Durbin died 

on about April 20 in a village outside Paris where 

she had lived, out of public view, since 1949, family 

friend Bob Koster of Los Angeles told the 

Associated Press. Koster’s father, Henry Koster, 

directed six of Durbin’s films. Bob Koster did not 

know the cause of death. 

At the height of her career, the Canadian-born 

Durbin, who made her first feature, “Three Smart 

Girls,” at age 13, was among the highest-paid 

actresses. Her fans included Winston Churchill, 

who said she was his favorite star according to 

biographer William Manchester, and Anne Frank, 

who had Durbin’s photo pasted on the wall in 

the secret quarters where she and her family hid 

in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. 

In 1938 she received an honorary Academy 

Award for her “significant contribution in bringing 

to the screen the spirit and personification of 

youth.” Her hair, makeup and on-screen outfits 

set fashion trends worldwide and were emulated 

by millions. In the 1941 hit “Nice Girl?” Durbin, 

then 20, wore a spangled white organdy dress, 

ruffled and modestly cut, that became the rage 

at proms and country club dances across the 

United States. 

“She was one of the last really legitimate 

movie stars from the 1930s who was still with us,” 

film historian Alan K. Rode told the Los Angeles 

Times. “She was a huge box-office star for a short 

period of time.” But Durbin retired from the 

movies at age 28 and never looked back despite 

appeals from directors, studios and fans. 

Deanna Durbin was born Edna Mae Durbin on 

Dec. 4, 1921 in Winnipeg, Canada. Because of illness, 

her father moved the family to Los Angeles 

where the young Edna was discovered by a talent 

scout while singing at a school recital. In 

1936, she co-starred with Judy Garland in “Every 

Sunday.” The financially struggling Universal 

hired her to star in “Three Smart Girls.” It was 

Durbin’s first full-length feature, and it was a 

huge success thanks to the young actress’ strong 

screen presence. A year later, “One Hundred Men 

and a Girl” followed suit, saving Universal from 

bankruptcy and earning the renamed Deanna 

Durbin the nickname, “the mortgage lifter.” 

Rode said Durbin, along with Abbot and 

Costello, “saved the studio from going down the 

tubes.” By 1939 child roles were becoming 

increasingly out-of-reach for Durbin who had 

grown into a mature young woman. She was 

passed over for the role of Dorothy in the classic 

“Wizard of Oz” and Garland got the part. That 

same year saw her first on-screen kiss - with 

Robert Stack - and the news bumped war headlines 

off daily papers. Durbin married cinematographer 

Vaughn Paul in 1941, and was divorced in 

1943. 

She made “Can’t Help Singing,” her first and 

only Technicolor film, in 1944. Her other films 

were in black-and-white because studio executives 

said it was too expensive to have Deanna 

Durbin and color film in the same movie. That 

same year she married playwright Felix Jackson, 

20 years her senior. They had one daughter and 

divorced in 1949. In 1945, Durbin made “Lady on 

a Train” - directed by Charles David, whom she 

married five years later. The two moved to France 

and had a son. David died in 1999. Durbin is survived 

by her daughter, Jessica Jackson, and her 

son, Peter H. David. — AP 

This 1937 file photo shows singer and film 

actress Deanna Durbin. — AP photos


Emirati designer Mona Al-Mansouri (center) stands amidst models presenting 

her creations during a fashion show in Beirut on May 2, 2013. — AFP


TECHNOLOGY 

In battle against cyberattacks, 

hackers wear the ‘white hats’ 

Tearing apart computer programs to find vulnerabilities 

WASHINGTON: He’s 26, likes industrial and electronic music, 

has a bleached-blond Mohawk haircut and sometimes, Mikhail 

Davidov said, he starts his day “at the crack of noon.” The late 

hours are in front of a computer, working on reverse engineering, 

tearing apart computer programs to find their vulnerabilities. 

Sometimes he works 18 hours straight. “There are few hackers 

out there who are ‘morning people,’ “ Davidov said. 

These days, the front lines for security don’t only include soldiers 

carrying weapons. They include computer whiz kids like 

Davidov, who works for the Leviathan Security Group, a 20-person 

firm that operates out of second-floor offices in a renovated 

1918 building in Seattle. Chad Thunberg, chief operating officer 

of Leviathan, said he can relate to Davidov, remembering his 

own younger days. Thunberg, who is 35 and married with two 

children, said, “I’m considered a grandpa in my industry. There 

was a time when I was the Mikhail equivalent. You live and 

breathe security.” 

Cyberattacks are costing corporations and consumers - a lot. 

In a six-year span starting in 2005, data breaches in 33 countries, 

including the US, cost the firms involved more than $156 billion, 

according to the nonprofit Digital Forensics Association. Every 

second, in various parts of the world, there are 18 cybercrime 

victims - some 1.6 million a day - according to a 2012 Norton by 

Symantec study. 

On Friday, the Wenatchee World newspaper reported that a 

Leavenworth, Wash., hospital said hackers stole more than $1 

million from the hospital’s electronic bank account. The Chelan 

County, Wash., treasurer said it had been able to retrieve about 

$133,000 by notifying recipient bank accounts, most in the 

Midwest and East Coast. And the Associated Press reported that 

LivingSocial, an online deals site, said Friday that its website was 

hacked and the personal data of more than 50 million customers 

may have been affected - names, email addresses, date of birth 

of some users and encrypted passwords. 

Then there are the Chinese hackers, who blasted into the 

news in February when Mandiant, an Internet security firm, 

released a report saying that a group linked to the People’s 

Liberation Army had systemically stolen confidential data from 

at least 141 American firms. In his State of the Union address, 

President Barack Obama warned, “Now our enemies are also 

seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial 

institutions and our air traffic control systems.” 

That makes Internet security a booming industry, at an estimated 

nearly $1 billion a year in 2012, according to the consulting 

firm Frost & Sullivan. Another “white hat” hacker is Adam 

Cecchetti, 31, who used to work at Leviathan and then in 2010 

became one of the founders of Deja vu Security, which operates 

out of a second-floor renovated loft in Seattle’s Capitol Hill. 

Sometimes, he has colored his hair blue. Davidov and Cecchetti 

are on the front lines of fighting off the “black hat” hackers. Yes, 

that is how they describe their enemy. 

The latter includes those sending out phishing emails that 

look like they came from a legitimate source but are fakes trying 

to get your passwords and credit-card information. Or maybe 

they are black hats trying to compromise a company’s website 

just so they can boast about it in hacker circles. For the white 

hats, their unique skill at finding where a program is vulnerable 

and how to close the digital doors that the black hats use to 

penetrate a website is worth $120,000 to $130,000 a year, 

Thunberg said. 

“Companies are being attacked by bad people, and if they 

want to defend themselves, they have to attract these scarce 

people,” he said. “There are maybe 1,000 individuals of this 

nature in the world. They have this unique hacker mind-set.” 

Their clients aren’t exactly keen to publicize that they seek 

Internet security, said Thunberg, and that’s often written into 

their contracts with Leviathan. Thunberg said his company’s 

average contract size is for around $70,000. Citing privacy, he 

said only that most are Fortune 1000 companies. 

But one client that didn’t mind talking is a Washington, DCbased 

company called Silent Circle. For $20 a month, it offers a 

service that encrypts voice, text and video on a user’s smartphone, 

tablet or computer. Their customers, said Jon Callas, 

Silent Circle’s chief technical officer, include US businesses 

“doing work in China and Eastern Europe and other places 

where they don’t want their phone calls tapped.” His company, 

Callas said, hired Leviathan to evaluate the encrypting software 

for vulnerabilities and fix them. “They helped us find problems 

before anybody else did,” said Callas. 

At Deja vu Security, Cecchetti said, work that they’ve done 

includes posing as new employees at a financial institution, given 

the standard access to computers. Firms routinely give computer 

“administrative privileges” to only a handful of individuals. 

But, Cecchetti said, “within a couple of weeks, we had basically 

control of the entire organization and could access pretty much 

anything we wanted.” Deja vu put together “a very large report” 

on how to fix things, he said. 

Hackers such as Davidov and Cecchetti have certain similarities. 

For one thing, they started tinkering with computers when 

they were kids, and that passion never stopped. Cecchetti grew 

up in Greensburg, Pa. He helped start a computer club in high 

school and said that although he ran track and played soccer, “I 

was plenty nerdy.” As a teen in the 1990s, he was programming 

video games and went on to creating simple websites, before 

they had become ubiquitous. Cecchetti earned a master’s from 

Carnegie Mellon University in electrical and computer engineering, 

and ended up in Seattle in 2005, working for Amazon to 

keep black hats from breaking in. 

Davidov is the son of Russian immigrants. His father worked 

at a tech firm in Moscow and got a visa to come to the US in 

1995, moving the family to Woodinville, Wash. But even in the 

old country, when he was 5, Davidov said, he was using a computer 

his father brought home, “playing little DOS games,” the 

early operating system. By his teen years, Davidov was hacking 

into video games so he could beat them. Having promised his 

parents that he’d go to college, Davidov enrolled at the DigiPen 

Institute of Technology in Redmond, Wash., and earned a fouryear 

degree in “Real-Time Interactive Simulation.” 

Said Davidov, “That means I know video games.” It is the ability 

to look at programs over, under, sideways and down that 

makes a Davidov so valuable, and in such short supply. At the 

University of Washington’s renowned Computer Science and 

Engineering program, out of nearly 50 faculty members, “we 

have one full-time faculty member, Yoshiro Kohno, who is a 

superstar in computer security, but we’re hoping to grow in that 

area in the near future,” said its chairman, Hank Levy. 

But even with more college classes in cybersecurity, it is realworld 

experience that is needed, said Davidov. Outside of a 

school’s lab, he said, it all gets “much grander in scope.” There 

are also personal aspects, he said, such as when he delivers a 

report to developers who had spent a long time working on a 

program, and he points out its security flaws. The developers, he 

said, “can get a little defensive, and it can become a little confrontational.” 

For both Davidov and Cecchetti, it was a conscious, and simple, 

decision to become a white hat. Said Cecchetti, “I’m not in 

this business to harm people, or to take Grandma’s savings, or 

deface somebody’s website.” There is plenty of money to be 

made in Internet security. “Things are very good,” Cecchetti said 

about Deja vu, which has a staff of a dozen. Companies pay for 

security because getting hacked can cost plenty. At Leviathan, 

SEATTLE: Mikhail Davidov (right) is a senior security consultant with the 20-person Leviathan Security Group. Duncan Smith 

(left) is his colleague. A Leviathan official says most of their clients are Fortune 1000 companies. — MCT 

on one of the brick walls are a dozen or so framed exotic bugs. 

Chad Thunberg, as one of Leviathan’s bosses at the 20-person 

company, said that every time the company finds “a big-deal” 

bug in software, up goes another display insect. At Deja vu, a 

small gong gets banged when there is some good news. 

“Deja vu” is a very specific reference point in the hacker mentality. 

Cecchetti said it’s from the 1999 movie “The Matrix,” 

which he figures he’s seen 10 or 20 times. The hero, played by 

Keanu Reeves, is a hacker in a future time in which humans live 

in an artificial reality. In the movie, Reeves sees a black cat walk 

by, and then immediately sees the same black cat walk by again. 

“Whoa. Deja vu,” he says. It turns out that “deja vu” is a glitch in 

the matrix, and happens when something is changed in that 

cyberspace reality. The logo for Deja vu Security even has a 

black cat. 

Cecchetti now is one of those who hires, and said that when 

interviewing applicants, he wants to know, “Can they see things 

from the perspective of a hacker, gleeful to see how things are 

made? They need to want to peel away the layers. What happens 

if I make a very small change in the system?” If you can do 

that, you can come to the office in any hairstyle you want. “It’s 

usually a little bit of a shock,” Davidov said about how some 

clients react to his Mohawk. “But once they start seeing the output 

of the work we do, they find it almost endearing.”— MCT


TECHNOLOGY 

Clean technology investors shift focus to drilling 

NEW YORK: A decade ago, large investors in so-called 

clean technology had a straightforward goal: finance 

companies that would help eliminate the world’s 

dependence on oil, natural gas and coal. But as profits 

from wind, solar, biofuels and other alternatives consistently 

fell short of expectations - and as the fossil fuel 

business boomed - things got complicated. Venture 

capitalists and other investment funds started stretching 

the definition of clean technology almost beyond recognition 

in an effort to make money while clinging to their 

environmental ideals. 

Today, clean technology investment funds are not 

trying to replace the fossil fuel industry, they’re trying to 

help it by financing companies that can make mining 

and drilling less dirty. The people running these funds 

acknowledge the apparent hypocrisy, but defend a 

more liberal definition of clean technology. “Oil and gas 

will be with us for a long time. If we can clean that up we 

will do the world a great service,” says Wal van Lierop, 

CEO of Chrysalix, a Vancouver, Canada-based venture 

capital firm founded in 2001. 

Chrysalix still backs companies that fit the more traditional 

definition of clean energy - including Bridgelux, 

which makes more efficient light bulbs, and Agilyx, 

which turns plastic waste into fuel. But the firm, whose 

website boasts that it is “100 percent focused on clean 

energy” is a backer of MineSense, which helps miners 

operate more efficiently by assessing the quality of ore 

as it is being scooped. It also supports GlassPoint, which 

helps drillers extract more oil by using steam generated 

with solar power. 

Environmentalists have mixed feelings. They welcome 

technologies that reduce the environmental footprint 

of oil and gas development. But they worry the 

newfound abundance of oil and natural gas - and all the 

money that can be made helping drillers - has distracted 

clean technology backers from what once seemed to be 

their main goal: to make oil and gas a thing of the past. 

Mark Brownstein, who runs the energy and climate program 

at the Environmental Defense Fund, says “some 

don’t have the stomach for that and are simply going 

with the flow.” 

The shift has made even those who are helping to 

drive it squirm. “We’ve wrestled with it,” says Alan 

Salzman, managing partner of VantagePoint Capital 

Partners, one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture 

firms focused on clean technology. “If someone comes 

up with a more benign way of (exploiting fossil fuels), is 

that a good thing or a bad thing?” If fossil fuels become 

more palatable to society, Salzman says, we may end up 

burning more of them. 

Ten years ago it seemed as if the world was running 

out of oil, and what was left of it was in the Middle East. 

Oil and natural gas prices spiked to alarming highs. And 

scientists showed that fossil fuels were causing troubling 

changes to the climate. Pushing for an end of the 

fossil age made sense for economic, political and environmental 

reasons. This had Silicon Valley venture capitalists 

drooling. “Cleantech” as they called it, would be 

the next big thing. And it was going to be very, very big. 

These firms saw a chance to profit from what many 

thought would be the biggest economic shift in history - 

from fossil energy to renewable energy. 

But the new energy technologies proved much harder 

to master than predicted. And oil and gas drillers, 

using technology advances of their own, learned how to 

unlock enormous new reserves of fossil fuels. Dozens of 

solar, biofuels and battery companies failed, unable to 

show enough promise to go public or attract the attention 

of bigger companies. “Investors are still waiting for 

their cleantech investments to produce returns,” says 

Dallas Kachan, who runs the San Francisco clean technology 

consulting firm Kachan & Co. “Nobody’s seen the 

stellar home runs they were hoping for 5 years ago.” 

Even when clean energy companies have gone public, 

they haven’t fared well. An index of clean energy 

companies is down 69 percent since it began in 2005. A 

similar index of traditional energy companies is up 75 

percent over the same period. The value of global clean 

technology deals fell 29 percent last year to $7 billion, 

from a record $9.9 billion in 2011, according to the 

Cleantech Group. But the portion of that sum focused 

on conventional fossil fuels nearly tripled, to a record 

$556 million. 

A few clean technology investors have stayed away 

from oil and gas despite the temptation. Khosla 

Ventures, for example, has been a major backer of 

advanced biofuels even as most of these companies 

have failed to live up to their promise. The firm does not 

invest in companies that support fossil fuels. But the 

drilling boom has led to countless investments in this 

gray area between clean and dirty. Axine, which is 

backed by Chrysalix and Royal Dutch Shell, wants to 

make the drilling process known as fracking less dangerous 

by treating wastewater produced during drilling 

without chemicals.—AP 

Mobile ads 

lift Facebook 

NEW YORK: A year ago, Facebook was just testing the 

waters of mobile advertising, causing plenty of headaches 

for investors ahead of its massive initial public offering. It 

has since eased those worries. On Wednesday the world’s 

biggest social networking company said nearly a third of its 

advertising revenue came from mobile in the first three 

months of the year, helping to push total revenue up 38 

percent to surpass Wall Street’s expectations. 

“They are making the transition to mobile faster than 

anyone anticipated,” said Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia. 

“It seems like they are delivering.” Facebook Inc said 

Wednesday that its net income was $219 million, or 9 cents 

per share, in the January-March period. That’s up from $205 

million, or 9 cents per share, in the same period a year ago, 

when it was still private. Revenue grew to $1.46 billion from 

$1.06 billion, above analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. 

Excluding special items, mainly related to stock compensation 

expenses, Facebook earned 12 cents per share, 

matching the average of analyst expectations, according to 

FactSet. Menlo Park, Calif.-based Facebook said that its 

mobile advertising revenue was 30 percent of its total ad 

revenue in the first quarter, amounting to $375 million. 

That’s up from 23 percent, or $306 million, in the fourth 

quarter. In the third quarter - the first time it disclosed such 

figures - the company generated 14 percent, or $153 million, 

of its advertising revenue from mobile. 

Investors had been worried about Facebook’s ability to 

grow mobile revenue since before its initial public offering 

in May 2012. That’s because although the number of people 

who access Facebook on smartphones and tablet computers 

has been growing quickly, Facebook didn’t begin showing 

ads to those users until last year. David Ebersman, 

Facebook’s chief financial officer, said most advertisers did 

not specify that their ads be shown only on desktop computers 

or only on mobile devices, “rather they put their ads 

into our system and allow us to show the ads on whatever 

device where the ads will perform best.” 

Bhatia thinks Facebook will fare even better on mobile 

devices once Zuckerberg firms up its plan to make money 

from the growing audience checking into Instagram, a photo-sharing 

service that the company bought last year for 

$521 million. The analyst believes Instagram will play a bigger 

role in Facebook’s business next year.—AP 

WCup host Brazil promises 

fast Internet connections 

Fans may use 3G wireless network 

BRASILIA: Soccer fans attending next year’s World Cup in Brazil 

will have no problem going online from stadiums, but they 

might want to use a local cellphone chip to keep their charges 

low, Brazilian Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo said on 

Thursday. Each of the 12 stadiums hosting the 32-nation soccer 

tournament will have two separate 50-gigabyte networks connected 

to Brazil’s fiber optic backbone, he told reporters. 

“I doubt that the stadiums will use one third of the capacity 

that we are installing,” Bernardo said. “Not even Mr Jerome 

Valcke will use up all that capacity, though he could if he makes 

a lot of explosive statements,” the minister said in reference to 

the general secretary of FIFA, the governing body of global soccer. 

Valcke was briefly declared persona non grata by the 

Brazilian government last year for saying Brazil needed a “kick 

up the backside” to speed up preparations for the World Cup. 

Though relations between Brazil and Valcke have improved 

since, FIFA remains concerned about construction delays for the 

stadiums that will host the games. It has also expressed worries 

about the readiness of hotel, transport and communications 

facilities. Brazil has yet to officially open two of the six stadiums 

that will be used for the Confederations Cup, a dress rehearsal 

for the 2014 tournament. The smaller contest kicks off on June 

15 with Japan facing the host country in the capital, Brasilia. 

More than half a million soccer fans are expected to travel to 

Brazil next year for the World Cup. Many will be emailing and 

posting photos on social networks during the games, congesting 

local wireless networks. Brazil officially launched the latest 

fourth generation (4G) wireless technology this week, and the 

service will be available at the stadiums and in the host cities for 

the Confederations Cup. But the majority of foreign fans will not 

be able to use it. That is because most smartphones in the 

United States and Europe use the 700 MHz frequency, while 

Brazil’s 4G network uses 2.5 GHz. “Whoever has a 700 MHz cellphone 

will not be able to use 4G, they will have to use 3G,” 

Bernardo said. 

The minister recommended that fans leave their cellphones 

at home to avoid paying “scorching” international roaming fees, 

and instead get a local chip on arrival in Brazil. Brazil’s wireless 

infrastructure is among FIFA’s top concerns ahead of the World 

Cup. FIFA spokesman Walter de Gregorio said last month Brazil 

BRASILIA: Brazilian Minister of Communications, Paulo 

Bernardo offers an interview to the Foreign Correspondents 

Association at the Ministry in Brasilia. Bernardo talked about 

the advances of the telecommunications in the country and 

the preparations ahead of FIFA’s Confederations Cup in 2013 

and World Cup in 2014. — AFP 

should maybe fix its 3G network before jumping to 4G. The 

number of 3G users in Brazil has grown “explosively” to 70 million 

since the technology was introduced in 2008, and is expected 

to grow to 130 million by the end of 2014, Bernardo said. 

Brazilians complain the service provided by local cellphone 

companies is poor, with connections dropping regularly and 

signals congesting at crowded events such as music festivals. 

Paying for access to Wi-Fi may be the best means of communications 

at the World Cup for those wanting to capture the 

excitement of the games and post it on social networks. 

Ample high-speed Wi-Fi access will be good news for the 

heaviest users of broadband at any major sporting event: the 

media, who rely on the Internet to send out pictures and video 

images. — Reuters


TV listings 

00:45 Monster Bug Wars 

01:35 Untamed & Uncut 

02:25 Wildest Africa 

03:15 Shark City 

04:05 Whale Wars 

04:55 Call Of The Wildman 

05:20 Baboons With Bill Bailey 

05:45 Animal Airport 

06:10 Animal Airport 

06:35 Wildlife SOS 

07:00 Meerkat Manor 

07:25 Dogs 101 

08:15 Crocodile Hunter 

09:10 Weird Creatures With Nick 

Baker 

10:05 Monkey Life 

10:30 Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild 

11:00 Bondi Vet 

11:25 The Really Wild Show 

11:55 Wildest Latin America 

12:50 Wildest Islands 



15:30 Wild Appalachia 

16:30 Wild Hawaii 


18:20 Queens Of The Savannah 

19:15 Wildwives Of Savannah Lane 

20:10 Tigers Attack 

21:05 Wildest Latin America 

22:00 My Cat From Hell 

22:55 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 

23:20 Ned Bruha: Skunk Whisperer 

23:50 Untamed & Uncut 

00:40 Come Dine With Me 

01:30 Masterchef: The Professionals 

02:15 Gok’s Fashion Fix 

03:05 Coastal Kitchen 

03:30 Cash In The Attic 

04:15 Bargain Hunt 

05:00 Holmes On Homes 

05:45 Gok’s Fashion Fix 

06:35 New Scandinavian Cooking 

07:00 Homes Under The Hammer 




10:40 Cash In The Attic 


12:20 Perfect Day 

12:50 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 

13:15 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 

13:40 The Good Cook 

14:05 The Roux Legacy 

14:40 Bargain Hunt 

15:25 Antiques Roadshow 

16:20 Extreme Makeover: Home 

Edition Specials 



19:00 Celebrity MasterChef 

19:55 Vacation Vacation Vacation 


21:15 Antiques Roadshow 

22:15 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 



00:00 BBC World News America 

00:30 BBC World News America 

01:00 BBC World News 

01:30 Newsnight 


02:30 Our World 


03:10 Weekend World 

03:30 Talking Books 


04:30 Horizons 


05:10 Indian Ocean With Simon 

Reeve 


06:30 Fast Track 


07:10 Art Of Germany 


08:30 Middle East Business Report 


09:30 Click 



10:30 Talking Books 


11:10 Football Focus 

11:30 Horizons 




13:10 World Features 

13:30 Newsnight 


14:30 Our World 



15:30 Spirit Of Golf 


16:15 Sport Today 



17:30 Dateline London 


18:10 Indian Ocean With Simon 

Reeve 


19:30 Final Score 


20:10 Art Of Germany 


21:15 Sport Today 



22:30 Click 


23:10 World Features 

23:30 Dateline London 

00:45 Wacky Races 

01:35 Duck Dodgers 


02:25 Dastardly And Muttley 

02:50 Dastardly And Muttley 

03:00 Dexter’s Laboratory 

03:30 Wacky Races 

03:55 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 

04:20 Tom & Jerry 

04:45 The Garfield Show 

05:00 Bananas In Pyjamas 

05:25 Gerald McBoing Boing 

THE TRANSPORTER ON OSN ACTION HD 

05:45 Jelly Jamm 

06:00 Ha Ha Hairies 

06:25 Baby Looney Tunes 

06:50 Cartoonito Tales 

07:15 Krypto: The Super Dog 

07:40 Lazy Town 

11:50 Gerald McBoing Boing 

12:15 Baby Looney Tunes 

12:40 Jelly Jamm 

13:00 The Looney Tunes Show 

13:50 Taz-Mania 

14:40 Tom & Jerry Tales 

15:30 The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo 




17:10 Dexter’s Laboratory 

18:00 Moomins 

18:50 The Looney Tunes Show 

19:40 Taz-Mania 







23:00 Moomins 


00:30 Grim Adventures Of... 

01:20 Johnny Test 

02:10 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 

02:35 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 

03:00 The Amazing World Of 

Gumball 

03:25 Regular Show 

03:50 Ben 10: Omniverse 

04:15 Scooby-Doo! Mystery 

Incorporated 

04:40 Powerpuff Girls 

05:05 Evil Con Carne 

05:30 Cow & Chicken 

06:00 Casper’s Scare School 

06:30 Angelo Rules 

07:00 Thundercats 

07:25 Batman: The Brave And The 

Bold 

07:50 Young Justice 

08:15 Hero 108 

08:40 Scooby Doo! Mystery 

Incorporated 

09:35 Ben 10 Omniverse 


Gumball 


12:05 Adventure Time 


13:45 Angelo Rules 

14:10 Ben 10 Omniverse 

15:00 Scooby Doo! Mystery 

Incorporated 


Gumball 

16:40 Adventure Time 


17:30 Ben 10 

17:55 Hero 108 

18:20 Young Justice 

18:45 Total Drama World Tour 





20:50 Starwars: The Clone Wars 


22:00 Ben 10 

22:25 Ben 10 

22:50 Mucha Lucha ! 

23:15 Mucha Lucha ! 

23:40 Powerpuff Girls 

00:00 Amanpour 

00:30 World Sport 

01:00 Piers Morgan Live 

02:00 World Report 

02:30 Backstory 

03:00 Anderson Cooper 360 

04:00 Piers Morgan Live 

05:00 Quest Means Business 

05:45 CNN Marketplace Africa 

06:00 The Situation Room 


07:30 Inside The Middle East 





09:15 CNN Marketplace Middle East 

09:30 Eco Solutions 


10:30 Living Golf 

11:00 The Best Of The Situation Room 


12:30 The Brief 

13:00 Amanpour 

13:30 Inside Africa 

14:00 Talk Asia 

14:30 Business Traveller 


15:30 CNNGo 

16:00 News Special 


17:00 International Desk 

17:30 African Voices 

18:00 CNN Marketplace Europe 


18:30 The Brief 


19:30 Mainsail 


20:30 Inside Africa 


21:30 Inside The Middle East 

22:00 The Best Of The Situation Room 


23:30 News Special 

00:15 Crash Course - Season 2 Special 

01:10 Overhaulin’ 2012 

02:05 Fifth Gear 

03:00 Mythbusters 

03:55 Border Security 

04:20 Auction Hunters 

04:50 Baggage Battles 

05:15 How Do They Do It? 

05:40 How It’s Made 

06:05 Sons Of Guns 

07:00 Magic Of Science 

07:25 Magic Of Science 

07:50 You Have Been Warned 

08:45 Moonshiners 

09:40 Mythbusters 

10:30 Fire In The Sky: A Daily Planet 

Special 

11:25 NASA’s Unexplained Files 

12:20 Jungle Gold 






17:50 Crash Course - Season 2 Special 

18:45 Gold Rush - Season 3 Specials 


20:35 Heroes Of Hell’s Highway 






23:45 Glory Hounds 

00:05 How Tech Works 

00:30 Patent Bending 

01:00 The Future Of... 

01:50 The Colony 

02:45 Tech Toys 360 


03:35 The Future Of... 

04:25 Man-Made Marvels Asia 

05:15 The Gadget Show 


06:05 The Sun 

07:00 Storm Chasers 

07:50 X-Machines 








13:50 Patent Bending 




16:00 Scrapheap Challenge 

16:55 Space Pioneer 

17:45 Food Factory 

18:10 Food Factory 



19:30 James May’s Man Lab 




22:00 James May’s Man Lab 

22:50 Dark Matters: Twisted But True 


00:10 Hannah Montana 

00:35 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 


01:25 Replacements 


02:15 Emperor’s New School 









06:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 

06:25 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 

06:40 Suite Life On Deck 

07:05 A.N.T. Farm 

07:30 Cory In The House 

07:55 Wizards Of Waverly Place 

08:20 Hannah Montana 

08:45 Good Luck Charlie 

09:10 Shake It Up 

09:35 Jessie 

10:00 Austin And Ally 

10:25 A.N.T Farm 

10:50 That’s So Raven 

11:15 Beverly Hills Chihuahua 









16:15 Jessie 

16:40 A.N.T Farm 

17:00 Cinderella II 


18:45 Good Luck Charlie 

19:10 Jessie 

19:35 Shake It Up 




21:15 Jessie 

21:40 Jessie 

22:05 Jonas Los Angeles 

22:30 Sonny With A Chance 



00:00 Opening Act 

00:55 Style Star 

01:25 THS 

02:20 E!es 


03:40 Extreme Close-Up 

04:10 THS 

05:05 E!es 

06:00 THS 


08:20 E! News 

09:15 Keeping Up With The 

Kardashians 

10:15 THS 

11:10 E!es 

12:05 E! News 

13:05 Scouted 

14:05 Ice Loves Coco 


15:00 Chasing The Saturdays 




17:00 Married To Jonas 

17:30 Married To Jonas 

18:00 E! News 


Kardashians


TV listings 


Kardashians 


21:30 Fashion Police 

22:30 E! News 

23:30 Chelsea Lately 

00:30 Dr G: Medical Examiner 

01:20 A Haunting 

02:05 Scorned: Crimes Of Passion 

02:55 Most Evil 

03:45 I Almost Got Away With It 

04:30 Dr G: Medical Examiner 

05:20 A Haunting 

06:10 Nightmare Next Door 

07:00 Mystery Diagnosis 

07:50 Street Patrol 


08:40 Real Emergency Calls 

09:05 Who On Earth Did I Marry? 

09:30 True Crime With Aphrodite 

Jones 

10:20 Murder Shift 

11:10 Disappeared 

12:00 Mystery Diagnosis 



13:40 Forensic Detectives 


Jones 

15:20 Real Emergency Calls 

15:45 Who On Earth Did I Marry? 


17:00 Murder Shift 

17:50 Forensic Detectives 


Jones 


20:20 Nightmare Next Door 

21:10 Couples Who Kill 

22:00 Deadly Affairs 

22:50 Stalked: Someone’s Watching 

23:15 Stalked: Someone’s Watching 

23:40 On The Case With Paula Zahn 

00:45 Perilous Journeys 

01:40 One Man & His Campervan 

02:05 One Man & His Campervan 

02:35 David Rocco‚Äôs Dolce Vita 


03:30 Market Values 


04:25 Street Food Around The World 

04:50 Street Food Around The World 

05:20 Bondi Rescue 


06:15 Roam 

06:40 Graham’s World 


08:05 On Hannibal’s Trail 


09:00 Deadly Arts 

09:55 Don’t Tell My Mother 

10:50 International Open House 

11:15 International Open House 

11:45 Earth Tripping 

12:10 Earth Tripping 





14:30 Somewhere In China 

15:25 Scam City 



17:15 Deadly Arts 




20:00 Roam 

20:30 Graham’s World 


22:00 A World Apart 

22:55 My Sri Lanka With Peter 

Kuruvita 

23:20 My Sri Lanka With Peter 

Kuruvita 


00:00 Hostel-R 

02:00 Imago Mortis-PG15 

04:00 Warbirds-PG15 

06:00 True Justice: Dark Vengeance- 

PG15 

08:00 Ip Man 2-PG15 

10:00 The Transporter-PG15 

12:00 The Ring-PG15 

14:00 Ip Man 2-PG15 

16:00 Interview With A Hitman-PG15 

18:00 The Ring-PG15 

20:00 Fright Night-PG15 

22:00 Mission To Mars-PG15 

01:00 Spy Kids: All The Time In The 

World-PG 

03:00 When Love Is Not Enough- 

PG15 

05:00 Sammy’s Adventure: The 

Secret Passage-FAM 

07:00 Spy Kids: All The Time In The 

World-PG 

09:00 When Love Is Not Enough- 

PG15 

11:00 Take Shelter-PG15 

13:00 Morning-PG15 

15:00 Ties That Bind-PG15 

16:30 John Carter-PG15 

19:00 This Means War-PG15 

21:00 Best Laid Plans-18 

23:00 Scream 4-18 

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon 

Stewart 

01:00 The Colbert Report 

01:30 Unsupervised 

02:00 Unsupervised 

02:30 Entourage 

03:00 Breaking In 

03:30 2 Broke Girls 

04:00 Seinfeld 

04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay 

Leno 

05:30 Til Death 

06:00 Arrested Development 

06:30 Samantha Who? 

07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 




09:30 Go On 

10:00 Cougar Town 



Leno 





14:00 2 Broke Girls 

14:30 Cougar Town 

15:00 Go On 


Stewart 





18:30 Happy Endings 

19:00 The Neighbors 

19:30 The Office 


Leno 


Stewart 


22:00 Saturday Night Live 

23:00 Entourage 


00:00 Supernatural 

01:00 Survivor: Caramoan 

02:00 Smash 

03:00 Treme 

04:00 American Idol 

05:00 Smash 

06:00 Supernatural 

07:00 Smallville 

08:00 The Closer 

09:00 Glee 

10:00 American Idol 

11:00 Survivor: Caramoan 



15:00 Breakout Kings 



19:00 The Glades 

20:00 Criminal Minds 

21:00 The Mob Doctor 

22:00 Sons Of Anarchy 

23:00 Treme 

00:00 The Kingdom 

02:00 Hostel 

04:00 Imago Mortis 

06:00 Warbirds 

08:00 True Justice: Dark Vengeance 

10:00 Ip Man 2 

12:00 The Transporter 

14:00 The Ring 

16:00 Ip Man 2 

18:00 Interview With A Hitman 

20:00 The Ring 

22:00 Fright Night 

00:00 Detention-18 

02:00 Detroit Rock City-18 

04:00 Zathura: A Space Adventure-PG 

06:00 Sleepless In Seattle-PG 

08:00 The Perfect Catch-PG15 

10:00 While You Were Sleeping-PG15 

12:00 Zathura: A Space Adventure-PG 

14:00 Best In Show-PG15 

16:00 While You Were Sleeping-PG15 

18:00 The Decoy Bride-PG15 

20:00 Tucker And Dale vs Evil-18 

22:00 Detention-18 

02:00 Live NBC Nightly News 

02:30 ABC World News With Diane 

Sawyer 

03:00 MSNBC All In With Chris Hayes 

04:00 MSNBC The Rachel Maddow 

Show 

05:00 MSNBC The Last Word With 

Lawrence O’Donnell 

06:00 NBC Nightly News 

06:30 ABC World News With Diane 

Sawyer 

07:00 Live NBC Nightly News 

07:39 ABC Nightline 

08:06 Live MSNBC The Rachel 

Maddow Show 

10:00 MSNBC Morning Joe 

13:00 MSNBC Caught On Camera 

14:00 Live NBC Saturday Today Show 

16:00 MSNBC Up With Steve Kornacki 

17:57 Live MSNBC Hardball With 

Chris Matthews 

18:38 Live MSNBC The Ed Show 

19:19 Live MSNBC The Rachel 

Maddow Show 

20:00 Live ABC 20/20 

21:00 Witness 

23:00 MSNBC News 

00:00 A Better Life-PG15 

02:00 The Muppets-PG 

04:00 Mandie And The Secret Tunnel- 

PG 

06:00 A Better Life-PG15 

08:00 Brave-PG 

10:00 Batman: Year One-PG15 

12:00 The Muppets-PG 

14:00 According To Greta-PG15 

16:00 Brave-PG 

18:00 New Year’s Eve-PG15 

20:00 Summer Coda-PG15 

22:00 Your Sister’s Sister-18 

00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 

00:30 Outrageous Food 

00:55 Unwrapped 

01:20 Unwrapped 



02:35 Heat Seekers 

03:00 Heat Seekers 

03:25 Unique Eats 

03:50 Kid In A Candy Store 

04:15 Andy Bates American Street 

Feasts 

04:40 Chopped 

05:30 Iron Chef America 

06:10 Food Network Challenge 

07:00 Healthy Appetite With Ellie 

Krieger 


Krieger 


Krieger 


Krieger 

08:40 Cooking For Real 




10:20 Symon’s Suppers 




12:00 Staten Island Cakes 

12:50 Barefoot Contessa - Back To 

Basics 


Basics 


Basics 





15:45 Chopped 

16:35 Barefoot Contessa 







19:30 Chopped 

20:20 Chopped 

21:10 Ultimate Recipe Showdown 





BEST LAID PLANS ON OSN CINEMA 

00:15 The Crucible-PG15 

02:15 L.A I Hate You-PG15 

04:00 John Rabe-18 

07:00 Toast-PG15 

08:45 Virtual Lies-PG15 

10:15 My Afternoons With 

Margueritte-PG15 

11:45 Phenomenon-PG 

13:45 Sunshine State-PG15 

16:00 My Afternoons With 

Margueritte-PG15 

17:30 Justice For Natalee Holloway- 

PG15 

19:00 World Trade Center-PG15 

21:15 Twelve-18 

23:30 Eternal Sunshine Of The 

Spotless Mind-PG15 

01:15 Shark Tale 

02:45 Cher Ami 

04:15 Rainbow Valley Heroes 

06:00 Cinderella (1950) 

08:00 Marco Macaco 

10:00 Dolphin Tale 

12:00 Shark Tale 

13:30 Hey Arnold! The Movie 

14:45 Bushwhacked 

16:15 Looney Tunes: Back In Action 

18:00 Dolphin Tale 

20:00 Winx 

22:00 Marco Macaco 

23:30 Hey Arnold! The Movie 

00:00 Anonymous-18 

02:30 We Bought A Zoo-PG 

05:00 Treasure Buddies-PG 

07:00 Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven 

Seas-FAM 

09:00 A Fall From Grace-PG15 

11:00 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most 

Wanted-PG 

12:45 Muhammad And Larry-PG15 

13:45 The Conspirator-PG15 

16:00 A Fall From Grace-PG15 

18:00 Win Win-PG15 

20:00 Flying Lessons-PG15 

22:00 30 Minutes Or Less-18 

00:00 MSNBC Hardball With Chris 

Matthews 

01:00 MSNBC Politicsnation 

01:00 Super Rugby 


05:00 Super League 

06:30 ICC Cricket 360 

07:00 Live AFL Premiership 


11:30 Live Super Rugby 


15:45 Live Top 14 


20:00 Trans World Sport 


23:00 NRL Premiership 

01:00 WWE SmackDown 

03:00 Snooker World Championship 


07:30 PGA European Tour Weekly 

08:00 Live PGA European Tour 

12:00 Live Snooker World 

Championship 


16:30 Live Snooker World 

Championship 

20:00 Live PGA Tour 

21:30 Inside The PGA Tour 

22:00 Live PGA Tour 

00:00 Total Rugby 

00:30 Asian Tour Golf 

05:00 Pro 12 



10:30 Live NRL Premiership 

12:30 Live NRL Premiership 

14:30 Trans World Sport 

15:45 Live Top 14 

18:00 AFL Premiership 

20:30 Total Rugby 

21:00 Live Snooker 

00:00 Mobil 1 The Grid 


02:30 WWE Bottom Line 

03:30 WWE NXT 

04:30 NHL 


08:30 Live Asian Tour Golf 

12:30 Live AFL Premiership 

15:30 WWE Vintage Collection 


18:30 WWE Bottom Line 

19:45 Live Super League 

22:00 WWE SmackDown


WHAT’S ON 

Places of interest 

Sadu House 

Al Sadu House stands on Arabian Gulf Street 

near the National Museum, representing one of 

the last preserved pre-oil -era dwellings in 

Kuwait. Al Sadu House became a centre for 

Bedouin art and the sale of traditional goods In 

1979. Visitors can observe Bedouin women 

weaving at their looms, handmaking carpets, 

camel bags and tent screens. Opening hours 

are Saturday to Thursday from 8:00 am to 1:00 

p.m and from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m daily except 

Friday. (Tel: +965 2243.2395) Admission is FREE. 

The Dickson House 

The house of the first British political agent 

In Kuwait is still standing. The Dickson House, 

located across from the dhow harbour east of 

Sief Palace, was originally a Kuwaiti home built 

in 1870, but was given to Britain to use as residential 

headquarters. The compound was 

expanded several times over the years, but 

stands as an excellent example of early Kuwaiti 

architectural styles. Opening hours are from 

Saturday to Thursday 8:30 a.m-12:30 p.m and 

4:30 a.m-8:30 p.m Friday 4:30 a.m - 8:30 p.m. 

Admission is FREE. 

Science & Natural 

History Museum 

A wealth of education awaits the visitor to 

the Science and Natural History Museum on 

Abdulla Al Mubarak Street. Each gallery contains 

either a collection or an exhibit covering a 

wide range of themes. Collections on display 

Include fossils, stuffed animals, skeletons, and 

dried flowers. There are exhibits on health, 

petroleum, space travel, and electronics, 

among others. Forming part of the National 

Museum complex, the wonderful, modern 

Planetarium In the museum complex has 

shows at around 18:00 daily: local children, 

convinced the room is spinning, clap In syncopated 

beats every time the accompanying 

music begins. 

A museum planetarium shows: Mornings: 

1st Show: 10:00 a.m; 2nd Show: 11:00 a. m; 3rd 

Show: 12:00 p.m Evenings: 1st Show: 5:00 p.m; 

2nd Show: 5:45 p.m; 3rd Show : 6:00 p.m. Note: 

Friday & Saturday no morning shows. (Tel: +965 

22451195; +965 22456534). Admission is FREE. 

Al-Qurain Museum 

Located in the residential suburb of Qurain, 

This small museum is a memorial to a cell of 

young Kuwaiti patriots who tried to resist arrest 

in February 1991. Early In the morning, Iraqis 

bombarded the house for hours with machine 

guns, bombs and eventually a tank. Monday to 

Saturday 8.30 a.m - 12.30 p.m; 4.30a.m -8.30 

p.m Friday morning off. Afternoon: 4.30 a.m- 

8.30 pm. Winter Visiting hours: 4-8.30 pm. 1st 

Day of Eid off. Tel: +965 25430343 

Al Hashemi Marine Museum 

The World’s largest wooden dhow, owned 

and build by Hussein Marafie,Al Hashemi is a 

‘Baghalah’ of monumental proportions. 

Baghalah is a large wooden cargo vessel 

which sailed the seas in the nineteenth and 

early twentieth centuries. Constructed next to 

Radisson SAS Hotel, the double-decked Al- 

Hashemi II is dry-docked next to pre-oil era 

Kuwaiti village and marine museum containing 

models of extinct and modern dhows The 

lower deck has the grand ballroom - one of 

the finest in Kuwait. Al-Hashemi II has earned 

the distinction of being listed in the Guinness 

Book of World Records. The museum is 

opened Sat. Thu. from 9 am till 5 pm. 

Admission is FREE. 

Oil Display Centre 

The Oil Display Centre at Kuwait is located 

20 kilometers in the southern direction from 

main city of Kuwait. Oil display center In Kuwait 

is set In the Ahmadi area, which is the primary 

hub of Kuwait’s oil production where many ollfields 

and oil wells are located. This center is a 

learning ground for all those who wonder how 

oil processing is done. It gives an opportunity 

to the tourists to know all about the history 

beginning from how oil was explored, drilled, 

produced and processed In Kuwait. 

The Oil Display Center Is located 20 kilometers 

away from Kuwait City, in the southern 

direction. This small center throws an insight 

into Kuwait’s oil business and the work of the 

Kuwait Oil Company, which owns it. It is definitely 

worth a visit. Opening hours Sat - Wed 

07:00 am -3:00 pm. It is open by appointment. 

Tel: +965 23982393; 23989111; 23981678. KOC 

can also arrange for groups to tour the oil fields 

themselves. 

Kuwait Memorial Museum 

Before the Iraqi invasion, the museum 

housed a collection that has been acclaimed by 

International art historians as one of the most 

comprehensive collection of Islamic arts. 

Located near the National Assembly, comprising 

of four buildings and a planetarium. In 

1997, the Muhallab II, the replacement for the 

magnificent trading dhow from the 1930 that 

graced the front yard of the museum before it 

was burned by the Iraqis, was constructed on 

site and now is open to visitors. Tel (2451195) 

Tareq Rajab Museum 

Tareq Rajab opened his private collection of 

Islamic art treasures to the general public in 

1980. The Tareq Rajab Museum in Jabriya features 

ceramics, silver and gold jewelry, and 

musical instruments. It also houses one of the 

finest collections of old Qurans and at her 

Arabic manuscripts in the world. 

All artifacts are of Arab or Muslim origin and 

are labeled for easy viewing. Visiting hours are 

from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon and from 4:00 to 

7:00 p.m. Saturdays through Thursdays. On 

Fridays, the museum is open to the general 

public only in the mornings, with afternoons 

reserved for tours. Opening hours 9:00 -12:00 

noon; 4:00-7:00 pm; Ramadan open on weekdays: 

09:00-12:00; noon 7:00 pm-10:00 pm; 

Fridays usual time. (Tel: +965 25317358) Entry is 

KD2 / Adult. Children and students are FREE. 

Al Shaab Leisure Park 

Located on Arabian Gulf Street, this park has 

variety of games & amusements for young & 

old including carousels, dodmegs, bowling hall, 

billiards, snooker and tennis as well as a theatre 

and a cinema. All the amusements are linked 

by paths that meander through gardens and 

around water fountains. There is a restaurant 

block containing branches of most fast food 

outlets in Kuwait. 

Open daily from 4 pm to midnight (from 10 

am on weekends), entry is 500 fils a head and 

games cost 250 to 750 fils a go, though a full 

ticket may be purchased for a KD 2.500 (Tel: 

5613777) http://www.shaabpark.com 

The Scientific Center 

Kuwait Scientific Center in Kuwait is located 

on the waterfront at Ras Al Ardh in the Salmiya 

region in Kuwait which serves as a center for 

environmental education of the gulf region. 

Kuwait Scientific Center at Kuwait was initiated 

by late Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- 

Sabah and its compound covers an area of over 

80,000 square meters with the building itself 

covering over 18,000 square meters. 

The major attractions of the Kuwait 

Scientific Center in Kuwait which the tourists 

must see are the Aquarium and the interesting 

Discovery place. There is also a 250 seat IMAX 

film theater. (Tel: +965 1848888) 

http://www.tsck.org.kw 

Courtesy: Dispatches Magazine 

Hans Christan Anderson’s 

classic at ESF 

The English School Fahaheel Middle 

school recently presented a musical 

adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s 

classic tale “Little Red Riding Hood”. This production 

followed the outstanding musical 

production of “Jack and the Beanstalk” by the 

Middle school last month. 

“Little Red Riding Hood” once again showcased 

the dramatic and musical talent of ESF’s 

younger students. 

In stellar roles were Gulnar as Red Riding 

Hood, Jen Jon as the wolf, Lyan as Sniffy the 

dog (who kept the audience amused) and 

Maryam played the Grandma. The whole cast 

did a marvelous job at entertaining and 

amusing the audience throughout the performance. 

A big thank you goes out to the teachers 

who put in many hours of hard work to make 

this show an outstanding success!


WHAT’S ON 

KNES students visit Q8 Road and Traffic Safety Program 

Early Years children from Kuwait 

National English School (KNES) recently 

visited the Porsche Early Childhood 

Road and Traffic Safety Program under the 

Patronage of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Humoud Al- 

Jaber Al-Sabah. 

This is a terrific program and provides an 

opportunity for young children to learn and 

follow basic safety rules. The children really 

enjoyed themselves and have shared what 

they learned with classmates, family and 

friends. Who knows, what they learned just 

might save a life? 

Many thanks for the Q8 Road and Traffic 

Safety program for this unique opportunity 

from the youngest children at Kuwait 

National English School. 

NAFO ‘Samanwayam’ 

The 10th anniversary of NAFO Kuwait will be celebrated 

on May 10 at the American International School 

Auditorium from 6pm onwards. Indian Ambassador 

Satish C Mehta will inaugurate the event. Former Indian 

Ambassador to the US and the United Nations T P 

Sreenivasan and NSS Director Board Member Pandalam 

Sivankutty will be guests of honor. NAFO will also present 

an eclectic dance drama ‘Krishna’ which is conceived and 

choreographed by Padmashri Shobana. She will be accompanied 

by a 15-member troupe from Kalarpana Chennai 

and supported by Oscar winner Rasool Pookkutty. It has 

voice-overs in English by film personalities such as Irrfan 

Khan, Konkonasen, Shabaana Azmi, John Abraham, Prakash 

Raj, Stephen Devassy and P Rajeevan. 

Basketball Academy 

The new Premier Basketball Academy offers coaching 

and games every Friday and Saturday from 10 am 

onwards for 6 to 18 year olds, boys and girls. Located 

in Bayan Block 7, Masjed Al-Aqsa Street by Abdullah Al- 

Rujaib High School. Free Basketball and Tee Shirts for all 

participants, with certificates and special awards on completion 

of each 6 week course. Qualified and experienced 

British and American Coaches, Everyone Welcome. 

Announcements 

Konkani musical show 

United Friends Club - Kuwait presents Kuwait Trio’s 

Konkani Songit Sanz (a Konkani musical evening) 

with fun filled comedy and songs, starring: Gracy 

Rodrigues, Clemmie Pereira, Irene Vaz, Lucy Aranha, Espy 

Crasto, Bab. Agnel, Katty de Navelim, Salu Faleiro, Gasper 

Crasto, Braz de Parra, Anthony D’Silva, Agnelo Fernandes, 

Seby & Seby, Zeferino Mendes, Lopes Bros., Comedian 

Nelson, Laurente Pereira & Cajetan de Sanvordem-Michael 

D’Silva-Mario de Majorda (Kuwait Trio). The show will be 

held on Friday, 10th May 2013 at 4 pm at the Indian 

Community School (Senior), Salmiya, Kuwait. Music will be 

provided by Maestro Shahu. 

Kottayam Gramolsav 

Kottayam Association, Kuwait is conducting 

Malayalam Arts competitions - Gramolsav’ 2013 on 

10th May 2013 at United Indian School from 4pm 

onwards. The competitions are for Solo Nadan Pattu (Folk 

Song), Poetry Recitation and Kathaprasamgam. The group 

is divided as Sub-Junior, Junior, senior and Super Senior 

where as Kathaprasamgam is only for Junior and Senior 

groups. Different committees headed by Jomon Joseph as 

General Convener and Renjith Thomas as Joint convener 

are making the arrangements. Entry forms are available at 

Hi Tech Computers, Hi Dine Restaurant, Family Super 

Market and Al-Watan Restaurant, Abbassiya. 

Adnan Abd 

Al-Rahman 

exhibition 

Adnan Abd Al-Rahman searches for an identity 

with deep thoughts and transparency scraping 

the soil to rise amid the absence of light. Like a 

Sufi he disappears into the “time and space” of this endless 

universe. The ambiguity of his thought allows for 

infinite interpretations of the artist’s artwork. Opening 

Reception at Gallery Tilal, Shuwaikh, Jahra Road 80. Al 

Tilal Complex - M3-M4 on May 5, 2013 at 5:30 pm. 

Following Days : 10 am - 2:00 pm and 5:30pm -9 pm. 

Saturdays : By appointment 

Fridays : Closed 

Sebamed goes Instagram 

We are glad to inform you that we launched our site 

on instagram. Follow us on @sebamedkuwait and 

(hashtag)#sebamedkuwait and send us your shots 

involving all family members and be the lucky winner of a 

valuable prize from Sebamed products.


BOSTON: Carmen Blandin Tarleton, of Thetford, 

Vermont, speaks with reporters at Brigham and 

Women’s Hospital in Boston.— AP 

US woman disfigured in 

attack reveals new face 

BOSTON: A Vermont woman has revealed her new face, six 

years after her ex-husband disfigured her by dousing her 

with industrial-strength lye, and said she went through “what 

some may call hell” but has found a way to be happy. Carmen 

Blandin Tarleton of Thetford had face transplant surgery at 

Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in February and 

spoke publicly for the first time at a news conference at the 

hospital Wednesday. “I’m now in a better place, mentally and 

emotionally, than I ever could have imagined six years ago,” 

said Tarleton, a former transplant nurse. “I want to share my 

experience with others, so they may find that strength inside 

themselves to escape their own pain.” In 2007, the 44-yearold 

mother of two was attacked by her then-husband, 

Herbert Rodgers, who believed she was seeing another man. 

Police say he went to the house looking for that man, then 

went into a fury directed toward Tarleton, striking her with a 

bat and pouring lye from a squeeze bottle onto her face. 

When police arrived, Tarleton was trying to crawl to a 

shower to wash away the chemical. It already had distorted 

her face. In 2009, Rodgers pleaded guilty to maiming Tarleton 

in exchange for a prison sentence of at least 30 years. “I 

learned that ... forgiveness doesn’t condone anything he did 

and it’s not about him - it’s about forgiving him, it’s forgiving 

myself, it’s allowing myself to move forward and not getting 

stuck in the tragedy of that night,” said Tarleton, who has 

undergone 55 surgeries during the past five years. 

During the face transplant surgery, more than 30 surgeons, 

anesthesiologists and nurses worked for more than 15 

hours to replace her skin, muscles, tendons and nerves, the 

hospital said. The face donor was a Williamstown, Mass., 

woman named Cheryl Denelli Righter who died of a sudden 

stroke, a hospital spokeswoman said. Righter’s daughter, 

Marinda, told Tarleton on Wednesday that she looked beautiful, 

adding she was certain her mother had somehow picked 

Tarleton. —AP 

LONDON: Is nanomedicine the next big 

thing? A growing number of top drug companies 

seem to think so. The ability to 

encapsulate potent drugs in tiny particles 

measuring billionths of a meter in diameter 

is opening up new options for super-accurate 

drug delivery, increasing precision hits 

at the site of disease with, hopefully, fewer 

side effects. Three deals struck this year by 

privately held Bind Therapeutics, together 

worth nearly $1 billion if experiments are 

successful, highlight a new interest in using 

such tiny carriers to deliver drug payloads 

to specific locations in the body. 

US-based Bind is one of several biotechnology 

firms that are luring large pharmaceutical 

makers with a range of smart drug 

nanotechnologies, notably against cancer. 

And nanomedicine is also being put to 

work in diagnosis, with tiny particles used 

to improve imaging in scanners, as well as 

rapidly detecting some serious infections. 

In future, researchers hope to combine 

both treatment and diagnostics in a new 

approach dubbed “theranostics” that 

would allow doctors to monitor patients via 

their medicines. 

After much hype but limited clinical success, 

scientists in the nanotechnology field 

finally see a turning point. “We have been 

hearing about the promise of nanomedicine 

for a long time, but it is now really 

starting to move,” said Dan Peer, who runs 

a nanomedicine laboratory at Tel Aviv 

University. “There is a new level of confidence 

in this approach among the big 

pharmaceutical companies ... We will see 

more and more products in clinical testing 

over the next few years and I think that is 

very exciting.” 

Nanoparticles made of polymers, gold 

and even graphene - a newly-discovered 

form of carbon - are now in various stages 

of development. In cancer alone, 117 drugs 

are being assessed using nanoparticle formulations, 

though most have yet to be 

tried on patients, according to Thomson 

Reuters Pharma data. Other potential applications 

include treatments for inflammatory 

disorders, heart and brain diseases, and 

pain. 

COLLATERAL DAMAGE 

Companies are increasingly focused on 

better drug targeting to increase efficacy 

and lessen the collateral damage caused by 

medicinal “carpet bombing” - a particular 

problem in cancer, where toxic compounds 

are needed to kill tumors. The work on 

drug-carrying nanoparticles parallels 

advances in using so-called “armed antibodies” 

to deliver drugs direct to cancer 

cells - an approach championed by Roche. 

The Swiss group won US approval in 

February for Kadcyla, its first such antibodydrug 

conjugate, which treats breast cancer 

with fewer side effects like hair loss. 

“All these developments have prompted 

companies to look at new avenues 

because the older ways of using drugs 

haven’t worked so well,” said Robert 

Langer, a pioneer of nanomedicine who 

runs the world’s largest biomedical engineering 

laboratory at the Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology. Having worked on 

drug delivery since the 1970s, Langer has 

seen plenty of ups and downs. The world’s 

first nanomedicine was actually approved 

back in 1995 when US regulators gave a 

green light to Doxil for treating Kaposi’s sarcoma, 

a cancer often associated with AIDS. 

Doxil - a hollow fatty ball known as a 

liposome with a cancer-killing drug inside it 

- was a breakthrough. Yet few other 

nanomedicines have followed. Recent scientific 

advances have changed the game, 

however. Bind’s nanoparticles, for example, 

are programmed to reach the right 

spot using targeting molecules that recognize 

specific proteins linked to disease on 

the surface of cells. They also have a stealth 

covering that shields them from the 

immune system, in order to minimize 

adverse reactions. 

Since January, Amgen, Pfizer and 

AstraZeneca have all signed up to use 

Bind’s technology, which comes from work 

originally carried out in Langer’s lab. And 

Bind is not the only game in town. Another 

approach, using tiny particles of gold as 

health 

Big drugmakers think small 

with nanomedicine deals 

Nanomedicine promises 

greater precision and monitoring 

drug carriers, is being explored in a deal 

that AstraZeneca signed in December with 

CytImmune. “Anything you can do to 

improve targeting of tumors rather than 

normal tissue - whether that is through an 

armed antibody or nanoparticle approach - 

increases the chance of success,” said Susan 

Galbraith, who leads AstraZeneca’s oncology 

research. 

PARALLEL APPROACHES 

The work remains early stage and Peer 

of Tel Aviv University says all the novel carriers 

will have to be studied closely for 

potential toxicity. However, experience 

with liposomes is good and versions of 

gold nanoparticles have also been used 

safely for many years to treat rheumatoid 

arthritis. Injecting patients with gold may 

sound like a pricey option but with thousands 

of nanoparticles fitting into the width 

of a human hair, the amount of metal used 

is tiny. Gold, unlike some other metals, is 

not toxic and has been used in various 

medical treatments for many years without 

harmful effects. Bind CEO Scott Minick also 

thinks his polymer technology will have 

cost advantages over expensive antibody 

drugs. 

Further out, Kostas Kostarelos, professor 

of nanomedicine at University College 

London, has high hopes for graphene - a 

one-atom-thick form of carbon. His team is 

currently working with graphene nanomaterials 

in pre-clinical experiments. “We will 

see parallel development of different materials, 

each offering something different 

therapeutically,” he said. Other venturebacked 

nanomedicine firms include 

Cerulean Pharma, whose technology has 

made a highly potent cancer drug tolerable 

but which recently had disappointing 

results in a clinical study, and two companies 

looking at new vaccines. 

Selecta Biosciences has a deal on food 

allergy vaccines with Sanofi, while Liquidia 

Technologies is allied with GlaxoSmithKline 

on vaccines and inhaled products. MIT’s 

Langer is convinced more Big Pharma companies 

will think small in future. —Reuters 

Fears for man-made bird flu bug 

PARIS: Immunologists expressed concern 

yesterday about the “dangerous” work of 

scientists in China who created a hybrid 

bird flu virus that can spread in the air 

between guinea pigs, and now lives in a 

lab freezer. The team from the Chinese 

Academy of Agricultural Sciences and 

Gansu Agricultural University wrote in the 

journal Science they had created a new 

virus by mixing genes from H5N1 “bird flu” 

and H1N1 “swine flu”. H5N1, transmitted to 

people by birds, is fatal in about 60 percent 

of cases, but does not transmit between 

humans-a characteristic that has prevented 

a pandemic so far. 

Some argue that hybrid studies like 

these shed light on how the virus could 

mutate in nature to cause a human epidemic, 

and may help us prepare. Since 

2003, H5N1 has infected 628 people, killing 

374, according to the World Health 

Organization. H1N1, which erupted in 

Mexico, is highly transmissible and infected 

a fifth of the world’s population in a 

2009-10 pandemic, but is about as lethal as 

ordinary flu. The new mutant virus was 

easily transmitted between guinea pigs 

through respiratory droplets-which the 

Chinese team said proved the deadly H5N1 

virus may need but a simple genetic mutation 

to “acquire mammalian transmissibility”. 

Flu hybrids can arise in nature when 

two virus strains infect the same cell and 

exchange genes in a process known as 

reassortment, but there is no evidence that 

H1N1 and H5N1 have done so yet. Some 

observers fear that science is putting 

mankind at risk by preemptively creating 

such mutants. “These are manmade viruses, 

they have never been made in Nature. 

They are now sitting in a freezer,” virology 

professor Simon Wain-Hobson of France’s 

Pasteur Institute said. 

He pointed to a laboratory leak of foot 

and mouth, a cattle disease, which caused 

an outbreak in Britain six years ago. It was 

unclear how the flu hybrid, which is not 

deadly in guinea pigs, would affect peoplebut 

Wain-Hobson warned: “These could be 

pandemic viruses. “That is, if there was 

ever an error of they got out or there was a 

leak or whatever, this could infect people 

and cause anywhere between 100,000 and 

100 million deaths.” Wain-Hobson and others 

fear the risk may far outweight the scientific 

value of the research. The findings 

held little value for finding a vaccine or 

treatment that would take years to develop-probably 

long after an outbreak, they 

argue. 

“The record of containment in the highest 

containment laboratories is not good. 

There have been repeated leaks,” said 

Robert May, a former president of Britain’s 

Royal Society of science. “You do not do 

these things unless there is some call of 

extreme emergency,” he said. “We are 

encountering a real and present danger 

with extremely dubious benefits to the 

public.” Virologist John Oxford from the 

Queen Mary University of London, however, 

said the experiment was a valuable 

wakeup call. It showed that the two viruses, 

both still infecting people around the 

world, can swap genes. 

“Mathematics will tell you that sooner 

or later a person will get co-infected,” he 

said-possibly leading to a hybrid virus “that 

will start spreading”. “We need to get ourselves 

reorganizes, relook our pandemic 

plans and make sure we have H5N1 vaccine 

stockpiles,” Oxford said. In January, 

scientists in the United States and the 

Netherlands resumed controversial 

research into their own hybrid flu viruses 

after taking a year-long break to allay fears 

of the bug escaping the lab or falling into 

terrorist hands.— AFP


health & science

Al-Madena 22418714 

Al-Shohada’a 22545171 

Al-Shuwaikh 24810598 

Al-Nuzha 22545171 

Sabhan 24742838 

Al-Helaly 22434853 

Al-Fayhaa 22545051 

Al-Farwaniya 24711433 

Al-Sulaibikhat 24316983 

Al-Fahaheel 23927002 

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh 24316983 

Ahmadi 23980088 

Al-Mangaf 23711183 

Al-Shuaiba 23262845 

Al-Jahra 25610011 

Al-Salmiya 25616368 

ACCOMMODATION 

Sharing accommodation 

available for decent single 

person (male/female) with a 

separate room with attached 

bath in Amman Street near 

roundabout. Please call 5 pm 

to 10 pm 66321532. (C 4399) 

1-5-2013 

FOR SALE 

Nissan Infiniti G37, 2009 

model, 6 cylinder, automatic, 


6 CD changer, mobile connectivity, 

rear view camera, 

sunroof, sand color, GPS, 

excellent condition, 60,000 

Kms. KD 7,000. Contact: 

99742340. (C 4394) 

4-5-2013 

For sale car Corolla model 

2000, price KD 700/-. Contact: 

99017342. (C 4402) 

2-5-2013 

CHANGE OF NAME 

Rajaraman Sundarraj son of 

Kuwait 

Sundarraj and Janaki bearing 

an Indian Passport No. 

K2091792 and having an 

address No. 4A-1, 

Moongikollai Street, 

Kumbakonam PO, Tanjore 

DT, Tamilnadu 612001 - had 

embraced Islam and 

changed the name as Raja 

Mohammed. (C 4401) 

4-5-2013 

MATRIMONIAL 

27 year Roman Catholic girl, 

158cms, BSN MOH invites 

proposals for a suitable 

groom - Male nurses 

expetional. Email: 

rosammaantony72@gmail.com 

(C 4400) 

2-5-2013 

Automated 

enquiry about the 

Civil ID card is 

1889988 

KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY 

(02/05/2013 TO 08/05/2013) 

Hospitals 

Sabah Hospital 24812000 

Amiri Hospital 22450005 

Maternity Hospital 24843100 

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700 

Chest Hospital 24849400 

Farwaniya Hospital 24892010 

Adan Hospital 23940620 

Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300 

Al-Razi Hospital 24846000 

Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9 

Clinics 

Rabiya 24732263 

Rawdha 22517733 

Adailiya 22517144 

Khaldiya 24848075 

Khaifan 24849807 

Shamiya 24848913 

Shuwaikh 24814507 

Abdullah Salim 22549134 

Al-Nuzha 22526804 

Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764 

Al-Qadisiya 22515088 

Dasmah 22532265 

Bneid Al-Ghar 22531908 

Al-Shaab 22518752 

Al-Kibla 22459381 

Ayoun Al-Kibla 22451082 

Mirqab 22456536 

Sharq 22465401 

Salmiya 25746401 

Jabriya 25316254 

Maidan Hawally 25623444 

Bayan 25388462 

SHARQIA-1 

NO TELL MOTEL (DIG) 



WINTER OF DISCONTENT (DIG) 




SHARQIA-2 

TAD, THE LOST EXPLORER (DIG-3D) 

IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) 

SPIDERS (DIG-3D) 




SHARQIA-3 

OBLIVION (DIG) 

FIRE WITH FIRE (DIG) 

THE CALL (DIG) 




MUHALAB-1 







MUHALAB-2 



GREEKU VEERUDU (DIG) (TELUGU) 




MUHALAB-3 






FANAR-1 







12:45 PM 

2:45 PM 

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FANAR-2 


12:45 PM 


2:30 PM 

THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT 2 4:15 PM 


6:15 PM 


8:00 PM 


9:45 PM 

THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT 2 (DIG) 

11:45 PM 

FANAR-3 

THE COMPANY YOU KEEP (DIG) 





THE COMPANY YOU KEEP (DIG) 

MARINA-1 


2:00 PM 

4:30 PM 

6:30 PM 

8:30 PM 

10:30 PM 

12:30 AM 

1:30 PM 


3:30 PM 


5:15 PM 


7:15 PM 

WINTER OF DISCONTENT (DIG) 9:00 PM 


11:00 PM 


12:45 AM 

MARINA-2 







MARINA-3 






AVENUES-1 







1:45 PM 

3:45 PM 

6:15 PM 

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AVENUES-2 


12:45 PM 


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8:15 PM 


10:30 PM 


1:15 AM 

AVENUES-3 







360º 1 








360º 2 






360º 3 

EMPEROR (DIG) 

EMPEROR (DIG) 

EMPEROR (DIG) 

EMPEROR (DIG) 

EMPEROR (DIG) 

EMPEROR (DIG) 

AL-KOUT.1 


SPIDERS (DIG-3D) 

2:15 PM 

4:15 PM 

6:15 PM 

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12:15 AM 

1:15 PM 

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1:00 PM 

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12:15 AM 

1:00 PM 

3:00 PM 





NO SUN+ TUE+WED 

5:00 PM 

7:30 PM 

10:00 PM 

12:30 AM 

AL-KOUT.2 


12:45 PM 


2:45 PM 


4:45 PM 


6:30 PM 


8:30 PM 


10:15 PM 


12:15 AM 

NO SUN+ TUE+WED 

AL-KOUT.3 







BAIRAQ-1 






1:45 PM 

4:15 PM 

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1:30 PM 

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6:30 PM 

9:15 PM 

12:05 AM 

BAIRAQ-2 



3:00 PM 



7:30 PM 



11:30 PM 

BAIRAQ-3 







PLAZA 

SHADOW (DIG) (TELUGU) 




NO THU 


LAILA 

IRON MAN 3 (DIG) 

NO MON+TUE+WED 





AJIAL.1 






1:45 PM 

3:45 PM 

5:45 PM 

8:15 PM 

10:30 PM 

12:30 AM 

7:00 PM 

10:00 PM 

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information 

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 

In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation 

of bookings will help other passengers use seats 

Arrival Flights on Saturday 4/5/2013 

Airlines Flt Route Time 

BBC 43 DHAKA 00:05 

QTR 148 DOHA 00:15 

JZR 267 BEIRUT 00:20 

SAI 441 LAHORE 01:30 

ETH 620 ADDIS ABABA 01:45 

GFA 211 BAHRAIN 01:55 

PIA 239 ISLAMABAD 02:05 

UAE 853 DUBAI 02:25 

ETD 305 ABU DHABI 02:30 

FDB 67 DUBAI 03:10 

RBG 555 ALEXANDRIA 03:15 

MSR 612 CAIRO 03:15 

OMA 643 MUSCAT 03:20 

QTR 138 DOHA 03:30 

QTR 6130 DOHA 04:15 

DHX 170 BAHRAIN 04:20 

THY 770 ISTANBUL 04:35 


KAC 412 MANILA 06:15 

JZR 359 MASHAD 06:25 

BAW 157 LONDON 06:30 

KAC 416 JAKARTA 06:35 

JZR 529 ASSIUT 06:40 

KAC 206 ISLAMABAD 07:25 

KAC 382 DELHI 07:30 

JZR 503 LUXOR 07:40 


KAC 302 MUMBAI 07:50 

KAC 352 COCHIN 08:05 

KAC 344 CHENNAI 08:20 


KAC 362 COLOMBO 08:45 

ABY 125 SHARJAH 08:50 

QTR 132 DOHA 09:00 

IRM 1186 TEHRAN 09:10 



JZR 137 BAHRAIN 10:10 


IAW 157 BAGHDAD 11:00 

JZR 165 DUBAI 11:35 

IRM 1188 MASHAD 11:45 

MSC 401 ALEXANDRIA 12:00 

KAC 284 DHAKA 12:05 

JZR 325 NAJAF 12:25 

JZR 241 AMMAN 12:35 



KNE 480 TAIF 13:25 

KAC 672 DUBAI 13:40 

QTR 140 DOHA 13:45 


KAC 790 MEDINAH 13:55 

IRC 6692 MASHAD 14:00 

MSR 575 SHARM EL SHEIKH 14:15 

SVA 500 JEDDAH 14:30 


KNE 472 JEDDAH 14:35 

KAC 788 JEDDAH 15:00 


KAC 538 SOHAG 15:40 

RJA 640 AMMAN 15:55 

KAC 118 NEW YORK 16:00 

JZR 535 CAIRO 16:10 

QTR 134 DOHA 16:15 



JZR 357 MASHAD 16:50 


SVA 2696 JEDDAH 17:05 


SVA 510 RIYADH 17:20 


UAL 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 17:25 


KAC 176 GENEVA 17:45 

JZR 777 JEDDAH 17:50 

KAC 502 BEIRUT 18:00 

IZG 4167 MASHAD 18:05 

KAC 542 CAIRO 18:15 

QTR 144 DOHA 18:25 

KAC 104 LONDON 18:45 


NIA 251 ALEXANDRIA 19:00 


KAC 618 DOHA 19:10 


KAC 774 RIYADH 19:25 

MSC 405 SOHAG 19:30 

JAI 572 MUMBAI 19:35 


KAC 562 AMMAN 19:55 




IRA 607 MASHAD 20:10 


MEA 402 BEIRUT 20:15 

MSR 618 ALEXANDRIA 20:30 

KNE 462 MEDINAH 20:35 

AXB 489 COCHIN 20:35 

KLM 415 AMSTERDAM 21:05 

ALK 229 COLOMBO 21:10 



QTR 136 DOHA 21:35 

DHX 370 BAHRAIN 21:40 


QTR 146 DOHA 22:00 


AIC 975 CHENNAI 22:25 



UAL 981 BAHRAIN 22:40 



KAC 614 BAHRAIN 23:00 

FDB 8057 DUBAI 23:05 

DLH 636 FRANKFURT 23:10 


JZR 513 SHARM EL SHEIKH 23:20 


Departure Flights on Saturday 4/5/2013 

Airlines Flt Route Time 

AIC 976 GOA/CHENNAI 00:05 


UAL 981 WASHINGTON 00:25 

DLH 637 FRANKFURT 00:30 

JZR 358 MASHHAD 00:35 

KLM 413 AMSTERDAM 00:55 

JZR 502 LUXOR 01:30 

BBC 44 DHAKA 01:30 


SAI 442 LAHORE 02:30 

ETH 621 ADDIS ABABA 02:45 

PIA 240 SIALKOT 03:35 







QTR 139 DOHA 04:25 

QTR 149 DOHA 05:15 

QTR 6131 DOHA 05:45 







KAC 537 SOHAG 07:45 

BAW 156 LONDON 08:25 



JZR 324 AL NAJAF 09:10 

JZR 534 CAIRO 09:10 

KAC 789 MADINAH 09:15 






QTR 133 DOHA 10:00 


KAC 101 LONDON 10:25 

IRM 1187 IMAM KHOMEINI 10:30 

JZR 356 MASHHAD 11:00 


KAC 541 CAIRO 11:30 

KAC 165 ROME 11:45 

KAC 501 BEIRUT 12:00 

IAW 158 AL NAJAF 12:00 

JZR 776 JEDDAH 12:25 

MSC 406 SOHAG 13:00 

IRM 1189 MASHHAD 13:10 




KNE 481 TAIF 14:15 



KAC 561 AMMAN 14:40 

QTR 141 DOHA 14:55 

IRC 6693 MASHHAD 15:00 

MSR 576 SHARM EL SHEIKH 15:00 

ظ 

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)


Word Search 

Yesterdayʼs Solution 

C R O S S W O R D 1 7 9 

ACROSS 

1. The 7th letter of the Greek alphabet. 

4. A tub in which clothes or linens can be washed. 

11. The leg from the knee to foot. 

15. A light touch or stroke. 

16. An amine containing the double bond linkage -C=C-N-. 

17. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine. 

18. Jordan's port. 

20. Cactus having yellow flowers and purple fruits. 

21. Oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food. 

22. Informal terms for a mother. 

23. A law passed by US Congress to prevent employees from being injured or contracting 

diseases in the course of their employment. 

25. Spanish singer noted for his ballads and love songs (born in 1943). 

28. A genus of Mustelidae. 

29. (computer science) A system of world-wide electronic communication in which a 

computer user can compose a message at one terminal that is generated at the recipient's 

terminal when he logs in. 

33. Avatar of Vishnu. 

37. Very light colored. 

39. A colorless and odorless inert gas. 

40. An official prosecutor for a judicial district. 

42. The month following October and preceding December. 

43. South American wood sorrel cultivated for its edible tubers. 

44. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables. 

45. Follower of Rastafarianism. 

47. A member of an Iroquoian people formerly living around Cayuga Lake in New York 

state. 

50. A small pellet fired from an air rifle or BB gun. 

52. A member of a North American people formerly living in the Colorado river valley in 

Arizona. 

54. (informal) Being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition. 

55. Any of various coarse shrubby plants of the genus Iva with small greenish flowers. 

56. Expandable metal or wooden wedge used by printers to lock up a form within a 

chase. 

58. A bicycle with two sets of pedals and two seats. 

60. Flat-topped or rounded inflorescence characteristic of the family Umbelliferae in 

which the individual flower stalks arise from about the same point. 

63. In great numbers. 

65. A language of Australian aborigines. 

68. The Japanese art of folding paper into shapes representing objects (e.g., flowers or 

birds). 

72. A unit of pain intensity. 

73. Excellent and delightful in all respects. 

76. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind. 

77. A graphical record of electric currents associated with muscle contractions. 

78. (plural) Rare collector's items. 

79. (aeronautical) Pertaining to the tail section of a plane. 

80. A column of light (as from a beacon). 

81. A barge or barge-like vessel used for dredging. 

82. An annual award for outstanding achievements in television. 

Daily Sudoku 

DOWN 

1. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls. 

2. The basic unit of money in Bangladesh. 

3. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth. 

4. Small carnivorous mammal with short legs and elongated body and neck. 

5. An associate degree in nursing. 

6. The capital and largest city of Yemen. 

7. Group insurance that entitles members to services of participating hospitals and clinics 

and physicians. 

8. A native American tent. 

9. Not subjected to an aging process. 

10. Having a belly. 

11. Conqueror of Gaul and master of Italy (100-44 BC). 

12. East Indian cereal grass whose seed yield a somewhat bitter flour, a staple in the 

Orient. 

13. The capital and largest city of Mongolia. 

14. A strong-smelling plant from whose dried leaves a number of euphoriant and hallucinogenic 

drugs are prepared. 

19. American pioneer and hero of the Texas Revolution (1796-1836). 

24. A period of time equal to 1/24th of a day. 

26. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group. 

27. A constitutional monarchy in southeastern Asia on Borneo and the Malay Peninsula. 

30. A Portuguese province on the south coast of China and two islands in the South China 

Sea. 

31. A sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow). 

32. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa. 

34. A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (trade name Ansaid) that is administered only 

orally. 

35. Causing or able to cause motion. 

36. Evergreen Indian shrub with vivid yellow flowers whose bark is used in tanning. 

38. Similar to the giraffe but smaller with much shorter neck and stripe on the legs. 

41. A member of the Caddo people who formerly lived in the Dakotas west of the 

Missouri river. 

46. A public promotion of some product or service. 

48. A circumscribed inflammatory and often suppurating lesion on the skin or an internal 

mucous surface resulting in necrosis of tissue. 

49. A person serving a prison sentence. 

51. 4-wheeled motor vehicle. 

53. A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and 

thermal conductivity of any metal. 

57. (Akkadian) God of wisdom. 

59. Be in contradiction with. 

61. A benign tumor composed of muscle tissue. 

62. Smelling like bilge water. 

64. A French river. 

66. The sixth month of the civil year. 

67. A harp used by ancient Greeks for accompaniment. 

69. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology. 

70. Injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration or mutilation. 

71. In an idle manner. 

74. Either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye. 

75. (of roads) Made of logs laid down crosswise. 

Yesterdayʼs Solution 

Yesterday’s Solution


SPORTS 

White Sox thump Rangers 

ARLINGTON: Hector Santiago allowed two hits in five-plus innings 

filling in for Jake Peavy on Thursday night, Tyler Flowers hit a threerun 

homer and the Chicago White Sox beat Texas 3-1, handing the 

Rangers their first series loss of the season. Flowers’ drive just inside 

the foul pole in left field was the third straight hit after Texas righthander 

Justin Grimm (2-1) retired 10 in a row on the day he was 

named AL rookie of the month. Adrian Beltre’s homer in the second 

was the only hit through five innings against Santiago (1-1), who 

had six strikeouts and two walks in 5 1-3 innings. The left-hander 

made his first start of the season and fifth of his career after Peavy 

AL Capsules 

was scratched because of back spasms. 

RED SOX 3, BLUE JAYS 1 

Ryan Dempster won his second straight start and the Red Sox 

took advantage of a season-high 10 walks to beat the Blue Jays 3-1. 

Dempster (2-2) allowed one run and four hits in six innings. The 

right-hander, who walked three and struck out four, retired 10 of the 

final 11 batters he faced. Winless in his first four starts this season, 

Dempster posted his first victory by beating Houston a week ago. 

Brett Lawrie homered and Colby Rasmus had three hits but the lastplace 

Blue Jays lost for the 12th time in 16 games. Blue Jays left-hander 

J A Happ (2-2) allowed two runs and three hits in 3 2-3 innings, 

his shortest start of the season. He matched a career high with seven 

walks. 

TIGERS 7, ASTROS 3, 14 INNINGS 

Don Kelly had an RBI single to start a four-run 14th inning and 

the Tigers beat the Astros. The Tigers tied it in the eighth with help 

from right-fielder Rick Ankiel’s error. Austin Jackson led off the 14th 

with a ground-rule double. Jackson advanced to third on a groundout 

by Torii Hunter before Houston intentionally walked Miguel 

Cabrera and Prince Fielder to load the bases. Kelly’s dribbling 

grounder to right field scored Jackson and chased Dallas Keuchel (0- 

1), who came in to start the 10th. Matt Tuiasosopo’s two-run double 

made it 6-3 before Detroit added a run on a sacrifice fly by Jhonny 

Peralta. Luke Putkonen (1-0), who was called up from Triple-A on 

Thursday, allowed no hits in the last 2 1-3 innings for the win in a 

game that took 4 hours, 50 minutes. 

ORIOLES 5, ANGELS 1 

Chris Tillman returned to his hometown and outpitched Joe 

Blanton with eight scoreless innings of three-hit ball, right fielder 

Nick Markakis threw out Mike Trout at the plate, and the Orioles 

beat the Angels in the opener of a four-game series. Markakis also 

hit an RBI double and Nate McLouth hit a two-run homer in the 

ninth. Tillman (2-1) struck out three, walked two and retired 20 of his 

last 21 batters. Albert Pujols homered in the ninth inning against 

closer Jim Johnson. Blanton (0-5) allowed three runs - two earned - 

and eight hits over eight innings.— AP 

MLB results/standings 

San Diego 4, Chicago Cubs 2; Philadelphia 7, Miami 2; Boston 

3, Toronto 1; Washington 3, Atlanta 1; Chicago White Sox 3, 

Texas 1; St. Louis 6, Milwaukee 5;Detroit 7, Houston 3 (14 

innings); Baltimore 5, LA Angels 1. 

CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles Angels catcher Hank Conger looks to field as Baltimore Orioles’ Adam Jones (left) scores 

on a double by Chris Davis during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif.— AP 

Tough Nationals beat 

Braves again, cut gap 

ATLANTA: Dan Haren pitched eight sharp innings, Denard 

Span hit a two-run double and the Washington Nationals beat 

the Atlanta Braves 3-1 Thursday night. The Nationals, who 

snapped a nine-game losing streak to Atlanta on Wednesday, 

allowed their NL East rivals to get only three runners in scoring 

position over two nights. Haren (3-3) won his second consecutive 

start, giving up four hits and one run with one walk and 

four strikeouts. Washington got off to a good start in the first 

off Kris Medlen, breaking its 15-game streak without a firstinning 

run. Medlen (1-4) lost his third straight start, allowing 

seven hits, three runs and three walks in seven innings. He 

struck out eight. 

CARDINALS 6, BREWERS 5 

Jake Westbrook allowed one run over six innings for his 

100th career win and the Cardinals held off the Brewers. 

Westbrook (2-1) walked three and struck out four. The Brewers 

were 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position against him. 

Westbrook allowed Norichika Aoki’s double to open the game 

and then nothing more until one out in the fourth when the 

Brewers pushed across a run on three consecutive singles. He 

struck out Alex Gonzalez and then fanned Wily Peralta (2-2), 

his third strikeout of the inning. Westbrook left with a 6-1 lead 

NL Capsules 

for the relievers to protect, but the Brewers scored twice in the 

seventh, one in the eighth and one in the ninth. 

PHILLIES 7, MARLINS 2 

Ryan Howard and Domonic Brown hit solo homers to 

back Kyle Kendrick and the Phillies beat the Marlins. 

Kendrick (3-1) allowed two runs and seven hits in seven 

innings to earn his ninth straight win against the Marlins, 

dating to May 28, 2010. Justin Ruggiano hit a solo shot for 

Miami. Alex Sanabia (2-4) gave up four runs - two earned - 

and six hits in five innings. 

PADRES 4, CUBS 2 

Yonder Alonso’s two-out fly ball to right field dropped in 

front of Julio Borbon for an RBI single that led to a four-run 

eighth inning and boosted the Padres over the Cubs for a 

four-game series split. Travis Wood (2-2) retired his first 14 batters 

before Kyle Blanks singled, and he led 2-0 when Jesus 

Guzman reached on an infield single leading off the eighth. 

San Diego went ahead with just one hard-hit ball in the 

inning, taking advance of two infield hits, the shallow fly and a 

passed ball. Joe Thatcher (2-0) pitched one-third of an inning 

for the win. — AP 

American League 

Eastern Division 

W L PCT GB 

Boston 20 8 .714 - 

NY Yankees 17 10 .630 2.5 

Baltimore 17 12 .586 3.5 

Tampa Bay 12 15 .444 7.5 

Toronto 10 19 .345 10.5 

Central Division 

Kansas City 15 10 .600 - 

Detroit 16 11 .593 - 

Minnesota 12 12 .500 2.5 

Cleveland 12 13 .480 3 

Chicago White Sox 12 15 .444 4 

Western Division 

Texas 17 11 .607 - 

Oakland 16 13 .552 1.5 

Seattle 13 17 .433 5 

LA Angels 10 18 .357 7 

Houston 8 21 .276 9.5 

National League 

Eastern Division 

Atlanta 17 11 .607 - 

Washington 15 14 .517 2.5 

Philadelphia 13 16 .448 4.5 

NY Mets 11 15 .423 5 

Miami 8 21 .276 9.5 

Central Division 

St. Louis 17 11 .607 - 

Pittsburgh 16 12 .571 1 

Milwaukee 14 13 .519 2.5 

Cincinnati 15 14 .517 2.5 

Chicago Cubs 11 17 .393 6 

Western Division 

Colorado 17 11 .607 - 

San Francisco 16 12 .571 1 

Arizona 15 13 .536 2 

LA Dodgers 13 14 .481 3.5 

San Diego 11 17 .393 6


New-look Capitals 

down Rangers 3-1 

Blues seize on Quick error, beat Kings 

ANAHEIM: Alex Ovechkin’s franchise-record 

31st career playoff goal got the Capitals 

started before less-heralded teammates 

Marcus Johansson and Jason Chimera 

scored 46 seconds apart, and Washington 

beat the New York Rangers 3-1 Thursday 

night in Game 1 of their first round series. 

Ovechkin, a two-time MVP who led the NHL 

with 32 goals this season, crashed the net to 

score on a power play about seven minutes 

into the second period to tie the game. Carl 

Hagelin had put New York ahead 1-0 in the 

first period - the only puck that made it past 

Braden Holtby, who finished with 35 saves. 

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is 

Saturday in Washington. It’s the third consecutive 

season these two teams are facing 

each other in the playoffs and the fourth 

time in five years. The Rangers eliminated 

the Capitals in seven games in the second 

round last season. 

BLUES 2, KINGS 1 

Defenseman Barret Jackman scored his 

first career playoff goal with 50.4 seconds 

remaining, lifting St. Louis over defending 

Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles for the 

second straight time. Jackman, a stay-athome 

type who totaled three goals and 12 

points in the regular season, joined a rush 

and scored in transition against Jonathan 

Quick, last year’s playoff MVP. He beat Quick 

from just inside the blue line for a 2-0 series 

lead heading to Los Angeles. The Blues capitalized 

on a stickhandling goof by Quick to 

win the opener on Alex Steen’s short-handed 

goal in overtime. Patrik Berglund’s deflection 

tied it early in the third period for St. 

Louis, which was swept by the Kings in the 

second round last season while getting 

outscored 15-6. Dustin Brown scored for the 

Kings, who’ll try to rebound in Game 3 

Saturday night. 

SENATORS 4, CANADIENS 2 

Craig Anderson made 48 saves in a spectacular 

goaltending performance in Game 1. 

Blues edge out Stormers 

ALBANY: The Auckland Blues held on for a dramatic 18-17 win over 

the Western Stormers in a bruising encounter at North Harbor 

Stadium yesterday. The Stormers scored the only two tries of the 

match through captain Jean de Villiers but it was not enough as 

Blues flyhalf Chris Noakes booted a club record six penalties to get 

the New Zealanders over the line. Allister Coetzee’s men combined 

plenty of attacking intent with their renowned defence to narrow a 

9-3 half-time deficit, only just missing out on a last-gasp victory when 

Elton Jantjies scuffed an attempted drop goal after the final siren. 

The Blues first win over the Stormers since 2009 keeps them in 

touch with New Zealand conference leaders the Waikato Chiefs, who 

play the Melbourne Rebels in Melbourne later. Blues captain Ali 

Williams praised the way his team bounced back from a narrow loss 

to the Queensland Reds last week. “We’re growing, there’s something 

exciting here,” he said. “We’re working for each other, that’s the 

key thing and we’re having some fun. “(But) that’s a tough Stormers 

outfit, I’m sore.” The game began at a frantic pace, with two Noakes 

penalties separating the sides mid-way through the first half. 

The South Africans should have had the first try on 20 minutes 

ST LOUIS: Brian Elliott #1 of the St Louis Blues makes a save against Justin Williams #14 of 

the Los Angeles Kings in Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 

2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Scottrade Center. — AFP 

Jakob Silfverberg and Marc Methot scored 

early in the third period to lift the Senators 

into the lead. Game 2 set for Friday night at 

the Bell Centre. Erik Karlsson and Guillaume 

Latendresse also scored for the Senators, 

who were outshot 50 31 but saw Anderson 

easily win the goaltending duel with Carey 

Price, who was beaten twice through the 

pads. Rene Bourque and Brendan Gallagher 

replied for Montreal, which set a team 

record for shots in a regulation-time playoff 

game. Montreal center Lars Eller was 

wheeled off on a stretcher bleeding heavily 

from the nose and was taken to a hospital 

with what the team said were head and 

facial injuries after he was caught with a 

shoulder to the face on an open-ice hit from 

Senators defenseman Eric Gryba. 

Red Wings 5, Ducks 4, OT 

Gustav Nyquist’s power-play goal at 1:21 of 

overtime after the Red Wings blew a threegoal 

lead in the third period to even their playoff 

series with Anaheim. Johan Franzen scored 

two goals and Damien Brunner had his first 

Stanley Cup playoff goal and two assists for 

the Red Wings, who survived a third-period 

collapse with a timely goal from Nyquist. 

Bobby Ryan scored the tying goal with 2:22 

left in regulation for the Ducks, who also got 

goals from captain Ryan Getzlaf and Kyle 

Palmieri while erasing Detroit’s 4-1 lead with a 

phenomenal surge in the final minutes. Game 

3 is today’s night at Joe Louis Arena. — AP 

after a run from winger Gio Aplon but Andries Bekker was held up 

short of the line and they had to settle for a penalty. They set up 

another opportunity off the back of a rolling maul, only for the 

attack to break down when the ball was knocked on, before Noakes 

made it three penalties from three, ending a frustrating half for the 

Stormers. A further two penalties after the restart extended the 

Blues’ lead and they could have put the game beyond doubt when 

Quentin MacDonald dived for the corner but lost the ball forward. 

The Stormers’ patience finally paid off when captain Jean de 

Villiers released Juan de Jongh for a run at the posts, then collected 

the looping offload and bulldozed his way over for the first try of the 

match. Another Noakes penalty made it 18-10 before de Villiers cut 

loose from the midfield and outpaced Frank Halai for his second try 

with six minutes on the clock. 

Pietersen added the conversion and the Stormers were given a 

final chance from a scrum as the siren sounded. They worked the 

ball through 21 phases looking for an opportunity, finally giving the 

ball to Jantjies, who mis-kicked, sending the ball skidding along the 

turf from the side of his boot. — AFP 

SPORTS 

Chiefs put 

down Rebels 

MELBOURNE: Gareth Anscombe 

scored a hat-trick of tries as the faststarting 

Chiefs prevailed 39-33 over the 

Melbourne Rebels in a Super Rugby 

shoot-out yesterday. The Chiefs fullback 

caught fire in the first half at 

Melbourne’s Rectangular stadium, 

securing a bonus point for the visitors 

in the 27th minute with his third try, 

and finishing a 24-point game with 

three conversions and a penalty. 

Inspired by Wallabies backs James 

O’Connor and Kurtley Beale, the Rebels 

pulled within a converted try with five 

minutes left, but the Chiefs held on to 

retain top spot in the New Zealand conference 

and be well-placed for a run to 

the playoffs. 

“Pretty relieved,” Chiefs captain 

Craig Clarke said in a pitchside interview. 

“Fair play to the opposition for 

playing the style they do.” Anscombe 

was denied a magical fourth try in the 

78th minute by the television match 

official, who ruled the ball had been 

pushed forward by a team mate just 

before the fullback received it wide and 

bolted for the left corner. The Chiefs 

took a 24-14 lead at halftime, with 

Anscombe scoring his first try in the 

opening minute and inside centre 

Bundee Aki making it 10-0 in the 10th. 

Scott Higginbotham put the Rebels 

on the board with a try five minutes later, 

but Anscombe responded with two 

tries in seven minutes, the second courtesy 

of a brilliant break from outside 

centre Tim Nanai-Williams. The Rebels 

were kept in the game by towering lock 

Hugh Pyle, who scored the first of a 

brace of tries shortly before halftime, 

but the Chiefs sprinted away to a 31-14 

lead 12 minutes after the break with a 

try by flanker Sam Cane. Beale came off 

the bench eight minutes into the second 

half, making his return after a sixweek 

exile from the Rebels. 

He was stood down in March for 

punching two of his team mates in an 

alcohol-fuelled incident on the team 

bus in South Africa, and appeared a 

bundle of nerves as his first kick went 

out on the full on the re-start following 

Cane’s try. He was soon brought into 

the match by fellow Wallabies back 

O’Connor, and helped set up scrumhalf 

Nick Phipps for a 68th minute try in the 

left corner with a brilliant break at midfield. 

Big lock Brodie Retallick pushed 

the Chiefs’ lead out to 39-26 by scoring 

an enterprising try with 10 minutes to 

play after charging down a clearing kick 

by James O’Connor. 

But that only set up a grandstand 

finish as newly slimmed-down Beale 

tore through the Chiefs defense, running 

wide then cutting back inside to 

score a brilliant individual try in the 

75th minute. Rebels winger Cooper 

Vuna raised the roof at the ‘Stockade’ 

with a dash along the left touch-line in 

the 79th minute but was dragged into 

touch just short of the line. The Rebels 

stole back possession with a poor lineout 

throw but were unable to penetrate 

the Chiefs’ last line of defense in a frenetic 

finish after the siren. — Reuters


SPORTS 

Snooker: First Asian champion from Afghanistan 

KARACHI: Saleh Mohammad yesterday 

became the first Afghan to win the amateur 

Asian snooker title, expressing hope that his 

victory would lift the game in the war-ravaged 

country. The 40-year-old, who also represented 

Pakistan at a regional and world level from 

1988 to 2006, beat Syria’s Omar al Kojah 7-2 in 

a one-sided final. “It’s a dream come true for 

me,” Mohammad said. “I don’t know, but I can 

claim to be the first Afghan to become an 

Asian champion in any sport and it means a lot 

to my homeland where they clamor for a sporting 

title.” Pakistan organized the 29th edition 

of the Asian championship despite a rise in violence 

in both Karachi and the country at large. 

Mohammad, who lived in Pakistan for many 

years after becoming a refugee but in 2006 

switched to representing Afghanistan, won a 

glittering trophy and $7,000. He now runs a 

snooker parlor in Kabul and called on the government 

of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to 

increases its support for the game. “Snooker is 

gaining in popularity day by day... and can help 

divert youth from being involved in unhealthy 

activity to a peaceful and rewarding game,” he 

said. 

Mohammad reached the final of the world 

amateur snooker championship in China in 

2003 while representing Pakistan. The 

International Billiards and Snooker Federation 

president Jim Leacy praised the hosts for 

organizing a successful event in which 14 

countries featured. “I had no hesitation in coming 

to Pakistan and the successful hosting and 

wide coverage of the event has made me envious,” 

Leacy said at the prize distribution. 

India refused to send its players amidst 

heightening tension between the two countries 

and security fears for their players. 

Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association 

president Aalmgeer Shaikh hoped the event 

would remove doubts about the safety of visiting 

sportsmen in the country. “We hope that 

more and more international sports will be 

held in our country,” said Shaikh. Pakistan has 

been a no-go zone for international teams 

since militants attacked the Sri Lankan cricket 

team in March 2009. — AFP 

Amir Shooting Grand 

Prix begins Thursday 

KUWAIT: Kuwait Shooting 

Club is putting the final 

touches on the preparations 

for the launching of The 

Amir Sheikh Sabah Al- 

Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s 

annual Shooting Grand Prix 

next Thursday. In a press 

statement on Thursday, 

Kuwait Shooting Club said 

the three-day event will see 

competitions in different 

Olympic shooting contests; 

skeet, trap, double trap, 50 

meters rifle prone, 50 Engineer Duaij Al-Otaibi 

meters free pistol, 25 pistol, 

10 meter air pistol and rifle etc. President of Arab Shooting 

Federation and the Higher Organizing Committee of the 

The Amir Grand Prix Competition Duaij Khalaf Al-Otaibi 

expressed gratitude for HH the Amir’s sponsorship of the 

completion and his non-stop support to Kuwaiti sports, 

particularly shooting. The Amir’s support to Kuwaiti shooters 

has resulted in great achievements for Kuwaiti sports, 

the latest of which was Kuwait’s shooter Fuhaid Al- 

Daihani’s win of his second Olympic medal in the London 

Olympic Games. — KUNA 

Ilonen takes 3-shot 

lead at China open 

TIANJIN: A relaxed Mikko Ilonen of Finland brightened his 

chances of ending a six-year trophy drought on the European 

Tour with a sizzling nine-under-par 63, which gave him a 

three-shot cushion at the halfway stage of the China Open 

yesterday. Ilonen’s spotless round took him to a two-day total 

of 12-under at the $3.2 million event, co-sanctioned with 

OneAsia, with two recent winners - Australian Brett Rumford 

and Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat - chasing him on nineunder. 

The Finn, whose two European Tour victories came in 2007, 

has already finished ninth in Qatar and second in Morocco this 

season and looked set for another strong show at the Tianjin 

Binhai Lake Golf Club. 

“I hit the ball better than yesterday,” Ilonen, who carded a 

69 in the opening round, said. “I gave myself a few more 

chances on the greens, especially on the back nine, and managed 

to take quite a few of them, so it was a very stress-free 

round today. “I didn’t put myself in any trouble at all, which is 

always nice, and it’s nice to be three ahead going into the 

weekend.” 

Rumford, last week’s Ballantine’s Champion, found motivation 

in the 67th birthday of his caddie John Roberts to shoot a 

five-under-par 67 for a share of second place. “Each player has 

their own motivation, I guess, and that varies from day-today,” 

said Rumford, who ended a five-year drought with victory 

in Korea last week. 

“It was in my mind at the beginning of the day that it 

would be nice to shoot 67 on Ronnie’s 67th birthday. 

Tomorrow I’ll have to find something different to motivate 

me.” Thailand’s Kiradech, who won his maiden European Tour 

title at the Malaysian Open in March, also carded a 67, mixing 

six birdies with a lone bogey. — Reuters 

Jet-lagged Els stays 

in hunt in Indonesia 

Thongchai takes second round lead 

JAKARTA: South African Ernie Els 

struggled with jet-lag but stayed 

within striking distance of Thai veteran 

Thongchai Jaidee who took a 

two-stroke lead at the halfway 

stage of the Indonesian Masters in 

Jakarta yesterday. British Open 

champion Els was tied fourth, four 

strokes behind Thongchai, after 

carding five birdies against three 

bogeys for a two-under-par 70 at 

the Royale Jakarta Golf Club. 

“Today was a bit of a jet-lag day 

for me. I was trying to get some 

energy going. Hopefully, I will have 

more energy tomorrow. I think my 

game is all there. I just need to get a 

bit sharper mentally,” the big South 

African said. “I was hoping for a better 

score but I didn’t quite get it. My 

game is not too bad. I just need to 

eliminate some really small mistakes. 

“This is the type of course where 

you can get a little bit aggressive. 

I’m hitting the ball quite nicely so I 

like to stay aggressive. If I get myself 

in position, I will go for flags and get 

my putts in,” the four-times major 

winner said. A confident Thongchai, 

three-times Asian Tour Order of 

Merit winner, hit a blemish-free seven-under-par 

65 to move two shots 

ahead of Australian Scott Barr. “I 

hope I can keep my confidence like 

this in the next few days. 

If I drive, hit and putt like today 

then I think I have a good chance to 

win the tournament,” the Thai, who 

has been joined by his wife and two 

sons in Jakarta, said. 

“My putting wasn’t that good in 

the last few months but it is coming 

around now. “I played very solid 

and I have no complains at all. I 

think I have a chance to go even 

lower in the next few days. I’m only 

halfway there. 

There are many strong players 

here but getting off to 10-under 

after two rounds gives me a good 

chance.” Wade Ormsby of Australia 

was three shots behind the leader 

and Hung Chien-yao of Chinese 

Taipei and three more Australians, 

Kieran Pratt, Jake Higginbottom 

and Scott Hend, shared fourth place 

with Els. — Reuters 

JAKARTA: Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand plays during the second day of the 

$750,000 CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.- AFP


sports 

Sinclair slump is my fault, says Mancini 

MANCHESTER: Roberto Mancini has 

blamed himself for Scott Sinclair’s failure to 

make an impact at Manchester City since his 

move to Eastlands. Sinclair, 24, joined the 

Blues for £6.2 million ($9.6 million) from fellow 

Premier League side Swansea City in 

August. But the winger has made only 

three starts for Mancini’s side in all competitions, 

with most of his appearances being as 

a late substitute, and may not make the 

starting line-up for City’s league match 

away to his former club today. 

But Italian boss Mancini insisted yesterday 

none of this was Sinclair’s fault, 

although he was unsure if the Englishman 

will remain at Eastlands, given his last 

league start was in September. “I don’t 

know this (if he will stay),” Mancini said yesterday. 

“This situation with Sinclair is difficult 

because I didn’t give him a lot of 

chances to play. He is very unlucky. “It is my 

fault, not his fault. A young player like Scott 

who is a good player deserves to play 

always. For him, it was a really difficult year 

this year. “Scott is young and he has good 

quality but this year was difficult for him. It 

is better if he can have another solution,” 

the Italian added. “If he stays here, maybe, 

he can change everything but I can understand 

his frustration in this moment 

because he didn’t play a lot of games. “For 

me, he is a good player. We have one team. 

For him, it was difficult. I repeat: He did 

everything well, he worked well, he is a 

good guy, he deserves to play. I can understand 

when one player can’t play often, it is 

difficult.” 

Reports in the British media on Thursday 

suggested that City are interested in a move 

for 27-year-old Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder 

Fernandinho with £20 million the fee that 

may tempt the Ukrainian side to sell the 

player. But Mancini believes there will be a 

number of clubs interested in the Brazilian 

as well as he looks to strengthen his side in a 

bid to mount a more aggressive challenge 

to recently-installed champions Manchester 

United for the Premier League title that City 

won last season. “We can talk about 

Fernandinho,” said Mancini. “Fernandinho is 

a good player but he plays for Shakhtar. I 

don’t think there are a lot of good players 

around the world. “There are also four or 

five top teams who want to buy good players. 

It could be difficult.” Former Chelsea 

manager Jose Mourinho has hinted he may 

return to England ahead of next season and 

Mancini believes any team under the control 

of the Portuguese, linked with a second 

spell in charge of Chelsea, would lead to a 

more competitive Premier League. 

“I think that it is important that next year 

(season) there will be four or five teams who 

can play for the title,” said Mancini. —AFP 

AFC to introduce 

ethics committee 

KUALA LUMPUR: New Asian soccer chief Sheikh Salman Bin 

Ebrahim Al Khalifa will make introducing an ethics committee 

a top priority as the Bahraini attempts to bring about sweeping 

reform at the scandal- hit Asian Football Confederation. 

Just 24 hours before Sheikh Salman claimed a landslide election 

win on Thursday, the AFC suffered more embarrassing 

headlines with Sri Lankan Vernon Manilal Fernando banned 

for eight years by FIFA for unethical behaviour. 

Sheikh Salman told Reuters the introduction of a new body 

to tackle the problems was an essential part in pushing 

through his transparency manifesto. “If there are any wrongdoings 

by some, there has to be a tool to have a watchdog on 

everybody including the president,” Sheikh Salman said hours 

after hosting his first AFC Congress. “I think this can be done in 

the next two years and hopefully we will do it, by the end of 

the year we will have to have something up and running. 

“It is disappointing that we haven’t created an ethics committee 

to look at these matters to have a proper mechanism 

to tackle these things and I think FIFA will support us on that.” 

The married father of three takes over the AFC at a difficult 

time with the body suffering bribery issues amongst members, 

allegations of age cheating in Southeast Asian competitions, 

violence on the field, referee abuse in Lebanon and 

player deaths in Indonesia. But undoubtedly the biggest problem 

is match-fixing, with cases rife in nations big and small 

including China, South Korea, Malaysia, Lebanon and 

Singapore. “I think we need, whether it is a task force, a committee 

or a team, to look into these matters and see what the 

proper matters are to fight it and hopefully with the support 

of FIFA and the local governments as well,” the 47-year-old 

said. “I don’t think it can be done on our own. There are a lot 

of resources that are going to be put into that. It is a responsibility 

for all - not just the AFC.” 

CARETAKER PRESIDENT 

Sheikh Salman will initially serve two years rather than the 

normal four because he is effectively replacing former leader 

Mohammed Bin Hammam who was dismissed by FIFA for 

bribery and corruption halfway through what was the Qatari’s 

third term. During the near two-year interim period under 

caretaker president Zhang Jilong of China, while Bin Hammam 

attempted to clear his name, the AFC largely went to ground, 

releasing few statements as the problems mounted. 

Sheikh Salman said this would no longer be the case and 

the AFC would have a voice in world soccer. “Our voice has to 

be heard, especially if it is related to match-fixing, corruption 

and any misleading actions or whatever,” the head of the 

Bahrain FA said. “We have to have a strong monitor and, of 

course, the support Asian needs, whether it is for its own interests, 

of course I will be heard.” 

During his campaign there were many loud voices alleging 

he was guilty of human rights breaches during the prodemocracy 

uprising. Bahrain crushed Shiite-led demonstrations 

that began in February 2011. At least 35 people were 

killed. Lower-level unrest has continued since then and Sheikh 

Salman said he had been the victim of a smear campaign. 

“Unfortunately to say some media are controlled by other 

people ... to say what they want whether it is the truth or not,” 

he said.— Reuters 

FIFA president Blatter 

targets another term 

Vice-president opposes Euro WCup cut 

KUALA LUMPUR: FIFA president Sepp 

Blatter again hinted he plans to stand for 

another four-year term as the head of world 

soccer during a speech to AFC delegates in 

which he called for more World Cup places 

for Asian teams. The 77-year-old Swiss, 

speaking at the Asian Football 

Confederation Congress in Kuala Lumpur 

yesterday, was discussing his reform plans 

before he appeared to reveal he was not 

going to quit the presidency in two years 

time. “This will be the last term of, not of 

office, the last term of the reform,” Blatter 

said, smiling as he delivered the message. 

Blatter went on to describe that the 

reform period, brought in to clean up the 

scandal-hit body that has seen members 

routinely banned on graft charges, would 

end in 2015. The Swiss ignored reporters’ 

requests to clarify his position after the 

Congress. Blatter had previously said he 

planned to step down from office at the 

end of his latest four-year term in 2015 but 

opened up a loophole in March by adding 

that was providing he could find someone 

to carry on his legacy. 

UEFA president Michel Platini, who 

watched on Thursday as Sheikh Salman Bin 

Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain won the AFC 

presidential election in a landslide, has long 

been tipped to replace Blatter. Sheikh 

Salman said he was grateful for the backing 

Blatter had given the AFC and said he 

would reciprocate should the Swiss choose 

to stay on. “If he announces, of course,” 

Sheikh Salman told reporters. “He has 

always been a supporter of Asian football 

and if he can fulfill and continue as a president 

of course I’ll support him.” 

WORLD CUP PLACES 

Blatter also questioned the logic of 

Platini’s European confederation having so 

many World Cup places in what could be 

seen as a campaign for votes in Asia. “We 

have to start to see the access to the World 

Cup, the access to the World Cup should be 

a little bit better balanced,” Blatter said. “In 

2014 in Brazil 32 teams, one has qualified 

from South America (Brazil as hosts) and 

then you have 13 teams from one of the 

continents, which is Europe, and possibly 

five more from South America,” Blatter said. 

“If this happens then you have 19 out of 

32, there is no chance to kick them out 

before one of them is in the semi-finals. 

This is the law of the numbers. “We shall 

have a look on this, you should have a look 

on that and bring such items on the agenda 

because we should have a better balance.” 

Asia has four guaranteed places at 

the next World Cup in Brazil with a fifth 

possible if another side beats a South 

American team in an intercontinental playoff. 

Sheikh Salman, also head of the Bahrain 

Football Association, welcomed talk about 

more places for Asia. His country has never 

qualified for a World Cup finals and were 

denied a place at the 2010 tournament 

when they were beaten by New Zealand in 

a playoff. “I think it has to be looked at, it 

has to be studied,” he told reporters after 

the congress. “We have to look at the future 

and the interest of Asian teams and national 

associations. The teams have progressed 

very well in the last few years and I hope we 

can earn more seats at the World Cup.” 

Any plans by Sepp Blatter to cut the 

number of European places at future World 

Cups will be opposed by Britain’s FIFA vicepresident 

Jim Boyce. Blatter, the president 

of FIFA, football’s global governing body, 

called on Friday for more berths for Asian 

teams at future editions of the World Cup. 

The Swiss, speaking at a meeting of the 

Asian Football Confederation in Kuala 

Lumpur, said FIFA should allow more Asian 

teams at the expense of European and 

South American nations, stressing that Asia 

provides 50 percent of the body’s revenues 

with Europe contributing less than 20 percent. 

Asia currently has four automatic 

spots at the World Cup, with another available 

if an Asian team wins an intercontinental 

play-off. Europe has 13 places out of the 

total of 32. A reduction in the number of 

European places would be seen as a slight 

to France football great Michel Platini, the 

head of European governing body UEFA, 

who is expected to bid for the FIFA presidency 

in 2015.— Agencies 

KUALA LUMPUR: Newly elected Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 

President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (left) is congratulated by 

FIFA President Joseph Blatter during the AFC Extraordinary Congress 2013 

held in Kuala Lumpur. —AFP


Orb, Verrazano battle 

in wide-open Derby 

KENTUCKY: Few sports fluctuate as much as horse 

racing and even fewer races are as unpredictable as 

the Kentucky Derby. This year’s race, at Churchill 

Downs today, is no different and looms as one of the 

most open in decades. The early favorite is Orb, who 

won the Florida Derby, one of the key traditional leadup 

races, in brilliant fashion. His main challenger, at 

least in betting circles, is the unbeaten Verrazano, but 

this is anything but a two-horse race. 

With a capacity-field of 20 impeccably bred threeyear-olds, 

the 139th Kentucky Derby has all the makings 

of a classic. An expected crowd of more than 

160,000 will cram into the track while tens of millions 

of people will watch the race, dubbed the most exciting 

two minutes in sport, on television. The only sure 

bet is that the winner of the Run for the Roses will 

instantly be feted as the sport’s new great hope, raising 

expectations he can emulate the likes of 

Secretariat and Seattle Slew by winning the Triple 

Crown. 

But the Triple Crown will have to wait. With no 

obvious standout horse from this year’s field, no one is 

taking anything for granted before the mile and a 

quarter race on dirt, one of the toughest tests for a 

thoroughbred. Orb was installed as the 7-2 favorite 

after winning each of his three runs this season, 

including the Florida Derby, but his trainer Shug 

McGaughey said he would still need some luck after 

drawing the 16 hole. 

A Hall of Fame trainer who has prepared nearly 250 

graded stakes winners but never a Kentucky Derby 

winner, McGaughey said his prospects could be decided 

at the first bend. “Hopefully, he’ll get a clean trip 

around the first turn, which I think is very important,” 

McGaughey told reporters. “That’s where all the jamming 

up comes. Going down the backside, hopefully, 

he can ease in and save a little ground, but not be 

down in there and not be able to make a run when 

the time comes.” 

HEAVY RAIN 

Verrazano, named after the New York City bridge 

connecting Brooklyn with Staten Island, has won his 

four career starts, all this season. He was listed as the 

4-1 second pick but has the added weight of history 

against him. The last horse to win the Kentucky Derby 

that did not race as a two-year-old was Apollo in 1882 

but Verrazano’s trainer Todd Pletcher was unfazed by 

the doubters. “As far as Orb being the favorite over 

Verrazano, that’s not an issue. He (Orb) deserves to be 

the favorite,” said Pletcher, who has five runners in the 

race. “And it might even be an advantage. There’s usually 

more pressure on the favorite.” Goldencents was 

rated the next best chance, at odds of 5-1, but none of 

the 20 runners were longer than 50-1. 

His trainer Doug O’Neill won the race last year with 

I’ll Have Another and is hoping history will repeat 

itself after both horses finished off their Derby preparations 

by winning the Santa Anita Derby. Heavy rain 

is forecast for today’s race but O’Neill was unconcerned 

about the weather. 

“From what I know about this track, it handles 

water real well,” said O’Neill. “As long as we don’t have 

any gushers just before or during the race, I think we’ll 

all be all right.” Goldencents is part-owned by Rick 

Pitino, the coach of the University of Louisville men’s 

basketball team that won this season’s NCAA championship. 

His jockey is Kevin Krigger, bidding to become the 

first African American rider to win the Kentucky Derby 

since Jimmy Winkfield won for the second time in 

1902. Rosie Napravnik is also chasing history in the 

saddle, hoping to become the first female to boot 

home the winner. Two years ago, she finished ninth in 

the Derby, the best placing by a female rider. Last 

year, she won the Kentucky Oaks. This time she is 

aboard Mylute, a 15-1 shot. The lone international 

entrant this year is Lines Of Battle, trained in Ireland 

by Aidan O’Brien, and rated a 30-1 pop. — Reuters 

Photo of the day 

SPORTS 

Mark Webber and Infiniti Red Bull Racing drives in for a pitstop 

during the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix. www.redbullcontentpool.com 

Boxing - Klitschko faces 

cancer-survivor Pianeta 

BERLIN: World heavyweight champion 

Wladimir Klitschko takes on undefeated 

challenger Francesco Pianeta 

today in a busy summer for the 

Ukrainian champ with a bumper payday 

against Russia’s Alexander 

Povetkin looming on the horizon. 

The 37-year-old Klitschko will defend 

his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts in 

Mannheim, south-west Germany, 

against German-Italian Pianeta who 

survived testicular cancer three years 

ago and has a record of 28 wins and 

one draw. 

Pianeta beat 48-year-old former 

world champion Oliver McCall on 

points last year, then laboured to 

another points win over South 

Africa’s Francois Botha, 44, but is 

eager to face the reigning champion. 

“I will bust my backside to get those 

belts. I am sure that everyone is beatable,” 

said the 28-year-old, who has a 

tattoo bearing Julius Caesar’s boast 

“veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered). 

Unlike Klitschko’s recent victims, 

Poland’s Mariusz Wach, 

Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck and 

Britain’s David Haye, Pianeta has 

already faced Klitschko, having been 

a former sparring partner.”He knows 

what he’s getting himself into and 

that’s why he’s confident that he can 

win this fight,” said Klitschko’s trainer 

Johnathon Banks. “That’s what’s 

going to make this fight a good one.” 

With 143 sparring rounds under 

his belt in training, Klitschko is looking 

for the 60th win of his career with 

50 knock-outs and he has no plans to 

add to his three defeats, the last of 

which came nearly a decade ago. 

Klitschko has said he will do “everything 

for a clear win” having been 

ordered by the World Boxing 

Association to face Povetkin in 

Moscow on August 31 at the city’s 

60,000-seater Olympic Hall. 

Russian promoter Vladimir 

Hryunov won the purse bid to stage 

that bout with a staggering $23.33 

million bid last week. The Ukrainian is 

entitled to 75 percent of that figure, 

which would give him a career-high 

$17,250,000 purse. Povetkin is the 

‘regular’ WBA champion and 

Klitschko the governing bodies’ 

‘super’ champion-an honor 

bestowed on him when he added 

the WBA belt to his three others with 

a points win over Haye in 2011. 

Now Klitschko and Povetkin are 

obliged to fight in order to leave just 

a single WBA belt-holder. The two 

former Olympic champions were due 

to clash twice before but Povetkin 

pulled out in 2008 because of injury 

and then backed out a second time 

in 2010. Klitschko has banned any 

questions about Povetkin and opted 

to face Pianeta in a voluntary defense 

of his titles. —AFP 

Spain investigates 

possible match fix 

BARCELONA: The Spanish soccer league is investigating 

a game between first division clubs Levante and 

Deportivo La Coruna for possible match-fixing. League 

spokesman Juan Carlos Santamaria said yesterday the 

league is examining Deportivo’s 4-0 win at Levante on 

April 13. Levante issued a statement on its website saying 

it will “help and collaborate with any investigation.” 

“I have spoken with (league president) Javier 

Tebas and he has passed on indications (of a fix)” 

Levante club president Quico Catalan told El Pais 

newspaper. 

Deportivo coach Fernandez Vazquez denied any 

wrongdoing by his club. Following the heavy loss to 

Deportivo, Levante forward Jose Barkero apparently 

accused four of his teammates- captain Sergio 

Ballesteros, goalkeeper Gustavo Munua, forward Juan 

Luis “Juanlu” Gomez, and defender Juan Francisco 

“Juanfran” Garcia- of a suspicious lack of effort in the 

match. Barkero later publicly retracted his accusations. 

It is not clear if the league had already begun investigating 

prior to leaks of Barkero’s accusations. 

“I only want to make public what I have told my 

teammates,” Barkero said at a news conference on 

Wednesday. “I asked them for forgiveness, above all 

my four teammates, those who I accused of something 

erroneous. I ask Ballesteros, Munua, Juanlu, and 

Juanfran for forgiveness for what I have done to their 

image, their persons and their family, because they 

didn’t deserve it. “I am the one who was wrong. I 

accused them of something that didn’t really happen.” 

Match-fixing is a crime in Spain and can lead to 

prison time for individuals or expulsion of a club from 

official competition. Deportivo is in a fight to avoid relegation. 

Stuck in last place in Spain’s first division last 

month, it started a four-game winning streak that ended 

with the lopsided victory at Levante. The previous 

wins were against teams also struggling to avoid relegation 

- 3-1 over Celta Vigo, 3-2 over Mallorca, and 3-2 

over Real Zaragoza. 

Deportivo has since tied two more games and currently 

lies one point above the relegation zone with 

five games left. “As an athlete I’m slightly offended,” 

Vazquez, the Deportivo coach, said. “But I believe that 

we athletes have our conscience clean. I don’t know 

about Barkero.” Deportivo became the latest Spanish 

club to seek bankruptcy in January. It spent last season 

in the second division and would take a hard economic 

hit if it dropped down again this summer. 

Levante, meanwhile, has lost four straight games, 

its worst run in two seasons under coach Juan Ignacio 

Martinez. The modest Valencia-based club was the 

darling of the Spanish league last season when it 

briefly occupied first place in the standings for the 

first time and ended the season by qualifying for the 

Europa League. Tebas, who was recently elected 

league president, said that one of the priorities was 

stamping out match-fixing. “UEFA and FIFA say it only 

happens in 1 percent of matches,” Tebas told El Pais 

on April 28. “But if one game of the 380 played in the 

first and second division is fixed, it’s a serious problem. 

The first thing we have to do is recognize it’s a 

problem.” — AP


SPORTS 

German League Preview 

Relations cool as Euro finalists clash 

BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans- 

Joachim Watzke has admitted relations 

between his club and Bayern Munich are 

far from cordial as the Bundesliga rivals 

prepare to meet today in a dress rehearsal 

for the Champions League final. With 

Bayern having already won the league 

and Dortmund second in the table, 

today’s match at Borussia’s Signal Iduna 

Park stadium is no more than a warm-up 

for the Wembley final on May 25. 

But relations between Germany’s top 

two clubs are strained despite the promise 

of a first European Cup showpiece involving 

two German teams. “I have always 

spoken with a lot of respect and admiration 

for Bayern. But that has cooled. There 

are a few irritations now,” said Watzke 

after Borussia beat Real Madrid 4-3 on 

aggregate in their Champions League 

semi-final to reach the final itself. After 

news broke last Tuesday that 20-year-old 

Germany star Mario Goetze has actioned a 

release clause in his Borussia contract to 

join Bayern in July for a reported 37 million 

euros ($48.3m), there is little love lost 

between Dortmund and the Bavarians. 

Watzke insisted there is no animosity 

between the clubs, but the Bayern delegation 

have not been invited as usual to dine 

with their Dortmund counterparts, and 

will be greeted “with a handshake”. 

Certainly, Bayern have shown Dortmund 

little courtesy recently, especially since 

their 3-0 win at Barcelona on Wednesday 

gave them a 7-0 victory on aggregate in 

the other Champions League semi-final. 

“We’ve got an easy away game today, so 

let rip. We’re already German champions,” 

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge 

told the team after the win in Barcelona as 

they prepare to face last season’s domestic 

double winners. 

Likewise, Bayern president Uli Hoeness 

stirred things up in February after 

Dortmund’s 1-0 defeat in the German Cup 

quarter-final at Munich’s Allianz Arena 

when he said: “The status quo in German 

football has clearly been restored”. But 

Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said his 

side are looking forward to today’s match. 

“This won’t be a character test, it’s just a 

game we really, really want to play 

because we want to put on a great 

evening for our fans,” said the 45-year-old. 

THE BOYS WILL RUN LIKE HARES 

Dortmund will be without Goetze, who 

tore his left hamstring against Real on 

Tuesday, while Germany midfielder Sven 

Bender is out with damaged ankle ligaments. 

Meanwhile, Bayern coach Jupp 

Heynckes said he will not be fielding his 

top side in Dortmund. “I think both coaches 

will collect their flock together and see 

who has the gas, who has the energy. 

Because of that, today’s game has no significance,” 

said Heynckes. 

Today’s clash is certainly the battle of 

the Bundesliga giants. Dortmund have 

won all of their last six league games, and 

are one short of their own Bundesliga 

record, set in 2005, for the most consecutive 

league wins. Their current sequence is 

however bettered by Bayern, who have 

won 14 matches on the spin. Munich have 

lost four and drawn one of their last five 

league games against Borussia but, with 

84 points, the Bavarians have already set a 

new record for the most points in a 

Bundesliga season. Dortmund were the 

previous record holders after registering 

81 points a year ago. 

The top three places in the Bundesliga 

are virtually decided, with Bayer 

Leverkusen set to take the final automatic 

berth in next season’s Champions League. 

Beneath them, however, Schalke still have 

work to do to make sure of finishing 

fourth as they go to Borussia 

Moenchengladbach. 

While bottom side Greuther Fuerth 

have already been relegated, secondfrom-bottom 

Hoffenheim badly need a 

win at Werder Bremen, who themselves 

are just two points above the drop zone. 

Likewise, 16th-placed Augsburg need 

three points at Freiburg tomorrow with 

their hosts eager to hold onto sixth place 

and a Europa League berth. — AFP 

ITALIAN LEAGUE PREVIEW 

Juventus on verge 

of 29th Serie A title 

NAPLES: Juventus will secure their 29th Serie A title with a draw at home 

to relegation-threatened Palermo tomorrow as the battle for places in 

Europe, and to stay in Italy’s top flight, heats up. A draw for Juventus in 

Turin would give Antonio Conte’s champions an unassailable 12-point 

lead over Napoli with three games remaining after this weekend. All 

Walter Mazzarri’s Napoli’s side can realistically hope for is a win at home 

to Inter tomorrow in order to cement second place, which offers direct 

qualification for next season’s Champions League. 

AC Milan sit in third ahead of the visit of Torino to the San Siro tomorrow, 

but are still seven points behind Napoli and are under pressure for 

the third and final Champions League spot from Fiorentina, in fourth only 

one point adrift. Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik has all but admitted his 

side’s title hopes are over, but the Slovakian admitted Juve had simply 

been better. “We’ve had a great season and only slipped up a few times. 

Unfortunately, Juventus did better,” Hamsik told Sky Sport Italia. “I can’t 

have any regrets. We’re improving as a team and you can’t turn your nose 

up at a second place finish.” 

Juventus have lost only four times this season and with 66 goals are 

second only to Roma for goals scored (68). In the absence of an out-andout 

striker, Juventus’s top scorer this campaign has been Chilean Arturo 

Vidal, who has scored nine in the league and 14 in all competitions. He is 

now just three short of becoming Juventus’s most prolific midfielder in a 

single Serie A season, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Any joy 

Napoli may garner from qualifying for Europe’s top table next season may 

be tempered by the expected sale of their top scorer, Edinson Cavani. 

The Uruguayan has scored a league-leading 23 goals, five more than 

Udinese marksman Antonio Di Natale, but is expected to be sold to either 

Real Madrid or Manchester City in the summer. Reports have also suggested 

Mazzarri could be enticed elsewhere. Hamsik, who has shone this 

season playing alongside Cavani and fellow forward Goran Pandev in 

Mazzarri’s 4-3-3 formation, signed a contract extension at Napoli despite 

several enticing offers from around Europe. He admitted: “I don’t have 

any regrets and I’m happy to be here. I hope Mazzarri and Cavani can stay 

here.” 

Milan, meanwhile, welcome a Torino side still hurting from last week’s 

2-0 derby defeat to Juventus and will possibly be without influential midfielder 

Riccardo Montolivo after he suffered a knock in training on 

Thursday. Striker Giampaolo Pazzini, who scored twice in a crucial comefrom-behind 

4-2 win over Catania, was also a concern although Milan said 

Montolivo “suffered from a muscular problem and will be evaluated over 

the next few days.” — AFP 

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE 

Norwich v Aston Villa 17:00 

Abu Dhabi Sports HD6 

Swansea v Man City 17:00 


Fulham v Reading 17:00 


Tottenham v Southampton 17:00 



West Ham v Newcastle 17:00 


West Brom v Wigan 17:00 


QPR v Arsenal 19:30 



SPANISH LEAGUE 

Valencia v Osasuna 17:00 

Al Jazeera Sport +2 

Granada v Malaga 19:00 


Real Madrid v Valladolid 21:00 


Deportivo v Atletico 23:00 


ITALIAN LEAGUE 

Chievo v Cagliari 19:00 


Matches on TV 

(Local Timings) 

Fiorentina v Roma 21:45 


GERMAN LEAGUE 

Werder v Hoffenheim 16:30 

Dubai Sports 

Stuttgart v Greuther Furth 16:30 

Dubai Sports 

Nuremberg v Leverkusen 16:30 

Dubai Sports 

Frankfurt v Fortuna 16:30 

Dubai Sports 

Hannover v Mainz 16:30 

Dubai Sports 

Dortmund v Munich 19:30 

Dubai Sports 

FRENCH LEAGUE 

Marseille v Bastia 18:00 


Toulouse v Lille 21:00 


Montpellier v Brest 21:00 


Sochaux v Lorient 21:00 


Troyes v Gaillard 21:00 

Al Jazeera Sport +10


LONDON: Chelsea’s Spanish interim manager Rafael 

Benitez shouts to his players during the Europa League 

semi-final second leg football match between Chelsea 

and FC Basel at Stamford Bridge in London on May 2, 

2013.— AFP 

LONDON: Chants of “Jose Mourinho” 

rang around all four sides of Stamford 

Bridge. Fans sang loud and proud about 

club stalwarts Frank Lampard and John 

Terry, too. Still nothing, though, for the 

man who has defied debilitating circumstances 

to guide Chelsea to a second 

straight European final as well as the 

brink of a return to the Champions 

League. Rafa Benitez knows full well he’ll 

never be accepted by Chelsea supporters 

following his past comments about the 

club during his time as Liverpool manager, 

but it’s hard not to notice the grudging 

respect toward the Spaniard as his shortterm 

reign approaches its end. 

Once greeted with boos and jeers as 

he emerged from the tunnel before 

matches, now there is just a stony silence 

that will be music to the ears of Benitez. 

Fans on website forums and radio phoneins 

are even starting to credit the job he is 

doing, justifiably. Considering the team’s 

crazy fixture schedule - it’s 64 matches 

and counting this season - and the hostility 

he’s had to cope with since joining as 

interim manager in November, Benitez 

will leave Chelsea this summer with his 

reputation enhanced and possibly another 

trophy on his impressive CV. 

“With all the circumstances that were 

around at the beginning - the situation 

with the squad, being without (January 

signing) Demba Ba, a team in transition - 

we’ve done a good job,” Benitez said on 

Thursday after Chelsea’s 3-1 win over 

Basel that set up a Europa League final 

against Benfica on May 15. “We were professional 

trying to improve things without 

much time, because we’ve been playing 

twice a week, and we did well. Hopefully 

we can finish even better.” His famous 

outburst after an FA Cup win at 

Middlesbrough in February could go 

down as a turning point in Chelsea’s season. 

Benitez stated in a feisty post-match 

news conference that he would definitely 

be leaving the club at the end of his interim 

stay, before criticizing fans for not getting 

behind him and the club’s hierarchy 

for giving him the “interim” tag. There 

have been few murmurs since, helped by 

the fact that Chelsea has lost only four of 

its 16 matches in the past two months - 

two of those defeats coming in away legs 

in the Europa League. Chelsea has won 

all eight of its home games in that period. 

“I think what’s key is that the fans 

have settled down a bit,” Manchester 

United manager Alex Ferguson, a longtime 

foe of Benitez’s, said on Friday. 

“They have left him alone and he’s gone 

on doing his job, because it can’t be easy 

listening to criticism from fans all the 

time.” “They’ve eased off on him,” added 

Ferguson, who will renew his touchline 

rivalry with the Spaniard in a Premier 

League game on Sunday, “and it’s 

allowed him to relax himself. He has produced 

some good results and he has 

picked the right teams in the right 

games. He has rested and brought in certain 

players. It’s been a good period for 

him.” 

Faced with a game every three or four 

days since the start of February, Benitez 

has to be given credit for the way he has 

rotated his squad to deal with the 

demands of a punishing, unprecedented 

sports 

Benitez gaining grudging respect at Chelsea 

Old rivalry renewed as 

Liverpool face Everton 

LONDON: Out of contention for a place in the European positions, 

Liverpool has a new target for the remainder of the 

English Premier League season - finishing above local rival 

Everton. The neighbors meet at Anfield tomorrow, with sixthplace 

Everton five points ahead of seventh-place Liverpool 

and knowing a win will guarantee its status as the top club on 

Merseyside for a second straight season. 

Outdoing Liverpool two years in succession has not happened 

for more than 50 years, however, and the job is far 

from done for Everton, with Liverpool holding an impressive 

home record against its oldest foe and buoyant after a 6-0 

win at Newcastle last weekend. Everton has not won at 

Anfield since 1999, while manager David Moyes has led his 

team to victory against Liverpool only three times in his 21 

attempts. “The fact that they haven’t won at Anfield for so 

long has to play on their minds,” Liverpool midfielder Stewart 

Downing said. “I am sure David Moyes will get right amongst 

them. He must be desperate to beat Liverpool. But we don’t 

want that record to end. We did really well against Everton in 

the three games last season. “We have to be ready and make 

sure we start well. It will be a good test for us and it will be 

tight with battles all over the pitch, but we’re confident we 

can get another win.” 

Liverpool will look to close the gap to two points with two 

games to play but is without star striker Luis Suarez, who 

recently started a 10-match ban for biting an opponent. 

“Derbies mean a lot and we know what’s at stake,” Everton 

midfielder Steven Pienaar said. “For the people of the city 

and the pride of the club, it’s one of those games you don’t 

want to lose. “We will give everything to make sure we come 

away from Anfield with three points because it has been a 

long while since we won there.” 

A victory would not only give Everton the bragging rights 

for another season - it would also keep the club’s faint hopes 

alive of qualifying for next season’s Champions League as it 

bids to chase down Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea. Thirdplace 

Chelsea qualified for the Europa League final by beating 

FC Basel on Thursday but finishing in the league’s top 

four remains the priority and it faces a tough match against 

already crowned champion Manchester United tomorrow. 

Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez has rotated the squad to 

keep his players as fresh as possible in the two competitions, 

with the team embarking on a hectic run-in that sees it play 

five games in 15 days. —AP 

MANCHESTER: Manchester United 

manager Alex Ferguson is resorting 

to light-hearted bribery to keep his 

Premier League winners focused on 

tomorrow’s match against Chelsea by 

telling them they will only be allowed 

a day at the races if they win. His players 

sealed a 20th league title last 

week and there has been a party 

mood around the club since, 

Ferguson even sharing champagne 

with reporters at yesterday’s news 

conference. 

“I never took into account all the 

(celebration-type) things that happen,” 

he said. “The PFA award, our 

own Player of Year awards, the 

parade and then (Nemanja) Vidic 

came to me last week and asked if the 

team could go to Chester races on 

Wednesday. “And I said without 

thinking “Yeah, of course” but then 

when you put all these things together 

you think ‘what the hell!’. “I hope 

they don’t forget there’s a game of 

football to be played, now if they 

don’t win I think that would be cancelled.” 

The incentives do not end there. “In 

actual fact, I think I’ve got two horses 

running on Wednesday so I’ll give 

them a tip if they win,” he added. 

Having travelled to Arsenal last weekend 

and hosting Chelsea this weekend, 

Ferguson has spoken of his duty to put 

out strong sides against teams whose 

seasons are far from over as they chase 

Champions League spots. They might 

put out their best team but there is no 

pressure. “It’s time for us to play with 

good enthusiasm, enjoyment and relax 

and play good football and express 

ourselves, that’s what I expect to see,” 

said Ferguson as he sipped his bubbly 

from a plastic cup. 

BENITEZ DIG 

Third-placed Chelsea are 20 points 

behind the champions in the standings 

with 65 points from 34 games 

and after a stuttering season have 

found some form over recent weeks, 

reaching the Europa League final on 

Thursday. Ferguson said inconsistency 

had been the London side’s problem 

in a season where they dismissed 

manager Roberto Di Matteo in 

November and appointed Rafael 

Benitez until the end of the campaign. 

“When they sacked Roberto Di 

Matteo that maybe knocked them 

back a bit, it took them a long time to 

schedule. Terry and Lampard, fans’ 

favorites in southwest London, have had 

to be content with playing every other 

week, often in the less important games. 

That policy did not work for former manager 

Andre Villas-Boas but Benitez has 

emerged the better for it. 

Playing David Luiz - a central defender 

- as a center midfielder at times has been 

a masterstroke while playmakers Juan 

Mata and Eden Hazard look to have been 

given the right amount of game time to 

keep them in good shape for the final 

month of the season. “I was helping the 

team,” Benitez said. “As a manager you 

have to do your job.” For a person who’s 

never shy of talking up his own achievements 

as a coach - Champions League 

and UEFA Cup titles, a Spanish league 

championship, a Club World Cup - 

Benitez will be desperate to finish his 

time at Chelsea with the Europa League 

won and a top-four place in the Premier 

League secured. Chelsea is third with 

four games left. 

“He is very concerned about his CV. 

He refers to it quite a lot,” Ferguson said 

mockingly, before adding: “But you can’t 

dispute the fact he has done a good job.” 

After his recent comments, Mourinho is 

the man most likely to succeed Benitez 

this summer although the manner of the 

Portuguese coach’s departure from 

Stamford Bridge in 2007 must still rankle 

with owner Roman Abramovich. “I have 

not made any decision about whether I 

will stay or go,” Mourinho said on Friday 

about his future at Real Madrid. The hardto-please 

Abramovich could do worse 

than stick with Benitez.— AP 

Ferguson resorting to 

light-hearted bribery 

Day at the races rests on United beating Chelsea 

get going again. It’s only in the last 

few weeks that they’ve got any consistency 

again,” he said. Ferguson 

praised Benitez for good recent 

results, helped in part he believes by 

an easing in hostility from fans 

towards the Spaniard. But he could 

not resist a little dig at a man with 

whom he has often had a fractious 

relationship. “I think he’s very concerned 

about his CV, he refers to it 

quite a lot,” he said. 

Ferguson has not got any major 

injury concerns before tomorrow’s 

game at Old Trafford (1500 GMT) 

although striker Danny Welbeck has 

been ruled out and midfielder Paul 

Scholes is likely to be on the bench as 

he returns from injury. The United 

manager said he was not planning 

wholesale changes to his squad during 

the close season, saying “tweaking” 

was the right word for what he 

had in mind. “We’ll maybe look at one 

or two bodies to come in but you’ve 

got to remember we’ve got a lot of 

young players we expect to improve, 

we’ve got to take that into consideration,” 

he said. “In the main group, we 

know where we are, we are comfortable.”— 

Reuters


Sports 

Atletico Mineiro 

thump Sao Paulo 

FIFA president 

Blatter targets 

another term 

44 

Brazilian champions 

Fluminense lose 2-1 

BUENOS AIRES: Libertadores Cup favorites 

Atletico Mineiro took a big step towards the 

quarter-finals with a 2-1 away win over 10- 

man Sao Paulo in the first leg of their last 16 tie 

on Thursday. Brazilian champions Fluminense 

lost 2-1 at Ecuador’s Emelec after conceding 

an own goal and a penalty. Jadson gave Sao 

Paulo an early lead at the Morumbi with 

Ronaldinho equalizing just before halftime. 

Diego Tardelli scored the winner in the 60th 

minute. It was the third meeting between the 

Brazilian rivals in the competition and sweet 

revenge for Atletico, whose perfect record in 

the group phase was ended when Sao Paulo 

beat them 2-0 two weeks ago. 

In an incident-packed first half, Sao Paulo 

centre back Lucio was sent off for a dangerous 

challenge on Bernard, his second booking, 

leaving his side a man short from the 35th 

minute on. “The game was set in a certain way 

and it took a different turn after (Lucio’s dismissal). 

Unfortunately, any loss of a player is 

fatal when two balanced teams meet,” Sao 

Paulo captain Rogerio Ceni told Fox Sports. 

“We made the most of our qualities, our shooting, 

our pedigree. It’s always like that, we have 

a different spirit when we play for something,” 

said Ronaldinho. 

Ronaldinho had angered Sao Paulo players 

when he said the teams’ previous meeting had 

been nothing more than a training session for 

Atletico, who had already qualified. Sao Paulo 

began in fiery mood and took the lead in the 

ninth minute when Paulo Henrique Ganso 

sidestepped two defenders inside the box and 

squared to Jadson, who fired a shot past goalkeeper 

Victor. The home side were forced to 

make a substitution immediately afterwards 

because Aloisio injured his groin making the 

cross to Ganso and was replaced by 

Ademilson. 

SAO PAULO: Ronaldinho of Brazil’s Atletico Mineiro (left) and Wellington of Brazil’s Sao Paulo FC battle for control of the ball during a 

Copa Libertadores soccer match in Sao Paulo. — AP 

RONALDINHO EQUALISER 

The substitute was guilty of a glaring miss 

soon after coming on, firing a chance over the 

bar when he had only Victor to beat. Atletico 

equalized three minutes before halftime when 

Bernard hit a corner well beyond the far post 

where the unmarked Ronaldinho steered a 

header back across the face of goal past a static 

Rogerio Ceni. Tardelli scored the winner on 

the hour mark, running on to a through ball 

from fellow striker Jo to slot past the goalkeeper 

and give Atletico the advantage for the 

return leg next Wednesday at the 

Independencia in Belo Horizonte. 

In Guayaquil, Emelec went ahead in the 

32nd minute when central defender Leandro 

Euzebio turned the ball into his own net trying 

to cut out a cross from right back Carlos Vera. 

“Flu” pulled level just before the interval with a 

superb left-footed shot by midfielder Wagner 

from outside the box. With the final whistle 

just minutes away, Carlinhos brought down 

Emelec striker Marcos Mondaini and Fernando 

Gaibor scored the winner with a well-taken 

penalty out of reach of the diving Diego 

Cavalieri. — Reuters

ARAb StAtES diSMAyEd At WESt'S cOMPlAcENcy - Kuwait Times

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