SAN FRANCISCO: Google staged four discussionsexpounding on the finer points of its “Glass” wearablecomputer during this week’s developer conference.Missing from the agenda, however, was a session on eti-quette when using the recording-capable gadget,which some attendees faithfully wore everywhere -including to the crowded bathrooms.

Google Glass, a cross between a mobile computerand eyeglasses that can both record video and surf theInternet, is now available to a select few but is alreadyamong the year’s most buzz-worthy new gadgets. Thedevice has geeks all aflutter but is unnerving everyonefrom lawmakers to casino operators worried about thepotential for hitherto unimagined privacy and policyviolations.

“I had a friend and we’re sitting at dinner and about30 minutes into it she said, ‘You know those things freakme out,’” said Allen Firstenberg, a technology consultantat the Google developers conference. He has beenwearing Glass for about a week but offered to takethem off for the comfort of his dinner companion. Onanother occasion, Firstenberg admitted to walking intoa bathroom wearing his Glass without realizing it. “Mostof the day I totally forget it’s there,” he said.

Many believe wearable computers represent thenext big shift in technology, just as smartphones

Continued on Page 13

SUBSCRIPTIO

N40

PA

GES

NO

: 158

1315

0 FI

LS

Max 40º

Min 25º

High Tide 06:59 & 17:45

Low Tide12:22

21,258 traffic

violators

deported

in one month 7Pope, Merkel

talk about a

‘strong’ Europe

13Bomb explodes

near 3 embassies

in Tripoli

18Serena extends

winning streak to

reach Rome final

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013 RAJAB 9, 1434 AH www.kuwaittimes.net

US blasts Moscow over Syria weapons

Peace plans hit by diplomatic riftsBEIRUT: The United States chided Russia for sendingmissiles to the Syrian government as plans for a peaceconference promoted by Washington and Moscow werehit by diplomatic rifts over its scope and purpose.Sectarian bloodshed in neighboring, a hacking attackon a Western newspaper by sympathizers of SyrianPresident Bashar Al-Assad and defiant comments by arebel commander filmed eating a slain soldier’s fleshwere all reminders of how the two-year-old civil war ismetastasizing.

But the divisions among world powers that have pre-vented a coordinated resolution were also again on dis-play, just 10 days after Russia and the United Statesagreed to bury differences and push for an urgent inter-national conference to end the war. The most senior USmilitary officer, General Martin Dempsey, describedRussia’s recent delivery of anti-ship missiles to Assad as“ill-timed and very unfortunate” and risked prolonging awar which has already killed more than 80,000 Syriansand which the UN said had driven 1.5 million abroad.

While not responding directly to US assertions that ithad sent Yakhont missiles, a spokesman for PresidentVladimir Putin said Russia would honor contracts tosupply Syria, which has been a customer for Moscow’sweaponry since the Cold War. “It’s at the very least anunfortunate decision that will embolden the regimeand prolong the suffering,” Dempsey, the chairman ofthe Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.

With a range of 300 km, the Yakhont could prove athreat to warships in the Mediterranean, should, forexample, Western powers abandon their deep reserveand intervene to offer air support to the rebels, as theydid in Libya two years ago. No date has yet been agreedfor the international meeting, which appears to facegrowing obstacles. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonmet Putin in Russia on Friday and said the conferenceshould take place as soon as possible.

But highlighting the diplomatic conundrum it poses,France spelled out explicitly on Friday that it wouldoppose any meeting if Assad’s regional ally Iran wereinvited - contrary to the Russian position that Tehranshould be part of a solution. The rebels and key Araband Western backers will meet in Amman on

Continued on Page 13

FAIRFIELD: Emergency workers arrive at the scene of a train collision in Fairfield, Conn. Two Metro North commuter trains serving New York City collided dur-ing Friday’s evening rush hour, sending 60 people to the hospital, including five with critical injuries. — AP (See Page 10)

ANKARA: Riot police detain a demonstrator as theyclash with demonstrators in Ankara yesterday. Publicoutrage over two car bombs that killed 51 people andwounded over 100 near the border with Syria contin-ues a week after the bloody incident. — AP

SEOUL: North Korea yesterday launched three short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, apparently as partof a military drill, South Korea’s defense ministry said. USand South Korean forces had been on heightened alertfor a medium-range ballistic missile test in recent weeksamid tensions triggered by North Korea’s nuclear test inFebruary.

“North Korea launched two guided missiles in themorning and another one in the afternoon,” a defenseministry spokesman said. “The missiles landed in theEast Sea (Sea of Japan),” he said. South Korea was main-taining intense surveillance of the North and keeping ahigh-level of readiness to deal with any risky develop-ments, he added. North Korea sometimes launchesshort-range missiles for tests or as part of military drills.

“A more detailed analysis will be needed but the mis-siles launched may be a modified anti-ship missile or the

KN-02 surface-to-surface missile derived from the Sovietera SS-21 that has a range of about 120 kilometers,” aSeoul official told Yonhap news agency. Seoul criticizedthe launches, calling them “serious” provocations. “Theinternational community will levy much tougher sanc-tions against North Korea for its continued absurdprovocation,” Min Hyun-Joo, spokeswoman of the rulingSaenuri Party, was quoted as saying by Yonhap.

“No compensations or benefits will be allowed ifNorth Korea fails to show changes in its policy towardthe right direction,” she added. The launches followed ajoint South Korea-US naval exercise this week, slammedby North Korea as a “wanton” provocation and rehearsalfor war. A US defense official said last week that twoNorth Korean Musudan medium-range missiles that hadbeen primed for firing as tensions flared in the run-up tothe North’s national celebrations on April 15 had been

moved from their launch site.Musudan missiles have an estimated range of 2,500

to 4,000 kilometers, enough to reach South Korea andJapan and potentially US military bases on the Pacificisland of Guam. US and South Korean officials had beenworried that any test of the medium-range missileswould trigger a fresh surge in tensions, which escalatedafter the North carried out a nuclear test in February.

UN sanctions imposed after the test triggered a cycleof escalating military tensions on the Korean peninsulathat are only now beginning to subside. An aide to theJapanese prime minister returned home from a contro-versial trip to North Korea yesterday, fuelling speculationthat Pyongyang may be trying to thaw icy relations withJapan. At the height of the tensions, Pyongyang threat-ened pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the United Statesand South Korea. — AFP

North Korea fires 3 missiles

Google’s wearable Glass gadget: Cool or creepy?

CALIFORNIA: An attendee tries Google Glass during the Google I/O developerconference in San Francisco, California. — AFP

WASHINGTON: Cybersecurity profes-sionals know a myriad of ways hackerscan try to wreak havoc on critical infra-structure or infiltrate corporations tosteal or spy, but it is the fear of theunknown that some say keeps them upat night. US security officials and pri-vate sector experts wonder what kindsof time-bombs can be - or have been -embedded by malware into computernetworks, just waiting to explode.

Cyber espionage is already “thegreatest transfer of wealth in history,”National Security Agency Director KeithAlexander, the top US general in chargeof cybersecurity said in Washington thisweek. “Disruptive and destructiveattacks on our country will get worse,”he said. “Mark my words, it will getworse.” Stealing software or money -like the $45 million lifted from twoMiddle Eastern banks in a daring globalplot revealed this month - might palenext to an attack that could, for exam-ple, switch off the lights in a major UScity.

That was the fear in New Orleans inFebruary when a power outage struckthe Super Bowl, the National Football

League’s championship game, wit-nessed by tens of millions of viewers.The outage was blamed on an electricalrelay device not a cyber attack. “Theknown unknown is what I worry about,”US Secretary of Homeland SecurityJanet Napolitano told the Summit.

“For example, we don’t have theidentity of all the adversaries who aretrying to either commit crimes or actsover the cyber networks. The things weknow about, we can deal with. It’s theknown unknown,” she added. The mili-tary is a big target, something that RearAdmiral William Leigher, who is incharge of “information dominance”with the US Navy, takes on board. “Ournetworks see thousands of intrusionattempts every day...staying up withthe threat, making sure that our defen-sive systems are up to par is probablyone of the things that gets most of myattention,” Leigher said.

To be sure, the United States has notsuffered the kind of destructive cyberattack that damaged some 30,000 com-puters at Saudi Arabia’s oil company,Saudi Aramco, last year.

Continued on Page 13

Cybersecurity experts fear the ‘unknowns’

LO C A LSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

KUWAIT: Kuwait deported more than 1,200 foreigners sincethe government launched crackdowns against serious trafficviolations a month ago, a local newspaper reported yesterdayquoting a senior Interior Ministry official.

In the meantime, Undersecretary Assistant for Traffic AffairsMajor General Abdulfattah Al-Ali insisted that ‘administrativedeportation’ penalties were only handed out to expatriateswhose records showed repeated ‘grave’ traffic violations. Thiswas as per the directions issued by First Deputy Prime Ministerand Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah.

In a detailed statement to Al-Anba newspaper publishedyesterday, Maj Gen Al-Ali said that 1,258 expatriates weredeported in the four weeks since the General TrafficDepartment launched its operations. Maj Gen Al-Ali told thesame newspaper late last month that more than 200 peoplewere deported in the first two to three days of the campaign.

“[Minister Al-Sabah] gave instructions under which a deci-sion to deport an expatriate driver was not made unless therecord showed that he has committed similar multiple viola-tions as the one he was arrested for,” Maj Gen Al-Ali said, fur-ther explaining that all deportation decisions were taken incase of drivers “with up to four repeated violations.”

The violations which the traffic department classified as‘grave’ included driving without a license, jumping the redtraffic light, carrying passengers illegally and breaking thespeed limit by 40 kilometers per hour. Maj Gen Al-Ali furtherrevealed that among the thousands of vehicles impoundedduring the ongoing crackdowns, 1005 were taken to the scrapto be destroyed.

“These vehicles were of 1985 model or earlier, and failedthe validity tests, thus becoming unfit for driving in Kuwait,”the senior official said, adding that such cars are usually usedfor reckless driving, drifting and other activities that involveperforming dangerous stunts.

Meanwhile, Maj Gen Al-Ali revealed that several forged dri-ver’s licenses were discovered during the campaigns, andadded that legal action will be taken against those havingsuch licenses “and those who issued them.” In this regard, heurged anyone who obtained a driver’s license illegally toeither “destroy it” or “hand it over to the General TrafficDepartment in which case he or she will be reconsidered as awitness instead of partner in the crime.”

According to a report published last month, there are atleast 1.6 million registered vehicles in Kuwait; a country inwhich foreigners are required to meet certain conditions toobtain a driver’s license which include a university degree, aminimum of KD400 monthly pay and being a resident inKuwait for at least two years. Kuwait is home to around 2.6million expatriates who make up nearly two thirds of thestate’s total population of 3.8 million, according to official sta-tistics. In the meantime, Maj Gen Al-Ali refuted allegationsspeculating that the recent crackdowns were targeting expa-triates, indicating that appropriate legal procedures were tak-en against hundreds of Kuwaitis during the campaigns.

These speculations were mostly based on the govern-ment’s announced plans to tackle the country’s demographicimbalance, a claim that has been refuted by state officials. LastMarch, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Thekra Al-Rashidiannounced a plan to deport 100,000 foreigners annually aspart of the Gulf state’s efforts to restore the demographic bal-ance.

Details of the plan, by which the government looks todeport a million foreigners in ten years, are yet to be revealed,but Al-Rashidi had later hinted that individuals to be targetedwere chiefly going to be ‘marginal labor forces’ or workers whousually accept menial labor and often live without valid visas.This plan, along with the traffic department’s mass deporta-tions, have garnered wide criticism from unionists and rightgroups in Kuwait and abroad who called upon the govern-ment to instead cancel the sponsorship system as being the‘best solution’ to address demographic imbalance.

Last month, the parliament passed a draft law to establishthe Labor Public Authority, a state body to be tasked with han-dling foreigners’ employment duties and providing the legalframework to eventually replace the sponsorship system.Under this law, the authority will directly supervise the laborforce in the private and oil sectors, including the process ofvisa issuance and transfer.

A report published by Al-Qabas yesterday listed details ofthe authority’s establishment law, which specified that “theauthority alone can recruit expatriate labor forces in the pri-vate and oil sector as per the employer’s request.”

The sponsorship or ‘kafala’ system is said to contain loop-holes often exploited by visa traffickers to release work per-mits in the name of fake companies or nonexistent job open-ings and then sell these to unskilled labor forces looking for achance to work in the oil-rich Gulf region.

—Al-Anba & Al-Qabas

1,258 traffic violators deported in a month1,005 vehicles taken to scrap yard: Official

KUWAIT: A total of 275 people were arrested duringcrackdowns in Al-Farwaniya and Capital governorateson Friday, targeting illegal residents, fugitives andlawbreakers, the Interior Ministry announced yester-day.

The arrests came during a campaign carried out inJleeb Al-Shuyoukh when 135 people were arrested,including 47 for violating residency laws, 15 withexpired visas, two people who were earlier reportedmissing and 37 who failed to produce identifications.

Simultaneously, another operation carried out atthe Mubarakiya Market and the Fahad Al-Salem streetnetted 140 people, including 25 violators of residen-cy law, as well as four fugitives including a man want-ed on rape charges.

275 held in Capital, Farwaniya raids

KUWAIT: National Bankof Kuwait (NBK) spon-sors Kuwait ArchitectureStudent Association(KASA) established bythe students of theDepartment ofArchitecture, College ofArchitecture, KuwaitUniversity.

KASA organized yes-terday its annual exhibi-tion that showcases thegraduating work of thestudents of theDepartment ofArchitecture for theyears 2011 -2013. Thedesign of NBK’s newHeadquarters Project aswell takes part in thisexhibition. “NBK’s sponsorship and support to KASA comesin line with the bank’s customary and ongoing spirit of cor-porate citizenship as well as the vital role it plays in sup-porting all students, youths and educational initiatives,”said NBK Public Relations Manager, Abdul Mohsen Al-Rushaid. Al-Rushaid added “NBK has always consideredsupporting youth an essential part of its social and philan-thropic outreach which comes in line with the bank’s com-mitment to encourage a merit-based educational systemthat promotes the best and the brightest the country hasto offer and rewards students for their hard work andexcellence.” NBK Annually promotes a range of philan-thropic missions and social welfare programs as part of thehumanitarian dimensions of its corporate social responsi-bility. KASA helps in advancing the interests of architectur-al students vocationally, academically, socially and cultural-ly. It aims at presenting a clear view of architects activitiesthrough providing lection, seminars, meeting and visitingdifferent projects or participating in exhibitions, circulars,magazines and conventions.

NBK Public Relations ManagerAbdul Mohsen Al-Rushaid

NBK sponsors Kuwait Architectural

Student Association

KUWAIT: Officers training school at National Guard carried out an exercise at Al-Zaqla area in order to strengthen the tactical ability of the officers during battles.Commander of National Guard Schools Brig Nader Sheehan Hujail said that the exercise was held under real battle situation to measure officers’ ability to find solutionsto problems in battlefields under hostile weather conditions and in rough terrains. He said the exercise helped the officers to better communicate with each other andenable them to use wireless equipments in more professional manner. He said the participants showed advanced levels of knowledge after the exercise.

Kuwait, Jordanian lawmakers discuss cooperationAMMAN: The Kuwait-Jordan ParliamentaryFriendship Committee held talks here yester-day with Jordanian Parliament Speaker SaadHayel Srour over strengthening bilateral ties,particularly in the parliamentary domain.The meeting, also attended by KuwaitiAmbassador to Jordan Dr. Hamad Al-Duaij,also touched upon several key issues of com-mon concern. During the meeting, MP

Hamad Harshani lauded the deeply-rootedrelations between Kuwait and theHashemite Kingdom, thanks to the roles ofHis Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and JordanianKing Abdullah II.

“Kuwaiti-Jordanian relations are flourish-ing and growing steadily to serve the higherinterests of the two nations,” Harshani said.

The Kuwait MP handed the JordanianParliament Speaker Srour a letter fromKuwait National Assembly Speaker Ali FahadAl-Rashed including an invitation to visitKuwait.

For his part, Srour expressed great appre-ciation of the State of Kuwait political andeconomic support to Jordan. He also voicedeagerness to develop parliamentary cooper-

ation with Kuwait National Assembly.He spoke highly about Kuwaiti investors

and investments in Jordan, stressing thatthey have an important role in promotingeconomic development and attracting for-eign investors to Jordan.

In addition to Harshani, the Kuwaiti dele-gation comprises MPs Dr. Mishari Al-Husseiniand Essam Al-Dabbous. —KUNA

Major General Abdulfattah Al-Ali

L O C A LSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health recently issued aministerial decree stopping the sleeve gastrecto-my surgeries and other weight-loss surgeries till anew law governing such medical procedures wasformulated in the next three months at the maxi-mum.

Although no serious incidents happened as aresult of these surgeries, yet according to theMinister of Health, many doctors were notrespecting the international standards and rulesin performing these surgeries. The decree willbecome applicable starting June 1, 2013 and willcover the sleeve gastrectomy, lap-band, gastricbypass, and other weight-loss surgeries. It will be

valid for both the public and private sector hospi-tals and medical centers. This decree was criti-cized by surgeons. Dr. Mousa Khorsid, Presidentof the Kuwait Surgeons Union described thedecree as unstudied and unjustified, and said thismay harm Kuwait’s reputation in this field as theexperts here may appear as non-professional oruntrustworthy. Dr. Ahmad Al-Murad, Consultantat the Amiri Hospital, felt that these surgerieswere very important for the patients and shouldnot stop. Instead strict laws should be put inplace to regulate these. “One of the main points isthe surgeon’s qualifications and specialization.Many doctors doing obesity related surgeries aregeneral surgeons or have specialized in otherfields such as nerves, liver, cancer or other spe-

cializations and this is not correct. I personallyknow some of these surgeons,” he told the KuwaitTimes yesterday.

The weight criterion is another subject dealtwith in the planned law. “Many surgeons, andespecially those working in the private sector,only care about money. They even agree to doobesity related surgeries for patients who do notmeet the weight condition followed internation-ally. So they are below the level that is set world-wide. The new law will define the weight criteriato be followed,” added Dr. Al-Murad. Political pres-sure on the Minister of Health was behind issuingthe ministry decree. “Most doctors realize theimportance of these surgeries and are against thedecree stopping these, but the minister is under

pressure and we have to understand his opinionif he sees benefit for the patients in this decree.Also, one of the reasons is using equipment notapproved by the Food and Drug Association(FDA), which is useless,” he concluded.

On her part, Awatif, a nurse working in one ofthe private hospitals and also a patient whounderwent sleeve gastrectomy surgery, defendsthe importance of this surgery. “Many peoplehave benefit from these surgeries and I am anexample. I was suffering from hypertension, dia-betes and back pain. I was totally against the obe-sity related surgeries and thought these werecosmetic in nature, but after the doctor advisedme to undergo these, I live completely differentlyand have a healthier life now. I am 50 now and

have stopped taking the pills I was taking and Iam happy with the results,” she pointed out.

According to her, honesty depends on thedoctor. “Our surgeon only does the surgeries if itis extremely necessary for the patient. The deci-sion is based on medical and health groundsonly. For those, who are just lazy or do not meetcertain weight requirement, he refuses to do it.He first tries other options of losing weight suchas diet, practicing sports and others,” notedAwatif. “If they stopped these surgeries perma-nently or for a long time, then I think the patientswill seek out doctors outside Kuwait and that willbe wrong, as the patient needs follow-up checksand tests that may last six to seven months afterthe surgery,” she concluded.

KUWAIT: Oil Minister Hani Husain vowed tocontinue government ’s policies aimed atimproving the administrative structure in the oilsector “to make it capable of living up to thecurrent and future challenges,” and counseled ina recent statement for ‘patience’ as far as thefallout of the Dow Chemical compensation rowwas concerned.

“The K-Dow issue is currently being looked atby the Public Prosecution, and we have to waitfor the court to make its ruling,” Minister Husaintold Al-Jarida newspaper on Friday.

The government took a decision on Thursdayto launch a new investigation into the decisionto cancel the partnership deal with DowChemical. The decision also involved suspend-ing a number of senior oil sector officials indefi-nitely. Unnamed oil ministry insiders quoted byAl-Jarida indicated in the meantime that therecent changes were part of minister Husain’sefforts to “protect the oil sector from profiteer-ing allegations” as Kuwait plans to spend nearlyKD80 billion on oil industries in the coming fewyears.

The recent changes saw longtime KuwaitPetroleum Corporation official Nezar Al-Adasaniappointed as CEO of the state-owned firm, aswell as the Supreme Petroleum Council mem-bers being replaced. Meanwhile, CEO andManaging Director of the Kuwait Oil CompanySami Al-Rushaid announced his retirement inaccordance with a Cabinet decision to refer offi-cials with at least 35 years of experience toretirement. The move officially ended the

tenures of six other officials includingPetrochemical Industries Company CEO MahaHusain.

But it seemed that the government’s stepscould do little to defuse tensions which startedbetween the executive and legislative authori-ties after Dow Chemical announced more thana week ago that they received $2.2 billion fromKuwait in compensation for canceling a jointventure’s deal in late 2008.

Three MPs had filed to grill the oil ministerlast week over the Dow payment, and havesince refused calls to put their plans on hold toallow for the government ’s probe to gothrough. “The interpellation is due as [lawmak-ers] look to identify the key people responsiblefor approving the K-Dow deal, allowing thepenalty clause to be activated and paying theheavy fine,” said MP Nasser Al-Merri who filedthe grilling motion along with MPs Yaqoub Al-Sane’a and Saadoun Al-Otaibi.

He made this statement at a press confer-ence last week in which they demanded thatminister Husain either take the podium fordebate or resign.

Al-Merri’s statements were quoted in an Al-Qabas report which also quoted MP Nawaf Al-Fuzai who said that steps to refer the oil sectorofficials for questioning regarding their involve-ment in the K-Dow deal “are insufficient”. Hehinted that Minister of Cabinet Affairs SheikhMohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah could also begrilled on allegations that a committee hechaired to probe the issue was responsible for

payment of the fine.The Kuwaiti government had called off the

deal to establish what was to be known as K-Dow Petrochemicals under pressure from theopposition in the parliament, prompting DowChemical to sue for damages as per a penaltyclause in the contract. The American-basedcompany won last year an international courtorder stipulating that the PIC, a wholly ownedsubsidiary of KPC, pays a $2.16 billion fine forcanceling the contract to establish the $7.4 bil-lion joint venture project.

In the meantime, a leading oppositionistundermined the government’s recent steps andalleged that the decisions were “the newestchapter in the drama that Kuwait is livingthrough.”

“There are efforts to close the file about thefine completely as part of preparations for newpolitical development,” former MP Musallam Al-Barrak told Al-Rai newspaper. He furtherexplained that the new probe ordered by thegovernment “is likely going to end up with thePublic Prosecution shelving the case, thus clos-ing the issue.” Former minister Mohammad Al-Olaim, who was responsible for the oil portfolioin the cabinet that signed the K-Dow deal, saidduring an interview with Al-Rai TV on Thursdaythat he was in favor of demands calling forreferring all members of that cabinet, himselfincluded, to the Court of Ministers for investiga-tions. Al-Olaim had resigned from the cabinetshortly before the deal was canceled. - Al-Jarida,Al-Qabas & Al-Rai

MoH bans sleeve Gastrectomy ‘Doctors not adhering to global standards’

Minister vows to continueoil sector reorganization

Fallout from K-Dow ignominy

KUWAIT: Undersecretary of National Guard General Nasser Abdullah Al-Day receivedthe Undersecretary of Ministry of Awqaf Dr Adel Al-Faleh and the accompanying del-egation in a visit aimed at the growth of Kuwaiti youths through coordination andcooperation and exchange of experience between the two parties.

KUWAIT: Kuwait plans to introduce a newlaw to control online publishing and socialnetworks. The new law would be separatefrom the audiovisual law which pertains tonewspapers and television broadcasting, alocal newspaper reported yesterday quot-ing sources with knowledge of the subject.

Such a step would probably replace thecontroversial audiovisual and online pub-lishing draft law which the government puton hold last month, soon after introducingit as it elicited widespread criticism bothwithin and outside Kuwait.

The sources who spoke to Al-Rai on thecondition of anonymity did not providedetails of the planned law, but explained

that ‘the Information Ministry is set to startpreparing its articles in the upcoming fewdays.’

The insider expected that the new lawwould be better received compared to itspredecessor ‘since it introduces regulationsonly for areas previously unregulated’ suchas news websites and social networkingwebsites.

Last month, the cabinet approved adraft legislation which proposed a ten-year jail term for religion related offencesand a fine of over $1 million for offendingthe ruler. It was later put on hold by theprime minister to allow further consulta-tion. — Al-Rai

Online publishing law soon

L O C A LSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

The fine is not the

main problem

kuwait digest

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

Some people are seriously trying to thwart allattempts being made by the NationalAssembly and the government to usher in true

reforms. There are some individuals and politicalgroups who have no idea of how to respect ‘law’.Among these is the cooperative societies’ union.

We accept and appreciate the cooperatives’ deci-sion to reject the decision of the National Assembly’shealth committee approving the new cooperativelaw. The cooperatives’ opposition to the law owesitself to their rejection of the one vote system in thecooperative elections. They had also rejected thecommittee’s proposal for a candidate being a mem-ber of the society and having a university certificate.The opponents wonderedabout the incongruity of asystem in which the candi-date for the NationalAssembly is expected only tobe able to read and writewhile the candidate of thecooperative management isexpected to be a universitygraduate.

We accept, as we said, thecooperatives’ right to expresstheir opposition to the issueand raise the matter throughthe media. They are free toresort to legal means to pres-surize the decision makersand force MPs to change their view, but to threatento resort to sit-ins and shutting down cooperativesocieties is something we reject. This is illegal andcannot be accepted by any sane person by anystretch of logic.

Cooperative societies are not the private propertyof the cooperatives union. They are elected by thepeople to run the society honestly and honorably.Cooperatives’ members are elected by the generalassembly and they are the people who own a stakein the society in every area. There are thousands ofshare owners among the citizens. So, by what rightor authority can a society be closed without consult-ing them or the social affairs and labor ministry (thegovernment), which owns the lands and the facilitiesin the cooperative societies?

The health committee at the National Assembly isformed of MPs who are elected by the people and

they have the responsibility of supervision and legis-lating into law what is in the interest of the country.Their decision to change the voting system did notcome out of nothing; rather it came as a result ofcooperatives’ misuse of citizens’ money. This moneywas being squandered in corruption, influence ped-dling and appeasing various tribes. Such aberrationshad become widespread. Also, political Islam groupswere using societies’ funds, be it the MuslimBrotherhood, the Salaf movement or others whofound in societies an opportunity to become famousand have “cousins” benefit at the expense of people’smoney.

The main goal behind the establishment of coop-erative societies in the 1960swas to serve the area’s peo-ple by providing them withfood and consumer items ata reasonable price. Thisbrings in the interest of theshareholders who purchaseand consume these goods.Coops used to rake in anannual profit reaching 10 to12 percent, but now it is justfour percent plus? Why?

Because, corruption,influence, theft and thepolitical Islam groups usingcooperatives to attract theyouth through religious lec-

tures is widespread. Are the cooperatives expectedto run night schools and collect donations for chari-ty or Jihad activities in Syria, Iraq or any other area ofthe world?

The decision of the health committee of theNational Assembly was a correct one as it was aimedat reviewing all those establishments where corrup-tion is rampant. The cooperative societies toppedthat list. Finally, we find the government’s silence onthe issue of cooperatives’ union issuing suchprovocative statements as shutting down these facil-ities rather strange.

Our question to the government officials is this:are we in a state run as per law, or are things somuch out of control that everyone can take the lawinto his own hands and declare that he will close thecooperatives just because their tribal interests werebeing affected by a decision? — Al-Watan

New cooperative law and justice

kuwait digest

By Dr Shamlan Al-Essa

It appears that some people within the govern-ment believe that they can earn their supervisors’appreciation by showing a rather excessive sense

of law enforcement, especially against expatriates.They behave as if making foreigners feel that they areconstantly pursued will bring down the crime rateand will be in the public’s best interest.

These people ignore many incidents in which itwas discovered that a lawbreaking foreigner hadsupport from a Kuwaiti national.

In this context came the unfortunate announce-ment of Minister of Social Affairs and Labor ThekraAl-Rashidi about a plan to deport one hundred thou-sand expatriates every year. She should have knownbetter, being a lawyer by profession, that the plan isimpractical, at least from an administrative stand-point. This is not to mention the injustice involved.Instead, Al-Rashidi should have announced a plan tosend at least a hundred Kuwaiti visa traffickers everyyear to jail. It is a shame that these criminals havebeen committing crimes for so long that we haveended up with a huge demographic imbalance prob-lem today.

This brings me to the Interior Ministry’s decision todeport any expatriate driver who was to commit agrave violation. A decision which forces a person tolose his job and other obligations while risking thestability of entire families is not only inhuman, butalso extremely stupid, given the serious repercus-sions that it leaves in its wake. Expatriate residents, orat least most of them, came to Kuwait to work andearn a decent living. The employers too wanted thesame and hence opened the doors for them.

Therefore it is neither humane nor logical to leaveexpatriates wondering and fearful about their fateand the fate of their children should they commit atraffic violation which could happen unintentionally.Instead, the state is supposed to enforce hefty finewhich will sure that traffic violators learn their lesson.

The main problem is not in the number of foreign-ers living in Kuwait or the violations they commit, butin the corruption spreading in the sponsorship sys-tem. I personally came close to exposing part of thisworld when I offered KD2,000 to a person whoapproached me for donations for a mosque projectin Pakistan, but on the condition that he give me thename of his employer or the one who helped himcome to Kuwait. Of course he declined my offer, likelybecause he knew that his loss will be bigger thanthat amount I offered if he was to expose a tradesecret of the game in the labor market.

It is no secret that people with influence benefitfrom licenses they have for inactive companies, or insome cases for a 20x20 meters office to obtain hun-dreds if not thousands of visas illegally. In the mean-time, a measure forcing companies to deposit work-ers’ salaried in banks proved to be a failure as themoney deposited could easily be withdrawn the fol-lowing day. Indiscriminately deporting laborers isgoing to create many problems and lead to anincrease in wages. If you take the job of workers whoload and unload containers at the port, you can findthat most of them are employed by sponsors who arenot working in the ports business. Can you imaginethe real crisis that will happen if these workers wereto be deported? — Al-Qabas

Deportation not an answer

kuwait digest

By Ahmad Al-Sarraf

By Abdallah Abbas Bwair

local@kuwaittimes.net

Time for law to take its course

Seeing the massive security presence in publicthese days makes us feel more safe andsecure; a feeling we have been missing for a

long time ever since the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait tobe specific. The security presence is hopefullygoing to expose many lawbreakers, including fugi-tives wanted for civil or criminal cases, as well asmarginal labor forces with expired visas who bringmore harm to Kuwait than good.

In the meantime, we are seeing the traffic policeunusually proactive after Major GeneralAbdulfattah Al-Ali was promoted as undersecretaryassistant in the Ministry of Interior. I would like tocongratulate Kuwait for having this senior official inthe government, given his sincere efforts toenforce the law regardless of positions andfavoritism, and keeping Kuwait’s interest as a toppriority.

Kuwait’s traffic sector is not a new field for MajGen Al-Ali; nor is his attitude towards law enforce-ment. Before his recent appointment as GeneralDirector of the Traffic Department, Maj Gen Al-Aliworked for years in the same department as well asin the General Security Department. He was credit-ed for a successful stint as director of the AhmadiSecurity Department where his efforts resulted inimpounding of thousands of vehicles used by reck-less drivers. As director of Al-Farwaniya SecurityDepartment, he had launched crackdowns thatresulted in arrest of hundreds of fugitives and law-breakers.

During his tenure as the head of the FarwaniyaSecurity Department, Maj Gen Al-Ali successfullyfaced off unlicensed demonstrations when someprotestors put Kuwait’s stability at risk. His transferto the traffic department is surely going to boostthe efforts there and improve the quality of work.He will help find solutions to many pending prob-lems including traffic jams and reckless driving.

His efforts to enforce the law, including sendingteams of officers in civilian clothes to detect trafficviolations, have received much appreciation inKuwait, further proving that he is the right man inthe right place. We hope to see more officials likeMaj Gen Al-Ali in the state departments so thatKuwait can once again become an oasis for safetyand security, and the land of peace.

In my view

The government has finally joined the demagogicvoices that express frustration over the loss of $2.2billion in fines to Dow Chemical. I made the above

statement because people continue to talk about thefine instead of the project itself, and about theannounced payment instead of it became due.

The fine was not paid without a reason. It was paid ascompensation to the US-based company that soughtdamages for a cancelled partnership contract. This meansthat had the project been implemented in line with therecommendations of the technical experts concerned,Kuwait would not have needed to pay anything. I am nottrying to justify the contract clause that mandated such ahuge penalty; my question is, why are people focusingon the terms of the contract and not on the reason of itscancellation?

Everyone, including the government, is unfortunatelyinvolved in the process of misleading and falsification offacts. The main problem is neither the penalty clause norin the decision to cancel the deal, despite the latter beingthe main reason why the fine was paid. The problem isnot in the K-Dow deal either. It is a lot bigger than that. Itis wrong to assume that paying the fine or holding cer-tain parties accountable is going to end the problem. Themain problem is in the unjustified exaggeration relatingto the monitoring of development projects. It is in thecommercial competition, which created a lot of hatredand fighting for a stake in development projects. Yes, weneed to put mechanisms in place to protect public funds.However, such protection mechanisms should be moni-tored so they do not transform into tools that hinderdevelopment or resolve trade-related disputes - as ishappening today.

The penalty clause could have been discussed earlierwith Dow Chemical in order for the company to accept areduced value. Such a move may or may not havehelped, but the penalty clause in itself is not the mainproblem anyway. The main issue is whether the K-Dowproject was feasible or not. If it was profitable and devel-opmental, as it seemed during the negotiations, then a$2 billion penalty clause is not the error, but the cancela-tion order is. — Al-Qabas

The security presence is hope-fully going to expose many law-breakers, including fugitiveswanted for civil or criminal cases,as well as marginal labor forceswith expired visas who bringmore harm to Kuwait than good.

The health committee at theNational Assembly is formed ofMPs who are elected by the peo-ple and they have the responsi-bility of supervision and legislat-ing into law what is in the interestof the country. Their decision tochange the voting system did notcome out of nothing; rather itcame as a result of cooperatives’misuse of citizens’ money.

Inspired bydreams, haunted

by illusions

kuwait digest

By Nabila Al-Anjari

People had dreamt many a dream based on promis-es made by the government in recent years, only towake up to the shocking reality that all those sugar-

coated statements made by the state officials were noth-ing but empty promises. The strange part is that we hard-ly ever learn any lesson and as keep falling for the sametrick over and over again. Since the beginning of moderntourism in the 1970s, we have been hearing about plansto turn Kuwait into a ‘touristic hub’ of the region.

This dream seemed to be turning into a reality withthe establishment of the Touristic Enterprises Company,the construction of the Kuwait Towers, and the KuwaitNational Museum, the Sadu House, as well as a number ofpublic and leisure parks. But the government felt that ithas achieved its goals with these projects, and subse-quently failed to come up with strategies necessary toachieve the desired touristic and economic payoff.Instead of going forward with developing the tourismsector, the government simply went into a deep slumber.

Today, even as the finals exams in schools and col-leges are around the corner, the main focus of most peo-ple is travel preparation. Conversations about bookings,ticket prices, touristic destinations and other travel-relat-ed issues have become a main topic of discussions indewaniyas and other public gatherings, as well as in themedia. It is not a secret that the Kuwaiti people havebecome known for their love of travel; something thathas become synonymous with the summer season inKuwait. Travel has also become common among expatri-ates, who travel in different seasons as per the communi-ty they belong to. For example, most Indian nationalswho make up for a 750,000 strong community in Kuwait,prefer to travel during the winter due to the heavy rainsand bad weather conditions during the summer in theirhome country. Meanwhile, members of the Egyptiancommunity who make up for at least 600,000 people - amajority of whom work in the public sector - prefer toescape Kuwait’s summer and spend it at home. Year afteryear, this trend has turned Kuwait into what seems to bea ‘work camp’ in which everyone looks for the best oppor-tunity to ‘escape’ from it.

In the meantime, Kuwait loses billions of dinars everyyear as thousands of vacationers crowd ports and bordersevery summer. According to official statistics, Kuwaitis’travel spending has increased by 37 percent in the lasttwo years. The spending rate has seen a gradual increasesince 2009 when it reached KD1.7 billion. It reachedKD1.8 billion, KD2.3 billion and KD2.5 billion in 2010,2011 and 2012, respectively. There is no doubt that travel-ing has a lot of advantages, especially after a long periodof dealing with work pressure, but we should also notignore the security, cultural and economic risks thatKuwaitis face while traveling to countries with differentcustoms and cultures.

Several economies in countries worldwide rely heavily,if not completely, on tourism, which is something we seesome countries in the region are heavily investing into,unlike us. For example, Dubai has transformed into afavorite destination for businessmen and investors whoenjoy services and regulations provided by the govern-ment, and continues to do so even more to achieve moredevelopment. Most recently, Dubai’s ruler SheikhMohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced Dubai’stourism development vision for 2020, as per which hesaid, Dubai will be ready to receive “20 million touristsand earn 300 million Dirhams every year.”

Improving tourism no longer remains a luxury; it hasbecome an urgent requirement to diversify the state’ssources of income, attract foreign investors and takesteps forward towards turning Kuwait into an internation-al commercial and financial hub. This can be achievedthrough a clear vision and serious efforts. So, can we final-ly make this dream become a reality, or are we going tobe forever haunted by an illusion? — Al-Qabas

Good day Ms Badrya, Upon reading your article about the state of affairs

regarding air conditioners’ duct cleaning and how itcan be improved, I have a few points to share.

Over here in my country, we attend training coursesto equip ourselves with the necessary knowledge, skillsand attitude to meet the challenges at any workplace.It is through teamwork spirit, over a certain period oftime, that you will be able to see evidence of gradualimprovement. With our small population, the time tak-en for information to flow both ways between the peo-ple and the policy makers is rather less. The amount ofinvestment put into improving the communicationnetwork and the related infrastructure needs time andresources. Only time can tell the outcome. If oneremains patient, things would happen in the way youmay like them to. Initially, when any technology is new,there will be plenty of adjustment. People need timefor it to work. Any whistle blowing mechanisms canonly aggravate matters. I do hope you agree on thisissue.

Over to you now for more good news to come. Regards,

Ricky

How to improvework skills

Letter to Badrya

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

L O C A LSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

News

MOH lifts ban on 205 medical jobs

KUWAIT: The Civil Service Commission has lifted ban on205 medical jobs for non-Kuwaitis at the Ministry ofHealth for its budget 2012/2013. The jobs which are nowopen range from doctors, pharmacists, technicians andnurses. Number of jobs available for doctors are 74 jobs,nurses 90, technicians 38 and three for pharmacists.

University in Shadadiyah

KUWAIT: Traffic control is needed to prevent anyexpected traffic jams prior to the opening of KuwaitUniversity in Shadadiyah area, said the Municipality hereyesterday. Municipality official Nazar Al-Sayegh said thatpreventative measures must be planned prior to theopening of the Shadadhiyah University which wouldreplace the University Faculties areas such as Kaifan,Shuwaik, Khaldiya, and Al-Udailya. He noted that thetraffic jams that might occur on the sixth ring road andin areas where infrastructure repairs or constructions aretaking place. Al-Sayegh also noted that despite KU’splans to allocated 50,000 parking spaces for studentsand faculty members of soon to be opened university,the problem would resurface in the 2030 when theexpected numbers of students might exceed the capaci-ty of the parking lot. The official called on all state insti-tutions to look into the matter before any sort of prob-lem would occur.

Kuwait’s Saudi embassy website

JEDDAH: Kuwaitis, Saudis and citizens of other coun-tries can as of now log into newly-established website ofthe Kuwaiti Embassy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia forqueries or information. In a statement on the occasionof launching the website, accessible via www. kuwait-embassy.sa, Kuwaiti Ambassador to the Kingdom,Sheikh Thamer Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, stated that thestep was intended to facilitate bureaucratic and paperprocedures for the nationals, Saudis, expatriates andpeoples of other countries. The embassy is also reach-able round the clock via the “hot line:” 0500554256.

Kuwait Writers association fest

KUWAIT: Kuwait Writers Association has held its culturalfestival luring a number of visitors who hailed the activi-ty for sake of enhancing cultural education at the nation-al level. The visitors, interviewed by KUNA, praised theactivity for the association cultural season (2012-2013),namely diversity of the themes addressed in lectures byeminent figures. Abdullah Murad said, in remarks toKUNA, the event attracted officials, well-known literaryand cultural personalities, namely Iranian Minister ofCulture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hoseini.

in brief

Kuwaiti inmate diesin central prison

Scores wounded in road accidentsBy Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti inmate died in the central jail whileanother inmate was rushed to a hospital in a criticalstate, security sources revealed. It seemed that bothwere taking drugs in their cell together.

Security officer of the prison reported yesterdaymorning about the death of the Kuwaiti inmate inprison. He was 38. The medical report indicated that thedeceased was already dead when he was brought to thehospital, and his lips and eyes had turned blue. Theinmate was in ward 2 of the central jail and was under-going a life sentence on charges of consuming and trad-ing in drugs. A case was filed.

A car accident in Al-Istiqlal Street oppositeContinental Hotel resulted in neck pain for a 40-year-oldKuwaiti woman, who was taken to Al-Amiri Hospital.

A car accident on the coastal road opposite BurgerKing at Mahboula resulted in multiple injuries for a 26-

year-old Egyptian woman. She was taken to Al-AdanHospital.

A car accident at the Fifth Ring Road opposite Al-Omariya resulted in a fractured right knee for a 32- year-old Bengali expat. He was taken to Al-Sabah Hospital.

A car accident opposite the skating hall resulted inmultiple injuries for a 16-year-old Kuwaiti girl and nose-bleed for a 10-year-old Indian girl. Both were taken to Al-Amiri Hospital.

A car accident opposite Recreation City resulted inmultiple injuries for a 24-year-old non-Kuwaiti man, whowas taken to Al-Jahra Hospital.

A car accident at Al-Surra opposite the security officeresulted in multiple injuries for a 28-year-old Egyptianman, who was taken to Mubarak Hospital.

As a 54-year-old Bengali expat was crossing the roadat Al-Jabriya when a passing car hit him, causing multi-ple injuries all over his body. He was taken to MubarakHospital.

A fire broke out in a vehicle at Al-Salam area oppositeMcDonald’s, causing second-degree burns to the righthand of a 44-year-old Indian expat, who was taken toMubarak Hospital.

A 16-year-old Kuwaiti boy fell down in Green Islandand broke his right leg. He was taken to Al-AmiriHospital.

A 25-year-old non-Kuwaiti had a nasty fall at Al-Mangaf near Fingerprints and broke his two legs. He wastaken to Al-Adan Hospital.

A four-year-old Egyptian boy fell down at Al-MarinaCrescent and broke his right arm. He was taken toMubarak Hospital.

A 16-year-old Palestinian boy fell down at the Englishplayground in Salmiya and broke his left arm. He wastaken to Mubarak Hospital.

A fight at Amghara scrapyard left a 41-year-old SriLankan man with an injured left leg, and he was thentaken to Al-Jahra Hospital.

By Hanna Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Personnel from the Marine Fire RescueCenter safely brought out a yacht and 35 peopleaboard it after it was caught amidst rocks north ofthe Kobbar Islands, all within one hour of receivingthe first distress call from the vessel.

The fire rescue boat responded in double quicktime and its efforts helped extricate 35 membersof the Kuwaiti family from their predicament. TheMarine Center received a call for help. The Shuaiba

Marine fire center rushed the boats “Mubasher”and “Monjed” to the site, supported by SalimiyaMarine fire center personnel on board the boat“Monqeth 2.”

They received the call for help at 10:40 pm Fridaynight, indicating that their 70-feet-long vessel wasstuck among the rocks north of Kobbar Island.

As the fire rescue men reached the site, theyfound that the yacht was leased by a Kuwaiti familycomprising 35 persons. They were shifted to the firedepartment’s boat with 16 people on boat

“Mubasher” and 16 more on boat “Monjed.” Threepeople were carried by coast guards.

As for the yacht, it was dealt with by the fire boat“Monqeth 2” that ensured it was afloat once again,and escorted it to the yacht club. The accident han-dling was supervised by General Director of firedepartment, Yousuf Al-Ansari, and his deputy, Brig.Khalid Al-Mikrad and Colonel Tareq Al-Sabti. Theeffort was led by Shuiba fire center director MajorBader Al-Kadam and Marine fire center director,Major Hamad Bodastour Salimar.

Kuwait’s Marine Fire dept rescues 35 from yachtVessel stuck in rocks off Kobbar

K U WA I T: Kuwait i s s t i l l wai t ing toreceive from Iraq $11.2 billion in com-pensation that was approved by theUnited Nations for the damages sus-tained by the Kuwaiti oil sector duringthe 1990-91 Iraqi Invasion, a local dailyreported yesterday, quoting official statefigures.

According to the compensation statis-tics released by a state authority, Kuwaithad sought a total of $177.4 billion incompensation. However, only $41 billion

was approved, out of which $29.8 billionhas been received so far by Kuwait, whileIraq is yet to pay $11.2 billion.

The statistics quoted by Al-Qabas yes-terday indicated that Kuwait received allcompensations under the category ofindividuals, cases of injury and death,and other demands exceeding $100,000.The report further showed that out of$114.1 billion that the Kuwaiti govern-ment had initially asked for, only $8.2billion had been approved and received.

UN compensation approval

L O C A LSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

UNITED NATIONS: Kuwait andGrenada have decided to establishdiplomatic relations in line with jointdesire to promote friendly ties andcooperate in political, economic andcultural sectors.

A joint statement in this respectwas signed here by the PermanentDelegate of Kuwait at the UN,Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi and Grenada’s ForeignMinister Nickolas Steele.

Governments of the two coun-tries have taken the move for serviceof the two states’ national interestsand in affirmation of the two sides’abidance by objectives and princi-ples of the UN for safeguardinginternational peace and security.

In a statement to KUNA andKuwait Television after signing thejoint statement, Ambassador Al-Otaibi expressed satisfaction forestablishing these ties, noting thatthe step was in line with Kuwait’spolicy of openness with states of theglobe, namely small countries in theCaribbean and the Pacific. Kuwaithas recently established diplomaticrelations with around nine countries,several in these two regions. Kuwait

and Grenada have maintained coor-dination at some levels since the 70s,and Kuwait Fund for Arab EconomicDevelopment has had projects inthis country for a long time.

Noting Kuwait’s desire to coop-erate with Grenada in the economicand investment sectors, AmbassadorAl-Otaibi indicated that the Gulfstate desires to coordinate with thiscountry regarding various crucialissues of global ramifications, tack-led by the UN.

Kuwait and Grenada cooperate asmembers in several organizations,namely the Non-Aligned Movement,the 77-Group+China, addressingvarious questions of common inter-est such as sustainable developmentand climatic change. AmbassadorAl-Otaibi expressed desire to takefurther steps to consolidate the tieswith Grenada, such as naming anon-resident Kuwaiti ambassador tothe country and establishing anembassy for it in the Gulf country. Headded that Minister Steele informedhim that his country desires to havediplomatic representation in Kuwait,indeed, and looks forward to chargethe diplomatic mission in Kuwait

with Grenada’s interests in all Gulfand Arab states.

After the signing ceremony,Steele told KUNA and Kuwait TV thatestablishing relations between the

two countries “is actually importantto our country and to me personally,”adding that when Grenada opens anembassy or Trade Mission in Kuwait,it will be the first in the region.

He recalled that the relationshipbetween the two countries, throughthe Kuwaiti Fund, dates from manydecades ago. He indicated that itwas “appropriate that we also for-

malize the relations between thetwo countries so that we can gofrom strong to stronger, not justfrom the assistance that we havereceived from the Kuwaiti Fund, but

in getting the governments andpeoples together. I truly hope andexpect from our signing of the JointCommunique today that we willhave more technical and culturalexchanges, trade, and technicalassistance from Kuwait in our petro-leum exploration.”

He expressed his country’s desireto open an embassy or a TradeMission in the region, but “we haveour challenges in terms of budgetaryconstraints,” adding that “my hopeand expectation is that in signingthe Joint communiquÈ today, wecan push forward with our relationsand quite possibly have that Missionopen in Kuwait as soon as possible,and it will be Grenada’s first embassyor Mission in the region.” Grenada isan island country at the southernend of the Caribbean Sea. It isknown as the “Island of Spice”because of the production of nut-meg and mace crops of whichGrenada is one of the world’s largestexporters. Its economy is based ontourism. Its size is 344 square kilo-meters, with an estimated popula-tion of 110,000. Its capital is StGeorge. —KUNA

Kuwait, Grenada establish diplomatic relations

THE UNITED NATIONS: Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibiand Grenada’s Foreign Minister Nickolas Steele. —KUNA

Officers injured in central Jail melee Teen driver held with loaded firearms

KUWAIT: Six police officers were injured in aquarrel with prisoners inside the Central Jaillate Thursday night. According to the policereport, an operation to apprehend inmatesin possession of contrabands triggered thefighting. The security team reportedlyentered cell number 10 as part of a surpriseoperation based on information that fourprisoners, including a Saudi and three state-less residents, were in possession of contra-bands. The four showed resistance and usedsharp edged objects to attack the officers. Alieutenant colonel and a first lieutenantwere wounded in the incident. Police man-aged to overpower the inmates and thenseized the contrabands which reportedlyincluded a cell phone and SIM cards.

Passports stolenAuthorities in Thailand arrested an Iraqi

national who reportedly used Kuwaiti pass-ports stolen from tourists to dupe people incases reported recently in the Asian country.Several hotels and individuals had filedscam cases in Thailand against Kuwaitinationals, before investigations revealedthat those accused parties had actuallyreported their passports stolen before thesecrimes took place. Undersecretary ofKuwait’s Foreign Ministry Khalid Al-Jarrallahtold Al-Rai newspaper that coordinationbetween Kuwaiti and Thai authoritieshelped arrest the suspect who reportedly

carried out these crimes while impersonat-ing Kuwaiti nationals.

Teen driver held A teenager was arrested for driving with-

out a license and possessing loadedfirearms even as his brother is being ques-tioned on suspicions of trying to cover upthe crime. The 17-year-old was arrestedwhen traffic patrol officers pulled him overand then found he was under the legal ageof driving. The juvenile’s brother soonarrived after he was called to collect theteenager’s belongings from the car.However, police grew suspicious about aplastic bag that the older brother took outof the car, and inspected it to find twoloaded pistols. The two were referred to theproper authorities to face charges.

Salmiya crackdownNearly a hundred people were arrested

for visa-related violations during a recentsecurity crackdown which also netted ninewomen on suspicions of being drunk. Theoperation that took place in Salmiya saw thepolice secure the area’s entrances. They wereable to arrest around one hundred Asiannationals who failed to produce valid visas,in addition to nine Kuwaiti women for intox-ication. Furthermore, police raided a placeused to make homebrewed alcoholic drinks,and arrested an unspecified number of

Asian nationals while one man managed toescape. The detainees were referred to theproper authorities for further action.

Mom reunited A toddler was reunited with his mother

hours after a pedestrian who saw him sleep-ing near a street in the area and informedofficers at the Al-Nugra’s police station. Thefour-year-old was brought to the police sta-tion on Thursday morning by a Kuwaitiwoman who said that she had found himwandering alone. A few hours afterwards,police were approached by a womanreporting her boy missing. The womanexplained that the child managed to sneakout of her sister’s house where she had lefthim to attend to some business. Both, themother and son, was reunited.

Two nabbed in fightA man was hospitalized with a stab

wound following a fight reported in KuwaitCity recently. Police and paramedics rushedto a shopping mall in the area where a fightwas reported happening. They headed tothe parking lot where the fighting was onand apprehended three people who wereinvolved in the quarrel. One man was takento the Amiri Hospital with a stab wound onhis shoulder, while two others were taken tothe police station for investigations. A casewas filed.

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: General Director of FireDepartment Lt General YousufAbdullah Al-Ansari along with hisDeputies Brig Khalid Al-Tarkait andBrig Khalid Al-Mikrad received in his

office the General Director ofHandicaps authority Dr Jassam Al-Tanmer and his Deputy Essam BenHaider.

The meeting discussed ways ofcooperation between the two parties.They felt that the job of the firemen is

risky and prone by dangers. Some ofthe officials have sustained injuriesduring operations resulting in physi-cal disability to them. Dr Al-Tanmarhailed the great efforts being made byfiremen to protect the lives and prop-erty of the society.

Firemen’s efforts lauded

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait(NBK) celebrates this year its 61stanniversary.

On 19 May, 1952, the late AmirSheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah,issued the famous Amiri Decree prom-ulgating the incorporation of theNational Bank of Kuwait as the firstnational bank and the first sharehold-ing company in Kuwait and the Gulf.

The commemoration of this inspir-ing and monumental anniversarycomes as a culmination of a remark-able story of success, by means ofwhich NBK has been transformed froma small bank that occupies the area of

three shops and a handful of employ-ees relying on traditional and manualbanking tools to one of the largest andmost profitable banks in the region.

Today, NBK has the largest local and

overseas banking network encompass-ing more than 173 branches, represen-tative offices and subsidiaries strategi-cally located within the main interna-tional and regional financial centers. .

NBK was also recently namedamong the ‘World’s 50 Safest Banks’ forthe seventh consecutive time, illustrat-ing the success of the bank’s conserva-tive strategy, prudent risk manage-ment dedication excellent customerservice. NBK enjoys the highest creditratings among all the banks in theMiddle East and North Africa region byinternational rating agencies Moody’s,Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings.

NBK celebrates its 61st anniversary

KUWAIT: Chief Editor of Kuwait’s top magazine Dr Sulaiman Al-Askarisaid the magazine has become a leading publication in the Arab world.It has reaped many awards of appreciation and lured a large number ofreaders due to continuous renew of its contents and expansion of its sis-terly issues, namely “Al-Arabi Al-Saghir” for children and “Al-Arabi forSciences,” he added.

Dr Al-Askari, in an interview, affirmed his keenness on enriching theeditions with new subjects and furnishing the readers, namely the chil-dren, with the sisterly editions namely the monthly “Al-Arabi Al-Saghir,” aswell as the annual book that documents researches presented at themagazine annual seminar. The Editor-in-Chief, who has been in chargeof the magazine staff since 1999, urged talented young Kuwaitis to joinhis team and work as editors, literary or scientific writers with aim ofenriching it with new thoughts and works.

Al-Arabi is a monthly Arabic magazine that focuses mainly on cul-ture, literature, art, politics, society, and economics of Kuwait and theArab world. The first edition was published in December 1958. It encour-ages public participation, and makes use of photography and freelancework. Its first edition was published in December 1958. Since its estab-lishment, the magazine has witnessed steady modernization in topicsand sections, in line with the technological advancement of the day.Today’s editions include an article written by the Editor-in-Chief, a specif-ic topic in which many different writers share ideas, works of a selectpoet and literature papers tackling recent issues. Turning to current liter-ary-cultural status in Kuwait, the renowned intellectual personality andveteran writer said Kuwait used to be in the past an example in the Gulfregion in the realms of culture and arts, adding that the Kuwaiti culturalexperience was being examined by neighboring and regional states tolearn from its strides and falls, namely lingering setbacks caused by the1990 “Saddami invasion” of the country.

Delving further into this issue, Al-Askari said he sensed drop of inter-est by the educational institutions in culture, literature and arts, statingthat education and activities in these fields “open up new intellectualhorizons for students, to be creative and adopt free methods of think-ing.” Negligence of such an approach hinders establishment of anadvanced society at all levels, he warned. Although a large number ofyoung Kuwaiti innovators in culture and arts have recently come to the

surface, their emergence “has not developed into a general phenome-non” and their number has remained below the figure of distinguishedfigures in the field that appeared in the 50s and the 90s, he said, callingfor devoting special care to the new generation of intellectual creatorsand “revive the glories we had experience” in these fields in the past.”Mentioning some of the presently famous creators, Al-Askari named thedramatist, Suleiman Al-Bassam, who studied in Britain and whose pro-ductions enabled him to gain international fame, however he could notput some of his works on stage in Kuwait! Al-Bassam is putting on stagethe play of his direction, “Rituals of Signs and Transformations” at theatreof “Comedie Francaise,” in the French capital the first foreigner to be giv-en the green light to display at the top French theatre.

He also mentioned as another example the novelist, Saud Al-Sanousi, who has recently won the International prize for Arabic Fictions.“Such persons are a national wealth that must be sponsored andencouraged,” he stressed. As to Al-Gurain Cultural Festival which hefounded in 1994 while serving as the Chairman of the National Councilfor Culture, Arts and Letters, Dr. Al-Askari noted that the festival was oneof the important cultural achievements in Kuwait, noting that encour-agement for its establishment by HH the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. “We have been proud of the festival because it haspresented Kuwait after the liberation as a major Arab cultural hub andeffective contributor to promotion of the Arab arts and cultures,” headded. The annual Al-Gurain Festival attracts local and Arab literary andartistic personalities, he boasted. However, Al-Askari called for greatercare and support to maintain the high status of the annual culturalevent. Culture, he elaborated, is an effective tool that contributes tomaintaining relations among states, also stressing on its role for buildingfoundations of states.

As to the Alam Al-Maarefah magazine, which he headed when hewas the chairman of the National Council of Culture, Arts and Letters, heaffirmed that the monthly edition “has effectively contributed to the cul-ture in the Arab world.” He called for continuous efforts to keep publish-ing it and recalled a conversation with the late advisor of the magazine,Dr Fuad Zakaria, before his demise, during which he told him that themagazine was the most significant “scientific project he had overseenthroughout his life.” —KUNA

Al-Arabi magazine shows the wayChief editor traces evolution and growth of Al-Arabi

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

France becomes 14th country to legalize gay marriagePage 9

Argentina ‘Dirty War’ dictator Videla dies

Page 9

ALEPPO: Syrian rebel fighter Tawfiq Hassan, 23, a former butcher, poses for a picture, after returning from fighting against Syrian army forces in Aleppo, at a rebel headquarters in Marea on the outskirts of Aleppo city, Syria. Lack ofunity among rebel fighters has characterized the armed conflict from the start, and there were new signs yesterday that infighting is on the rise. — AP

Rebel groups clash in northern SyriaWave of tit-for-tat kidnappings in Aleppo

BEIRUT: A wave of tit-for-tat kidnappingsbetween rival Islamic militant groups in thenorthern Syrian city of Aleppo risks sparkinglarge-scale internal fighting between rebelsafter clashes killed at least four militants,activists said yesterday. The director of theBritain-based Syrian Observatory for HumanRights, Rami Abdul-Rahman, said a coalition ofrebel groups known as the Judicial Councilhad accused another armed opposition fac-tion, the Ghurabaa Al-Sham, of plundering fac-tories in Aleppo’s industrial neighborhood.Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and a former com-mercial center, is split between rebel and gov-ernment control.

Any internal fighting between rebels in thecity would play into the hands of the regime,which is trying to tarnish the image of theopposition by saying it is dominated byextremists linked to Al-Qaeda network.Aleppo, a city of 3 million that was once a bas-tion of support for President Bashar Assad, has

been engulfed in heavy fighting since rebelslaunched an assault there in July and capturedseveral neighborhoods. Over the past fewweeks, regime forces have been pursuing anoffensive in the city, mainly focused on push-ing the rebels from around the internationalairport and a nearby military air base.

Abdul-Rahman said tensions among rebelfactions have been rising in opposition-heldareas, mostly on the eastern side of the city.The two groups, the Judicial Council and theGhurabaa Al-Sham, clashed on Tuesday nearAleppo in fighting that left four members ofthe Judicial Council dead, Abldul-Rahmansaid. He added that the Judicial Council is nowholding dozens of members of Ghurabaa al-Sham captive. Aleppo-based activistMohammed Saeed said Ghurabaa al-Shamwithdrew its fighters from several neighbor-hoods, including the industrial area, and that ithad released all of the Judicial Council mem-bers it had been holding captive.

“The situation is very tense in Aleppo,” saidAbdul-Rahman, who relies on a network ofactivists around the country. He said thatGhurabaa Al-Sham has warned it will bringsome of its members from outside the city tofight against the Judicial Council if its mem-bers are not freed. Saeed said Ghurabaa Al-Sham released all Judicial Council members itwas holding while the other group refused toset free Ghuarbaa al-Sham members and isstill holding them.

He added that the Judicial Council is anumbrella organization that includes theTawheed Brigade, Al-Sham Liberals and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat Al-Nusra - one of themost effective forces among the mosaic ofrebel brigades fighting to topple Assad inSyria’s civil war. “There are fears that fighting(between rebels) might erupt in Aleppo,”Saeed said by telephone. In other parts ofSyria, the Observatory reported that rebelscaptured several villages late Friday in the cen-

tral province of Hama after weeks of fightingwith government troops. It said the villageswere inhabited by members of Assad’s minori-ty Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

It said the Alawite villages - Tleisiyeh,Zaghba, Shaata and Balil - are all on the east-ern side of the central province. TheObservatory said residents fled the area cap-tured by rebels. The uprising against Assad’srule that began in March 2011 quickly becamean outlet for long-suppressed grievances,mostly by poor Sunnis from marginalizedareas. It has since escalated into an outrightcivil war that killed more than 70,000 peopleaccording to the United Nations. The conflicthas grown increasingly sectarian, both inaction and rhetoric.

Earlier this month, activists reported thattroops and pro-government Alawite gunmenkilled more than 100 people in Sunnis areas inthe coastal city of Banias and the nearby townof Bayda. The violence in Banias and Bayda

bears a close resemblance to two reportedmass killings last year in Houla and Qubeir,Sunni villages surrounded by Alawite towns.Many of the rebels trying to overthrow Assadtoday say they want to replace his govern-ment with an Islamic state.

The Syrian National Coalition, the mainumbrella opposition group warned in a state-ment that government forces are currentlyimposing a siege and communications black-out on the towns of Halfaya and Aqrab inHama. “Civilians in those areas are now cut offfrom contact with the outside world, andlives are in extreme danger,” the coalition saidin a statement. The Observatory and theLocal Coordination Committees, anotheractivist group, reported intense clashesaround the town of Qusair near the Lebanonborder. Syrian opposition groups say mem-bers of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah groupare taking part in the fighting along withAssad’s forces. — AP

VATICAN CITY: German Chancellor AngelaMerkel, mindful of the weight of Christian votersin September elections, made a quick trip toRome yesterday for a private meeting with PopeFrancis, focusing on how Europe’s strugglingeconomy should be at the service of the people.Merkel spoke privately for 45 minutes with thepope at the Apostolic Palace, after exchangingcordial greetings in Germany.

Her Christian Democrat party depends heavilyon support from Protestant and Catholic voters,and the chat and photo opportunity could be awelcome campaign boost for a leader largelyidentified by Europe’s economically suffering citi-

zens as a champion of debt reduction even at thecost of painful austerity across much of the conti-nent. On Thursday, Francis blasted what he calleda “cult of money” in a global financial system thatends up tyrannizing, not helping, the world’spoor. Asked whether they had also talked aboutthe pope’s recent criticism, Merkel said that theyspoke about the regulation of the financial mar-kets. “The regulation of the financial markets isour central problem, our central task,” saidMerkel, who met with reporters on the Vaticangrounds. “We are moving ahead, but we are notyet where we want to be, where we could saythat a derailment of the guard rails of social mar-

ket won’t happen again.”Merkel added: “It ought to be like this: the

economy is there to serve the people. In the lastfew years, this hasn’t been the case at all every-where.” Italy, Spain, Ireland, Portugal and espe-cially Greece, have seen governments concen-trate on debt reduction while slashing statespending. With growth stymied, unemployment,especially among young people, has soared.Businesses, many of them family-run in southernEurope, have failed as bank lending dried up.

The chancellor also said the pope hadstressed that the world needs a strong and justEurope and described the overall conversationhas encouraging. Merkel is currently campaign-ing for re-election in September’s general elec-tions. Half of Germany’s population is Catholic. InBavaria especially, there is a strong conservativeand Catholic tradition.

According to a Vatican statement, Francis andMerkel concentrated on topics of “common inter-est, including the socio-political, economic andreligious situation in Europe and in the world.” “Inparticular, they spoke about safeguardinghuman rights, about the persecutions faced byChristians, about religious freedom and of inter-national collaboration to promote peace,” theVatican said.

Francis, who is Argentine, has picked up oncampaigns by the two previous popes, the PolishJohn Paul II and German Benedict XVI, to reinvigo-rate what the Catholic church sees as flagging reli-gious enthusiasm on a continent with Christianroots, including dwindling number of churchgoersin much of Western Europe. The Vatican also usespapal visits with major leaders to seek allies in itslobbying on behalf of Christians who face discrim-ination and in some cases physical violence inparts of the world. —AP

Merkel, Pope talk about ‘strong’ Europe

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis gestures with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a privateaudience at the Vatican yesterday. — AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

ADEN: Suspected Al-Qaeda gun-men shot dead a Yemeni intelli-gence officer in a drive-by attackin the southern city of Mukalla,capital of the southeasternHadramawt province, a policesource said yesterday. Two menriding a motorbike shot ColonelAbdullah Al-Ribaki on Fridayevening in a residential area ofMukalla, the source said, adding:“Al-Qaeda is behind this killing.”

Another local official said thatRibaki had been a target for thenetwork, which recently postednotices in Mukalla threatening tostep up their fight against intelli-gence officers and police. Al-Qaeda militants were driven outof most of their strongholds inYemen’s south last June in an all-out offensive by governmentforces aided by local “resistancecommittees”. Militants from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsulahad taken advantage of theweakness of Yemen’s central gov-ernment during a 2011 uprisingagainst now-ousted president AliAbdullah Saleh. AQAP fightersseized large swathes of territoryacross the south, including mostof Abyan province, which theycontrolled for a year.

‘SABOTAGE’ OF AIR FORCEYemen’s air force has been the

target of “sabotage”, the country’smilitary aviation chief said in atelevised interview, days after afighter jet crashed in the capitalSanaa. “The air force is the targetof systematic sabotage,” GeneralRashed Al-Janad told the privatechannel Al-Saida in the interviewbroadcast late on Friday. He saidthe Sukhoi SU-22 that crashed inSanaa last Monday, killing thepilot, was caused by “shots hittingthe aircraft” as it prepared to landat a base next to the capital’s air-port.

“The black box of the aircraftwas hit” in the attack, he saidwithout giving further details. He

quoted witnesses as saying thejet had exploded 50 metersabove the ground. The air forcesaid it would open an investiga-tion into the crash, the secondtime a Sukhoi jet has crashedover the capital since the start ofthe year. On February 19, aYemeni air force jet crashed into aresidential area of Sanaa, killing12 people, including the pilot.

Janad said an Antonov M26that came down north of Sanaain November 2012 “had also beenhit by shots that caused a fire inone of its engines”. He addedthat two other military aircraft,including a helicopter, had beenfired on last November nearSanaa, although they had notbeen hit. On Wednesday, an armyhelicopter carrying TransportMinister Ahmad bin Dagher had

to make an emergency landing inthe central Bayda province after itwas shot at three times, Janadsaid in the interview, adding thatsecurity forces had arrested 12men over the attack.

But Janad said these acts of“sabotage” took on a new dimen-sion with the explosion on May 6of two refuelling vehicles at Al-Anad air base in southern Yemen,the largest in the country. “Theaim was to blow up the base’sfuel store, but the fire was quicklybrought under control,” he said.Janad replaced a half-brother ofousted president Ali AbdallahSaleh as Yemen’s air force chief ayear ago, as part of a restructur-ing of the armed forces. The gen-eral said those who had beenaffected by the restructuring maybe behind the acts of sabotage

targeting the air force.Meanwhile, President

Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi urgedvigilance from the air force. “Weare fighting forces who do notwant the best for Yemen, or secu-rity and stability in the country,”he said in a visit to the air force’sheadquarters yesterday. Withoutgiving further details, Hadi saidthese forces were “working toshake the unity of the army, butthey will not succeed in theiraims and they will be eradicated,”official news agency Saba quotedhim as saying. Supporters ofSaleh, who have been accused ofhampering Yemen’s political tran-sition, were removed from topmilitary and security posts afterhe left power in February 2012following a year of widespreadprotests. — Agencies

Gunmen kill Yemeni intelligence officerYemen general denounces ‘sabotage’ of air force

SANAA: Supporters of Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh shout slogans during the anniversaryof an assassination attempt on Saleh in Sanaa, Yemen. Saleh, along with other senior figures were injuredin a bomb attack at his presidential compound in Sanaa on June 3, 2011. — AP

RAFAH BORDER: Egyptian security forces chant in protest of the abduction of fourcolleagues at the country’s main crossing point into the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Egypt.Dozens of disgruntled border policemen forced the closure of the Rafah borderbetween Egypt and Gaza yesterday to protest the abduction of four border police-men working at the Rafah crossing. — AP

Muslims, Christians clash in Alexandria

CAIRO: Egyptian security officials sayclashes between Muslims and Christians inthe Mediterranean port city of Alexandrialeft one man dead of a heart attack.Officials say the clashes in the city’s El-Dekheila suburb erupted when a Copticman allegedly sexually harassed a Muslimwoman. Residents of the area fired bird-shot and threw Molotov cocktails at oneanother during the Friday night fighting.

Police say Christian resident SherifSedky died of a heart attack during theclashes. Police forces were beefed uparound the local church yesterday in caseof further violence. Officials spoke on con-dition of anonymity because they were notauthorized to brief the media. CopticChristians make up about 10 percent ofEgypt’s population. Sectarian violence hasbeen on the rise in Egypt over the past twoyears.

In another development, demonstra-tors calling for Egypt’s Islamist PresidentMohamed Morsi to resign and demandingearly elections clashed with riot police inCairo late Friday. Hundreds of people hadmarched on Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Fridayfor the protest, called by a number ofopposition groups. The demonstrators,most of them teenagers, threw molotovcocktails at the police who replied withvolleys of tear gas cannisters, but therewere no reports of casualties. The clashestook place near Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the

symbolic heart of the opposition move-ment that brought down President HosniMubarak in February 2011. Earlier Friday,marches had begun in various parts of thecapital with the aim of converging onTahrir Square.

At the head of one march people werecarrying two large banners, one reading“an early presidential election” and theother “a unifying constitution for Egypt”.Marchers from the Tamarod (rebellion)campaign, which claims to have garneredmore than two million signatures demand-ing that Morsi resign, collected morenames from people along the route. Beforethe clashes, state media said security hadbeen beefed up around the interior min-istry, close to Tahrir Square, as it has beenthe scene of violent confrontations in thepast. The protest was called by groupsincluding the Al-Dustur party of former UNatomic watchdog chief MohamedElBaradei and the April 6 movement thatspearheaded the 2011 uprising to oustthen president Mubarak. The oppositionaccuses Morsi of governing only in theinterests of his Muslim Brotherhood, whilehe insists he is the “president of allEgyptians”. Since Morsi was elected lastJune, Egypt has continued to suffer from aserious political and economic crisis, andthere have often been frequent clashes,sometimes deadly, between his opponentsand supporters.—Agencies

BAMAKO: Fighting has broken out innorthern Mali between Tuareg sepa-ratists and local Arab-led gunmen, onlydays after the African country won a$4.2 billion aid pledge to help it recoverfrom a conflict with Islamists affiliatedto Al-Qaeda. Rebel and military sourcesboth confirmed the clashes, althoughthey differed over precisely whichgroups were involved. The violencehighlights how pockets of fighters whoescaped a four-month French-led offen-sive against the Al-Qaeda-linked mili-tants in the north are underminingefforts to restore state authority aheadof a presidential election set for July 28.France said this week the ‘terrorists’ hadbeen defeated.

The MNLA, a Tuareg rebel group,said its forces were attacked in the townof Anefis by a column of Islamist fight-ers on Friday. I ts Paris-basedspokesman, Moussa AgAcharatoumane, said fighting contin-ued yesterday morning, with two of thegroup’s fighters and at least sevenIslamists killed so far. The MNLA said itwas fighting MUJWA, an Islamist groupthat occupied the town of Gao formonths until earlier this year and haslaunched a series of guerrilla-stylecounter-attacks on the town since itwas retaken in the French offensive.

A Malian army officer, who asked notto be named, confirmed there had beenheavy fighting, likely stemming fromlong-standing rivalries between Tuaregand Arab communities that make upnorthern Mali’s array of armed groups.However he said the clashes werebetween the MNLA and the MAA, agroup made up of Malian Arabs basednorth of Timbuktu. It was not possibleto independently confirm the informa-tion. In a sign of the outside world’sconcern about stability in Mali, interna-

tional donors promised 3.25 billioneuros ($4.22 billion) on Wednesday tohelp the country recover and prevent aresurgence by the Islamist rebels.French President Francois Hollande dis-missed comparisons between Mali andAfghanistan, which provided safe havento Al-Qaeda when it was preparing theSept. 11 attacks and is still fighting aTaleban insurgency 12 years later.

“In Mali, the terrorists have beenbeaten. I don’t say there are none left, Idon’t say there is no risk, but there is nolonger any fighting,” Hollande said. TheTuareg MNLA launched a rebellion inJanuary last year, citing years of margin-alization by the government as justifica-tion for carving out an independent

desert state from Mali’s north. It initiallyfought alongside a mix of Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist forces seeking to imposeIslamic law on Mali’s north, and theuneasy coalition swept aside govern-ment troops in March 2012.

The MNLA was later sidelined by thebetter armed Islamists, but has now tak-en advantage of the French offensive tore-occupy several northern towns ithad lost to them. Having watered downindependence claims, it is demandingtalks with the government over adegree of autonomy. French forces arereducing their numbers and are due tohand over security responsibilities to aUnited Nations peacekeeping missionthat will be rolled out in July.— Reuters

Tuareg and Arab groups battle in northern Mali

This image grab taken from a video shows French Jihadist Gilles LeGuen, known as ‘Abdel Jelil’, delivering a message to warn France, the USand the UN against a military intervention in northern Mali. Frenchjihadist Gilles Le Guen was charged on May 17, 2013, according to judici-ary sources. — AFP

Morocco to harness wind in energy huntTARFAYA: Morocco is ploughingahead with a program to boost windenergy production, particularly in thesouthern Tar faya region, whereAfrica’s largest wind farm is set toopen in 2014. The kingdom, which hasno hydrocarbon reserves of its own,hopes to cover 42 percent of its ener-gy needs with renewable sources by2020, and has launched a plan to pro-duce 4,000 megawatts.

Half of this will come from solarenergy: at the beginning of May, thefirst of five solar power plants nearOuarzazate was officially launched,and the site is set to be operational

from 2015. Wind power will supplythe remaining 2,000 MW, andMorocco’s wind-blown southerncoast, where many of the new farmswill be built, already resembles a hugebuilding site.

At Tarfaya, which will be home tothe continent’s biggest wind farm, theproject led by the French companyGDF Suez, in partnership with localcompany Nareva Holding, is only justbeginning. “Building started at theend of December 2012. But the firstsection, which will produce 50 MW,will be in service in January,” FrancisSchang, a manager at Siemens which

is carrying out the work said. “It’s ahigh-speed project,” he added. ByDecember 2014, if all goes to plan,131 turbines, each 80 meters tall, willdot the desert landscape.

Together they will produce 300MW, enough to meet the energyneeds of several hundred people,Schang said. At a cost of nearly 500million euros ($640 million), theTarfaya wind farm, stretching overnearly 20 kilometers, will allowMorocco to “avoid CO2 emissionsequal to the amount absorbed by 150million trees,” Boutaina Sefiani, thehead of the project, said. —AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

ROME: Thousands of people protestedin Rome yesterday against austerity poli-cies and high unemployment, urgingnew Prime Minister Enrico Letta to focuson creating jobs to help pull the countryout of recession. “We hope that this gov-ernment will finally start listening to usbecause we are losing our patience,” saidEnzo Bernardis, who joined the sea ofprotesters waving red flags and callingfor more workers’ rights and better con-tracts.

Less than a month in power, Letta istrying to hold together an uneasy coali-tion between his centre-left Democraticparty and the centre-right People ofFreedom, led by former Prime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi. Confidence in the gov-ernment, cobbled together after incon-

clusive elections, is already falling, withone poll on Friday by the SWG instituteshowing its approval rating had droppedto 34 percent from 43 percent at thestart of the month. “We can’t wait any-more” and “We need money to live” wereamong slogans on banners held up bythe crowds.

Letta promised to make jobs his toppriority when he came to power in Aprilafter two months of political deadlock.But several protesters complained hewas not sticking to his vow, focusinginstead on a property tax reform out-lined this week. Union leaders said heneeded to shift away from the austerityagenda pursued by former PrimeMinister Mario Monti, who introduced arange of spending cuts, tax hikes and

pension reform to shore up strainedpublic finances.

“We need to start over with moreinvestment. If we don’t restart with pub-lic and private investments, there will nonew jobs,” said Maurizio Landini, secre-tary-general of the left-wing metalwork-ers union Fiom. Italy is stuck in itslongest recession since quarterly recordsbegan in 1970, and jobless rates areclose to record highs, with youth unem-ployment at around 38 percent. Otherprotesters were pessimistic that Letta’sfragile government would be able totake effective action. “This governmentwill last a very short time,” said demon-strator Marco Silvani. What we need is anew leftist party that fights for the rightsof the people,” he said. — Reuters

Rome protest turns up heat on new Italian PM

PARIS: France yesterday becamethe 14th country to legalize same-sex marriage after PresidentFrancois Hollande signed the meas-ure into law following months ofbitter political debate. Hollandeacted a day after the ConstitutionalCouncil threw out a legal challengeby the right-wing opposition,which had been the last obstacle topassing the bill into law. The legisla-tion also legalises gay adoption.

But while gay rights groupshailed the move, opponents of themeasures have vowed to fight on.Hollande made “marriage for all” acentral plank of his presidentialelection campaign last year. OnFriday, he tried to turn the page onmonths of bitter opposition to themeasures, arguing it was “time torespect the law and the Republic”.And he warned that he would toler-ate no resistance. “I will ensure thatthe law applies across the wholeterritory, in full, and I will not acceptany disruption of these marriages,”said the president.

The Socialist mayor of the south-ern French city of Montpellier willofficiate the municipality’s first gaymarriage on May 29, her office saidyesterday, in what is also expectedto be the country’s first. Marriagesin France must be civil ceremoniesperformed in town halls, most ofwhich take several weeks toprocess applications. Couples canthen hold a religious ceremony. The

issue of gay marriage and adoptionhas provoked months of acrimo-nious debate and hundreds ofprotests that have occasionallyspilled over into violence and isunlikely to drop off the politicalagenda. Although theConstitutional Council approvedthe bill on Friday, the InternationalDay Against Homophobia, itsopponents have vowed to fight on.They have called a major protestrally scheduled for May 26 in Paris-and previous protests have drawnhundreds of thousands of people.In April, the main right-wing oppo-sition UMP party of former presi-

dent Nicolas Sarkozy challengedthe measures on constitutionalgrounds immediately afterdeputies passed the bill in parlia-ment. But Friday’s statement by theConstitutional Council said same-sex marriage “did not run contraryto any constitutional principles,”and that it did not infringe on“basic rights or liberties or nationalsovereignty”. Reacting to the rulingFriday, UMP party chief Jean-Francois Cope told TF1 television:“It is a decision that I regret, butthat I respect.” But late on Friday,between 200 and 300 protestersgathered in central Paris to

denounce the ruling backing thebill and calling on Hollande toresign. One police officer wasinjured after a flammable liquidwas thrown in his face.

Earlier, a group of bare-chestedmen wearing white masks stagedtheir own protest against gay mar-riage on one of the bridges overthe Seine. They call themselves the“Hommen”-a riposte to the bare-breasted feminist protesters knownas the “Femmen”. Gay rights groupshailed the decision as a watershed.“Now it’s celebration time,” saidspokesman Nicolas Gougain of theLGBT association representing thelesbian, gay, bisexual and transgen-der communities. But gay rightswatchdog SOS Homophobieadded: “Our country has taken agreat step forward today althoughit’s regrettable that it was taken in aclimate of bad faith and homopho-bic violence.” The issue of gay mar-riage has divided France, which isofficially secular but overwhelm-ingly Catholic. Protests against thebill drew hundreds of thousands,with a handful of hard-core protest-ers clashing with police. Last year,the proposals seemed to enjoy sol-id majority backing among Frenchvoters. But as the opposition cam-paign got into gear, more recentpolls indicated a shift of opinion tothe extent that the electorate isnow fairly evenly split on both gaymarriage and adoption. — AFP

Honeymoon over for Letta after less than a month

ROME: Demonstrators applaud during the left-wing Italian metalworkers’union FIOM rally in downtown Rome Piazza San Giovanni yesterday. — AFP

France becomes 14th country to legalize same-sex marriage

Hollande signs gay marriage bill into law

CAEN: French president Francois Hollande delivers a speech at the cityhall in Caen, northwestern France. — AFP

NEW YORK: Hofstra University students gather near the house where another stu-dent and an armed intruder were killed during an overnight house break-in next tothe campus in Uniondale, NY. — AP

UNIONDALE: A Hofstra University juniorsharing an off-campus house with her twinsister and several other college studentswas shot and killed during an early morningbreak-in Friday that also left the armedintruder dead, police said. The shooting at aprivate house only steps from the LongIsland campus cast a pall over the universitycommunity gearing up for commencementceremonies this weekend. Hofstra’s presi-dent said in a statement that the cere-monies would go on as scheduled.

It wasn’t clear who fired the fatal shots orhow many rounds were fired, but authori-ties said police were involved in the shoot-ing, which happened about 2:30 am. Aweapon was found inside the house, policesaid. Nassau County police and HofstraUniversity identified the slain student asAndrea Rebello, 21, of Tarrytown, NY. Hersister, Jessica, was also in the house at thetime of the break-in but was not injured,police said. The gunman was not immedi-ately identified.

“It’s my daughter, my baby daughter,” acrying Fernando Rebello told The JournalNews outside his home Friday afternoon.“She was so beautiful. I’m so confused. “Idon’t know what to do,” he said, declining todiscuss the incident further. The two sisters,another woman and another man wereinside the two-story rental house when thegunman, wearing a ski mask, forced his wayin, according to Nassau County InspectorKenneth Lack. The intruder allowed thethird unidentified woman to leave, and shecalled 911. Police provided no other detailson the man who was in the house at thetime of the break-in, except to say he wasnot injured. A law enforcement official withknowledge of the investigation told The

Associated Press that the woman called 911from near an ATM. The official was notauthorized to discuss the investigation pub-licly and spoke to the AP on condition ofanonymity. “Today is the last day of finalsand this should be a happy day on campus;but it’s not,” said Hofstra freshman ScottAharoni of Great Neck, as he passedthrough the area rife with yellow crime-scene tape early Friday morning. “It’s reallysad.”

Victoria Dehel, who lives four housesaway, said she heard what sounded likefighting. At first she ignored it, figuring itwas from rowdy students coming homefrom a bar. Suddenly, “This girl was shriek-ing,” followed by loud bangs just secondslater. “It didn’t sound good at all,” Dehel said.“I turned to my boyfriend and I said, ‘I thinksomeone just got murdered.’ It was awful.”

The university sent a text alert to notifystudents and staff. “While our hearts areladen with grief, this weekend’s commence-ment ceremonies will go on as scheduled,”Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz said ina statement. “The accomplishments of ourgraduates must be recognized, and togeth-er our community will heal and find thestrength to move forward.”

Andrea Rebello and her sister were 2010graduates of Sleepy Hollow High School,according to principal Carol Conklin-Spillane. Andrea was a public relationsmajor at Hofstra. “They were smart happybeautiful young women,” Conklin-Spillanesaid. “I speak about them together becausethey were very much a matched pair. Theywere best friends by choice.”

Andrea Rebello quoted BenjaminFranklin and Bob Marley in a yearbook pho-to from the school. —AP

College student, intruder die in New York break-in

BUENOS AIRES: General Jorge Videla,Argentina’s dictator at the height of its “DirtyWar” against leftist activists, died Friday in prisonwhile serving time for crimes against humanity.He was 87. Videla launched a ferocious crack-down on leftists and suspected supporters whenhe took power in 1976. As many as 30,000 peo-ple were kidnapped and “disappeared” by themilitary, and suspected regime opponents wereswept into secret prisons, tortured and mur-dered.

In his last public appearance Tuesday, anunrepentant Videla, who left office in 1981, tolda court that his subordinates acted under hisorders and assumed “full military responsibilityfor the actions of the army in the war against ter-rorism.” The prison doctor on duty found Videlain the morning “sitting on the toilet in his cell,”according to the official prison report. He had novital signs. “It is important that he died of naturalcauses in a regular prison,” said Human RightsSecretary Martin Fresneda.

“ There was justice, not revenge, and heleaves as the person that was responsible for the

main horrors that the Argentine peopleendured.” The federal judge with jurisdictionover the prison ordered an autopsy to dispel anydoubts that Videla might note have died of anatural cause. In 2010, Videla was sentenced tolife behind bars for the disappearance of 31 pris-oners, and to another 50 years’ jail in 2012 forthe theft of children born to female prisoners.

Earlier, in 1985, he was convicted of abusescommitted under his regime, but pardoned fiveyears later by then president Carlos Menem. Thatpardon was declared unconstitutional in 2006 asArgentina reopened one of the darkest chaptersin its history with trials of former military offi-cials. A wiry officer with a brush mustache, anintense gaze and a passionate hatred of commu-nism, Videla showed little remorse for the sys-tematic abuses. “Let’s say there were seven thou-sand or eight thousand people who had to dieto win the war against subversion,” Videla saidrecently in a prison interview, according to jour-nalist Ceferino Reato. “We couldn’t execute themby firing squad. Neither could we take them tocourt,” he was quoted as saying.

Military leaders agreed that secretly dispos-ing of their prisoners “was a price to pay to winthe war,” Videla said, according to Reato in hisbook “Final Disposition.” “For that reason, so asnot to provoke protests inside and outside thecountry, the decision was reached that thesepeople should be disappeared.” Videla later saidhe had been misquoted, but the journalist insiststhe general reviewed his handwritten notes andapproved them before publication. The formerdictator died at 0825 (1125 GMT) in the MarcosPaz prison southwest of Buenos Aires, where hespent his final days in a spartan cell with a wood-en cross on the wall.

Videla “dies condemned by justice and repu-diated by society,” said Nora Cortinas, of theMothers of the Plaza de Mayo rights group.Adolfo Perez Esquivel, the 1980 Nobel PeacePrize winner who drew international attention tothe junta’s abuses, said Videla “never repented ofthe crimes and he is taking a lot of informationwith him.” Videla was head of the army in 1976when the military overthrew Isabel Peron, thethird wife of the late populist strongman JuanPeron.

Argentina’s economy at the time was in tail-spin, the government was rife with corruptionand paralyzed by partisan gridlock, and leftistsguerrillas and right-wing death squads wererunning rampant. The junta suspended the con-stitution, outlawed political parties and imposedcensorship on TV and radio in what it called a“process of national reorganization.” It also sentpolice and soldiers against leftist guerrillas, acrackdown that quickly broadened to includerelatives, labor organizers, politicians, clergy, stu-dents, journalists, artists and intellectuals.

The regime’s trademark became theunmarked Ford Falcon sedans that agents usedto drive their captives to some 500 detentioncenters. Victims included French nuns AliceDomon and Leonie Duquet, Catholic bishopEnrique Angelelli, Swedish student DagmarHagelin, the union leadership at Ford andMercedes Benz, and even members ofArgentina’s diplomatic corps. Argentina’s dicta-tors joined like-minded juntas in Chile, Brazil,Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay under “OperationCondor,” sharing intelligence and helping cap-ture each other’s political enemies.

Videla was known for delivering stridentspeeches, but always seemed uncomfortable inpublic, wringing his hands as a nervous tickplayed across his cheeks. Although aligned withthe United States, Videla clashed with US presi-dent Jimmy Carter over the regime’s humanrights abuses and for refusing to join a US-backed grain embargo against the Soviet Union.In 1981, Videla handed over power to GeneralRoberto Viola to begin the slow transition todemocracy. The junta lasted until 1983, one yearafter a failed invasion of the Falkland Islands in ahumiliating defeat by British forces. — AFP

KANO: Residents of an insurgent strong-hold in northeast Nigeria fled their homesyesterday as military fighter jets and heli-copters carried out heavy air strikes onBoko Haram Islamist camps. Nigerialaunched a massive offensive againstBoko Haram this week, deploying severalthousand troops across three states wherePresident Goodluck Jonathan declared astate of emergency after the Islamistsseized territory and chased out the gov-ernment.

Dozens of insurgents have been killedin the fighting, the military has said, with-out offering a specific figure. A securitysource who requested anonymity saidthat a helicopter was hit by Boko Haramgunfire, but “managed to rush back tobase without sustaining any casualty.”Nigeria’s offensive is targeting all threestates put under emergency decree,including Adamawa and Yobe, but theBoko Haram’s traditional base of Borno isexpected to see the most intense fighting.

In Marte district of Borno state, someresidents have started fleeing easttowards the Cameroon border, less than25 kilometers away. “It has been scary inthe past three days,” said Buba Yawuri,whose home is in the town of Kwalaram inMarte but who has fled to the bordertown Gomboru Ngala. “Fighter jets andhelicopters kept hovering in the sky andwe kept hearing huge explosions fromafar,” he said.

He said that as the air assaults began,the security forces told all residents to stay

indoors, cutting off his family’s access tofood and water. “I couldn’t hold on anylonger. I took the bush path,” and reachedGomboru Ngala yesterday, he said. Shafi’uBreima, a resident of Gomboru Ngala saidthat the border town is receiving a contin-uous flow of people arriving from Marteand neighboring areas. The phone net-work in Borno state has all but collapsedsince the emergency measures wereimposed but residents in Gomboru Ngalause phone services from Cameroon andhave been sporadically reachable.

The remote, thinly populated regionhas porous borders where criminal groupsand weapons have flowed freely for years.The military has sealed previouslyunguarded crossings to block Boko Haramfighters from fleeing during the offensive.“Border posts have all been manned bysecurity agents to prevent escape or infil-trations by insurgents,” a military state-ment said. Reports of Boko Haram’s pres-ence in Cameroon first emerged inFebruary, following the kidnap there of aFrench family visiting a game park nearthe Nigerian border.

The abduction was claimed by BokoHaram and the family was released inApril. The latest military campaign couldprove to be the biggest ever against BokoHaram and is believed to be the first timeNigeria has carried out air strikes within itsown territory in more than 25 years. Aerialsupport was believed to have been usedagainst rioters in the north in the early1980s. —AFP

Argentina ‘Dirty War’ dictator Videla dies

BUENOS AIRES: Former Argentine dictator Jorge Videla (center) is escorted by police into theSan Isidro court building in Buenos Aires in this file photo. Jorge Rafael Videla passed away inArgentina on May 17, 2013 at the age of 87. — AFP

Residents flee as Nigeriantroops pound Boko haram

I N T E R N AT ION A LSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

WASHINGTON: Despite Democraticfears, predictions of the demise ofPresident Barack Obama’s agenda appearexaggerated after a week of cascadingcontroversies, political triage by theadministration and party leaders inCongress and lack of evidence to date ofwrongdoing close to the Oval Office.“Absolutely not,” Steven Miller, the recent-ly resigned acting head of the InternalRevenue Service, responded Friday whenasked if he had any contact with theWhite House about targeting conserva-tive groups seeking tax-exempt status forspecial treatment.

The president’s re-election campaign?”persisted Rep Devin Nunes, R-Calif. “No,”said Miller. The hearing took place at theend of a week in which Republicansrepeatedly assailed Obama and wereattacked by Democrats in turn - yetsweeping immigration legislationadvanced methodically toward bipartisanapproval in the Senate JudiciaryCommittee. The measure “has strong sup-port of its own in the Senate,” said SenAmy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a member ofthe panel.

Across the Capitol, a bipartisan Housegroup reported agreement in principletoward a compromise on the issue, whichlooms as Obama’s best chance for a sig-nature second-term domestic achieve-ment. “I continue to believe that the

House needs to deal with this,” said HouseSpeaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who is notdirectly involved in the talks. The presi-dent’s nominee to become energy secre-tary, Ernest Moniz, won Senate confirma-tion, 97-0. And there were signs thatRepublicans might allow confirmation ofSri Srinivasan to the US Court of Appealsfor the District of Columbia Circuit, some-times a stepping stone to the SupremeCourt.

Separately, a House committeeapproved legislation to prevent a spike ininterest rates on student loans on July 1.It moves in the direction of a WhiteHouse-backed proposal for future ratechanges to be based on private markets.Even so, Rep Fred Upton, R-Mich, chair-man of the Energy and CommerceCommittee, said, “It’s been a bad week forthe administration.” Several Democraticlawmakers and aides agreed, andexpressed concern about the impact onObama’s agenda - even though much ofit has been stymied by Republicans formonths already.

At the same time, Rep Dave Camp, R-Mich, voiced optimism that the IRS con-troversy would boost the push for anoverhaul of the tax code, rather thanderail it. “It may make a case for a simplertax code, where the IRS has less discre-tion,” he said. Long-term budget issues,the main flash point of divided govern-

ment since 2011, have receded as pro-jected deficits fall in the wake of animproving economy and recently enact-ed spending cuts and tax increases.

Even before Obama began grapplingwith the IRS, the fallout from last year’sdeadly attack on the US diplomatic mis-sion in Benghazi, Libya, and from theJustice Department’s secret seizure ofAssociated Press phone records, the twoparties were at odds over steps to replace$85 billion in across-the-board spendingcuts. In particular, Obama’s call for highertaxes is a nonstarter with Republicans.Other high-profile legislation and presi-dential appointees face difficulties thatpredate the current controversies.

Months ago, Obama scaled backrequested gun safety legislation to centeron expanded background checks forfirearms purchasers. That was derailed inthe Senate, has even less chance in theHouse and is unlikely to reach the presi-dent’s desk. Republicans oppose otherrecommendations from the president’sState of the Union address, includingautomatic increases in the minimumwage, a pre-kindergarten program fund-ed by higher cigarette taxes and morefederal money for highways and bridgerepair. In a clash that long predates theIRS controversy, Senate Republicansseem intent on blocking Obama’s nomi-nation of Tom Perez as labor secretary.

Gina McCarthy’s nomination to head theEnvironmental Protection Agency is alsoon hold, at least temporarily, andDemocrats expect Republican opposi-tion awaits Penny Pritzger, Obama’schoice for commerce secretary.Rhetorically, the two parties fell into twocamps when it came to the White Housetroubles. Democrats tended to describethem as controversies, Republicans oftenused less flattering terms.

Speaking on the Senate floor, SenRoger Wicker, R-Miss., accused theadministration of fostering a “culture ofintimidation.” He referred to the IRS, thehandling of the Benghazi attack andHealth and Human Services SecretaryKathleen Sebelius’ “fundraising amongthe industry people she regulates onbehalf of the president’s health care law.”Two days later, Camp, a 23-year veteranlawmaker, opened the IRS hearing bycalling the agency’s actions part of a “cul-ture of cover-ups and intimidation in thisadministration.” He offered no otherexamples.

Rep Trey Radel, a first-term FloridaRepublican, said in an interview, “Whatwe’re looking at now is a breach of trust”from the White House. HouseDemocratic leader Nancy Pelosi ofCalifornia offered a scathing responsewhen asked if the controversies wouldhamper Obama’s ability to win legislation

from the Republican-controlled House.“Well, the last two years there was noth-ing that went through this Congress, andit was no AP, IRS or any other (thing) thatwe were dealing with.”

“They just want to do nothing. Andtheir timetable is never,” she said of GOPlawmakers. Similarly, Senate MajorityLeader Harry Reid gave no ground onBenghazi, a dispute that increasinglycentered on talking points written foradministration officials to use on televi-sion after the attack last September inwhich US Ambassador Chris Stevens andthree other Americans were killed. “It’sobvious it’s an attempt to embarrassPresident Obama and embarrass HillaryClinton,” he said of Republican criticismthat first flared during last year’s electioncampaign. On a third front, Sen ChuckSchumer, D-NY, resurrected legislationthat would requiring a judge to approvesubpoenas for news media communica-tions records when investigating newsleaks said to threaten the national securi-ty. It was a response to the FBI’s secret,successful pursuit of Associated Pressphone records in a current probe. WhileDemocrats counterattacked on Benghaziand parried on leaks, they bashed the IRS’treatment of conservative groups asimproper if not illegal - and warnedRepublicans not to overplay theirhand.— AP

Obama agenda seems to be weathering controversies

FAIRFIELD: A commuter train trav-eling eastbound from New YorkCity derailed near the Connecticutsuburb of Fairfield during theevening rush hour on Friday andcollided with a westbound com-muter train, injuring up to 60 peo-ple, three critically, officials said.The collision of the two MetroNorth trains forced Amtrak to shutdown service indefinitely betweenNew York and Boston, the nationalrailroad said. Three people werecritically injured and 60 peoplewere transported to area hospitals,police said.

“It’s pretty devastating damageto a number of cars,” ConnecticutGovernor Dannel Malloy told anews conference. “These cars cameinto contact (and the impact)ripped open the siding of one ofthe cars. There is extensive damagein the front and the wheels.” Theaccident occurred shortly after 6pm EDT (2200 GMT ), authoritiessaid. “All of a sudden the train start-ed to shake a little bit... like some-thing was bumping into it,” passen-ger Rowana Shepherd told CBS tel-evision. “One entire compartmentfrom the other train was complete-ly ripped open. The whole side wasgone and people were lying inbetween the trains.”

The eastbound train was headedto New Haven, Connecticut, whenit derailed and collided with thewestbound train that was runningto New York ’s Grand CentralStation, said Aaron Donovan, aspokesman for the MetropolitanTransportation Authority (MTA),which runs the commuter railroad.

“The head end of both trains, thefront end of both trains, collidedand received sustained damage.But it was not a full head-on colli-sion,” Donovan said.

Metro North is a commuter rail-road serving the northern suburbsof New York City. It is operated bythe MTA, a New York State agency.Fairfield is about 50 miles (80 km)north of New York City. The numberof injured could rise because hospi-tal officials were told to prepare toreceive up to 180 patients total.Metro North trains can carry up to300 passengers when full.

Thirty-three people were trans-ported to St Vincent ’s MedicalCenter and 27 to BridgeportHospital, police said. BridgeportHospital had two patients with criti-cal injuries, and the others could bedescribed as “walking wounded”with a variety of lesser injuries,spokeswoman Anita Shrum said.

One person had serious headand neck injuries at St Vincent’sMedical Center in Bridgeport andthe others had minor injuries,spokeswoman Dianne Auger said.The cause of the derailment wasnot immediately known. The

National Transportation SafetyBoard said it was sending a team ofinvestigators to Connecticut to lookinto the accident.

Malloy said the collision wouldhave a big impact on the vital railcorridor between Boston and NewYork City for days. The Westport andFairfield stations will be closed tocommuter rail and Amtrak serviceat least through the weekend asworkers repair the damage andinvestigators probe the derailment,he said, adding that there was noreason to believe that it was any-thing but an accident. — Reuters

60 injured in Connecticut commuter train collision

Probe into cause of derailment

FAIRFIELD: Injured passengers are removed from the scene of a train collision, Friday, May 17, 2013 inFairfield, Conn. — AP

GUADALAJARA: Members of Les Souffleurs Poetic Commandos group (right) whisperpoems to people during a performance at the “Corona” market in Guadalajara,Mexico. Les Souffleurs arrived in Guadalajara to participate in a cultural festival inwhich France is the guest of honour. — AFP

Mexico violence claims hundreds of US lives

MEXICO CITY: When Malcolm X’s grand-son was beaten to death in a seedyMexico City bar last week his namejoined the hundreds of US citizens whohave been murdered in this country inrecent years. Excluding terror attacksand US soldiers killed in action, Mexicohas seen more homicides of Americansthan any other part of the world in thepast decade, according to an AFP analy-sis of US State Department figures.

At least 648 American citizens weremurdered in Mexico between October2002 and December 2012 - the latestavailable data-representing more than40 percent of the almost 1,600 victimsworldwide over the same period. Theclosest country in terms of body countis the Philippines, with 84 homicides,followed by Honduras and theDominican Republic with 77 each.

There were also many more citizensof the United States murdered inMexico than were killed in “terroristaction” around the world, with 300deaths listed in that category sinceOctober 2002. Malcolm Shabazz, the 29-year-old grandson of civil rights leaderMalcolm X, was found lying on thestreet in front of The Palace Club on May9, with fatal blows to the head after hecontested a $1,200 bar bill. Two waiterswere arrested this week on murdercharges. Mexico has more American vis-itors than any other nation-more than20 million traveled to the southernneighbor last year, according to US gov-ernment figures. And one million residein this country. While Americans havebeen killed in random criminal acts suchas robberies, some have been caught inthe crossfire of Mexico’s raging drugwar, which has left more than 70,000people dead since 2006. In one of themost high profile cases, US Immigrationand Customs Enforcement agent JaimeZapata was killed when suspected Zetasdrug cartel members shot at his car inthe central state of San Luis Potosi inFebruary 2011.

And in September 2010, cartel gun-men fatally shot David Hartley, 37, as hejet-skied with his wife, Tiffany, on a lakestraddling the Texas-Tamaulipas border.But some of the dead have includedMexicans with dual citizenship linked togangs. Last year, a dozen US citizenswere killed in the state of Baja Californiaand several held Mexican nationality,according to prosecutors. “These deathsare linked to organized crime,” Victor

Adrian Ramirez, spokesman for the stateprosecutor’s office said.

Two brothers who were found shotdead in a house in the border city ofMexicali had been using their dual citi-zenship to smuggle US firearms intoMexico and bring drugs north of theborder, Ramirez said. The cities thathave recorded the most homicides ofAmericans lie in border regions wheredrug cartels battle for control of lucra-tive narco-traffick ing routes to theUnited States. The State Departmenthas a travel warning against visitingmost border states.

The homicides of US citizens alsomirrored the rise in drug-related vio-lence in Mexico over the past six years.Of the 648 murders of Americans in thepast decade, 511 occurred between2006 and 2012. They rose steadily from33 in 2007 to a peak of 113 in 2011,before dropping to 71 last year. Tijuanasaw the most homicides of US citizensin the past 10 years, with 130 deathsreported in the city that lies just acrossthe border from San Diego, California,and was once a popular tourist draw.Ciudad Juarez, once the world’s murdercapital, recorded 120 deaths and NuevoLaredo reported 42. “If you look at howthe drug war erupted and where it ’sbeen the hottest in the past six years,your top three cities reflect that,” ScottStewart, a former State Departmentspecial agent said. In Ciudad Juarez, forinstance, the Los Aztecas gang is alliedwith the Barrio Azteca group that oper-ates across the border in the Texan cityof El Paso. “You have American gang-sters working with Mexican gangstershand in glove there,” said Stewart, a leadanalyst at US-based intelligence consul-tancy Stratfor.

But a State Department official cau-tioned against “drawing too many con-clusions” from the database, noting thatit was not a statistically completeaccount of US citizen deaths as not allare necessarily reported to consulates.The US official, who requested anonymi-ty, declined to speculate as to whyMexico leads the list. The databaseshows just the date, location and typeof death.

Overall , 8,392 Americans werereported dead worldwide in categoriesranging from road accidents to suicide,drowning and “terrorist action” sinceOctober 2002. Mexico accounted for2,344 of all deaths, or 28 percent.—AFP

GUINEA STATION: It has been 150 years sinceThomas “Stonewall” Jackson died, and visitorsare still bringing flowers-and lemons-to shrinesthat honor the memory of the Confederate armygeneral. Jackson was one of the most successfulgenerals in the 1861-1865 US civil war, andaccording to legend he sucked on lemons as heentered battle.

“Jackson is a hero to some, but strangeenough to appeal to a lot of people,” said BethParnicza, park historian at the Stonewall JacksonShrine at Guinea Station, situated 70 milessoutheast of Washington. As Americans flock tobattlefields and museums to mark the sesqui-centennial of the seminal conflict, Jackson’s lifeand accidental shooting has attracted renewed

interest . Pi lgr ims brought roses and smal lConfederate flags to the Chancellorsville battle-field, 60 miles southeast of the US capital, onMay 2 - the day that Jackson was shot there 150years ago.

He had just led a daring flank attack throughthick woods on a much larger Union force andwas scouting ahead of his lines after sundown.Confederate soldiers opened fire when they mis-took him and his entourage for the enemy. Thebattle was a stunning Confederate victor y.Jackson survived the shooting, though doctorsamputated an arm. “He has lost his left arm, but Ihave lost my right arm,” said his commander,Robert E Lee. Medics took Jackson to GuineaStation, at the time a busy supply depot, to

recover, but he died of pneumonia on May 10 ina simple wood building now preserved as amuseum.

Jackson was born in 1824 in the backwoodsof what is now West Virginia. Orphaned at ayoung age, he had little formal education, butwith luck and determination managed to enterthe West Point militar y academy. The dourJackson preferred study over socializing, andmade few friends. Years later he faced many ofthose schoolmates on the battlefield as enemies.After service in the 1846-1848 war with Mexico,Jackson joined the Virginia Military Institute inLexington in 1851 to teach artillery tactics.

The future military hero was considered anoddball. He’d sometimes raise one arm to com-pensate for a supposed body imbalance, eatstale bread to manage his stomach dyspepsia,and wore wet bandages believing it was a curefor most illnesses. At VMI he earned a reputationas a martinet, and his students nicknamed him“Tom Fool.” Deeply religious, he also avoidedalcohol, was honest to a fault, and was tender toyoung children.

In 1861 the southern states, fearing therecently-elected Abraham Lincoln would endslavery, began to form the Confederate States ofAmerica. Slavery was essential to the south’sagricultural economy and southerners vowed toresist any threat to their “peculiar institution.”When Virginia seceded and war broke out,Jackson joined the rebel army. Jackson earnedthe “Stonewall” sobriquet for his steady role inthe Confederate victory at Manassas in July 1861.In the next two years he proved to be an aggres-sive warrior, key to pivotal rebel victories.

“ The doings of this officer are too vividlyimpressed upon the public mind... to particular-ize his thousand and one deeds of daring, all ofwhich ... were strongly marked by dash, energy,and sk i l l ,” read a December 1862 profi le ofJackson in the Illustrated London News. Jacksonwas “humorless, socially awkward, a controlfreak, autocratic, rude, secretive and discouragedinitiative,” said historian Frank O’Reilly, a civil warexpert at the Chancellorsville battlefield. “Andyet, he was adored by his men.” —AFP

US war hero ‘Stonewall’ Jackson still venerated

This lithograph dated circa 1890, shows Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jacksonwho rallied Confederate soldiers to victory in the US Civil War’s First Battle of Bull Run.— AFP

I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

NEW YORK: The nation’s largest retailindustry organization fired back Friday,outlining reasons why a legally bindingglobal pact to make Bangladesh clothingfactories safer would expose merchantsto undue legal exposure. The move cameas US retailers face increasing pressurefrom a large coalition of religious groupsand investors to work together to devel-op a plan. “It is a very complex set ofissues and there is no simple solution,”said Bill Thorne, a spokesman for theretail trade group, in a media call withreporters Friday. “ There is not oneanswer.” The National Retail Federation isleading a coalition of North American

retail and apparel groups to develop analternative broader proposal that wouldgo beyond Bangladesh.

More than 30 international brands,including Swedish retailer H&M, Italianclothing maker Benetton, and Frenchretailer Carrefour, have signed on to the5-year, legally binding contract thatrequires them to help pay for fire safetyand building improvements inBangladesh. But only two US companieshave committed so far: PVH Corp, theNew York-based parent company ofTommy Hilfiger, and Abercrombie & Fitchof New Albany, Ohio.

As part of the global pact, companies

would be required to pay up to $500,000annually to run the program. They wouldalso be required to underwrite repairs tomake the factories they use safe. A boardmade up of labor and retail representa-tives would oversee dispute resolutionsthat would be enforceable in the courtsof the country where the company isbased. Based on the number of compa-nies now participating, the plan will cov-er more than 1,000 of the 5,000 garmentfactories in Bangladesh, according toIndustriALL Global Union, a Genevabased-labor union that was involved inthe negotiations.

The widening divide among foreign

retailers and US merchants on how tobest resolve the issue of making clothingfactories safer in Bangladesh comes aspublic pressure builds following a build-ing collapse on April 24 that killed morethan 1,110 workers there. The tragedy,the deadliest incident in the history ofthe garment industry, came just monthsafter a fire in another garment factory inBangladesh in November killed 112workers.

On Wednesday, as more Europeanretailers were signing on to meet a dead-line that evening, the National RetailFederation, which has 9,000 members,issued a scathing statement, saying the

plan was a “one-size-fits-all” approachpromoted by special interests. It also saidthe global agreement seeks major fund-ing by private businesses without pro-viding accountability for how the moneyis spent.

On Friday, the retail trade group madeavailable for the media an internationallabor lawyer who rebuked the globalpact and said that it is too vague forretailers to sign. At the heart of the criti-cism: the contract would expose retail-ers to legal liability for the failure of fac-tories to comply with the set standardseven though merchants don’t own thefacilities. —AP

Groups stay divided on B’desh safety overhauls

KABUL: Conservative religious law-makers in Afghanistan blocked legis-lation yesterday aimed at strength-ening provisions for women’s free-doms, arguing that parts of it violateIslamic principles and encourage dis-obedience. The fierce oppositionhighlights how tenuous women’srights remain a dozen years after theouster of the hard-line Talebanregime, whose strict interpretationof Islam once kept Afghan womenvirtual prisoners in their homes.

Khalil Ahmad Shaheedzada, aconservative lawmaker for Heratprovince, said the legislation waswithdrawn shortly after being intro-duced in parliament because of anuproar by religious parties who saidparts of the law are un-Islamic.“Whatever is against Islamic law, wedon’t even need to speak about it,”Shaheedzada said.

The Law on Elimination ofViolence Against Women has been ineffect since 2009, but only by presi-dential decree. It is being broughtbefore parliament now because law-maker Fawzia Kofi, a women’s rightsactivist, wants to cement it with aparliamentary vote to prevent itspotential reversal by any future pres-ident who might be tempted torepeal it to satisfy hard-line religiousparties.

The law criminalizes, among oth-er things, child marriage and forcedmarriage, and bans “baad,” the tradi-tional practice of selling and buyingwomen to settle disputes. It also

makes domestic violence a crimepunishable by up to three years inprison and specifies that rape victimsshould not face criminal charges forfornication or adultery. Kofi, whoplans to run for president in nextyear’s elections, said she was disap-pointed because among those whooppose upgrading the law frompresidential decree to legislationpassed by parliament are women.

Afghanistan’s parliament hasmore than 60 female lawmakers,mostly due to constitutional provi-sions reserving certain seats forwomen. There has been spottyenforcement of the law as it stands.A United Nations analysis in late2011 found only a small percentageof reported crimes against womenwere pursued by the Afghan govern-ment. Between March 2010 andMarch 2011 - the first full Afghanyear the decree was in effect - prose-cutors filed criminal charges in only155 cases, or 7 percent of the totalnumber of crimes reported.

The child marriage ban and theidea of protecting female rape vic-tims from prosecution were particu-larly heated subjects in yesterday’sparliamentary debate, saidNasirullah Sadiqizada Neli, a conser-vative lawmaker from Daykundiprovince. Neli suggested that remov-ing the custom - common inAfghanistan - of prosecuting rapedwomen for adultery would lead tosocial chaos, with women freelyengaging in extramarital sex safe in

the knowledge they could claimrape if caught.

Lawmaker Shaheedzada alsoclaimed that the law might encour-age disobedience among girls andwomen, saying it reflected Westernvalues not applicable in Afghanistan.“Even now in Afghanistan, womenare running from their husbands.Girls are running from home,”Shaheedzada said. “Such laws givethem these ideas.” Freedoms forwomen are one of the most visible -and symbolic - changes inAfghanistan since the 2001 US-ledcampaign that toppled the Talebanregime. While in power, the Taleban

imposed a strict interpretation ofIslam that put severe curbs on thefreedom of women. For five years,the regime banned women fromworking and going to school, oreven leaving home without a malerelative.

In public, all women were forcedwear a head-to-toe burqa, whichcovers even the face with a meshpanel. Violators were publiclyflogged or executed. Since the US-led invasion in 2001, women’s free-doms have improved vastly, butAfghanistan remains a deeply con-servative culture, especially in ruralareas. — AFP

Afghan lawmakers block law on women’s rights

Bill will encourage disobedience among women: Lawmaker

NEW DELHI: Indian workers tie Indian and Chinese national flags onto poles in frontof The Indian Secretariat yesterday. — AFP

NEW DELHI: India says all issues will be “onthe table”, including a recent border spatand a festering trade imbalance, duringChinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to theSouth Asian giant which starts today. At thesame time New Delhi thinks “very highly” ofLi’s decision to make India his first overseasstop since taking charge as premier, Indianforeign ministry spokesman SyedAkbaruddin said yesterday.

After arriving just after midday (0950GMT) today, Li will hold talks with PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh and later will bea guest at a dinner hosted by the Indianleader at his residence, officials said. Suchhigh-level exchanges are aimed at “enhanc-ing trust”, Akbaruddin added. Ties betweenthe neighbours have been dogged bymutual suspicion that lingers long after a1962 border war high in the Himalayas.

India’s joint foreign secretary for EastAsia, Gautam Bambawale, said “everythingis on the table” for discussion, including theborder dispute and improving the nations’trade balance, which is tilted heavily inBeijing’s favour. “The two prime ministerswill talk about these subjects,” Bambawalesaid. The border dispute with New Delhiflared last month into a three-week stand-off after India alleged that Chinese troopsintruded nearly 20 kilometres (12 miles)into Indian-claimed territory, highlightinglongstanding tensions. The Line of ActualControl between the nuclear-armed neigh-

bours has never been formally demarcatedalthough they have signed accords tomaintain peace in the Himalayan area.

The world’s two most populous coun-tries have in recent years seen ties improveand trade boom, and both sides sought tostay low-key over the latest row. Beijingsaid Chinese troops “never trespassed theline”. Separately, sources said yesterday thatIndia would push for efforts to avoid suchalleged occurrences in future, according tothe Press Trust of India.

On Monday, the two leaders, accompa-nied by high-level delegations, will holdwide-ranging talks on key international,regional and bilateral issues. On the eco-nomic front, Bambawale said India willpress for more trade access to China. In2012, bilateral trade was $66.5 billion-downfrom $74 billion in 2011 and a setback tothe neighbours achieving their $100-billiongoal by 2015. India also faces an increasingtrade deficit with China that totaled $29 bil-lion in 2012, according to Chinese figures. Inaddition, New Delhi will seek assurancesthat a Chinese plan to build three morehydropower dams across the mighty cross-border Brahmaputra river-known in Chinaas the Yarlung Tsangpo-will not affect India’sdownstream water flow. After New Delhi, Liwill travel Tuesday to Indian financial hubMumbai and then to Pakistan, Switzerlandand Germany as Beijing seeks to addresssecurity and economic disputes. — AFP

All issues ‘on the table’ on China PM’s visit: India

KABUL: In this photo, an Afghan woman peers through the eye slit ofher burqa. — AP

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s main oppositionTamil party yesterday defied a military banand staged a commemoration of their wardead as the government celebrated thefourth anniversary of defeating Tamil Tigerrebels. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA)said it staged the remembrance in thenorthern town of Vavuniya for those whodied in the final battle which also killedTamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaranand his entire top leadership.

“We had a meeting to commemorate allthose who died in the conflict,” TNA law-maker Suresh Premachandran told AFPfrom Vavuniya, 260 kilometres (162 miles)north of Colombo. The event came as SriLankan troops held a parades in the capitalto mark the victory over Tamil Tiger rebelsand an end to 37 years of ethnic blood-shed.

The state-run Daily News said theVavuniya meeting was illegal and warnedanyone commemorating the defeatedLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)

would be jailed. Witnesses said the TNA-ledceremony ended peacefully amid a heavypolice presence in the area, a front-linetown near the former war zone in theisland’s north.

In the capital Colombo, PresidentMahinda Rajapakse viewed the militaryparade showcasing heavy weapons usedagainst the Tigers who were known fortheir ferocious suicide bomb attacks. “Wewill not allow a single inch of the land thatyou won by the sacrifice of your life to betaken away,” Rajapakse said. “There will beno room for separation.”

A naval craft taking part in the celebra-tions capsized and a search was on for anofficer who was reported missing after theaccident, a military official said, adding thatthe other four crew members had been res-cued. The military offensive which crushedthe Tigers had triggered allegations of warcrimes with rights groups saying that up to40,000 civilians perished in the last monthsof fighting alone. — AFP

AMRITSAR: Indian disabled youth Vishal is seen holding a puppy while sitting in hishand-cranked tricycle as he receives a cup of water yesterday. Vishal earns some 100rupees ($1.83) a day by begging. Data released in 2012 from the PlanningCommission, an influential government body that formulates national five-year eco-nomic plans, suggested overall poverty levels in India fell from 37.2 percent in 2004-05 to 29.8 percent in 2009-10. — AFP

Lanka Tamils defy ban

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan Air Force paratrooper performs during the victory Dayparade yesterday. — AFP

NEW DELHI: Facebook chief operating offi-cer Sheryl Sandberg said in an interviewpublished yesterday says it’s ok for womento cry at work, share emotions and be hon-est about their femininity. Sandberg shot toglobal fame after her the publication of herbest-selling book “Lean In: Women, Workand the Will to Lead” which talks aboutwomen’s career struggles and adviseswomen to “lean in” to reach their potential.

It has drawn bouquets from admirers forarticulating a new modern feminist visionand brickbats from critics who say her loftyposition has made her out-of-touch withthe gruelling personal cost of combiningcareer and family. In an interview withIndia’s Mint business daily, the 43-year-oldadmitted:

“I cry at work,” adding women are not“one type of person Monday throughFriday” and “then a different person in thenights and weekend.” “I think we are all ofus emotional beings and it’s okay for us toshare that emotion at work,” saidFacebook’s number two, who was namedin Time magazine’s 2013 list as one of the100 most influential people in the world.

Studies have shown women are moreprone than men to cry at work becausemales are schooled not to cry in public andit can hurt their career progression.Sandberg, who is married with two youngchildren, said on the subject of her book“the messages of believing in yourself andsitting at the table, getting compensatedfairly, those can happen at any point inyour career.”

It is necessary to talk about gender-relat-ed issues honestly in the workplace, and aneed for employers to say: “I am here to sup-port you”, she added in the interview. Thequestion of whether women can “have it all”in terms of pursuing careers and raising fam-ilies is “very problematic”, added Sandberg,who got $26.2 million in salary, bonus andshares last year from the US social network-ing giant. Men never face such questionsbecause society assumes they can haveboth professions and children, she said inthe interview. A huge percentage of womenglobally have both children and work full-time, but to do so they must get the “sup-port they need at the workplace and athome,” Sandberg said. — AFP

KABUL: Two bombs hidden in a motorcycle and a carexploded inside an elite gated community linked tothe family of Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Fridayevening, killing at least nine people and woundingmore than 70 near the southern city of Kandahar, anofficial said. The blasts happened inside Aino Mina, ahousing complex on the northern outskirts of the citythat was developed in part by Mahmood Karzai, thepresident’s younger brother.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for theattack, but striking inside a powerful symbol ofwealth and influence would be a publicity coup forthe Taleban insurgency. Both the car bomb and themotorcycle were remotely detonated within minutesof each other while parked next to a restaurant areawhere families were dining, Kandahar governmentspokesman Javeed Faisal said. He had earlier saidthere was only one blast.

Three police were among the dead, Faisal said,adding that an investigation is underway into howthe explosives-laden vehicle slipped past the commu-nity’s heavy security. Many of the dozens of woundedbrought to Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar were in criti-cal condition, Dr. Samad Ahmadi said. Aino Mina ishome to thousands of Afghan government officials,businessmen and other wealthy citizens who paysome $90,000 for a three-bedroom house on groundsfeaturing parks, a jogging track, a football field and itsown mosque. Residents have special identificationbadges, and cars are typically searched before enter-ing the gates.

Mahmood Karzai was one of the main investorsinto the project, promoted as a triumph of modernityin Kandahar, which is the spiritual birthplace of theTaleban insurgency. The Taleban imposed a harshinterpretation of Islamic law when it led Afghanistanfor five years, before they were ousted in the US-ledinvasion that followed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks onthe US by Al-Qaeda, which was based in the countryat the time.

The Karzai clan itself is from Kandahar and anotherbrother of the president, Ahmed Wali Karzai, was apowerful political figure there before being gunneddown in 2011 by a bodyguard. President Karzai’soffice quickly condemned the attack, noting it wasthe second terrorist strike in a residential area in twodays. —AFP

Bombs kill 9 inside Afghan complex

KANDAHAR: A bereaved Afghan cries after helearns of the death of a relative in a hospital inKandahar late May 17, 2013, after twin suicidebomb attacks. — AFP

It’s OK for women to cry at work: Sandberg

I N T E R N AT I O N A LSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

News

3 new suicides at Foxconn factory

BEIJING: Three Foxconn workers have committedsuicide at a factory in China in the past three weeks,a labour rights group said yesterday. All threejumped to their deaths at a plant in the central cityof Zhengzhou run by the Taiwanese electronicsgiant.A 30-year-old married man killed himself onTuesday following the similar deaths of a 23-year-oldwoman on April 27 and a 24-year-old man threedays earlier, media reports said. “The reasons forthese building jumpings are unclear,” the New York-based China Labor Watch rights group said in astatement. Foxconn, which assembles products forApple, Sony and Nokia, has come under the spot-light after suicides and labour unrest at its Chineseplants since 2010. In 2010, at least 13 Foxconnemployees in China died in apparent suicides, whichactivists blamed on tough working conditions,prompting calls for better treatment of staff.Although Foxconn denied the accusations, it raisedwages by nearly 70 percent at its China plants in2010.It has also taken steps such as improving work-ing conditions and enforcing age restrictions toaddress concerns raised by an independent audit ofconditions mandated by Apple. Foxconn is theworld’s largest maker of computer components andemploys up to 1.1 million workers in China.

Man arrested over plane bomb threats

BEIJING: Chinese police have arrested a man whoallegedly made bomb threats which caused delaysor diversions to Shanghai, news reports said yester-day. Eleven flights were affected in total, though thesuspect is not alleged to be behind all the threats.The planes were travelling from Beijing, Chongqing,Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the Beijing News report-ed. One flight from Guangzhou on Friday had to bediverted to Fuzhou following an anonymous call tothe airports after takeoff. Passengers were evacuat-ed and the plane and baggage searched. In three ofthe 11 cases the planes had already arrived at theirdestination. The threats involved Air China, ChinaEastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, SichuanAirlines and Spring Airlines. A suspect surnamed Jiwas arrested and had confessed, Chinese civil avia-tion information site Carno.com said. His motive wasnot known.Five flights operated by three Chineseairlines had already been hit by bomb threats onWednesday, the official Xinhua news agency said.Two similar alerts had occurred in February and twoin October, the Beijing News said. According to WuXiaojun, a magistrate in Beijing, these threats aremost often impulsive acts by angry men in theirtwenties or thirties. Making false bomb threats inpunishable by up 15 years in prison in serious cases.

China rains kill 55, leave 14 missing

BEIJING: Chinese authorities say rainstorms thatbattered southern China this week have killed 55people and left 14 others missing. The ChineseMinistry of Civil Affairs website says at least nineprovinces have had storms and some flooding andlandslides since Tuesday. I t says Guangdongprovince has been hit the hardest, with 36 deathsand 10 missing people, followed by Jiangxi province,where six people are reported dead and four moremissing. Guangdong’s weather service forecastsmore heavy rain along with thunder, strong windgusts and hail in the coming days and warns offlooding and mudslides.

in brief

TOKYO: An aide to the Japanese pre-mier returned home from a controver-sial trip to North Korea yesterday,reportedly saying he had demandedPyongyang’s act swiftly on its kidnap-ping of Japanese nationals. Isao Iijima,a senior adviser to Prime MinisterShinzo Abe, said he told senior NorthKorean officials that Tokyo wantedJapanese civil ians k idnapped byNorth Korean agents in the 1970s and80s to be immediately returned,according to Jiji Press, without citingsources.

Iijima also said - when reporting

back to Chief Cabinet SecretaryYoshihide Suga at a Tokyo hotel - thathe demanded Pyongyang come cleanon the truth about the abduction, andfor it to hand over those responsiblefor the kidnappings, Jiji said. Iijima’strip fuelled speculation that the Northmay be trying to thaw icy relationswith Japan at a time when ties withthe United States and South Koreahave gone into deep freeze afternuclear and missile tests.

South Korea dubbed the trip“unhelpful” to international efforts toforge a united front against

Pyongyang, while the United Statesexpressed its surprise. The US, alongwith its two Asian allies, has increasedpressure on Pyongyang to drop itsnuclear ambitions and to join theinternational community.

The North’s state media this weekshowed footage of Iijima holding talkson Thursday with Kim Yong-Nam,North’s Korea’s ceremonial head ofstate, according to NHK and otherJapanese media. Iijima was a senioraide to Japan’s former prime ministerJunichiro Koizumi, and is known tohave played a role in organising his

trips to Pyongyang in 2002 and 2004for talks with then-North Koreanleader Kim Jong-Il.

Abe accompanied Koizumi on the2002 visit . When Koizumi visitedPyongyang in 2002, North Koreaadmitted its agents k idnappedJapanese nationals in the 1970s and1980s to train spies in Japanese lan-guage and customs. Some of thosesnatched were allowed to return toJapan along with children who wereborn in the North, but Pyongyangsaid the rest of them had died.

However, many in Japan believe

the North is still holding some andPyongyang’s perceived refusal tocome clean has derailed efforts tonormalise ties. Abe told reporters yes-terday “the abduction issue is whathas to be resolved under the Abeadministration. My mission won’t becompleted unless all the victimsreturn to their families who wouldgive them big hugs,” Jiji Press said.North Korea yesterday launched threeshort-range missiles into the Sea ofJapan, apparently as part of a militarydrill, South Korea’s defence ministrysaid. — AFP

Aide to Japanese PM returns from N Korea

JAKARTA: A British woman could face the death penalty inIndonesia after being arrested for allegedly smuggling crystalmethamphetamine into the country from China, an officialsaid yesterday. The woman, identified only by her initials AR,was arrested at a hotel in the city of Surabaya, East Javaprovince, last month with 1.47 kilograms (three pounds, fourounces) of the drug, the national narcotics agency said.

“Because she smuggled drugs weighing more than fivegrams, she could face the death penalty,” agency spokesmanSumirat Dwiyanto told AFP. He declined to give further detailsabout the woman, who is being held in Jakarta, or when shewas likely to be charged. A British embassy spokesman con-firmed the news: “We are aware of the arrest of a Britishnational... We are providing consular assistance.”

The case comes just months after British grandmotherLindsay Sandiford was sentenced to death for attempting tosmuggle $2.4 million of cocaine into the resort island of Bali.In the latest case, AR, who lives in China, admitted after herarrest on April 29, that a Nigerian had asked her to bring thedrugs to Indonesia, the agency said. The Nigerian was still atlarge, it added. The woman also identified two other peopleshe had been planning to pass the drugs to in Surabaya andJakarta, and they were also detained, the agency said. It didnot say what their nationalities were. They are also being heldin Jakarta. Foreigners are regularly charged with drugsoffences in Indonesia, which has some of the toughest anti-narcotics laws in the world, but most are caught in Bali.

Sandiford, 56, was sentenced to death in January afterbeing caught with cocaine as she arrived at Bali airport, in ashock verdict after prosecutors recommended 15 years in jail.She lost a first appeal against the sentence last month, and hassince lodged a last-ditch appeal to Indonesia’s top court. Deathrow convicts in Indonesia rarely manage to get their sentenceslifted. Most spend years in jail before being taken to an isolatedlocation at night and executed by firing squad. — AFP

Brit could facedeath in Indonesia

MANILA: The Philippines yesterday reject-ed Taiwan’s allegations that Filipino coast-guards had intentionally murdered aTaiwanese fisherman whose death has trig-gered a major diplomatic spat. The 65-year-old fisherman was shot dead byPhilippine coastguards who said his vesselintruded into Philippine waters. Chen Wen-chi, head of the Taiwan team investigatingthe May 9 incident, said most of the bulletshad hit the fishing boat’s cockpit where itscrew hid.

“By combining the evidence, it clearlyshows that the Philippine law enforcerswere intentionally shooting the Guang TaHsin 28 crew members, which indicatestheir intent of murder,” Chen told a newsconference in Manila. The shooting, whichManila insists occurred inside Philippineterritorial waters but which Taipei countershappened within its exclusive economiczone, has led to Taiwanese sanctionsagainst its neighbour.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima andPresident Benigno Aquino’s spokesmanRicky Carandang rejected the murder alle-gations. “There is an investigation ongoingso any premature statements that tend toconfuse the issues and inflame passionsshould be avoided,” Carandang told AFP.De Lima in a separate statement alsourged everyone to refrain from makingstatements “that would further fuel oraggravate the prevailing tension between

the Philippines and Taiwan”.Chen’s comments echoed those made

by Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in Taipeion Friday. “If (Philippine) civil servants usedautomatic weapons to fire at unarmed andunprovocative fishing boats, this was notcarrying out their job duties. This is cold-blooded murder,” Ma said. Aquino made a“personal” apology on Wednesday over the“unintended” death arising from thepatrol’s duty of protecting Philippinewaters against illegal fishing.

Manila insisted its forces fired in self-defence to disable the boat’s engine andprevent it ramming the patrol craft. Taiwanhas rejected the apology. It recalled its defacto envoy, banned the hiring of newPhilippine workers and staged a militarydrill in waters off the northern Philippinesearlier this week.

The Philippines officially recognisesBeijing over Taipei but maintains trade tieswith the island, which employs about87,000 Filipinos. Philippine Vice PresidentJejomar Binay yesterday urged Taiwan toensure the safety of Filipino workers fol-lowing reports of attacks by angryTaiwanese. “We heard and we read in thepapers that they have been hit by bats andfour have been hospitalised,” Binay toldreporters, according to an official tran-script released by his office. “ We areappealing to the Taiwanese people tospare our overseas Filipino workers from

conflict,” he added.Taiwanese media reported that a

Filipino was treated in hospital after beingattacked by a gang of youths. “We’ve seenreports that their leaders have assured thesafety of our people there. We expect them

to act on these reports (of attacks),” Aquinospokeswoman Abigail Valte said. Nearly 10million Filipinos live or work abroad, andthe tens of billions of dollars in earningsthat they send home every year help propup the Philippine economy. — AFP

Philippines rubbishes Taiwan ‘murder’ claims

Manila insists forces fired in self-defence

MANILA: Taiwan Ministry of Justice of Department of International and Cross-StraitLegal Affairs, Chen Wen-chi, (center) gestures during a press conference at theTaiwan Economic and Cultural office yesterday. —AFP

YANGON: In this photo, Tay Za (foreground left) attends an opening ceremony of abranch office of his bank. — AP

Myanmar sanctionslist languishes

YANGON: If you’re American and want todo business in Myanmar, there’s a list ofpeople and companies you have to steerclear of by law. But it leaves off a formerminister’s son US officials suspected of bro-kering arms deals with North Korea, andhigh-rolling relatives of the man who ledthe repressive military government for 19years. The Obama administration didn’t addanyone to the US government’s Myanmarsanctions list over 31/2 years, despite rec-ommendations from the US Embassy inYangon to blacklist hundreds of top offi-cials and their business cronies, as well asmilitary and private companies, accordingto an Associated Press examination of hun-dreds of pages of government documents,and more than a dozen interviews with offi-cials and business leaders in Myanmar andWashington.

The reason: Washington was seeking towin the confidence of Myanmar’s top lead-ership and encourage them to stick to thepath of democratic reform. The result: Thelist is full of gaps. The administration hassaid it wants US companies to set a “goldstandard” for investment and foster a fairer,more transparent way of doing business inMyanmar. But the last powerful tool it hasto punish the bad guys and encourage thegood ones has fallen way out of date, eventhough legislation instructs the govern-ment to keep the list current. That risksreinforcing a corrupt economic system thathas concentrated wealth in the hands ofpolitically-connected businessmen.

Human rights activists accuse theObama administration of moving too fastto reward the reformist government ofThein Sein, who on Monday will becomethe first president of Myanmar to visit theWhite House in 47 years - a trip duringwhich he’ll also woo US business leaders.The US has suspended broad restrictions

on investment and trade with Myanmar. Itstill forbids imports of ruby and jade fromMyanmar and doing business with military-owned companies. But the restriction withthe greatest impact for investors is againstdealings with individuals and companieson the Treasury Department’s SpeciallyDesignated Nationals list, which identifiesthose linked to sanctioned governments,terrorists and drug traffickers.

The European Union lifted its sanctionslast month, although like the US, it retainsan arms embargo. That leaves America’ssanctions list as the most important inter-national restriction on doing business inMyanmar. While not binding elsewhere, thelist affects government and business think-ing as far afield as Singapore and London.Decades of quiet deal-making have nur-tured a small business elite that has profit-ed, sometimes brutally and most often dis-honestly, from relationships withMyanmar’s military leaders and a flood ofChinese money.

With little information available aboutwho owns what in Myanmar, it can be diffi-cult to determine whom a potential busi-ness partner is affiliated with. Americanswho violate the sanctions could face finesor prison time, though a letter of warning ismore likely for those who acted in goodfaith.

“The list in no way lists all the individu-als who would be objectionable to doingbusiness with. And there are individuals onthere for purely political and unvalidatedreasons,” said Rachel Calvert at the consult-ing company IHS, who helps advise UScompanies on investing in Myanmar. U.S.companies, for example, are still free toinvest with the wife, eight children andgrandson of former military leader ThanShwe - all of whom were sanctioned by theEuropean Union in the past.—AP

YANGON: Myanmar’s president has par-doned at least 20 political prisoners justahead of a historic visit to the UnitedStates that will highlight the two sides’improved relations brought about by theformer pariah nation’s democraticreforms. State media reported yesterdaythat 23 prisoners were freed, though itdid not call them political offenders. YeAung, a member of the government’spolitical prisoner scrutiny committee,said at least 20 political detainees werefreed Friday.

President Thein Sein will visit theWhite House tomorrow, the first state vis-it by a Myanmar leader in almost 47years. The US applied sanctions againstMyanmar’s previous military regime forits poor human rights record. Thein Seinhas implemented several reforms sincehis election in 2010, including freeinghundreds of political prisoners. The US inturn eased most sanctions. In November,Barack Obama became the first US presi-dent to visit Myanmar.

It has become a pattern for prisonamnesties to coincide with high-profileinternational or regional meetings as away of highlighting the Myanmar gov-ernment’s benevolent policies. TheinSein pardoned 93 prisoners, including atleast 59 political detainees, in April, a dayafter the European Union lifted sanctionsagainst the Southeast Asian nation. Therelease of political detainees in Myanmarhas been a key concern of the UnitedStates, and Washington wants all of thecountry’s political prisoners freed.

A group campaigning for democracyin Myanmar - which is also known by itsold name, Burma - accuses Thein Sein’sgovernment of using political prisonersfor public relations purposes. “Thein Seinseems to have judged, sadly apparentlycorrectly, that the Obama administrationis particularly gullible and likely torespond positively to this kind of manip-ulative use of political prisoner releases,”Burma Campaign UK said in a statement.

The group also expressed concernthat Thein Sein’s democratic reformswere incomplete. “Thein Sein has alsoleft almost every repressive law used tojail political prisoners in place,” the state-ment said. “Almost all the releases ofpolitical prisoners have only beenreleased conditionally, meaning that ifthey engage in political activities whichthe government does not like they canbe put back in jail and have to serve anew prison term and their old prisonterm.” President’s office director Maj. ZawHtay’s responded on his Facebook pageto such criticism. He said Thein Seindoesn’t use political prisoners as tools,and that his interest is just to have an all-inclusive process.

One of those freed Friday was NayMyo Zin, a former prisoner who hadbeen amnestied before but who wasrecently ordered to serve the remainderof his original sentence after he wasarrested for participating in a farmers’protest against land confiscation. NayMyo Zin, a former army captain, hadbeen serving a 10-year sentence whenhe was amnestied in 2012.

Ye Aung, a former prisoner himself,said many of those freed Friday had beenidentified by his committee as politicaldetainees, and he looked forward to therelease of all such prisoners. “Accordingto our list there are still 160 political pris-oners remaining in prison. We are stillscrutinizing the list and there could bemore,” he said. The government had rou-tinely denied the existence of politicalprisoners, saying all people sentenced tojail had been convicted legitimately ofbreaking the nation’s laws. But TheinSein’s administration recently concededthat there are political detainees, andformed the committee with governmentofficials and former political prisoners totally and report who remains impris-oned. — AP

Myanmar prez frees politicalprisoners ahead of US visit

YANGON: Hay Mar Lwin, a political pris-oner who was released from Inseinprison, shows her certificate of release tojournalists. — AP

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013NEWS

Continued from Page 1

But experts said they were worried about theincreasingly sophisticated cyber capabilities of coun-tries such as China, Russia and Iran. “This new growingtrend of nation states engaged in cyber attacks that aredesigned to be destructive to parts of the US economyis very, very concerning,” said Mike Rogers, chairman ofthe US House Intelligence Committee.

“The ferociousness of these attacks is increasing andit’s something that we better get a handle on,” Rogersadded. Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of Crowdstrike, asecurity technology specialist firm that works with gov-ernments and private companies, said he is most con-cerned about Iran, particularly if there is a spike in ten-sions in the Middle East.

He is watching the attacks that have taken down thewebsites of more than a dozen U.S. banks in the pastnine months. There are no signs that hackers have man-aged to destroy or modify crucial financial data, but thatis the fear. “Attacks that focus on modifying data in thestealth way, sabotage, integrity attacks - those are theones that are most insidious and those are the ones wereally should worry about,” Alperovitch said.

The migration of ever more elements of the econo-my to the digital world opens the door to malfeasance.“We keep hooking more and more stuff up to theInternet, so the attack surface keeps growing,” saidMichael Daniel, cybersecurity policy coordinator at theWhite House. “Pretty soon your coffee maker and yourrefrigerator is going to be an attack vector because it’sgoing to be hooked up to the Internet. — Reuters

Cybersecurity experts fear the ‘unknowns’

Continued from Page 1

evolved from personal computers. Apple and Samsungare said to be working on other forms of wearable technolo-gy. The test version of Glass looks like a clear pair of eyeglasseswith a hefty slab along the right side. Since it began shippingto a couple thousand carefully selected early adopters whopaid about $1,500 for the device, it has inspired a bit ofridicule - from a parody on “Saturday Night Live” to a popularblog poking fun at its users.

Other industry experts take a more serious tack, pointingout the potential for misuse because Glass can record videofar less conspicuously than a handheld device. Glass also haswon many fans. Google and some early users maintain thatprivacy fears are overblown. As with traditional video cam-eras, a tiny light blinks on to let people know when it isrecording.

Several Glass wearers at the developers conference saidthey whip the device off in inappropriate situations, such as ingym locker rooms or work meetings. Michael Evans, a Webdeveloper from Washington, DC, attending the Google con-ference, said he removed his Glass when he went to themovies, even though the device would be ill-suited for record-ing a feature-length film. “I just figured I don’t want to be thefirst guy kicked out of the movies,” he said.

NO GLASS ALLOWEDA stamp-sized electronic screen mounted on the left side

of a pair of eyeglass frames, Glass can record video, accessemail, provide turn-by-turn driving directions and retrieveinfo from the Web by connecting wirelessly to a user’s cellphone. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt dismissedconcerns about the brave new world of wearable computersduring a talk at Harvard University’s Kennedy School ofGovernment in April.

“Criticisms are inevitably from people who are afraid ofchange or who have not figured out that there will be anadaptation of society to it,” he said. Schmidt acknowledgedthat there are certain places where Glass will not be appropri-ate but that he believed new rules of social etiquette will coa-lesce over time. Firstenberg said it will take time for all sides toget comfortable with the new technology. “I don’t think weshould go into the conversation assuming that Glass is bad,”he said.

Indeed, previous technology innovations such as mobilephones and wireless headsets that initially raised concerns arenow subject to tacit rules of etiquette, such as not talkingloudly on the bus and turning a ringer off in a meeting. Still,some have decided to leave nothing to chance. Casino opera-tor Caesar’s Entertainment recently announced that Glass isnot permitted while gambling or when in showrooms,though guests can wear it in other areas.

In March, Seattle’s Five Point Cafe made headlines forbecoming the first bar to ban Glass. “Respect our customersprivacy as we’d expect them to respect yours,” says a state-ment on the café’s website. The California Highway Patrol saysthere is no law that explicitly forbids a driver from wearingGlass while driving in the state. But according to Officer ElonSteers, if a driver appears to be distracted as a result of thedevice, an officer can take enforcement action.

PRIVACY TRACK RECORDLawmakers are beginning to consider Glass. On Thursday,

eight members of the US Congress sent a letter to GoogleChief Executive Larry Page, asking for details about how Glasshandles various privacy issues, including whether it is capableof facial recognition.

According to Google, there are no facial recognition tech-nologies built into the device and it has no plans to do so“unless we have strong privacy protections in place.” Duringone of this week’s conference sessions - an open discussionabout Glass - members of the Glass team answered a ques-tion about privacy by noting that social implications and eti-quette have been a big area of focus during the developmentof the product, which is still a test version. Some of the Glass-phobia may stem from Google’s own track record on privacy.

In 2010, Google revealed that its fleet of Street View cars,which criss-cross the globe taking panoramic photos for theGoogle Maps product, also had captured personal informa-tion such as emails and web pages that were transmitted overunencrypted home wireless networks. “The fact that it’sGoogle offering the service, as opposed to say Brookstone,raises privacy issues,” said Marc Rotenberg, the executivedirector of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a non-profit privacy advocacy group, citing Google’s history and itsscale in Internet advertising.

Rotenberg says his main concern centers on the stream ofdata collected by the devices - everything from audio andvideo to a user’s location data - going to Google’s data centers.Ryan Calo, a University of Washington law professor who spe-cializes in privacy and technology, said Glass is not very differ-ent from other technologies available today, whether it is asmartphone or “spy” pens that secretly record audio. But Glassis on people’s faces, so it feels different.

“The face is a really intimate place and to have a piece oftechnology on it is unsettling,” Calo said. “Much as a drone isunsettling because we have some ideas of war.” For all thehand-wringing, some early adopters are sold. Ryan Warner,who recently graduated from college and who has devel-oped a recipe app for Glass with Evans, said he was surprisedby the reaction he got when he went to a bar. “I was like, ‘Idon’t know if I should have it on or not.’ I was kind of in thatphase,” he said, “and the bouncer was like, ‘Oh, my god, isthat Google Glass?’ He was excited.” — Reuters

Google’s wearable Glass gadget: cool...

Continued from Page 1

Wednesday to discuss how to approach a conference. But it isalso far from clear that Assad’s opponents can forge a united frontor agree to meet the president’s representatives.

After months of diplomatic stalemate, Washington andMoscow have been pushed to convene the conference by the ris-ing death toll and atrocities, signs of escalation across Syria’s fron-tiers and suspicions that chemical arms may have been used.Three weeks ago, Israeli air strikes near Damascus that were saidto target Iranian weapons heading for Lebanon drove home therisk of the Syrian conflict spreading further afield. As much wastrue of bombings last week across the border in Turkey.

On Friday, dozens of Iraqis were killed in bombings whichfuelled fears that the increasingly sectarian war in Syria, whereSunni Islamists are a part of the rebellion and Assad’s Alawiteminority is backed by Shiite Iran, could plunge Iraq back into itsown bloody civil conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Twobombs exploded outside a Sunni mosque in the city of Baquba asworshippers left Friday prayers, killing at least 43 people in one ofthe deadliest attacks of recent months. Several other bombingsclaimed lives around the country - with 19 killed near a commer-cial complex in the west of Baghdad. Attacks on Sunni and Shiitemosques, security forces and tribal leaders have mounted sincetroops from the Shiite-led Iraqi government raided a Sunniprotest camp near Kirkuk a month ago. London’s Financial Timesbecame the latest Western media outlet to be targeted by onlineactivists who support Assad.

Stories on the FT’s website had their headlines replaced by“Hacked By Syrian Electronic Army” and messages on its Twitterfeed read: “Do you want to know the reality of the Syrian ‘Rebels?’”followed by a link to a video that purports to show members ofthe Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front rebel group executing blindfold-

ed and kneeling Syrian soldiers. The video could not be independ-ently verified. Following another of many Internet videos thathave caused concern over deepening communal hatreds, a rebelcommander who was filmed apparently cutting out and bitinginto the heart or other organ of a dead solder made a statementon Friday. “I am ready to be held accountable for my actions, oncondition that Bashar and his shabbiha (militias) are tried forcrimes they committed against our women and children,” the manknown as Abu Sakkar said in a new video posting.

“I send this message to the world: if the bloodshed in Syriadoes not stop, every Syrian will become Abu Sakkar.” Asked by theunseen interviewer why he mutilated the body, he said the sol-dier’s phone contained video clips of him raping women, burningbodies and cutting off the limbs of captives.

A Western diplomat at the United Nations in New York said thetarget date for the peace conference was June 10-15, but itdepended on the readiness of the Syrian parties. An alternativeplan would be to hold an international conference and then havethe Syrians meet at a later date when they are prepared.

The Russian arms transfer could intensify a push by some USlawmakers for the United States to deepen its role in Syria, particu-larly after President Barack Obama’s government acknowledgedpreliminary intelligence that Assad’s forces likely used chemicalweapons - something Obama has called a “red line”.

“We can watch from the sidelines as the scales are tipped inAssad’s favor, or protect US national interests by supporting thearmed opposition striving to build a new Syrian future,” saidSenate foreign relations committee chairman RobertMenendez. But many US officials fear Western weapons couldfall into the wrong hands. Obama said Thursday he would con-sider both diplomatic and military options to pressure Assad,but insisted US action alone would not be enough to resolvethe conflict. — Reuters

US blasts Moscow over Syria weapons

KATMANDU: Mountaineering officials say 64 climbers,including a Saudi Arabian woman, have successfully scaledMount Everest from Nepal’s side of the mountain. TilakPadney of Nepal’s Mountaineering Department says 35 for-eigners accompanied by 29 Nepalese Sherpa guidesreached the 8,850-meter peak yesterday morning after

climbing all night from the highest camp on South Col. Allwere reported to be safe. Among them was RahaMoharrak, who became the first Saudi Arabian woman toscale the world’s highest peak. Everest can be climbed fromeither Nepal or Tibet. May is the most popular month forEverest climbs because of more favorable weather. — AP

Saudi woman climbs Everest

SAN FRANCISCO: Attendees wear Google Glass while posing for a group photo during the Google I/O devel-oper conference in San Francisco. — AFP

TRIPOLI: Libyan security forces and residents gather in a street housing the Algerian, Greek and Saudi embassies, where a bomb exploded yesterday in Tripoli, Libya. — AFP

TRIPOLI: A bomb exploded yester-day in a Tripoli street housing theAlgerian, Greek and Saudiembassies, lightly damaging a car,hours after a soldier was woundedin a bombing in Libya’s second cityBenghazi. A security source said thehomemade bomb, locally known as“gelatina”, had been placed near acar on a street in the central districtof Dahra where the three embassiesare located.

The car, parked outside the Greekembassy, was slightly damaged andthere were no reports of casualties.On April 23, a car bomb detonatedoutside the French embassy in theupmarket Gargaresh area of Tripoli,

causing extensive damage andwounding two embassy guards andseveral local residents. Meanwhile apre-dawn drive-by bomb attack inthe eastern city of Benghazi yester-day slightly wounded a soldier.

“A bomb was thrown from a car atan army checkpoint at the Dubailcrossroads in the centre of Benghazi,”a security official said, speaking oncondition of anonymity. “The attackwas carried out at around 2 am,” theofficial said, adding that the identityof the assailants was not known.Benghazi, cradle of the 2011 uprisingagainst former dictator MuammarGaddafi, has seen a spate of attackson security forces and Western inter-

ests in recent months.The latest bombings highlight

the inability of authorities to estab-lish effective security in Libya, whichhas been awash since the uprisingwith weapons used by former rebelsand other groups who helped top-ple Gaddafi’s regime. The attacks,which are not claimed, are usuallyblamed on radical Islamists, such asthe group which raided the US con-sulate in Benghazi last September11 killing four Americans includingambassador Chris Stevens. OnFriday, a bomb apparently targetingtroops guarding an empty Benghazischool building caused damage butno casualties.— AFP

Bomb explodes near 3 embassies in Tripoli

We have, of late, been inundated with press accounts declaringthat the Obama Administration is in real trouble. Headlinesscream: “Obama struggles”, “White House dysfunction”, or,

worse still, asking “Has Obama Lost Washington?” One would get thesense that the Administration is unraveling. There can be no doubt thatthis has been a bad week, but it’s not as disastrous as the president’s crit-ics would have it. To understand the dynamic that set in motion this ava-lanche of bad press, two metaphors are helpful. The first comes from for-mer Senator Eugene McCarthy who was fond of comparingWashington’s political press to crows on a high wire. “When one lands” hewould say, “they all land. And when one takes off, they all take off”. It is anapt description for the “feeding frenzies” that can occur in our politicalworld when reporters and politicos, like sharks, smell blood in the water(the other metaphor)and move in to devour their wounded prey.

In the toxic environment that is Washington, stories grow andbecome larger than themselves, and in the ensuing hysteria, all sense ofproportion can be lost. Such has been the case with the Congressionalhearings into the way the White House handled the deaths of four USofficials in Benghazi. The story has been exaggerated to such an extentthat a recent poll shows 41% of Republicans now say that Benghazi is the“biggest scandal in US history”, and former Vice President Cheney claim-ing that Benghazi is “one of the worse incidents, frankly, that I can recall”.

That there is less to this entire affair than meets the eye doesn’t mat-ter. Nor does it matter that this Benghazi “scandal” pales in comparison tothe lies that dragged the US into the Iraq war. What matters to the pressis the perception that they have created for themselves-that this is a “bigstory” revealing “dark truths” about the Obama Administration and itsfailures. Add to this other recent allegations about the Internal RevenueService targeting some Tea Party and “patriot” groups for special scrutiny,and the Department of Justice using its Bush-era anti-terrorism powersto investigate reporters who received “leaked” information about a CIAoperation in Yemen, and you have Republicans hyperventilating inexcitement and the media in a frenzy. I might suggest that we first take adeep breath and make an effort to put the events of the past week insome perspective, but I know it wouldn’t do any good. There is blood inthe water and in deeply partisan Washington, the struggle for advantageand power always trumps reality.

Even if I wanted to ascribe the best of intentions to the Republicanswho are pushing the Benghazi story, I find it difficult to do so. If theywere truly concerned about “lies” that were told by government officials,the failure of an Administration to protect American lives, and the needfor responsible government officials to be transparent and accountablefor their actions, the place for Congress to begin would be with the Iraqwar or with the Bush Administration’s systematic use of torture, rendi-tion, and other practices that violate our own and international laws.

But, of course, this entire enterprise of “getting to the bottom ofBenghazi” has nothing to do with truth, lives, or accountability. TheObama Administration’s release of interagency communications, if any-thing, establishes nothing more than the somewhat banal practice oflanguage vetting that, while annoying at times, has become rather stan-dard practice. No, in the end, this is not about truth or governance. It is, infact, nothing more than a continuation of the five year long effort toweaken and distract the president, in order to gain advantage overDemocrats, and,in this instance, to wage a preemptive strike against for-mer Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s presidential aspirations (shouldshe have any).

As for the IRS and Department of Justice stories, they are problems,to be sure, but problems that do not implicate the president. If anything,these revelations have given the president the opportunity to demon-strate his determination to respond quickly and decisively. He immedi-ately condemned both as abuses of power and acted to remove thehead of the IRS who was responsible.

All this, the pundits say, could not have come at a worse time for thepresident. As conventional wisdom has it, the administration has a limit-ed window of opportunity remaining in which to push through its sec-ond term agenda: immigration reform, responsible gun control meas-ures, a new budget that continues to grow the economy while reining indeficits, and facing down foreign policy challenges, especially those rag-ing across the Middle East. In this view, by next year the country will be inthe throes of Congressional elections with “every man for himself” andDemocrats running in close contests wanting to dissociate themselvesfrom a weakened White House. In this environment, Republicans hopethat Democrats will be less inclined to support the president’s agenda ifit doesn’t fit their reelection calculations. Following these November,2014 contests, the President truly becomes a lame duck as the countryheads toward the 2016 presidential elections. This is the conventionalwisdom, and it is what has Republicans gleefully putting forth, and thepress echoing and amplifying, the notion that the president is “finished”.

Two observations are in order. The first is that while Obama has had abad week, it pales in comparison with his predecessors’ second termwoes. Clinton had to deal with a trumped-up impeachment process andBush faced national scorn for his disastrous handing of hurricane Katrinaand the unraveling of his Iraq war. These were, by any measure, far moreserious challenges. Clinton not only survived impeachment, but wasbuoyed by a robust economy. And Bush, with his “smoke and mirrors”“surge” operation in Iraq, was able to rebound a bit until the economiccollapse of 2008.

It will not be easy, but what President Obama will now do is work toregain control of the story being told in the daily press accounts emanat-ing from Washington. The still recovering economy will help, but it won’tbe dramatic enough to turn the tide. Nor can he count on Congress tosupport him with passage of key elements of his agenda. With or with-out “scandal”, partisanship will continue to win out, with Republicansloathe to give the White House any meaningful victories. The presidentwill need to reestablish control by executive decisions in areas of domes-tic or foreign policy where he can demonstrate leadership by actingindependently and decisively. Should he succeed, the shenanigans inCongress will be reduced to a sideshow. And the nation’s press, a laMcCarthy’s metaphor, will follow the story he is creating. All in all, it mayhave been a bad week, but it is one the White House can survive.

Washington Watch

Bad week, but ‘not that bad’

By Dr James J Zogby

14A N A L Y S I SSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

THE LEADING INDEPENDENTDAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF

ESTABLISHED 1961

Founder and Publisher YOUSUF S. AL-ALYAN

Editor-in-ChiefABD AL-RAHMAN AL-ALYAN

EDITORIAL : 24833199-24833358-24833432ADVERTISING : 24835616/7FAX : 24835620/1CIRCULATION : 24833199 Extn. 163ACCOUNTS : 24835619COMMERCIAL : 24835618

P.O.Box 1301 Safat,13014 Kuwait.E MAIL :info@kuwaittimes.netWebsite: www.kuwaittimes.net

All articles appearing on thesepages are the personal opinion ofthe writers. Kuwait Times takes noresponsibility for views expressedtherein. Kuwait Times invites read-ers to voice their opinions. Pleasesend submissions via email to: opin-ion@kuwaittimes.net or via snailmail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait.The editor reserves the right to editany submission as necessary.

Understanding Nieto’s approach to cartels

Pakistan’s fragile democracy shows new strength

There is good news from Pakistan. No, really. The countryoften referred to as “the most dangerous place on earth”is a caldron of violence, religious extremism and nuclear

danger. But on Saturday, Pakistan passed a major democraticmilestone. Its national parliamentary elections representedthe first time since its 1947 founding that voters would get toreplace an elected civilian government with another one.Typically, civilian prime ministers selected by the people areeventually ousted by the military, which has ruled the countryfor roughly half of Pakistan’s history.

One of those was Nawaz Sharif, elected in 1997 but over-thrown in 1999 by Gen Pervez Musharraf. The general, whowas forced to resign in 2008, is now under house arrest oncharges related to his detention of judges. Sharif, meanwhile,is poised to become prime minister again after the decisivevictory of his Pakistan Muslim League party.

Not all of the election news is good. More than 100 peopledied in bombings carried out by the Pakistani Taliban, whichhoped to scare citizens away from the polls. Some parties,including the outgoing Pakistan People’s Party, were limited in

their campaigning by the threat of violence. But voters gainedfrom a great expansion in the freedom of the news media tocover and comment on political events.

No one can really envy the prospective prime minister,whose country is awash in nightmarish problems - desperatepoverty, a stagnant economy, pervasive corruption, rampantilliteracy, large geographic areas that are beyond governmentcontrol and a fierce Islamic insurgency. It neighbors onAfghanistan, which has been wracked for years by internalwar, and India, with whom it has fought multiple wars.Whether Sharif can make progress on these issues is anyone’sguess. A businessman, he pushed measures to open up theeconomy in his previous term, and he has promised to makegrowth his top priority. Pakistan’s stock market climbed onnews of his victory.

He needs American support to get new loans from theInternational Monetary Fund, which may incline him to coop-erate with Washington on some issues. His election may her-ald a thaw with India, something he pursued the last timearound. That was a major source of his conflict with the mili-

tary - which, thankfully, seems to have outgrown its habit ofinterfering with civilian rule. Sharif has called for expandedtrade with Pakistan’s giant neighbor and made a point of invit-ing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit.

Relations with the United States, never easy, are bound toremain tense and frustrating. Sharif has been critical of the USwar on terror, including its strikes inside Pakistan. “Sharif ran acampaign that deliberately ignored the Pakistani Taliban, andtacitly has sent the message the cooperation with the USshould be limited,” Anthony Cordesman, an expert at theCenter for Strategic and International Studies in Washington,told The Wall Street Journal.

The US drone war is deeply unpopular in Pakistan, makingit unlikely any Pakistani government will enthusiasticallycooperate. The best hope is that Sharif and his people willgrow so disgusted with the ongoing violence of Islamicextremists that the government will realize the urgency ofdefeating them. None of Pakistan’s many problems is going tobe solved right away. But establishing a durable democracycan only help.— MCT

By Scott Stewart

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’sapproach to combating Mexican drugcartels has been a much-discussed top-

ic since well before he was elected. Indeed, inJune 2011 - more than a year before the July2012 Mexican presidential election-I wrote ananalysis discussing rumors that, if elected, PenaNieto was going to attempt to reach some sortof accommodation with Mexico’s drug cartels inorder to bring down the level of violence.

Such rumors were certainly understandable,given the arrangement that had existed formany years between some senior members ofPena Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Partyand some powerful cartel figures during theInstitutional Revolutionary Party’s long reign inMexico prior to the election of Vicente Fox ofthe National Action Party in 2000.

However, as we argued in 2011 and repeat-ed in March 2013, much has changed in Mexicosince 2000, and the new reality in Mexicomeans that it would be impossible for the PenaNieto administration to reach any sort of dealwith the cartels even if it made an attempt. Butthe rumors of the Pena Nieto governmentreaching an accommodation with some cartelfigures such as Joaquin “El Chapo” GuzmanLoera have persisted, even as the Mexican gov-ernment arrests key operatives in Guzman’s net-work, such as Ines Coronel Barreras, Guzman’sfather-in-law, who was arrested May 1 in AguaPrieta, Mexico.

Indeed, on April 27, Washington Postreporter Dana Priest published a detailed articleoutlining how US authorities were fearful thatthe Mexican government was restructuring itssecurity relationship with the US governmentso that it could more easily reach an unofficialtruce with cartel leaders. Yet four days later,Coronel-a significant cartel figure-was arrestedin a joint operation between the Mexicans andAmericans. Clearly, there is some confusion onthe US side about the approach the Pena Nietogovernment is taking, but conversations withboth US and Mexican officials reveal that thesechanges in Mexico’s approach do not appear tobe as drastic as some have feared. There willneed to be adjustments on both sides of theborder while organizational changes are under-way in Mexico, but this does not mean thatbilateral US-Mexico cooperation will decline inthe long term.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGESDespite the violence that has wracked

Mexico over the past decade, the Mexicaneconomy is booming. Arguably, the economywould be doing even better if potentialinvestors were not concerned about cartel vio-lence and street crime-and if such criminalactivity did not have such a significant impacton businesses operating in Mexico.

Because of this, the Pena Nieto administra-

tion believes that it is critical to reduce the over-all level of violence in the country. Essentially itwants to transform the cartel issue into a lawenforcement problem, something handled bythe Interior Ministry and the national police,rather than a national security problem handledby the Mexican military and the Center forResearch and National Security (Mexico’snational-level intelligence agency).

In many ways the Pena Nieto administrationwants to follow the model of the government ofColombia, which has never been able to stoptrafficking in its territory but was able to defeatthe powerful Medellin and Cali cartels and rele-gate their successor organizations to a lawenforcement problem. The Mexicans alsobelieve that if they can attenuate cartel vio-lence, they will be able to free up law enforce-ment forces to tackle common crime instead offocusing nearly all their resources on containingthe cartel wars. Although the cartels have notyet been taken down to the point of being a lawenforcement problem, the Pena Nieto adminis-tration wants to continue to signal this shift inapproach by moving the focus of its effortsagainst the cartels to the Interior Ministry.Unlike former Mexican President FelipeCalderon, who was seen leading the chargeagainst the cartels during his administration,Pena Nieto wants to maintain some distancefrom the struggle againstthe cartels (at least pub-licly). Pena Nietoseeks to portray thecartels as a second-ary issue that doesnot demand hispersonal leader-ship and atten-tion.

He can thenpublicly focus hisefforts on issueshe deems critical-ly important toMexico’s future,like educationreform, bankingreform, energyreform and fosteringthe Mexican econo-my. This is the mostsignificant differencebetween the Calderonand Pena Nieto adminis-trations. Of course it is onething to say that the cartelshave become a secondaryissue, and it is quite anotherto make it happen. TheMexican government stillfaces some real challenges inreducing the threat posed bythe cartels.

However, it is becoming

clear that the Pena Nieto administration seeksto implement a holistic approach in an attemptto address the problems at the root of the vio-lence that in some ways is quite reminiscent ofcounterinsurgency policy. The Mexicans viewthese underlying economic, cultural and socio-logical problems as issues that cannot be solvedwith force alone. Mexican officials in the currentgovernment say that the approach theCalderon administration took to fighting thecartels was wrong in that it sought to solve theproblem of cartel violence by simply killing orarresting cartel figures.

They claim that Calderon’s approach didnothing to treat the underlying causes of theviolence and that the cartels were able to recruitgunmen faster than the government could killor capture them. (In some ways this is parallel tothe US government’s approach in Yemen, whereincreases in missile strikes from unmanned aeri-al vehicles have increased, rather than reduced,the number of jihadists there.) In Mexico, whenthe cartels experienced trouble in recruitingenough gunmen, they were able to readilyimport them from Central America.

However-and this is very significant-thisholistic approach does not mean that the PenaNieto administration wants to totally abandonkinetic operations against the cartels. An impor-tant pillar of any counterinsurgency campaign

is providing security for the population. Butrather than provoke random fire-

fights with cartel gunmen by send-ing military patrols into cartel hot

spots, the Pena Nieto teamwants to be more targeted

and intentional in its appli-cation of force.

It seeks to take outthe networks thathire and supply thegunmen, not justthe gunmen them-selves, and this willrequire all the toolsin its counternar-cotics portfolio-not only force, butalso things likeintelligence,financial action(to target cartelfinances), publichealth, institutionbuilding and anti-corruption efforts.

The theory isthat by providingsecurity, stability andeconomic opportu-nity the government

can undercut the cartels’ability to recruit youthwho currently see littleother options in life

but to join the cartels. To truly succeed, especially in the most law-

less areas, the Mexican government is going tohave to begin to build institutions-and publictrust in those institutions-from the ground up.The officials we have talked to hold Juarez up asan example they hope to follow in other loca-tions, though they say they learned a lot of les-sons in Juarez that will allow them to streamlinetheir efforts elsewhere. Obviously, before theycan begin building, they recognize that they willhave to seize, consolidate and hold territory,and this is the role they envision for the newlycreated gendarmerie, or paramilitary police.

The gendarmerie is important to thisrebuilding effort because the military is inca-pable of serving in an investigative law enforce-ment role. They are deployed to pursue activeshooters and target members of the cartels, butmuch of the crime affecting Mexico’s citizensand companies falls outside the military’spurview. The military also has a tendency to beheavy-handed, and reports of human rightsabuses are quite common.

Transforming from a national security to alaw enforcement approach requires the forma-tion of an effective police force that is able toconduct community policing while pursuingcar thieves, extortionists, kidnappers and streetgangs in addition to cartel gunmen. Certainlythe US government was very involved in theCalderon administration’s kinetic approach tothe cartel problem, as shown by the very heavycollaboration between the two governments.The collaboration was so heavy, in fact, thatsome incoming Pena Nieto administration fig-ures were shocked by how integrated theAmericans had become.

The US officials who told Dana Priest theywere uncomfortable with the new Mexicangovernment’s approach to cartel violencewere undoubtedly among those deeplyinvolved in this process-perhaps so deeplyinvolved that they could not recognize that inthe big picture, their approach was failing toreduce the violence in Mexico. Indeed, fromthe Mexican perspective, the US efforts havebeen focused on reducing the flow of nar-cotics into the United States regardless of theimpact of those efforts on Mexico’s securityenvironment. However, as seen by the May 1arrest of Coronel, which a Mexican officialdescribed as a classic joint operation involvingthe US Drug Enforcement Administration andMexican Federal Police, the Mexican authori-ties do intend to continue to work very closelywith their American counterparts. But thatcooperation must occur within the new frame-work established for the anti-cartel efforts.That means that plans for cooperation must bepresented through the Mexican InteriorMinistry so that the efforts can be centrallycoordinated. Much of the current peer-to-peercooperation can continue, but within thatstructure.— Stratfor

S P O RT SSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

WELLINGTON: Wellington Hurricanes loose forward Brad Shields has had the mis-fortune of being lumbered with quite possibly the worst acronym a New Zealandrugby player can receive.

ABIW. All Black In Waiting. A term that brings with it accolades and attention, buteven more in expectation. Not that the circumspect 22-year-old, who has admitted to nerves when speaking to groupsof people, accepts that characterisation or is taking any-thing for granted before he joins All Blacks coach SteveHansen’s first training camp of the year on Sunday.

The blindside flanker was asked to attend the samecamp last year after just a handful of games mostly offthe bench at Super Rugby level but did not makeHansen’s first All Blacks 30-man squad for the seriesagainst Ireland.

A seemingly innocuous twisted knee against theWaikato Chiefs last July then ended his first season as afully professional rugby player. “I twisted it andas the kneecap popped out it chipped somecartilage off,” Shields told Reuters at WellingtonRegional Stadium after his side’s 17-12 loss tothe Chiefs on Friday. —Reuters

Shields eyes higher honors

LONDON: Manchester United’s outgoing manager Alex Ferguson has criticisedneighbors Manchester City for sacking Roberto Mancini.

The Italian boss was sacked on Monday having failed to retain the PremierLeague title he won last season and after losing the FA Cup

final to Wigan Athletic. Mancini took out a full-page advertisement in

the Manchester Evening News on Saturday, thank-ing fans for their support during his time in charge.

The former Inter Milan manager said in the ad:“Manchester City Supporters 3 unforgettable years,

you will always be in my heart, ciao, RobertoMancini.”

Ferguson, who will retire following today’s game atWest Bromwich Albion, rallied behind his former rival

and questioned the logic behind sacking a managerwho won the Premier League and FA Cup during histhree years in charge. “It was quite amazing. He haswon the FA Cup, been in the final, second in theleague and won the league and it ’s not goodenough?” he told reporters.—Reuters

Ferguson criticises City for Mancini sacking KUALA LUMPUR: Badminton’s world governing body (BWF) will create a

separate commission to deal with match-fixing problems, Poul-Erik HoyerLarsen said after being elected president yesterday.

Denmark’s 1996 Olympic men’s singles gold medallist Hoyer Larsenbeat Indonesian Justian Suhandinata to claim the role after an election atthe BWF headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The 47-year-old, the only European to win a badminton gold at theOlympics, will replace South Korea’s Kang Young-joong who vacated thepost after eight years at the helm. “Badminton has been in my heart formy whole life and therefore I cherish this opportunity,” Hoyer Larsen toldreporters. “I am really looking forward to work with the staff and my coun-cil members in order to deliver for the future... so that we are fulfilling thetask that had been set by Dr. Kang.”

Hoyer Larsen will have four years to revive the sport, which cameunder fire at last year’s London Olympics when four women’s doublespairs from South Korea, China and Indonesia deliberately played to losetheir matches in order to get a more favourable draw. The players werekicked out of the Games but not before it created the biggest scandal inbadminton’s history as an Olympic sport. “Match-fixing or match throw-ing is, of course, a concern,” Hoyer Larsen said, after polling 145 votes toSuhandinata’s 120 during the election.—Reuters

American LeagueEastern DivisionW L PCT GB

NY Yankees 26 16 .619 -Boston 25 17 .595 1Baltimore 23 18 .561 2.5Tampa Bay 21 20 .512 4.5Toronto 17 25 .405 9

Central DivisionCleveland 23 17 .575 -Detroit 23 17 .575 -Kansas City 20 18 .526 2Chicago W Sox 19 21 .475 4Minnesota 18 20 .474 4

Western DivisionTexas 27 15 .643 -Oakland 21 22 .488 6.5Seattle 20 22 .476 7LA Angels 15 27 .357 12Houston 11 31 .262 16

National LeagueEastern Division

Atlanta 23 18 .561 -Washington 23 19 .548 0.5Philadelphia 20 22 .476 3.5NY Mets 16 23 .410 6Miami 11 31 .262 12.5

Central DivisionSt. Louis 27 14 .659 -Cincinnati 25 17 .595 2.5Pittsburgh 25 17 .595 2.5Chicago Cubs 17 24 .415 10Milwaukee 16 24 .400 10.5

Western DivisionArizona 24 18 .571 -San Francisco 24 18 .571 -Colorado 22 20 .524 2San Diego 18 23 .439 5.5LA Dodgers 17 23 .425 6

MLB results/standings

NY Mets 3, Chicago Cubs 2; Tampa Bay 12, Baltimore 10; Cleveland 6, Seattle 3 (10 innings); NYYankees 5, Toronto 0; Philadelphia 5, Cincinnati 3; Pittsburgh 5, Houston 4; Arizona 9, Miami 2;Atlanta 8, LA Dodgers 5; Detroit 2, Texas 1; Boston 3, Minnesota 2 (10 innings); St. Louis 7,Milwaukee 6; Colorado 10, San Francisco 9; Chicago White Sox 3, LA Angels 0; Oakland 2, KansasCity 1; Washington 6, San Diego 5 (10 innings).

CLEVELAND: Kyle Seager No. 15 of the Seattle Mariners reacts to flying outto center field in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians. —AFP

Braves roll over Dodgers

Larsen new BWF president

ATLANTA: Justin Upton gave Atlanta the lead witha sixth-inning grand slam and the Braves finallyunveiled their full-strength lineup, beating the LosAngeles Dodgers 8-5 on Friday night.

Upton drove in five runs hitting behind JasonHeyward, who had two hits with a RBI in his firstgame back after having his appendix removedApril 22. It was the first time this season the Braveshad Heyward in the lineup along with catcher BrianMcCann, who missed the first 30 games whilerecovering from offseason shoulder surgery.

Scott Van Slyke hit two homers for the Dodgers,who led 4-2 before Upton’s third career grand slam.Los Angeles had won four of its previous five com-ing in - its best stretch since early April.

Paul Maholm (5-4) allowed eight hits and fourruns - two earned - in six innings, and Craig Kimbrelpitched the ninth for his 12th save. Hyun-Jin Ryuovercame a career-high five walks to give up onlytwo runs in five innings, but Dodgers relievers MattGuerrier and Poco Rodriguez (0-2) quickly blew the4-2 lead in the sixth.

CARDINALS 7, BREWERS 6St. Louis, David Freese hit a grand slam for his

first homer of the season during a five-run firstinning for St. Louis, and the Cardinals held on tobeat Milwaukee.

The Brewers made it close on a pair of three-runhomers by Aramis Ramirez off Jaime Garcia beforelosing for the 13th time in 15 games. The bottomfour spots in the lineup were a combined 0 for 15.

The Cardinals had five hits and a walk while bat-ting around against Wily Peralta (3-4) in the first,but the right-hander was still in the game whenGarcia (5-2) was chased in the sixth.

Milwaukee got one hit in 3 2-3 innings againstthree relievers, with Edward Mujica working theninth for his 12th save in 12 chances.

ROCKIES 10, GIANTS 9In Denver, Jordan Pacheco hit a tiebreaking

grand slam in the fifth inning and Carlos Gonzalezadded a solo homer, helping Colorado hold on fora win over San Francisco that snapped a 10-gameskid against the Giants.

Pacheco laced his first homer of the season toleft on a hanging slider from Madison Bumgarner(4-2), who failed to protect an early four-run lead.

Jorge De La Rosa (5-3) entered the game with-out giving up a run at Coors Field in 12 innings. Hewas hit hard, surrendering five runs in five innings,only to settle down enough to earn the win. In theninth, Rafael Betancourt struck out the side for his10th save in as many chances.

PHILLIES 5, REDS 3In Philadelphia, Domonic Brown drove in the

tiebreaking run on an infield grounder in theeighth and Philadelphia snapped Cincinnati’s six-game winning streak. Jimmy Rollins hit a two-runhomer and Cliff Lee threw seven sharp innings forthe Phillies, who won for the fourth time in fivegames. Lee gave up two runs and six hits, strikingout seven. Justin De Fratus (2-0) got two battersout in the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon finishedfor his eighth save in eight tries.

Joey Votto hit a solo homer, Jay Bruce added a

two-run shot and Tony Cingrani allowed three runsand five hits in five innings for the Reds. SeanMarshall (0-1) took the loss.

DIAMONDBACKS 9, MARLINS 2In Miami, Paul Goldschmidt homered twice, tied

his career high with four hits and drove in four runsto lead Arizona over Miami. Eric Chavez homeredand also had four hits, and Gerardo Parra andMartin Prado had three hits apiece for Arizona,which had 16 hits in all and won its third straightgame. Trevor Cahill (3-4) won for the third time infour decisions following an 0-3 start, allowing onerun, five hits and four walks in eight innings. Hewalked his first two batters in the third before retir-ing 13 in a row, 10 on groundballs. Kevin Slowey (1-4) gave up six runs and seven hits in three inningsfor the Marlins.

METS 3, CUBS 2In Chicago, Matt Harvey won his fifth straight

decision, allowing five hits in 7 1-3 innings and sin-

gling in the go-ahead run in the seventh to leadNew York over Chicago.

Daniel Murphy and David Wright homered forthe Mets, and right fielder Marlon Byrd preservedthe lead by throwing out a runner at the plate inthe eighth inning. The Mets won consecutivegames for the first time since May 1 and 3.

Harvey (5-0) won his first four starts, then failedto get a decision in his next four. Edwin Jackson (1-6), coming off a victory at Washington on May 11,gave up three runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 inningsfor the Cubs.

NATIONALS 6, PADRES 5In San Diego, Adam LaRoche hit two towering

home runs and Chad Tracy’s solo shot in the 10thinning lifted Washington over San Diego.

Tracy’s seventh career pinch-hit home runnegated a blown save from closer Rafael Soriano,who gave up two runs with two outs in the ninth.

The Padres tied the game with three straightsingles. Chase Headley’s RBI made it 5-4 andYonder Alonso pushed him to third with anothersingle. Kyle Blanks evened the score with anothersingle, which sent the game into extra innings.

I t was Soriano’s second blown save in 14chances. Drew Storen got his first save of the sea-son in the 10th. Tracy’s home run came off Padrescloser Huston Street (0-3), who has allowed sixhome runs in 17 1-3 innings. He gave up two in 39innings last season.

INTERLEAGUE PIRATES 5, ASTROS 4In Pittsburgh, Jimmy Paredes dropped Russell

Martin’s bases-loaded fly ball when he collided

with second baseman Jake Elmore with two outsin the ninth, the second missed catch by aHouston right fielder, and Pittsburgh rallied pastthe Astros.

Down 4-1, Pittsburgh started its comeback inthe sixth when Chris Carter dropped AndrewMcCutchen’s fly ball for a three-base error andGarrett Jones followed with a double.

Pedro Alvarez hit a two-run homer in theeighth and Justin Wilson (4-0) worked the tenthinning to pick up the win for the Pirates. EdgarGonzalez (0-1) took the loss.—AP

CLEVELAND: Jason Kipnis’ three-run homer inthe 10th inning gave the Cleveland Indians a 6-3win over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.

Kipnis’ home run came on an 0-1 pitch fromLucas Luetge and capped a two-out rally thatbegan with a walk and an infield hit. The Indianshave won 15 of 19 and are 10-2 at ProgressiveField since April 30. Vinnie Pestano (1-0), activat-ed from the disabled list before the game,worked around a one-out walk in the 10th. DrewStubbs, who homered in the fifth, drew a walkoff Luetge (0-1). Stubbs broke for second with a1-2 count on Michael Bourn, and Luetge threwto first baseman Justin Smoak, but Stubbs beatthe throw to shortstop Brendan Ryan. Bourn hita slow roller past the mound and second base-man Dustin Ackley’s throw to first was late.Kipnis followed with his seventh homer.

YANKEES 5, BLUE JAYS 0In New York, Hiroki Kuroda pitched two-hit

ball for eight dominant innings and New Yorkagain beat Mark Buehrle and Toronto.

Austin Romine and Brett Gardner had run-scoring hits, Robinson Cano hit an RBI grounderand Jayson Nix had two sacrifice flies in drop-ping Buehrle to 1-10 in 15 starts against theYankees. The left-hander hasn’t beaten New Yorksince April 10, 2004, when he was with theChicago White Sox. The AL East-leading Yankeesdefeated last-place Toronto for the fifth straighttime this season in New York and for the seventhtime in eight games overall. Kuroda (6-2) struckout five and walked one in cooling off a clubthat had scored 33 runs in its previous threegames and had won a season-high four in a row.Kuroda won for the fourth time in five starts andis 2-0 in three starts against the Blue Jays thisyear - matching up each time against Buehrle -allowing four runs in 21 1-3 innings.

RAYS 12, ORIOLES 10In Baltimore, Kelly Johnson hit a three-run

homer and an RBI single, and Tampa Bay held onfor a victory over slumping Baltimore. Johnsonand Yunel Escobar had three hits apiece inTampa Bay’s highest scoring game of the sea-son. Escobar also drove in three runs andDesmond Jennings added two hits and twoRBIs. The Orioles surrendered a season-high 17hits for the second straight game and gave uptheir most runs in any game this season.Baltimore has allowed 27 runs and 52 hits whilelosing four of its last five games. Chris Dickersonhit a three-run homer in Baltimore’s six-runeighth inning, but the Orioles’ rally stalled fromthere. Jeremy Hellickson (2-2) was charged witheight runs and 10 hits in 7 2-3 innings, but stillmanaged to get the win. Joel Peralta got fourouts for his first save. Johnson drove a full-countpitch from Jason Hammel (5-2) over the wall inright in the third, capping Tampa Bay’s four-runoutburst with his sixth homer.

TIGERS 2, RANGERS 1In Arlington, Miguel Cabrera went 3 for 4

with a go-ahead double in the sixth inning toback Rick Porcello and lift Detroit over Texas in amatchup of division leaders.

Jim Leyland earned his 1,699th win as amajor league manager as the Tigers remainedtied with Cleveland atop the AL Central.

Porcello (2-2) allowed one run and five hits in5 2-3 innings with six strikeouts and a walk asthe Tigers rebounded from a 10-4 loss to Texason Thursday night in which ace Justin Verlanderwas knocked out in the third inning.

Jose Valverde got three groundouts around aone-out walk to Geovany Soto in the ninth, get-ting his fourth save in five chances this season.Rookie Nick Tepesch (3-4) gave up two runs, sixhits and three walks in five innings.

RED SOX 3, TWINS 2In Minneapolis, Jonny Gomes hit a sacrifice

fly in the 10th inning to lift Boston to anothercomeback victory. The Red Sox have won threestraight after losing 10 of their previous 14games, while the Twins have lost three in a rowafter winning six of nine.

Twins reliever Josh Roenicke (1-1) gave up asingle and a walk to open the 10th. After a sacri-fice bunt, Stephen Drew was intentionallywalked to load the bases. Then Gomes sent adrive to center field, where Aaron Hicks caughtthe ball but double-clutched on his throw anddidn’t have a chance to get the speedy DustinPedroia. Alex Wilson (1-0) picked up the victoryby getting the last out of the ninth and KojiUehara threw a perfect 10th for his first save.

WHITE SOX 3, ANGELS 0In Anaheim, Chris Sale stifled Los Angeles’

bats for the second time in six days, scatteringthree hits over 7 2-3 innings with a season-high12 strikeouts and Chicago extended its winningstreak to a season-high four games.

Alex Rios and Adam Dunn homered for theWhite Sox. Sale (5-2) threw 79 of his 113 pitchesfor strikes in another competitive duel with fel-low lefty C.J. Wilson, whom he beat 3-0 lastSunday night at Chicago. Sale extended hisscoreless streak to 23 innings.

Addison Reed pitched a perfect ninth for his14th save in 15 chances. Wilson (3-3) lost histhird straight start, allowing two runs and six hitsover seven innings in his longest outing of theseason.

ATHLETICS 2, ROYALS 1In Oakland, Adam Rosales hit a go-ahead

home run leading off the eighth inning, JoshDonaldson also connected and reigning AL Westchampion Oakland earned just its third victoryin the last 11 games.

Sean Doolittle (3-0) pitched the eighth forthe win in relief of Jarrod Parker. Oakland finallygot to James Shields (2-4) in the late innings,nearly 10 months after he pitched a three-hitshutout here last July 31 for the Tampa Bay Rays.The right-hander matched his season high withnine strikeouts.—AP

Indians dump Mariners

ATLANTA: Craig Kimbrel No. 46 of the Atlanta Braves throws a ninth-inning pitchagainst the Los Angeles Dodgers at Turner Field.—AFP

PITTSBURGH: Pittsburgh’s SidneyCrosby scored his second careerplayoff hat trick to give thePenguins a 4-3 win over the OttawaSenators on Friday and a 2-0 lead inthe NHL Eastern Conference semifi-nals.

Brenden Morrow added his firstplayoff goal in more than five years

and Tomas Vokoun made 19 savesand the Penguins rode their super-star captain to their fourth straightvictory.

Crosby beat Craig Andersonthree times in the game’s first 22minutes, sending the goalie to thebench. Kyle Turris, Colin Greeningand Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for

the Senators, but couldn’t stopOttawa from falling into a deephole against the EasternConference’s top seed. The Senatorshave never won a playoff seriesafter dropping the first two games.Game 3 is today in Ottawa.

Crosby became the fifth playerin franchise history to record 100

playoff points, and did so in spec-tacular fashion. He score the open-er 3:16 into the game, collecting apass at the blue line, darting up theline, splitting two Senators andthen ripping a shot under thegoalie’s pads. Turris tied the gamewith the first soft goal Vokoun hasallowed since taking over for Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 5 of the first-round series. Turris collected thepuck near the left post and shot itoff Vokoun and into the net.

Crosby one-upped Turris a fewminutes later, zipping down the leftside once again. This time, Crosbyappeared to be looking to pass, butat the last second and without evenpeeking directly at Anderson, heflipped a wrist shot near the goalline that smacked off the goalie’spad and into the net.

Crosby didn’t need any fancystickwork to record his first post-season hat trick since 2009. Insteadhe powered a slap shot overAnderson’s glove from the left circleto push Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-1.Anderson skated to the bench,replaced by Robin Lehner.

Greening responded almostimmediately after the switch, beat-ing Vokoun with a sizzling wristshot 40 seconds later to get theSenators within one. Morrowrestored the two-goal lead by redi-recting Paul Martin’s blast from justoutside the crease. It was Morrow’sfirst postseason score since 2008,while playing for Dallas.—AP

Penguins edge Senators

PITTSBURGH: Craig Anderson No. 41 of the Ottawa Senators makes a save on Brenden Morrow No. 10of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first period in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals dur-ing the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.—AFP

S P O RT SSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

MOBILE: Jessica Korda hits her tee shot on the 16th hole during round twoof the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic at the Crossings Course at the Robert TrentJones Trail at Magnolia Grove. —AFP

Restore wrestling, give others fair shotNEW YORK: Wrestling is heeding theharshest of wakeup calls. Now it’s time forthe International Olympic Committee todo the right thing. Put this most historicof sports back on the program for the2020 Summer Games.

Assuming the governing body, knownas FILA, follows through on major stepsFriday - simplifying the rules, settling on anew leader, pressing forward with waysto make the sport more hip and excitingfor fans - there’s no reason for wrestlingto compete with seven other sports vyingto get on the Olympic program. Besides,those other sports - squash, karate, rollersport, wushu, sport climbing, wakeboard-ing and a combined baseball-softball bid- all deserve a fair shot at the one avail-able spot, which they may not getbecause of the justifiable outcry overwrestling’s exclusion.

“Maybe we can share a venue withwrestling,” joked Andrew Shelley, the CEOof World Squash. All quips aside, thiswould be a good time for the IOC to re-examine its rules that allow a maximumof 28 federations into the SummerGames, an arbitrary guideline that wassupposed to hold down the size, scope

and cost of the Olympics (how’s thatworking out?) but turned into one of thebiggest stumbles of outgoing PresidentJacques Rogge’s regime.

In the eyes of the IOC, aquatics is con-sidered to be one sport because swim-ming, diving, synchronized swimming,water polo and open water are governedby a single federation. But it’s actuallyfive sports.

Yet the related - but distinctly differ-ent - disciplines within martial arts areruled by separate organizations, whichexplains how judo and taekwondo areOlympic sports, karate and wushu arenot.

Most of the focus at the moment is onwrestling’s bid to remain on the programpast the 2016 Rio Games after the IOCstunningly gave it the boot in February,throwing it into the pool of wannabesports for 2020.

From a purely athletic standpoint, itwas a decision that made absolutely nosense. There’s history: Wrestling is one ofthe few sports that can say it’s been partof the Olympics since ancient Greece.There’s universality: While Russia and theUnited States are two of the biggest pow-

erhouses, the competition in Londondrew 71 nations - 29 of which claimedmedals. Yet the IOC, ticked at FILA’s resist-ance to doing anything progressive andclear arrogance that its place in theOlympics was secure, gave wrestling theheave -ho while keeping the obscuresport of modern pentathlon, which teststhe skills needed by a 19th-century caval-ry officer. “Wrestling failed to keep itssport properly modern,” conceded StanDziedzic, a FILA vice president and 1976Olympic medalist. “We did a very poorjob there.”

Even so, the decision sparked outragearound the globe. Russian PresidentVladimir Putin vowed to do what hecould to overturn it. The U.S. and Iran,two nations that rarely agree on any-thing, became wrestl ing al l ies.Supporters took their campaign to socialmedia, unleashing countless tweets (hashtag: SaveOlympicWrestling) and settingup a Facebook page that has grown tomore than 92,000 backers.

Dziedzic told The Associated Pressthat the governing body reached agree-ment on several points ahead ofSaturday’s special meeting in Moscow,

most notably getting former PresidentRaphael Martinetti to drop his bid toregain the job. Acting President NenadLalovic is the only candidate who’ll beconsidered when FILA votes on a succes-sor, considered a key step in repairingrelations with the IOC. The federation alsois expected to approve some significantrules changes, such as switching fromthree two-minute periods to two three-minute periods, having the winner deter-mined by total points rather than whowins the most periods (which led to awrestler with fewer points sometimeswinning the match), and eliminating thereviled overtime rule used in freestyle,known as “The Clinch,” which put onewrestler at a severe disadvantage.

More important will be the changes tocome. For now, FILA won’t be acting onradical proposals to change the look ofthe sport, from replacing uniforms knownas singlets with tight-fitting T-shirts andshorts (a change that likely would makemore youngsters comfortable about try-ing the sport) to jazzing up meets withloud music and flashy lights, more in linewith a professional boxing or mixed mar-tials arts event. “None of us is qualified to

do that,” Dziedzic said. “The object is tohire a professional public relations firm tohelp us improve the pageantry and dra-ma in our presentation at events.”

A bit troubling is that FILA isn’t readyto act on one of its most pressing prob-lems: getting more women and athletesinvolved in running the spor t . ButDziedzic said the federation is committedto revamping its constitution over thenext year to come in compliance with IOCguidelines, as well as moving towardmore gender equity on the mat. That willlikely mean six women’s freestyle eventsat the next Olympics, while the numberof men’s divisions is reduced from sevento six in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.

“We had heated discussions aroundthe governance issue,” Dziedzic said in aphone call from Moscow. “That won’t becompletely solved here.”

The 15-member IOC board will decideif wrestling has done enough to remainon the road to re-inclusion when it meetsMay 29-31 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Atthat point, three of the eight sports arelikely to be forwarded to the full IOCassembly, which meets in September atBuenos Aires to pick one of them. —AP

CALIFORNIA: Former US Open champion andtelevision broadcaster Ken Venturi, a 14-timeswinner on the PGA Tour, died on Friday at theage of 82 following various health complica-tions.

Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Famejust 11 days ago, Venturi had been in hospitalfor the last two months for a spinal infection,pneumonia and an intestinal infection, thePGA Tour said in a statement. Venturi’s son,Matt, said his father had died in a hospital inRancho Mirage, California, where he had beenliving for several years. The highlight ofVenturi’s playing career came in the 1964 USOpen at Congressional Country Club wherehe overcame 100-degree temperatures andsevere dehydration to win his only majorchampionship. He was forced to quit competi-tive golf because of carpal tunnel syndromein 1967. The following year, he joined CBS tel-evision as an analyst and enjoyed a lengthycareer as one of the most insightful andrespected figures in the game.

“He played on the Ryder Cup in 1965, hecaptained the U.S. Presidents Cup in 2000,”PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said lastOctober after Venturi was voted into the

World Golf Hall of Fame as part of the class of2013. “But to fans around the United Statesand around the world, he was the conduit ofwhat PGA Tour level golf was to those fans foran incredible 35-year broadcast career whichspanned many, many careers on the PGA Tour.

“Ken Venturi was a fixture to the game ofgolf for fans everywhere in terms of his abilityto analyse the game and excite fans about theplay they were watching.”

Venturi, a San Francisco native wholearned to play golf at Harding Park,described his induction into the Hall of Fameas “just an honour” when speaking on a con-ference call from Pebble Beach Golf Links inCalifornia.

“ The greatest reward in life is to beremembered and I thank the World Golf Hallof Fame for remembering me,” Venturi said. “Iwas taught by Byron Nelson and I asked himone time, ‘How could I ever repay you for allyou’ve done for me?’ He said, ‘Ken, be good tothe game and give back.’

“And that’s what I’ve tried to do becauseI’ve said many times, the world will neverremember you for what you take from it, butonly what you leave behind.”—Reuters

Hall of Famer Venturi dies

Gulf Youth Hostels visitKuwait Shooting Complex

By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: A delegation of officialsof Gulf Youth Hostels visitedSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad OlympicShooting Complex. The visit wassupervised by KSSC SecretaryGeneral Obaid Al-Osaimi, as a fullprogram was prepared for the vis-it.

The guests are in Kuwait toparticipate in the meeting ofheads of youth hostels in GCCcountries representing Saudi

Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Oman andQatar.

The guests were welcomed atthe club by Assistant TreasurerAdnan Al-Ibrahim, who gave thema brief on the establishment ofKuwait Shooting Sport Club andthe most notable achievementsby Kuwait’s shooters including thetwo Olympic medals in Sydney2000 and London 2012.

Director of Kuwait Committeeof Youth Hostels Ahmad Ayeshsaid KSSC is the first site visited

within the touristic variety pro-gram at Sheikh Sabah Al-AhmadOlympic Shooting Complex,which is something we are proudoff.

Assistant treasurer Adnan Al-Ibrahim invited guests to a tour ofthe club, then they were allowedto shoot at clay targets in thesporting range. The guest alsohad a look at the Air Pistol andRifle 10M range, and practicedshooting thereafter a brief expla-nation of safety measures and

rules from coach AbdallahBarakat.

The guests were impressedwith what they saw, adding thatthis is considered a pride for allGCC countries, not only Kuwait.Secretary General of UAE societyfor youth hostels Salim binSuleiman said the visit to KSSCgave us a new motivation as wediscovered shooting sport can bepracticed by any one, contrary toother sports. Mementos wereexchanged at the end of the visit.

Group photo of guests and KSSC officials.

Guests are being instructed on the use of air rifles Ahmad Ayesh hands Adnan Al-Ibrahima memento

IRVING: Former champion Keegan Bradley main-tained a three-shot lead in Friday’s second round ofthe Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texasafter grinding his way to a one-under-par 69 inincreasingly tricky conditions.

Three ahead of the chasing pack overnight afteropening with a blistering course record 60, Bradleyhad to contend with strengthening winds and firm-ing greens at the TPC Four Seasons Resort LasColinas en route to an 11-under total of 129.

American journeyman Tom Gillis (63) and SouthKorean Bae Sang-moon (66) were tied for secondbut China’s 14-year-old Guan Tianlang made anearly exit, missing his first PGA Tour cut in threecareer starts after battling to a 77.

A day after tying the tournament record of 60held jointly by Sam Snead (1957) and ArronOberholser (2006), Bradley mixed four birdies withthree bogeys to preserve his place at the top of theleaderboard. Though he dropped his final shot ofthe day at the par-four last where his tee shotsailed well right and he failed to get up and downfrom left of the green, he was delighted with hisscore. “I’m really happy shooting 69,” Bradley, win-ner here in 2011 before going on to claim his firstmajor title at the PGA Championship just threemonths later, told reporters.

“I’m almost more proud of this round than yes-terday because I didn’t feel comfortable all day. Iwas a little uncomfortable and then I settled it andhit some really good shots.”

Gillis, bidding for his first PGA Tour title afterspending much of his golfing career competing onthe lower tier circuits, was also in an upbeat moodafter rocketing into contention.

“I’m pleased obviously,” the 44-year-old saidafter a red-hot round tarnished slightly by a three-putt bogey on his final hole, the par-four ninth. “Imade a bunch of putts.

“At the last I hit it pretty close, to about eight

feet or nine feet so I was a little disappointed withthat but overall it was good, really good.

“I just gave it a little too much speed,” Gillis saidof his first putt on the ninth green. “I probably lostconcentration on the comebacker, so I guess thathappens.”

While Gillis was among several players in themorning wave who took advantage of calmerweather and preferred lies on a layout softened byrain earlier in the week, Chinese sensation Guanplummeted down the leaderboard.

Guan, who made his second consecutive PGATour cut at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans lastmonth, followed his opening 70 with a 77 to finish

well outside the cutline of level-par 140.Competing this week on a sponsor’s exemption,

Guan carded five bogeys, two birdies and two dou-ble-bogeys, the last of them coming on his finalhole, the ninth, where his tee shot ended up inwater. “I won’t make the cut every time, but I think Ilearned more,” Guan said. The Chinese teenager hasbeen one of the biggest talking points in golf sincehe became the youngest player to make the cut ina major championship at the Masters five weeksago. Also failing to advance were former majorwinners Yang Yong-eun of South Korea, SouthAfrican Trevor Immelman and Americans BenCurtis and Lee Janzen.—Reuters

Bradley stays in charge

IRVING: Keegan Bradley hits a shot out of a sand trap during the 2013 HP ByronNelson Championship at the TPC Four Seasons Resort. —AFP

MOBILE: Jessica Korda shot a 7-under 65 on Fridayto take a one-stroke lead over Hall of Famer KarrieWebb after the second round of the Mobile BayLPGA Classic.

Korda had seven birdies in her second straightbogey-free round to reach 13 under on TheCrossings course at the Robert Trent Jones GolfTrail’s Magnolia Grove complex.

“I’m hitting the ball good and I’m having a lot offun out there,” said Korda, coming off a two-weekbreak to rest a wrist injury. “I feel really comfortableout here. This is definitely one of the stops I wantedto come back to and I hope we can keep this eventas long as possible because I really like it.”

The daughter of former tennis players PetrKorda and Regina Raichrtova, the 20-year-oldKorda won the 2012 Women’s Australian Open forher lone LPGA Tour title.

“Right now it’s Friday, so I think really the tour-nament starts back nine on Sunday,” Korda said. “Soright now, it’s great to have the lead and I feelgood.” Webb also had a bogey-free round, birdieingthe last three holes for a 63. The 38-year-old Webbwon the last of her 38 LPGA Tour titles in 2011. TheAustralian played alongside Korda and BrittanyLincicome the first two rounds.

“When you’re playing with Jess and Brittany, if Ihit a really good one I’m 20 yards behind them,”Webb said. “In certain parts of the golf coursewhere they can carry parts that I can’t, I’m 40 yardsbehind them, so I’m the little short one out theretrying to keep up with the big girls.”

Korda birdied three of the four par-5 holes. “Ireached every single one today, so that’s been real-ly nice,” Korda said. “Yeah, we give Webby a hardtime. She did outdrive me on the first hole todayand she’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ And I’m like, ‘Didyou work out last night?’ ... We were just keeping itkind of light out there and having a good time.”

Chella Choi was two strokes back at 11 underafter a 66. “Today and yesterday my putting wasreally good,” Choi said. “My confidence is better.”Sydnee Michaels had a course-record 62 to joinPornanong Phatlum and Thidapa Suwannapura at10 under.

“It feels so good to finally have a good roundbecause I’ve been struggling the last few weeksand going through some swing changes,” Michaelssaid. “The week off last week I just said, ‘You knowwhat, I’m just going to go back to what feels good.’So I hit a lot of balls and just kind of got back towhere I was feeling good over the ball again. So, itfeels so good to finally have a good round.”

Phatlum shot a 65, and Suwannapura had a 67.Lisa McCloskey shot a 68 to reach 7 under after sheand her mother, Maria, were involved in a multicaraccident on their way home after the first round.The tour rookie and former University of SouthernCalifornia player had an array of scrapes from theairbags and a sore thumb and only got about 30minutes of sleep.

“I think I came out here with no expectations,just-make-the-cut kind of thing,” McCloskey said. “Iprobably would have been happy with even par ora couple over. But I don’t know, the putter was real-ly working for me on the front nine, and then theback nine things kind of slowed down. I think I kindof got a little bit tired, but I finished with two reallygood pars, so I’m happy.”

Defending champion Stacy Lewis was 4 underafter her second straight 70. She had a doublebogey in the par-3 14th after hitting in the water.

“I made too many mistakes and you can’t do itwhen people are shooting lights out,” said the sec-ond-ranked Lewis, the winner this year in consecu-tive events in Singapore and Phoenix. Michelle Wiemissed the cut with rounds of 74 and 75. Lincicomealso missed the cut, shooting 75-70.—AP

Jessica leads LPGA Classic

S P O RT SSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

CHINA: Mary Saxa of the US competes in the women’s pole vault event at theDiamond League athletics meeting in Shanghai. —AFP

LE MANS: Spanish rider Marc Marquez drives his Honda during the qualifyingsession at Le Mans’ circuit, western France on the eve of the French motorcy-cling Grand Prix. Marquez clocked the pole position in 1’33.187. —AFP

NEW YORK: Is Michael Phelps planning acomeback? A report Friday night fromWBBH, an NBC television affiliate in FortMyers, Fla., said Phelps will return to swim-ming with an eye toward competing at the2016 Rio Olympics. The three-paragraphstory on the station’s Web site was postedby news anchor Peter Busch, who is the sonof Frank Busch, director of the U.S. nationalswim team.

“The greatest Olympian of all time isn’thanging up his swimsuit, after all,” thereport said, without citing any sources.Phelps went on Twitter to downplay thereport, but he didn’t specifically deny iteither. “Why do I keep getting texts aboutcoming back?” he wrote. “Do (people) reallybelieve everything they hear or read? Thereare (too) many (people) in the world thatthink they have a ‘story.’” Busch followedwith a tweet that said he felt “very confi-dent with my info. Guess we’ll see.”

Phelps has said repeatedly his swim-ming career was over after winning 18 goldmedals and 22 medals overall, both totalsfar more than any other Olympian. Heretired at the age of 27 immediately afterlast summer’s London Games.

There was no other immediate com-ment from the Phelps camp. A messagewas left with one of his longtime agents,Drew Johnson. Officials at USA Swimmingalso didn’t immediately respond to arequest for comment.

Just last weekend, longtime rival RyanLochte was clearly skeptical that Phelpswould stick with his decision to retire froma sport he dominated for the past decade,especially when so many swimmers arecompeting well into their 30s.

“I can’t really talk about it,” Lochte said,breaking into a sly grin during a Grand Prixmeet in Charlotte, N.C. “Who knows?”

In an interview last December with The

Associated Press, after beating out LeBronJames for male athlete of the year, Phelpsstressed repeatedly that he had no plans toreturn to competitive swimming. He saidLondon, where he captured four goldmedals and two silvers, was the perfect wayto close his career.

“I wanted to leave that way,” he said. “I’msure I could come back in another fouryears, but why? I’ve done everything Iwanted to do. There’s no point in me com-ing back. Everybody is like, ‘You’re going tocome back.’ And I’m like, ‘No, I’m not.’ I’vedone everything I wanted to do in thissport. I don’t know a lot of people who cansay that.”

After the Olympics, Phelps turned hisattention to golf, filming a show withfamed instructor Hank Haney for the GolfChannel, signing an endorsement deal withPing and indicating a desire to see how farhe could progress with a new sport. He

even joked that the only way he wouldcompete in Rio would be if he qualified ingolf, which is rejoining the Olympic pro-gram in 2016.

Last week, Phelps participated in anevent prior to the Tour Championship atthe TPC Sawgrass in Florida. He alsocheered his hometown Baltimore Ravenson their way to the Super Bowl, attendingthe title game at New Orleans with a largegroup of family and friends.

Phelps apparently spent Friday swim-ming at the Interlachen Country Club inEdina, Minn. Lifeguard Stephen Timmesposted a picture on Instagram that showedPhelps, looking extremely fit if not in topcondition, smiling and posing poolside.

“Lifeguarded for and swam with MichaelPhelps at work today,” Timmes wrote. “I lovemy job.” I f Phelps does come back, hewould have to wait at least nine months toswim in a sanctioned event under the

world anti-doping policy, meaning there’sno chance of competing at this summer’sworld championships in Barcelona even ifhe could somehow get into condition.

That would peg his return to competi-tion at sometime early next year, leavingplenty of time to get in peak shape andbegin gearing up for the 2015 worlds inRussia and, of course, the next Olympics.

The timing of the report was intriguing.Phelps’ coach, Bob Bowman, took a sabbati-cal from the deck after London but was setto work with a group including three-timeOlympic gold medalist Allison Schmitt dur-ing high-altitude workouts at the nationaltraining center in Colorado Springs, leadingup to the national championships inIndianapolis next month. Bowman also iscoaching the U.S. men’s team in Barcelona.

There was no word on whether Phelpsmight be among the swimmers taking partin the Colorado workouts.—AP

Michael Phelps planning comeback

SYDNEY: Hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau fractured hisforearm and several other Wallabies were injuredas the New South Wales Waratahs beat SuperRugby leaders ACT Brumbies 28-22 at Sydney’sOlympic Stadium yesterday.

On the eve of the announcement of the prelimi-nary squad for three tests against the British andIrish Lions, likely selections Polota-Nau, flankerGeorge Smith (knee) as well as centres ChristianLealiifano (leg), Rob Horne (eye) and Pat McCabe(leg) left the field injured.

There was better news for the watchingWallabies coach Robbie Deans in the performanceof Waratahs playmaker Berrick Barnes, who cameoff the bench at halftime to score a fine individualtry, set up another and kick seven points.

The victory, sealed by winger Peter Betham’s trysix minutes from time, kept the Waratahs in thehunt for a spot in the Super Rugby playoffs anddelighted skipper Dave Dennis.

“We were probably off in a few areas but stillwon the match, that’s something we’ve been work-ing on,” the flanker said in a pitchside interview. “Itwas always going to be physical so you werealways going to get those sort of injuries.”

Smith, who had been expected to be recalledfor the Lions series, led the Brumbies back row whodominated the breakdown before his departure,which had prevented the Waratahs from gettingthe quick ball their new attacking style required.

The Brumbies started the brighter and numbereight Ben Mowen did his Wallabies chances noharm by crashing over the line to score the first tryof the match after 22 minutes.

Centre Tevita Kuridrani then charged downWaratahs winger Drew Mitchell’s defensive kickthree minutes before halftime to send the visitorsinto the break 13-6 up.

Barnes, who had played less than a half of rugbythis season because of injuries, came on as a half-time replacement for Horne, though, and had an

immediate impact. Five minutes after the break, hedrew two defenders and drilled a brilliant pass toflanker Michael Hooper, who turned on the after-burners to score in the corner. Barnes converted tosquare up the scores at 13-13 and then put thehome side ahead with a penalty before Brumbies

fullback Jesse Mogg converted three penalties in10 minutes to give his side a 22-16 lead with 17minutes to play. Two minutes later, though, Barnesglided through the Brumbies defence and crashedover the line under two tacklers to put theWaratahs within a point of the lead.—Reuters

Several Wallabies injured as Waratahs defeat Brumbies

FRANCE: World championship leader Marc Marquez, riding aHonda, took his second pole position in MotoGP when heclocked the best time in the second qualifying session of theFrench Grand Prix in Le Mans yesterday.

The 20-year-old Spanish rookie, who became the youngestMotoGP winner when he won the Grand Prix of the Americaslast month, clocked one minute 32.187 seconds and beatcompatriot Jorge Lorenzo on a Yamaha by 0.030 of a second.

Italian Andrea Dovizioso was third, 0.416 off the pace. “I’mvery happy. I had the confidence,” Marquez said. Dani Pedrosacrashed but was back on his bike to take the sixth fastest timebehind Britain’s Cal Crutchlow and German Stefan Bradl, whowere fourth and fifth respectively. Nine-times world championValentino Rossi, looking to clinch his 80th career MotoGP,could manage eighth place only.—Reuters

SHANGHAI: Jamaica dominated thesprints at the Diamond League meet inShanghai yesterday, with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce winning the women’s 100 meters andWarren Weir capturing gold in the men’s200.

Jason Richardson of the United Stateswon the 110 hurdles, edging countrymanRyan Wilson and China’s Xie Wenjun at theline.

Fraser-Pryce, a two-time Olympic win-ner, ran 10.93 seconds to beat Nigeria’sBlessing Okagbare and defending worldchampion Carmelita Jeter, who pulled up atthe finish with an apparent leg injury.

Jeter fell to the track after the race andlay on her back for several seconds beforebeing carried off on a stretcher. Meetorganizers said the American would under-go tests to determine the nature of theinjury. Fraser-Pryce jumped out to a quickstart and held on as Okagbare finished in11 seconds flat.

The Jamaican is off to a strong start thisseason, following on from winning the 200in the season-opening Diamond Leaguemeet last week in Doha, Qatar.

Weir, the bronze medalist at the LondonOlympics, timed 20.18 seconds to hold offAmerican Justin Gatlin and Jason Young ofJamaica in the final few strides.

The field was weakened by the with-

drawal of 2012 Olympic silver medalistYohan Blake due to injury. Two-timeOlympic champion Usain Bolt is also takinga break from the 200 to focus on the 100.

Gatlin, a former Olympic champion, fol-lowed up his win in the 100 in Doha lastweek with another strong performance inShanghai. He returned to sprinting last yearafter serving a four-year ban for doping. Inthe 110 hurdles, Richardson timed 13.23seconds to beat Wilson in 13.25 and Xie in13.28. London Olympic champion AriesMerritt pulled up before the first hurdleafter having felt leg cramp during hiswarm-up.

Olympic champion Kirani James ofGrenada extended his dominance in the400, comfortably beating AmericanLeshawn Merritt in a time of 44.02 to matchJeremy Wariner ’s Shanghai DiamondLeague meet record. Asbel Kiprop of Kenyaoutsprinted Mekonnen Gebremedhindown the final stretch to win the men’s1,500, lunging across the finish line in3:32.39, just four-tenths of a second aheadof the Ethiopian. Yelena Isinbayeva won thewomen’s pole vault in Shanghai for the fifthtime with a leap of 4.70 meters. China’s LiJinzhe was the surprise winner in the men’slong jump with a leap of 8.34 meters, beat-ing Russia’s Aleksandr Menkov and Olympicchampion Greg Rutherford of Britain.—AP

CHRISTCHURCH: The Canterbury Crusaders out-muscled the Auckland Blues 23-3 yesterday toleapfrog their arch-rivals and claim second spot inthe New Zealand Super 15 conference.

The Crusaders scored two tries to nil, gainingmomentum as the match wore on in front of asell-out crowd to continue the Blues’ dismal recordin Christchurch, where they have not won since2004. Over the years, matches between the twobest-performed New Zealand teams in Super rug-by history-the Blues holding three titles and theCrusaders a record seven-have developed intofierce derbies between the North and SouthIslands. However, both sides this season are trail-ing defending champions the Waikato Chiefs forthe coveted New Zealand conference top spotwhich guarantees a play-off berth, adding extraedge to the encounter.

Blues coach John Kirwan predicted Test-matchintensity before the game and it lived up to thebilling in the first half, played at a furious pace asboth sides looked to pass the ball in attack anddisplayed committed defence.

But the Crusaders stamped their authority onthe match in the second half, shrugging off somepatchy performances early in their campaign toagain show they can lift as the business end of theseason approaches. “Every game is a big one, amust win,” said halfback Andy Ellis, who celebrat-ed his 100th appearance for the team.

“You’ve got to build momentum going into theend of the season and everyone’s really excitedabout getting up every week. The boys reallyfronted up tonight.” The Blues started brightly,forcing a turnover in the first minute and takingthe ball through 14 phases before the Crusadersdefenders dragged Frank Halai into touch.

They attacked down the flanks but it was theCrusaders who drew first blood with a penalty toTom Taylor after 22 minutes.

Crusaders centre Ryan Crotty then chargeddown a clearing kick from the Blues and dartedover the line for a try, with Taylor adding the con-version. They almost had a second at half-time butBlues lock Calum Retallick illegally swatted downa pass to Luke Romano as he shaped for a run atthe line, earning a yellow card for his efforts andgifting the Crusaders another penalty. TheCrusaders made the most of their one-manadvantage after the restart when Owen Franksscored a converted try through a driving maulfrom the line-out, with the South Islanders addinganother penalty shortly after to make it 23-3. TheBlues thought they had a try when Halai crossedin the 62nd minute but the referee ruled he hadbeen held up after television replays provedinconclusive.

From there, the steam went out of the Blueschallenge and the Crusaders comfortable closedout the match.—AFP

MarquezclinchesMotoGP

Crusaders down Blues

Jamaicans sweep sprints at Diamond League meet

Michael Phelps

S P O RT SSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

Photo of the day

Alex Sorgente performs during the X Games in Barcelona, Spain. www.redbullcontentpool.com

ROME: A week out from the French Open, SerenaWilliams is only one victory away from winning herfourth consecutive title this year.

The top-ranked American overcame an earlybreak of her serve to ease past Romanian qualifierSimona Halep 6-3, 6-0 yesterday and reached theItalian Open final, extending her career-best win-ning run to 23 matches. Williams is coming off con-secutive titles in Miami; Charleston, South Carolina;and Madrid last week.

In today’s final, Williams will face third-seededVictoria Azarenka, who kept her concentrationthrough two rain delays to beat seventh-seededSara Errani 6-0, 7-5.

In the men’s semifinals, six-time championRafael Nadal faces sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych andRoger Federer meets 36th-ranked Benoit Paire ofFrance. Williams’ only title at this clay-court eventcame in 2002, when she beat Justine Henin in thefinal. That was also the year she won her onlyFrench Open title. Last year in Paris, Williams lost inthe opening round of a major for the first time,falling to 111th-ranked Virginie Razzano of France.Roland Garros starts next Sunday.

“I love the clay. I haven’t had many wins atRoland Garros but I do love it. I love to slide,”Williams said. “My goal is just to win a match therethis year.”

Williams has twice won 21 in a row before,although both of those runs came a decade ago, in2002 and 2003. Martina Navratilova established thelongest women’s win run in the Open Era at 74matches in 1984. At 31, Williams is back at the topof her game after missing 11 months in 2010 and2011 with a right foot injury and a pulmonaryembolism.

The 64th-ranked Halep entered with an impres-sive run herself, having beaten former top-10 play-er Daniela Hantuchova to qualify then 2009 FrenchOpen champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the firstround. That was followed in succession with winsover fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanksa, 13th-

seeded Roberta Vinci and two-time Rome winnerJelena Jankovic.

Solid off both sides and an agile mover, the2008 French Open girls champion took a set offWilliams in their only previous meeting in the sec-ond round of Wimbledon two years ago. Haleptested Williams again at the start of this match,angling baseline shots to the corners to force the15-time Grand Slam winner into errors.

Halep broke to take a 2-1 lead in the first set,but Williams broke right back and cruised fromthere as she gained the measure of her opponentand began to win the longer rallies.

Williams went directly to the practice court after

winning. “I was unhappy with some things today,”she said. “I want to do well here as well as (in Paris).”

It’s Azarenka’s first final since beating Williamsfor the title in February at Doha, Qatar. That fol-lowed her Australian Open victory. Since then,Azarenka has been slowed by right ankle and leftfoot injuries.

Errani reached last year’s French Open final andwas the first Italian semifinalist in this tournamentsince Raffaella Reggi won the 1985 event inTaranto.

Azarenka did well to take the Foro Italico crowdout of the match early on, and never trailed in thesecond set.—AP

Serena in Italian Open final

ITALY: US Serena Williams returns the ball to Simona Halep from Romania duringtheir Roma WTA Masters semi-final tennis match. —AFP

LONDON: England’s Steven Finn plays a shot during the third day of the firstInternational Test cricket match between England and New Zealand at Lord’scricket ground.—AFP

ROME: Czech Tomas Berdych snappeda run of 11 consecutive defeats byworld number one Novak Djokovic toreach the semi-finals of the RomeMasters before Rafa Nadal wasstretched to the limit against DavidFerrer on Friday.

Berdych clawed his way back from a6-2 5-2 deficit to stun the Serbian topseed 2-6 7-5 6-4 and set up a semi-finalmeeting with Nadal, who for the sec-ond week running outlasted compatri-ot Ferrer in a fierce claycourt scrap.

Nadal won 6-4 4-6 6-2 for his ninthconsecutive victory over Ferrer who hitthe Mallorcan with every weapon in hislocker but still came up short as he didin Madrid last week.

“It was an extremely tough match,David always takes you to the limit,”

Nadal, looking for his sixth title in eighttournaments since returning frominjury, told reporters.

“I am extremely happy. I think Imade a huge effort both in the secondset when I was 4-0 down and in thethird to get past a fantastic opponent.”Frenchman Benoit Paire dropped justone game against Marcel Granollers ofSpain to reach his first Masters Seriessemi-final where he will play secondseed Roger Federer. The Swiss over-came Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz 6-4 7-6.After easing through the first set,Federer survived a scare when he wasbroken in the opening game of the sec-ond, but after clawing his way back to5-5, he took the tiebreak for the loss ofjust two points.

In the women’s event top world

number Serena Williams pulverisedSpaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2 6-0to reach the last four but there will beno re-run of last week’s Madrid finalafter Maria Sharapova was forced towithdraw from her quarter-final againstSara Errani because of illness.

Berdych had not tasted victory overDjokovic since the 2010 Wimbledonsemi-finals and was on the brink of a12th straight loss to the Serbian beforean amazing transformation. The clean-hitting world number six won fivegames in a row to level the match andthen dominated the deciding set toleave Djokovic with food for thoughtbefore the French Open.

“It’s a special victory. I was on 11defeats in a row (against Djokovic) andit had to stop,” Berdych, who did not

even create a break point until the topseed served for the match at 5-3 in thesecond set, told reporters. Djokovic,who also lost early in the Madrid Openlast week, said he had let Berdych backinto the match.

“It was a very weird match,” he toldreporters. “I lost concentration and Istarted to play too defensively and didnot convert my opportunities and I lostthis match on my own. “I need to makesure that I don’t have highs and lows.I’m sure that I will be ready for Paris.”Fifteen-times grand slam championWilliams is enjoying the longest win-ning streak of her illustrious career, herrout of Suarez-Navarro stretching herrun to 22. “I guess this is the best periodin my career but I don’t really thinkabout it,” the American said. —Reuters

Djokovic falls in Rome

LONDON: Tim Southee bowled NewZealand back into contention in the firstTest against England with a dramaticburst late on the third day at Lord’s yes-terday. At stumps, England were 180 forsix in their second innings-a lead of 205runs.

England were in the process of build-ing a sound position at 159 for two whenpaceman Southee wrested back the ini-tiative with three wickets for four runs in17 balls.

In all, England lost four wickets for 12runs to throw the first of this two-Testseries wide open, although their leadwas now almost as much as NewZealand’s meagre first innings 207.

Jonathan Trott (56) and Joe Root (71)shared a third-wicket stand of 123 beforethe latter’s exit sparked England’s slump.

They had steadied the ship afterEngland captain Alastair Cook, caught inthe slips off Trent Boult and fellow open-er Nick Compton, bowled by NeilWagner, had both fallen with the total on36.

Shortly after tea, Root was nearly runout when he dabbed the ball onto theoffside and set off for a single. Trott, how-ever, wasn’t interested and Root, fromhalf-way down the pitch, had to turnback.

A direct hit by New Zealand captainBrendon McCullum would have seen theYorkshireman run out but the divingRoot just did enough as wicket-keeper BJWatling tried to make the best of a badreturn with a despairing effort of hisown.

Watling injured his knee in theprocess and was replaced behind thestumps by McCullum, who had given upkeeping in Tests because of knee andback problems.

Root, in only his fifth Test and first inEngland, punched Wagner through the

covers for four to complete a 78-ball fiftyfeaturing six boundaries.

But in sight of beating the Test-best 73he made against India on debut inNagpur in December, the 22-year-old,promoted up the order because Ian Bellwas suffering with flu, inside edgedSouthee on to his stumps. Root ’sYorkshire colleague Jonny Bairstow, top-scorer in England’s first innings with 41,was then yorked off his foot by Southeefor five.

Matt Prior, so often England’s saviourwith the bat, completed a pair when hepulled Southee straight to square legbefore Trott’s painstaking innings endedwhen he was bowled by a sharply turn-ing off-break from part-time spinnerKane Williamson.

Southee had close figures of three for34 in 14 overs. Nightwatchman StevenFinn was six not out and Ian Bell noughtnot out at stumps. Before lunch, Englanddismissed New Zealand for 207 in replyto their first innings 232 — a lead of 25runs. James Anderson, who on Fridayhad become only the fourth Englandbowler to take 300 Test wickets, finishedwith five wickets for 47 runs in 24 overs.

It was the 30-year-old Lancashireswing bowler’s 13th five-wicket or betterinnings return in an 81 Test-career thatstarted at Lord’s a decade ago.

Having taken three wickets on Friday,including that of New Zealand top scorerRoss Taylor (66), Anderson returnedSaturday figures of two for 15 in nineovers.

He was well supported by Finn (fourfor 63) although it was Stuart Broad, thethird member of England’s seam trio,who had dangerman McCullum caughtbehind for two. Williamson, 44 not outovernight, marked his first Test inEngland with 60 before he was caughtbehind off Anderson.—AFP

Southee treblerocks England

BALTIMORE: Exercise rider Jennifer Patterson takes Kentucky Derby winnerOrb over the track in preparation for the 138th Preakness Stakes at PimlicoRace Course. —AFP

England 1st Innings 232 (T Southee 4-58, N Wagner 3-70)New Zealand 1st Innings (overnight:153-4)P. Fulton c Swann b Anderson 2H. Rutherford c Cook b Anderson 4K. Williamson c Prior b Anderson 60R. Taylor lbw b Anderson 66D. Brownlie lbw b Finn 23B. McCullum c Prior b Broad 2BJ Watling c Prior b Finn 17T. Southee c Root b Finn 12B. Martin b Anderson 0N. Wagner not out 6T. Boult c Anderson b Finn 0Extras (b4, lb8, nb3) 15Total (all out, 69 overs, 336 mins) 207Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Rutherford), 2-7(Fulton), 3-100 (Taylor), 4-147 (Brownlie), 5-155 (McCullum), 6-177( Williamson), 7-194 (Southee), 8-195(Martin), 9-207 (Watling), 10-207 (Boult)Bowling: Anderson 24-11-47-5; Broad 21-4-64-1 (2nb); Finn 15-3-63-4 (1nb);

Swann 8-0-19-0; Trott 1-0-2-0.

England 2nd InningsA. Cook c Brownlie b Boult 21N. Compton b Wagner 15J. Trott b Williamson 56J. Root b Southee 71J. Bairstow b Southee 5M. Prior c sub (Guptill) b Southee 0S. Finn not out 6I. Bell not out 0Extras (b3, w1, nb2) 6Total (6 wkts, 59 overs, 279 mins) 180Fall of wickets: 1-36 (Cook), 2-36(Compton), 3-159 (Root), 4-167 (Bairstow),5-171 (Prior), 6-171 (Trott) To bat: S Broad, G Swann, J AndersonBowling: Boult 12-3-42-1; Southee 14-3-34-3; Wagner 13-2-44-1 (1nb, 1w); Martin 13-2-40-0 (1nb); Williamson 7-1-17-1.Match position: England lead by 205 runswith four second innings wickets stand-ing.

LONDON, United Kingdom: Scoreboard at stumps on the third day of the first Testbetween England and New Zealand at Lord’s yesterday:

SCOREBOARD

BALTIMORE: Orb is ready for his whirlat history. The Kentucky Derby winnerwas in a playful mood the day beforethe Preakness, making faces for pho-tographers between nibbles of grassoutside his stall at Pimlico Race Course.

“I couldn’t be more pleased withthe way he’s doing,” trainer ShugMcGaughey said at his final pre-Preakness media briefing Friday morn-ing. “I can’t see any adversity. I wouldhave to think it would take a prettydarn good horse to beat him if he goesover and runs his race.”

If he can defeat eight rivals in the 13-16-mile Preakness late yesterday, itwould set up a Triple Crown try in theBelmont Stakes in three weeks. Orb isthe even-money favorite, and there’s agrowing feeling that this 3-year-oldbay colt may be special enough to givethoroughbred racing its first TripleCrown champion since Affirmed in1978.

“We’d sure love to have that oppor-tunity,” a relaxed and confident-sound-ing McGaughey said. “Probably theracing world would love to see it, too.”

Orb extended his winning streak tofive with a thrilling victory in the Derbytwo weeks ago, when jockey JoelRosario patiently guided the colt from17th to first in the final half mile over asloppy track.

In the Preakness, Orb will breakfrom the No. 1 post, a spot that hasseen only one winner - Tabasco Cat in1994 - since 1961.

“Who knows how this race is goingto go, but I don’t think it will be a prob-lem,” Rosario said of the inside post.“He’s a horse that comes from behind,so I really don’t think it will affect him.I’m just excited to go into this with ahorse who has a chance to win.” Achance? While rival trainers aren’t con-ceding the race, most agree Orb is thebest of the bunch.

“Orb, he’s a freak. Right now, every-body should be rooting for Orb, exceptfor the connections of the other horsesin the race,” trainer Bob Baffert said -and he’s got a horse in the race, 12-1choice Govenor Charlie. “Anybodywho’s not rooting for Orb, there’ssomething mentally wrong with them.”

Baffert has been there before. Three ofhis five Preakness winners had alsowon the Derby, but were unable tocomplete the Triple Crown with a winin the Belmont. He says the Preaknessis the least stressful of the three races.

“There is absolutely no pressure,believe it or not because you’ve justwon the Derby,” he said. “You’re flyinghigh and everybody’s excited. Youdon’t think about it. The next one (theBelmont) is the pressure.” Getting tothe next one may sound easy. It isn’t.Six of the past eight Derby winners didnot win the Preakness, andMcGaughey is well aware of the pit-falls.

“There are a lot of ways you canlose. Freaky things can happen,” hesaid. “You hope he doesn’t get in anytrouble, you hope he handles thetrack, you hope he handles the kick-back of the dirt, you hope he handlesthe day.”

Among the challengers areGoldencents, who did not take to theslop at Churchill Downs and finished17th after winning the Santa Anita

Derby in April.“Orb’s not like a one-race hit. All

year long he’s been super impressive,”said Goldencents trainer Doug O’Neill,who won the Derby and Preakness lastyear with I’ll Have Another, only toscratch the colt the day before theBelmont because of a tendon injury.“But we’ve seen Goldencents do somebrilliant things in the afternoon. If hedoes, I think he can beat him.”

It might be Itsmyluckyday’s luckyday. He’s another highly regarded coltwho did not handle the sloppy trackand finished 15th in the Derby.

“He’s given me every sign that he’sready for the war; he’s ready for therace; he’s ready for the battle,” trainerEddie Plesa Jr., said. “Let’s just get it on.”

Or it could be Departing, one of thethree horses in the race who did notrun in the Derby. Orb knows Departingwell - the two were pals growing up atClaiborne Farm in Paris, Ky., and ranaround together in the same field. Thegelding has won four of five starts, andcomes into the Preakness off a win inthe Illinois Derby.—AP

Orb favored to take Preakness

S P ORTSSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

MADRID: Real Madrid and JoseMourinho were sifting through thedebris of what the Portuguese coachtermed a “disastrous” 2012-13 campaignafter Friday’s King’s Cup final defeat leftthe world’s richest club without a majortrophy for the season.

The 2-1 reverse to Atletico Madrid attheir own Bernabeu stadium meantMourinho, widely expected to move onat the end of this term, finished a seasonwithout significant silverware for thefirst time in his otherwise glitteringcareer.

It represents a huge setback for theself-appointed “special one”, as well asfor Real president Florentino Perez, wholured Mourinho from Inter Milan at greatexpense in 2010 and has constantlyreferred to him as “the world’s bestcoach”. Obsessed with winning the 10thEuropean crown that has eluded Real

since 2002, Perez has splurged morethan 400 million euros ($513 million) onplayers since returning to lead the clubin 2009, including a record 94 million onCristiano Ronaldo.

That investment has so far yieldedone King’s Cup in 2011 in Mourinho’sfirst season and a La Liga title last termwith a record points haul of 100, a mea-gre haul for a club as ambitious and aswealthy as Real. The nine-times kings ofEurope have fallen in the semi-finals ofthe Champions League in each ofMourinho’s three campaigns and surren-dered their La Liga title to Barcelona lastweekend, a fourth for their arch rivals infive years.

Friday’s extra time defeat to Atleticowas made even more painful — anddamaging for the club’s image — by thedismissal of Mourinho from the benchfor furiously protesting a decision by the

referee and a red card for Ronaldo forkicking out at Atletico captain Gabi andcatching him in the face.

Mourinho, who has done little toquash speculation he is on his way backto Chelsea, spent a large part of his post-match press conference defending hisrecord at Real while claiming thatAtletico had not deserved to win thematch. “What for many would be a goodseason is my worst,” he told reporters.“We have been close but that does notexist in football.”

Always outspoken and often contro-versial, Mourinho has alienated someReal fans in recent months with his treat-ment of club captain and goalkeeperIker Casillas, who has been benchedsince returning from a broken hand.

Dressing room divisions burst intothe open in the last few weeks, withMourinho’s Portuguese compatriot Pepe

earning the coach’s wrath after a publicdefence of Casillas.

The central defender was left out ofthe squad entirely on Friday, whileMourinho again selected Diego Lopezfor the goalkeeping slot.

Before recent games at the Bernabeu,a large section of the crowd havecheered Casillas when his name hasbeen read out among the list of substi-tutes while roundly whistling Mourinho.

All this leaves Perez in a tricky posi-tion and a number of reports have sug-gested he is lining up Paris St Germain’sItalian coach Carlo Ancelotti as areplacement for Mourinho.

Perez rarely speaks in public - his callfor unity on his last appearance wasignored by Mourinho - and has appoint-ed club director Emilio Butragueno, aformer player, as Real’s spokesman.

Questioned about the future in a

post-match T V interview on Friday,Butragueno said it was not the righttime to discuss it.

“The Madrid family is sad, all of us,” hesaid. “But now is the time to applaud ourplayers and our fans, who supported usuntil the end.”

Mourinho, who has a contract untilJune 2016, said he would sit down withPerez after Real’s final two La Ligamatches to decide whether he will con-tinue. I f he does stay, he will be incharge of a divided dressing room and aclub where a significant section of thehome support have lost faith in him.

Atletico’s fans gleefully mockedtheir Real counterpar ts at theBernabeu on Friday with their ironicchants of “Mourinho stay! Mourinhostay!” but a change of coach may nowbe inevitable after the events of recentweeks.—Reuters

Real and Mourinho contemplate ‘disastrous’ season

NEWCASTLE: Arsene Wenger insists he wouldhave been happy to see Arsenal’s ChampionsLeague hopes go to the final day when his sideappeared out of the race for a top four finishearl ier this season. Wenger ’s side trai ledTottenham by seven points in March, but nowplay their final fixture at Newcastle on Sundayknowing victory will guarantee they finish atleast four th and secure a spot in theChampions League qualification rounds.

Should Chelsea fail to beat Everton, theycould yet finish third, possibly via a play-off ifthe two clubs finish level on points, goal differ-ence and goals scored.

The uncertainty ensures there will be somenerves at St James’ Park. But Gunners bossWenger said: “I know for a long time that for us,when we were seven points behind, we wouldall be happy that it goes to the last day.

“We are in a position where nobody expect-ed us to be. We have our destiny in our hands,our fate in our hands and that’s what you fightfor in the game.

“It is a game that we will now want to winbut at least we fought back to be in a positionwhere we master our own fate.”

Asked about the prospect of a play-off withChelsea, he added: “I would fancy that. A play-off exists only if win our game, so let’s win thegame and see what happens.

“The biggest task is to win the game and notspeculate too much on what happens afterbecause the first compulsory thing we face is towin the game on Sunday.”

Wenger also revealed he is close to signingAuxerre for ward Yaya Sanogo. “ We areadvanced with him, but it is not done,” he said.“I am very confident. “He is a young striker whois promising, and has a big talent.” Arsenal’sSpanish midfielder Mikel Arteta is set to missthe game with a calf problem suffered againstWigan in midweek, while Wenger remainsunsure whether Jack Wislhere is ready to com-plete a full 90 minutes, with the England mid-

fielder due to have an ankle operation at theend of the season.

However, French striker Olivier Giroudreturns for the Gunners after serving a three-match suspension. Newcastle manager AlanPardew has challenged his players to end a tur-bulent season on a high by playing a part infrustrating Arsenal’s Champions League hopes.

Pardew’s side have conceded nine goals intheir last two home games, and were humbled7-3 at the Emirates Stadium in December.

They only sealed their Premier League futurewith victory last weekend at QPR, but could fin-ish as high as 10th if they inflict the Gunners’first defeat on Tyneside since 2006.

“It’s very important to go out by putting in agood performance for our fans,” Pardew said.“The last couple of home games have been

tough for us, and there’s something riding onthe game for Arsenal which I think is good forus.”

Pardew was forced to clarify his commentsafter suggesting tongue in cheek this week thathe didn’t mind if his side suffered a 4-0 defeatat the hands of Wenger’s men.

“I’ve had a few Tottenham fans remind meabout that comment, but it was made purelyout of relief after the victory at QPR, and wasdefinitely tongue in cheek,” he added.

Steve Harper, the 38-year-old goalkeeperwho will leave in the summer, plays his 199thand final game for Newcastle as he brings thecurtain down on a near two-decade spell at theclub. “He’s been a great servant of this club andan absolutely superb professional,” Pardewsaid.—AFP

Wenger relieved to control Euro fight

Arsene Wenger

ITALY: Italian Vincenzo Nibali celebrates on the podium the pink jersey after the 180kms14th stage of the 96th Giro d’Italia going from Cervere to Bardonecchia -Jafferau. —AFP

ROME: Italian Vincenzo Nibali extended hislead over Australia’s Cadel Evans as MauroSantambrogio won a shortened 14th stageof the Giro d’Italia to claim his maiden winon the race yesterday.

Nibali, of the Astana team, had launcheda decisive attack in the final kilometres andcame over the finish line in second placeafter giving his fellow Italian the nod totake the stage win unhindered.

“I can’t believe it, I came to the Giro towin a stage and have done it,” saidSantambrogio, who rides for the modestVini Fantni team. Given the “horrible”weather conditions, it will be one heremembers.

“The whole day the weather was horri-ble. It was freezing cold but thankfully theteam rallied behind me.” Evans, the 2011Tour de France champion, who started theday 41sec behind Nibali, crossed the finishline 33sec behind and is now 1:26 behindNibali after the Italian collected a 12-sec-ond time bonus.

“It was not my best day,” said Evans, whobelieves his victory bid is now compro-mised. “I just couldn’t react when the attackfrom Nibali came. I think that has some-thing to do with the last couple of days.

“I hope this is my worst day in themountains; otherwise to fight for the winwill be difficult.” Yesterday’s stage in thehigh Italian Alps was due to finish inSestriere, but was shortened by organisersdue to fears over cold and wet conditionson the final descent.

As snow and rain fell at high altitude,the finish line was lowered to 1908 metresat Jafferau, where BMC leader Evans and

Colombian Rigoberto Uran (Team Sky) felloff the pace in a final kilometre whichproved just too steep for the duo.

Nibali’s hopes of a maiden Giro win wereboosted earlier this week when main rivalBradley Wiggins (Team Sky) and defendingchampion Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin) pulledout due to illness.

After his late attack, the Sicilian now hasa lead of over one minute on Evans, and2:46 on Uran, who has taken the mantle ofSky’s team leader after Wiggins’s retirementfrom the race.

“It was very cold... a very difficult stage,”said the Italian, who finished third in lastyear’s Tour de France behind Wiggins andChris Froome.

“When I attacked, I saw Mauro react andwe went off together. All I thought aboutwas taking as much time as possible.”

After the race was shortened by 12km,from 180km to 168km, a four-man groupbroke from the peloton and went on tobuild a lead of nearly eight and a half min-utes. They held a four-minute lead at thefoot of the final climb, a 7.3km ascent withan average gradient of nine percent.

However they were reeled in one by oneas the battle for the stage win and for thepickings in the overall race took hold.

Sunday’s 15th stage, due to finish on thesummit of the legendary Galibier climb inFrance, has also been altered due to poorweather conditions.

The finish line will now be moved fromthe Galibier’s altitude of 2642 metres to2301 metres, at the site of a statue com-memorating fallen Italian champion MarcoPantani.—AFP

Nibali extends Giro lead

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager BrendanRodgers admits there is no way that JamieCarragher will bow out quietly when he playshis final game before retirement against QPRyesterday.

Carragher, 35, has spent his whole career atAnfield, winning the Champions League, twoFA Cups and three League Cups, and theMerseyside-born star will fittingly bow out ascaptain for his 737th and last appearance forthe Reds.

The former England defender started theseason behind Martin Skrtel and Daniel Aggerin Rodgers’ plans. But in recent months he hasplayed his way back into the team and has fin-ished the season in impressive form.

And Rodgers claims Carragher has beentraining as hard as ever despite the imminentend to his career. “He’s in the final week of hiscareer, going into the game against QPR at 35years of age,” Rodgers said.

“He knows he’s retiring, but after trainingon Thursday he was still in the gymnasium,preparing himself with the same commitmentthat he has shown his entire career.

“He could have had a lazy day. He couldhave had a bit of lunch and then shot home,but he was in the gym preparing his body anddoing his core work, his flexibility and prepar-ing himself to the maximum to be his best.

“And that says it all about him; that at theend of his career, he is still preparing as if itwas his first game. “He knows the intensityand the passion and the quality that is need-ed because he has been there.” Luis Suarez issuspended and defenders Martin Skrtel,

Daniel Agger and Martin Kelly are all set tomiss out through illness and injury, whileRaheem Sterling, Joe Allen and captainSteven Gerrard are also absent.

The Reds have lost just once in their last 12matches and Rodgers is confident he will beable to make greater strides next term withseveral signings likely in the close-season.

The January arrivals of Daniel Sturridgeand Philippe Coutinho have already made amajor difference and Rodgers, whose teamare certain to finish seventh, is optimisticabout closing the gap at the top of the table.

“Ultimately we want to be challenging fortrophies and being consistent at the top ofthe league,” he said. “This season was alwaysgoing to be the season for building our basein order to achieve those objectives. As theseason has gone on, we’ve become better.

“The scouts are leaving no stone unturnedin terms of the work they are carrying out inorder to get us the players we need toimprove.”

Meanwhile, QPR’s trip to Anfield will draw aline under a disastrous campaign for the westLondoners, with relegation to theChampionship inevitable long before it wasfinally confirmed.

Boss Harry Redknapp has already commit-ted himself to the club and is hoping to stagea major overhaul of the squad before theirpromotion bid begins in August.

“We need to change things here to giveourselves a chance of trying to mount a chal-lenge for next season because it won’t beeasy,” he said.

“We need a group who will be goodenough to compete at the top of theChampionship. We certainly weren’t goodenough to compete in the Premier League.

“I’d like the changes to be extensivebecause the club needs changing. The teamthat’s here hasn’t been good enough andwould struggle to get out of theChampionship next season.

“I’m confident we can mount a challengenext season, but it won’t be easy. TheChampionship is full of big clubs - clubs big-ger than QPR, like Leeds United.”

French striker Loic Remy is available forselection despite being arrested on suspicionof rape earlier in the week. A QPR spokesper-son said: “The club can confirm he’s trainingand will be available for selection.”—AFP

Rodgers salutes retiring Carragher

English Premier LeagueMan City v Norwich 18:00Abu Dhabi Sports HDSwansea v Fulham 18:00Abu Dhabi Sports HDLiverpool v QPR 18:00Abu Dhabi Sports HDSouthampton v Stoke City 18:00Abu Dhabi Sports HDWigan v Aston 18:00Abu Dhabi Sports HDHam United v Reading 18:00Abu Dhabi Sports HDAlbion v Man United 18:00Abu Dhabi Sports HDTottenham v Sunderland 18:00Abu Dhabi Sports HDNewcastle v Arsenal 18:00Abu Dhabi Sports HDChelsea v Everton 18:00Abu Dhabi Sports HD

Spanish LeagueLevante v Rayo 13:00Al Jazeera Sport +2Deportivo v Espanyol 18:00Al Jazeera Sport +2Zaragoza v Bilbao 20:00Al Jazeera Sport +8Barcelona v Valladolid 22:00Al Jazeera Sport +2

Italian LeagueBologna v Genoa 16:00Al Jazeera Sport +2Atalanta v Chievo 16:00Al Jazeera Sport +1Inter v Udinese 21:45Al Jazeera Sport +4Roma v Napoli 21:45Al Jazeera Sport +9Siena v Milan 21:45Al Jazeera Sport +1Cagliari v Lazio 21:45Al Jazeera Sport +10Pescara v Fiorentina 21:45Al Jazeera Sport +9

Matches on TV (Local Timings)

LONDON: English football will witness theend of an era today when Alex Fergusontakes charge of Manchester United for the1,500th and final time in their last game ofthe season at West Bromwich Albion. Havingwaved goodbye to Old Trafford in an emo-tional 2-1 win over Swansea City last week-end, Ferguson will close the door on his man-agerial career at The Hawthorns — 26 years,six months and 11 days since his first game atthe United helm, a 2-0 loss at Oxford Unitedon November 8, 1986.

It promises to be a day rich in nostalgia forFerguson, who will be succeeded by Evertonmanager David Moyes on July 1.

In his final pre-game press conference, hecast his mind back to the very beginning ofhis journey as a manager, with Scottish min-nows East Sterling in 1974. “I have had 39years as a manager,” said the 71-year-old.

“On that day in 1974 when I started at EastStirling, I had eight players and no goalkeep-er. Today I have six goalkeepers and about100 players. “I remember the old chairman,Willie Muirhead. He was a great chain smoker.When I asked him for a list of players, he start-ed to shake. His cigarette was going 100 milesan hour. “I had to remind him a couple of dayslater. He gave me a list of eight players and nogoalkeeper. I said: ‘You know it is advisable tostart with a keeper-are you aware of that?’”

Ferguson will retire with 49 trophies to hisname, 38 of which he has amassed during arecord-breaking stint at United in which heestablished himself as one of the most suc-cessful coaches in the history of professionalsport. However, for all the inevitable empha-sis on his past, Ferguson has pledged that hisfinal team selection will be forward-thinking.

The Scot says he intends to field Phil Jonesand Jonny Evans at centre-back, while he hasalso promised to honour a vow made to sec-

ond-choice goalkeeper Anders Lindegaardthat he would start the game.

“I stand by that. Anders will be in goal,”Ferguson said. “I will play one or two youngerplayers, and I want to play Jonny Evans andPhil Jones at centre-half because they are thefuture. Nemanja (Vidic) and Rio (Ferdinand)will just have to make do with a place on thebench.”

Paul Scholes could make one last appear-ance for United, having announced his retire-ment last week.

The 38-year-old is only the third player tohave made more than 700 appearances forthe club, after Bobby Charlton and RyanGiggs, and turned out for the 717th time inUnited’s colours against Swansea. Fergusonmust also decide whether or not to hand astart to Wayne Rooney, having left him out ofthe squad for the Swansea game after theunsettled striker submitted a transfer request.United have taken 35 points from a possible39 against West Brom since the Midlands clubwere promoted to the top flight in 2002, butmanager Steve Clarke wants his side to finishthe season on a high. Despite a run of justone win in eight games, West Brom are guar-anteed to finish no lower than ninth, whichwill be their best performance in the PremierLeague era.

“We must have done something right inthe early part of the season in that we neverlooked close to being dragged into the rele-gation tussle and there were a lot of teamsinvolved this season and we were nowherenear it. And we’ve finished in the top half ofthe table again,” Clarke said.

French forward Marc-Antoine Fortunereturns from suspension for West Brom, butright-back Steven Reid is an injury doubt afterpicking up a knock in last weekend’s 4-0defeat at Norwich City.—AFP

Ferguson set for final goodbye at West Brom

Brendan Rodgers

16Jessica leadsLPGA Classic

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 201317Michael Phelpsplanningcomeback

Real and Mourinho contemplate ‘disastrous’ season Page 19

GERMANY: Bayern Munich’s striker Mario Gomez plays the ball during the German First Division Bundesliga football match against Borussia Moenchengladbach. — AFP

BERLIN: Bayern Munich came from two goals down to seal a 4-3 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach, while their ChampionsLeague final opponents, Borussia Dortmund lost 2-1 at home toHoffenheim on the final day of the Bundesliga yesterday.

Champions Bayern dug deep for their 29th league victory in34 matches as Franck Ribery scored twice, then set up ArjenRobben for the winner after Gladbach had scored three goals inthe opening 10 minutes.

“The first ten minutes didn’t go as we had imagined,” admit-ted coach Jupp Heynckes after his 1011th and final Bundesligagame, with Pep Guardiola to take charge of Bayern next month.

“I had the feeling the team were still at last Saturday’s partyto celebrate the league title. “But the team slowly got the gameunder control and we played like we’re used to in the secondhalf. I realised my team wanted to win for me.”

Bayern finish the season with 25 Bundesliga records, includ-ing most wins, most points (91), fewest goals conceded (18)and the biggest points lead over the side in second (25).

Fielding the side likely to start the Champions League final

at Wembley next Saturday, and despite previously concedingonly four goals away all season, Bayern leaked three goals in thefirst action-packed 10 minutes.

Borussia raced into the lead as Austrian defender MartinStranzl headed home, then 66 seconds later striker Mike Hanke,on his last appearance for Borussia, added Gladbach’s secondafter a mistake by Bayern centre-back Dante.

Munich’s Javi Martinez pulled one back when he convertedRibery’s pass on seven minutes, but Bayern went 3-1 downwhen Norway’s Havard Nordtveit rolled his shot past Munichgoalkeeper Manuel Neuer. With Heynckes fuming on the side-lines, Ribery pulled a second back with a crisp shot to make it 3-2 on 18 minutes.

He then saved Bayern’s blushes by equalising on 53 minutes,before his cross found Robben at the far post, with the Dutchwinger tapping home to give Bayern the lead for the first timejust before the hour mark.

Hoffenheim now face a promotion/relegation play-offagainst second division Kaiserslautern to stay in the Bundesliga

after they stunned Dortmund as winger Sejad Salihovic nettedtwo penalties in the last 13 minutes to leave them 16th.

Borussia captain and goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller wassent off on 81 minutes for the foul which led to the secondspot-kick.

Despite a string of chances to add to Robert Lewandowski’sfirst-half goal, Dortmund conceded an equaliser when centre-back Mats Hummels fouled Hoffenheim’s Kevin Volland in thearea, giving away a penalty and then limping out of the game.

Salihovic netted the spot kick on 77 minutes but thenWeidenfeller fouled Sven Schipplock and was sent off four min-utes later. As Dortmund had made three substitutions, wingerKevin Grosskreutz had to step in as emergency goalkeeper.

Salihovic netted his second spot kick to Hoffenheim’sdelight and although Dortmund had the ball in the net fromMarcel Schmelzer’s shot in added time, the referee ruled it outfor offside.

“For an hour, we played outstanding football, but were notconsistent enough in front of goal,” said Dortmund coach

Jurgen Klopp. “We now draw a thick line under the Bundesligaseason and see now if all the players are fit for the final.”

Schalke 04 secured their Champions League play-off placewith a 2-1 win at Freiburg as an own-goal by Julian Schuster forthe visitors secured the Royal Blues’ win.

Freiburg will be joined in the Europa League next season byEintracht Frankfurt, who finished sixth after they drew 2-2 athome to 10-man VfL Wolfsburg, who had Japan defenderMakoto Hasebe sent off. Hasebe brought down compatriotTakashi Inui on 36 minutes and was shown a straight red.

South Korea’s Ji Dong-Won guaranteed Augsburg’sBundesliga place next season with his side’s final goal in their 3-1 win at home to relegated Greuther Fuerth.

Fortuna Dusseldorf, who lost 3-0 at Hanover thanks toMame Diouf and Didier Ya Konan’s goals, are relegatedalongside Fuer th. Stefan Kiessl ing f inished as theBundesliga top-scorer with 25 goals as he sealed third-placed Bayer Leverkusen’s 1-0 win at Hamburg with the90th-minute winner. — AFP

Bayern win thriller on final day

Preview

LONDON: Andre Villas-Boas admits Tottenham gointo the final game of the season againstSunderland bracing themselves for yet moreChampions League disappointment today.

After appearing secure in the top four whenthey were seven points clear of Arsenal in March,Villas-Boas’s side welcome Sunderland to WhiteHart Lane knowing even a victory may not beenough to clinch a place in Europe’s premier clubcompetition.

Lying fifth, a point behind Arsenal, Spurs couldagain be left frustrated 12 months after beingdenied entry to the Champions League despitefinishing fourth when Chelsea claimed the finalspot as holders of the trophy.

To add to their frustration, a win againstSunderland will mean they end the season with72 points, the club’s highest ever Premier Leaguetally.

“In the past it would have been enough tomake it,” said Villas-Boas. “It would have beenenough apart from the 2007/08 season when thefourth-placed team (Liverpool) finished with 76points. “I think what it represents, if we don’tachieve it, is one more sign that you have to pushup to get closer to that group.

“Whenever that group is competing for titles,the reference of points will be higher and youhave to improve and you have to get more pointsthe next time.

“Our step at the moment is to be into theChampions League, probably not title contendersbut we hope to be competitive next season if wemanage to do things properly in the summer.

“You have to strengthen for next season to get

a higher tally of points.” If Tottenham are toimprove their challenge next season, they willhave to strengthen and Villas-Boas admitted he isan admirer of David Villa, the Barcelona strikerwho has been linked with the north London club.

“He is one of the world’s best strikers,” Villas-Boas said. “You can see that speculation is grow-ing but at the moment we are focused on tryingto get fourth spot.”

Meanwhile, Sunderland manager Paolo DiCanio is already looking ahead to pre-season afterinsisting there can be no repeat of his team’s nar-row escape from relegation.

The Wearside club were only guaranteed aneighth consecutive campaign in the top flight byWigan’s midweek defeat at Arsenal, which con-demned the Latics to the Championship.

Sunderland have taken eight points in the sixgames since Di Canio took charge at the end ofMarch to help them keep out of the bottom three,and the former West Ham forward said: “We’resafe, but there are no celebrations. The hard workstarts now.

“We have a chance to build something for thefuture with the players we’ve got, and others thatwill join in the summer, but it won’t be easy.

It’s a new start. We’ll have the players back infor a couple of days next week before their holi-days, then we start looking towards pre-season.

“That first month together as a squad beforethe season starts is crucial. You’re with each othermorning, afternoon, morning, afternoon and youreally get to know each other.

“It’s a crucial time for a manager when shapingthe squad.” Sunderland, who have won once in 29

years at White Hart Lane, are without suspendedduo Stephane Sessegnon and Craig Gardner.Skipper Lee Cattermole and defenders Wes Brownand Titus Bramble are all sidelined through injury.Di Canio, who has threatened to cut his players’summer holidays short if they fail to perform intheir final match of the season, is unlikely toblood any of the young Sunderland players hehas named on the bench in recent weeks. —AFP

Villas-Boas fears Euro woe for Spurs

Andre Villas-Boas

MADRID: Valencia took another significant steptowards securing Champions League qualifica-tion for next season with a 1-0 win at Getafe.

Jeremy Mathieu got the only goal of a disap-pointing game a minute before half-time asErnesto Valverde’s men made it three wins in arow. Roberto Soldado and Sofiane Feghoulimissed good chances to double Valencia’sadvantage after the break, but Los Che held onto move three points clear of Real Sociedad infourth with the Basques travelling to face Sevillalate yesterday.

Valencia’s free-scoring form of late has beenpropelled by Soldado as the Spanish interna-tional had scored seven times in his previousfive outings, but he missed a great opportunityto get his side off to a flying start when he head-ed over from Andres Guardado’s pinpoint crossafter just 10 minutes.

The game then became a scrappy affair withthe best chances coming via set-pieces for themajority of the first-half as Federico Fernandezheaded over for Getafe and Pedro Leon alsofired over with a decent opening inside the areafor the hosts.

However, Valencia did manage to take thelead a minute before half-time as a cleverlyworked free-kick saw Ever Banega feed Mathieuon the edge of the area and he curled home hisfirst goal of the season. Soldado then spurnedanother great opportunity three minutes intothe second period as Miguel Angel Moya stoodup well to block the striker’s effort.

It mattered little, though, as Getafe posedbarely any real threat in front of goal in the sec-ond period as Valencia held out to register athird consecutive clean sheet.

And Feghouli should have added to theiradvantage in stoppage time as he fired waste-fully over when clean through on goal.

Meanwhile, Barcelona manager Tito Vilanovais hoping the target of matching Real Madrid’sleague record 100 points will keep his playersmotivated when the host Valladolid today.

The Catalans sealed their fourth title in fiveyears last weekend, but can reach a century ofpoints should they win their remaining threegames and Vilanova wants to finish the cam-paign strongly. “We have taken 91 points, whichis a lot. We know we have the opportunity toget 100 and we will play the three games to winthem,” he told a press conference yesterday.

“We can’t just let it go, that is the only thing Iwouldn’t like. We owe it to the fans and we needto finish the year well.”

Barca have endured an up and down seasonwith the joy of the title tempered by theirhumiliation to Bayern Munich in the semi-finalsof the Champions League, but Vilanova onceagain stressed that he believes his first season incharge has been an overall success. “The fansare happy with the league. We have led fromthe first game to the last.

“It was important to recapture the league.The cycle which they said was ending, in theend has ended with a league, so for Barca I wantto say that is has been a good season.”

Victor Valdes has been passed fit to returnagainst Valladolid in what could be his penulti-mate game as a Barca player at the Camp Nouwith speculation linking the Spanish interna-tional with a move away at the end of the sea-son after he said he wouldn’t be renewing hiscontract which ends in 2014. — AFP

Valencia edge closer to Champions League

BusinessSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

SMEs Fund capital must serve national economy

Page 22

Europe banks hesitate to join rush for share capital

Page 23

Singapore cost of living sees pawnshops thrive

Page 25

S & P warns India could face junk statusPage 25

NEW YORK: Andrea DeWerd attends the NYC Uncubed tech recruiting event on Friday in New York City. 1,100 people were expected to attend the unconventional employment event featuring 50 New York City based startups offering skills class-es and ping pong. — AFP

SHANGHAI: Greece’s Prime Minister Antonis Samaras delivers his speech at a Greece-ChinaBusiness gala dinner in Shanghai, China yesterday. Samaras is in China seeking investmentand trade deals to help revive his country’s recession-battered economy. — AP

LONDON/WASHINGTON: A European probe into possible oilprice manipulation expanded with the investigation of a smallniche trading house in the Netherlands, while a key US sena-tor called for the Justice Department to join the investigation.

Dutch trading house Argos Energies, a mid-sized tradingcompany that deals in physical oil products and owns storagefacilities, was visited by inspectors from the EuropeanCommission on Tuesday, a source familiar with the investiga-tion said late Friday.

The visit occurred on the same day that authorities raidedthe London bureau of pricing agency Platts, and the offices ofStatoil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP in the biggest cross-borderaction since the probe into rigging of Libor benchmark inter-est rates. In Washington, the chairman of the Senate’s energycommittee asked the Justice Department to investigatewhether alleged price manipulation has boosted fuel pricesfor US consumers.

“Efforts to manipulate the European oil indices, if proven,may have already impacted US consumers and businesses,

because of the interrelationships among world oil marketsand hedging practices,” Senator Ron Wyden, the chairman ofthe Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, wrote ina letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission andFederal Trade Commission have both declined to comment onany role or coordination with EU authorities in the probe. USpoliticians including Wyden often call for enquiries into issuesthat affect gasoline prices, although regulators are not obli-gated to take action.

A spokesman for the Justice Department would not com-ment on whether the agency would undertake a probe, butsaid it was reviewing Wyden’s letter. Authorities have sharp-ened scrutiny of financial benchmarks around the world sinceslapping large fines on some of the world’s biggest banks forrigging interest rate benchmarks.

Over the past year many observers have noted the resem-blance between the Libor self-reported benchmark and thejournalist assessment-based methodology used to set most of

the world’s oil prices, but this week’s investigation is the firstindication that EU authorities are taking a harder look at thesystem. The source said that inspectors were still on the prem-ises of Argos Energies on Friday and that it was also the lastday of the inspection at the company. Argos Energies declinedto comment.

Platts said trading in the oil market has not been signifi-cantly affected by the investigation. “Market participation andliquidity are unchanged,” Platts editorial director Dan Tanzsaid. Meanwhile Neste Oil, a Finnish refinery, said it hadreceived a request from the European Commission to provideinformation, although it said it was not under inspection. “Wewill naturally cooperate with this request and provide theinformation requested to assist the European Commission inits investigation,” Matti Lehmus, executive vice president, OilProducts and Renewables said in a statement.

Hungary’s Pannonia Ethanol, a recent entrant to Europe’smarket, was the first company to identify itself as having com-plained to Brussels over access to the Platts market-on-close

(MOC) system - a daily half-hour “window” of trading duringwhich the agency determines prices through a series of bids,offers and trades.

European oil major Total, which last year wrote to regula-tors to question the way oil prices were determined, said itwas not involved with the current investigation and has notbeen visited. “No, we haven’t sent any letter,” Chief ExecutiveChristophe de Margerie told reporters on the sidelines of thegroup’s annual meeting, when asked whether it had com-plained to the EU. “I’ve learnt about this through the press andnews agencies. I’d be very surprised if some of the cited com-panies were involved in price manipulation.”

The investigation is focused on whether there was collu-sion to distort prices of crude, refined oil products andethanol traded during the MOC window.

Platts, a unit of McGraw-Hill, provides clients with pricebenchmarks set by reporters for opaque energy markets. Itsassessments are used to close physical and derivative dealsworth billions in a $2.5 trillion market. — Reuters

Oil price probe widensUS senator wants Justice Dept help

WASHINGTON: Austerity or growth? Europe’sstruggling economies have faced the ques-tion without fully answering it in recent years,but the United States is on track to do both.

Projections unveiled this week by theCongressional Budget Office indicate the USdeficit will shrink more than 40 percent dur-ing fiscal 2013, returning to its lowest level infive years.

The figures would likely be viewed withenvy in European capitals as they reflect anoutlook based on a US economy that contin-ues to grow-in stark contrast to a eurozonethat has been in recession for six consecutivequarters.

The cocktail of US growth and a recovery inits accounts is, paradoxically, the result ofendless political wrangling over the federalbudget, though the improvement in thenation’s prospects may also be ephemeral.

US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, alludingto the deep, automatic sequester cuts thatbegan in March despite White House opposi-tion, conceded Friday that “bad policy is driv-ing down the deficit more quickly than any-one intended.”

The “harsh consequences,” stemming fromthose reductions are “something we shouldreplace with balanced spending and revenue

measures over the medium and long-term,”Lew told Bloomberg Television.

US tax revenues were boosted by a hike inpersonal tax rates in January, while publicspending has been kept in check largelybecause of the automatic cuts that started inMarch, much to the chagrin of the Obamaadministration.

The government received a further boostin early May with the real estate lender FannieMae, saved from bankruptcy by a bailout in2008, would pay back close to $60 billion topublic coffers.

Barry Bosworth, a former presidential advi-sor and now expert on fiscal and monetarypolicy at the Brookings think tank inWashington, said the United States finds itselfin a much better place than envisaged.

“The tax increases and the sequestration,that was a lot to absorb and there were wor-ries that it could push the economy backdown,” he said, remarking that an improvingprivate sector “will be enough to offset the fis-cal restraints”.

But doubling down on cuts would backfire,according to Bosworth. “It would a big mis-take to go further, the economy was moreresilient but it doesn’t mean you can do thatagain,” he said. The epicenter of the 2008 cri-

sis-the US property market-has picked uppace again, with the number of building per-mits for new homes surging in April to morethan 35 percent more than 12 months ago.

According to Joel Naroff, president atNaroff Economic Advisors, falling deficits aregood news for the US economy, especiallygiven the perennial row between Republicansand Democrats on whether to cut or increasetaxes.

“It will ease the pressure on budget cuts”which could have harmed economic recovery,Naroff said. “A lower deficit will remove theargument that we need to cut spending fur-ther,” he added. Despite the recent goodnews, the US economy is not immune tocatching a cold; unemployment is still high at7.5 percent in April-many Americans havecompletely given up their search for work.

The International Monetary Fund and theFederal Reserve have also cited concern at thesequester, with estimates that it could shaveup to 0.5 percent off US gross domestic prod-uct this year.

“It doesn’t mean that all of a sudden thingsare great and that the economy is doing well,”said Gregory Daco, of IHS Global Insight. “Therevision is mostly due to one time events,” headded. — AFP

Falling US deficit renews austerity

NEW YORK: It’s the narcissist rally. Sure, thereare plenty of forces pushing stocks higher -record corporate earnings, small investorsfinally buying again, signs the US economymay be strengthening, central banks floodingthe financial system with money.

But you may want to spare a thought, and ahealthy dose of worry, for what is one of thebiggest, and least appreciated, reasons for therally: buybacks. Flush with cash and a world ofopportunity at their doorstep, companies havedecided there’s nothing more attractive thanthemselves. So, they’re offering big money tobuy back their own stock. This year, big U.S.companies have given the go-ahead for $286billion of buybacks, up 88 percent from thesame period last year, according to BirinyiAssociates, a market research firm. If the pacecontinues for the rest of the year, the tally willexceed the record set in 2007.

Every manner of company is caught up inthe buying binge, including home-improve-ment chains, makers of farm equipment andjet engines, airlines, sellers of soft drinks and ofhard liquor alike. Not one to miss a hot trend,Apple recently authorized as much as $50 bil-lion of buybacks.

Investors like buybacks because they sug-gest companies think their stock is cheap.They also help reduce the number of sharesoutstanding, which automatically increasesearnings per share. And higher earnings pershare often, though not always, lead to risingstock prices.

But buybacks are also crucial to the rally fora reason that’s not widely known. Companiesare one of the few big stock purchasers nowa-days. Nearly every other big player in the stockmarket has been selling more than they’vebeen buying.

Pension funds have been selling. Local andstate governments have been selling.Investment brokerages have been selling. And,yes, until recently, even Main Street investors.You can see this in the data released by theFederal Reserve each quarter, and it’s a sea ofred - save for corporate buying, that is, buy-backs plus purchases of other companies. In

total, US companies, not counting banks andother financial firms, have bought more than$1 trillion of stock in the five years through2012, net of stocks they’ve issued.

Buybacks also appear to be moving somestocks more than they did a few years ago.That’s because stocks are trading less fre-quently now. On Wall Street, it’s referred to a“drying up” of liquidity. And like in any market,a purchase or sale when fewer people are trad-ing can push prices up and down much more.

DirecTV bought $1.4 billion of its stock inthe first quarter, or 7.8 percent of all trades,according to data from Birinyi Associates. Itrose 12.8 percent in the same period, twopoints more than the Standard and Poor’s 500.IBM bought $2.6 billion of its shares in the firstquarter, or 5.6 percent of what was traded. Itrose 11.8 percent.

Stocks move up for all sorts of reasons, sothe exact impact of buybacks on prices of indi-vidual stocks is unclear. In any event, the totalamount of buybacks doesn’t appear to beenough to have a big effect on the whole mar-ket. If companies in the S&P 500 followthrough on their plans this year, the buybackswill amount to just 1 percent of total trading,estimates Robert Leiphart, an analyst at Birinyi.

Still, companies that do buy back their ownstock are seeing prices soar, and almostimmediately. On Friday, Northrup Grummanjumped 4 percent after announcing it hadauthorized $4 billion of buybacks. The militarycontractor said it expects buybacks will cut itsshares outstanding by a quarter by the end of2015.

Another big share buyer, Home Depot, rose5.7 percent on Feb. 26 after it announced a$17 billion buyback program. The S&P 500rose 0.6 percent that day. If the retailer spendsall the authorized in its plan, it will remove 18percent of the shares outstanding at currentprices, which will make the impact of a nextround of purchases even more powerful.

Stocks of companies that have authorizedthe 10 biggest buybacks so far this year haverisen 2.2 points more than the S&P 500 in theweek after their announcements, according to

Birinyi.Funds riding the Narcissus trade suggest

the lift in prices can last for months, too. ThePowerShares Buyback Achievers and theTrimTabs Float Shrink funds, two exchange-traded funds, are both up 23 percent so farthis year. By contrast, the S&P 500 is up 17percent.

Instead of getting excited, though, someon Wall Street are worried. Gregory Milano,CEO of consultancy Fortuna Advisors, has runstudies showing that companies buying backtheir own stock the most tend not to spendenough opening new factories or investing inR&D or building their business for the longterm, ultimately hurting their investors.Andrew Smithers, who runs a London-basedinvestment consultancy, thinks buybackshave pushed stocks more than 40 percenthigher than they’re worth. In his book “TheGreat Deformation,” former US budget direc-tor David Stockman says Corporate America isdrunk on buybacks and that they’ve helpedpush stocks up too far, too.

Another problem is that buybacks can giveinvestors a false sense of strength of the trueearnings power of a company. Forty percentof the increase in the earnings per share ofS&P 500 companies in the past 12 monthscame from reducing the number of sharesthrough buybacks, estimates Barry Knapp,chief US stock strategist at Barclays Capital.

Even if you’re worried, it’s not clear whatyou should do in the face of this massive cor-porate buying, which shows no signs of eas-ing. Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst atS&P Dow Jones Indices, notes that S&P 500companies have plenty of cash to keep buy-ing - a record $1 trillion, not counting moneyset aside in reserves as required by regulators.

The dilemma facing buyback skeptics whoare thinking of selling is the same one facingthose worried the rise in the market hascome mostly from the Federal Reserve effortsto stimulate the economy. “Don’t fight theFed,” the old Wall Street saw goes. To whichshould perhaps be added, “Don’t buck thebuybacks.” —AP

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

EXCHANGE RATES

Commercial Bank of Kuwait

US Dollar/KD .2770000 .2880000GB Pound/KD .4310000 .4470000Euro .3680000 .3760000Swiss francs .3020000 .3170000Canadian Dollar .2780000 .2920000Australian DLR .2940000 .3020000Indian rupees .0040000 .0069000Sri Lanka Rupee .0020000 .0035000UAE dirhams .0771240 .0778990Bahraini dinars .7513970 .7589480Jordanian dinar .3930000 .4110000Saudi riyals .0720000 .0770000Omani riyals .7366120 .7440150Egyptian pounds .0370000 .0440000

CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATESUS Dollar/KD .2841000 .2862000GB Pound/KD .4338920 .4370990Euro .3707360 .3734770Swiss francs .3043390 .3065880Canadian dollars .2795430 .2816100Danish Kroner .0497330 .0501010Swedish Kroner .0443660 .0446940Australian dlr .2963730 .2985640Hong Kong dlr .0365940 .0368650Singapore dlr .2291130 .2308060Japanese yen .0029600 .0028810Indian Rs/KD .0000000 .0052870Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 .0022880Pakistan rupee .0000000 .0029190Bangladesh taka .0000000 .0036810UAE dirhams .0773800 .0779520Bahraini dinars .7538810 .7594530Jordanian dinar .0000000 .4048090Saudi Riyal/KD .0757800 .0763400Omani riyals .7382100 .7436660Philippine Peso .0000000 .0069870

Bahrain Exchange Company

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co.

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

Al Mulla Exchange

ASIAN COUNTRIESJapanese Yen 2.781Indian Rupees 5.233Pakistani Rupees 2.912Srilankan Rupees 2.270Nepali Rupees 3.271Singapore Dollar 229.640Hongkong Dollar 36.980Bangladesh Taka 3.676Philippine Peso 6.970

Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000)US Dollar 285.700Euro 374.550Pound Sterling 440.000Canadian Dollar 285.150Japanese Yen 2.855Indian Rupee 5.228Egyptian Pound 40.550Sri Lankan Rupee 2.257Bangladesh Taka 3.668Philippines Peso 6.933Pakistan Rupee 2.905Bahraini Dinar 760.850UAE Dirham 77.850Saudi Riyal 76.300*Rates are subject to change

COUNTRY SELL CASH SELLDRAFTEurope

British Pound 0.4311675 0.4401675Czech Korune 0.0062090 0.0182090Danish Krone 0.0459301 0.0509301Euro 0.3672796 0.3747796Norwegian Krone 0.0454118 0.0506118Scottish Pound 0.4291120 0.4366120Swedish Krona 0.0394043 0.0444043Swiss Franc 0.2953155 0.3023155

AustralasiaAustralian Dollar 0.2754572 0.2874572New Zealand Dollar 0.2290480 0.2390480Uganda Shilling 0.0001142 0.0001142

AmericaCanadian Dollar 0.2763333 0.2853333Colombian Peso 0.0001456 0.0001636US Dollars 0.2839500 0.2861000

AsiaBangladesh Taka 0.0036286 0.0036836Cape Vrde Escudo 0.0031744 0.0034044Chinese Yuan 0.0455905 0.0505905Eritrea-Nakfa 0.0165400 0.0196400

Guinea Franc 0.0000444 0.0000504Hg Kong Dollar 0.0343160 0.0374160Indian Rupee 0.0051727 0.0052367Indonesian Rupiah 0.0000244 0.0000295Jamaican Dollars 0.0028600 0.0038600Japanese Yen 0.0027338 0.0029138Kenyan Shilling 0.0033582 0.0035882Malaysian Ringgit 0.0908389 0.0978389Nepalese Rupee 0.0031166 0.0033166Pakistan Rupee 0.0028798 0.0029198Philippine Peso 0.0064905 0.0069605Sierra Leone 0.0000731 0.0000761Singapore Dollar 0.2267879 0.2327879Sri Lankan Rupee 0.0022204 0.0022624Thai Baht 0.0092650 0.0098650

ArabBahraini Dinar 0.7524592 0.7609592Egyptian Pound 0.0390086 0.0410386Ethiopeanbirr 0.0129242 0.0194242Ghanaian Cedi 0.1454715 0.1472615Iranian Riyal 0.0000796 0.0000801Iraqi Dinar 0.0001728 0.0002328Jordanian Dinar 0.3979604 0.4054604Kuwaiti Dinar 1.0000000 1.0000000Lebanese Pound 0.0001756 0.0001956Moroccan Dirhams 0.0219005 0.0450052Nigerian Naira 0.0012190 0.0018540Omani Riyal 0.7324971 0.7434971Qatar Riyal 0.0779704 0.0787534Saudi Riyal 0.0758000 0.0764400Sudanese Pounds 0.0465443 0.0470943Syrian Pound 0.0031207 0.0033407Tunisian Dinar 0.1728462 0.1788462UAE Dirhams 0.0765080 0.0779580Yemeni Riyal 0.0012916 0.0013918

UAE Exchange Centre WLL

COUNTRY SELL DRAFT SELL CASH Australian Dollar 299.45 298.000Canadian Dollar 285.97 285.000Swiss Franc 306.21 307.000Euro 376.06 374.500US Dollar 284.60 285.500Sterling Pound 444.81 449.000Japanese Yen 2.98 3.300Bangladesh Taka 3.675 3.720Indian Rupee 5.263 5.450Sri Lankan Rupee 2.245 2.430Nepali Rupee 3.313 3.400Pakistani Rupee 2.896 2.953UAE Dirhams 77.55 78.000Bahraini Dinar 757.78 756.800Egyptian Pound 40.62 40.500Jordanian Dinar 405.45 410.000

Rate for Transfer Selling RateRate for Transfer Selling RateUS Dollar 286.550Canadian Dollar 284.780Sterling Pound 447.730Euro 371.435Swiss Frank 297.210Bahrain Dinar 758.655UAE Dirhams 77.995Qatari Riyals 78.655Saudi Riyals 76.375Jordanian Dinar 403.940Egyptian Pound 40.620Sri Lankan Rupees 2.265Indian Rupees 5.235Pakistani Rupees 2.904Bangladesh Taka 3.675Philippines Pesso 6.969Cyprus pound 702.930Japanese Yen 3.800Thai Bhat 9.730Syrian Pound 4.095Nepalese Rupees 3.365Malaysian Ringgit 95.500

Thai Baht 9.643Malaysian ringgit 94.221Irani Riyal 0.271Irani Riyal 0.273

GCC COUNTRIESSaudi Riyal 76.577Qatari Riyal 78.903Omani Riyal 745.880Bahraini Dinar 762.720UAE Dirham 78.194

ARAB COUNTRIESEgyptian Pound - Cash 40.700Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.455Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.340Tunisian Dinar 174.180Jordanian Dinar 405.520Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.927Syrian Lier 3.120Morocco Dirham 33.771

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIESUS Dollar Transfer 287.050Euro 372.300Sterling Pound 439.470Canadian dollar 281.970Turkish lira 158.720Swiss Franc 297.920US Dollar Buying 285.850

GOLD20 Gram 298.00010 Gram 150.0005 Gram 77.500

Omani Riyal 740.69 743.000Qatari Riyal 78.59 78.500Saudi Riyal 76.02 76.400

NEW DELHI: India’s investigation intowhether Walmart may have bribed Indian offi-cials to gain wider access to the country’s vastmarket has been “closed” due to lack of evi-dence, a report said yesterday.

The one-man committee of retired justiceMukul Mudgal probing the matter is likely tosubmit a report to the government next weeksaying there was no “adequate” evidence tosuggest Walmart was involved in any unlawfulactivity in India, the Business Standard report-ed, quoting unnamed sources.

There was no immediate comment avail-able from Walmart or the Indian government.Walmart said in a routine disclosure report tothe US Senate last year that it spent $25 mil-lion over four years on issues related to“enhanced market access for investment inIndia”.

The report stirred a ruckus in India withopposition lawmakers who oppose the chain’sentry, saying it will hurt local “mom and pop”stores, demanding an inquiry into whetherWalmart made any illegal payments as part of

its lobbying.Mudgal was named by the New Delhi gov-

ernment in January to investigate if the chainbroke any Indian laws, and he questioned topstore executives including its Asia chief execu-tive Scott Price as part of his inquiry.

Walmart announced in March it expectedto suffer financial losses amid its own internalprobe into corruption scandals involving for-eign subsidiaries from Mexico, India, Brazil toChina.

Last year, the Indian government allowedforeign supermarkets to establish 51-percentjoint ventures in the country as part of PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh’s drive to seek out-side investment to perk up a sharply slowingeconomy.

While Walmart had said in 2012 it wants tolaunch its first store in India within two years, itis yet to make a proposal to the governmentfor opening retail stores. Until the law waschanged, the $447-billion retail chain, thelargest in the world, could only set up cash-and-carry outlets. —AFP

India Walmart lobby case ‘closed’: Report

SMEs Fund capital must serve national economy Projects are tools for creating job opportunities

KUWAIT: The National Small and Medium-sizedEnterprises (SMEs) Fund’s capital of KD 2 billionremains an important part of public funds thatmust be used in feasible economic activities withthe capacity to repay public funding, said partici-pants at a seminar on SMEs Fund yesterday.

Participants at the (SMEs, DevelopmentCornerstone), organized by the Arab PlanningInstitute (API) and Kuwait Forum for Small andMedium Enterprises, stressed the need to hire anyfunding form of projects that would add value tothe national economy.

The participants also called on strengtheningthe possibilities of diversifying the economic basein Kuwait, emphasizing that the projects are toolsfor creating job opportunities for the expectedflooding of citizens to the labor market in thecoming years, which will lessen the need to bringin foreign labor and strengthen the role of nation-al employment.

The activities and projects to be funded mustbe studied first in terms of being sufficient andsustainable, the participants added, calling on theFund management to avoid financing refinedprojects in the national economy.

The participants also pointed out the impor-tance of the completion of the executive regula-tion list of the SMEs Fund, issued at the beginningof this year, as it facilitates the process of applyingfinancing mechanisms as fast as possible.

The Fund’s Board of Directors and theInternational Committee of Advisors must becomposed of specialized national competenciesaway from quotas and political loyalties, as thesemembers’ interests must be aligned with all theprojects intended to be financed, they noted.

They stressed the significance of clarifying thebond between the Fund and the bodies that havesupported and financed small projects during thepast years such as Kuwait Small Projects,

Industrial Bank of Kuwait as well as others thatwere tasked to support such projects by KuwaitInvestment Authority (KIA).

The participants called on governmental bod-ies concerned such as the Municipality, PublicAuthority for Industry (PAI), the Public Authorityfor Agriculture and the general authority forrestructuring labor market to coordinate with theFund to ensure facilitating and simplifying feasi-ble project.

Small and Medium Enterprises are to includeindustrial, business, farming, handicraft, service,intellectual activities or any economic projectwhich directly contributes to developing anddiversifying the national income sources andmeets the needs of local or foreign market aswell as providing job opportunities to citizensand developing value of free work in them andthe self-ability in any of the fields mentionedabove. —KUNA

MANILA: Jacinto Ng Sr., left, chair of Asia United Bank, rings the bell duringa ceremony for the bank’s IPO (Initial Public Offering) listing in thePhilippine Stocks Exchange at the financial district of Makati city, east ofManila, Philippines Friday, May 17, 2013. It was the third IPO listing this yearfor the PSE which reached a record high 7,000 level two days ago. At right isPSE Chair Jose Pardo. In the center is Anita Ng. —AP

KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al Danah dailydraws on May 12th 2013, announcing thenames of its winners for the week of May12th to May 16th. The Al Danah daily drawsinclude draws each working day for twoprizes of KD 1000 per winner.

The winners were: (Sunday 12/5): Ibrahim Mohammad

Ahmad Al-Awadi, Hamza Abbas Fahad Taqi(Monday 13/5): Mohammed SaoudAbdulaziz Al-Hasan, Abdullah Mefleh Al-Azmi (Tuesday 14/5): Baha’a Tawfeeq QasemAl-Qasem, Maryam Fadhel Ali Al- Bloushi.

( Wednesday 15/5): Khaznah NaserMurshed Melfi, Faisal Awad Ali Lafi (Thursday16/5): Esaa Esmaeel Moktar Abdullah,Badriya Marzouk Dawoud Al-Bader.

Gulf Bank’s Al Danah 2013 draw lineupincludes daily draws (2 winners per workingday each receive KD 1000), as well as threedraw prizes per quarter. Al Danah’s 2nd

Quarterly draw will be held on 27 June(KD250,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000), 3rdQuarter - 26 September (KD500,000,KD125,000, and KD25,000) and the finaldraw held on 9 January, 2014 announcingwinners of KD50,000, KD250,000 and the AlDanah Millionaire.

Gulf Bank’s Al Danah allows customers towin cash prizes and simultaneously encour-ages them to save money. Chances increasethe more money is deposited and thelonger it is kept in the account.

Al Danah also offers a number of uniqueservices including the Al Danah DepositOnly ATM card which helps account holdersdeposit their money at their convenience; aswell as the Al Danah calculator to help cus-tomers calculate their chances of becomingan Al Danah winner.

To be part of the Al Danah draws, cus-tomers can visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56branches.

Gulf Bank announces winners of Al Danah daily draws

Buybacks are a big factorbehind stock market boom

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

ROME: Demonstrators hold banners and flags during the left-wing Italianmetalworkers’ union FIOM rally in downtown Rome yesterday. —AFP

SYDNEY: London-based firm Cobalt hasdeveloped a sharia-compliant insuranceplatform that uses a syndication modelto help spread risk across a panel ofunderwriters, a novel format that couldboost capacity in the sector. Under theplatform, Cobalt allows multiple insur-ers to pool their capacity and each cansubscribe to the desired level of riskthough individual Islamic windows, saidchief executive Richard Bishop. “We aresyndicating the risk across a panel ofinsurers. What we are about is develop-ing an Islamic alternative in London forIslamic insurance,” Bishop said.

Cobalt aims to address capacity con-straints in the takaful (Islamic insurance)industry, which is based on the conceptof mutuality; where a company over-

sees a segregated pool of funds con-tributed by all policy holders. In theirinvestments, takaful firms must followreligious guidelines such as a ban oninterest and pure speculation. Globaltakaful contributions were expected toreach $12.4 billion in 2012, according toa report by consultants Ernst & Younglast April.

The platform allows each insurer tohave a takaful window, where policy-holder funds are segregated from con-ventional funds, without affecting theirrating levels and helping price the riskcompetitively, said Bishop. “It is essen-tial to our offering that all security is ofat least an A rating in order to satisfythe requirements of both buyers andtheir financiers,” he said. The risk is

priced by a lead insurer and other firmsmust then subscribe under similarterms, a similar approach to the sub-scription model used in London’s insur-ance market.

CAPACITYCobalt, formed in 2012 with capital

from Capita insurance services and theBank of London and The Middle East,hopes its platform can address gaps inboth the Islamic insurance and reinsur-ance sectors. The f irm has securedunderwriting capacity from XL Group toinsure property risks with capacity of upto $300 million.

Cobalt would seek to underwritelarge transactions of no less than $30million in value while it is also seeking

to expand capacity into the construc-tion sector, Bishop said.

In the long term, further capacitycould be added for other risks includingtrade finance, Islamic finance institu-tions, energy and aviation, he added.Operators in the takaful sector, whichhas its core markets in the Gulf andsoutheast Asia, have been limited intheir ability to take on large commercialrisks partly due to a lack of scale. “Onceyou get beyond small commercial risk,takaful doesn’t work. We have created amultiple-insurer platform to provide thesort of capacity the industry needs,”Bishop said. Reinsurance options arealso scarce, with some takaful firmsforced to reinsure through conventionallines, a practice allowed under the con-

cept of darura, or extreme necessity.Industry scholars, however, are

increasingly challenging whether thedarura concept is still applicable in today’smarket and are encouraging alternatives.Several pricing models can be used underthe platform such as mudaraba andwakala, the latter can incorporate anincentive fee which is the preferred for-mat, Bishop said. Under the mudarabamodel, a firm acts as a managing partnerfor a policyholder ’s money, workingunder a profit-sharing contract with anylosses borne by participants. In wakala,the firm operates under an agency agree-ment, managing funds on behalf of poli-cyholders in exchange for a managementfee, which can also include a performancefee. —Reuters

London firm launches Islamic insurance platform

LONDON: A wave of investor demand that hasallowed Deutsche Bank and two other lenders to raisesix billion euros ($7.7 billion) in new share capital inthe past month is unlikely to prompt other Europeanbanks to go to their shareholders for more cash. Morethan four years after the financial crisis began, manyare hesitating to take the plunge with further equityissues that are often unpopular with existing share-holders, while in Britain high politics have thrown upadditional complications.

Many banks across the continent must still raisefunds to get into shape for Basel III capital require-ments that come into force in 2019, aiming to preventa repeat of the 2008-09 disaster when taxpayers hadto bail out a string of lenders. With global stock mar-kets hitting record highs, powered by huge injectionsof liquidity from central banks, now would seem agood time to do this by selling new shares. Deutsche,Alpha Bank of Greece and Russia’s VTB have raised thecombined six billion euros ($7.8 billion), whileCommerzbank detailed terms on Tuesday for its 2.5billion euro share offering. Greece’s Piraeus is alsoraising cash.

Investment bankers have hailed the sales as a tes-tament to demand for bank stocks including evenhigher risk investments such as Alpha, a bailed-outbank in a bailed-out country which is ranked as “junk”by the three biggest credit rating agencies. But thebanks are often less enthusiastic. “You raise capitaleither because someone is forcing you to, or becauseit makes business sense,” said Jaime Ramos Martin,European equities portfolio manager at Standard LifeInvestments.

Many banks see no business sense in issuing equi-ty, believing regulators will give them time to buildup capital gradually from their profits or by issuing“cocos”, bonds that are converted into shares if abank’s position worsens. Executives from a number ofbanks who spoke to Reuters on condition ofanonymity said they did not plan or need to raise cap-ital. As one banker put it, the successful recent issuesmeans others “may consider, but most don’t necessar-ily need to raise or don’t want to raise”.

CHEQUERED PAST The financial crisis, which went global when

Lehman Brothers investment bank collapsed in theautumn of 2008, wiped out the capital buffers of eventhe world’s strongest banks. Weaker banks had to turnto their governments for tens of billions in bailoutfunding while stronger ones went to the markets. InEurope, the 46 banks in the benchmark EuroStoxx600 banks index tapped private investors for morethan 100 billion euros in ordinary equity since theautumn of 2008, according to figures compiled byReuters. The outcome has been mixed, with massivegains by some and heavy losses by others.

Investors who put close to 1.5 billion euros intoBelgian bank KBC last year have done spectacularlywell. Those who bought shares last October haveseen their investment rise 55 percent, based on theMay 13 closing price, while those who subscribed inDecember are up 41 percent. Backers of Spanish bankSantander’s 7.2 billion euro capital increase inDecember 2008 are now up 19 percent. However,those who took part in National Bank of Greece’s 1.25billion euro issue in July 2009 are nursing losses of 44percent, and investors who bought into a 499 millioneuros placement by Bank of Ireland in June 2010 aredown 88 percent.

Investment bankers involved in the current waveof equity issues say there is money to be made forinvestors who are flush with cash and seeking yield.The stock of almost all European banks is still tradingwell below book value - their net assets divided bythe number of shares. Many of the early capitalincreases were triggered by the demands ofEuropean Union stress tests, where banks’ financeswere subjected to crisis scenarios to see if they hadenough capital or needed to raise more. This hasmade many banks view raising equity as a last resortand a sign of defeat.

But forecasts from analysts at Deutsche Bank - oneof those lenders to have recently bitten the bullet -appear to belie the assumption that taking on moreequity prevents banks from delivering a good returnto shareholders. “Markets don’t punish banks for rais-ing capital if they genuinely need it,” said Deutscheanalyst Matt Spick. “Rather, markets punish banks thatconsistently run with less capital than the marketwould like them to have, rightly or wrongly.” Underthe Basel III rules, banks will be judged on their com-mon equity tier 1 capital ratios - a measure of high-quality capital compared with risk-weighted assets.

Out of 41 European lenders, Deutsche analystsexpect 14 to have capital ratios above 11 percent nextyear and forecast their average return on total equitywill be 11.7 percent then. At the remaining 27 bankswhich are expected to have ratios below 11 percentnext year, they predict return on total equity

will be only 8.1 percent. “There is no evidence thatearning a decent return for shareholders is hamperedby having a strong capital base,” said Spick. The prob-able reason was that banks already achieving highprofitability were able to build up a strong capitalbase, he added.

THE 2013 SHOW Banks came into 2013 riding a wave that pushed

the EuroStoxx 600 banks index up 23 percent in 2012and a further 8 percent so far this year. Despite this,most large share issues have been made at a discountto the market price. Deutsche Bank was an exception.It priced its 3 billion euro placement at the previousday’s closing price of 32.90 euros and made the wholeissue in less than 24 hours. The bank’s shares rose 6percent on the day the order book was filled.

“The Deutsche Bank share price reaction shouldmake people feel less scared about whether morecapital raisings come along, because demand looksstrong relative to supply at the moment, said,” ParasAnand, head of European equities at FidelityWorldwide Investment. Before the Deutsche issue,investors had been questioning the bank’s capital ade-quacy, something it was aware of, sources familiarwith the process said. The sales pitch was based on theidea that Deutsche would “re-rate” after its perceivedcapital problems had been solved and the bank’sshares would higher.

There are also commercial advantages for institu-tions active in investment banking to have new capi-tal, particularly one with a large US operation facingdemands for higher capital there. “There is clearly newbusiness to be gained from having this additional cap-ital,” said Martin. “It means they can now take more risk

and so on. There are more profits for the taking here.” Investors anticipating the issue had already set

aside money for Deutsche before it happened.“Deutsche Bank was seen as the right amount at theright time,” said one investment banker. “There arevery few that would work as well as Deutsche Bank.”German rival Commerzbank announced on Tuesdaythat it was pricing its issue at a discount of 55 percentto Monday’s closing price. The offer, which runs untilMay 28, is open to current shareholders who can buy20 new shares for every 21 shares they hold now.

NEXT WAVEAt the other end of the euro zone from Germany

- geographically and economically - Greek bankshave been canvassing private investors for freshfunds as they try to avoid falling under state control.They have been hammered by loan losses during

Greece’s depression and last year’s radical write-down in the value of their holdings of Greek gov-ernment bonds. This has left the top four lenderswith a 27.5 billion euro capital shortfall. Under a res-cue funded by Greece’s EU/IMF bailout, the four willfall under state control unless they can raise at least10 percent of their capital needs privately. Alphaannounced on May 1 it had raised 457 million euros,meeting the 10 percent target.

Piraeus had already ensured it could keepmanagement control when France’s SocieteGenerale and Millennium BCP of Portugal effec-tively paid it to take over their Greek operations.However, Piraeus is continuing to canvasinvestors for new equity. In Italy, a number ofsmall banks have capital holes that need fillingbefore they come under European Central Banksupervision next year, most notably Carige, whichneeds 800 million euros. But large Italian bankshave raised more than 26 billion euros of newequity since summer 2008 and show no signs ofan imminent return to the equity markets.

In Britain, the Bank of England has identified a25 billion pound ($38 billion) capital hole across thecountry’s banks, but the problem here is as muchpolitical as financial. The two big banks most in

need of capital, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds,were bailed out during the crisis at huge cost to theBritish taxpayer. RBS Chief Executive Stephen Hestersaid on Tuesday it would take another 18 months toimprove the bank’s capital position enough to keepregulators happy.

But the two banks’ largest shareholder, thegovernment, wants to sell the stakes - not pumpin yet more public cash in an exercise that wouldbe a political non-starter in the run up to parlia-mentar y elections in 2015. One investmentbanker said the appetite for bank equity didn’tmean a rush of activity would follow, as the mar-ket waits for the state to start selling its stakes.“People are talking in the market a lot about theUK banks, there’s a lot of political dialogue ... thediscount, the timing, the elections,” he said. “It’s afascinating debate.” —Reuters

Europe banks hesitate to join rush for share capital

Bankers often see issues as sign of failure

WASHINGTON: In this April 23, 2010 file picture German Deputy Finance Minister JoergAsmussen, right, and Axel Weber, then governor of the central bank of Germany, theDeutsche Bundesbank, brief reporters on their work at the IMF-World Bank meetingsin Washington. Engineering a financial bailout for Cyprus in March 2013 was such achaotic process that top European officials say it is time to rethink how the region man-ages its crisis — and who should be involved. —AP

NICOSIA: When the Cyprus bank run beganearlier this year, Russians set much of thepace. Documents seen by Reuters show thatas the Mediterranean island headed towardsfinancial meltdown in March, most notableamong companies transferring money fromthe country’s two main banks were Russiansand East Europeans. At least 3.6 billion euros($4.67 billion) was removed in two weeks bybig depositors, according to the documents.

Though many companies listed initiallyappear obscure, a Reuters analysis shows asignificant proportion are vehicles for foreigninvestors more at home in Moscow or Kievthan Nicosia. The lists give an insight into theMarch crisis and how the tax haven, with apopulation of just 1.1 million, had amassedbank deposits that peaked at 72 billion euros -more than four times the island’s GDP.

Prepared in April by private sector lendersBank of Cyprus and Laiki Bank, and passed tolawmakers by the island’s central bank, thedocuments list 5,323 transactions, most previ-ously undisclosed. They detail transfers of100,000 euros or more from Bank of Cyprusand Laiki Bank in the two weeks beforeCyprus closed its banks on March 16 as it des-perately negotiated an international rescue.Reuters analysed 129 companies that eachtransferred 5 million euros or more over thetwo-week period, collectively accounting for1.9 billion euros. Of those companies, 95could be traced.

Out of that group, 34 have links to Russia,five have links to Ukraine and two toKazakhstan. The remainder comprise compa-nies from Cyprus and other countries includ-ing tax havens such as the Cayman Islands,the British Virgin Islands and the DutchAntilles. By value, more than half the transac-tions were made in dollars. “This list verifies aswell-founded Cyprus’ reputation as an off-shore economy used as a conduit for people,particularly Russians, to hold large sums ofmoney, often to avoid paying tax and withouttoo much scrutiny,” said Michael McIntyre,professor of law and a tax expert at WayneState University in the United States.

While the transfers appear mostly relatedto moving money out of Cyprus, Reuterscould not establish where the funds went. It ispossible some transfers were between bankswithin Cyprus. Deposits that did flow out ofthe country had to be funded by emergencyliquidity assistance from the European CentralBank, according to analysts. In effect, the ECBwas paying for depositors, many of themRussian, to remove money from Cyprusbefore those depositors could be compelledto contribute to the international rescue ofthe island.

BIGGEST TRANSFERAs debts threatened to overwhelm Cyprus

early this year, money began to flow out ofthe country in fluctuating amounts. InJanuary 1.7 billion euros left the island and afurther 900 million in February, according toCentral Bank of Cyprus figures. The run accel-erated in March as Cyprus found it had fewfriends among international institutions suf-fering bail-out fatigue. Many of the biggesttransfers were by firms linked to Russia. Oneof the largest was listed under the name ofUCP Industrial Holdings, which is recorded asmoving 80.2 million euros out of the Bank ofCyprus on March 7.

UCP Industrial Holdings is part of UnitedCapital Partners, a $3.5 billion Russian invest-ment firm led by Ilya Sherbovich, a formerhead of investment at Deutsche Bank Russiaand now a board director of the oil giantRosneft. Sherbovich, whose UCP fund recently

acquired a stake in VKontakte, a fast-growingsocial network known as the “RussianFacebook”, told Reuters: “Our group has sever-al dozen legal entities, and some of them haveaccounts at Bank of Cyprus, but we don’t usethose as primary accounts. “Anybody seriouswho works on financial markets wouldn’thave left any significant amounts in theCyprus banks. Very simple reason: Look at theshare price chart of the Bank of Cyprus. Itwent to zero many months before the freezehappened.”

He could not confirm the transaction listedin the Cypriot documents and said his compa-nies did not keep big deposits in Cyprus. Aspokeswoman for UCP said the transaction“must be a mistake or incorrect information”.On March 16, the Cyprus government shutbanks amid discussions over imposing losseson depositors as the price for an internationalrescue. On the day before, a company calledTrellas Enterprises moved 2 billion roubles($63.85 million) out of Bank of Cyprus.

Trellas Enterprises is majority-owned byMaxim Nogotkov, an entrepreneur who con-trols Svyaznoy, one of the biggest retailers ofcell phones in Russia. Nogotkov, 36, is listed byForbes as having a net worth of $1.3 billion.Nogotkov confirmed that he controlled hismobile phone and banking interests in Russiathrough Trellas, but declined to comment onthe transfer recorded in the bank list. “We nev-er comment on financial transfers or mergersand acquisitions activity,” Nogotkov said bytelephone.

Asked whether he was consideringrestructuring his business interests in light ofCyprus’ financial meltdown, Nogotkov said:“Not actively. We don’t have any urgent deci-sions to restructure (the business).” Anothercompany illustrating the Russia connection isO1 Properties Limited, which moved 10.1 mil-lion euros out of Bank of Cyprus. The companyis controlled by Boris Mints, a Russian politi-cian turned businessman, and this yearbought the White Square business centre inMoscow for $1 billion.

In the 1990s Mints was a state official han-dling issues relating to property and localauthorities. From 2004 until 2012 he waschairman of the board of Otkritie FinancialCorporation, which describes itself as Russia’slargest independent financial group by assets.He is now president of the firm. Mints was notavailable for comment. A spokesman for O1Properties said: “O1 Properties keeps anaccount at the Bank of Cyprus to use it for reg-ular business activities. We didn’t know thatCyprus banks (would) shut. O1 Properties suf-fered losses. We do not comment (on the)total loss.”

EXPENSIVE WORDSThe troika of the European Commission,

the European Central Bank and theInternational Monetary Fund insisted ontough terms for providing billions to stopCyprus going bust. As talks progressed, specu-lation began to spread that any package forCyprus would include levying money frombank depositors - an unprecedented movethat came to be known as a bail in, rather thana bail out.

The impact of what politicians and officialssaid - and did not say - is reflected in the pat-tern of fund outflows. On March 4, depositorswithdrew 261 million euros from the twobanks, according to the transfer lists. Late thatday, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of theEurogroup of finance ministers in the eurozone, was asked whether the rescue of Cypruswould affect bank depositors. He did not givea clear answer. —Reuters

Bank documents portray Cyprus as

Russia’s favorite haven

GENOA: A deepening recession and bankingstress tests could find Italy’s mid-sized lendersshort of billions of euros, putting the state onthe hook for a new wave of cash calls and trig-gering an overhaul of how they do business.Even ahead of the European stress tests, expect-ed to take place when or shortly before theEuropean Central Bank (ECB) takes over directsupervision of euro zone banks next year, Italy’ssmaller banks are under pressure to boost theirbalance sheets after a Bank of Italy audit ofproblematic loans and to meet stricter Basel 3capital rules. Bad loans in Italy have been climb-ing at an annual rate of 20 percent in recentmonths.

In the port city of Genoa, birthplace of mod-ern banking in the 15th century, regional mar-ket leader Carige is raising 800 million euros ($1billion), equivalent to two thirds of its marketvalue, by selling assets to boost its capital. With acore tier one ratio of 6.7 percent, Carige’s abilityto absorb losses is among the weakest in Italy.“Initially, we thought we would have more timeto come into line with the new Basel 3 rules,”said Ennio La Monica, the bank’s chief executive,

in an interview from his top floor office. “Butthere was an acceleration in September with thedrafting of the list of banks that would fall underEU banking supervision.”

“This problem is common to a number ofother small banks. We had to speed up and tryto do everything this year,” said La Monica.Disposals and other actions undertaken by thebank should boost its core Tier 1 to 10 percent,he added. Italian banks’ efforts to shore up theircapital base, especially among the 25 or solenders expected to come under ECB supervi-sion, is in turn deepening the country’s econom-ic recession, as they cut back on lending.

A harsher credit crunch could emerge if theECB stress tests expose more capital holes,potentially prolonging Italy’s nearly two-year-long recession and raising its debt burden,already at 2 trillion euros, the second-largest inthe EU after Germany, which has a much biggereconomy and a much lower ratio of debt to GDP.With bad debts mounting, analysts expect theFrankfurt-based central bank to take a harshlook at the quality of banks’ loans, requiringthem to set aside more capital. —Reuters

Mid-sized Italian banks face big bang for want of bucks

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange(KSE) ended last week in the greenzone. The price index ended lastweek with an increase amounted to1.71%, and the weighted indexadvanced by 0.35% compared to theclosings of the week before. In addi-tion KSX-15 index increased by0.11%. Furthermore, last week’s aver-age daily turnover decreased by21.53%, compared to the precedingweek, reaching KD 86.97 million,whereas trading volume average was1.13 billion shares, recording increaseof 11.67%.

The Price Index reached 8,000point psychological level, among anunstable performance resulted fromthe different directions of traders.The market witnessed quick profitcollection operations, lightened itsgains at some point and dragged itto the red zone in one session atanother point. However, the pur-chasing activity was present duringmost of the time, which enabled thethree indices to realize gains by theend of the week.

In addition, the market witnessedlast week random purchasing opera-tions on some leading stocks inBanking sector, which had a positiveimpact on the Weighted Index andKSX-15 Index, where both closed theweek in the green zone. Moreover,the market witnessed in one of itsdaily sessions, a strong correctionaction, caused the market to shedgreatly, whereas the Price Indexdecreased by approximately 50point, due to selling operations exe-cuted on many small-cap stocks, withconcentration on stocks that record-ed significant price increases lately.However, the market was able torealize gains in the last session of theweek, as a result to the return of thepositive purchasing and speculativeoperations that included manystocks, and enabled the Price Index

to compensate its previous sessionloss, getting close to 8,000 point lev-el, which is expected to reach by thecoming weeks.

For the annual performance, theprice index ended last week recording33.16% annual gain compared to its

closing in 2012, while the weightedindex increased by 11.05%, and theKSX-15 recorded 7.68% increase.

By the end of the week, the priceindex closed at 7,902.18 points, up by1.71% from the week before closing,whereas the weighted index registered

a 0.35% weekly gain after closing at463.80 points. Moreover, the KSX-15index closed at 1,086.63 points, increas-ing with 0.11%.

Sectors’ IndicesAll of KSE’s sectors ended last week

in the green zone except for one sector.Last week’s highest gainer was theConsumer Goods sector, achieving4.74% growth rate as its index closed at1,157.71 points. Whereas, in the secondplace, the Technology sector’s indexclosed at 1,201.80 points recording

2.83% increase. The Real Estate sectorcame in third as its index achieved2.79% growth, ending the week at1,541.12 points. The Industrials sectorwas the least growing as its indexclosed at 1,143.86 points with a 0.28%increase. On the other hand, theInsurance sector was last week’s onlyloser as its index declined by 2.63% toend the week’s activity at 1,115.95points.

Sectors’ ActivityThe Real Estate sector dominated

total trade volume during last weekwith 2.11 billion shares changinghands, representing 37.31% of the totalmarket trading volume. The FinancialServices sector was second in terms oftrading volume as the sector’s tradedshares were 35.62% of last week’s totaltrading volume, with a total of 2.02 bil-lion shares.

On the other hand, the Real Estatesector’s stocks were the highest tradedin terms of value; with a turnover of KD158.67 million or 36.49% of last week’stotal market trading value. The FinancialServices sector took the second place asthe sector’s last week turnover of KD147.67 million represented 33.96% ofthe total market trading value.

KSE ends last week in the green zoneBAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT

WASHINGTON: Legislation cleared the Houseon Friday that would place stricter require-ments on the federal agency overseeing WallStreet to assess the costs and benefits of itsregulations before they are issued.

The bill passed on a 235-161 vote mostlyon party lines. It was the latest salvo againstthe Securities and Exchange Commission byHouse Republicans, who opposed the 2010financial overhaul legislation expanding theSEC’s powers and have resisted increasing itsbudget. Congress enacted the regulatoryoverhaul in response to the 2008 financial cri-sis with an eye to preventing another melt-down.

Friday’s bill isn’t expected to get a vote inthe Senate. It would require the SEC to refrainfrom adopting rules unless it determines thatthe benefits of the rules outweigh the costs.The agency currently conducts cost-benefitanalyses of regulations prior to issuing them.But the bill would make the process moreextensive and detailed.

In addition, the SEC would be required toreview all its existing rules to determine ifthey impose excessive costs or administrativeburdens on the companies regulated by theagency.

Democratic lawmakers said that wouldforce the agency to review every rule put intoeffect since its creation during the GreatDepression, with no additional funding forSEC staff.

The bill seeks to hinder the SEC’s ability towrite new rules under the 2010 financial over-haul and to shield Wall Street from regulation,

the Democrats charged.The legislation “is aimed squarely at under-

mining Wall Street’s cop on the block,” Rep.Maxine Waters of California, the seniorDemocrat on the House Financial ServicesCommittee, said on the House floor beforethe vote. “This is dangerous; it is irresponsible.This is about protecting Wall Street.”

In addition to tying up SEC staff resources,the requirement for more extensive anddetailed cost-benefit analyses would put theagency at greater risk of being sued over eachrule it adopts, the Democrats said. They saidthat while they support cost-benefit analysesby federal agencies, they object to imposingexcessive requirements on the SEC.

The White House registered its oppositionto the bill on Wednesday, saying it would add“burdensome and disruptive new procedures(that) would impede the ability of the SEC toprotect investors, maintain orderly and effi-cient markets, and facilitate capital formation.”

SEC Chairman Mary Jo White told thefinancial services panel in a hearing Thursdaythat she is “a firm supporter of rigorous eco-nomic analysis,” which the agency has beenconducting. “I do have concerns about this billin terms of our being able to carry out ourrulemaking function expeditiously, and toprovide market participants with certainty,”she testified.

But Republicans insisted the change wasneeded to help curb runaway regulationswritten in Washington that hurt ordinaryAmericans by raising costs for businesses.

“What it is really about is kitchen-table eco-

nomics,” said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas,chairman of the Financial ServicesCommittee.

The Republicans have long targeted theSEC by proposing legislation to weaken vari-ous provisions of the financial overhaul law.Their opposition has been galvanized inrecent days with the revelations that theInternal Revenue Service gave tougher treat-ment to tea party and other conservativegroups seeking tax-exempt status.

At Thursday’s hearing, committeeRepublicans seized on the episode to tellWhite that if the SEC adopted a rule requiringpublic companies to disclose political dona-tions, as consumer and liberal groups haveurged, it would be engaging in a similarabuse of power as the IRS.

The SEC is an independent regulatoryagency. The IRS is a division of the TreasuryDepartment, which is part of the Obamaadministration. Among other things, the billwould require the SEC to adopt rules onlyafter a “reasoned determination” that theirbenefits would outweigh their costs, to iden-tify and assess possible alternatives to pro-posed rules, to gauge the potential impact ofrules on investors and small business, and toperiodically review existing rules to deter-mine if they are overly burdensome, outdatedor weak.

A large coalition of consumer, union andliberal groups said in a letter to House law-makers that the bill “is transparently intendedto create roadblocks in the way of passing anyinvestor protection rule.” —AP

Bill clears House for wider SEC economic analyses JOHANNESBURG: Operations at a

chrome mine in South Africa owned bychemicals group LANXESS have beensuspended since Thursday after work-ers started an illegal strike over bonuspayments, the National Union ofMineworkers (NUM) said on Saturday.

The dispute at the mine in Rustenburg,120 km (70 miles) northwest ofJohannesburg, adds to growing labourtensions around South Africa’s platinumbelt, which are set to intensify over loom-ing job cuts and wage talks in the sector.

“The strike is still ongoing, althoughwe are trying to persuade workers togo back,” said Mxhasi Sithethi, theunion’s regional co-ordinator forRustenburg.

“ The company issued a courtinjunction yesterday calling the work-ers to go back to work, but theemployees reacted angrily.” Sithethisaid the situation around the mine hadbeen tense on Friday, although therewere no reports of violence. The unionwill be in talks with the workers andthe company’s management onMonday to find a solution to the dis-pute.

The company could not be reachedfor comment. Rustenburg, the centreof South Africa’s platinum belt andhome to 80 percent of known globalplatinum reserves, has over the pastyear become the flashpoint of violentlabour strife and a turf war betweenthe NUM and the more militantAssociation of Mineworkers andConstruction Union (AMCU).

More than 50 people were killed inlabour-related violence last year amid awave of wildcat strikes that hit produc-tion in the platinum and gold sectors,and there are concerns that therecould be more unrest after AngloAmerican Platinum announced plansto cut 6,000 mining jobs aroundRustenburg.

That is less than half the 14,000 ini-tially targeted by the world’s top pro-ducer of the precious metal as it seeksto restore profits, but unions have stillvowed to fight the lay-offs. However, aprotest strike called for Friday by atleast two AMCU officials failed to mate-rialise.

Upcoming wage talks in SouthAfrica’s mining sector are also expect-ed to be difficult given inflation, risingworker militancy, shrinking companymargins and sharply falling commodityprices. The platinum price lost nearly20 percent in the last two years.

AMCU’s leader on Friday threatenedto bring Africa’s biggest economy to astandstill, ramping up the rhetoric inthe 18-month labour crisis, while therand fell to a four-year low against thedollar this week on concerns about fur-ther disruptions to an already strug-gling economy.

The growing tensions have put pres-sure on President Jacob Zuma’s AfricanNational Congress (ANC), which wascriticised for its handling of last year’sturmoil and faces accusations that it isneglecting the poor 19 years after theend of apartheid. —Reuters

Workers on illegal strike at chrome mine in S Africa

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

MUNICH: At the Concorso d’EleganzaVilla d’Este 2013, two tradition-steepedcar manufacturers - the BMW Group andPininfarina - will be straddling the auto-motive past and future as they unveil theresult of their debut cooperation to theglobal public on 24 May: the BMWPininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé.

Together they have created theembodiment of sheer elegance. TheBMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso CoupÈ isthe sequel to a new approach intro-duced at last year ’s Concorso in theshape of the BMW Zagato Coupé.Always in search of opportunities forfurther development, the BMW Groupconsciously pursues creative exchangewith other design studios. It enables twodesign approaches to merge into a newand exciting initiative that encouragesfresh creative impulses. Thus the closecollaboration with the Pininfarinadesign team has led to a new automo-tive personality brimming with charac-ter and ready to join the high-end luxu-ry class: typically BMW and bearing therefined imprint of Pininfarina. The BMWPininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé adds anew dimension to the BMW claim to ele-gance and exclusivity.

This elaborate creation is a one-offthat captivates the observer at first glancewith its Italian exclusivity and modern

finesse. Generous surface design and tautcontours highlight an elegant vehiclebody, while hallmark BMW proportions - along wheelbase, stretched bonnet, short

overhangs and a set-back greenhousewith smoothly sloping roofline - imbuethe BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso CoupÈwith authoritative dynamics even before

a wheel has been turned. Enhancing thepowerful impact of the side profile areconvex taperings that add a dynamic ele-gance. The exterior symbolises the mod-

ern harmony between power and ele-gance encapsulated by the V12 engineunder the bonnet.

On the inside, the BMW Gran LussoCoupÈ shows this consummate blend ofcontemporary elegance and luxury. Herethe melding of exclusivity, comfort andsportiness makes for a unique interiorexperience. The fluid underlying geome-try of the cabin and the classical BMWdriver focus are lent a thoroughly newtouch through the influence of Pininfarina.

BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé

S & P warns India could face junk status

Announcement surprise finance ministryNEW DELHI: India faces at least “a one-in-three”chance of losing its prized sovereign grade rat-ing, global ratings agency Standard and Poor’shas warned, amid new threats to economicgrowth and reforms.

The announcement surprised the financeministry which had been pitching for a ratingsupgrade, saying the government has takenstrong steps to improve India’s public finances,promote investment and revive growth.

India’s BBB-minus investment rating is alreadythe lowest among its BRICS peers Brazil, Russia,China and South Africa, and cutting it to “junkstatus” would push up the country’s hefty bor-rowing costs as it would signal higher risk.

“There is at least a one-in-three chance thatwe will lower the ratings in the next 12 months,”S&P said late Friday, adding “risks to India’sgrowth from stalled reforms in parliament still tiltthe credit risks to the downside.”

The warning from S&P, which cut the outlookon India’s BBB-minus rating to negative from sta-ble last year, came after parliament adjourned

early amid opposition uproar over corruptionscandals.

The shutdown stalled the economic reformdrive by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’sminority government, hobbled by a string ofgraft controversies with two cabinet ministersentangled in scandals quitting late last week.

The government has opened up the retail andaviation sectors to wider foreign investment andpartly freed fuel prices. But it has been striving topass other bills to open the the insurance andpension sectors to more overseas investmentand streamline industrial land acquisition to spureconomic growth.

Leading business group, the Confederation ofIndian Industry, called S&P’s economic outlook“harsh” and said the government was makingefforts to rein in the ballooning current accountdeficit-the broadest measure of trade.

Meanwhile, the chief economic advisor to thefinance ministry, Raghuram Rajan, describedS&P’s comments as “disappointing”.

But with the 2014 elections looming, analysts

say Singh is fast running out of time to completehis legislative reform agenda.

“The big worry is they may have nothing toshow in their report card,” said ParsaVenkateshwar Rao, a columnist for the DNA daily.

S&P said it may also cut India’s ratings if itdecides Asia’s third-largest economy will notrevert to higher seven to eight percent growthlevels notched up earlier in this decade.

India’s growth right was bumping along at 5.0percent for the last financial year to March 2013,the lowest level in a decade, but the governmentexpects it to pick up to six percent this year and istargeting seven percent in 2014.

S&P credit analyst Takahira Ogawa said, “Wehave indicated compared to one year ago, thereis some easing of the pressure towards thedowngrade of the rating.”

But despite government efforts to cut redtape in implementing long-delayed infrastruc-ture and power projects, its “success in raisinginvestment growth remains uncertain”, headded. —AFP

WUHAN: This file photo taken on October 8, 2012 shows a visitor walkingout from the entrance to the telecommunications equipment firm HuaweiTechnologies in Wuhan, central China’s Huwei province. —AFP

SINGAPORE: This photograph taken on April 18, 2013 shows employeesarranging jewellery at a newly opened Moneymax outlet, locally owned byjewellery firm Soo Kee Group at the Woodlands SMRT train station inSingapore. As more residents seek more funds for basic needs, Singapore’spawnshop industry has seen phenomenal growth at a time when prices arerising but a slowing economy has led to stagnated wage growth for middle-and lower-income families. —AFP

NEW YORK: Europe’s top trade official forthe first time late on Friday officially citedChinese mobile telecommunications equip-ment makers Huawei and ZTE Corp for vio-lating anti-dumping and anti-subsidy guide-lines.

European Union Trade CommissionerKarel De Gucht said he was prepared tolaunch a formal investigation into anti-com-petitive behavior by these Chinese compa-nies in order to protect a “strategic” sector ofEurope’s economy.

“Huawei and ZTE are dumping theirproducts on the European market,” De Guchttold Reuters in an exclusive interview beforeengaging with US businesses as part of hispreparations for negotiating a Transatlanticfree trade pact with the United States. Thosetalks are expected to begin in July.

An investigation now into sales practicesof Chinese telecoms equipment companieswould open up a new front in a multibillion-euro trade offensive against a critical part-ner.

The EU is China’s most important tradingpartner, while for the EU, China is secondonly to the United States. Chinese exports ofgoods to the 27-member bloc totaled 290billion euros ($372 billion) last year, with 144billion euros going the other way.

Cheap capital for these Chinese compa-nies “creates a distorted playing field andthat is what this is about,” De Gucht said,referring to Huawei and ZTE, respectivelythe world’s No. 2 and No. 5 telecom equip-ment makers. Huawei denied it had brokenany rules.

“In Europe and in all markets, Huaweialways plays fair and we win business andtrust from our customers through our inno-vative technology and quality service, ratherthan via pricing or subsidies,” the companysaid in a statement e-mailed to Reuters.

Separately, the official China Daily quot-ed Huawei’s Western Europe president TaoJingwen as saying that the firm’s rivals wereblaming the company for their own failures.“Some European companies have blamedChinese companies for their losses, butsometimes they were caused by their ownlaziness,” Tao said in a report carried beforethe publication of De Gucht’s remarks.

ZTE could not be reached immediatelyfor comment, but the company has also inthe past denied benefiting from illegal statesupport.

De Gucht’s office on Wednesday said aninvestigation was prepared but put on hold.At the time no companies were officiallynamed. The pause is to allow further negoti-ations with China in hopes for a resolution.

“We have already had three rounds ofnegotiations on that, but without any satis-factory outcome,” he said. “I think it is betterfor the whole world economy and trade thatthese two big trading partners come to anamicable solution on what is in fact a verystrategic and crucial sector. But you needtwo to tango and we have the necessaryresolve to go for it if necessary,” he said.

China responded on Thursday, threaten-

ing the EU with retaliation. European tele-com equipment makers have not made anycomplaints for fear of Chinese reprisals.Therefore if the EU makes the case, it doesso for the first time on its own initiative,known as ex-officio. European manufacturerEricsson is the global leader with a 35 per-cent market share. It said it opposed theCommission’s move.

“I don’t want to elaborate on what couldbe the sanctions... Everybody knows. TheChinese know our procedures as well as wedo. They are very well aware of what is in ourtoolbox,” De Gucht said.

China exports network equipment, basestations and connections used by telecomproviders to transmit voice and data mes-sages worth more than 1 billion euros a yearto the EU, giving it almost a quarter of themarket.

Meanwhile, De Gucht would not com-ment on whether he will go ahead withimposing punitive import duties on 21 bil-lion euros worth of imported Chinese solarpanels. The European Commission agreed tohis proposal for a 47 percent tariff, which hecan formally declare on June 6 if it is pub-lished in the EU’s Official Journal.

While Europe battles with China overtrade, given 18 out of 31 ongoing tradeinvestigations are with Beijing, De Guchtsaid he is eager for talks to start withWashington on a trade pact focused onmaking each other’s regulations more com-patible.

“The most important part of that agree-ment, because it would be a real game-changer, is the regulatory (component),” hesaid.

The EU and the United States account fornearly half of the world’s economic outputand 30 percent of trade, with goods andservices worth $2.7 billion traded bilaterallyevery day. Those figures were released inFebruary when the two sides announcedthey would launch bilateral trade talks.

However US President Barack Obama’spick for the US Trade Representative cabinetpost, Mike Froman, has yet to be confirmed.Froman is the White House chief internation-al economic affairs advisor, a job he has heldsince Obama took office in 2009.

Ahead of the talks France has alreadypushed to exclude from negotiation themovie and television industries. France haslong defended a “cultural exception” in tradeaffairs in what it sees is a need to protectEuropean arts from Hollywood-driven mar-ket forces.

According to the latest data from theMotion Picture Association of America, U.S.film and television services exports in 2010were $13.5 billion, down 2 percent from2009 but up 6 percent over 2006.

De Gucht said the EU would not put onthe table “a cut to the subsidies for Europeanfilm producers.” Instead, for the first time, heis arguing the audiovisual sector should beincluded so European businesses could ben-efit from developments in the digital mediasphere. —Reuters

EU cites telecoms Huawei and ZTE for trade violations

SINGAPORE: Singaporean housewife SitiKhadijah Abdul Rahman accumulated afew thousand dollars’ worth of gold acces-sories over the past two decades, but nowa rising cost of living is forcing her to pawnthem.

With a stretched household budget thatmust also cater to school expenses for hertwo teenage children, the 49 year-old ispawning her gold to relieve pressure onher security guard husband, who earnsSg$1,500 ($1,211) a month.

“Pawning is better than going to friendsor family when you have budget problems,”said Abdul Rahman. “When I have money, Iwill claim it back.”

She is one of a rapidly increasing num-ber of people opting to take short-termpawnshop loans to try to keep up with ris-ing prices, in what the EconomistIntelligence Unit has ranked the world’ssixth most expensive city to live in.

Singapore’s pawnshop industry hasseen phenomenal growth at a time whenrising prices and a slowing economy areputting pressure on the household budg-ets of middle- and lower- income families.Loans surged to Sg$7.1 billion in 2012, up43 percent on-year, according to industryregistry data.

Singapore has one of the highest con-

centrations of millionaires relative to itspopulation, but the city-state’s per capitaincome of more than Sg$65,000 in 2012masks a sharp income gap between therichest and poorest.

The three major pawnshop chains-which make up the bulk of the nearly 200pawnshops across the island nation of 5.3million people-have sought to take theshame out of using personal property ascollateral for short term loans.

“You look around you, this is probablyone of the most expensive places in theworld,” said Derek Da Cunha, a local socio-political observer.

“Without the stigma (of borrowing),pawnshops have become more respectableand we have working professionals using itas a means to get short-term loans to copewith their expenses.”

Families like Abdul Rahman’s in the bot-tom 10 percent of Singapore householdshad to weather a 1.2 percent dip in incomeadjusted for inflation last year, statisticsdepartment data showed.

Healthcare costs rose 3.9 percent on-year in 2012 according to governmentdata. A consumer group said the averageprice of a bowl of noodles with fishballs, astaple dish, was 20 percent higher in 2012from a year ago at Sg$3. —AFP

Singapore cost of living sees pawnshops thrive

Qatar Airways announces codeshare flights

with Bangkok AirwaysBANGKOK: Qatar Airways yesterday announced a newcodeshare agreement with Bangkok Airways to destina-tions across Thailand and the capital cities of neighbouringCambodia and Myanmar.

Effective May 15, the agreement sees Qatar Airways’ QRflight code on services beyond the Thai capital wiithBangkok Airways to a raft of destinations giving passen-gers more convenient and greater access to markets.

The domestic Thai codeshare destinations to and fromBangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport are Samui,Phuket, Chiang Mai, Trat, Sukhothai, Lampang, Krabi. Inaddition, Qatar Airways will also codeshare with BangkokAirways on flights from Bangkok to Phnom Penh andYangon, the capital cities of Cambodia and Myanmarrespectively.

Customers can now make bookings through their localtravel agent, any Qatar Airways office or through the air-line’s website www.qatarairways.com

Passengers travelling from many of Qatar Airways’ keymarkets in Europe, North America, South America, Africaand the Middle East to and from southeast Asia can takeadvantage of the new codeshare agreement with BangkokAirways for greater access to more markets.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Bakersaid: “Qatar Airways’ hub in Doha is strategically well placedto connect East and West, and through this new partner-ship with Bangkok Airways we are able to cater to passen-gers who wish to seamlessly connect onwards to furtherdestinations in countries where the airline already has anestablished presence - in Thailand, Cambodia andMyanmar.

“This new codeshare with Bangkok Airways gives ourpassengers greater and easier access to more points acrossThailand which is one of our most popular destinations inAsia.”

Qatar Airways currently operates non-stop flightsbetween Doha and Bangkok four-times-daily and alsoserves Phuket in Thailand daily from the Qatari capital. Inaddition, Qatar Airways serves both Phnom Penh andYangon daily from Doha.

Bangkok Airways Senior Vice President NetworkManagement Peter Wiesner added: “This new partnershipwill offer better flight connectivity for passengers travellingon long-haul routes with Qatar Airways to Bangkok fortheir onward journey within Thailand, Cambodia andMyanmar.

“Moreover, Thailand’s key destinations, namely Samui,Phuket and Chiang Mai always have great potential whichattract a large number of tourists. Therefore, we believethis partnership will offer a unique service for QatarAirways’ passengers and will strengthen Bangkok Airways’extensive network as well as boosting tourism in Thailandand Asia.”

Qatar Airways is one of the world’s fastest growing air-lines currently operating a modern fleet of 124 aircraft to126 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, AsiaPacific, North America and South America from its strategi-cally located hub in Doha, capital of the State of Qatar.

The airline has an aggressive growth strategy, with fournew routes already launched this year - Gassim (SaudiArabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Chicago(USA).

B U S I N E S SSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

WASHINGTON: Hisham El-Khazindar, Co-Founder and Managing Director ofCitadel Capital, took part in a panel onemerging market opportunities andtrends at the IFC-EMPEA annual gatheringin Washington DC, outlining the strongupside potential for sustainable, high-growth investments in Africa and theMiddle East.

Citadel Capital), the leading invest-ment company in Africa and the MiddleEast with US$ 9.5 billion in investmentsunder control, took part in the 15th annu-al IFC Global Private Equity Conferenceheld in association with EMPEA inWashington, DC on 14-16 May.

Citadel Capital Co-Founder andManaging Director, Hisham El-Khazindarparticipated in a panel discussion entitled“A Macro Perspective: Emerging MarketsOpportunities and Trends,” which featuredglobal industry leaders with significantemerging market expertise and insightsinto the challenges and constraints ofemerging market private equity.

“In many instances a crisis situationcan create opportunity,” said El-Khazindar.“Across Egypt, East Africa and NorthAfrica, we see excellent investmentopportunities in sometimes challengingcountries that are in need of manage-ment expertise and capital.”

In the midst of challenging economicand political conditions in Egypt, Citadel

Capital’s platform company, Mashreq,singed a 25-year concession agreementto build a unique EGP 3 billion tank farmon the Suez Canal that will serve the glob-al shipping market and be a backupEgypt’s national energy security policy.

“In Egypt, the Arab Spring and hasbrought about a new set of political andeconomic challenges that have presentedsome key investment opportunities. Forexample, the energy sector in Egypt is indire need of new investment to upgradeexisting power plants and power trans-mission networks as well as investmentsin new power generation and refiningcapacity to meet increased local demandfor electricity and petroleum products,”said El-Khazindar. “Given Egypt’s con-strained financial and organizationalresources, much of this infrastructuredevelopment should be driven by thelocal and international private sector, inthe form of public private partnerships,”he added.

Citadel Capital’s Egyptian RefiningCompany (ERC), a $3.7 billion greenfieldpetroleum refining upgrade project in theGreater Cairo Area will reduce Egypt’spresent-day diesel imports by more thanhalf, eliminate approximately 93,000 tonsof sulfur emissions annually, and produceover 4.2 million tons of refined productsand high-quality oil derivatives per yearincluding 3 million tons of jet fuel and

Euro V diesel (the cleanest-burning dieselfuel in the world).

“In East Africa a growing consumerbase, natural resource discoveries andimproved governance are driving growthand creating unique opportunities in sev-eral sectors.

We see opportunity to create value insectors such as infrastructure that willserve as a catalyst for Africa’s growth. Theinsufficient amount and quality of infra-structure is currently a major impedimentto developing trade, creating jobs andimproving competitiveness on the conti-nent,” said El-Khazindar.

“According to recent statistics from theAfrican Development Bank, Africa needsUS$93 billion annually until 2020 for infra-structure development. As urbanizationincreases, consumer markets grow andmore countries on the continent developbroader ties to the global economy, theneed for infrastructure investments, par-ticularly those related to energy andtransportation, will multiply,” adds El-Khazindar.

Egypt has been Citadel Capital’s centerof gravity since inception. In 2006 thefirm began investing directly in sub-Saharan Africa and has historically strivento broaden investor interest in Africanopportunities particularly those thatmove away from pure commodities andtowards infrastructure, manufacturing

and value-added exports.Among the firm’s notable African

investments is Rift Valley Railways (RVR),which holds a concession to operate thenational railways of Kenya and Uganda,linking the Indian Ocean port ofMombasa to the interiors of Kenya andUganda, including the Ugandan capital ofKampala. For the past two years, CitadelCapital has been working with the RVR

management and its local partners toimplement a three-point turnaround pro-gram with investments of US$ 287 mil-lion. RVR is helping open doors to intra-African trade by bringing transport costsdown by as much as 35% - a savings thatshould have a substantial impact on busi-nesses and consumers alike.

“Investments like RVR that can be apart of Africa’s growth story are not busi-nesses that lend themselves to shortholding periods. As an investment com-pany we are now focusing on taking amuch longer 10-15 year view on opportu-nities versus the traditional 3-5 year pri-vate equity industry view,” said El-Khazindar. “The bottom line: Long termconfidence in these markets has to trans-late into long-term investment strategies.”

Citadel Capital is currently transform-ing its business model from a privateequity firm to an investment company tocreate long-term value for its sharehold-ers by focusing on a smaller number ofhigh-potential, unique platform compa-nies in five core industries; energy, trans-portation, agrifoods, mining and cement,which are underpinned by outstandingeconomic fundamentals. The firm aims toadd value by building sustainable busi-nesses in industries that will be theengines of growth and economic devel-opment in its core footprint, Africa andthe Middle East.

Citadel Capital discusses emerging market opportunities

Hisham El-Khazindar

KUWAIT: Mercedes-Benz Kuwait hasbeen nominated for the Best MobileWebsite award at this year’s TheMobile Show Middle East. A.R.Albisher and Z. Alkazemi Co. - theexclusive general distributor forMercedes-Benz in Kuwait - launchedthe mobile enabled web portal earlierthis year using the latest technologyto connect with its customers andoffer them the best services availableon the go.

The Mobile Show Middle East, bet-ter known as the ‘Mobies’, is a presti-gious annual exhibition that cele-brates the best in mobile phone tech-nologies and innovations from acrossthe Middle East. The exhibition will beheld from 14-15 May at the DubaiInternational Convention Centre,capped by an awards ceremony tocrown the top achievers in mobilecreations.

Michael Ruehle, General Manager,Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid

Alkazemi Co. said: “A highly connect-ed market, nearly a third of all Kuwaithas a Facebook account and morethan six million pictures with thehashtag #kuwait have been sharedon Instagram. With 60 million tweets

made in March 2012 alone, Kuwaitrepresents over 8% of all tweets in theArab world. Mercedes-Benz Kuwait’sgrowing online presence goes a stepfurther in connecting with this newinternet savvy generation of Kuwaiti

fans of the three pointed star, conve-niently opening two way online com-munications to provide and discussthe latest news and key develop-ments at A.R. Albisher and Z.Alkazemi Co.”

The most important feature of theMercedes-Benz Kuwait portal,www.mbkuwait.com, is that it’s acces-sible through a variety of platforms -mainly iOS, Android and Windows -so customers can navigate with avariety of different mobile phonesjust as easily. The portal is also built togrow - specifically to include addi-tional information, events and servic-es exclusive for the Kuwaiti market.

“Mercedes-Benz is world-renowned for its edge on technology,and our nomination at the Mobies istestament to our efforts to set newstandards of customer service byoffering the very best, whether it bedigital, over the phone or in ourshowrooms,” added Ruehle.

Mercedes-Benz Kuwait nominated for Best Mobile website at Mobies

ABU DHABI: Lulu Hypermarket Group hasbeen ranked 3rd in the prestigious “ForbesTOP 100 companies” making an Impact inthe Arab world.

Lulu is the only Indian company to be fea-tured in the top 10. At a glittering ceremonyheld at Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi HH SheikhNahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Ministerof Culture, Youth and Social Developmentpresented the award to Yusuff Ali MA,Managing Director of Lulu Group which wasattended by goverment officials, business-

men and people from all walks of life. National Commercial Bank of Saudi

Arabia bagged the first position while UAE’sAl Futtaim Group secured the second posi-tion. The list covers companies operating inSaudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman,Bahrain and Lebanon. The main criteriaused for ranking are financial results, CSRprogrammes, global presence, number ofsubsidiaries, employee strength, and theassessments of independent auditors andForbes research team.

Forbes ranks Lulu 3rd most impactful

company in Arab world

ABU DHABI: Etihad Airways, the national airlineof the United Arab Emirates, has opened newroutes between Kuwait and Washington, D.C., thecapital of the United States, offering Kuwait-based travellers with greater access and conven-ient connections via its hub in Abu Dhabi.

Etihad Airways commenced non-stop dailyflights to Washington, D.C., on April 1. The newservice was introduced to meet the strongdemand for government and business travel, aswell as the growing demand for leisure trips to

the US capital, and onwards to key cities acrossNorth America.

Etihad Airways serves the Abu Dhabi -Washington, D.C., route with ultra-long rangeAirbus A340-500 aircraft, seating 240 passengersin a spacious three-class cabin - 12 in Diamond

First, 28 in Pearl Business and 200 in CoralEconomy Class.

“Washington has established itself as one ofthe world’s most popular destinations and weanticipate tremendous demand for this new

Etihad Airways service from our guests across theArab Gulf region,” said James Hogan, Presidentand Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways.

When travelling from Kuwait, the airline’sDiamond First and Pearl Business Class guests canrelax in style in the Etihad Airways signaturelounge at Abu Dhabi International Airport, wherethey can enjoy a wide range of exclusive servicesincluding soothing relaxation spaces, elegant finedining areas, state-of-the-art business amenities,luxurious bathrooms with invigorating showerfacilities, and family entertainment areas.

The airline has also opened a new prestigiouspremium lounge facility at Dulles InternationalAirport in Washington, DC. Located next to theairline’s departure gate in Terminal A, the loungeprovides premium passengers with unfetteredand convenient direct access to the aircraft with-out having to go through a traditional departuregate.

Washington, D.C., is the fourth North Americandestination for Etihad Airways after New York,Chicago and Toronto.

Etihad Airways’ flights from Kuwait toWashington, D.C. operate daily, with flight EY306departing Kuwait at 4:20am, and arriving at AbuDhabi International Airport at 7:00am. For theonward leg, flight EY131 departs Abu Dhabi at10:00am and arrives in Washington, D.C. at5:00pm the same day.

On the return, flight EY130 departs Washingtonat 10:15pm and arrives in Abu Dhabi at 7:45pmthe following day. On the return flight to Kuwait,flight EY307 departs Abu Dhabi at 8:50pm andarrives at Kuwait International Airport at 9:30pm.

Etihad Airways opens new route to Washington for Kuwait passengers

DUBAI: Ernst & Young has launched newtraining courses which provide businesscommunities across MENA with a one-stop-shop for their training needs. The initiativeaims to help businesses improve their per-formance, reshape their business and sus-tain their future through a wide range ofcourses that optimize team skills, and createawareness around new or changing trendsin specific industries. All of the courses arerun and delivered by the Ernst & YoungMENA Training Center which serves as thetraining hub in the MENA region and arecentralized on the recently launched web-site (www.eytrainingcenter.com).

Nadeem Shafi, MENA Leader, FinancialAccounting Advisory Services, Ernst &Young, said: “In today’s testing businessenvironment, high-quality training is a cru-cial element of innovative talent manage-ment, to improve performance and ensurethat businesses can respond to challenges.As organizations are looking to identify andimplement employee cost reduction initia-tives, they also need to find ways of retain-ing and developing their top talent.”

The three types of training coursesoffered are general open-house training,sector-based training and customized/tai-lored business-specific training solutions.The open-house training includes technical

and management development contentsuch as courses on International FinancialReporting Standards (IFRS), finance andaccounting related courses, professionalqualifications (e.g., CPA, ACCA, AAT, FIA,CIMA, CMA, APRM, PRM, CIA and PMP etc.),specialist courses on business processimprovement, business valuations, financialand business modelling, risk management,anti-money laundering, competency-basedhuman resources and people developmentcourses as well as many others. The sector-based training helps businesses to identifythe specific new skills and experience need-ed for their industry.

“The courses are tailor made to the spe-cific needs of each business. Every companyhas its own priorities, driven by the industryin which it operates, its competitive situa-tion, the products and services it offers, itsgo-to-market strategies, and the culture ofits management and organization,” saidNadeem.

The courses are delivered and conductedby skilled trainers through a range ofapproaches to suit different learning meth-ods and to cater to busy professionals. Theseinclude eLearning enabled classroom ses-sions, remote learning sessions for individu-als, webinars and seminars/group sessionswith case studies and discussion topics.

Nadeem Shafi

Ernst & Young launches new training courses across MENA

KUWAIT: Have you incorporated corporatesocial responsibility (CSR) into your businessstrategy but you’re still wondering about whyemployees aren’t knocking down your door?Don’t be surprised; this in fact, is a questionthat many employers ask themselves. Herethe HR experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s#1 Jobsite, will help you find ways to use CSRto attract and engage talent.

In the grand scheme of things, CSR is still anemerging field, which means that everything -from strategy to implementation - is still beingtested. What we know, however, is that CSR ini-tiatives reveal the true values of a company.CSR humanizes your business in ways that oth-er facets of your work cannot; it depicts it as acontributor to society rather than an entityconcerned solely with maximizing profits.

Engaging employees in CSR starts at the very beginning

A good idea would be to communicateyour CSR efforts at all stages of the recruit-ment process to benefit from its full potential.

1. Attracting talentWhile you’re fighting to get top talent for

your company, make sure to include referenceto your CSR efforts everywhere - from yourjob descriptions and job ads, to interviews,benefits packages, and job offers.

2. Becoming an employer of choiceAccording to the Bayt.com “Employee

Motivation in the MENA” survey, January 2013,the majority of MENA companies (59%) areengaged in CSR activities. Being an employerof choice is a reputation you build in yourindustry to attract top talent. Think aboutwhat a potential employee considers beforeagreeing to join your company. Do you active-ly serve your community? Does your missioninterest and attract the people you most wantto recruit?

Employees feel a greater sense of prideand purpose working for an employer that ispublicly committed to altruism, particularlywhen the causes the company is committedto are in-line with theirs, and benefit the

greater community in a tangible manner.

3. Retaining talentRegular CSR communication and initiatives

are important to preserve the level of engage-ment and secure employee buy-in. Employeesfeel proud of and remain loyal to companieswhich involve their workforce in CSR initia-tives. These activities are not only good forthe local community, but also form greatopportunities to build teams, boost morale,and enable people to make a difference.

4. Engaging employeesThis can be done by communicating CSR

efforts to employees, seeking their inputabout where the company should direct itsCSR effor ts, celebrating successes withemployees along the way and educatingemployees by offering customized work-shops, trainings and educational activities.

After all, what professionals want most is tosimply work for a company with values theytoo believe in. —Bayt.com

How to use CSR to attract talent

t e c h n o l o g ySUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

WASHINGTON: As online titans competeto deliver instant maps to smartphones,the Library of Congress in Washington isfocusing attention on an antique “cos-mology” printed in 1507 that serves asAmerica’s birth certificate. The black-and-white map created by MartinWaldseemuller, a French cleric, was thefirst time the name America hadappeared on any map. Waldseemullerwas prescient enough to show the RockyMountains and the Pacific Ocean at atime when no one else in Europethought they were there.

The map, purchased a decade ago at acost of $10 million, is the centerpiece ofan exhibit at the Library of Congress run-ning through June 22 that features a col-lection of artifacts from Waldseemullerand his colleagues. It includes later mapsthat lose faith in Waldseemuller’s visionof America. In a 1516 world map, theAmericas are called “ Terra UltraIncognita” - a faraway unknown country.Still, the Library of Congress had pursued

Waldseemuller ’s mammoth map formore than a century.

It shows two continents across theocean from Europe, with a skinny isth-mus between them, an embryonicFlorida peninsula, a western mountainrange on the northern continent, and onthe southern continent, a clearly letteredname: “America.” These maps are essen-tial for the same reason a smartphone isbetter with satellite images of Earth,according to Ralph Ehrenberg, chief ofthe library’s geography and map division:people want to know where they camefrom.

Waldseemuller’s maps came at a timeof geographic exploration, technologicaladvance, societal ferment and expandingcommunication - a time much like ourown, Ehrenberg said in an interview. Thenew way of communication in 1507 wasprinting with mechanical type, he said,while “now we have Google Earth, whichis a new way of looking at the worldtoday.”

Last week, Google unveiled a mapapplication that the search engine giantsaid will customize the known world forevery user. This competes with Apple’siMap app and possibly with Facebook,which is creating a map app of its own, asreported by USA Today. “We have a uni-versal need to know where we are on theglobe and where we are in the world; it’sone of the things that transcends timeand space,” said John Hessler, a librarymap curator and Waldseemuller expert.

OUT OF GEOGRAPHIC COMFORT ZONE

That geographic comfort zone wasunsettled in Waldseemuller’s day. Hisbest-known maps were made between1492, when Christopher Columbusarrived at what he thought was Asia, and1543, when astronomer NicolausCopernicus rocked the Renaissance withhis theory that Earth revolved around theSun, instead of the other way around.Waldseemuller chose the name America

to honor Florentine navigator AmerigoVespucci, who explored the east coast ofwhat is now known as South America.Because other known continents hadfeminine endings in Latin - Africa, Asiaand Europa - he feminized Amerigo toAmerica, said John Hessler, a curator inthe library’s geography and map division.

Also on this map, six years beforeVasco de Balboa encountered it and 15years after Columbus’ seminal voyage, isan ocean east of Asia, now known as thePacific. So how did Waldseemuller know?He talked about new Portuguese sailingcharts, and according to one theory, mayhave heard the Chinese claim that theyhad already discovered the Americas.Hessler discounted this. “He knows it’s areally radical geography,” Hessler said. Amap notation reassures viewers that hiswas an unusual and forward-lookingworld view.

Mariners, clerics, scholars and noblefolk were the only map consumers inWaldseemuller’s time, and maps were

rare because they had to be laboriouslyprinted. Waldseemuller wrote that therewere 1,000 copies of his 1507 map; theLibrary of Congress has the only oneknown to survive.

Digital technology, satellite naviga-tion and easy data availability now hasmade maps ubiquitous, said JosephKerski, a geographer at EnvironmentalSystems Research Institute in Broomfield,Colorado.

“We’re at a moment in time nowwhere all of a sudden everything weknow, everything we touch is being geo-enabled,” Kerski said by telephone. Still,the role of maps is essentiallyunchanged. While most of Earth’s terrainhas already been explored, Kerski said,mapping continues into such diverseareas as social networks and microbialactivity in soil.

“We may not be exploring new landsper se, but we’re still exploring and mapsare still powerful, just as they always havebeen,” the geographer said. — Reuters

A new focus on 16th century world view

LOS ANGELES: Sonic the Hedgehog is rollingwith Nintendo. Sega says it will exclusivelyrelease the next three games starring the popu-lar blue critter on Nintendo platforms. The firsttitle will be called “Sonic Lost World” and is set forrelease on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS later thisyear. “With ‘Sonic Lost World,’ we’re going to intro-duce new gameplay and enemies, which isalways fun,” said John Cheng, president and chiefoperating officer of Sega of America Inc. “In termsof Sonic and his friends, he’ll have his samefriends there, and I think there’ll be some newones as well. It’s not a reiteration. It’s going to beall new.”

The original fast-paced side-scrolling “Sonicthe Hedgehog” debuted in 1991. The twirling,ring-hoarding hedgehog became Sega’s mascotand a video-game icon rivaling the likes of Marioand Pac-Man. While his recent interactiveexploits haven’t achieved the same level of suc-cess as previous “Sonic” outings, the characterhas remained a presence in pop culture, appear-ing in cartoons, downloadable games and theDisney film “Wreck-It Ralph.” “The onetime rivalrybetween Mario and Sonic has grown into afriendship that has never been closer,” saidNintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimein a statement.

“These announcements in conjunction withSega demonstrate the commitment we have tobringing great games to the Wii U platform, andset the stage for our upcoming announcementsat E3.” Sonic has competed against Nintendo Co.’smustachioed spokesman Mario since 2007 in the“Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games” mini-game

series. Cheng said the characters would be backfor more match-ups in “Mario & Sonic at theSochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.” Over thepast 22 years, Sonic and his friends have starredin dozens of games, including the hallmark 1992sequel “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” 1997 3-D racer“Sonic R,” 2002 hand-held adventure “SonicAdvance” and 2011 anniversary mash-up “SonicGenerations.” Sega says more than 75 milliongames and smartphone apps featuring Sonichave been sold worldwide. After the publisher

stopped producing its own game consoles in2001, Sega began releasing “Sonic” games forother systems, including Sony Corp.’s PlayStationand Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox. Microsoft is expectedto unveil a new Xbox console at an event inSeattle next week, following Sony’s tease of theforthcoming PlayStation 4 earlier this year in NewYork. Last fall, Nintendo launched the next gener-ation of gaming consoles with the Wii U, whichcomes with a tabletlike controller called theGamePad. — AP

‘Sonic’ video games coming to Nintendo

This image shows Sonic (left) and sidekick, Tails, in the 2006 video game “Sonic the Hedgehog,”for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. — AP

HONG KONG: This picture shows people looking at an electric taxi on a street inHong Kong. — AFP

HONG KONG: Hong Kong saw its first elec-tric taxis hit the streets yesterday in a steptowards reducing the city’s high levels ofroadside pollution. The 45 bright red carswere launched by Chinese electric vehicleproducer BYD, which is partly backed by USinvestment titan Warren Buffett. Called theBYD e6, the five-door crossover sedans arepowered by iron phosphate batteries andtake two hours to charge, a statement fromBYD said, adding that they can then travelfor 300 kilometers. The cars have been rent-ed by the Hong Kong Taxi and Public LightBus Association, which is testing them overthe next six months.

“The idea of being environmentallyfriendly is a global trend and the electriccar is one good example,” said Wong ChungKeung, president and chairman of the asso-ciation. “An electric car saves the cost offuel and will allow our taxi drivers to earn

more,” he added, saying that a normal taxiwould cost HK$0.8 (10 US cents) to run perkilometer (0.6 miles) while an electric carwould cost HK$0.2-HK$0.3.

He called for more charging stationsaround the city to encourage taxi drivers togo electric-BYD said it is setting up 47chargers in nine charging locations near carparks.

Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary JohnTsang was quoted in a BYD statement aswelcoming the electric car and saying hewas committed to “promoting environmen-tal sustainability by laying the foundationfor Hong Kong to become a zero emissionscity”. The government announced revisionsto its air quality objectives for the first timein 25 years in January 2012, after Universityof Hong Kong research showed pollution-related illnesses killed more than 3,000 resi-dents a year. — AFP

Hong Kong launches first electric taxis

Google, Apple, Facebook looking at mapping apps

TOKYO: Yahoo Japan Corp has said it sus-pects up to 22 million user IDs may havebeen stolen during an unauthorizedattempt to access the administrative sys-tem of its Yahoo! Japan portal. “We don’tknow if the file (of 22 million user IDs) wasleaded or not, but we can’t deny the possi-bility given the volume of traffic betweenour server and external” terminals, thecompany said in a statement late Friday.

The information did not include pass-words and the kind of data necessary toverify a user’s identity or reset passwords, itsaid, adding that the company had updat-ed its security measures to prevent a repeatof the incident. Yahoo Japan is 35.5 per-cent held by Japan’s mobile phone opera-tor SoftBank, and 34.7 percent held by USInternet giant Yahoo! Inc.

Its popular portal Yahoo! Japan holds

the top search engine position in Japanwith a more than 50 percent market share,compared with around 40 percent for rivalGoogle. In 2011, Sony said informationsuch as usernames, passwords and birthdates of more than 100 million people mayhave been compromised after hackersstruck the PlayStation Network and SonyOnline Entertainment services.

Japan acknowledges that its preventivemeasures against cyber attacks remainunderdeveloped, with the national policeagency having announced this month itwould launch a team to analyze and com-bat cyberattacks. Japan AerospaceExploration Agency said last month thatinformation related to the InternationalSpace Station may have been leaked dur-ing an unauthorized attempt to access itssystem. — AFP

CALIFORNIA: Clusters of corporatetechies hunched over their laptopsone recent evening in MountainView, Calif., feverishly trying to fig-ure out how RK Industries hackedinto and stole critical informationfrom its rival, EntraDyn. It’s a com-mon occurrence, but in this case thefirms were fictitious, and the event -a simulated exercise put on by secu-rity firm Symantec - featured rockmusic, a buffet and an open bar forthe participants.

Even so, it had a serious purpose:Increasingly under Internet attack,more and more businesses are

using “cyberwar games” to learnhow to spot and counter the trickytactics used by hackers. “It keepsyou on your toes,” said MichaelScheck, an information securityinvestigations manager at CiscoSystems, which hosts its own wargames and takes part in others. Inthe fast-evolving combat with com-puter-savvy antagonists, he said,“you have to play cat and mouse.”

Getting bested by the bad guyscan be expensive. A study spon-sored by Hewlett-Packard last yearconcluded the average cost of acyberattack on a US company was

Companies launch cyber ‘war’ games to prepare for hackers

CAPE CANAVERAL: An automatedtelescope monitoring the moon hascaptured images of an 88-poundrock slamming into the lunar sur-face, creating a bright flash of light,NASA scientists said on Friday. Theexplosion on March 17 was thebiggest seen since NASA beganwatching the moon for meteoroidimpacts about eight years ago. Sofar, more than 300 strikes have beenrecorded. “It exploded in a flashnearly 10 times as bright as any-thing we’ve ever seen before,” BillCooke, with NASA’s MeteoroidEnvironment Office at the MarshallSpace Flight Center in Huntsville,Alabama, said in a statement.

A NASA satellite orbiting themoon is now on a hunt for the new-ly formed crater, which scientistsestimate could be as wide as 66 feet(20 meters). The flash was so brightthat anyone looking at the moon atthe moment of impact could haveseen it without a telescope, NASAsaid. After reviewing digital record-ings made by one of the program’stelescopes, scientists determinedthe space rock was about 1 foot (0.3meters) in diameter, and travelingabout 56,000 mph (90,123 kph)

when it slammed into the moonand exploded with the force of fivetons of TNT.

That same night, camerasdetected an unusually high numberof meteors blasting through Earth’satmosphere as well. Most meteorsburn up well before reaching theground. But not always. In February,an asteroid estimated to be about66 feet in diameter exploded overChelyabinsk, Russia, damagingbuildings and shattering glass, leav-ing more than 1,500 injured. It wasthe largest object to strike Earthsince 1908.

“The Russian fireball was manyorders of magnitude larger andpossessed 100,000 times moreenergy,” than the lunar impact,Cooke wrote in an email to Reuters.He believes the lunar impact andthe March 17 meteor shower onEarth are related, the result of bothbodies traveling together througha region of space sprinkled withsmall rocks and dust. “We’ll bekeeping an eye out for signs of arepeat performance next yearwhen the Earth-moon system pass-es through the same region ofspace,” Cooke said. — Reuters

Meteoroid impact triggers bright flash on the moon

$591,780 - and rising. In response,companies are sending theiremployees to so-called cyber-ranges and other venues to engagein make-believe hacking scenarios.In a survey of about 1,400 business-es last year, management consult-ant McKinsey & Co said it found that3 percent of them had conducted“cyberwar games to help ensurethey are ready to manage a cyberat-tack.”

McKinsey wouldn’t identify therespondents, but noted that “mostwere in high tech and financial serv-ices.” Although several of thoseattending Symantec’s event at theComputer History Museum didn’twant their employers identified,companies represented thereincluded Intel Corp subsidiary WindRiver Systems, Tesla Motors Inc. andGoogle Inc. Many firms also routine-ly test their ability to withstandattacks, including utility Pacific Gas& Electric.

Using employees he calls “myninjas” who periodically attempt tohack into the utility, James Sample,its chief information security officer,said “we do mock-up scenarios” toassess the company’s vulnerabilityto cyberattacks. Firms find the wargames especially helpful, wherethey compete against other compa-nies to see who can best respond tohypothetical cyber incursions.

Mountain View-based Symantec,which sells widely used Nortonantivirus software, puts on these“cyber readiness challenges” world-wide. It contends the games helpparticipants think like hackers, sothey can better recognize andrespond to their corporations’ vul-nerabilities. “Every day you hearabout new attacks,” said SamirKapuria, Symantec’s vice presidentof business strategy and securityintelligence.

“What we try to do is take thatknowledge of what’s happening tocompanies and organizationsaround the world, and weave thatinto the scenarios.” That way, headded, they can “hone their skills so

the first time they are up againstsomething, it’s actually somethingthey’ve practiced.” In Symantec’s vir-tual contest, which was akin to avideo game, participants were giv-en hints that helped them hack intothe fictional RK Industries and fig-ure out what RK stole fromEntraDyn. “Think of it as a giantscavenger hunt, where you are giv-en a riddle or clue about how tofind something,” said Josh Chin,executive director of SouthernCalifornia-based Net Force, whoplaced third in the competition.

Besides teaching him how tobetter guard his client’s data, hesaid, such exercises offer a way to“show how good you are” when pit-ted against other security experts.During an earlier challengeSymantec hosted for its ownemployees, one grandstandingprankster even surreptitiouslyhacked into the game’s scoreboard,according to spokeswoman PamelaReese. She said she wasn’t surewhat the person was up to, but fig-ured it was “either to improve theirscore or mess around with players’names.”

Cisco’s Scheck said his companyalso has taken part in war gamesput on by the US Department ofHomeland Security and other feder-al agencies, some of which had thebusinesses work together to bluntcyberattacks. That’s been helpful, hesaid, because to counter sophisti-cated and organized hackers, “cor-porations are realizing they need toshare more information with eachother to make life more difficult fortheir adversaries.” Finding skilledworkers for that fight is another pri-ority.

In March, Cisco, Workday,McAfee, PG&E and other companiessponsored a cyberwar game inPomona for college students, dur-ing which several of the firmsrecruited the players for their securi-ty departments, according to DanielManson, a computer informationsystems professor who helpedorganize the event. —MCT

Yahoo Japan suspects 22 million IDs stolen

VIRGINIA: A dog and ferret smell each other during the 5th annual BlogPaws 2013conference May 16, 2013 in Tysons Corner, Virginia. BlogPaws organized the confer-ence for pet bloggers and their pets to gather and meet, attend workshops and viewproducts. — AFP

Microsoft expected to unveil new Xbox console

H E A LT H & S C I E NC ESUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

BEIJING: China is phasing out its relianceon executed prisoners for donated organs,but an architect of the country’s transplantsystem said Friday that ingrained culturalattitudes are impeding the rise of donationsamong the general population.

Almost all donated organs in China usedto come from executed prisoners. A grow-ing proportion now come from ordinarypeople, but the government is seeking toeliminate prisoner donations altogether.

However, former vice health ministerHuang Jiefu said Friday that there was littlehope of changing a requirement that familymembers give consent before organs aredonated, even if a person had expressed adesire to donate.

“China is a Confucian society. It’s stronglyhierarchical and the family’s concerns usual-ly trump those of the individual,” saidHuang, presently a leader of the nationallegislature’s top advisory body. An objec-tion from even one family member canblock a donation, he said.

Chinese have traditionally held that aperson’s body should be interred intact, andwhile such attitudes are gradually changing,they remain strong among older Chinese.At the same time, China is cutting down onits reliance on executed prisoners for organs- a practice that Huang called “profit-driven,unethical and violating human rights.”Critics have long claimed that standard

safeguards were often ignored in the caseof obtaining organs from prisoners whomay have been pressured to donate.

The use of prisoners’ organs was alsoseen as causing an artificial shortfall in thenumber of organs available by impedingthe promotion of donating among the pub-lic as a whole.

China suffers from an acute shortage ofavailable organs and Huang said only about10,000 of the 300,000 Chinese sufferingfrom liver disease will be able to receivetransplants. He hopes to raise that numberto 100,000 over time. Another 1 millionpeople suffer from kidney ailments, butmany can be sustained for lengthy periodson dialysis machines.

China considers the number of annualexecutions a secret, but most observersestimate the number at 6,000-8,000. It isn’tknown what proportion of those executedagree to donate their organs.

However, 5,009 liver and kidney trans-plants performed last year used organsfrom executed prisoners, out of a total of7,882 such operations, according to theHealth Ministry. By contrast, 2,960 of 2,997liver transplants performed in 2005 usedorgans from executed prisoners. Huang reit-erated a projection that reliance on prison-ers will be eliminated within about twoyears of the launch of the nationwide donornetwork in February. — AP

PARIS: Big names in medicine are set to give anupbeat assessment of the war on AIDS onTuesday, 30 years after French researchers iden-tified the virus that causes the disease.Scientists will pay tribute to the astonishing suc-cess of AIDS drugs and highlight steps beingtaken towards a cure-a goal once deemed all butout of reach.

Entitled “Imagine the Future,” the three-dayconference builds on the 30th anniversary onMonday of the isolation of the human immun-odeficiency virus (HIV ). The Nobel-winningachievement, by a team led by Luc Montagnierof France’s Pasteur Institute, unmasked a killer.

Then began the drive to treat the disease andhalt its spread. “The discovery of HIV in 1983 andthe proof that it was the cause of AIDS in 1984were the first major scientific breakthroughs thatprovided a specific target for blood-screeningtests and opened the doorway to the develop-ment of antiretroviral medications,” said AnthonyFauci, director of the US National Institute ofAllergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Introduced in 1996, after many years of fran-tic drug research, antiretrovirals are saving thelives of millions of people infected with HIV andhelping to contain the virus’ spread, Fauci said inan email. By suppressing viral levels, antiretrovi-rals can prevent HIV being transmitted by preg-nant women to their unborn children, and byinfected people to their sexual partners.

But there have also been setbacks, particular-ly in the quest for a vaccine.

Only last month, US authorities halted the lat-est clinical trial-launched in 2009 — after theprototype formula failed to prevent infection.Finding antibodies that are able to identify theslippery, mutating virus has proven to be almostas hard as the proverbial search for a needle in ahaystack.

“Vaccine research continues to suffer fromsetbacks-but pursue a vaccine we must if we areto truly see the end of AIDS,” said AdeebaKamarulzaman, a professor of infectious dis-eases at the University of Malaya, who will co-chair a global conference on AIDS science inKuala Lumpur in June.

Counter-intuitively, the main hope nowadaysseems to rest on a cure. Three years ago,Francoise Barre-Sinoussi-a 2008 Nobel co-recipi-ent with Montagnier-mapped a strategy forattacking HIV’s “reservoir.”

This is the cellular bolthole where the viruslurks after being pounded with antiretrovirals.Once the drugs are stopped, the virus re-emerges and spreads once more through thebloodstream. “The great challenge will be to ful-ly understand where the virus hides, how it man-ages to stay hidden so effectively and how to

lure it out of its hiding place. We’ve learnt a lotabout this in the past few years,” said SharonLewin, a professor at Monash University inMelbourne, Australia.

‘Functional cure’- Lewin is part of a team cau-tiously experimenting with an anti-cancer drugto flush out the virus that destroys the immunesystem and exposes infected people to pneumo-nia, TB, and other opportunistic diseases.

In trials on 20 patients, the cancer drugawoke the dormant virus in 90 percent of volun-teers. The ultimate goal is to kill the newly-exposed virus, leaving the cell it hid in to dieeventually of old age.

“We do have drugs that seem to wake up thevirus but these are only the first steps in ulti-mately clearing it out completely,” said Lewin.

Two other small studies using antiretroviralsat a very early stage of infection, before viral lev-els build up, have excited hopes of a “functionalcure.” One involved a baby in Mississippi, appar-ently cleared of the virus after being givenaggressive antiretroviral treatment within 30hours of birth. “It is certainly a very exciting find-ing, but this is only a single case and additionalstudies are needed to determine whether thecircumstances of this particular case can bereplicated among other HIV-exposed children,”

said Fauci. The other is a small French study of 14HIV patients, known as the VISCONTI cohort, giv-en drugs very soon-within 10 weeks-after infec-tion. Treatment normally starts only once theimmune system becomes compromised, some-times years after infection.

The VISCONTI group stopped taking the dailydrugs after about three years, and haveremained healthy.

And crucially, none of the individuals areamong that rare group of people fewer than onepercent of the population-who seem able to nat-urally stave off HIV and are known as “natural” or“elite controllers.” AIDS has killed 30 million peo-ple. An estimated 34 million people are infectedwith HIV worldwide, and about 1.8 million dieevery year. A year after the Montagnier team’shistoric publication in Science on May 20, 1983,a team led by Robert Gallo of the United Statespublished similar findings-triggering an acrimo-nious debate with research funding and prestigeat stake.

It turned out that Gallo had worked on a viralsample originally sent to him by Montagnier.Credit for isolating HIV thus went to the Frenchteam, but Gallo was recognized for determiningthat the virus caused AIDS, something theMontagnier study was not clear on. — AFP

AIDS science at 30

PARIS, France: Activists of Act Up gay organisation stand by a “Wall of homophobs” displayingportraits of national and international public personnalities on May 17, 2013 in Paris, as partof the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Words on the wall read “AIDS.Homophobia kills”. —AFP

BEIJING: Chinese former vice health minister Huang Jiefu, right, speaks during apress conference on the China’s human organ transplant system at the HealthMinistry office in Beijing Friday. — AP

Cultural attitudes impede organ donations in China

RIYADH: A new case of the deadly coro-navirus has been detected in SaudiArabia where 15 people have alreadydied after contracting it, the health min-istry announced yesterday on itsInternet website.

“One new case of novel coronavirusrecorded in the Eastern Region” wheremost of the kingdom’s cases have beenregistered, said the ministry, which thisweek created a special web page dedi-cated to the outbreak. “One case of coro-navirus has been recorded in the EasternRegion, and he is now under the medicalhealthcare receiving the proper treat-ment,” the web page in English reported.

The latest case takes to 31 the num-ber of officially recorded cases of thevirus in the oil-rich Gulf kingdom sinceSeptember. Fifteen of those have died.

On Wednesday, the Geneva-basedWorld Health Organization reported thattwo Saudi health workers have contract-

ed the deadly coronavirus from patients-the first evidence of transmission in ahospital setting.

“ This is the first time health careworkers have been diagnosed with nCoV(novel coronavirus) infection after expo-sure to patients,” the WHO said in a state-ment.

Since last September, the WHO says ithas been informed of a global total of 40laboratory confirmed cases of the virus,including 20 deaths. While the virus hasbeen deadliest in Saudi Arabia, caseshave also been reported in Jordan,Qatar, Germany, Britain and France,where two patients are now in hospitalin the northern city of Lille. The virus is acousin of Severe Acute RespiratorySyndrome (SARS), which triggered ascare 10 years ago when it erupted ineast Asia, leaping to humans from ani-mal hosts and eventually killing some800 people. — AFP

SAN FRANCISCO: When LizDeRouen needs any kind of healthcare services, from diabetes coun-seling to a dental cleaning, shechecks into a government-fundedclinic in Northern California’s winecountry that covers all her medicalneeds. Her care and the medicalservices for her children and grand-children are paid for as part of thegovernment’s treaty obligations toAmerican Indian tribes dating backnearly a century. But underPresident Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul, DeRouen and tens ofthousands of others who identify asNative American will face a newreality. They will have to buy theirown health insurance policies orpay a $695 fine from the InternalRevenue Service unless they canprove that they are “Indian enough”to claim one of the few exemptionsallowed under the Affordable CareAct’s mandate that all Americanscarry insurance.

“I’m no less Indian than I was yes-terday, and just because the defini-tion of who is Indian got changed inthe law doesn’t mean that it’s fair forpeople to be penalized,” saidDeRouen, a former tribal adminis-trator for the Dry Creek RancheriaBand of Pomo Indians who lost hermembership amid a leadership dis-pute in 2009. “If I suddenly have topay for my own health insurance toavoid the fine, I won’t be able toafford it.”

The Affordable Care Act takes anarrow view of who is consideredAmerican Indian and can avoid thetax penalty, which will reach a mini-mum of $695 when fully phased in.It limits the definition to those who

can document their membership inone of about 560 tribes recognizedby the US Bureau of Indian Affairs.Yet more than 100 tribes nation-wide are recognized only by statesand not the federal government.Many tribes do not allow theirmembers to enroll before they are18, meaning some school-age chil-dren whose parents are AmericanIndian might not be considered“Indian” under the definition in theact.

Other tribal governments havecomplicated blood-quantumrequirements or rules that all mem-bers must live on the reservation,even though nearly two-thirds ofAmerican Indians and AlaskaNatives now live in metropolitanareas, partly a legacy of federal relo-cation and adoption programs.

The definition of Indian in theAffordable Care Act is roiling emo-tions on reservations and in nativeenclaves across the country, but USDepartment of Health and HumanServices spokeswoman Erin Shieldssaid the agency is powerless tochange it without an act ofCongress. The problem is so newthat the federal government is stillseeking to establish how many peo-ple might be affected, althoughIndian health advocacy groups esti-mate it could be up to 480,000.

In California alone, about 21,000people who currently receive freehealth care through Indian clinicsare not recognized as NativeAmerican by the federal govern-ment and would have to pay thepenalty, according to the nonprofitCalifornia Rural Indian Health Board.“We have and will continue to

SAN FRANCISCO/SEATTLE: MicrosoftCorp is set to make a splash this weekwith the eagerly awaited unveiling of itsnew Xbox game console, eight yearsafter the last version, as it seeks a largershare of the $65 billion a year globalcomputer gaming industry.

But the small device faces some bigcompetition from the PlayStation 4 bySony Corp and the Wii U by Nintendo CoLtd in a shifting market.Gamers are gravi-tating to online play - suggesting thehey-day of console games are over -while Microsoft wants its sleek new toyto finally cross the bridge to the main-stream and become the family’s enter-tainment center.

“Core gamers are very hungry for anew machine but the difference between2005 and now is that the stakes are somuch higher,” said Ryan McCaffrey, exec-utive editor at entertainment websiteIGN.com, harking back to Microsoft’s lastXbox release. “The entire Xbox experi-ment from Microsoft was for it to be thecenter piece of your living room.”

To that end, industry-watchers areexpecting a raft of improvements fromthe new Xbox, when Microsoft unveils itat its Redmond, Washington, headquar-ters on Tuesday, from closer integrationwith the TV and link-ups with mobiledevices to access to new and even exclu-sive content.

Console gaming still takes the lion’sshare of a growing gaming market -about 42 percent of the $65 billion worldmarket, according to Microsoft. But play-ing games on smartphones and tablets,or as an offshoot to online social net-

works, is gaining ground fast. Consolesales have been in decline for the lastfour years, chiefly because of agingdevices, but the first of the new genera-tion of machines has not reignited thesector. Nintendo’s Wii U, launched inNovember, had sold only 3.45 millionunits through the end of March, wellbelow the company’s initial forecast of5.5 million. Hopes for Sony’s PS4, teasedin March, are low key. “The next wavecrest isn’t as high as the previous one,”said Lewis Ward, research manager atInternational Data Corp, who calculatesthat about 250 million Xbox 360, SonyPlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii unitswere sold between 2005 and 2012.

“I do think that consoles as a productcategory have peaked and the next gendevices won’t match those totals,” hesaid.

The Xbox itself is not a key financialfactor for the world’s largest softwaremaker. Its Entertainment & Devices unit isset to break $10 billion in sales for thefirst time this year, but that’s half thesales of its Windows unit, and a lot lessprofitable, averaging less than 15 percentmargin compared to 60 percent or high-er for Windows or Office.

The company has more than 46 mil-lion members who subscribe to its onlinegaming and digital entertainment serv-ice Xbox Live, but that’s still a fraction ofthe people who pay for its software.

However, the Xbox is stil l a keyweapon in Microsoft’s strategic battlewith Google Inc, Apple Inc, Amazon.comInc and others for a central place in con-sumers’ lives. — Reuters

New case of SARS-like virus in Saudi Arabia

New Xbox more than a game console

US health reforms penalize some Indians

FORT PIERCE: A bulldozer is used to push sand from a discharge pipeinto place during a federally funded shore protection project by GreatLakes Dredge and Dock on Friday in Fort Pierce, Florida. As cities alongthe East Coast prepare for the start of the hurricane season, officialssay the area encompassing Fort Pierce beach has been in dire need ofrepair since Hurricane Sandy last year made worse an area already suf-fering significantly from erosion. — AFP

encourage a robust dialogue withAmerican Indian and Alaska Nativecommunities about this matter, andwelcome their input and ideas forsolutions,” Shields said in a state-ment to The Associated Press.“Under the law, it would require alegislative rather than regulatorychange to address this matter. Andas we consider approaches to thebest possible solution, we are eagerto work with Congress.”

The IRS is working with the defi-nition but has not yet decided howthe agency will verify who qualifiesas Indian or assess the penalty ontax returns, agency spokesman EricSmith said. The IRS and U.S. Treasuryhave scheduled a May 29 publichearing on their proposed rulesestablishing who qualifies for anexemption from the insurance cov-erage requirement.

Republican Rep. Tom Cole, amember of the Chickasaw Nation inOklahoma and one of just two fed-eral legislators who are members ofa federally recognized tribe, said hewas aware of the concerns andwould ensure that care for nativepeople was not compromised asthe health overhaul rolls out. Hedeclined to comment aboutwhether he would sponsor a bill toaddress the issue.

“This could lead to some tribalcitizens being required to purchaseinsurance or face penalties eventhough they are covered by IHS,” hesaid in a statement to TheAssociated Press, referring to thefederal Indian Health Service. “I amwatching the situation closely toensure that those individualsalready benefiting from carethrough IHS continue to receive it.”

The 2010 Census found thatnearly one-third of the 6.2 millionpeople who self-identify asAmerican Indian or Alaska Nativelack health insurance and that 28percent live in poverty.

The Indian Health Service, a divi-sion of US Health and HumanServices, oversees a network of clin-ics that are required to serve allpatients of Indian ancestry, even ifthey cannot document their federaltribal status.

One of those is the clinic in SantaRosa, north of San Francisco, whereDeRouen, 49, has been seen sinceshe was a little girl. Molin Malicay,who directs the Sonoma CountyIndian Health Project, estimatesDeRouen is among roughly 2,000 ofhis patients who would face thepenalty. “In the clinics in Central andNorthern California, we see many ofus Indians who are not consideredIndians in the eyes of the federalgovernment because the govern-ment itself terminated their tribes,”Malicay said.

“We’re trying to get some of

these people covered for care underMedicaid, but there is still so muchconfusion in the pamphlets andvideos about who is Indian (that) itmakes it hard to give advice.”Several members of the main tribaladvisory group to the Centers forMedicare and Medicaid Servicessaid in a recent conference call withthe agency that the definition con-tained in the Affordable Care Actraises concerns that the US couldrenege on its obligation to provideall people of Indian ancestry withfree health care. Budget cutsalready are set to reduce basic fed-eral health programs for Indians byup to 8 percent.

Some tribal elders who favortighter restrictions on who gets toidentify as Native American see itanother way. Mychal Eaglefeathers,a 34-year-old member of theNorthern Cheyenne Nation insoutheastern Montana, said severalelders he spoke with believe thatallowing only members of federallyrecognized tribes to avoid the indi-vidual insurance mandate was apositive step, especially as thealready strapped Indian HealthService clinics are forced to slashservices. “Especially the elders I’vetalked to say as long as you’re rec-ognized, fine. But if you’re not feder-ally recognized, people shouldn’tget nothing,” he said.

Valerie Davidson, a senior direc-tor at the Anchorage-based AlaskaNative Tribal Health Consortium,estimates that about one-third ofthe 140,000 Alaska Native popula-tion would have to pay the healthcare penalty. That includes hernieces and nephews from the large-ly Yup’ik Eskimo region, comprisedof tiny villages only accessible byplane or boat.

She raises the possibility thatnative people would have to getextra documentation to prove theyqualify. People have historicallybeen able to use their federal tribalblood-quantum cards to get IHShealth services, but that alone is nolonger enough to qualify for the taxexemption under the AffordableCare Act, she said.

In addition, many Alaska Nativeswho were born after December1971 are prohibited from enrollingin their families’ tribal corporations,even if all four grandparents areAlaska Native, she added.

“Are America’s first people reallybeing forced yet again to prove ourIndian-ness?” she said through tearson a recent conference call withfederal agencies. “Every single dayin our own communities we have tofight to demonstrate that we arestill here, that we do still exist. Weshould be believed that what yourparents and grandparents say youare, you are.” — AP

‘Cure’ now part of lexicon

H E A LT H & S C I E NC ESUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: An impromptuspacewalk over the weekend seems to havefixed a big ammonia leak at the InternationalSpace Station, NASA said.

The “gusher” erupted a week ago, promptingthe hastiest repair job ever by residents of theorbiting lab. Spacewalking astronauts replaced asuspect ammonia pump on Saturday, just twodays after the trouble arose. NASA is now callingthe old, removed pump “Mr Leaky,” said flightcontroller Anthony Vareha. “Right now, we’refeeling pretty good. We definitely got the bigleak,” Vareha said in a NASA broadcast fromMission Control in Houston.

Vareha said engineers don’t know whetherthe pump replacement also took care of a small-er leak that has plagued the system for years. Itwill take at least a couple months of monitoringto know the full status.

Ammonia is used as a coolant in the spacestation’s radiator system. The leak forced one ofthe station’s seven power channels to go offline.NASA hopes to resume normal operations earlynext week, following computer softwareupdates. One of the spacewalkers, NASA astro-naut Thomas Marshburn, is now back on Earth.He returned this week aboard a Russian Soyuzcapsule, ending a five-month mission. The otherspacewalker, Christopher Cassidy, a recentarrival, spent Thursday chatting with three of theactors and a writer-producer of the newest Star

Trek movie, “Star Trek into Darkness.” The filmwas beamed up to the space station a few daysbefore its US opening in theaters Thursday.

Cassidy watched the first half-hour of themovie while he was exercising Thursday morn-

ing and offered a stellar review. “I was riveted asyou’re racing through the woods and jumpingoff cliffs,” he told the actors. “I won’t spoil the restof the movie for anybody who hasn’t seen it. Butpretty cool scenes.” —AP

NASA: New pump resolves big space station leak

WASHINGTON: The organic food indus-try is gaining influence on Capitol Hill,prompted by its entry into traditionalfarm states and by increasing consumerdemand. That’s not going over well witheveryone in Congress. Tensions betweenconventional and organic agricultureboiled over this week during a late-

night House Agriculture Committeedebate on farm legislation that fordecades has propped up traditional cropsand largely ignored organics. When RepKurt Schrader, a former organic farmer,offered an amendment to make it easierfor organic companies to organize indus-try-wide promotional campaigns, therewas swift backlash from some farm-stateRepublicans.

One lawmaker said he didn’t want tosee the industry get a free ride and a sec-ond complained about organics’ “contin-ued assault on agriculture.” “That’s one ofthe things that has caught me and raisesmy concerns, is that industry’s lack ofrespect for traditional agriculture,” said

Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga. He was referringto some organic companies’ efforts toreduce the number of genetically modi-fied crops in the marketplace.

At the same time, Scott acknowledgedthat he and his wife buy organic foods.Growing consumer interest in organicshas proved tough for some Republicanson the committee to ignore. EightRepublicans, most of them newer mem-bers of the committee, joined with all ofthe committee’s Democrats in supportingthe amendment, which was adopted 29-17. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, a MissouriRepublican who owns a farm equipmentbusiness and a corn and soybean farm,said she supported the amendment notonly because helping organics is good foragriculture but because many of her con-stituents eat organic foods. “Organics area niche market in agriculture with a grow-ing market share, so it makes sense forme to allow farmers to invest some oftheir own funds to promote their prod-ucts,” she said. —AP

NASA’s US astronaut Karen Nyberg is seen inside of the space capsule as she takes part in pre-flight training at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome on Friday. NASA’s US astronautKaren Nyberg, Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and European Space Agency (ESA)Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano are scheduled to blast off to the International Space Station(ISS) from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur cosmodrome on May 29. — AFP

Rising consumer demands aids organic industry sway

IMAX film program

SUNDAY** 9:30am Showtime Available for Groups Tornado Alley 3D10:30am, 6:30pm, 9:30pmTo The Arctic 3D 11:30am, 8:30pmFlight of Butterflies 3D 12:30pm, 5:30pmBorn to be Wild 3D 7:30pm

SEND US YOURINSTAGRAM PICS

What’s more fun than clicking a beauti-ful picture? Sharing it with others! Letother people see the way you see

Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times willfeature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagramfeeds. If you want to share your Instagram pho-tos, email us at

instagram@kuwaittimes.net

Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

Write to us

W H AT ’ S ONSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

AnnouncementsAIP shaam-e ghazal

T he Association of Indian Professionals(AIP), Kuwait, forthcoming event has beenscheduled for the evening of May 25, 2013

at 6 pm at the auditorium of Indian CommunitySenior School, Salmiya and is titled as AIPShaam-e-Ghazal. We have invited RaghuramKrishnan, a Ghazal singer from Cochin, India tomake this evening more melodious and vibrant.He will be supported by few local musiciansalso. Ambassador of India, Satish C. Mehta willbe the Chief Guest. Admission is by invitationand children below 10 years of age will not beallowed.

The TIES Center’s ‘trip’

T he TIES Center cordially invites those whoare interested in its trip to the Historical,Vintage and Classic Car Museum, which is

the first museum in Kuwait specializing in oldcars on May 30th at 6:00 pm. Revisit past mem-ories or learn something new. I f you love carsthen this is the trip for you. Even if you don’tlove cars, come anyway; you will enjoy the trip.For more information/registration, log onto:www.tiescenter.net.

Photography exhibition

T he Embassy of India, Kuwait in associationwith National Council of Arts, Culture &Letters is organizing an exhibition of pho-

tographs of Islamic monuments of India byBenoy K Behl, Art - Historian & Photographer atAl-Edwani Hall, Dahiyat Abdullah Al-Salem. Theexhibition is being inaugurated at 1900 hrs on21 May, 2013. The exhibition shall be keptopen till 27 May 2013 from 0900 hrs to 1230 hrsand 1700 hrs to 2100 hrs. All are cordially invit-ed to the exhibition.

My Experience in Kuwait

The Aware Diwaniya on Tuesday, May 21 will begiven by two German Expats, Jan Koeppen andDetmar Ruediger. They will talk about their

experience in Kuwait as well as intercultural aspectsincluding sharing their tips and advice on spendingleisure time in Kuwait. Please join us at 7 pm at AwareCenter, Villa 84, Street 50, Block 3, Surra. For moreinformation please call 25335280 or visitwww.aware.com.kw

IMAX

By Sajeev K Peter

Indonesian Embassy, Kuwait in col-laboration with the Indonesian min-istry of Tourism and Creative

Economy hosted a table-top event at JW Marriott Hotel on the occasion thecountry’s participation in Kuwait TravelMart. Indonesian Ambassador FerryAdamhar addressed the tourism offi-cials from Indonesia, ambassadors fromforeign missions in Kuwait, travelagency officials and other guests.

Fikdanel Thaufik, Garuda IndonesiaGeneral Manager, Saudi Arabia andMiddle East, spoke on the occasion.Representatives from four Indonesiantravel companies attended the ses-sions. Over 38 Kuwait travel companiesjoined the event and exchanged viewswith the Indonesia travel companies.

A video was shown on the occasiondemonstrating Indonesia’s rich tourismpotential in Bali and East NusaTenggara (Komodo Island). Anothervideo that profiled Garuda Indonesia

Airways and outlined its plan to buy 10of the newest Boeing 777-300ER air-craft to strengthen its armada.

A raffle draw was held and twogrand prizes were given away to twofrom Kuwaiti companies.

The grand prizes were round-triptickets from Abu Dhabi-Jakarta-Bali onGaruda Indonesia. Many more sou-venirs were given away by the Ministryof Tourism, Indonesia to the guests. Toadd more festivities to the event, tradi-

tional dancers from Indra Group dance-Nandak Ganjen dance from Betawi,Jakarta, a dance about a group ofyoung ladies - performed to the delightof the guests.

—Photos by Joseph Shagra

Indonesia holds table-topevent to promote tourism

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Under the patronage of FireDepartment Director Lt. General Yousuf Al-Ansari the marine fire had its open day underthe slogan “your safety...by wearing it” atMarine Fire Center in Ras Al-Ardh to educatecitizens and expat about their diving safetythis summer season.

Fire center director Colonel Taraq Al-Sabtisaid the Marine Fire Dept. is getting ready forthe summer season, due to the increasingnumber of those who go fishing and leisuretrips in the sea and the dangers which theymight face if they ignore safety equipmentslike fire extinguishers, safety jackets, and to besure of the safety and readiness of their boatsand be sure of the weather before gettinginto the sea.

Kuwait fire department holds open day

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) hosted a group ofstudents from Abdullateef Al Dayeen PrimarySchool. The students toured the bank’s head

office to learn firsthand about the banking industry andthe day-to-day work environment at the bank variousdepartments.

NBK Public Relations team received the visitinggroup of students and treated them to a familiarizationtour of the various departments, including the mainbanking hall. Students showed great interest with thebroad-spectrum of NBK financial and banking productsand services and were particularly inquisitive about themulti-benefit Al -Azraq and Al-Shabab Al-Wataniaccounts, exclusively designed for high schools, col-leagues and university students.

Commenting on the conclusion of the visit, the stu-dents expressed their sincere thanks for NBK and theopportunity they have been given to gain a betterunderstanding of the banking job and get a personalinsight about NBK and the career field in general.

Organizing frequent visits for students and providingregular support for educational institutions in Kuwaithas always been a major component of NBK’s socialresponsibility and strong commitment towards thegreater community in general and the young genera-tion in particular.

NBK welcomes students from Abdullateef Al Dayeen School

Dr Nuna Goel presents trophy to the winners at theBritish School of Kuwait, Salwa, during the basket-ball championship for boys and girls organized byIndian Youth Society, Friday, May 17, 2013.

Information

Embassy

EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIAThe Australian Embassy Kuwait does nothave a visa or immigration department.All processing of visas and immigrationmatters in conducted by The AustralianConsulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.aus-dxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS)immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel:+971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (VisaOffice); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). InKuwait applications can be lodged at theAustralian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor,Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-SalemStreet, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait,Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days:09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit theirwebsite www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more informa-tion. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visason-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm.

n n n n n n n

EMBASSY OF CANADAThe Embassy of Canada in Kuwait doesnot have a visa or immigration depart-ment. All processing of visa and immi-gration matters including enquiries is conduct-ed by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi,UAE. Individuals who are interested in working,studying, visiting or immigrating to Canadashould contact the Canadian Embassy in AbuDhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca or www.going-tocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-im-enquiry@international.gc.ca. The Embassy ofCanada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St,Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website atwww.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada isopen from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday throughThursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizensare provided from 09:00 until 12:00, Sundaythrough Wednesday.

n n n n n n n

n n n n n n n

EMBASSY OF CYPRUS In its capacity as EU Local Presidency inthe State of Kuwait, the Embassy of theRepublic of Cyprus, on behalf of theMember States of the EU and associatedStates participating in the Schengen cooper-ation, would like to announce that as from2nd October 2012 all Schengen States’Consulates in Kuwait will use the VisaInformation System (VIS). The VIS is a centraldatabase for the exchange of data on short-stay (up to three months) visas betweenSchengen States. The main objectives of theVIS are to facilitate visa application proce-dures and checks at external border as wellas to enhance security. The VIS will contain allthe Schengen visa applications lodged by anapplicant over five years and the decisionstaken by any Schengen State’s consulate. Thiswill allow applicants to establish more easilythe lawful use of previous visas and theirbona fide status. For the purpose of the VIS,applicants will be required to provide theirbiometric data (fingerprints and digital pho-tos) when applying for a Schengen visa. It is asimple and discreet procedure that only takesa few minutes. Biometric data, along with thedata provided in the Schengen visa applica-tion form, will be recorded in the VIS centraldatabase. Therefore, as from 2nd October2012, first-time applicants will have to appearin person when lodging the application, inorder to provide their fingerprints. For subse-quent applications within 5 years the finger-prints can be copied from the previous appli-cation file in the VIS. The Cypriot Presidencywould like to assure the people of Kuwait andall its permanent citizens that the MemberStates and associated States participating inthe Schengen cooperation, have taken allnecessary technical measures to facilitate therapid examination and the efficient process-ing of visa applications and to ensure a quickand discreet procedure for the implementa-tion of the new VIS.

EMBASSY OF SOUTH KOREAThe Embassy of the Republic of Korea inKuwait will organize 2013 K-POP Contest onThursday, June 6, 2013 at 6:00 pm. The aimof the contest is to provide an opportunity to theparticipants to showcase their exciting talents to theaudience. Everyone is encouraged to participate inthe contest. Application forms can be downloadedfrom the Embassy’s website: http://kwt.mofa.go.kr(Select English from the menu at the top of thepage then Bilateral Relations) or visit the “KoreanCulture Diwaniya” Facebook Group. Interested appli-cants must send their application forms toKuwait@mofa.go.kr by 24 May 2013.

n n n n n n n

EMBASSY GREECE The Embassy of Greece in Kuwait has thepleasure to announce that visa applica-tions must be submitted to Schengen VisaApplication Centre (VFS office) located at 12thfloor, Al-Naser Tower, Fahad Al-Salem Street, Al-Qibla area, Kuwait City, (Parking at Souk Watia). Forinformation please call 22281046 from 08:30 to17:00 (Sunday to Thursday). Working hours:Submission from 08:30 to 15:30. Passport collec-tion from 16:00 to 17:00. For visa applicationsplease visit the following websitewww.mfa.gr/kuwait.

W H AT ’ S ONSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

We are glad to inform you that we launched our site on instagram.Follow us on @sebamedkuwait and (hashtag)#sebamedkuwait andsend us your shots involving all family members and be the lucky

winner of a valuable prize from Sebamed products.

Sebamed onInstagram

n n n n n n n

EMBASSY OF SOUTH AFRICAThe Embassy of the Republic of SouthAfrica will be closed on Tuesday, 28 May2013, for an official event. The Embassy willresume it’s normal working hours on Wednesday,29 May 2013, from Sunday to Thursday. Pleasenote that the Working hours will be from 8h00 to16h00 & the Consular Section operation hours willbe from 8h30 to 12h30, for any emergenciesplease contact: 94924895.

Fabio Canavaro, Captain of the Italian World Cup winning team met players andofficials from the Premier Goal Academy in association with Everton F.C. at GoSport in Kuwait. Go Sport are sponsoring all the matches and training footballersalong with the latest coaching equipment at P.G.A. Everton, supporting Kuwait’sNo.1 Community Football Coaching Program, under the patronage of the BritishAmbassador, Frank Baker. The P.G.A. summer program will commence Friday 24thMay at Bayan, running six nights a week from 5.30-8.30pm until July 3rd.

Your destination in Abu Halifa for tastiest Italian cuisine

Oriomilane, as reflected in its name, offers youItalian dining at its finest. With its distinctEuropean decor, its relaxed Mediterranean

ambience and scrumptious fusion dishes that blendthe best of Roman, Sicilian, Greek flavours, with anemphasis on the tastes of the Gulf, the restaurantdelivers an exquisite dining experience.

Styled uniquely on European lines by a speciallyappointed Russian designer, the interior of Oriomilaneis refreshingly distinct. The ambience reflects a gen-uine Italian ristorante - sophisticated, trendy andvibrant, while at the same time retaining a relaxed,informal and laid-back atmosphere that attracts cus-tomers of all ages and from all walks of life.

Oriomilane promises you a journey into the heart ofMilan that will entice your senses and refresh you withits relaxing and comforting surroundings. The restau-rant’s eclectic fusion fare is rooted in its ethnic ingredi-ents and unusual combinations that emphasizeflavours and subtlety. The ingredients are sourceddirectly from Italy and carefully crafted by the profes-sional and innovative chefs at Oriomilane into dishesthat reproduce the genuine flavours and tastes of Italy,expertly tailored to cater to discerning local palates.

Dishes like panettone and saffron risotto are consid-ered a culinary symbol of Milan and saffron risotto hasspecial significance to the city. Legend has it that, in1574, the young assistant of Master Valerio of Flanderswas so passionate about saffron that he used it inevery dye to add beauty effects to the cathedral hismaster was building. At Valerio’s daughter’s wedding,the assistant coaxed the chef to add saffron to the

main risotto dish to give it a lovely golden yellowcolour that became an immediate sensation and setthe tradition of ‘risottgiald’, which forever becamelinked to this magnificent city. Prior to using saffron,the most common seasoning for risotto was butter,with gold leaf used as a decoration. In continuation ofthis 400 year old tradition, at Oriomilane, you will findthe delectable saffron featured in many of our signa-ture dishes.

The perfectionist approach of our chefs in doingtheir work is nothing less than a testimony of their souland adds a flavour to our dishes, which instantlytouches your heart, and relishes your soul.

The restaurant blends warm and welcoming dÈcor,unrivalled service, and, a finesse and balance of variedingredients to produce dishes of unmatched quality,serving all of this with a hospitality that is a matter of

pride for us. Oriomilane is located in Abu Halifa, at the iconic

Dome Mall that features a distinctive architectural styleand a unique central dome canopy. The Dome Mall,with its high-end shopping arcades, bowling rings,electronic games and an eclectic selection of classyrestaurants and cafes, is the latest gathering spot forfamilies and friends in Kuwait. Also situated adjacent toKuwait Magic, another landmark in the area,Oriomilane is easily accessible from Fahaheel and itssuburbs, as well as from Kuwait City along the CoastRoad. The restaurant has easy access and ample carparking space.

Come join us for an excursion to Italy that you havealways longed for, while relishing our signature Italianfusion dishes that are not only immensely flavourfulbut also brilliantly creative.

The Cooperation Club at theAmerican University of Kuwaitstarted its activities this semester

with a trip to Mecca Al-Mukarramah,supported and sponsored by Ar-Rawafid Estate Company. The studentswere accompanied by AUK AssociateProfessor of Management, Dr AlyMansour, and AUK Safety and SecurityCoordinator, Nawaf Al-Banai.

In the orientation preceding the trip,

Dr. Mansour spoke to the studentsabout the need for such spiritual tripsthat would charge them with internalenergy. He also praised the CooperationClub for its active role in conductingactivities within the moral and noblevalues of Islam.

Amongst the activities conductedduring the Umrah trip was the distribu-tion of meals to the needy, spiritual les-sons promoting devotion and the need

to invest time and energy in worthycauses, as well as a competition to learnSurat “Luqman” (the 31st chapter of theHoly Quran). The Umrah trip partici-pants enjoyed the trip and commendedits management and success. This trip isconsidered the beginning of a series ofactivities that the Cooperation Club isplanning to organize in the future, inline with the Club’s mission to defineIslam in terms of creed, acts of worship,

conduct, and morals.The Cooperation Club is an inde-

pendent, missionary student organiza-tion that aims to raise awareness ofIslamic principles, morals, acts of wor-ship and values among the students ofthe American University of Kuwaitthrough creative projects and pro-grams, as well as, cultural and socialactivities.

AUK Cooperation Club organizes Umrah trip

Today more and more business executives see theneed to incorporate health and fitness into theirbusy travel schedules. Recent industry reports

have highlighted how hotel guests now prioritizehotels with superior fitness facilities. With this in mindThe Regency is delighted to announce the opening ofa new and expanded gymnasium to provide its in-house guests with more opportunities to stay healthy.

Located on the top floor of the five-storey hotel thisbeautifully designed 200 square metre facility will fea-ture a range of the latest equipment by Precor sowhether a guest is looking to improve his or her car-dio-vascular performance, burn calories or tone mus-cles there will be plenty of choice, not forgetting freeweights for those who seek to perfect the body beauti-ful.

Open 24 hours a day, the facility will be segregatedto allow men and women complete privacy whileworking out. Each section is flanked by adjoining mar-

ble washrooms with luxurious amenities. The sweep-ing reception desk with its golden marble backdropwill form the impressive entry, pastel walls, tall mirrorsand spotlights will enhance the guests’ work out expe-rience.

General Manager, Mr. Aurelio Giraudo spoke of hispride in creating yet another high-end facility for TheRegency’s esteemed guests: “We recognize our in-house guests require top-of-the-line exercise facilitiesand we are therefore delighted to provide them with abrand new and expanded gymnasium, exclusively fortheir use. To retain exclusivity memberships will not beextended to outside guests. This is just one a numberof enhancements we shall be seeing over the nextmonths designed to offer our guests an all-round,international five-star experience”.

The Regency gym will be overseen by qualifiedmale and female personal trainers to ensure optimumbenefit and personal safety.

New and exclusive gymnasium brings more benefits to guests at The Regency

T V PR O G R A M SSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

THE WARD ON OSN ACTION HD

WANDERLUST ON OSN CINEMA

00:05 How Tech Works00:30 Sci-Fi Science01:00 Trek Nation02:45 Stephen Hawking’s GrandDesign03:35 Bad Universe04:25 Superships05:15 The Gadget Show05:40 How Tech Works06:05 Prophets Of Science Fiction07:00 James May’s 20th Century07:25 James May’s 20th Century07:50 Curiosity08:40 The Gadget Show09:05 How Tech Works09:30 Da Vinci’s Machines10:25 What’s That About?11:20 Superships12:10 Prophets Of Science Fiction13:00 Curiosity13:50 Sci-Fi Science14:20 The Gadget Show14:45 How Tech Works15:10 James May’s 20th Century15:35 James May’s 20th Century16:00 Da Vinci’s Machines16:55 What’s That About?17:45 Superships18:35 Meteorite Men19:30 James May’s 20th Century19:55 James May’s 20th Century20:20 Finding Bigfoot21:10 The Gadget Show21:35 How Tech Works22:00 James May’s 20th Century22:25 James May’s 20th Century22:50 Sport Science23:40 The Gadget Show

00:45 Deadly Arts01:40 Deadliest Journeys02:05 The Best Job In The World02:35 Bondi Rescue03:00 Bondi Rescue03:30 Danger Beach03:55 The Ride: Alaska To Patagonia04:25 Lonely Planet: Roads LessTravelled05:20 Departures06:15 Food Lover ’s Guide To ThePlanet06:40 Market Values07:10 The Frankincense Trail08:05 Deadly Arts09:00 Deadliest Journeys09:25 The Best Job In The World09:55 Bondi Rescue10:20 Bondi Rescue10:50 Danger Beach11:15 The Ride: Alaska To Patagonia11:45 Lonely Planet: Roads LessTravelled12:40 Long Way Down13:35 Graham’s World14:00 Market Values14:30 The Frankincense Trail15:25 Around The World For Free16:20 Deadliest Journeys16:45 The Best Job In The World

00:00 The Ward-1802:00 Beneath The Darkness-PG1504:00 Ice Road Terror-PG1506:00 Killer Mountain-PG1508:00 True Justice: One Shot, OneLife-PG1510:00 The Presence-PG1512:00 The Stool Pigeon-PG1514:00 True Justice: One Shot, OneLife-PG1516:00 Green Lantern-PG1518:00 The Stool Pigeon-PG1520:00 Amphibious-1822:00 AVP: Alien vs Predator-PG15

00:30 The Daily Show With JonStewart01:00 The Colbert Report01:30 Weeds02:00 It’s Always Sunny InPhiladelphia02:30 The Big C03:00 Ben And Kate03:30 The Simpsons04:00 Seinfeld04:30 The Tonight Show With JayLeno05:30 Emily’s Reasons Why Not06:00 Arrested Development06:30 Samantha Who?07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon08:00 Seinfeld08:30 Emily’s Reasons Why Not09:00 Ben And Kate09:30 Modern Family10:00 The Mindy Project10:30 Samantha Who?11:00 The Tonight Show With JayLeno12:00 Arrested Development12:30 Seinfeld13:00 Emily’s Reasons Why Not13:30 Samantha Who?14:00 The Simpsons14:30 The Mindy Project15:00 Modern Family15:30 The Daily Show With JonStewart16:00 The Colbert Report16:30 Arrested Development17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon18:00 New Girl18:30 Friends19:00 Community20:00 The Tonight Show With JayLeno21:00 The Daily Show With JonStewart21:30 The Colbert Report22:00 The League22:30 Eastbound & Down23:00 The Big C23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

01:15 The Company Men-PG1503:00 The Silence Of The Lambs-1805:00 13-PG1507:00 Offline-PG1509:00 TT: Closer To The Edge-PG1510:45 Oscar And Lucinda-PG1513:00 Taken Back: Finding Haley-PG1514:30 TT: Closer To The Edge-PG1516:15 Gandhi-PG19:30 B-Girl-PG1521:00 Perfect Sense-1823:00 Blind Revenge-18

00:30 ICC Cricket 36001:00 World Pool Masters02:00 World Cup Of Pool03:00 Pro 1205:00 Top 14 Highlights05:30 ICC Cricket 36006:00 Trans World Sport07:00 Golfing World08:00 Asian Tour Golf Show08:30 Total Rugby09:00 World Pool Masters10:00 World Cup Of Pool11:00 Golfing World12:00 Pro 1214:00 Total Rugby14:30 Premier League Darts18:00 Top 1420:00 Futbol Mundial20:30 Total Rugby21:00 Super Rugby Highlights22:00 AFL Premiership Highlights23:00 Trans World Sport

00:00 UIM F1H2O Nations Cup00:30 UIM Powerboat Champs01:00 NHL03:00 Ping Pong World04:00 US Bass Fishing05:00 NHL07:00 WWE SmackDown09:00 Ping Pong World10:00 US Bass Fishing11:00 NHL13:00 WWE Vintage Collection14:00 WWE Bottom Line15:00 Mass Participation Ironman17:00 UIM Aquabike Champs17:30 UFC TUF Finale20:30 Prizefighter23:30 NHL

01:15 The Godfather II04:15 Alien Resurrection06:15 Men In Black08:00 True Justice: Blood Alley10:00 Monsters12:00 Superman vs. The Elite13:30 Ip Man 215:30 Monsters17:15 X-Men: First Class19:45 Ip Man 221:45 A Dangerous Man23:30 The Echo

00:30 HSBC Sevens World Series 03:30 Ladies European Tour 04:30 NRL Premiership06:30 ICC Cricket 36007:00 HSBC Sevens World Series 10:00 NRL Full Time 10:30 AFL Premiership Highlights 11:30 Trans World Sport12:30 ICC Cricket 36013:00 Live Cricket 21:00 ICC Cricket 36021:30 Inside The PGA Tour 22:00 Live PGA Tour

00:00 Stripes-1802:00 Vampire In Brooklyn-PG1504:00 While You Were Sleeping-PG1506:00 12 Dates Of Christmas-PG1508:00 Wild Wild West-PG1510:00 3 Holiday Tails-PG12:00 While You Were Sleeping-PG1514:00 Bushwhacked-PG16:00 3 Holiday Tails-PG18:00 The Naked Gun: From TheFiles Of Police Squad-PG20:00 Grabbers-PG1522:00 Stripes-18

00:00 Inside The PGA Tour00:30 PGA European Tour Weekly01:00 NRL Full Time 01:30 Futbol Mundial02:00 Rugby League Challenge Cup03:30 AFL Premiership06:00 Trans World Sport07:00 Futbol Mundial07:30 Rugby League Challenge Cup09:00 Premier League Darts12:30 Futbol Mundial13:00 Inside The PGA Tour13:30 PGA European Tour Weekly14:00 Live PGA European Tour18:00 Trans World Sport19:00 WWE NXT20:00 UFC Unleached 21:00 Live Premier League Darts

01:00 Rabbit Hole-PG1502:45 Footloose-PG1504:45 Moneyball-PG1507:00 Something Borrowed-PG1509:00 Larry Crowne-PG1510:45 Battleship-PG1513:00 Taken From Me: The TiffanyRubin Story-PG15:00 Page Eight-PG1517:00 Larry Crowne-PG1518:45 Snow White And TheHuntsman-PG1521:00 That’s My Boy-R23:00 The Inbetweeners-18

00:45 Your Worst AnimalNightmares01:35 I’m Alive02:25 Safari Vet School02:50 Safari Vet School03:15 Wildest Africa04:05 Galapagos04:55 Shamwari: A Wild Life05:20 Cheetah Kingdom05:45 SSPCA: On The Wildside06:10 SSPCA: On The Wildside06:35 Wildlife SOS07:00 The Really Wild Show07:25 Groomer Has It08:15 Dogs 10109:10 Weird Creatures With NickBaker10:05 Safari Vet School10:30 Safari Vet School11:00 Animal Cops Houston11:55 Shamwari: A Wild Life12:20 Wildlife SOS12:50 Safari Vet School13:15 Safari Vet School13:45 Animal Precinct14:40 Safari Vet School15:05 Safari Vet School15:30 Cheetah Kingdom16:00 The Really Wild Show16:30 Dogs 10117:25 World’s Ugliest DogCompetition18:20 America’s Cutest...19:15 Monkey Life19:40 Bondi Vet20:10 Shamwari: A Wild Life20:35 Cheetah Kingdom21:05 Safari Vet School21:30 Safari Vet School22:00 Biggest And Baddest22:55 Untamed China With NigelMarven23:50 Animal Cops Houston

00:40 Come Dine With Me01:30 Masterchef: The Professionals02:15 Gok’s Fashion Fix03:05 Coastal Kitchen03:30 Cash In The Attic04:15 Bargain Hunt05:00 Holmes On Homes05:45 Gok’s Fashion Fix06:35 New Scandinavian Cooking07:00 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard07:25 Food And Drink07:50 New Scandinavian Cooking08:15 Homes Under The Hammer09:05 Bargain Hunt09:50 Antiques Roadshow10:40 Extreme Makeover: HomeEdition11:25 Masterchef: The Professionals12:10 Come Dine With Me13:00 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard13:30 New Scandinavian Cooking13:55 Bargain Hunt14:40 Cash In The Attic15:25 Antiques Roadshow16:20 Extreme Makeover: HomeEdition17:00 Homes Under The Hammer17:55 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard18:20 The Roux Legacy18:55 The Hairy Bikers USA19:20 New Scandinavian Cooking19:45 Come Dine With Me20:35 Extreme Makeover: HomeEdition21:20 Antiques Roadshow22:15 Bargain Hunt23:00 Homes Under The Hammer23:55 Cash In The Attic

00:45 Wacky Races01:35 Duck Dodgers02:00 Duck Dodgers02:25 Dastardly And Muttley02:50 Dastardly And Muttley03:00 Dexter’s Laboratory03:30 Wacky Races03:55 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries04:20 Tom & Jerry04:45 The Garfield Show05:00 Bananas In Pyjamas05:25 Gerald McBoing Boing05:45 Jelly Jamm06:00 Ha Ha Hairies06:25 Bananas In Pyjamas06:50 Lazytown07:15 Krypto: The Super Dog07:40 Baby Looney Tunes08:05 Gerald McBoing Boing08:30 Cartoonito Tales08:55 Ha Ha Hairies09:20 Lazytown09:45 Baby Looney Tunes10:10 Krypto: The Super Dog10:35 Cartoonito Tales11:00 Jelly Jamm11:25 Gerald McBoing Boing11:50 Lazytown12:15 Baby Looney Tunes12:40 Jelly Jamm13:00 Tom & Jerry Kids13:25 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo13:50 Moomins14:20 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries14:45 The Looney Tunes Show15:10 The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo15:35 Taz-Mania16:00 Tiny Toon Adventures16:25 Moomins16:50 Tom And Jerry Tales17:15 What’s New Scooby Doo17:40 The Looney Tunes Show

00:15 You Have Been Warned01:10 James May’s Man Lab02:05 Mythbusters03:00 Mythbusters03:55 Border Security04:20 Auction Hunters04:50 Storage Hunters05:15 How Machines Work05:40 How Stuff’s Made06:05 Sons Of Guns07:00 Mythbusters07:50 Futurecar08:45 Gold Rush - Season 3 Specials09:40 Border Security10:05 Auction Hunters10:30 Auction Kings10:55 How Machines Work11:25 How It’s Made11:50 You Have Been Warned12:45 James May’s Man Lab13:40 Mythbusters14:35 Border Security15:05 Auction Hunters15:30 Auction Kings16:00 Fast N’ Loud16:55 Gold Rush17:50 Mythbusters18:45 Sons Of Guns19:40 How Machines Work20:05 How It’s Made20:35 Auction Hunters21:00 Storage Hunters21:30 Heroes Of Hell’s Highway22:25 Sons Of Guns23:20 Hellriders

00:00 Eureka01:00 The Client List02:00 Castle04:00 Bones05:00 Castle06:00 Eureka

00:00 Amanpour00:30 World Sport01:00 Piers Morgan Live02:00 CNN Newsroom Live FromHong Kong03:00 Anderson Cooper 36004:00 Piers Morgan Live05:00 Quest Means Business06:00 The Situation Room07:00 World Sport07:30 Talk Asia08:00 World Report09:00 World Report10:00 World Sport10:30 I Report For CNN11:00 World Business Today12:00 World One12:30 Open Court13:00 Amanpour13:30 CNN Newscenter14:00 Piers Morgan Live15:00 News Stream16:00 World Business Today

00:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives00:55 Unwrapped01:20 Unwrapped01:45 Charly’s Cake Angels02:10 Charly’s Cake Angels02:35 Unique Sweets03:00 Unique Sweets03:25 Food Wars03:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives04:15 Unique Eats04:40 Chopped05:30 Iron Chef America06:10 Food Network Challenge07:00 Guy’s Big Bite07:25 Guy’s Big Bite07:50 Reza’s African Kitchen08:15 Kid In A Candy Store08:40 Unique Sweets09:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back ToBasics09:30 The Next Food Network Star10:20 Extra Virgin10:45 Extra Virgin11:10 Cooking For Real11:35 Food Crafters12:00 Ultimate Recipe Showdown12:50 Grill It! With Bobby Flay13:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back ToBasics13:40 Barefoot Contessa - Back ToBasics14:05 Food Wars14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives14:55 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives15:20 Guy’s Big Bite15:45 Chopped16:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back ToBasics17:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back ToBasics17:25 Food Wars17:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives18:15 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives18:40 Guy’s Big Bite19:05 Reza’s African Kitchen19:30 Chopped20:20 Chopped21:10 Amazing Wedding Cakes22:00 Food Network Challenge22:50 Food Network Caters YourWedding23:40 Food Wars

01:00 Olentzero And The Magic Log02:45 Battle For Terra04:30 Barnyard06:00 Winx08:00 Dragon Hunters10:00 Snowmen11:30 Return To Halloweentown13:00 Blue Elephant 214:45 Battle For Terra16:15 Horrid Henry18:00 Snowmen20:00 The Apple & The Worm22:00 Blue Elephant 223:45 Horrid Henry

01:15 A Patch Of Blue-PG03:00 Shaft04:45 Mr. Skeffington-FAM07:00 North By Northwest-PG09:15 The Hook-PG10:50 Lost In A Harem-FAM12:20 Dial M For Murder-PG14:10 Mildred Pierce-PG16:00 The Adventures Of RobinHood-PG17:45 Mr. Skeffington-FAM20:00 Operation Crossbow-PG22:00 The Champ-PG

00:30 Dr G: Medical Examiner01:20 A Haunting02:05 Nightmare Next Door02:55 Nightmare Next Door03:45 I Almost Got Away With It04:30 Dr G: Medical Examiner05:20 A Haunting06:10 Nightmare Next Door07:00 Mystery Diagnosis07:50 Street Patrol08:15 Street Patrol08:40 Real Emergency Calls09:05 Who On Earth Did I Marry?09:30 On The Case With Paula Zahn10:20 Murder Shift11:10 Disappeared12:00 Mystery Diagnosis12:50 Street Patrol13:15 Street Patrol13:40 Forensic Detectives14:30 On The Case With Paula Zahn15:20 Real Emergency Calls15:45 Who On Earth Did I Marry?16:10 Disappeared17:00 Murder Shift17:50 Forensic Detectives18:40 On The Case With Paula Zahn19:30 Disappeared20:20 Nightmare Next Door21:10 Couples Who Kill22:00 On The Case With Paula Zahn22:50 I Escaped Death23:40 I Almost Got Away With It

00:00 Failure To Launch-PG1502:00 According To Greta-PG1504:00 Dead Lines-PG15

01:15 Judy Moody And The NotBummer Summer-PG03:00 The People vs George Lucas-PG1505:00 Princess Lillifee-FAM07:00 Second Chances-PG1509:00 Judy Moody And The NotBummer Summer-PG11:00 Espions-PG1513:00 What’s Wrong With Virginia-PG1515:00 A Dog Named Duke-PG1517:00 The Artist-PG19:00 Return-PG1521:00 Wanderlust-R23:00 Werewolf: The Beast AmongUs-18

00:00 BBC World News America00:30 BBC World News America01:00 Newsday01:30 Asia Business Report01:45 Sport Today02:00 Newsday02:30 Asia Business Report02:45 Sport Today03:00 Newsday

03:30 Asia Business Report03:45 Sport Today04:00 BBC World News04:30 Asia Business Report04:45 Sport Today05:00 BBC World News05:30 Asia Business Report05:45 Sport Today06:00 BBC World News06:30 Hardtalk07:00 BBC World News07:30 World Business Report07:45 BBC World News08:00 BBC World News08:30 World Business Report08:45 BBC World News09:00 BBC World News09:30 World Business Report09:45 BBC World News10:00 BBC World News10:30 World Business Report10:45 BBC World News11:00 BBC World News11:30 Hardtalk12:00 BBC World News12:30 World Business Report12:45 Sport Today13:00 BBC World News13:30 BBC World News14:00 GMT With George Alagiah14:30 GMT With George Alagiah15:00 BBC World News15:30 World Business Report15:45 Sport Today16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain16:30 Impact With Mishal Husain17:00 Impact With Mishal Husain17:30 Hardtalk18:00 Global With John Sopel18:30 Global With John Sopel19:00 Global With John Sopel19:30 World Business Report19:45 Sport Today20:00 BBC World News20:30 BBC Focus On Africa21:00 World News Today WithZeinab Badawi21:30 World News Today WithZeinab Badawi22:00 World News Today WithZeinab Badawi22:30 World Business Report22:45 Sport Today23:00 Business Edition With TanyaBeckett23:30 Hardtalk

00:30 Grim Adventures Of...01:20 Johnny Test02:10 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien02:35 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien03:00 The Amazing World OfGumball03:25 Regular Show03:50 Ben 10: Omniverse04:15 Scooby-Doo! MysteryIncorporated04:40 Powerpuff Girls05:05 Evil Con Carne05:30 Cow & Chicken06:00 Casper’s Scare School06:30 Angelo Rules07:00 Dreamworks Dragons RidersOf Berk07:25 Johnny Test07:45 Scooby-Doo! MysteryIncorporated08:10 Evil Con Carne08:55 Adventure Time09:45 Regular Show10:35 Angelo Rules11:25 Ben 10: Alien Force11:50 Ben 10: Alien Force12:15 Hero 10812:40 Hero 10813:05 Mucha Lucha !13:30 Angelo Rules14:20 Evil Con Carne15:10 The Amazing World OfGumball15:35 Adventure Time16:00 Regular Show16:30 Johnny Test17:00 Ben 10: Omniverse17:25 Dreamworks Dragons RidersOf Berk17:50 Gormiti New18:15 Young Justice18:40 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien19:05 Total Drama Island19:30 Total Drama Island19:55 Mucha Lucha !20:20 Ben 10: Omniverse20:45 The Amazing World OfGumball21:10 Adventure Time21:35 Regular Show22:00 Ben 1022:25 Ben 1022:50 Mucha Lucha !23:15 Mucha Lucha !23:40 Powerpuff Girls

17:00 International Desk18:00 Global Exchange18:45 CNN Marketplace Middle East19:00 CNN Football Club19:30 Open Court20:00 International Desk21:00 Quest Means Business21:45 CNN Marketplace Europe22:00 Amanpour22:30 CNN Newscenter23:00 Connect The World WithBecky Anderson

00:00 Hannah Montana00:20 Hannah Montana00:45 Brandy & Mr Whiskers01:05 Brandy & Mr Whiskers01:30 Emperor’s New School01:50 Emperor’s New School02:15 Replacements02:35 Replacements03:00 Brandy & Mr Whiskers03:20 Brandy & Mr Whiskers03:45 Emperor’s New School04:05 Emperor’s New School04:30 Replacements04:50 Replacements05:15 Brandy & Mr Whiskers05:35 Brandy & Mr Whiskers06:00 Prankstars06:25 Suite Life On Deck06:45 Cory In The House07:10 A.N.T Farm07:35 Austin And Ally07:55 Jessie08:20 Good Luck Charlie08:45 Doc McStuffins09:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse09:30 A.N.T Farm09:55 Jonas10:15 So Random10:40 Hannah Montana11:05 Sonny With A Chance11:25 Kim Possible11:50 Shake It Up12:15 Shake It Up12:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place13:00 Wizards Of Waverly Place13:25 Austin And Ally13:45 Jessie14:10 A.N.T Farm14:35 So Random14:55 The Adventures Of DisneyFairies15:20 Good Luck Charlie15:45 Jessie16:10 Shake It Up16:35 A.N.T. Farm17:00 Austin And Ally17:20 Suite Life On Deck17:45 Suite Life On Deck18:10 Cory In The House18:30 Wizards Of Waverly Place18:55 That’s So Raven19:20 A.N.T Farm19:40 Good Luck Charlie20:05 Jessie20:30 Wizards Of Waverly Place20:50 Wizards Of Waverly Place21:15 So Random21:40 Hannah Montana22:00 Jonas22:25 Sonny With A Chance22:50 Sonny With A Chance23:10 Wizards Of Waverly Place23:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place

00:00 Scouted00:55 Style Star01:25 THS02:20 THS03:15 Style Star03:40 Extreme Close-Up04:10 THS05:05 E!es06:00 THS07:50 Style Star08:20 E! News09:15 Ice Loves Coco09:45 Ice Loves Coco10:15 THS12:05 E! News13:05 Chasing The Saturdays13:35 Chasing The Saturdays14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take NewYork15:00 Style Star15:30 THS16:30 Extreme Close-Up17:00 Playing With Fire18:00 E! News19:00 THS20:00 Kourtney And Kim Take Miami21:00 Chasing The Saturdays21:30 Fashion Police22:30 E! News23:30 Chelsea Lately

18:05 The Garfield Show18:30 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries18:55 The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo19:20 Tom And Jerry Tales19:45 What’s New Scooby Doo20:10 Tiny Toon Adventures20:35 Puppy In My Pocket21:00 What’s New Scooby-Doo?21:25 Looney Tunes21:50 Dexter’s Laboratory22:15 Tom & Jerry Tales23:05 Pink Panther And Pals23:30 Pink Panther And Pals23:55 Moomins

17:15 Bondi Rescue18:10 Danger Beach18:35 The Ride: Alaska To Patagonia19:05 Lonely Planet: Roads LessTravelled20:00 The Frankincense Trail21:00 Graham’s World21:30 Market Values22:00 Departures22:55 Graham’s World23:20 David Rocco‚Äôs Dolce Vita

07:00 Emmerdale07:30 Coronation Street08:00 C.S.I. New York09:00 Bones10:00 Castle11:00 Touch12:00 Emmerdale12:30 Coronation Street13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show14:00 C.S.I. New York15:00 Eureka16:00 Emmerdale16:30 Coronation Street17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show18:00 C.S.I. New York19:00 Switched At Birth20:00 American Idol21:00 Suits22:00 The Hollow Crown

06:00 Flower Girl-PG1508:00 Happy Feet Two-PG10:00 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: RodrickRules-PG11:45 Sherlock Holmes: A Game OfShadows-PG1514:00 Every Jack Has A Jill-PG1516:00 Happy Feet Two-PG18:00 Tower Heist-PG1520:00 Toast-PG1522:00 Marley-PG15

ClassifiedsSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

SHARQIA-1PHANTOM (DIG) 12:45 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG) 2:45 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG) 5:30 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 8:15 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG) 10:15 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 1:00 AM

SHARQIA-2THE GREAT GATSBY (DIG-3D) 1:45 PMTHE GREAT GATSBY (DIG-3D) 4:30 PMIRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) 7:15 PMTHE GREAT GATSBY (DIG-3D) 9:45 PMIRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) 12:30 AM

SHARQIA-3SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 1:15 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 3:30 PMTHE CALL (DIG) 5:45 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 7:45 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 10:00 PMTHE CALL (DIG) 12:15 AM

MUHALAB-1THE GREAT GATSBY (DIG) 1:45 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 4:30 PMTHE GREAT GATSBY (DIG) 6:30 PMTHE GREAT GATSBY (DIG) 9:15 PM

MUHALAB-2SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 1:00 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 3:30 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 5:30 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 7:45 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 9:45 PM

MUHALAB-3IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) 1:30 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG-3D) 4:15 PMIRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) 7:00 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG-3D) 9:30 PM

FANAR-1SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 1:15 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 3:30 PMTHE CALL (DIG) 5:45 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 7:45 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 10:00 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 2:15 AM

FANAR-2PHANTOM (DIG) 2:45 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 3:00 PMRISE OF THE ZOMBIES (DIG) 5:00 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 7:00 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 9:00 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 11:00 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 1:00 AM

FANAR-3JAVA HEAT (DIG) 1:00 PMWELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) 3:15 PMAURANGZEB (DIG) (HINDI) 5:30 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 8:30 PMWELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) 10:45 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 12:45 AM

MARINA-1STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG) 1:30 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 4:30 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG) 6:30 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG) 9:15 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG) 12:05 AMNO SUN+ TUE+WED

MARINA-2SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 1:30 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 3:45 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 5:45 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 8:00 PM

PHANTOM (DIG) 10:15 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 12:30 AMNO SUN+ TUE+WED

MARINA-3IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) 1:45 PMIRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) 4:15 PMTHE GREAT GATSBY (DIG-3D) 6:45 PMTHE GREAT GATSBY (DIG-3D) 9:30 PMIRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) 12:15 AMNO SUN+ TUE+WED

AVENUES-1JAVA HEAT (DIG) 2:00 PMRISE OF THE ZOMBIES (DIG) 4:15 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 6:30 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 8:45 PMRISE OF THE ZOMBIES (DIG) 11:00 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 1:15 AMNO SUN+ TUE+WED

AVENUES-2WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) 1:45 PMWELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) 4:00 PMTHE CALL (DIG) 6:15 PMWELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) 8:30 PMWELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) 10:45 PMTHE CALL (DIG) 1:00 AMNO SUN+ TUE+WED

AVENUES-3SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 12:30 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 2:45 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 5:00 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 7:15 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 9:30 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 11:45 PMNO SUN+ TUE+WED

360º- 1SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 1:30 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 3:45 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 6:00 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 8:15 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 10:30 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 12:45 AMNO SUN+ TUE+WED

360º- 2WELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) 12:45 PMWELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) 3:00 PMWELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) 5:15 PMWELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) 7:30 PMWELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) 9:45 PMWELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) 12:05 AMNO SUN+ TUE+WED

360º- 3JAVA HEAT (DIG) 1:00 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 3:15 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 5:30 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 7:45 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 10:00 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 12:15 AMNO SUN+ TUE+WED

AL-KOUT.1IRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) 2:00 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG-3D) 4:30 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG-3D) 7:15 PMIRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) 10:00 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG-3D) 12:30 AMNO SUN+ TUE+WED

AL-KOUT.2SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 1:15 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 3:30 PMWELCOME TO THE PUNCH (DIG) 6:00 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 8:15 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 10:30 PM

SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 12:45 AM

AL-KOUT.3THE GREAT GATSBY (DIG) 1:30 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 4:15 PMTHE GREAT GATSBY (DIG) 6:30 PMTHE GREAT GATSBY (DIG) 9:30 PMJAVA HEAT (DIG) 12:15 AMNO SUN+ TUE+WED

BAIRAQ-1STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG-3D) 12:45 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG-3D) 3:30 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG-3D) 6:15 PMIRON MAN 3 (DIG-3D) 9:00 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG-3D) 11:45 PM

BAIRAQ-2PHANTOM (DIG) 12:30 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 2:30 PMTHE GREAT GATSBY (DIG) 4:45 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 7:30 PMTHE GREAT GATSBY (DIG) 9:45 PMPHANTOM (DIG) 12:30 AM

BAIRAQ-3SAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 2:00 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 4:15 PMTHE CALL (DIG) 6:30 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 8:30 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 10:45 PMTHE CALL (DIG) 1:00 AM

PLAZASTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG) 5:30 PMSAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 8:15 PMSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG) 10:30 PM

LAILAIRON MAN 3 (DIG) 5:30 PMNO WEDTHE GREAT GATSBY (DIG) 8:00 PMNO WEDSTAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (DIG) 10:45 PMNO WED

AJIAL.1EMMANUEL (DIG) (MALAYALAM) 6:30 PMEMMANUEL (DIG) (MALAYALAM) 9:30 PM

AJIAL.2TADAKHA (DIG) (TELUGU) 6:45 PMTHU+FRISAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 5:30 PMNO THU+FRISAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 7:45 PMNO THU+FRISAMEER ABOO ELNEEL (DIG) 10:00 PM

AJIAL.3NERAM (DIG) (TAMIL) 7:00 PMNERAM (DIG) (TAMIL) 10:00 PM

AJIAL.4AURANGZEB (DIG) (HINDI) 6:45 PMAURANGZEB (DIG) (HINDI) 9:45 PM

METRO-1NERAM (DIG) (TAMIL) 6:30 PMNERAM (DIG) (TAMIL) 9:30 PM

METRO-2TADAKHA (DIG) (TELUGU) 6:45 PMTHU+FRIEMMANUEL (DIG) (MALAYALAM) 6:45 PMNO THU+FRITADAKHA (DIG) (TELUGU) 10:00 PM

Kuwait KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (16/05/2013 TO 22/05/2013)

Fajr: 03:23Shorook 04:54Duhr: 11:44Asr: 15:20Maghrib: 18:35Isha: 20:03

Prayer timings

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

Arrival Flights on Sunday 19/5/2013Airlines Flt Route TimeBBC 43 DHAKA 00:05QTR 148 DOHA 00:15RJA 642 AMMAN 01:10THY 764 SABIHA 01:40JZR 539 CAIRO 00:40JZR 267 BEIRUT 00:20KAC 544 CAIRO 04:10ETH 620 ADDIS ABABA 01:45GFA 211 BAHRAIN 01:55UAE 853 DUBAI 02:25ETD 305 ABU DHABI 02:30FDB 67 DUBAI 03:10MSR 612 CAIRO 03:15QTR 138 DOHA 03:30KAC 302 MUMBAI 07:50KAC 352 COCHIN 08:05KAC 382 DELHI 07:30KAC 206 ISLAMABAD 07:25KAC 332 TRIVANDRUM 07:55KAC 412 MANILA 06:15THY 770 ISTANBUL 04:35CLX 792 LUXEMBOURG 04:55DHX 170 BAHRAIN 05:10FDB 69 DUBAI 05:50BAW 157 LONDON 06:30FDB 53 DUBAI 07:45UAE 855 DUBAI 08:25ABY 125 SHARJAH 08:50JZR 555 ALEXANDRIA 06:20KAC 742 DAMMAM 13:30KAC 284 DHAKA 12:05KAC 672 DUBAI 13:40KAC 774 RIYADH 13:45JZR 165 DUBAI 11:35QTR 132 DOHA 09:00FDB 55 DUBAI 09:15IRA 603 SHIRAZ 09:20ETD 301 ABU DHABI 09:30IRC 6666 AHWAZ 10:10GFA 213 BAHRAIN 10:40MEA 404 BEIRUT 10:55UAE 871 DUBAI 12:45MSR 610 CAIRO 13:00THY 766 ISTANBUL 13:10QTR 140 DOHA 13:45FDB 57 DUBAI 13:50IRC 6507 SHIRAZ 14:25SVA 500 JEDDAH 14:30KNE 472 JEDDAH 14:35OMA 645 MUSCAT 14:40ETD 307 ABU DHABI 21:30

QTR 136 DOHA 21:35GFA 217 BAHRAIN 21:45QTR 6130 DOHA 21:45QTR 146 DOHA 22:00JAI 576 COCHIN 22:05FDB 59 DUBAI 22:20AIC 981 CHENNAI 22:25UAL 981 BAHRAIN 22:40DLH 636 FRANKFURT 23:10JAI 574 MUMBAI 23:20PIA 205 LAHORE 23:40KAC 102 NEW YORK 19:35KAC 172 FRANKFURT 21:15KAC 166 PARIS 18:40KAC 542 CAIRO 18:15KAC 502 BEIRUT 18:50KAC 674 DUBAI 19:25KAC 562 AMMAN 20:45KAC 786 JEDDAH 18:30KAC 514 TEHRAN 20:50KAC 618 DOHA 19:10JZR 185 DUBAI 22:40JZR 787 RIYADH 16:15JZR 177 DUBAI 17:30QTR 134 DOHA 15:45RJA 640 AMMAN 15:55ETD 303 ABU DHABI 16:35SYR 341 DAMASCUS 16:45UAE 857 DUBAI 16:55ABY 127 SHARJAH 17:10GFA 215 BAHRAIN 17:20SVA 510 RIYADH 17:20UAL 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 17:25QTR 144 DOHA 18:25FDB 63 DUBAI 18:55GFA 219 BAHRAIN 19:05AXB 393 KOZHIKODE 19:15MSR 606 LUXOR 19:30JAI 572 MUMBAI 19:35AFG 415 KABUL 19:45OMA 647 MUSCAT 20:00FDB 61 DUBAI 20:00ABY 129 SHARJAH 20:05MEA 402 BEIRUT 20:15KLM 417 AMSTERDAM 21:05ALK 229 COLOMBO 21:10UAE 859 DUBAI 21:15JZR 777 JEDDAH 17:50JZR 135 BAHRAIN 23:00JZR 239 AMMAN 22:30JZR 481 SABIHA 20:10THY 772 ISTANBUL 23:45

Departure Flights on Sunday 19/5/2013Airlines Flt Route TimeAIC 976 GOA/CHENNAI 00:05AXB 490 MANGALORE 00:15JAI 573 MUMBAI 00:20UAL 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 00:25DLH 637 FRANKFURT 00:30BBC 44 CHITTAGONG 01:30THY 773 ISTANBUL 02:20THY 765 ISTANBUL 02:40ETH 621 ADDIS ABABA 02:45UAE 854 DUBAI 03:45FDB 68 DUBAI 03:50MSR 613 CAIRO 04:15ETD 306 ABU DHABI 04:20QTR 139 DOHA 04:25QTR 149 DOHA 05:15JZR 560 SOHAG 05:35FDB 70 DUBAI 06:30RJA 643 AMMAN 06:35GFA 212 BAHRAIN 07:00THY 771 ISTANBUL 07:10JZR 164 DUBAI 07:25CLX 792 GIALAM 08:15BAW 156 LONDON 08:25FDB 54 DUBAI 08:25KAC 171 FRANKFURT 08:55KAC 117 NEW YORK 09:05KAC 671 DUBAI 09:25ABY 126 SHARJAH 09:30UAE 856 DUBAI 09:50FDB 56 DUBAI 09:55ETD 302 ABU DHABI 10:15IRA 602 SHIRAZ 10:20KAC 773 RIYADH 10:20QTR 133 DOHA 10:25KAC 741 DAMMAM 10:30KAC 501 BEIRUT 11:10IRC 6667 AHWAZ 11:10GFA 214 BAHRAIN 11:25KAC 541 CAIRO 11:30MEA 405 BEIRUT 11:55JZR 776 JEDDAH 12:25JZR 480 ISTANBUL 12:30KAC 103 LONDON 12:30JZR 786 RIYADH 12:50KAC 785 JEDDAH 13:00JZR 176 DUBAI 13:20MSR 611 CAIRO 14:00THY 767 ISTANBUL 14:10UAE 872 DUBAI 14:15FDB 58 DUBAI 14:30

QTR 141 DOHA 14:55KAC 673 DUBAI 15:05IRC 6508 SHIRAZ 15:25KAC 561 AMMAN 15:30KNE 473 JEDDAH 15:30OMA 646 MUSCAT 15:40KAC 617 DOHA 15:45SVA 503 MADINAH 15:45KAC 513 IMAM KHOMEINI 16:20RJA 641 AMMAN 16:55JZR 238 AMMAN 17:05QTR 135 DOHA 17:15ETD 304 ABU DHABI 17:20JZR 538 CAIRO 17:40SYR 342 LATAKIA 17:45ABY 128 SHARJAH 17:50UAE 858 DUBAI 18:15GFA 216 BAHRAIN 18:20SVA 511 RIYADH 18:20JZR 184 DUBAI 18:30UAL 982 BAHRAIN 18:40JZR 266 BEIRUT 18:40QTR 145 DOHA 19:25FDB 64 DUBAI 19:35GFA 220 BAHRAIN 19:50JZR 134 BAHRAIN 20:05AXB 394 KOZHIKODE 20:15MSR 619 ALEXANDRIA 20:30JAI 571 MUMBAI 20:35FDB 62 DUBAI 20:40ABY 120 SHARJAH 20:45AFG 415 JEDDAH 20:45OMA 648 MUSCAT 20:55MEA 403 BEIRUT 21:15DHX 171 BAHRAIN 21:50KLM 417 DAMMAM 22:05ETD 308 ABU DHABI 22:15ALK 230 COLOMBO 22:20UAE 860 DUBAI 22:25KAC 343 CHENNAI 22:30QTR 137 DOHA 22:35KAC 301 MUMBAI 22:40GFA 218 BAHRAIN 22:45FDB 60 DUBAI 23:00KAC 205 ISLAMABAD 23:00JAI 575 KOCHI 23:05KAC 351 KOCHI 23:10QTR 6131 DOHA 23:15QTR 147 DOHA 23:15KAC 411 BANGKOK 23:40KAC 283 DHAKA 23:45KAC 415 KUALA LUMPUR 23:50

FOR SALE

MATRIMONIAL

Leaving Kuwait perma-nently after retirement. Allhouseholds includingfridge, electrical items, jog-ging machine, furniture etcor full flat on sale. Contact:99798432. (C 4418)

19-5-2013

Nissan Infiniti G37 2009model, 3.7 liter, excellentcondition, automatic, origi-nal paint, 6 cylinder, 6 CDchanger, mobile connectivi-ty, rear view camera andscanner, sunroof, sand col-or, cruise control, GPS, asgood as new. Has run60,000 kms, Price KD6,500/-. Contact: 99742340.

(C 4414)13-5-2013

I am an American Muslimman looking for a Muslimwoman from ages of 23 to33. Please only Muslimwoman reply. My email is:ibngrant2000@hotmail.com

(C 4417)18-5-2013

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

After the chores this morning you look for ways to enjoy your work-free day.You seek deep, meaningful experiences that are photographic moments to

ponder. A friend or relative may give you an update of his or her life or drama just to hear yourreaction and comments. You enjoy probing and understanding the inner, intimate and philo-sophical side of life and others like to know your opinion. You can be very helpful without reallyrealizing it. Today is anything but stressful as you enjoy your friends in some group play or com-petition. You usually attract positive people into your life. Your circle of friends just keepsenlarging and brings about a great deal of pleasure. You could find that you are appreciatedmore than you thought.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

You find it easy to work with others and you tend to pour a lot of interestinto those around you. This may not mean you are working, but it could mean you haveinvolved yourself with some neighborhood cleanup program or some other communityworks. Your home and surroundings reflect your ability to express yourself in light. Withyour powerful spirit, you enjoy your strong emotions and have an active social life as well.You are very skilled at working with psychology and the hidden recesses of the mind andmay be quite helpful. You would make an excellent psychologist and teacher. You may feelthe need to care for others perhaps on a public rather than private level. A volunteer serv-ice may be in order now.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Yours is the most practical of environments. You can manipulate every ideaor situation and put it to good use. Others value you for your ability to make

practical decisions and you may receive compliments along those lines today. There will beopportunities to do some creative word play with friends or relatives in coming up with somenew job opportunities or in giving recommendations to someone that would like a new jobidea. Later today, you might decide to walk up or drive over to the nearest golf course, amuse-ment club or park to meet your friends. You could be a bit restless this afternoon and maydesire some fun time away from home. Be careful in the choices you make. If you cannotremain objective, remain detached.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

You resist change and resent others prying into your personal affairs. You preferthings unchanged but you also know that people, including yourself, need to learn

and grow. Self-analysis is an activity that you have learned to enjoy as you have seen yourself achievemore and more accomplishments and attained goals than ever before. You may decide it is time fornew goals. Make sure you continue to insert a few short-term goals with the long-range goals. Theshort-term goals help to build up confidence. You will help a friend this afternoon with some job theyhave taken upon themselves. You find a creative environment in which to enjoy friends this evening.Perhaps a comedy club or a dinner playhouse is in the works.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

You and your family may decide there is time to take a trip. This revela-tion may find one or two of you really shuffling around in order to leave at an early hour.You develop a knack for organizing things and people, as a sense of practicality takes hold.A new piece of exercise equipment could be purchased today. This afternoon you will beable to spend some relaxing and enjoyable time with loved ones. You may feel unusuallyaffectionate and physical this evening. Perhaps you will enjoy a camping trip before theweather becomes too hot and find the stars overwhelmingly beautiful as you sit besideyour sweetheart. Whether you are with family, friends or with your sweetheart, this eveningwill be pleasant.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

You are apt to spend a great deal of time with co-workers and people apartfrom work this day. Some type of competitive sports or team effort among co-workers is avail-able. You have unwavering support from family members for whatever future plans are inquestion. Everything conspires to reveal you at your most elegant, particularly in social situa-tions. Innocent flirtations, a movie or theater matinee, or perhaps a stroll through an art galleryis favorably indicated. Watch your budget, but have fun. Chances are also good that you andyour partner may be able to work through some things that have been going on under thesurface. The mellow feeling this evening is perfect for easing any type of difficult relationship.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

You are so business oriented; you and your friends could get-togetherwhen you are not in a work situation and agree to invest in some project. Plan together and setup the process toward a lucrative venture. A temporary program for this project would be best.The success, if it were to be kept short-term, is probable and most positive. You are feelinggood. This will rub off on the folks around you and you will all have a good time; no matterwhat the activity. This is the right time to throw a party. This time brings positive thinking, men-tal stability, good feelings, relaxation and opportunity. This is a good time to make long-rangeplans, take advantage of further education, take a long-distance trip or take up philosophy orreligious studies.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

Real insight into your own inner workings or psychology could surfacetoday and in a manageable form. You may be in the mood for deep and penetrating conversa-tions or thoughts. You may be very eloquent or forceful in speaking or communicating. Peoplewill understand just what you mean. A new job idea could be to hire teachers or instructorsthat would train other business employees in a number of technical subjects. This mightinclude software programs, technical style and sales techniques. Find ways in which to nourishanother person’s self-esteem today. In turn, you will find your own self-esteem improves. Teacha child to respect his or her own ability to create positive results from his or her actions. Tonight,you enjoy a loved one.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Your timing should be perfect today—those around you will find youto be most intuitive. Communicating with neighbors, friends and family is

the focus today. You could find yourself writing letters and making phone calls. Conflictscan be settled through your intelligent comprehension. You can be most persuasive. Youhave needs and you sense the needs of others; fitting the two together makes everythingwork well. This is perhaps a good time to catch up on your reading as you have a realappreciation for ideas and views of others. Selling property, collecting money and involv-ing yourself in some sports activity are all favored this afternoon. There are excellentinteractions with loved ones tonight.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

CAPRICORNCreative endeavors promote lots of attention and monetary rewards. This

may mean you are showing off your talent in an art show or fair of some sort.You could show great sales ability and meet someone new in the process. This is a good day forideas. You may receive some recognition or special attention regarding your particular skillsand abilities. Friends enjoy your company today as much as you enjoy their friendship. Youcould be out enjoying some sports-related activity with your friends later today. This evening isa good time to spend with a loved one. Emotions are up and you may even find yourself pon-dering a bit on the meaning of life. You feel at one with your situation. Generally, this could be a

potentially satisfying time.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

You may wonder about the motivations of a friend today. Do not close yourmind to your friend’s quirks or way of doing things. You should try your best to communicateyour needs and desires to friends and relatives so as to avoid misunderstandings. You createpositive results from a negative situation today. You enjoy and value your own life situation atthis time. A friend will bring you memorable moments of laughter and good conversation.Sympathy and understanding are emotional qualities that take on greater importance. It’s wis-dom, not knowledge, that counts most. Sports or some competitive activity with family orfriends is best engaged in now. Help an elderly person learn some gentle exercises in order tokeep tone in the muscles.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Elevate your intake of healthy foods and supplements in order to stayalert and clear. You will want to feel good about yourself and the way you do things—thisaddition to your diet will certainly help. This is the time of the year to get outside andenjoy nature. Create some fun opportunities to do just that—open air and having funwith loved ones can lift everyone’s spirit. Work, health and diet results provide a lot of sat-isfaction as a new life phase begins. You could be most persuasive with others andexpressive in your speech. An exciting relationship is worth your time today. Generalgood feeling and a sense of support and harmony make this a happy time. You maydecide to cook up a new recipe this evening.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

CROSSWORD 194

ACROSS1. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part ofan organism.4. Shell containing lead pellets that explodes inflight.12. Black tropical American cuckoo.15. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to10 liters.16. Of or on or relating to the seashore.17. (British) Informal term for information.18. Consider or hold as true.20. Full of flavor.21. Title for a civil or military leader (especially inTurkey).22. English economist noted for his studies ofinternational trade and finance (born in 1907).25. Using speech rather than writing.27. A unit of elastance equal to the reciprocal of afarad.31. Tall grass of New Zealand grown for plume-like flower heads.33. Drug (trade name Isordil) used to treat anginapectoris and congestive heart failure.36. An insignia worn to indicate years of service.40. A column of light (as from a beacon).41. South American armadillo with three bandsof bony plates.42. Someone who races the luge.43. Type genus of the Anatidae.45. An international organization of Europeancountries formed after World War II to reducetrade barriers and increase cooperation amongits members.48. An Indian side dish of yogurt and choppedcucumbers and spices.49. A high-crowned black cap (usually made offelt or sheepskin) worn by men in Turkey and Iranand the Caucasus.51. A small cake leavened with yeast.53. Brief episode in which the brain gets insuffi-cient blood supply.54. The 7th letter of the Greek alphabet.56. (Bible) The archangel who was the messengerof God.58. An ache localized in the back.62. English essayist (1775-1834).63. English economist (born in Austria) noted forwork on the optimum allocation of resources(1899-1992).64. Fruit with red or yellow or green skin andsweet to tart crisp whitish flesh.66. An amino acid that is found in the centralnervous system.70. Electrical conduction through a gas in anapplied electric field.71. Situated at an apex.73. The principal evil jinni in Islamic mythology.74. A state of southwestern India.75. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling).77. God of fire.78. The part of the nervous system of vertebratesthat controls involuntary actions of the smoothmuscles and heart and glands.79. The great hall in ancient Persian palaces.80. (Greek mythology) Goddess of the earth andmother of Cronus and the Titans in ancientmythology.

DOWN1. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology.2. A cord that is drawn through eyelets or aroundhooks in order to draw together two edges (as ofa shoe or garment).3. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solelythe razorbill.4. A rare chronic progressive encephalitis caused

by the measles virus and occurring primarily inchildren and young adults.5. Made warm or hot.6. An intensely radioactive metallic element thatoccurs in minute amounts in uranium ores.7. State categorically.8. The title of the ancient Egyptian kings.9. A genus of the cactus family with scarlet flow-ers.10. (Greek mythology) Goddess of discord.11. Having leadership guidance.12. Small terrestrial lizard of warm regions of theOld World.13. A desert in southern Israel.14. Complacently or inanely foolish.19. The younger brother of Edwy who becameking of Northumbria when it renounced Edwy.23. A heavy odorless colorless gas formed duringrespiration and by the decomposition of organicsubstances.24. A deficiency of red blood cells.26. Plant cultivated for its enlarged fleshy turnip-shaped edible stem.28. (Hindu) A manner of sitting (as in the practiceof Yoga).29. Of or relating to or indicative of or issued orperformed by a king or queen or other monarch.30. A federal agency established to regulate therelease of new foods and health-related prod-ucts.32. Syndrome resulting from a serious acute(sometimes fatal) infection associated with thepresence of staphylococcus.34. A medicinal drug used to evoke vomiting(especially in cases of drug overdose or poison-ing).35. The state of needing something that isabsent or unavailable.37. A Hindu goddess who releases from sin ordisease.38. Tie again or anew.39. A village of huts for native Africans in south-ern Africa.44. English explorer who with Sir Richard Burtonwas the first European to explore LakeTanganyika.46. The blood group whose red cells carry boththe A and B antigens.47. Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain.50. A member of an Indian people formerly livingalong the Gulf coast of Louisiana and Texas.52. A large bundle bound for storage or trans-port.55. A histamine blocker (trade name Pepcid)used to treat peptic ulcers and gastritis andesophageal reflux.57. A motley assortment of things.59. American professional baseball player whohit more home runs than Babe Ruth (born in1934).60. Type genus of Cycadaceae.61. A member of a seafaring group of NorthAmerican Indians who lived on the Pacific coastof British Columbia and southwestern Alaska.65. Large burrowing rodent of South and CentralAmerica.67. Primitive chlorophyll-containing mainlyaquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stemsand roots and leaves.68. European twining plant whose flowers areused chiefly to flavor malt liquors.69. The largest continent with 60% of the earth'spopulation.72. Liveliness and energy.76. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkaliearth group.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Word Search

34s ta r s

Daily SuDoku

informat ionSUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558

Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622

Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967

Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638

Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241

OphthalmologistsDr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426

General PractitionersDr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501

UrologistsDr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

For labor-related inquiries and complaints:

Call MSAL hotline 128

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

Kaizen center 25716707

Rawda 22517733

Adaliya 22517144

Khaldiya 24848075

Kaifan 24849807

Shamiya 24848913

Shuwaikh 24814507

Abdullah Salem 22549134

Nuzha 22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764

Qadsiya 22515088

Dasmah 22532265

Bneid Al-Gar 22531908

Shaab 22518752

Qibla 22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082

Mirqab 22456536

Sharq 22465401

Salmiya 25746401

Jabriya 25316254

Maidan Hawally 25623444

Bayan 25388462

Mishref 25381200

W Hawally 22630786

Sabah 24810221

Jahra 24770319

New Jahra 24575755

West Jahra 24772608

South Jahra 24775066

North Jahra 24775992

North Jleeb 24311795

Ardhiya 24884079

Firdous 24892674

Omariya 24719048

N Khaitan 24710044

Fintas 23900322

Al-Madeena 22418714

Al-Shuhada 22545171

Al-Shuwaikh 24810598

Al-Nuzha 22545171

Sabhan 24742838

Al-Helaly 22434853

Al-Faiha 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

GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE

Plastic Surgeons

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700

Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60

Family Doctor

Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists

Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians

DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272

Dr. Salem soso 22618787

General Surgeons

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart

Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3

Paediatricians

Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon

Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada) 25655535

Dentists

Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111

Neurologists

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875

Gastrologists

Dr. Sami Aman 22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135

Endocrinologist

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924

Physiotherapists & VD

Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288

Rheumatologists:

Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart

DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital

Consultant Cardiologist

Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555 MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

Soor CenterTel: 2290-1677Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.comwww.soorcenter.com

Psychologists/Psychotherapists

PRIVATE CLINICS

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Kaizen center25716707

Afghanistan 0093Albania 00355Algeria 00213Andorra 00376Angola 00244Anguilla 001264Antiga 001268Argentina 0054Armenia 00374Australia 0061Austria 0043Bahamas 001242Bahrain 00973Bangladesh 00880Barbados 001246Belarus 00375Belgium 0032Belize 00501Benin 00229Bermuda 001441Bhutan 00975Bolivia 00591Bosnia 00387Botswana 00267Brazil 0055Brunei 00673Bulgaria 00359Burkina 00226Burundi 00257Cambodia 00855Cameroon 00237Canada 001Cape Verde 00238Cayman Islands 001345Central African 00236Chad 00235Chile 0056China 0086Colombia 0057Comoros 00269Congo 00242Cook Islands 00682Costa Rica 00506Croatia 00385Cuba 0053Cyprus 00357Cyprus (Northern) 0090392Czech Republic 00420Denmark 0045Diego Garcia 00246Djibouti 00253Dominica 001767Dominican Republic 001809Ecuador 00593Egypt 0020El Salvador 00503England (UK) 0044Equatorial Guinea 00240Eritrea 00291Estonia 00372Ethiopia 00251Falkland Islands 00500Faroe Islands 00298Fiji 00679Finland 00358France 0033French Guiana 00594French Polynesia 00689Gabon 00241Gambia 00220Georgia 00995Germany 0049Ghana 00233Gibraltar 00350Greece 0030Greenland 00299Grenada 001473Guadeloupe 00590Guam 001671Guatemala 00502Guinea 00224Guyana 00592Haiti 00509Holland (Netherlands) 0031Honduras 00504Hong Kong 00852Hungary 0036Ibiza (Spain) 0034Iceland 00354India 0091Indian Ocean 00873Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098Iraq 00964Ireland 00353Italy 0039Ivory Coast 00225Jamaica 001876Japan 0081Jordan 00962Kazakhstan 007Kenya 00254Kiribati 00686Kuwait 00965Kyrgyzstan 00996Laos 00856Latvia 00371Lebanon 00961Liberia 00231Libya 00218Lithuania 00370Luxembourg 00352Macau 00853Macedonia 00389Madagascar 00261Majorca 0034Malawi 00265Malaysia 0060Maldives 00960Mali 00223Malta 00356Marshall Islands 00692Martinique 00596Mauritania 00222Mauritius 00230Mayotte 00269Mexico 0052Micronesia 00691Moldova 00373Monaco 00377Mongolia 00976Montserrat 001664Morocco 00212Mozambique 00258Myanmar (Burma) 0095Namibia 00264Nepal 00977Netherlands (Holland)0031Netherlands Antilles 00599New Caledonia 00687New Zealand 0064Nicaragua 00505Nigar 00227Nigeria 00234Niue 00683Norfolk Island 00672Northern Ireland (UK)0044North Korea 00850Norway 0047Oman 00968Pakistan 0092Palau 00680Panama 00507Papua New Guinea 00675Paraguay 00595Peru 0051Philippines 0063Poland 0048Portugal 00351Puerto Rico 001787Qatar 00974Romania 0040Russian Federation 007Rwanda 00250Saint Helena 00290Saint Kitts 001869Saint Lucia 001758Saint Pierre 00508Saint Vincent 001784Samoa US 00684Samoa West 00685San Marino 00378Sao Tone 00239Saudi Arabia 00966Scotland (UK) 0044Senegal 00221Seychelles 00284Sierra Leone 00232Singapore 0065Slovakia 00421Slovenia 00386Solomon Islands 00677

INTERNATIONALCALLS

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

G o s s i p

The ‘Grown Woman’ singer - who welcomed her firstchild, daughter Blue Ivy Carter, into the world inJanuary 2012 - is said to be expecting again with her

rapper husband Jay-Z. E! News claims “multiple sources”close to the star told them Beyonce, 31, is pregnant with thecouple’s second child. Speculation about Beyonce’s preg-nancy first started following her attendance at the star-stud-ded Met Ball earlier this month. The pop superstar is said tohave “carefully” hidden her baby bump in a high-waistedGivenchy gown. She was then forced to cancel world tourperformance in Antwerp, Belgium, after doctors advised herto rest “as a result of dehydration and exhaustion”. Beyoncerecently admitted she would love to give her 16-month-old

daughter a sibling, because she enjoyed such a close rela-tionship with her younger sister Solange Knowles, 26, whenthey were growing up. She said: “I would like more children.I think my daughter needs some company. I definitely lovebeing a big sister.” When pressed on when she may haveanother child, she added: “At some point, when it’s sup-posed to happen.”

l if e s t y l e

The 49-year-old actor - who has children Lily-Rose, 13and Jack, 11, with former partner Vanessa Paradis - issaid to be head-over-heels in love with his ‘Rum

Diaries’ co-star and has even mentioned marriage. A sourcesaid: “Johnny is totally head over heels. He says that she ishis soul mate and he plans to spend the rest of his life withher. “Things are very serious between these two. He’s toldher that he wants to get married which is obviously a shockto anyone who knows Johnny.” After Johnny mentionedmarriage, Amber, 27, is keen to start a family of her ownwith the hunky star. The insider added to America’s OK!magazine: “Amber sees how devoted he is to his kids and itmelts her heart. Now she’s fallen so hard for him, she’s allabout starting a family with him.” It was recently claimedJohnny showered Amber with gifts in a bid to win her over.A source said recently: “Johnny and Amber began datingpretty soon after he split with Vanessa. “At first, Amber wasa little apprehensive, because she didn’t want to be seen asthe mistress. But Johnny won her over with his generosityand he was constantly giving her gifts. “On a weekly basis,Johnny would send her fresh flowers wherever she was. Healso bought her tons of custom-designed jewels thatwould cost him up tens of thousands of dollars. “He madeAmber feel giddy by showing how much he felt for her and,in the end, she slowly fell in love with him.”

The 39-year-old model raises kids Leni, nine, Henry, seven, Johan, sixand Lou, three, with former husband Seal, and despite her busyschedule, she tries to be around to spend quality time with them

whenever possible. She said: “I keep weekends open and wrap my workdayat a reasonable hour so I’m home for dinner and bedtime stories.” The busyworking mother - who started dating her bodyguard Martin Kristen aftersplitting from Seal last year - also revealed her key to looking great is water.She added: “I drink a ton of water all day. Honestly, staying hydrated is thebest beauty tip. And I have an amazing team that gets me glammed upevery time I hit the red carpet.” Heidi recently admitted she pays her kids todrink the healthy smoothies she makes for them. She said: “I’ve never reallydone a real diet. My New Year’s resolution for 2013 was to start every daywith a fresh juice. We make an effort every morning - we peel pineapples,apples, lemons, bananas, kiwis, ginger and berries and we make delicioussmoothies. “Some of my kids don’t love it so I decided I would pay them adollar if they finish their drink. All of the money goes into their piggybanks, they have collected a bunch of money since January 1. What’s goodfor them is good for me as well.”

The ‘Can’t Be Tamed’ singer was spotted leaving a Hollywood recording studio with-in minutes of Justin, 19, and they are believed to be working on a collaboration. Aphotographer from X17online.com said: “There aren’t that many recording booths

at this studio, they must be doing something together. Justin and Miley left within min-utes of each other - it’s too coincidental. There’s gotta be a collaboration in the works.”Miley recently worked with gangster-rapper-turned-reggae artist Snoop Lion on thesong ‘Ashtrays and Heartbreaks’. He said: “Miley Cyrus was always a great singer to meand I knew she was a fan so it was great for us to collaborate. “It’s what she’s goingthrough and what I’m going through, she makes great music.” The 20-year-old singer isso determined to make her new album a success, she admitted she has pushed her allof her relationships aside to focus on her music. She said: “All I do is focus on my music.The only place I ever am is at the studio. “I mean it’s literally like my friends, my relation-ships with everyone around me have honestly changed since I’ve been working on myrecord because it’s the only thing that I’ve wanted to give 120 per cent to and I think it’sthe only time in my life that I’ve pushed everything aside, everyone aside, anything that,you know, really mattered and just became about the music.”

The former ‘Dancing With The Stars’ contestant - whowas born a girl named Chastity and began genderreassignment treatment in 2008 - is currently single

and still looking for the right person. He told People: “I’mdating, but I’m just dating around. I haven’t met the rightone yet, so I’m looking.” Chaz, 44, recently lost 60 poundsand is now feeling confident. He told People: “Physically,my body feels just so much better. I’m in a lot less discom-fort when I exercise and am doing physical stuff. All of mynumbers are all normal now, which is great-my blood pres-sure, my cholesterol. I just have a lot more confidence, andthat feels really cool. I really like what I see in the mirror. “Ireally feel very satisfied and comfortable with the way I eatnow, which is amazing and for me, kind of a miracle. I nev-er thought I’d be that kind of a person.” While Chaz lost anincredible 60 pounds, he didn’t have a target weight inmind. He added: “To me, it was never really about a num-ber. It was just about getting healthy and feeling and look-ing better. So I’m just kind of letting my body dictate. I’vebeen eating the same way now for months and monthsand that hasn’t changed. I’m going to have to eat this wayfor the rest of my life.”

Kim, 32, is expecting the couple’s firstchild in July and while Kanye, 35, hasa European tour planned for later

this year, he will take his girlfriend andbaby on the road with him. A source closeto the couple told Us Weekly: “Yes, it’s true.This was always the plan.” Meanwhile, Kimcan’t wait for the birth of their baby andthinks she is completely prepared formotherhood thanks to the example provid-ed by her mother Kris Jenner and sisterKourtney, who has two children, Mason,three, and Penelope, 10 months, with herboyfriend Scott Disick. She said: “My momis a strong and ambitious career womanthat despite her busy schedule and the mil-lions of things she has going on, she still

manages to put family first and continuesto look out for us every day. Motherhood isa gift and I know after watching my momdo it, it’s not easy especially when trying tobalance a career. I can’t wait to follow in herfootsteps and make her proud like I am ofher. “Kourtney, my sister, best friend, andmentor has also taught me so much aboutmotherhood from being the most incredi-ble mom to Mason and Penelope. She issuper woman with her ability to effortlesslybalance work with taking care of twoamazing kids and I am so lucky to have heras my guide and confidant as I too becomea mother.”

The ‘Modern Family’ star is currently in the cus-tody of her 34-year-old sister Shanelle Grey afterbeing removed from her mother Chrisoula

‘Chrystal’ Workman’s care in October amid allegationsof abuse and Ariel says her sister is “the most amazingwoman”. She told People magazine: “My sister is themost amazing woman I’ve ever met in my life. If Icould be half the woman she is ... she’s kind of who Iwant to be like. “[Shanelle] supports me in everythingI do, and so does my brother-in-law David. Both arekind of like my biggest supporters.” While Ariel, 15, isgrateful for her sister, she also praised her castmates,who she calls her “family”. She said: “Our chemistryhas been there since we first met, and it’s really madeus come off as a family on the show, and in real life,because we are.” Previously Ariel admitted she hasnever been happier and feels like a “normal” teenagersince moving in with her sister. She said: “My life isdefinitely more normal-and that’ll help me grow up

like I’m supposed to. “Sunday we have family dinner.It’s just a different experience for me because I havemore of a family life. I’m really happy.” Chrisoula lostcustody of Ariel following an investigation by childservices last year, during which they found evidenceof emotional abuse.

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

l if e s t y l e

The ‘End Of Watch’ actress - who shot to fame on TV show ‘Ugly Betty’ - is reportedly planning to star in telenovela project ‘Pedro & Maria, acontemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The series synopsis states: “Pedro and Maria are two opposites cutfrom the same cloth caught in the trap of forbidden love. He is a second generation Dominican from the mean streets of Washington

Heights. She is a Puerto Rican whose parents made millions as real estate developers. It’s a clash of the haves and the have-nots, of Main St vs WallSt, set against a volatile cultural backdrop that fiercely believes neither side should mix with the other.” Although America found fame as the titu-lar character in ‘Ugly Betty’ - earning an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for her performance - she has previously admitted she nearly quitacting to follow her academic dream until one of her professors gave her some helpful encouragement. The star - who graduated from theUniversity of Southern California earlier this week - said: “I always wanted to go to college and get my education although I always wanted to bean actor. I never knew how those two things would work with each other and this was revealed to me in my first year of college here.” She soughtadvice from Professor David Andrus, who used America’s 2002 movie ‘Real Women Have Curves’ - in which she plays a high school graduate tornbetween supporting her family and pursuing a university degree - to explain to her she could do both. She said: “What my professor really wantedme to understand was that my passion for acting and what I loved doing in the world had the power to be a tool. In that moment I realised that Ididn’t have to give up what I love. I could find a way to link it to other things that I cared about.”

While the 26-year-old actress and CharlieSheen’s former wife are both currently beingtreated at the Betty Ford Clinic, Lindsay is

shunning Brooke, 35, because she thinks she is a “drugaddict”. A source told RadarOnline: “It’s creepingLindsay out that Brooke seeks her out nightly at themeetings in an attempt to strike up a friendship.Brooke is extremely eager to become besties withLindsay while in rehab, and has told Lindsay howmuch they have in common. “Brooke’s publicist wasLohan’s one-time rep, Steve Honig and Brooke haseven played the Charlie Sheen card, pointing out thatCharlie helped Lindsay pay off debts to the IRS, so theyboth have a close relationship to him. “But Lindsay hassaid that Brooke is a drug addict, and wants nothing todo with her. Lindsay has told her treatment team tokeep Brooke out of her group sessions.” Meanwhile,Brooke is reportedly happy with all of the extra atten-tion she has received since entering rehab and is hop-ing it will build her profile. The source added: “Sheisn’t fazed by all of the negative publicity she has beengetting since losing custody of Bob and Max to DeniseRichards. In fact, she loves it, and thinks it will help herchances of landing a role as an actress on a televisionsitcom.”

The 32-year-old actress, whose father is director Ron Howard, was left hurtby “vicious” comments aimed at her when she attended a red carpetevent just days after giving birth to her son Theo, now six, in February

2007 and ever since she avoids Google searching her name. She toldRadarOnline.com: “People are so vicious. I now know to stay away from stuffthat I used to see on the internet. I don’t go online and read stories aboutmyself anymore. “People were picking on me when I did the ‘Spiderman 3’ presstour literally just 14 days after I gave birth. I can’t be in that headspace. I justdon’t look myself up. I had a baby, that isn’t going to change, so I ignore thingsso I can be in my own little bubble.” Bryce - who also has 16-month-old daugh-ter Beatrice with her husband Seth Gabel - says her main priority in life is to bethe best mother she can be and she describes her mum Cheryl as a wonderfulrole model. As a tribute to her mother, the flame-haired beauty has recorded anaudiobook of Cheryl’s novel ‘In the Face of Jinn’ and hopes the effort she putinto the project will make her mum “proud”. She added: “It isn’t anything sheever says to me. It’s that she is brilliant and steady and a rock for our family.[Recording the book] was not easy! I worked with the same dialect coach I usedon ‘The Help’ but I did all the characters and I am so proud of the book. “Doingit was so meaningful and has given so much to both of us. My mother is anexceptional woman of integrity and it was such a big deal for her to accomplishthe book. I hope I make her proud.”

Although the 32-year-old actress is branching out into other ven-tures, such as her lifestyle book ‘The Honest Life’, she’ll alwaysreturn to her main creative passion and since becoming a moth-

er to Honor, five, and Haven, three, she’s become “fearless” when choos-ing roles. Jessica - who is married to Cash Warren - said: “I’m still so pas-sionate about acting and have that as a creative outlet, and it’s a bigpart of who I am; I’ll never stop acting.” She added: “[Having my kids]was the best time of my life. I love it- I feel more fearless as an actressafter becoming a mother, which is quite liberating. I’m ready to take onheavier roles, where before I was nitpicky and afraid of so many things.”In 2012, Jessica launched her business ‘ The Honest Company’ - an eco-friendly business which specialises in organically-produced nappies,baby wipes and bath products - and she admits the launch did pushher acting aside. Speaking to Washingtonian magazine, she said: “It’smy time, and where I was in my life, this business was a priority and apassion of mine over going to auditions and trying to get roles. I’m stilldoing movies; I’m about to start another at the end of this month. “Idon’t have that filter anymore. I think as you go into a new, differentphase, things do change, and that’s influenced who I am and my choic-es. It happened organically. — Banghowbiz

Demi Lovato gets a new tattoo

The 20-year-old star celebrated the release of her fourthalbum ‘Demi’ by having lyrics from her track ‘Warrior’inked onto her back, courtesy of New York-based tat-

too artist Bang Bang. Demi posted a photo of the italic writ-ing, which reads ‘now I’m a warrior’, on her Twitter account,adding the caption: “Thanks @BangBang! Album release

day!!! #DEMI (sic)” It’s been a busy week for BangBang as he also tattooed British model

Cara Delevigne, inking a lion onto herindex finger. His work was recom-

mended to the British model byher best friend Rita Ora and

Rihanna who have both goneunder his needle. On the song‘Warrior’, Demi - who went torehab in 2010 to be treatedfor an eating disorder, self-harm issues and bipolar -sings about having “thicker

skin” and having “shame” and“scars” and she has admitted

Demi has 12 other tattoos andadmitted she regrets many of

them and has even considered hav-ing laser treatment to remove them.

She said: “I’ve thought about it beforebecause, you know, when I get older I don’t

know if I want to have rock and roll on my middle finger. “I’myoung and I can rock it now and when I get older I can worryabout it later.” Speaking of one inking, a tattoo of her friend’slips on her wrist, she added: “It was just a spur of themoment, stupid decision.”

The 32-year-old socialite has a cameo role in upcoming dramafilm ‘The Bling Ring’ - based on true events of when a group offame-obsessed teenagers tracked the whereabouts of celebri-

ties and robbed their homes, including her own. Even though sheaccepted a part in Sofia Coppola’s movie, the blonde beauty admitsshe’s still coming to terms with the devastating events - which tookplace between 2008 and 2009 - and can’t bring herself to watch thefinished film. She said: “It’s [the robbery] still hard for me to deal with.I haven’t seen the film yet, but I’ll see it at the premiere. I’m going tohave to close my eyes for fear of seeing what they really did. It stillhorrifies me.” Paris was the gang’s first target and they made off withmillions of dollars of items and treasured possessions. In an interviewwith The Hollywood Reporter, she said: “They came to my house fivetimes, stole millions of dollars of my things: Birkin bags, family heir-looms, jewellery that was in my family for years, and then they sold iton Venice Beach like a yard sale. “I didn’t get a cent back in insurancemoney, and I will never be able to replace those things.” Other celebri-ties who were burgled include Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox, AudrinaPatridge and Orlando Bloom. The film - which stars Emma Watson,Taissa Farmiga, and Leslie Mann - was shot at Paris’ property inCalabasas, California and Sofia personally asked Paris if she could useher home as a shoot location for authenticity. ‘Bling Ring’ is to bescreened at the Cannes Film Festival and is set for official release onJune 14.

G o s s i p

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

l if e s t y l e

An ethno-inspired flute and drum tune fromDenmark is the bookmakers’ favorite to winthis year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which

also features a bizarre opera pop number fromRomania and an Armenian rock song written by theguitarist of Black Sabbath. Yes, it’s that time of theyear again. The televised pan-European extravagan-za, known for its kitschy shows, bad taste and bizarreofferings, was still expected to be seen by about 125million television viewers worldwide yesterday. Thisyear’s contest is being hosted in Malmo, southernSweden, following the victory of the Nordic coun-try’s contestant Loreen last year.

According to bookmakers, the hippie-chicEmmelie De Forest of Denmark is the favorite to win,driving the song “Only Teardrops” with her deep,Shakira-like voice. Her main challenge comes fromthe clean-cut techno pop tune “I Feed You My Love”by Norway’s Margaret Berger, who rose to fame athome after becoming the runner-up in Norway’sversion of Pop Idol in 2004. “I will be nervous beforegoing on stage,” De Forest said Friday. “I think wehave a really good song that can take us far, but let’ssee, anything can happen.” Finland’s Krista Siegfridprovided this year’s controversy, ending her bouncy

bubble-gum pop number “Marry Me” with a girl-on-girl kiss that some have interpreted as a stance pro-moting gay marriage. While the show will not raiseeyebrows in most parts of Western Europe - whereEurovision has long been a bastion of gay culture -the act may jar sensitivies in parts of eastern andsouthern Europe.

“The fact is that Finland is the only country in theNordic countries where gay marriage is not allowed,and I think that’s wrong,” Siegfrid told TheAssociated Press. “It’s 2013 now and... I can kiss any-one I want to. It shouldn’t be a problem.” This year’scompetition also sees the return to the internationalstage of two seasoned European stars. “Total Eclipseof the Heart” singer Bonnie Tyler is representingBritain with “Believe In Me” while Anouk, whosesong “Nobody’s Wife” was a big hit in Europe in the1990s, is singing the song “Birds” for TheNetherlands.

Among the more notable performances is theUkraine’s Zlata Ognevich with her song “Gravity.”Ognevich is carried onto the stage by the tallestman in the US - Ukrainian-born Igor Vovkovinskiy.Vovkovinskiy - who stands 7 feet 8 inches (234 cms) -wobbles onstage in a fur and feathers, placing the

fairy-like Ognevich on a rock where she stands forthe rest of the performance. There is also Armenianrock group Dorians, whose gloomy song “LonelyPlanet” has been written by Black Sabbath guitaristTony Iommi.

Romania’s Cezar, who resembles a Draculareborn as a high-pitched vocalist, is apparently areputable opera singer, but is attempting acrossover opera pop number with techno beats andpyrotechnics. Three muscular male dancers in redbody paint are delivered out of a large red cape. Twosemifinals this week have whittled down the con-testants from 40 to 26. The winner is picked by juriesand television viewers across the continent, and thewinning nation will stage next year’s event. — AP

The stage for the Eurovision Song Contest is seen. — AP/AFP photos Krista Siegfrids (right) of Finland celebrates with other contestants making it through to the final after the votecounting following the second semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden.

Dancers perform during the opening sequence.

Flashy skirts, fake tans, fur and feathers: It’s the 2013Eurovision Song Contest. The televised extravaganza, withan audience of 125 million worldwide, is now in its 58th

year. Once again without fail, it has produced a mix of bubble-gum pop songs, somber ballads, bagpipes, accordions andbizarrely kitsch musical productions. The winner, chosen from 40countries, is picked by juries and television viewers across thecontinent. Contests this week have whittled the field down to 26acts for Saturday’s final. A look at some of this year’s notable per-formances:

CEZAR-ROMANIADracula reborn with a techno beat and pyrotechnics: that’s

Cezar. The contra-tenor famed for international opera produc-tions is attempting a crossover opera-pop number with “It’s MyLife.” The result: A man with a powerful voice amid a bizarre spec-tacle.

KRISTA SIEGFRID-FINLANDThe blonde whirlwind from Finland caused a stir by kissing a

female dancer in her group. It didn’t raise eyebrows in the campycompetition that is Eurovision, but the move upset some peoplein Europe, where it was interpreted as a stand for gay marriage.

EMMELIE DE FOREST-DENMARKThis year’s favorite according to the bookies. Denmark’s

answer to Shakira, minus the body gyrations. Borrowing Loreenof Sweden’s winning concept from last year, she performs bare-foot but has dropped the mystique in favor of an earthy, innocentlook.

ZLATA OGNEVICH-UKRAINEOgnevich hits a hippie theme with butterflies, forests and

mists. For an unknown reason, she is carried onto the stage bythe tallest man in the US-Ukrainian-born Igor Vovkovinskiy, whomeasures 7 feet, 8 inches (2.13 meters). Her traditional, up-tempoEurovision pop tune displays little originality.

BONNIE TYLER-BRITAINDespite last year’s fiasco for Britain’s 76-year-old Engelbert

Humperdinck, the island nation once again places its hopes on aseasoned performer. This time it’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart” starBonnie Tyler. The 61-year-old 1980s singer has sold more than 20million records but this time delivers the sleepy ballad “Believe InMe.”

ANOUK-NETHERLANDSSixteen years after her rock anthem hit “Nobody’s Wife,” Anouk

returns to the international stage with the somber “Birds.”Dressed entirely in black, she stands center stage, relying on hervoice and a soft string orchestra.

MARGARET BERGER-NORWAYThis clean-cut performance is the bookies’ second favorite.

With a high-pitch voice and a heavy techno beat, Berger pro-duces a traditional Eurovision pop tune. — AP

Moldova’s Aliona Moon performs. Azerbaijan’s Farid Mammadov performs ‘Hold Me’.

Margaret Berger of Norway performs her song ‘I FeedYou My Love’.

Versace is happy to announce the opening of its Kuwaitboutique at Prestige, The Avenues Mall, with the newstore concept conceived by Donatella Versace in collabo-

ration with English architect Jamie Fobert. The 230 squaremeter store mixes the opulence and traditions of Italian archi-tecture with the dynamism and energy of Versace today. Marblemosaic, brass and Perspex create a modern and luxurious envi-ronment for Versace’s men’s and women’s ready-to-wear andaccessories.

Past meets future in the boutique with its mosaic floor,inspired by 9th century Byzantine churches, contrasted withPerspex walls and shelving which appear to float above it. Thecircles of the mosaic floor are echoed in the curved walls, whichadd energy and the unexpected. Brass fittings throughout con-solidate the ultimate mood of luxury.

The boutique carries the complete range of Versace men ad

women ready-to-wear and accessories including this season’skey bags, shoes, belts, watches, sunglasses, and fragrances. “Ilove the new Versace store concept. In his designs, Jamie Foberthas created a space where the new Versace comes alive. To me,the store is like a continuing dialogue, between our past andfuture, between Jamie Fobert and me, and between Versaceand our customers,” says Donatella Versace

“The new Versace concept recaptures the opulent beauty ofGianni Versace’s first stores, but layered onto this is an optimismfor the future of Versace in the new century. There is a tensionbetween the futuristic element of the Perspex and the deeplyhistoric floor. Surrounding this centerpiece are soft, curvingwalls and shelves in rough plaster. The overall effect is undeni-ably opulent yet completely contemporary,” says Jamie Fobert.

Bollywood superstar Sanjay Dutt, who is in jail forarms possession, is being held in a cell built formilitants where he cannot see daylight and wants

to be transferred, a report said yesterday. Dutt, 53, sur-rendered on Thursday to serve out the remaining three-and-a-half years of a five-year term in a case linked todeadly 1993 Mumbai bombings. Dutt’s lawyer, RizwanMerchant, has demanded the transfer of the actorwhom he said was being kept in the cell once occupiedby Mumbai attacks gunman Mohammed Ajmal Kasab,according to the Indian Express daily newspaper.

Pakistani-born Kasab was executed last November,nearly four years after 166 people died in a three-dayrampage that traumatised India. The steel bunker spe-cially built for Kasab at Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail hadno ventilation and the actor could not even tell if it wasday or night, the lawyer said. “He (Dutt) is not a terrorist”and should not be kept in such a cell, the lawyer wasquoted as saying.

There was no immediate comment available fromthe jail. The actor, whose parents were two of India’sbiggest stars, shot to fame in the 1980s in a string ofaction movies in which he performed his own stunts,

earning him the nickname “Deadly Dutt”. He was con-victed in 2006 of possessing guns supplied by gangsterswho staged the 1993 bomb attacks that killed 257 peo-ple but was freed on bail after serving 18 months inprison. In March, the Supreme Court upheld Dutt’s con-viction.

He was cleared in 2007 of more serious conspiracycharges in the blasts, believed staged by Muslim under-world leaders in revenge for religious riots in whichmainly Muslims died after the razing of an ancientmosque by Hindu zealots. Dutt, whose mother wasMuslim and father Hindu, was found guilty of posses-sion of an automatic rifle and a pistol which he insistedwere only meant to protect his family in Mumbai’scharged atmosphere following the mosque’s destruc-tion. After the Supreme Court upheld his conviction, thefather-of-three wept and declared himself “a shatteredman”. - AFP

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

l if e s t y l e

Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro (left) waves yesterday while posingwith French actor Mathieu Amalric during a photocall for the film “Jimmy P.Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian” presented in Competition at the 66th edi-tion of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes.

Chinese actor Wang Baoqiang (left) puts on a show for his wife Ma Rong inCannes. —AP/AFP photos

French director Rebecca Zlotowski (right) and actress Lea Seydoux laughyesterday while posing.

Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro stars in French Cannescontender “Jimmy P. - Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian”,the true story of a traumatised Native American return-

ing home from World War II that premiered yesterday. ThePuerto Rico-born Del Toro adopts the haunted gaze and stac-cato dialect of Jimmy Picard, a Blackfoot Indian plagued by hispast in what reviewers called a stand-out performance. Thepicture by French director Arnaud Desplechin, presenting hisfifth film in the Cannes competition, is based on the 1951book “Reality and Dream” by anthropologist and Freudian psy-choanalyst Georges Devereux, played in the film by MathieuAmalric (“Munich”).

Jimmy returns from the fighting in France to his sister’sMontana ranch with a brain trauma from a skull fracture andcomplains of crippling headaches and recurring nightmares.But when he is finally examined at Winter Hospital for veter-ans in Topeka, Kansas in 1948, the doctors say his injuries havehealed and can find no physical explanation for his ailments.Realising the problem may be psychological, the hospital’sdirector notes that his white doctors have little understandingof the inner lives of American Indians.

Enter Devereux, a Hungarian Jew who has arrived in the USby way of Paris and done extensive research on NativeAmericans while training in psychotherapy. The two fish out ofwater in the American Midwest strike up an unlikely friend-ship and reviewers called their bond as played by Del Toro andAmalric a highlight of the film.

Desplechin renders many of Jimmy’s nightmares on screenas vivid waking dreams as they root out the childhood catas-trophes and injuries of adulthood behind his suffering. DelToro, who captured an Academy Award for his role in “Traffic”in 2001 and won Cannes’ best actor prize in 2008 for “Che”,said he was attracted to the one-of-a-kind story. “I read a lot ofscripts-it was so original that it popped up, it popped up, Idon’t know how else to explain it,” he told reporters. “It(glowed) in the dark.”

He said the European telling of a quintessentially Americantale was also a strong draw. “There’s a big story there that isstill unresolved and so you have to go from that approach,

knowing the history of the Native Americans. That’s funda-mental to understand the character,” he said. Amalric said heunderwent analysis himself to prepare for the part. “It’s a rolelike deep-sea diving and you meet all these eels and beautifulfish as you go deeper,” he said.

Misty Upham, a native Blackfoot who plays Jimmy’s firstlove Jane, said she believed the film’s cast members were thefirst Native Americans to appear in competition in Cannes. Shesaid it took the medical profession a long time to catch up tothe needs of America’s indigenous population.

“When they first started doing psychotherapy with NativeAmericans, it was really hard for people to understand that we

believe in spirits, we believe in ghosts, we believe in shape-shifting, we believe in medicine and curses,” she said. “We’re avery spiritual people so what somebody else would call delu-sional, to us it’s normal. So that’s why they have to create anew way to understand what is going on in their minds with-out confusing the spirituality.” Film magazine Screen Dailycalled the picture “an impressively nuanced and intriguinglyun-showy drama”. “Jimmy P.” is one of 20 films vying for the fes-tival’s coveted Palme d’Or top prize, to be awarded on May 26.— AFP

A guest, wearing a dress made of biscuit trays, arrives inCannes.

(From left) Actors Flora Lau, Kun Chen and Carina Lau pose for photographers during a photo call for the film Bends yes-terday.

“Hacienda Azul” an exhibition showcasing a col-lection of ravishing furniture and accessories ofMexican and Guatemalan origin, taking place

at Beit Lothan from the May 19-21 in the presence of LuisAlberto Mexican ambassador and his entourage, and thepresence of Naser Al-Sayer accompanied by family mem-bers, friends and visitors to the exhibition, in addition to agroup of journalists and a select group of staff and bankscommunity.

Eye popping vibrant Latin colors, talavera tile and warmwoods, wrought iron details, step into Hacienda Azul...wel-come to paradise! You are to be sailing in the world ofimagination a far away land, Mexico, where the colors areplaying wonderful Latin tunes, so unique, the statues, dec-orates the spaces in an unprecedented ways that are pleas-ures to the eyes.

The philosophy of the Latin decor, is derived from theflagrant nature, from the color of the sun, the golden yel-low, and even from the colors of the mountains, the seaand the geography of the country’s wood.

This versified nature has greatly influenced the architec-tural style. Also the fact that the families are interdepend-ent and the Latin’s love of art impact on the tools used athome while cooking and in the Mexicans and Guatemalangeneral life.

During the exhibition “Hacienda Azul” Suad Al-Sayerand Luluwa Al-Sayer commented: “ We have beenimpressed by the fragrances of perfumes, which are char-acterized by the Mexican and Guatemalan decor and arewell in harmony of colors, making it a unique and wonder-

ful style, and we want to convey that joyful to look designsto our fellow women in Kuwait, whom are long known tohave excellent taste in selecting furniture and home deco-rations, and we thank the Mexican Ambassador LuisAlberto whom will be honoring the opening of the exhibi-tion, and Naser Al-Sayer and family, friends and distin-guished visitors of this exhibition”.

Latin American Exhibition is unique in every way

(Left) Luluwa Al-Sayer and Suad Al-Sayer

Adecades-old rivalry between a Bollywood wannabe anda brutal police chief shines a light on Mumbai’s darkside, in Indian director Anurag Kashyap’s fast-moving

psychological thriller “Ugly” about the kidnapping of a younggirl. Enthusiastically received at the Cannes Film Festival onFriday, the aptly titled film was inspired by real events in a cityblighted by child trafficking and prostitution.

A suicidal woman sets the scene in an upmarket apartmentas she contemplates a concoction of pills and alcohol; sheeyes a scarf hanging from a ceiling fan before putting a gun inher month. About to pull the trigger, she is interrupted by heryoung daughter, full of life. Fast forward and a police inspectormocks and toys with the girl’s father and his producer friendas they try to report her abduction from his car.

“They are divorced, that’s the problem-divorce,” he tells theactor. Turning to the producer, he reels off the names of someof Bollywood’s biggest stars. “I suppose it’s you who decides(to cast them),” he sneers, surrounded by sniggering subordi-nates. But his menacing tone turns to panic when he realisesthat the girl is the step-daughter of his police commissioner.

Kashyap says he drew on the “insecurity” he experiencedafter he separated from his first wife and daughter to write thefilm. For years he discussed the script with anyone who wouldlisten but was constantly told it could never be made.

When he finally got the go-ahead, Kashyap was wary ofshowing the screenplay to anyone. As a result all the actorshad to sign up blind for the film. “I refused to share the scriptwith anyone. I said I’m making the film and if you want tocome with me and do it.... “I had this feeling that if they readthe script they would not allow me to make it so for the firsttime I reached out to my actors, friends and said ‘you trust me’and everyone came on board.”

It is the second consecutive visit to Cannes for the 40-year-old director. His five-hour gangster epic “Gangs Of Wasseypur”was warmly received at Cannes last year. “Ugly” is beingscreened this year as part of the Directors Fortnight, a sidebarto the main competition. He is also known for his 2004 Hindi-language film “Black Friday” about the 1993 Bombay bomb-ings. In addition to “Ugly”, Kashyap is one of four up-and-com-ing Indian directors whose work will be showcased in Cannes

today. “Bombay Talkies”, one film comprising four short storiesby the four directors, will be shown at a gala screening todayto celebrate a century of Indian cinema.

India is Cannes’ third guest country following Egypt andBrazil. The other directors whose short films are to be showntoday are Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Karan Johar.Amit Kumar’s “Monsoon Shootout” will also be shown out ofcompetition and Ritesh Batra’s “The Lunchbox” as part of theCritics Week. — AFP

Indian Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap poses during apromotional event for his forthcoming film ‘Ugly’ inMumbai.

Chinese mogul Bruno Wu’s Seven Stars Entertainment haspartnered with French mogul Pierre-Ange Le Pogam toform Angel Storm, a new joint venture that will develop

and produce European-Chinese co-productions. Le Pogam andWu have already picked the venture’s first two films, “Shanghai”and “Triangle,” which both will produce. Le Pogam’s StoneAngels will handle distribution rights in France, while SevenStars will distribute in China. “Pierre-Ange is a very versatilefilmmaker and executive, whether he’s dealing with a main-stream commercial title or an art house film, he understandsthe global business, and we both share a love for movies,” Wusaid in a statement. “I believe Angel Storm will deliver franchiseactioners to international audiences everywhere.”

Wu has set up a variety of partnerships over the past coupleof years, from his joint venture with Avi Arad to his film fund co-financed by the government of the Binhai New Area. This deallands him a major partner in Europe while awarding Le Pogaman inside track at distribution in China. Le Pogam is a veteran ofthe European film scene, a co-founder of EuropaCorp, the com-pany behind hits like the “Taken” and ‘Transporter” franchises.

His Stone Angels produced the Grace Kelly biopic “Grace of

Monaco,” which Wu executive-produced. Seven Stars, whichformed last year, has three movies premiering at Cannes thisyear - James Gray’s “The Immigrant,” Nicolas Winding Refn’s“Only God Forgives” and Guillaume Canet’s “Blood Ties.”“Oblivion” star Olga Kurylenko, Luke Bracey of “G.I. Joe:Retaliation” and Bill Smitrovich of “Iron Man” have all joined thecast of spy thriller “November Man,” Das Films and IrishDreamtime announced on Friday.

Pierce Brosnan will star in the film as a former CIA agentwho must combat his former pupil (Bracey) to find a woman(Kurylenko) central to an international plot. “Pierce and Icouldn’t be happier with the cast we’ve put together on a proj-ect that’s been a true labor of love,” producer Beau St. Clair said.“We’re excited to reintroduce Pierce to the spy game, especiallywith such great talent surrounding him.”—Reuters

Chinese mogul partners with French film tycoon

38Denmark favorite to win EurovisionSong Contest

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2013

The winners and their families are pictured having a great time bythe beach in Kuwait during the 25th Raft Race competition.

— Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

Men’s Welded Winners 1. Toyota 2. Kuwait Sea Sports Club 3. Kuwait Sea Sports Club

Mixed Welded Winners 1. Al-Sayer 2. Kuwait Sea Sports Club 3. Yokohama Al-Sayer

By Ben Garcia

Toyota Al-Sayer once again bagged the champi-onship title at the 25th Raft Race competition,which was held at the Aqua Park yesterday. Toyota

Al-Sayer has won the title for the 15th consecutive yearin the 25-year history of the race.

Aqua Park Director Mohammad Al-Enezi and AquaPark Board Chairman Ibrahim Al-Haroon, along with thesponsors, presented the trophies. While speaking toreporters after receiving the title trophy and the specialjubilee cup, which is awarded by Aqua Park to the over-all wining team, Kahled Al-Enezi said his team deservedthe crown, since they had been undergoing intensetraining with the sole purpose of taking home the title.“Toyota Al-Sayer has been very supportive to all ourteam members so we have the attitude and tradition ofwinners as always. We are very happy and proud to bagthe championship once again,” he told Kuwait Times.

According to Al-Enezi, the team won because ittrained sincerely. “We have added a lot of new blood thisyear, too. I think I could attribute the success of our teamto our long history of winning - besides experience andtechnique, which we applied in the race. We also gotthe title because we have the right design that workswell with the flow of the waves and wind. Design [of theboat] is very important in the raft race,” he stated. ToyotaAl-Sayer also took home the “Best in Design” award fortheir boat. Second place went to the Sea Sports ClubTeam, which was described by Al-Enezi as “all armedwith experience as well”. The Yokohama Team and ABBearned the third and fourth place, respectively. The racecategories included Welded-Men and Welded-Mixed.The Welded-Women category, however, was eventuallycancelled due to poor participation.

Besides raft race, other activities were held at theAqua Park, including beach volleyball and live musicperformances, which greatly added to the fiesta-likeatmosphere there. Other teams participating in theevent were from Kuwait Agriculture Company, FutureKid Entrainment Center, Fantasy World, Casper, ABB,

Cartoon Network and Sea Sports Club. Among theirsponsors were Sebamed, Sultan Center, Coca Cola andthe Al-Sayer Group. At the closing ceremony, all teamsand sponsors received their trophies and plaques ofappreciation for their valuable support and contribu-tions to the success of this year’s event. For the tenthyear running, Aqua Park has organized the prestigiousannual event, which is popular among Kuwaitis as wellas other nationalities. Previously, Raft Race was hostedby Messilah Beach Hotel, but now Jumeirah Beach Hoteland Spa host it.