3 Apr

pT io n ri bS C SU THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF

24 PAGES

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010

RABI ALTHANI 18, 1431 AH

French halal market booms despite political unease

China’s iPad look-alikes brace for the real thing

CTC approves purchase of new airport radar system PAGE 3

NO: 14687

Benfica stun Liverpool in Europa

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US announces new airline security measures WASHINGTON: The United States announced new security measures yesterday to replace the mandatory screening of air travelers from 14 countries that had angered some allies when it was imposed af ter a failed bombing on Christmas Day. The measures are designed to significantly reduce the number of passengers pulled aside for additional screening and will not be based on

nationality or passport, but on characteristics pulled together by intelligence agencies. “These new measures utilize real-time, threat-based intelligence along with multiple, random layers of security, both seen and unseen, to more effectively mitigate evolving terrorist threats,” said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. A senior administration official, who

spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the new system would require travelers who match information about terrorism suspects, such as a physical description, partial name or travel pattern, to undergo additional screening. “So it’s much more tailored to what the intel is telling us, what the threat is telling us, as opposed to stopping all individuals of a particular nationality or all

individuals using a particular passport,” the official said. He described the measures being scrapped as a “blunt-force instrument.” The names of terrorism suspects identified by the US government will continue to be included on security watch lists and no-fly lists as a part of airline security. The new policy affects all travelers coming into the United States from abroad.

The measures in force since January required that passengers traveling to the United States from 14 countries be subjected to especially rigorous pre-flight screening. The US government implemented those security measures after a Nigerian man tried to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear on a flight to Detroit from Amsterdam on Dec 25. Questions have been raised about why

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was charged with trying to blow up the airliner, was not stopped before he got on the flight. The 14 countries were those on the US list of “state sponsors of terrorism”-Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria-as well as Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen. Continued on Page 19

US asks China to help ratchet up Iran push Beijing may mull supporting fresh sanctions on Tehran MOSCOW: This undated picture provided yesterday by the Russian news agency NewsTeam, is claimed by the Russian Kommersant newspaper to show Dzhennet Abdurakhmanova (left) and her husband Islamist rebel Umalat Magomedov. —AP

The baby face of Moscow’s attack A girl named paradise MOSCOW: She was a 17-year-old girl from a village deep in the North Caucasus with a baby face and a name meaning paradise. But in the early morning of March 29, 2010, Dzhennet Abdurakhmanova is suspected of strapping several kilograms of explosives to her body and heading into the bustling Moscow metro with a female companion. She then detonated her explosives at a metro station, killing over 20 people. Forty minutes later, the other woman blew herself up at another Moscow station. Later, investigators would find her severed head, smeared in blood, on the metro platform. Like other Muslim Russian women who carried out sui-

cide bombings earlier in the decade, Abdurakhmanova was a “Black Widow”, the wife of a leading Caucasus militant killed in a special operation by the Russian security forces. “Her identity has been confirmed and checked out in several directions. It’s been established with almost 100 percent certainty that it was she who carried out the terror act,” Interfax quoted a Dagestan security source as saying. Officials contacted by AFP declined to confirm or deny the information. Photographs published yesterday showed Abdurakhmanova, a baby-faced teenager, Continued on Page 19

US says talks only solution in Mideast WASHINGTON: The United States called yesterday on Israel and the Palestinians to pursue talks and said there was no “military solution” to the conflict after a flare-up in violence. “The Israelis have a right to self-defense. At the same, as we’ve said many times, we don’t ultimately think there is a military solution to this,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters. “Our message remains to the Israelis and Palestinians that we need to get the proximity talks going, focus on the substance, move to direct negotiations and ultimately arrive at a settlement that ends the conflict once and for all.” Israel has launched a string of air strikes in

the Gaza Strip and threatened widescale military action after rocket attacks from the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave. “We are always concerned that steps taken by other side, legitimate or otherwise, can be misconstrued, can be twisted and ends up causing turbulence that can be an impediment to progress,” Crowley said. The United States has been seeking to launch peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. But even before the latest violence, the efforts were stymied by disagreements between Israel and the United States over the Jewish state’s settlement plans in annexed east Jerusalem. — AFP

Christians flock to Holy City JERUSALEM: Thousands of Christian pilgrims from around the world thronged the narrow cobblestone alleys of Jerusalem’s Old City to pray along the route tradition holds Jesus took to his crucifixion on Good Friday. “For me this is a very special visit, this is the first time for me here,” said Andrea Schroetter, a pilgrim from Germany. “We prayed in all the places where Jesus marched, it is very moving.” As part of the Good Friday ceremonies, the faithful descend onto the Old City to walk the Via Dolorosa, or Way of Suffering, the route tradition says Jesus carried the cross

on which he was to be crucified by the Romans. The procession begins at the Monastery of Flagellation, where Jesus was beaten, mocked and crowned with thorns. It follows the narrow often climbing street and the 14 stations of the cross along its way, including where Jesus met his mother, fell several times, was helped in carrying the cross, and met the lamenting women of Jerusalem. The procession ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the sites where Christians believe Christ was crucified and buried. Continued on Page 19

BEIJING/WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama urged his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao to help ratchet up pressure on Iran over its nuclear activities, but Hu did not openly commit to new sanctions on Tehran, according to official reports yesterday. Obama and Hu discussed the growing international push to curb Iran’s nuclear plans in a telephone call that followed China’s agreement on Wednesday to enter into serious talks about possible new UN-backed sanctions against Tehran. “President Obama underscored the importance of working together to ensure that Iran lives up to its international obligations,” the White House said in a statement after the hour-long telephone call, which took place late on Thursday Washington time, yesterday morning in Beijing. “The idea is to keep turning up the pressure” on Iran, Obama said in a separate interview with CBS television taped earlier this week and aired yesterday. “We’re going to ratchet up the pressure and examine how they respond but we’re going to do so with a unified international community,” Obama said. Iran’s top nuclear envoy, in Beijing for talks, sounded defiant but gave no sign China had budged on its decision to consider backing a new United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at his country. Western powers say Tehran wants the means to make nuclear weapons, but China-which buys large amounts of oil from Iran-has Continued on Page 19

WASHINGTON: With the Jefferson Memorial in the background, visitors walk along the Tidal Basin near the National Mall in Washington yesterday as the cherry trees blossomed. —AP

Shiite party gives boost to Allawi BAGHDAD: The secular front-runner in Iraq’s elections welcomed the support of a leading Iranian-linked Shiite party yesterday while a powerful anti-US cleric canvassed his followers in a poll that could set the stage for a turn against the incumbent prime minister. The backing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council was the latest boost for Ayad Allawi, whose Iraqiya bloc has emerged as the front-runner

to form a new government after parliamentary elections that left him just two seats ahead of Al-Maliki’s mainly Shiite list. SIIC leader Ammar AlHakim’s announced his party’s support for Allawi hours before followers of anti-US cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr voted in an unofficial referendum on which candidate their movement should support. Yesterday’s vote has no legal

authority but could give the Sadrist leadership an excuse not to support Al-Maliki and openly back another candidate under the guise of following what the people want. The Sadrists and AlHakim’s party are united under a Shiite religious umbrella known as the Iraqi National Alliance, which has emerged in a kingmaker position as the third-biggest winner in the March 7 vote, with

Lebanese man’s life in balance BEIRUT: A Lebanese man condemned to death for witchcraft by a Saudi court was not beheaded yesterday as had been expected, his lawyer said. Attorney May Al-Khansa said Lebanon’s justice minister told her that her client, Ali Sibat, “would not be executed in Saudi Arabia Friday” — the day executions are typically carried out in the kingdom after noon prayers. She said it is still unclear whether the beheading had been waived or only postponed. There was no immediate comment from Saudi officials, and Lebanese Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar was not available for comment “Ali Sibat will stay alive this Friday but we don’t know what is going to happen the next day, Saturday, Monday, any other day,” AlKhansa told The Associated Press. “What the (justice) minister told us was not enough for the family, it is not enough for me, because we really need Ali Sibat to be released.” Sibat, a 49-year-old father of five, made predictions on an Arab satellite TV channel from his home in Beirut. He was arrested by the Saudi religious police during his pilgrimage to the holy city of Continued on Page 19

a combined 70 seats in the 325-member parliament. Both parties were long allied with Al-Maliki but broke with the prime minister in recent years after he backed US-Iraqi forces in offensives that routed the Sadrists and sought to distance himself from their hard-line religious stance. AlHakim said his party, which has strong ties with Iran, said he was open to an alliance Continued on Page 19

Ageing gene linked to immunity: Study

Ali Sibat posing for a photograph with his children at an unknown location in Lebanon. — AP

LONDON: British scientists studying the genetics of ageing said that experiments on laboratory worms showed that a specific gene is strongly linked to lifespan, immunity and disease resistance. Since the gene, called DAF-16 in worms, is found in many animals and in humans, the finding could open up new ways to affect ageing, immunity and resistance in humans, the scientists said. “We wanted to find out how normal ageing is being governed by genes and what effect these genes have on other traits, such as immunity,” said Robin May of the University of Birmingham, who led the study. Populations across the world are ageing at a staggering pace, posing potentially big challenges for health and social care systems. A study by Danish scientists last year found that half of babies born in the rich world today will live to celebrate their 100th birthdays. Scientists are keen to find out how people age to try to develop drugs to help them stay healthier as their lives extend. “What we have found is that things like resistance and ageing tend to go hand in hand,” May said in an interview. Continued on Page 19

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Saturday, April 3, 2010

New sector to handle environmental issues

Awareness to help turn grey Kuwait to green By Abdullah Al-Qattan KUWAIT: Green is a color that now symbolizes all environmentally friendly policies, whether these are accredited by global organization such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or employed by govThis tiny oil-rich country has the potential for providing massive renewable energy sources, but what it lacks is professional departments dedicated to dealing with this in any ministry, not to mention any ministry specifically established to deal with these critical issues, even with the constant concerns over the possibility of subsequent oil shortages. Recently, there has been a lot of talk about a joint report from Kuwait University researchers and the Kuwait Oil Company, entitled ‘Forecasting World Crude Oil Production Using Multicyclic Hubbert Model,’ which predicts 2014 as being the fateful year when conventional crude oil production will peak. If Peak Oil is this close, then, why are we failing to adapt?

in my view

Social networking, technology addiction By Hussain Al-Qatari while ago a friend showed me a clip of American comedian Jerry Seinfeld talking about iPhones, Blackberries and the disappearance of manners. In the funny skit, Seinfeld suggested that people who carry these smart phones are constantly communicating with aliens from the outside space who tell them how to behave and react to specific situations. At the time, I laughed and thought that this was just an exaggeration. However, the internet has been bombarded ever since with articles and guidelines on how to behave on Facebook, proper etiquette for social networking, and how to tweet (or use Twitter) efficiently. This social networking phenomenon has been growing for some time; I was amazed when I heard from a friend of mine that she was attending a workshop in Abu Dhabi about using social networking for business purposes. Is this it? Are we now completely enslaved by Monster T (Technology)? Already I can see that we have noth-

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ing to talk about except new devices and technology inventions. I have two friends who debate about almost nothing except new products and technologies, so I already have experience of the disappearance of real-life matters and our focus on technology and social networking issues. If you read any article about a celebrity, politician or public figure, you are bound to find that the article quotes their tweets from Twitter. Whatever happened to hardcore journalism, scheduling phone interviews and speaking to spokespersons? Don’t get me wrong: I am a technology slave and I almost never practice what I preach. Think of me as a martyr who aims to warn you. For example, I always find it fascinating that technology really demolishes all distance barriers and brings the whole world into one handheld device. I admit, I find it interesting that I am able to learn how my favorite singer is scared of cobwebs, or how she loves her cereal with cold milk and a dash only a dash - of honey, or how she thinks her teeth are too sharp. It is sad,

I know, but it’s amazing that technology has let us have this little glimpses into others’ lives. I sometimes think, however, that this might be kind of improper. Whatever happened to privacy? The way everyone parades their lives on the Internet has made it easy for many people to become celebrities and to get into showbiz with the help of their webcam and the YouTube channel, which is good for them, but whatever happened to slaving your way to the top? I know that you still need talent to make it and become a celebrity, but with the current standards I really doubt that hard toil is a requirement. I am writing this while I check out my favorite blog by an anonymous food blogger-turned-blogosphere-celebrity, browse through the YouTube channel of a guy who parodies hit songs and follow the Twitter tweets of my favorite singer who is promoting a gluten-free bakery with delicious cupcakes and donuts in some LA suburb that I may never visit. Is it too late for me to be saved? Should I begin looking for social networking addiction support groups?

in the news Traders’ grievances KUWAIT: Minister of Public Works and Municipality Affairs Dr. Fadhil Safar surprised workers at the Souq Sharq fish market whose complaints appeared in yesterday’s Al-Qabas by turning up there the same day to discuss their grievances. The minister, carrying a copy of the paper in question, asked to talk with one of the merchants interviewed in the paper, Ahmad Al-Khowaijah, who had received the most ‘reprimands’ from the market inspectors. AlKhowaijah had to be summoned from his home to come to the market and meet with Dr. Safar to inform the minister of the details of his case. Safar subsequently ordered the market inspectors to return the confiscated ID cards and licenses to the penalized traders and vowed to cancel all the unjust citations issued against them.

Award ceremony KUWAIT: MP Walid AlTabtabae has said that he holds education minister Dr. Moudhi Al-Humoud directly responsible for holding an awards ceremony for Jahra Municipality employees at the Mariam Bint Tariq Intermediate Girls’ School. Al-Tabtabae stated that the decision to hold the ceremony, which was attended by Minister of Public Works and Municipality Affairs Dr. Fadhil Al-Safar, at a girls’ school during a regular school day was “strange and astonishing,” reported Al-Qabas. The MP stressed that the incident would not be allowed to pass without questions being asked, insisting that Al-Humoud should be strict about the use of school premises for such events and would be held responsible for allowing the ceremony to take place at this venue.

ernments to tackle the environmental crisis that we face today. Some of us might wonder where Kuwait stands in relation to countries that plan to enable citizens and expatriates to obtain at least 20 percent of their daily electricity quota from natural renewable recourses, such as Britain or some states in the United States.

One reason might be widespread ignorance of the basics of environmentalism. Some people might not realize what terms such as ‘green building’ actually mean, with such critically important terminology missing from even our modern textbooks. This has led to a common unawareness of the global ecological crises and a consequent lack of any consideration for these urgent problems, such as global warming and pollution, which in turn will lead to further amplification of these problems. The fact that less than 40 percent of Kuwait’s land area is developed, however, offers the country a wider range of options for utilizing such alternative, ecofriendly power resources here and using methods that could make a real difference

in the long term. Kuwait has just begun to take this issue seriously, with both the Ministry of Electricity and Water and the Ministry of Oil seriously examining ways of being more environmentally friendly. In addition to dedicating a higher percentage of the budget to ‘green’ concerns, Kuwait has the ability to develop a new sector to handle environmental issues and pass on a more environmentally sound, healthier country to future generations. While Kuwait could be seen at present as a grey country, with increased awareness, willpower and determination it could become ‘green’ through developing its environmentally friendly natural power resources, whether wind, solar or biomass.

Bangladeshi, Kuwaiti hurt in Hadiya, Jleeb fights By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A 23-year-old Kuwaiti man was taken to Farwaniya Hospital after suffering a stab wound in his back during a fight in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh. In another incident, a 40-year-old Bangladeshi expatriate sustained a black eye in a fight in Hadiya.

11 injured in car accidents Two Kuwaiti men, aged 17 and 25, were rushed to Adan Hospital after suffering head injuries in a car crash on AlGhous Street. In another accident, two Kuwaitis and a Filipina suffered various injuries in a collision on Blajat Street. All were taken to Mubarak Hospital. In a separate incident, a 21year-old Kuwaiti man, and two Asian men, aged 30 and 37, sustained various injuries in a car accident on Fahaheel Expressway near Fintas. They were taken to Adan Hospital. Meanwhile, a 30-year-old Indian man was hospitalized after suffering a compound fracture to one leg as well as broken bones in one hand when he was hit by a car in Jahra. In another case, a 31-year-old Indian man suffered a fractured left leg when he was hit by a car in Farwaniya. He was taken to Farwaniya Hospital. In a separate incident, a 45year-old Egyptian man was taken to Jahra Hospital after complaining of pain in his neck and left knee following a car accident on Boubyan Island.

Two falls

KUWAIT: Abdulrahman Al-Atigi, the Representative of His Highness the Amir, yesterday flew to Senegal to attend ceremonies there marking the country’s 50th independence anniversary. During his visit, Al-Atigi, the Advisor at the Bureau of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlSabah, will also take part in the inauguration of a memorial statue depicting the renaissance of Africa.

A 65-year-old Egyptian construction worker was rushed to Adan Hospital after suffering a broken spine when he fell from a high building in Khairan. In another fall, a 23-year-old Pakistani man sustained a compound fracture to his left ankle after slipping and falling near the Mirqab bus station. He was taken to the Amiri Hospital.

Conman’s prize scam unveiled KUWAIT: More than twenty citizens and expatriates were conned out of $1,000 each by a confidence trickster who led them to believe they had won a fortune in a Ministry of Foreign Affairs contest, which they later discovered was non-existent. The victims apparently received a phone call from a man who informed them that they had scooped the jackpot after being chosen as winners by random computer selection. The conman then informed them that they would receive a call from a foreign ministry official in two days to congratulate them on their good fortune and instruct them on how to access their winnings. The ‘ministry official’ called them as scheduled two days later, asking the victims if they wanted their winnings in the form of money, airline tickets or prepaid hotel accommodation. With the ‘lucky winners’ invariably choosing the cash option, the ‘official’ would then instruct them to deposit $1,000 in a numbered account so that the prize money could be deposited there, with over 20 of the victims taking the bait and depositing the cash. On receiving nothing after a few days and realizing that they had been duped, a number of the conman’s victims filed complaints. Brig Sheikh Ali Al-Yousef, the Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department, revealed that he had received calls from more than 20 of those conned by the fraudster, immediately ordering an investigation into the massive swindle. The investigation revealed that the victims had been called from 15 phone lines in Arab nations outside Kuwait, with at least 6,000 people in Kuwait receiving calls from them. The investi-

gation is continuing in coordination with Interpol and evidence is being gathered to apprehend the confidence tricksters if possible.

Sword attack A young man was rushed to Jahra Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit after three assailants beat him up before attacking him with a sword near his home in Waha, leaving him with serious head wounds. The man had apparently been walking down a street in the area when the three attackers leapt out of a car and began hitting him before one of them pulled out the sword and stabbed their victim in the head. After the attack, the three thugs fled the scene. The man remains in a serious condition and police are hunting for the attackers.

Fight stabbing The son of a senior Ministry of Interior official was taken to the Amiri Hospital after sustaining a fractured skull and stab wounds in a fight with a soldier in Salmiya. After the soldier had fled, passersby rushed to the aid of the young man who was left lying in a pool of blood, immediately calling an ambulance which quickly took him to the hospital. An investigation is underway into the incident.

Wife flees country A worried husband whose wife had been absent from their Jahra home for a few days reported her missing to police after searching everywhere for her. Police subsequently discovered that the woman had fled to another

Gulf country without her husband’s knowledge.

Date disrupted Jahra police cut short an Asian couple’s romantic rendezvous in a car in the Kabad area. The couple, assuming they were alone in the isolated area, had begun making love when they were rudely interrupted by the policemen’s banging on the car window. The man and his girlfriend did not let this disruption stop them and the officers ended up opening the car door before both were taken into custody in Sulaibiya police station on adultery charges.

Official abuse complaint The head of a Criminal Investigation Department section has filed an official complaint against a Kuwaiti man, accusing him of insulting her and a number of her colleagues in the course of their work. The investigator and her colleagues said that the man had come to the office wishing to file a case against an employee who he said had absconded. When he was instructed to bring a number of official documents concerning the worker to the office in order to process the case, the complainant became abusive, swearing at the official and others who attempted to calm him down. The department head further alleged that the man had threatened to use his influence with senior officials against her before he left. The accused man faces charges of insulting an official performing their duties and has been summoned for questioning.

KUWAIT: Ahmadi Municipality emergency inspection teams are continuing their crackdown on illegal peddlers across the area, supported by local police, said municipality director Fahad Al-Fahad yesterday. The teams, led by Meshaal Abu Al-Saifi, have already conducted raids in Sabahiya, Um Al-Hayman and Jaber Al-Ali, arresting several peddlers and confiscating around one ton of foodstuffs, including fruit, vegetables and dairy products, said Al-Fahad. He stressed that the teams would continue to crack down on these illegal activities around the clock across Ahmadi.

Kuwait celebrates World Autism Awareness Day KUWAIT: The Kuwait-based Gulf Autism Union (GAU) yesterday marked World Autism Awareness Day 2010 with a number of activities directed towards raising awareness of the condition in society. Dr. Samira Al-Saad, the founder and director of the Kuwait Center for Autism and a GAU member, revealed that promotional literature had been distributed at local schools and in the media to publicize the event, explaining that this was intended to raise awareness among the people of Kuwait and the Gulf of autism and the services offered by these organizations since the 1990s. She said that she was pleased at the increasing public awareness of autism, adding that the Public Awqaf Foundation was a pioneer in supporting people with autism through constructing the center’s building, which has become one of the country’s landmarks. The center, with its unique design, accommodates the needs of people with autism, and houses researchers conducting investigation into the genetic condition and how best to treat it, she explained. Al-Saad praised the young people, university students, and doctors participating in the

volunteer group which supports the center’s activities. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon yesterday urged societies to re-evaluate their negative attitudes towards people living with disabilities, such as autism, and eradicate prejudices that discriminate against them. Marking World Autism Awareness Day, which fell yesterday Ban expressed regret that children and adults with autism, as well as those living with other disabilities, face a “double burden. In addition to the daily challenges of their disability, they must also cope with the negative attitudes of society, inadequate support for their needs and, in some cases, blatant discrimination.” He continued, “As we commemorate World Autism Awareness Day 2010...let us join persons with autism, their families and their advocates in a community of voices for greater awareness and understanding. Let us also look within, and re-evaluate our attitudes and those of our societies so we can remove the prejudices that discriminate against persons with disabilities. Let us dedicate ourselves to creating a fair and caring society that affords true dignity and rights for All.” — KUNA

Saturday, April 3, 2010

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Minister holds inspection tour

CTC approves purchase of new airport radar system KUWAIT: Minister of Communication and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Dr Mohammed Mohsen Al-Busairi said on Thursday that the Central Tenders Committee (CTC) has approved the purchase of a highly sophisticated radar system for Kuwait International Airport. “The new system will greatly enhance the air traffic service at the airport as part of the ambitious “These projects will help realize the open sky policy adopted by the State of Kuwait as per the instructions of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser AlMohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah,” Al-Busairi said, noting the HH the Prime Minister instructed offering all necessary facilities to the global airlines using the airport. Dealing with Terminal 2 project, the minister said the passenger terminal, to go operational after five years, would enhance the handling capacity of airport from seven million to 20 million passengers a year. “The other key projects include one to launch a power station to feed the airport at a cost of KD 30 million and the construction of a new building for the engineering department costing KD 12 million which will complete by next February,” the minister revealed. He voiced satisfaction with the level of safety and security regulations for all flights. Al-Busairi praised the air controllers for technical expertise and all staffers of the DGCA for their efforts to upgrade the services at the airport saying: “I’m 200 percent reassured about the safety and security regulations at the airport.” The minister took pride in the handling capacity of the airport, noting that the number of flights by commercial airlines to and from the airport topped 100,000 in 2009. “The number of flights crossing Kuwait airspace last year hit 25,000, which testifies to the great responsibility being shouldered by the personnel of civil aviation,” he went on to say. Regarding the financial benefits for civil aviation personnel, Al-Busairi affirmed that the Civil Service Council started probing the issue with a view to improve their salaries. Meanwhile, DGCA’s Deputy DirectorGeneral for Air Traffic Services Khaled AlShaiji said the new air control building of the airport would be ready by February 2011. “The building will be provided with the state-of-the-art air traffic control equipment and a meteorological division,” Al-Shaiji said, noting that the new radar would go operation three years after the approval of the relevant tender. —KUNA

development projects,” the minister told reporters after an inspection tour of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). “The projects, which fall in the framework of the state development plan, include launching Terminal 2 the construction of which was approved last month; they aim to cope up with the latest developments of the international air traffic control systems.

KUWAIT: Minister of Communication and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Dr Mohammed Mohsen Al-Busairi holding inspection tour of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Kuwaiti education officials tour UK KUWAIT: The Ambassador of Tunisia to Kuwait Mustafa Bahiya on Wednesday hosted an official reception at the Crowne Plaza Hotel to mark Tunisia’s National Day. The event was attended by diplomats and other dignitaries. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

kuwait digest

Good and bad news t is very nice to hear that government intends to dismantle the Ministry of Information, writes Jassem Boodai in AlRai. It is very depressing, however, when we discover that its reason for doing so is to avoid the grilling of the minister in charge there. Of course, this should have been put at the conclusion of the article rather than at the beginning, but I have done it in this way since, like all supposedly major government decisions needing analysis it has been carried out rapidly and without thought. Clearly, information ministries have been dismantled in many countries, especially the advanced ones, but in their case it came as a qualitative step along with the development of freedom and democracy, rather than in order to avert a problem between two authorities. We, however, are supposed to greet the news with a simple smile since we are in Kuwait. The original idea to dismantle the Ministry of Information came from Dr. Annas Al-Rashid, the former information minister, following consultations with a number of the senior officials concerned. Dr. Al-Rashid linked the performance of his

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daily ministerial duties with a clear, strategic vision. As a person greater than the post he occupied, he did not enter into bargaining and deal-making as others have done. Al-Rashid’s idea in calling for the dismantling of the ministry was to revitalize the Kuwaiti media and make it proactive and to ensure it worked in a wholly transparent manner, bringing a culture of openness and selfcensorship, along with a spirit of responsibility. In his view, every media outlet would be responsible for its own news coverage and would have to ensure that it was administered in a way that suited public taste, with this freedom creating a healthy sense of competition among the different media. Under his system, journalists and other media figures would no longer have been appointed through wasta, but according to their abilities and performance, with media expected to improve their presentation and deal with issues in a professional, capable way. In short, official media are not productive for any party; in order to produce positive results, state media should be dismantled and media management must be linked to strategic goals.

KRCS to launch awareness campaign in Capital, Jahra KUWAIT: The Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) is to launch an awareness campaign in cooperation with the Education Ministry in the Capital (Asima) and Jahra Governorates on April 11. Musaad Al-Enezi, the director of KRCS’s volunteers department, told KUNA yesterday that the society will cooperate with several specialist bodies in training people as part of the campaign. The two-week campaign will shed light on the KRCS’s efforts and the services it provides to the Kuwaiti society, he said. The senior KRCS official further revealed that a press conference concerning the cam-

paign will be held next Wednesday, with guests including Ministry of Education Undersecretary Tamadher Al-Sdairawi and KRCS Chairman Barjas Al-Barjas. He noted that training courses on first aid and ways to prevent and deal with fire will be held in two schools in each of the two governorates, adding that similar campaigns will be launched in other governorates at a later date. Al-Enezi expressed gratitude to the education ministry and the Kuwait Fire Service Directorate for their support for the campaign and praised the efforts of Al-Barjas and the KRCS board members.— KUNA

KUWAIT: Senior Kuwaiti Ministry of Higher Education and Kuwait University (KU) officials have been finding out first-hand how a UK education can help prepare Kuwaiti students to make a positive contribution to the future development of their country, during a UK Study Tour organized by the British Council. In a press release issued yesterday, the British Council said that the Kuwaiti officials were part of a delegation that also included officials from Oman and the UAE. “They [the officials] explored the opportunities available in UK Higher Education and gained an insight into the rich academic, cultural and social experience students gain from studying in the UK,” the press release said. During the tour, officials met with

representatives from UK state, independent and professional bodies that make up the UK higher education sector, to learn more about the structure of higher education in the UK and the different ways in which quality in higher education is assured. The study tour also included visits to research-oriented universities such as University College London and the University of Edinburgh, as well as newer universities such as Oxford Brookes University and Queen Margaret University in Scotland. “These gave officials even more confidence that the students they send to the UK will come back to the Middle East with both a first-class academic qualification and a broader experience of a different culture,” said the press release.

According to the British Council, figures recently released by the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that in 2008/9 there were 14,275 students from the Middle East studying in the UK, a 24 percent increase on the year before. “The tour showed how many UK universities are working hard to ensure that they offer students from the Middle East a rewarding experience both academically and culturally in the highly competitive international education market,” it added. UK-based students also benefit from studying alongside students from overseas, helping the students to build greater understanding about different societies and cultures before they enter the international workplace, it noted. Sally Ward, British Council Regional

Program Manager for Higher Education, said, “Graduates today enter an international workforce. It is important that they are all equipped with both the high quality qualifications and broad outlook to be effective global citizens. “This British Council UK Study Tour has given its delegates an opportunity to develop the tools they need to assess the best choices for those students from the Middle East who are considering study in the UK. “It gives the visiting Ministry officials even greater confidence that their returning students will be able to contribute to the future success of Kuwait and build greater understanding between cultures, for a safer world. “By meeting their British counterparts, delegates have also now begun to build strong long-term relationships for the future.” — KUNA

Kuwait fund launches orphanage project SIDON, South Lebanon: Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) has launched the second stage of an orphanage rehabilitation and development project in Sidon, South Lebanon, costing a total of $500,000. The project was opened by visiting KFAED Director General Abdelwahab Al-Bader, Lebanese members of parliament Fouad AlSiniora and Bahia Al-Hariri, and Sidon Municipality Chief Abdulrahman Al-Bazri. Addressing the opening ceremony, which was also attended by several Kuwaiti diplomats and KFAED officials, Al-Siniora stressed the importance of the orphanage development project, which he said would lead to providing better living conditions for orphans in Sidon. He hailed the project as a result of cooperation between the Lebanese government and KFAED. The former Lebanese prime minister expressed deep thanks to Kuwait’s leadership, government and people for their great and noble support for development projects in Lebanon. KFAED chief Al-Bader said Kuwait is determined to support and fund’s development projects in Lebanon. He said the orphanage project in Sidon comes within the framework of Kuwait’s philanthropic and charitable activities in this Arab country. Kuwait is keen on helping in the reconstruction of all Lebanese areas that were affected by the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006, he said, adding that his fund is also financing humanitarian and charitable societies in the country. The head of the “Future Parliamentary bloc” Fouad Al-Siniora and the MP Bahia Al-Hariri praised yesterday the Kuwaiti aid for development and philanthropic projects in all regions of the country. Al-Siniora, also former prime minister and political ally of Bahia, sister of the slain ex-premier Rafic Al-Hariri, hailed in a statement on sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of the second phase of renovation of an orphanage house in Sidon, Kuwaiti aid for the Lebanese, namely the orphans, and the renovation of housing wards for the orphans. Asked on the long-delayed Al-Litani river water project, partly funded by Kuwait, the ex-premier spoke of “real effort being exerted for tackling some hindrances obstructing the execution of the vital venture.” Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), which launched yesterday the orphans wards repair project, signed with the Lebanese government, in 2003, an accord for lending Beirut $65 million for financing the Litani river project to pump water from AlQaroun lake in southeastern Lebanon to several southern regions of the country.—KUNA

SIDON: Kuwaiti and Lebanese officials at the launching of the orphanage rehabilitation and development project in Sidon yesterday.

INTERNATIONAL

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Saturday, April 3, 2010

Iran nuclear envoy calls for dialogue, not sanctions BEIJING: Tehran’s top nuclear envoy called for negotiations without threat of sanctions yesterday, following meetings in Beijing in the wake of US reports saying had China had dropped its opposition to possible new UN measures against Iran. Saeed Jalili sidestepped questions on whether China had confirmed to him that it had changed its opposition to a fourth round of UN sanctions against Tehran for its nuclear program. He maintained that both Iran and China sought a return to the negotiating table. “(Our) Chinese friends all say this problem can only be solved through negotiations and peaceful means. And some big countries should give up their incorrect actions. Pressuring through sanc-

tions will be ineffective,” Jalili said. China has veto power in the UN Security Council, and its support would be key to passing a resolution against Iran, which is suspected of developing nuclear weapons. Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful power generation. “Negotiations should be conducted with logic, not with pressure. If negotiations and pressure occur at the same time, there’s no way these negotiations can go forward,” Jalili said in comments that were translated from Farsi to Chinese. During his visit to China, Jalili met with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Wang Jiarui, who heads the Communist Party’s international affairs office.

China has refused to confirm reports that it was willing to consider new sanctions. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday that Beijing was “concerned about the current situation” but repeated the country’s longtime stance of wanting the dispute settled through negotiations. US President Barack Obama raised the issue of Iran’s nuclear program when he spoke on the phone for an hour Friday with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, welcoming his decision to attend a nuclear security summit in Washington in less than two weeks. “Obama underscored the importance of working together to ensure that Iran lives up to its international obligations,” a White House statement said.

China depends on oil- and gas-rich Iran for 11 percent of its energy needs and last year became Tehran’s biggest trading partner, according to Iranian figures. China traditionally opposes sanctions. Although it went along with three earlier U.N. sanctions resolutions against Iran, Beijing has been a vocal opponent of a fourth round, insisting that further negotiations with Tehran were needed. But US officials say a Chinese representative made a commitment in a phone call Wednesday with officials of the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany to discuss specifics of a potential Security Council resolution, and that on that basis the US would press ahead with an effort to pass such a

measure. The officials cautioned that this does not mean there is a full consensus yet on UN sanctions. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the diplomatic talks were ongoing. The Obama administration is hoping to get a UN resolution on Iran passed by the end of April. According to well-informed UN diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions are taking place among capitals, the proposed new sanctions would target Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard and toughen existing measures against Iran’s shipping, banking and insurance sectors. — AP

Three Palestinian children injured

Israel warns of new Gaza assault after air strikes J ERUSALEM: Israel yesterday threa tened a widescale military operation against the Gaza Strip a fter a string of a ir strikes w hich injured three Palestinia n children follow ing rocket attacks from the encla ve. Israel’s deputy prime minister, Silvan Sha lom, w arned tha t the milita ry w ould soon la unch a new offensive on the Hamas-ruled Ga za Strip unless the rocket fire

wa s halted. “If this rocket fire a ga inst Isra el does not stop, it seems we will have to raise the level of our activity a nd step up our a ctions against Hama s,” Shalom told public radio. “We won’t allow frightened children to a gain be ra ised in bomb shelters a nd so, in the end, it will force us to la unch a nother milita ry opera tion,” sa id the deputy premier.

GAZA CITY: Palestinians examine damage at the site of an overnight Israeli army airstrike, in Gaza City, yesterday. Israeli aircraft struck multiple targets in the Gaza Strip following a rocket attack on southern Israel. No injuries were reported. — AP

Fayyad sees statehood next year JERUSALEM: Palestinian premier Salam Fayyad predicts a Palestinian state will be established by August 2011 through “positive facts on the ground,” in an interview published yesterday in an Israeli newspaper. “The birth of a Palestinian state will be celebrated as a day of joy by the entire community of nations,” Fayyad told the Haaretz daily. “The time for this baby to be born will come,” he said, “and we estimate it will come around 2011,” the prime minister said. “That is our vision and a reflection of our will to exercise our right to live in freedom and dignity in the country (where) we are born, alongside the State

of Israel, in complete harmony.” Fayyad’s August 2011 target is based on a decision taken by the Palestinian leadership in August 2009 to establish a state within two years. Since then Fayyad has been building institutions for a defacto state. “If for one reason or another, by August 2011 (the plan) will have failed ... I believe we will have amassed such credit, in the form of positive facts on the ground, that the reality is bound to force itself on the political process to produce the outcome,” Haaretz quoted him as saying. Palestinians have repeatedly said they will unilaterally declare a state or ask for UN recognition of their independence amid growing frustration with so-far inef-

fective US efforts to relaunch peace negotiations with Israel. The talks were suspended during the Gaza war of December 2008-January 2009. Israel, however, has warned of a tough response to a unilateral Palestinian declaration. US President Barack Obama’s administration has so far been unable to convince Israelis and Palestinians to resume their peace talks, amid deep disagreements on the thorny issue of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. The Palestinians insist on a freeze of all settlement activity before talks restart, while Israel is offering a temporary and limited ease on construction, saying the issue will be resolved during final-status negotiations. —- AFP

Sadrists go to the polls BAGHDAD: Polls opened in a ballot of Iraq’s Sadrists yesterday over who should be the country’s leader, while ex-premier Iyad Allawi received a boost after a key Shiite party backed his bloc for government. A week after results from Iraq’s March 7 parliamentary elections were announced, Allawi’s Iraqiya bloc and sitting Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s State of Law Alliance are battling to be the first to form a government. The pair, the main candidates for the prime minister post, will both be competing for the backing of supporters of cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr in the movement’s two-day unofficial “referendum.” “There are major conflicts in the Iraqi political landscape over choosing the prime minister because of the competition between winning lists,” Falah Shanshal, a senior Sadrist MP, said. “Moqtada Al-Sadr, when he issued this statement, called people to this referendum so that the final decision would be made by the Iraqi people.” While the plebiscite is nominally open to all Iraqis, the vast majority of voters will likely be Sadrist backers. Alongside Allawi and Maliki, the latter of whom is a bitter Sadrist enemy, Maliki’s predecessor Ibrahim Al-Jaafari is also on the ballot. Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi and Jaafar Al-Sadr, the son of an ayatollah who founded Maliki’s Islamic Dawa Party and was assassinated by Saddam’s regime in 1980, are also among the candidates. The vote opened yesterday morning and was set to conclude today evening, with results expected within days.

BAGHDAD: An Iraqi woman gives her vote for candidates nominated to the prime minister position in an unofficial referendum conducted by supporters of Shiite Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr in Baghdad’s Shiite suburb of Sadr City yesterday. — AFP “People coming here are happy, they are treating it like a festival because they are practicing their right to choose their prime minister,” said Saleh Jizani, the head of a voting centre in Shuala, north Baghdad. Haidar Sattar, a 23-year-old off-duty policeman, said he cast his ballot for Jaafar Al-Sadr, whom he described as a “moderate.” “I hope that the eventual prime minister will be a good, reasonable man who does not offend Iraqis and serves everyone, without

exception,” Sattar said. Sadrist officials, in addition to stationary voting stations, were also seen carrying ballot boxes around Baghdad, stopping people on the street and arriving on locals’ doorsteps to ask them to vote. The results will give the Sadrists, whose 30-something leader has been in Iran for about two years, ammunition in negotiations with other blocs to form a government, particularly with State of Law and Maliki. —- AFP

“I hope we can avoid it, but it is one of the options we have, and if we don’t have a choice, we will use it in the near future,” he said. Three Palestinian childrenaged two, four and 11 — were hit by flying glass in one of Israel’s six overnight raids, said Moawiya Hassanein, head of the Palestinian emergency services in Gaza. There were no other reports of casualties. The head of the Islamist Hamas movement’s government in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniya, reacted by blaming the Jewish state for the increase in tensions. “We call on the international community to intervene to stop this escalation and Israeli aggression,” Haniya said in a statement. The strikes came after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants landed near the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon late on Thursday, causing damage but no casualties, the army said. Underscoring the tensions, warning sirens wailed across Ashkelon again yesterday morning, sending residents scurrying for shelters, but the army said it was a false alarm. Nearly 20 rockets have been fired into Israel in the past month, including one that killed a Thai farm worker, in the worst spate of violence since the end of Israel’s 22-day assault on the territory launched in December 2008. Since the war, which killed some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, Israel has routinely responded to sporadic rocket fire with air raids against smuggling tunnels and workshops which it says are used to make rockets. Three of the Israeli strikes overnight targeted an area near Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza. Two of the missiles hit a guard post of Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades. A fourth raid destroyed a workshop in the refugee camp of Nusseirat, in central Gaza, according to Hamas and witnesses. In the other air strikes, a small dairy factory was destroyed as Israeli fighter planes targeted the Sabra district of western Gaza City, according to witnesses. The military said it hit “a weapons manufacturing site in the northern Gaza Strip, a weapons manufacturing site in the central Gaza Strip and two weapons storage facilities in the southern Gaza Strip.” “The (army) holds Hamas as solely responsible for maintaining peace and quiet in the Gaza Strip,” it said. The rise in rocket fire comes amid mounting tensions in the region sparked by Arab fears that Israel has been moving to reinforce its hold on annexed, mainly Arab east Jerusalem. It has also been accompanied by fresh clashes along the Gaza-Israel border. Last Tuesday, a Palestinian teenager was killed and several others were wounded as Israeli troops fired on protesters near the border of the blockaded territory. And two Israeli soldiers, including an officer, were killed along with two Palestinian gunmen during fierce clashes on March 26-27 when Israeli tanks made a brief incursion into Gaza. —- AFP

GAZA CITY: A Palestinian woman walks past the site of an overnight Israeli army airstrike, in Gaza City, yesterday. Israeli aircraft struck multiple targets in the Gaza Strip following a rocket attack on southern Israel. —- AP

US warship ‘sinks pirate mother ship’ off Seychelles MANAMA: A US warship intercepted suspected Somali pirates and sunk their “mother ship” after they attacked an oil tanker off the Seychelles, the US navy’s Fifth Fleet said yesterday. It said the Sierra Leone-flagged tanker MV Evita on Thursday “came under attack 500 km northwest of the Seychelles by three suspected pirate skiffs.” “During the attack, the pirates fired rifles and aimed rocket-propelled grenades at the vessel in an attempt to force it to stop,” but the MV Evita evaded the pirates, the navy said in a statement. “The MV Evita was able to evade attack by adopting industry-recommended ‘best management practices,’ increasing its speed and firing flares at the pirates to warn them off,” it said. Coalition forces on patrol in the area were alerted and dispatched the USS Farragut to track

down the pirates on board the three skiffs. “A SH-60B Seahawk helicopter, from Farragut, was immediately dispatched to monitor the pirates while the suspected pirate skiffs were boarded,” the statement added. Eleven suspected pirates were held briefly “while the mother skiff was destroyed and sunk,” it said. “After ensuring that the suspected pirates had no means to conduct any more attacks, all 11 were released on the two small skiffs,” according to the statement from the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet. The USS Farragut is part of the US-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 coalition carrying out counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Also on Thursday near the Seychelles, the USS Nicholas captured five suspected pirates who had opened fire from a small boat. — AFP

BEIRUT: Lebanese farmer Ibrahim Ramadan, 70, points to his land, which aid groups have warned him it is still contaminated with Israeli mines, in the southern Lebanese village of Ghanduriyeh recently. Ramadan fears for the safety of his grandchildren, preferring to keep them indoors as April 4 which marks the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action approaches. — AFP

Four years on, Israel’s deadly legacy still lurks in Lebanon TYRE, Lebanon: Nearly four years after Israel littered southern Lebanon with mines during its devastating war with Hezbollah, teenager Mohammed Al-Hajj Mussa can barely bring himself to speak of the day he lost his legs. On Aug 11, 2006, the lean, dark-haired boy was riding behind his father on a motorbike to deliver food to a nearby town badly hit in the Israeli raids when a cluster bomb went off under one of the tyres. “Later, I was told that I was found in a creek about four hours after the explosion,” Mohammed, now 15, told AFP at his rundown home in the Palestinian refugee camp of Al-Bass, located in the southern coastal town of Tyre. “I came to when they were pulling me out of the water, and I knew it. I could see my legs falling apart.” That same night, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1701 calling for an end to the hostilities and three days later, the month-long war was over. But Israel left a deadly legacy: the United Nations estimates that Israeli jets dropped more than four million cluster bombs in southern Lebanon in the summer battles. Ninety percent of the bombs were dropped in the final 72 hours before the ceasefire after Resolution 1701 was adopted, the United Nations says. Around 40 percent of the munitions failed to detonate on impact, rendering them de facto antipersonnel mines. The munitions have killed 46 and maimed over 300 civilians since 2006, according to Lebanese army and UN figures. Most of the victims are sappers, farmers and unsuspecting children, who mistake the shiny objects for toys. April 4 marks the International Day for Mine

Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action and in Lebanon activists plan to plant trees in cleared minefields. But with new humanitarian crises across the world and the global economic downturn, hope for mine victims in the tiny Mediterranean country is dwindling as funds dry up. Victims like Mohammed are waiting in line for prosthetic limbs and demining activities have slowed as the army and international organisations are forced to cut down on manpower. “We are facing a serious shortage in funds,” said Colonel Rolly Fares, who heads the army’s mine victim assistance programme. More than 197,000 cluster bombs have been defused since the end of the 2006 war, Fares said, but hundreds of thousands still threaten the people of southern Lebanon. “We have cleared almost 52 percent of the 45 square-kilometre (17.3 square-mile) area affected but we have less demining teams with the cash shortage,” he said. Maha Shuman Jebahi, of the Lebanese Handicap Welfare Association, said lack of funding meant more and more victims are left waiting for prosthetic limbs. “How do you tell someone that we can provide psychological assistance but we can’t give them a leg?” she said. But Mohammed, who is also a Palestinian refugee, refuses to pin his hopes on a new pair of legs. He finds it easier to cope that way. He received treatment for his injuries in Germany and Malaysia but back now in Lebanon, the growing adolescent is battling to find adequate prosthetic limbs. “These don’t fit,” he said, showing a pair of artificial legs propped up in a corner, with jeans bunched around the ankles and sneakers on both feet. “They hurt and they keep breaking. — AFP

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INTERNATIONAL

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Pakistan top judge again at centre of controversy ISLAMABAD: Being a thorn in the side of Pakistan’s presidents is a familiar role for the country’s top judge, but long-time allies of the chief justice now worry that the conflict between the two branches is about more than the law. The fight between Pakistan’s judiciary and executive branches, as they dig in for another round of legal fisticuffs over the fate of President Asif Ali Zardari, is about old corruption cases reopened after a controversial amnesty law was thrown out in December. But the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Iftikhar Chaudhry-and his colleagues on the court-are also playing to the crowds, a long-time friend says. “They are playing for the galleries, giving populist remarks,” said retired judge Tariq Mehmud, who has known Chaudhry, 61, for more than 30 years. “That should not be done.”

The chief justice and members of his office declined to comment for this story. Chaudhry’s many supporters say he’s standing up for ordinary Pakistanis disgusted by the rampant corruption among the ruling class. They say he is a man of honour who has checked two unpopular presidents-Zardari and former military president Pervez Musharraf before him. “For the first time the judiciary has become independent,” said Rasul Bakhsh Rais, political science professor at Lahore University of Management Sciences. “We can’t really correct the political system and hold public office holders accountable without an independent judiciary,” But not everyone is happy with Chaudhry. He has reopened old cases after the voiding of the 2007 amnesty law, thrown out by the Supreme Court on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. The amnesty had protected several thousand peo-

ple- including Zardari-from old corruption charges and allowed their return to politics. With the amnesty revoked, these cases are active again. “The real contest is between those forces in Pakistan who want to establish the rule of law and those who want to flout it,” said Rais. Chaudhry himself is a reminder that the government can’t afford to push the judiciary too hard. Former military president Pervez Musharraf suspended Chaudhry in March 2007, apparently fearing the judge would oppose his legally questionable bid to hold on to power. The move triggered large protests and violent clashes. His old friend Mehmud said at the time Chaudhry was buoyed by the mass support. “He’s feeling great, he’s very happy,” Mehmud said. “It was beyond his expectation, he couldn’t conceive it,” he said of the outpouring of support.

Musharraf dismissed Chaudhry later that year but he was reinstated by Zardari after Musharraf was forced from office, but not immediately and only after considerable pressure on the new president. Zardari was apparently wary that Chaudhry would do exactly what he ended up doing-throw out the amnesty. What critics see as Chaudhry’s dogged pursuit of Zardari may be eroding his appeal now, however, at least in some circles. His old friend Mehmud now criticises him, albeit indirectly, given the expansive nature of Pakistan’s contempt of court laws, which make criticising specific justices risky. “Some judges are ridiculing and threatening people, which is not the way an apex court should behave,” he said. Mehmud was referring to recent reports that Chaudhry was hauling second-level bureaucrats before

the bench and berating them for not implementing his decision on the amnesty law quickly enough. Indeed, the liberal Dawn newspaper wrote in an editorial on Wednesday that the Supreme Court was “on the warpath” and that it appeared the court was interested only in the fate of Zardari and his inner circle. “The Supreme Court must always be wary of even a hint of personalisation in its actions,” the paper wrote. Another senior lawyer involved in restoring Chaudhry said the judiciary’s concentration on highprofile and political cases was breeding disappointment among ordinary litigants. “Basically, only one case is being heard every day. The actual cases of the people are not being heard,” he said. “Definitely it causes resentment.” Dedicated to the law and to his wife and four children, Chaudhry is a workaholic with few outside interests, colleagues say. — Reuters

A delicate balancing act

US seeks Pakistan action on anti-India militants W ASHINGTON: The United Sta tes ha s ca lled on Pak istan to curb a ntiIndia n militants, pra ising Isla maba d’s recent efforts a ga inst extremism but saying it could do m ore to improve ties w ith New Delhi. Robert Blake, the assista nt secreta ry of state for South Asia, in la te March held ta lks in India a nd Pa kista n w here he said he voiced support for the recent resumption of dialogue betw een the longtime adversa ries. Blak e

SRINAGAR: Indian police sit on a railway track after a militant blast at Kakapora, south of Srinagar, yesterday. Indian troops shot dead six suspected militants in revolt-hit Kashmir, police said yesterday, as rebels blew up two to three meters of train tracks, inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in October 2008, in the first attack on the region’s railway. — AFP

Eight rebels killed, rail track blown up in Indian Kashmir SRINAGAR: Indian troops have shot dead eight suspected militants in revolt-hit Kashmir, police said yesterday, as rebels blew up train tracks in the first attack on the region’s railway. Six militants were killed during a fierce gunbattle in Rajouri district on Thursday and another two were killed yesterday in southern Reasi district, a police spokesman said. In two earlier gunbattles this week in Rajouri, near the Pakistani border, three Indian soldiers and five militants were killed. Meanwhile, suspected militants blew up part of the railway connecting Baramulla town in the north with the southern town of Qazigund on Thursday, the spokesman said. The track was targeted near Kakapora village, about 40 km south of the Kashmiri summer capital of Srinagar. “Two to three meters of railway track were

Killer of British woman in Goa commits suicide PANAJI, India: A beach bar waiter in the Indian resort state of Goa jailed for life last week for the brutal murder of a retired British woman has committed suicide in prison, police said. Anand Kambli, 30, was convicted last week of killing Denise Higgins in a frenzied attack at a rented bungalow in the market town of Margao, south Goa, in April 2007. The 52-year-old former civil servant, from the county of Oxfordshire in southern England, was discovered with multiple stab wounds lying in a pool of blood with her throat cut. Kambli was found hanging from the roof of a prison toilet in Goa’s Aguada jail on Thursday morning where he had been sharing a cell with 23 other inmates. “The custodial death case has been registered and we are probing the sequence of events that led to suicide,” Inspector General of Police Mihir Vardhan told AFP in Goa on Thursday.—AFP

damaged by the blast caused by an improvised explosive device (IED),” the spokesman said. The train service was restored yesterday afternoon, he said. It is the first time that rebels have targeted rail traffic in Kashmir. There were no casualties as trains are not permitted to run beyond 6:00 pm in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley. The track was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in October 2008. The fresh violence comes after India’s military said some 400 Islamic militants were waiting to cross into Indian Kashmir from the Pakistani zone of the scenic Himalayan region. The army has warned of a possible escalation in violence this summer. The insurgency against Indian rule has left more than 47,000 people dead by the official count since its eruption in 1989. — AFP

China tightening border control in Tibet region TOKYO: The number of exiles from Tibet has declined because China is stepping up border control in the region, a senior envoy to the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama said yesterday. “Normally until 2008, every year we had on average between 2,500 and 3,000 people who escaped from Tibet. But since the demonstration in March 2008, that number has fallen,” said Tempa Tsering, the chief representative of the Buddhist monk who has been based in India since fleeing his Himalayan homeland in 1959. “Last year about 600 have come out,” he said. “That’s (because) firstly, the restriction in Tibet” by the Chinese authorities became tougher and “secondly, in all the mountain paths guarding is strengthened,” he said. “And thirdly in the Nepali government, the Chinese are now training Nepali army to guard the border, saying we’ll train your personnel, we’ll equip your police,” he said in an interview with a group of reporters. The comments came after

Chinese security forces last month stepped up a crackdown in Tibet’s capital Lhasa, two years after protests marking a failed 1959 uprising erupted in deadly violence. More than 400 people have reportedly been rounded up so far in the “strike hard storm” campaign, which has worried residents on edge since the March 2008 unrest in the remote Himalayan region. The US State Department last month said China’s rights record “remained poor and worsened in some areas,” with repression in the restive Tibet and Xinjiang regions, and the detention and harassment of activists. The annual State Department report said China also imposed “tight government controls” on Tibetans, who faced restrictions on practicing their religion and severe repercussions if they tried to escape to Nepal. Nepal has been under growing pressure from China to clamp down on Tibetans who try to cross the Himalayan region en route to India. —- AFP

He was referring to groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India holds responsible for a 2008 assault on Mumbai, and Jaish-eMohammed, believed to have joined Lashkar in a 2001 attack on the Indian parliament. Blake said Punjab-based militants “are targeting Pakistan as well,” pointing to attacks in the provincial capital Lahore including a deadly 2009 ambush on Sri Lanka’s visiting cricket team. Blake said he also relayed to Pakistan the concerns of New Delhi that militants are infiltrating India to carry out attacks. “I reminded them that from 2004 to 2007 both of those countries made quite important progress in their bilateral relations, and that progress was made possible in part by the significant efforts the government of Pakistan made at the time to stop cross-border infiltration,” he said. The United States has walked a delicate balancing act in its relations in South Asia. The United States is trying to curb anti-Americanism in Pakistan and has launched a 7.5-billion-dollar aid program to build the country’s infrastructure and democratic institutions. But Washington has warming relations with New Delhi and has voiced hope for a broad alliance between the world’s two largest democracies. In one source of strain, India is seeking access to David Headley, the US-born son of a former Pakistani diplomat and American woman who surveyed targets in Mumbai before the siege that left 166 people dead. US prosecutors last month reached a deal with Headley in which he agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with US investigators. In reutrn, he will avoid the death penalty and extradition to India. Blake said the United States was “fully committed” to sharing information gleaned from Headley but had not decided whether to give Indian investigators direct access. “He was scouting out some possible sites and so obviously the government of India has a great interest in anything to do with that and we have a great interest in sharing as much information as we can,” Blake said. Some Indian commentators have voiced outrage, questioning what the US reaction would be if India hesitated at giving access to a suspect involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks.—- AFP

ha iled the “enormous” progress in Pa kistan in fighting religious extremists, pointing to its offensives a ga inst homegrow n Taliba n in its restive northw est a nd recent arrests of milita nt leaders. “I think one ca n a rgue there is a lot of important progress tha t has been m ade but w e think there also needs to be progress against these Punja b-ba sed groups,” Blake told reporters.

AHMADABAD: People carry cans filled with water from a tanker, on the outskirts of Ahmadabad yesterday. Residents of some villages in Gujarat state are facing acute water shortage and travel about 5 km to get drinking water. — AP

Pakistani lawmakers plan reforms ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Assembly took up constitutional reforms yesterday to strip the presidency of the power to fire an elected government and reduce it to a more ceremonial role _ a move likely to ease political tensions. The opposition had criticized current President Asif Ali Zardari for being too slow to relinquish powers accumulated during the rule of his predecessor, Pervez Musharraf, the army chief who took over the government in a 1999 coup. The political uncertainty over the issue had risked distracting Pakistan, a key U.S. ally, in its fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban. But the reform package now has broad support from all the political parties. “The proposed constitutional amendments would strengthen democratic institutions,” said Sen. Raza Rabbani, head of the committee that drafted the package. “This is a bill of hope.” It was not immediately clear when the assembly, the legislature’s lower

house, would vote on it. The bill was drafted by a committee made up of representatives from every party and must be approved by two-thirds of both houses of Parliament to be ratified. The reforms would transfer several powers, including the ability to fire an elected government and appoint military chiefs, from the president to the prime minister. Zardari had promised to relinquish the powers when elected in 2008 after his ruling Pakistan People’s Party forced Musharraf to step down. Because Zardari is still the party chairman, he is likely to retain considerable influence. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is a loyal Zardari supporter. Zardari aide Farahnaz Ispahani said the president should be lauded for his role in the constitutional process. “President Zardari is the first Pakistani leader to voluntarily give up powers inherited by him to fulfill his promise to the nation,” she said in an e-mailed statement. “It is wrong to

Signs of life in flooded mine BEIJING: Rescuers at a colliery in China heard signs of life yesterday from a flooded shaft where 153 workers have been trapped for five days, bringing a glimmer of hope in a dire week for the nation’s mining sector. At least 3,000 rescuers have been racing against time to pump water out of the vast Wangjialing coal mine and reach the missing in the northern province of Shanxi as hopes had faded for their survival after the flood on Sunday. According to the official Xinhua news agency, rescuers heard a repeated tapping sound coming up a pipe and then heard some shouting.

Authorities had maintained faint hope that some workers may have survived if they were working on platforms above danger levels, and the latest news from the mine indicated this might have been the case. Rescuers had inserted a pipe into the shaft as part of the rescue effort. When they took it out, an iron wire had been attached to it, apparently by one of the trapped, Xinhua quoted rescue official Pan Zengwu as saying. They were preparing to send a bucket down the narrow hole with food provisions and communication equipment, state television said. — AFP

BANGKOK: Pink-shirted government supporters shout slogans during a demonstration against the anti-government Red Shirts in Bangkok yesterday. The Pink Shirts urged the prime minister to resist the demand of the red-shirt movement, which calls for snap elections. — AFP

characterize this as a move by anyone to strip President Zardari of powers as he himself sought to restore the constitution to its original form without the amendments imposed by dictators.” The constitutional package presented yesterday contains a slew of other provisions as well, including some related to judicial appointments and increasing the size of the Senate from 100 members to 104 members. It also would change the name of the Taliban-troubled North West Frontier Province to “Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa.” The latter half of the new name is a nod to the Pashtun community, which make up the bulk of the population in the province bordering Afghanistan. The committee was expected to finalize the draft amendment last week, but opposition leader Nawaz Sharif raised unexpected objections at the last minute. The various sides resolved their differences Wednesday. — AP

INTERNATIONAL

6

Saturday, April 3, 2010

UN chief urges Bissau order after army boss ousting

BISSAU: Guinea Bissau’s leaders held emergency talks yesterday after renegade soldiers ousted the army chief, with the United Nations appealing for a return to order in the fragile West African state. The new chiefs of the country’s armed forces, long a source of instability in a country which is a major drugs trafficking route to Europe, denied their seizure of military command on Thursday had been an attempt to overthrow the government. Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior,

who was briefly held by soldiers on Thursday, rushed in a police convoy to the palace of President Malam Bacai Sanha yesterday morning, a Reuters witness in the capital said. Sanha played down the affair as an internal army dispute, but there was concern it would undermine his efforts to bring stability to the country since soldiers assassinated his predecessor Joao Bernardo Vieira in March 2009. “(U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-

moon) calls on the military and political leadership ... to resolve differences by peaceful means and to maintain constitutional order and ensure respect for the rule of law,” Ban’s office said in a statement. Yet Gomes Junior’s political future remained in question after the new armed forces chief issuing a stark warning to him and supporters who had protested against his temporary detention by the soldiers behind the command grab on Thursday.

“If the demonstrators do not leave the streets, I will kill them all, and I will kill Carlos Gomes Junior,” General Antonio Njai told a news conference shortly after former armed forces chief of staff Admiral Jose Zamora Induta was arrested. The core of the grievances between Njai and Gomes was not clear in a country where the army-which credits itself with a decisive role in wresting independence from Portuguese in 1974 — has long jostled for power with civilian leaders.

But a Western diplomat in the capital said it was linked to a simultaneous incident on Thursday in which soldiers entered a U.N. compound in the capital and emerged with the chief suspect in a failed 2008 coup bid who had sought refuge there. The suspect, former navy chief Bubo Na Tchuto, is an ally of Njai and was due to be handed over to Gomes’s government. Na Tchuto was by Njai’s side at the news conference on Thursday.

The instability in Guinea-Bissau, whose meagre $400 million-a-year formal economy is based on cashews and phosphates, has not tended to spill over to neighbouring Senegal or its equally unstable larger neighbor Guinea. But it has become a hub for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Latin American cocaine trafficked into Europe, and U.S. officials had raised concerns of it becoming a “narco-state” comparable to Afghanistan under its former Taliban rulers. — AFP

German church thrown into crisis

Catholics mark Good Friday under cloud of scandal VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI marked Good Friday, the Christian world’s most solemn day, with the Roman Catholic Church under a dark cloud battling pedophile priest scandals. With new cases being reported almost daily, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the pope’s vicar for Rome, told Vatican Radio that it was a “moment of suffering” for the Church. Benedict, 82, held a Good Friday mass at St Peter’s Basilica before presiding over a traditional procession at Rome’s Colosseum re-enacting Jesus Christ’s final hours and crucifixion. Since 2008, Benedict has not completed the Way of The Cross walk, taking up the wooden cross only at the very end of the dramatic ritual attended by thousands of pilgrims carrying candles. Catholic bishops have sought to rally around the pope ahead of the Easter weekend commemorations, which have increased the spotlight on the Vatican’s actions. The leader of Germany’s Roman Catholic bishops, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, said in a special message that Good Friday must “mark a new departure which we so badly need.” The German church has been thrown into crisis as dozens of people have come forward alleging they were abused as minors by priests. Most cases date back several years. The abuse cases fill the hearts of Catholics with “pain, fear, and shame,” Zollitsch said. He said Catholics were were aware of the “pain which has been inflicted on victims who often, for decades, were unable to express their pain in words.” In his own archdiocese of Friburg, the church prepared a special prayer for victims to be said during Good Friday services. “Pray for the children and the young who, in the middle of the people of God and in the Church community, were wronged, abused and wounded in their body and soul,” said the prayer. The child abuse scandal has engulfed much of Europe and the United States,

drawing in the Vatican for harsh criticism over its handling of the affair. On Thursday, France became the latest European country to implicate paedophile priests, one accused of sexual aggression against a boy in 1992 and 1993 and another suspected of possessing pornographic images of minors. But while acknowledging the abuse, many Church leaders say the pope has been unfairly targeted. Ruini told Vatican Radio: “There are two motives of suffering that are together: suffering for the faults of the children of the Church, in particular of priests, and suffering because of this hostile will to the Church.” The Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano last week denounced what it called an “ignoble attempt” to smear the pope and his closest aides “at all costs.” Benedict has come under intense pressure with allegations that, as archbishop of Munich and later as the chief Vatican enforcer of Catholic doctrine and morals, he failed to act against priests accused of child abuse. For the Church, this “is the hardest moment since the publication of the ‘Humanae Vitae’ (Of Human Life) by Paul VI in 1968,” Vatican expert Bruno Bartoloni

told AFP, referring to a papal encyclical that attacked use of the birth control pill as a mortal sin. “At that time the crisis was as deep, with personal attacks against the pope and the Church in general,” Bartoloni said. The pontiff received a boost from the head of the US Church who praised Benedict’s record in introducing measures to combat paedophile priests. “It was Pope Benedict who gave us, in different ways, the ability to handle this crisis more quickly and in a way that helps to heal,” Chicago Archbishop Francis George told Vatican Radio. George said that when the pope was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he “enabled us to keep the predators out of the priesthood permanently in ways that were not possible before and... encouraged us to reach out to victims.” Benedict headed the body which is responsible for disciplining priests from 1981 to 2005. Today, Benedict will hold an Easter vigil in St Peter’s Square, where he will also celebrate Easter mass tomorrow to be followed by his “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing. — AFP

Ethiopia denies dam will leave 200,000 hungry

PARIS: People gather as part of the World Autism Awareness Day, yesterday, in front of the Eiffel Tower, in Paris. Banner reads: ‘Defeat Autism, the new research challenge.’ —AFP

Czech ex-PM Topolanek steps down amid infighting, scandals PRAGUE: Battered by scandals and falling popularity, former Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek is quitting politics in a move seen as a relief to Czech right-wingers two months before a parliamentary vote. The liberal politician, who presided over the European Union in early 2009, said Thursday he would resign on April 12 as chairman of the Civic Democrats (ODS), a right-wing party currently weakened by infighting and scandals. His party has been for years the main rival to the left-wing Social Democrats (CSSD), who are however widely expected to win the next parliamentary election on May 28-29. The 53-year-old Topolanek took the ODS helm in 2002 and has led the party to victories in several elections, including the parliamentary election in 2006. But his position started to weaken with a devastating loss in regional elections at the end of 2008 and, above all, with the fall of his centre-right cabinet midway through the Czech EU presidency in March 2009. Petr Necas, Topolanek’s successor as head of the party, has welcomed his former boss’s decision, saying it will “calm down the situation at the ODS and allow him to focus on the election campaign.” Political scientist Jan Kubacek said the appointment of Necas, a much less charismatic representative of the ODS’s conservative wing, was the “best possible solution.” He added that under Necas, who was the minister for labour and social affairs in Topolanek’s cabinet, the ODS “can now at last present its programme and not Topolanek’s affairs.” Topolanek, who led the country as prime minister in 2006-2009, announced he was pulling out of the election race last week after media had published a transcript of his informal talk with the edi-

tors of a gay magazine. The ex-prime minister, famous for his straight talking, made several inadvertent remarks about gays, Jews and the Catholic church, which he said “brainwashed” its sheep. Topolanek later insisted that media had tweaked the filmed talk. However, many of Topolanek’s rivals within the ODS, whose popularity has been falling rapidly in the past months, took the transcript as the last straw. Many of his fellow party members had previously slammed Topolanek for his contacts with entrepreneurs and lobbyists of a dubious reputation, but also for his adventurous private life. A picture of a naked Topolanek, taken last summer by a paparazzi in the garden of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s villa, upset his party after being published by media all over the world. “It is clear that the ODS heads didn’t quite know what to do with him,” said political scientist Jan Outly. An opinion poll conducted by the Sanep agency on Thursday showed that 74 percent of ODS voters saw Topolanek’s withdrawal and his replacement by Necas as a way “to save the stagnant party.” One in two voters are convinced that Necas, supported openly by ODS co-founder and current Czech President Vaclav Klaus, will be as capable as Topolanek of leading the party towards a victory in the vote. The fate of Topolanek, who quit as a member of parliament last autumn in a move seen as undermining heavily his position in the party, was still undecided on Friday. In a recent interview, the former engineer said he might try his luck in the private sector. But his potential return to political life cannot be ruled out after some time, several political scientists agreed. — AFP

ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia rejected allegations that building one of Africa’s biggest hydropower dams would leave 200,000 selfsufficient people reliant on aid. Rights group Survival International (SI) said last week the dam would disrupt fishing and farming for tribal people, among them the Kwegu and Hamar tribes, and a group of charities have launched an online petition against the dam. “We have made an extensive survey,” government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said late on Thursday. “Highly renowned, independent experts have assured that the construction of the dam in no way causes concern for people living around there,” he said. He did not name the experts involved in the survey. An SI researcher who did not want to be named told Reuters last week the dam would ruin the economy of those living near it. “It will end the annual flooding some rely on to make the land they farm fertile, and for tribes who rely on fishing, it will deplete stocks. They will need aid.” Shimeles said the project had the backing of neighbouring Kenya, despite SI claims its construction could threaten the livelihoods of 300,000 people there. The dam is being built on the Omo river, the main source for Kenya’s Lake Turkana. “Various concerned bodies, including the Kenyan parliament, have endorsed the Ethiopian government’s plans and have openly criticised the position pursued by these NGOs to prevent the construction of the Gibe III dam,” Shimeles said. Salini Costruttori, the Italian firm building the dam, this week also dismissed the accusations of rights groups saying the project would not cause drought or block the flow of water to the river, but merely redistribute it during the year. Ethiopia is building the 1.4 billion euro ($1.9 billion) dam as part of a campaign to beat chronic power shortages and become a power exporter. The dam is expected to generate 1,800 MW, almost doubling the country’s current capacity of just under 2,000 MW. The Horn of Africa nation is negotiating further funding for Gibe III, whose construction began in 2006, with the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank and the Italian government. — AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian Christians pray at Good Friday mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi yesterday. Christians, for whom Easter marks the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, account for 2.3 percent of India’s billion-plus Hindu-majority population. —AFP

Filipinos nailed to crosses in annual rites SAN FERNANDO, Philippines: Filipino devotees had themselves nailed to crosses yesterday to remember Jesus Christ’s suffering and death _ an annual rite rejected by church leaders in the predominantly Roman Catholic country. At least 23 people were nailed to crosses in three villages in northern Pampanga province’s San Fernando city to mark Good Friday, with foreigners banned from taking part this year except as spectators, said Ching Pangilinan, a city tourism officer and one of the organizers. She said the ban was imposed after some foreigners took part in previous years just to make a film or make fun of the rites. “We don’t want them to just make a mockery out of the tradition of the people here,” Pangilinan said. The event Friday drew more than 10,000 Philippine and foreign spectators, she said. Many gathered at San Pedro Cutud, a farming village where devotees dressed in robes and tin crowns walked to a dusty mound carrying wooden crosses on their backs. At the mound, men nailed their hands and feet to the crosses. Among the devotees was Ruben Enaje, a 49-year-old sign painter who was nailed to a cross for the 24th time as his way of thanking God for his survival after falling from a building. Mary Jane Mamangon, a 34year-old rice cake vendor, was

the lone female devotee to be nailed to a cross this year in San Juan village. It was her 14th time. She said she started when she was 18 and has taken part in the annual rites on and off to seek God’s help in saving her ill grandmother and now her younger sister, who is suffering from cancer. “I do it because I have seen that it works,” she told The Associated Press. “I saw how my grandmother recovered from her illness.” Mamangon said she has faith that God will take care of her and her family. Similar rites took place in nearby Bulacan province, while in other parts of the country, half-dressed, barefooted flagellants walked the streets, whipping their bloody backs with pieces of wood dangling from ropes as a way to atone for sins. Church leaders reject such practices. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said the real expression of Christian faith during Lent is through repentance and selfrenewal, not flagellation or crucifixion. Bishop Rolando Tirona of the Prelature of Infanta said flagellation and cross nailings are expressions of superstitious beliefs, and are usually done out of need for money or to encourage tourism, which make them wrong. About 80 percent of the Philippine population of more than 90 million are Roman Catholic. —AP

MANILA: A Philippine Roman Catholic devotee is nailed to a cross in the village of San Juan, north of Manila, yesterday as Asia’s bastion of Catholicism marked Good Friday. The extreme act of penitence is among the Roman Catholic world’s most bizarre practices to mark the day when Christians believe Jesus Christ was put to death 2,000 years ago. —AFP

Israeli unveils tank-defense system HAIFA: On a dusty, wind-swept field overlooking the Mediterranean, a small team of researchers is putting the final touches on what Israel says is a major game changer in tank defense: a miniature anti-missile system that detects incoming projectiles and shoots them down before they reach the armored vehicles. If successful, the “Trophy” system could radically alter the balance of power if the country goes to war again against Hezbollah guerrillas in neighboring Lebanon or Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. Its performance could also have much wider implications as American troops and their Western allies battle insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. “I think people will be watching the Israelis roll this thing out and see if they can get the hang of it,” said John Pike, director of the military information website GlobalSecurity.org in Alexandria, Virginia. “The future of the United States army is riding on the proposition that something like this can work.” The Trophy is believed to be the first of a series of so-called “active defense” systems to become operational. Such systems aim to neutralize threats before they strike the tank. In the past, tanks have relied on increasingly thick layers of armor or “reactive” technology that weakens an incoming rocket upon impact by setting off a small explosion. Israeli weapons maker Rafael, the developer of the Trophy, says the system has been in the works for years, but the bitter experience of Israel’s 2006 war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon gave the project an extra push. Developers say the Trophy can stop any antitank rocket in the formidable Hezbollah arsenal, which struck dozens of Israeli tanks and

killed at least 19 Israeli tank crewmen during their monthlong war. “We can cope with any threat in our neighborhood, and more,” said Gil, the Trophy’s program manager at Rafael. Citing security considerations, the company would not permit publication of his last name. Israeli analyst Yiftah Shapir said it is premature to tell whether the Trophy can make a major difference, however. He said the army must cope with the high costs of the system and determine exactly how it will be used. “When everyone knows that it works properly, it will change the battlefield,” he said. Israeli media have said the cost is about $200,000 per tank. Rafael refused to divulge the price of the system, saying only that it’s a “small fraction” of the cost of a tank. Gil and his small team of scientists conduct tests at a site in the outer reaches of Rafael’s sprawling headquarters in northern Israel - firing rocket-propelled grenades, Sager rockets, and TOW and Cornet missiles at a lone tank set up in front of a massive fortified wall. The results are analyzed in a concrete hut loaded with laptops and flat-screen monitors. The tiny Trophy system, lodged behind small rectangular plates on both sides of the tank, uses radar to detect the incoming projectiles and fires a small charge to intercept them, said Gil. After firing, the system quickly reloads. The entire process is automated, holds fire if the rocket is going to miss the tank, and causes such a small explosion that the chances of unintentionally hurting friendly soldiers through collateral damage is only 1 percent, the company says. Pike, the military analyst, said systems like the Trophy are considered

the way of the future for ground warfare. The technology is a key component of the US “Future Combat System,” the master plan for the American military, he said. The US and Russia are developing similar systems. If the technology works, he said it will reduce the need for heavy armor on tanks resulting in lighter vehicles that are easier to transport and deploy and are more nimble on the battlefield. But, he noted, “it’s a lot easier to get it to work on a test range than it is to get it to work on a battlefield.” Lova Drori, Rafael’s executive vice president for marketing, said “there is a lot of interest” internationally in the Trophy and he expects “quite a few customers” in the coming years. Rafael officials said the Trophy has passed more than 700 live tests, and already has been installed in some Israeli Merkava 4 tanks in a pilot project. In a statement, the army said “dozens of tanks should be outfitted with the new system” by the end of the year, adding that Trophy contributes to “maintaining a strategic advantage over enemy forces.” More than three years later, the 2006 war continues to shake Israel’s defense establishment. Upward of 1,000 Lebanese were killed in the fighting, according to tallies by the Lebanese government, humanitarian groups and The Associated Press. In all, 159 Israelis were killed. The war ended in a stalemate and is largely viewed in Israel as a defeat. The Trophy is the latest in a series of new systems. State-owned Israel Military Industries is producing “Iron Fist,” an antimissile defense that is expected to be installed on Israeli armored personnel carriers next year. —AP

7

BUSINESS

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Beijing opposes one-off currency revaluation

Hu’s US visit key for yuan move: Adviser BEIJ ING: A successful visit by Chinese President Hu J inta o to Wa shington this month could open the door for an adjustment in China’s yuan policy, but another one-off reva luation should be avoided, a central bank adviser said yesterday. “The adjustment should be ca rried out a t a

HONG KONG: China’s President Hu Jintao smiles after arrival to Hong Kong airport. Hu Jintao will attend a summit in the United States this month. — AP

time that is appropriate. We need to find the right time, but a one-off adjustment w on’t benefit either China or United States,” said Li Daokui, a member of the centra l bank’s moneta ry policy committee, told Reuters in an interview .

“It will hinge on President Hu’s visit to the United States. If the talks are successful, we could made an adjustment based on China’s own conditions,” he said, without elaborating. Hu will attend a nuclear security summit in Washington on April 12-13, despite initial uncertainties about whether he would go. The nuclear summit will open days before the US Treasury is due to release a report on whether China is distorting its currency exchange rate to boost its exports. Domestic US political pressure has been building on Treasury to label China a “currency manipulator” in its April 15 report on global currency policies, but analysts believe Hu’s decision to proceed with the trip is an indication that it will not do so. China has been facing stiff pressure from the United States and other Western powers which say Beijing is keeping its currency artificially low to give Chinese exporters an advantage in world trade. Beijing allowed the yuan to rise 21 percent against the US dollar between July 2005 and July 2008 before effectively repegging the currency, also known as the renminbi, near 6.83 to the dollar to help the economy through the global financial crisis. The yuan issue has been politicized by some foreign countries, but Hu’s planned visit signalled easing tensions which could remove a barrier for China carrying out currency reforms, Li said. Asked about when the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will consider raising interest rates, Li said it would hinge on upcoming economic data, particularly March figures due to be released

soon. The PBOC has already taken some smaller steps this year to prevent the surging economy from overheating, such as raising banks’ reserve requirements, and strong data recently has provided fresh arguments for more tightening sooner rather than later. “The situation is very complicated this year,” said Li, an influential economist at Beijing’s elite Tsinghua University who was recently appointed one of three academic advisers to the central bank. Worries about Chinese policy tightening have spooked financial markets in recent months as China has largely led the global economic recovery. China will be able to sustain strong economic growth in the next few years and the government’s focus is controlling inflation expectations and asset price bubbles, Li said. Public expectations on consumer prices would be crucial for the government to maintain a lid on inflation, he said. Some analysts say inflation is set to accelerate this year given the ample liquidity in the banking system and huge bank loans. Although the consumer price index rose only 2.7 percent in the year to February, surging property prices are a harbinger of broader inflation in an economy that is likely to record year-on-year GDP for the first quarter well into double digits. “High liquidity alone won’t be enough to push up inflation, but liquidity in conjunction with rising asset prices and inflation expectations will lead to higher inflation,” said Li, a Harvard-trained economist. — Reuters

US companies criticize Chinese market hurdles

US defers China yuan manipulator decision WASHINGTON: The Obama administration will defer a decision on whether to name China a currency manipulator until well after President Hu Jintao visits Washington for a nuclear proliferation summit, the New York Times reported yesterday. The paper, citing an administration official, said the decision reflected a judgment that threatening China was not the most effective way to persuade Beijing to allow the yuan to appreciate against the US dollar. A US Treasury report that would have published the decision on whether to brand China a currency manipulator had been scheduled for release on April 15. The White House and US Treasury declined to comment. China said on Thursday that Hu would attend a summit on nuclear security days before the Treasury decision was expected, and diplomats said Beijing had agreed to join in talks with Western powers about a fresh round of UN sanctions against Iran. Those moves indicated an easing of tensions between the two world powers after a rocky period characterized by disputes over China’s Internet controls, US arms sales to Taiwan, and Obama’s meeting with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalia Lama.—Reuters

BEIJING: Foreign companies say China is increasingly using discriminatory rules to reduce access to previously open areas of its economy and promote its technology industries, a US business group said yesterday, adding to rising complaints of worsening conditions for foreign investors. The report by the American Chamber of Commerce in China comes as companies say Beijing is violating the spirit of market-opening commitments by trying to reserve segments of its economy for domestic companies in an effort to build up Chinese global competitors. The chamber highlighted complaints about efforts to nurture China’s computer and other technology companies — a policy dubbed “indigenous innovation” — by favoring them in government procurement and other areas. American companies are “troubled by a mounting number of policy challenges ranging from the inconsistent enforcement of laws, to China’s discriminatory domestic innovation policies and regulations that limit market access into sectors that had been increasingly open to foreign

investment for the past 30 years,” the group said in an annual report on business conditions. The report said a survey of 388 companies found for the first time that inconsistent regulation has become the most significant challenge faced by American companies in China. Previously they cited trouble finding enough Chinese managers as their biggest problem. “These policies appear to be diminishing the ability of foreign companies to access the Chinese domestic market,” chamber chairman John D. Watkins said in a statement. The chamber represents 1,200 companies. The report comes amid a series of incidents that have rattled foreign businesses, including Google Inc.’s dispute with Beijing over censorship and the trial of four Rio Tinto Ltd. employees on commercial spying charges. On Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang rejected complaints of discrimination, saying China treated domestic and foreign companies equally. He urged foreign companies to adapt to China’s changing environment in

order to grow. “In fact, China’s investment environment is becoming better and better,” he said. “We joined the WTO. We treat foreign companies as our own family.” The Chamber of Commerce report emphasized concern about “indigenous innovation,” which many businesspeople say is the biggest obstacle right now for foreign companies in industries from computers to factory equipment. The chamber said 28 percent of companies surveyed said they already are losing business due to “indigenous innovation” and 40 percent expect to be hurt once the policies are fully implemented. Beijing caused alarm among foreign companies with a November announcement that it would favor technology developed in China when buying computers and other goods on which the government spends billions of dollars each year. The government is the biggest customer for many types of computer and other technology, and companies worry the restrictions might be extended to state-owned companies as well. —AP.

KARACHI: Pakistani stockbrokers monitor the latest share prices during a trading session at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) yesterday. The benchmark KSE-100 index was 10358.48, with an increase of 111.71 points in the morning session. — AFP

Ukraine offers Russia role in gas pipe plan with EU KIEV: Ukraine’s new leadership said yesterday it was inviting Russia to join the European Union in a plan to revamp Ukraine’s gas pipeline network, which carries crucial supplies of Russian gas to Europe. The announcement by Prime Minister Mykola Azarov effectively reversed a March 2009 agreement, signed by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, for the EU to overhaul its pipeline system- a move that had angered Moscow. “The declaration, signed in March last year in Brussels, was not fulfilled by the Ukrainian side as required and the European Commission did not undertake realistic steps for it to be carried out,” Azarov told journalists. “Now we envisage a three-sided approach to modernization: the participation of Russia, the EC and the Ukrainian side,” he added. The question of which partner Ukraine would choose to help it modernize its pipeline network is politically sensitive since European consumers rely on Russian natural gas piped across Ukraine for about a fifth of their supplies. The move by the new leadership of President Viktor Yanukovich, which says it wants to pursue a more balanced policy between Russia and the

West, appeared to be a concession to Moscow, which had bristled at being shut out of discussions on the issue last year. At the time, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin threatened to review ties with the EU and officials said the risk of gas supply disruptions would rise if Russian interests were ignored. The spat revived fears of a repeat of a January 2009 gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine, when major EU customers were left without gas for nearly two weeks in the dead of winter. Azarov, who met Putin in Moscow last month, said yesterday that a meeting of officials from concerned governments was planned for April 22 and Ukraine would go to Moscow with updated proposals on the issue. Azarov said modernization would cost “billions of dollars” but much would depend on the volumes of gas Russia intended to export over the next 10-15 years and the volumes the EU was prepared to buy. Currently, Ukraine’s pipeline system is capable of handling 140 billion cubic metres of gas per year. In 2009, the EU received 96 billion cubic metres of gas through the Ukrainian pipeline system. — Reuters

SAN JOSE: Stafford Muller (left) of Fremont, California, gets help with his resume from Janis Barat (right) of Resume Professionals at a career fair put on by National CareerFairs in San Jose, California. — AP

EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Philippine peso Egyptian pounds US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian dollars Danish Kroner Swedish Kroner Australian dlr Hong Kong dlr Singapore dlr Japanese yen Indian Rs/KD Sri Lanka rupee Pakistan rupee Bangladesh taka UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi Riyal/KD Omani riyals Philippine Peso US Dollar Sterling pounds Swiss Francs Saudi Riyals

.2840000 .4300000 .386000 .2690000 .2800000 .2620000 .0045000 .0020000 .0782350 .7622180 .4020000 .0750000 .7472220 .0045000 .0500000 CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2878500 .4319550 .3882930 .2710660 .2819530 .0521700 .0397240 .2644890 .0370720 .2060330 .0031190 .0064320 .0025300 .0034570 .0042170 .0784090 .7639110 .4070970 .0767990 .7480340 .0063960 TRANSFER CHEQUES RATES .2899500 .4350050 .2729850 .0772880

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.122 6.426

.2940000 .4390000 .3930000 .2760000 .2880000 .2690000 .0075000 .0035000 .0790210 .7698780 .4180000 .0790000 .7547320 .0072000 .0580000 .2899500 .4350050 .3910350 .2729850 .2839500 .0525400 .0400050 .2663570 .0373350 .2074920 .0031410 .0064770 .0025480 .0034820 .0042470 .0789090 .7687820 .4099800 .0772880 .7528030 .0064410

Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash

3.435 2.534 4.021 207.120 37.310 4.179 6.392 8.953 0.301 0.292 GCC COUNTRIES Saudi Riyal 77.254 Qatari Riyal 79.590 Omani Riyal 752.600 Bahraini Dinar 769.400 UAE Dirham 78.892 ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 55.555 Egyptian Pound 52.640 Yemen Riyal 1.320 Tunisian Dinar 207.300 Jordanian Dinar 409.100 Lebanese Lira 194.330 Syrian Lier 6.354 Morocco Dirham 35.311 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 289.550 Euro 390.500 Sterling Pound 438.520 Canadian dollar 286.300 Turkish lire 189.340 Swiss Franc 273.030 Australian dollar 265.000 US Dollar Buying 287.500 GOLD 20 Gram 215.000 10 Gram 110.000 5 Gram 57.500

Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal 10 Tola Sterling Pound US Dollar

SELL CASH 268.800 769.840 4.400 287.800 568.500 15.800 53.200 167.800 55.220

391.000 37.850 6.415

409.200 0.195 90.360 3.030 208.000 751.810 3.460 6.390 79.830 77.290 207.750 41.920 2.534 439.000 273.300 9.140 78.990 289.500

GOLD 1,200.660 TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 439.000 289.500

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd

Bahrain Exchange Company COUNTRY Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound

392.500 38.000 6.680 0.035 0.298 0.260 3.200 410.930 0.195 90.360 47.600 4.270 209.500 2.183 49.100 751.990 3.520 6.560 80.060 77.290 207.750 41.920 2.743 441.000 40.900 274.800 6.400 9.300 217.900 78.990 289.900 1.380

SELL DRAFT 267.300 769.840 4.180 286.300

207.700 52.652

Ra te for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Cyprus Pound Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees

Selling Ra te 289.400 288.295 441.350 393.015 270.656 709.340 766.010 78.770 79.470 77.140 408.385 52.643 6.422 3.443

Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees

2.525 4.185 6.386 3.132 8.935 6.314 3.994

Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. Currency US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Jordanian Dinars Syrian Pounds Euro Candaian Dollars

Ra te per 1000 (Tran) 289.150 3.455 6.445 2.540 4.180 6.430 78.790 77.280 768.300 52.555 439.100 0.00003195 3.980 1.550 410.500 5.750 395.000 290.000

Al Mulla Exchange Currency Tra nsfer Rate (Per 1000) US Dollar 289.300 Euro 391.700 Pound Sterling 440.500 Canadian Dollar 286.300 Japanese Yen 3.200 Indian Rupee 6.435 Egyptian Pound 52.630 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.536 Bangladesh Taka 4.180 Philippines Peso 6.390 Pakistan Rupee 3.445 Bahraini Dinar 769.650 UAE Dirham 78.675 Saudi Riyal 77.050 *Rates are subject to change

BUSINESS

8

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Unemployment rate remains at 9.7%

US employers added most jobs in 3 years in March WASHINGTON: The US economy posted its largest job gain in three years in March, while the unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent for the third straight month. The increase in payrolls is the latest sign that the economic recovery is gaining

momentum and healing in the job market is beginning. Still, the healing is likely to be slow, and most economists don’t expect new hiring to be fast enough this year to rapidly reduce the unemployment rate.

CHARLOTTE: President Barack Obama, accompanied by House Budget Committee Chairman Rep John Spratt waves upon their arrival at Charlotte International Airport in Charlotte. — AP

US job gain pushes up interest rates NEW YORK: The biggest increase in jobs in three years pushed interest rates higher in the bond market yesterday. The dollar also rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.95 percent from 3.87 percent late Thursday, its highest level since last June and the latest sign of confidence that the US economy is recovering. The stock market is closed for Good Friday. Stock futures rose in an abbreviated session of electronic trading. Dow Jones industrial average futures and

Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures each rose about 0.3 percent. The yield on the 10-year note is approaching 4 percent, a level that hasn’t been seen since October 2008, just before the financial crisis peaked. The 10-year’s yield went as high as 4.09 percent that month, before plummeting as low as 2.06 percent in December 2008 as the credit crisis erupted and investors poured money into bonds as they cut back their exposure to risk. Yesterday’s trading was the closest the yield has been to 4 percent since last

Indian expats send home $55 billion in 2009: Report NEW DELHI: Remittances to India increased to $55 billion in 2009, making the country the biggest recipient of money from overseas migrant workers, a report said yesterday. India has been the world’s top remittance earner for more than a decade and depends on the money transfers as a key source of finance along with foreign direct investment. The 2009 figure of $55.06 billion was up seven percent from $51.6 billion in 2008, the Economic Times said, citing central bank data, and just $2 billion a year in the late 1980s. The increase in remittances came despite the financial crisis and global economic slowdown last year which had been expected to hit migrant labor. The central bank attributed the higher remittances to India being perceived as a relatively safe option during the financial crisis, a hike in interest rates on non-resident deposits and new investment products. China is second behind India in remittances, receiving $48 billion and Mexico is third with flows of $26 billion, according to figures for 2008 compiled by the World Bank. —AFP

GM China reports record sales in March SHANGHAI: US auto giant General Motors said yesterday it sold a record 230,048 vehicles in China last month with demand strong for smaller, fuel-efficient cars. The result marked a 67.9 percent yearon-year increase and was the 15th straight monthly sales record for GM in China, the world’s biggest and fastest growing auto market. “We have seen particularly strong interest in GM’s newest passenger car models, the Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet New Sail and Buick Excelle XT,” said Kevin Wale, managing director of GM China Group. “This is a clear indicator that many consumers across the country-especially first-time car buyers-are placing smaller, more fuel-efficient products at the top of their shopping lists.” Sales in the first quarter by GM and its joint ventures reached 623,546 units, up 71.4 percent from the same period last year, the company said in a statement. China’s auto sales overtook those of the United States for the first time last year to become the world’s biggest auto market. Sales have been driven by government incentives such as lower taxes on cars with engines smaller than 1.6 litres and subsidies for clean-technology vehicles. Most of those measures have been extended into 2010. GM said demand for small cars was particularly strong, with Chevrolet sales soaring 151.5 percent on-year to 46,139 units in March. Shanghai GM, the company’s flagship joint venture with China’s largest automaker SAIC Motor, sold 86,967 vehicles last month, an increase of 88.8 percent from the same month last year. —AFP

June, when it reached 3.96 percent. The Labor Department said employers added 162,000 jobs in March. Economists had forecast an increase of 190,000 jobs. However, private employers accounted for most of the growth. Some analysts had forecast that temporary government hiring for the 2010 census would play a bigger role. The dollar rose as confidence increased about the US economy. The ICE Futures US dollar index, which measures the dollar against six currencies, rose 0.6 percent. — AP

Laid-off workers threaten to blow up French plant CREPY-EN-VALOIS, France: Workers at a French car accessories plant north of Paris threatened yesterday to blow up their factory unless they were given better layoff compensation. Employees at the Sodimatex plant placed petrol bombs near a large gas tank and were threatening to set them on fire. “The plant is going to go up in smoke, if that’s what they want,” said one worker. Managers sat down with union leaders and labor mediators at the town hall in Crepy-en-Valois in a bid to defuse tensions at the plant, where 92 jobs will be shed. “The workers have high expectations about this meeting. There has to be a concrete result or else anything could happen. They are very determined,” said Eric Lemoine, a union activist. “Even if we tell them not to do it, some of them might not listen,” said another union leader, Gerard Decleir. Staff set fire to pieces of plastic and rolls of carpet at the factory, sending billowing black smoke into the sky as police deployed outside the plant’s gates. Industry Minister Christian Estrosi condemned the workers’ action as “unacceptable” and called on them to settle the row with management through talks. Workers are demanding compensation of 21,000 euros ($28,000) each, much more than the 15,000 euros on offer from the owners.

France has its highest unemployment rate in a decade, at 10 percent, with the car industry among the hardest-hit by the global slowdown. The sector employs 10 percent of the total French workforce. Last year, French workers hit by a wave of layoffs carried out a series of “bossnappings” to press demands for better redundancy packages, but the radical action has subsided over past months. President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke out against the detentions, saying they were illegal, and vowed to take action. In his appeal to the workers, the industry minister said “only dialogue can lead to results for the workers facing a painful situation with the closure of their plant. Violence and threats will only lead to a dead-end.” Sodimatex, which produces car carpets, announced last April that it planned to shut down its plant in Crepyen-Valois and began talks on compensation. But months of negotiations hit an impasse and workers on Thursday decided to occupy the plant after police used tear gas to disperse a protest they were holding near the factory. About 40 workers spent the night at the plant, sleeping on the factory’s justproduced carpets. Union activists contend they are seeking the same package as Sodimatex employees from another plant who were given 21,000 euros each when their factory was shut down in 2006. — AFP

OISE, France: Employees of French auto-supply factory Sodimatex stand on the roof of the plant with Molotov cocktails yesterday in Crepy-en-Valois. The workers of the French auto-supply factory slated for closure threaten to ignite a large gas cistern unless they receive more generous severance payments.—AFP

The Labor Department said employers added 162,000 jobs in March, the most since the recession began but below analysts’ expectations of 190,000. The total includes 48,000 temporary workers hired for the US Census, also fewer than many economists forecast. Private employers added 123,000 jobs, the most since May 2007. “It’s just the beginning of a rise in private hiring that will help sustain the recovery,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. “They’re not big numbers, but they’re welcome numbers.” Still, there are 15 million Americans out of work, roughly double the total before the recession began in December 2007. More Americans entered the work force last month, which prevented the increase in jobs from reducing the unemployment rate. The economy likely began recovering in the middle of last year, but is only now showing modest job gains. “It is still disappointing that it took roughly nine months before we started to see any meaningful rebound” in jobs, Paul Ashworth, senior US economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients. The stock market is closed Friday. Interest rates rose in the bond market after the report. Investors often sell Treasurys and favor riskier assets like stocks and commodities when the economy is improving. Manufacturers added 17,000 jobs, the third straight month of gains. Temporary help services added 40,000, while health care added 37,000. Leisure and hospitality added 22,000. Even the beleaguered construction industry added 15,000 positions, though that likely reflects a rebound from February, when major snowstorms may have kept many construction workers off payrolls. The average work week increased to 34 hours from 33.9, a positive sign. Most employers are likely to work current employees longer before they hire new workers. The department also revised January’s job total to show a gain of 14,000, up from a previously reported loss of 26,000. February’s job numbers were also revised higher by 22,000 to show a loss of 14,000. The economy has now added jobs in three separate months since the recession began. Still, more Americans said they were working part-time even though they preferred full-time work. When they and discouraged workers who have given up searching for jobs are included, the “underemployment” rate ticked up to 16.9 percent from 16.8 percent. And average hourly earnings fell by two cents to $22.47. That shows that high unemployment is enabling companies to hold down wages. Average weekly earnings rose by about $3 to $629.37, partly reflecting the longer work week. In a stark illustration of how hard it remains for many people to find jobs, the number of those out of work for six months or longer increased to 6.5 million, a record high. More than 44 percent of those out of work are longterm unemployed, also a record. “For those laid off, unemployment is stretching longer and longer and putting severe distress on families,” said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, a nonprofit advocacy group. Still, Friday’s jobs report follows positive data earlier this week that showed consumers are increasing their spending and manufacturing activity is growing at its fastest pace in more than five years. Economists are increasingly confident that the nation will avoid a “double-dip” recession, in which growth slows after a short burst at the end of last year. “The stars are starting to align here,” said Brian Bethune, chief US financial economist at IHS Global Insight. —AP

Announcing the first winner of Al-Jawhara draw

NBK holds Al-Jawhara draw during annual walkathon KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the leading bank in Kuwait and the highest rated in the Middle East, recently conducted its AlJawhara Draw for the month of March 2010 at the Green Island during NBK’s 16th annual walkathon awards ceremony and announced the names of AlJawhara prize winners during the festive occasion which was attended by thousands of walkathon contestants, spectators, guests and Al-Jawhara customers. The first prize of KD 125,000 went to AlGhalya Ali Humoud Al-Sabah, while the second place winner Ali Hathal Saoud Al Nsafi received KD 7,500. The third winner Mounifa Humoud Thaar Alshummiri was also awarded KD 3,000 and the remaining 97 winners were awarded KD 400 each. Al-Ghalya Ali Humoud Al-Sabah, Al-Jawhara’s grand prize winner for March 2010, a nine-yearold girl, expressed that she was extremely happy

when she learned the good news. “What a lucky person I am...” she stated “...thanks to Al Jawhara and NBK!” Al-Jawhara account offers numerous benefits to NBK customers. It is not only an interest-free account with regular deposit and withdrawal privileges, but also automatically entitles account holders to enter the monthly Al-Jawhara draw. Each KD 50 in an Al-Jawhara account entitles the customer to one chance of winning any one of the one-hundred prizes allocated for each draw. All prizes are automatically credited to the winners’ accounts the day after the draw. The more money held in your Al-Jawhara account, the greater your chances of winning! Al-Jawhara accounts are available for both Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis and can be opened at any one of NBK’s branches around Kuwait. For further information kindly visit www.nbk.com, or call Hala Watani at 1801801.

Al Jawhara winners March 2010 Sr.#

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Name of Customer Alghalya Ali Humoud Alsabah Ali Hathal Saoud Al Nsafi Mounifa Humoud Thaar Alshammiri Afzal Ahmad Khan Nazeer Aldeen Shakir Kaizar Turab Ali Salah Alqasem Amthal Khalifa Khlaif Almtairi Ahmed Ali Mossah Alhadad Naser Ibrahim Alnajran Altwejiri Osama Rushdi Ahmed Alsaleh Ibtesam Mohamad Rashid Alsaleh Ibrahim Khalil Ibrahim Albannaa Abdulaziz Ali Mohamed Alghaith Batoul Abdulhussain Ahmad Sadouda Mohamed Saeed Alali Moner Maatoq Jaber Fares Mefleh Salman Mohammed Alhussaini Abdulaziz Mohamed Abdulkarem Alkhamis Min Maryam Mohamad Ali Hussain Nazeen Farruq Mohammed Farruq Naeem Afaf Abdulazim Abduljawad Yousef Mohammad Ali Gholom Altrakma Mufrej Mansour Mohammed Almufrej Mohamed Maree Kuhail Zahia Zuhri Alhelo Ajit Brindhaban Rashed Meziad Ali Alsana Mohamad Saad Naser Al Amar Amira Jawhar Ahmed Jawhar Zulaikha Abbas Mohammad Kamal Raied Shaban Zaqout Amena Mojab Issa Jarki Shuaib Farouk Noor Mohd Aabid Zainab Issa Abdulrahem Alqallaf Alia Emad Jamil Alhejailan Mohammed Ali Abdulla Alattar Mohammed Afzal Alrahman Othman Allah Fadel Mohd Jasem Almusailikh Ibrahim Saleem Shaikh Ibrahim Ali Abdulla Mohd Alabbad Mohd Abdullatif Mohammad Abdulghafour Khalifa Ali Dau Salem Mohammed Suheil Almahry Saadoun Abdulkareem Mohd Ismael Moza Mohd Eid Awdah Issa Awdah Abdaljabbar Adel Abbas Ali Haider Abdullah Faleh Abdullah Saad Foutouh Abdulwahab Qasem Hamadah Hamad Saleh Saad Alowaysher Saif Aldin Jaber Bahai Kotwal Faisal Abdulrazzaq Abdulmajeed Alkazmi Mahmoud Ibrahim Ghloum Mohammed Khlaed Ahmed Abdulhadi Roshdy Mahendra Manohar Sangodkar Mohamed Thiab Nejer Alazmi Raad Braich Hameeda Habeeb Safar Sanasiri Aisha Ali Mohd Al Qabandi Khalid Kamran Shahid Mahmood Mohamad Abdulla Mahmoud Alkandiri Maria J Sepilian Amani Faleh Abdulla Alshati Min Fatmah Adnan Mohammed Ahmed Alain Rubeiz Kawthar Ibraheem Fadhali Faisal Yaqoub Jasem Alfoderi Hossam Eldin Mahmoud Hassan Afify Jamilaha Ahmad Hasan Alsaid Abdulrahman Mohamad Reda Alsayeg Suad Saleh Hussain Khajah Zainab Abdulrasoul Abdulla Khalaf Meshari Ibrahim Mohamed Almousa Majdi Ibrahim Mohd Ateya Qasem Mohammed Farhat Khamelah Awad Ali Awad Alya Hlail Khalaf Sahan Alshemeri Lina Hussain Ali Almousa Samira Ahmad Alsayed Omar Alsayed Asem Ahmed Essa Mohd Alqaoud Mohd Ghanim Omar Alrumaihi Fawziya Hussain Ramadan Jumaa Mohamed Shehata Anwar Jasem Mohd Alzaid Lubna Aslam Mohammed Aslam Imadi Soud Thamer Naser Almutairy Min Ali Hasan Ghulom Hasan Abdulla Ali Alyahya Magdi Yousef Eshaq Bashay Stephen J Lubrano Yasmine Tahat Dalal Abdalaziz Mohd Osama Ali Abdelmonaem Ali Ragab Mohammad Ibrahim Mohammad Almajil Sarah Ali Jassem Almutawa Abdulmohsin Abbas Sayed Talib Mostafawi Mishary Nasser Nafel Bu Yabes Mohammad Abdulla Naser Albanai Mohammad Nasser Abdulghafar Alawadi Salem Abdulla Eid Alrashedi

Prize 125000 7500 3000 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400

Saturday, April 3, 2010

9

TECHNOLOGY

Under the radar, Apple’s Asian suppliers work furiously TAIPEI: The fevered buildup to today’s iPad launch has demonstrated the brute efficiency of the littleknown Asian suppliers responsible for turning Apple’s design vision into hands-on reality. Taiwanese touch-screen makers, South Korean chip producers and Chinese battery manufacturers have been adding workers by the hundred to staff extra factory shifts and meet double the forecast demand. Along the way, the component makers have navigated technical hurdles posed by a product that Apple boasts will remake personal computing with its large, tactile color screen, super-long battery life and suite of applications. “iPad suppliers currently forecast eight to 10 million shipments in the calendar year 2010, up from prior expectations of five-plus million,” Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said in a research note. The iPad, like the iPhone and iPod before it, is the totemic offspring of a globalised economy where

components and assembly are sourced to low-cost, high-speed manufacturers, with little regard for geography. Simplo Technology Co is Taiwanese but makes components for Apple at its plant in Changshu, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, and has recently shifted into overdrive to fulfill orders for iPad batteries. Tapping China’s massive labour market, the plant’s “Apple Manufacturing Department” has added 700 workers since Lunar New Year in midFebruary and now employs 1,800 people. “The product has a tight deadline, and we’ve been increasing staff numbers to make it,” said an executive at the department, giving her surname as Zhou. “The output of the iPad battery is now 50 percent higher than it was in January,” she said. As a rule, Apple’s Asian partners are loath to talk, bound by confidentiality agreements and the California company’s notorious reluctance to allow

outsiders a glimpse of its inner workings. But in Taiwan alone, 20 enterprises are involved one way or the other in making the iPad, according to Jonathan Luo of the Topology Research Institute, a private think-tank in Taipei. Millions of iPads will be assembled in China by Taiwan-based Foxconn, also known as the Hon Hai Group, according to numerous analysts and technology websites. Taiwan’s Catcher Technologies manufactures the device’s silver casing, Novatek Microelectronics makes LCD drivers, and Dynapack International makes batteries, Luo said. South Korea’s Samsung, the world’s biggest electronics group, is widely believed to have a hand in the super-fast processor that drives the iPad, along with lesser known chip foundries in Taiwan. The multitude of suppliers is part of Apple’s strategy of having ample back-up mechanisms in place, ensuring delivery even when the unexpected happens. One example is the production of the high-

resolution touch-screen, which is new territory for Apple and its suppliers due to its 9.7-inch (25-centimetre) size. “Most of the components in the iPad are mature items,” said Mars Hsu, a Taipei-based analyst with Grand Cathay Securities. “The only component that may have had production problems is the touchscreen.” The main supplier has been TPK Touch Solution. But in a possible indication of technical obstacles, Apple appears to have switched at least some of its screen orders to Wintek, Hsu said. Both TPK and Wintek declined to comment. Overall, while customers are set to discover whether all of Apple’s furious hype is worth it, the iPad has shown what the global integrated economy can engineer in a short space of time. Shipment appears to be “right on track regardless of the recent strong rush of demand”, said Dean Daeyun Lim, a Hong Kong-based technology analyst with Mirae Asset Securities. — AFP

US launch today daunts Chinese maker

China’s iPad look-alikes brace for the real thing SHANGHAI: Apple’s iPad has won rave early reviews but its US launch today is not welcome news for the Chinese maker of a similar-looking device that has already been on sale for nearly eight months. Wu Xiaolong, the general manager of Shenzhen Great Loong Brother Industrial Co said the company had already

Dr Henry Edward Roberts in downtown Cochran, Georgia. Roberts, the developer of an early personal computer that inspired Bill Gates to found Microsoft, died Thursday in Georgia. — AP

PC maker, inspiration for Microsoft dies in US ATLANTA: Dr Henry Edward Roberts, a developer of an early personal computer that inspired Bill Gates to found Microsoft, died Thursday in Georgia. He was 68. Roberts, whose build-ityourself kit concentrated thousands of dollars worth of computer capability in an affordable package, inspired Bill Gates and his childhood friend Paul Allen to come up with Microsoft in 1975 after they saw an article about the MITS Altair 8800 in Popular Electronics. Roberts, an ex-military man, later went on to careers as a farmer and a physician, but continued to keep up with computer advances: He recently told Gates he hoped to work with new, nanotechnology-enhanced machines, according to son David Roberts. “He did think it was pretty neat, some of the stuff they’re doing with the processors,” said David Roberts, who confirmed Gates rushed to Georgia Friday to be with his mentor. Roberts died in a Macon hospital after a long bout with pneumonia, according to his family. Neither Gates nor Allen was immediately available for comment Thursday. The man often credited with kickstarting the modern computer era never intended to lead a revolution. Born in Miami in 1941, Roberts spent time in the US Air Force and earned an electrical engineering degree from Oklahoma State University in 1968, according to information provided by his family. He later parlayed his interest in technology into a business making calculators; when large firms like Texas Instruments began cornering the business, Roberts soon found himself in debt, David Roberts said. Meanwhile, he was gaining an interest in computers — at the time, hulking machines available almost exclusively at universities. “He came up with the idea that you could have one of these computers on your own,” said David Roberts, adding his father expected to sell a few units. “Basically, he did it to try to get out of debt. “ Roberts himself would later describe the effort as an “almost megalomaniac kind of scheme” that he pursued out of youthful ambition.

“But at that time you know we just lacked the, eh, the benefits of age and experience,” Roberts said on a program called “Triumph of the Nerds” that aired on PBS in 1996. “We didn’t know we couldn’t do it.” His son described his father as a tinkerer who surveyed his friends before building his personal computer. “My assumption was that there were a bunch of nuts out there like me that would like to have a computer,” Ed Roberts told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in a 1997 interview. “To engineers and electronics people, it’s the ultimate gadget.” The Altair was nothing like the ultra slim laptops of today: Operated by switches and with no display screen, it looked like little more than a metal box covered in blinking, red lights. “In the early days it was pretty useless. People just bought it thinking that it would be neat to build a computer,” Gates said in a video history interview with the Smithsonian Institution. Roberts founded Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems, which sold the kits. A young Gates and Allen would later found their fledgling Microsoft firm in Albuquerque, N M, where MITS was based, and provide a computer language that helped hobbyists program and operate the Altair. The men would eventually feud after Gates and Allen began selling versions of BASIC — or Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code — created for Altair to competitors, according to the 2003 book, “Leaders of the Information Age.” David Roberts said the men had since overcome their differences, and his father had remained an influence in both their lives. He sold his company in 1977 and retired to a life of vegetable farming in rural Georgia before going to medical school and getting a medical degree from Mercer University, in 1986. Roberts worked as an internist, seeing as many as 22 patients a day, his son said. But he never lost his interest in modern technology, even asking about Apple’s highly anticipated iPad from his sick bed. “He was interested to see one,” said Roberts, who called his father “a true renaissance man.” A funeral is planned Monday, in Cochran. — AP

US media rave over Apple iPad WASHINGTON: US media outlets are gushing like star-struck lovers over the Apple iPad in early reviews as software makers hustle to ready programs for its much-anticipated sales launch today. The few blessed by Apple to receive review copies of the iconic California firm’s latest creation were clearly smitten with the notepad-sized gadget. “This beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop,” said the Wall Street Journal, calling it a “game changer.” Apple chief executive Steve Jobs billed the iPad as “revolutionary” when he unveiled the device in San Francisco in late January, saying it will carve out a home between smartphones and laptop computers. The USA Today newspaper agreed, like most other media outlets: the “stunning” iPad is “rewriting the rulebook,” it said. “The iPad is not so much about what you can do-browse, do email, play games, read ebooks and more-but how you can do it,” said tech reporter Edward C. Baig. “Apple’s tablet is fun, simple, stunning to look at and blazingly fast,” he added. Following weeks of rising expectations, the tablet finally hits Apple stores at 9:00 am on Saturday, with some analysts predicting they will be sold out within a few hours, ensuring buzz stays high for the gadgets. New York Times’ business columnist David Carr effused so lovingly about iPad in comments fired off on Twitter that Silicon Valley gossip website Valley Wag playfully likened it to romance. “Killer apps: maps, books (so sexy!), YouTube (freaky pretty), plain old surfing,” Carr tweeted at the microblogging service before evidently slipping off for

some private time with his iPad. “Threshold of devices that you can take to the bathroom has been crossed,” he said in a subsequent message. “Not a good bath read, but works well with other appliances.” Carr went on to contend that the iPad makes surfing “far less monogamous.” The Valley Wag story about the tweets bore the headline “David Carr is Having Intimate Encounters with his iPad.” “Between the iPad drooling and April Fool’s Day nonsense, I am boycotting the Internet for remainder of today,” former Wall Street Journal reporter turned independent journalist Heidi Moore vowed in a tweet Thursday. The 9.7-inch (24.6 centimetre) touch-screen devices allow users to watch video, listen to music, play games, surf the Web or read electronic books. The iPad also runs most of the 150,000 applications made for the iPod Touch and the iPhone. The iPad model featuring Wi-Fi wireless connectivity will be available in Apple’s US stores from Saturday, and the model that offers both Wi-Fi and 3G cellular connectivity in late April. Prices for iPads range from 499 dollars to 829 dollars depending on features. “Not only does it threaten to turn the digital publishing and electronic reader market on its head,” said Scott Steinberg, head of technology consulting firm TechSavvy Global. “The iPad aims to provide a more comfortable and casual means of consuming audio, video and photo content as well as playing games.” Software makers behind applications that have been hits on iPhones and iPod Touch devices have been scrambling to adapt programs to the larger screens and beefier processors in iPads. —AFP

The company made headlines in January when it suggested Apple’s iPad looked like a copy of the P88, which was on show last year at the Internationale Funkausstellung consumer electronics fair in Berlin. Wu declined to give sales figures for the P88, which sells for about $569-compared to the iPad’s $499 entry-level price-but said the company in southern China was producing 3,000 units a day. “We sold to a number of overseas markets in Europe and North America, including Germany, the UK, France and Canada. We also have distributors in many provinces in China, including Shanghai,” he said. However, there was no sign of the P88 or other iPad clones at the four-floor CyberMart in downtown Shanghai yesterday, although plenty of cloned iPods and other products were on display. Apple has yet to announce a launch date for the iPad in China, but Huang Ting, who operates one of CyberMart’s more than 100 stalls, said confidently that she expected to be selling the devices around April 10. “We have to send someone to line up and buy them in the US and then bring them back to China. The 16GB iPad will sell for around 5,000 yuan ($730,” she said from behind a counter showcasing rows of iPhones and iPods. Eager customers were paying a 500-yuan deposit, she said. “We already have quite a few bookings,” Huang said. China’s grey market for Apple products developed to meet demand from consumers eager to get their hands on iPhones, which officially only went on sale in China in October-more than two years after it was launched in the United States. In the meantime, 1.5 million smuggled iPhones flooded into the world’s biggest mobile market before Apple reached an agreement with a Chinese network operator. Apple China officials did not immediately respond to queries yesterday. A search for iPad on Taobao.comChina’s answer to eBay, turned up 1,600 adverts, mostly from vendors offering to ship the tablet computer from the United States. But many on the e-commerce site were also selling iPad clones and look-alikes, including the P88. One site compared the iPad and the P88’s specifications side-by-side. Although thicker and heavier than the iPad, the P88 boasts a slightly larger screen, faster processor, larger memory and, unlike the iPad, has USB ports and a video camera. Other iPad competitors have added features such as global positioning service, or GPS. Apple hopes its device will carve out a niche between smartphones and laptop computers. — AFP

lost a major order for its iPad-like touchscreen “P88”, which was launched in August, months before Apple’s product. “Our products are more expensive than theirs. There had been a Canadian university planning to buy our tablet PCs for their students, but they cancelled the order to shift to the iPad,” Wu told AFP.

TAIPEI: A man looks at monitors displaying the Apple iPad website at a computer store in Taipei yesterday. The touch-screen devices allow users to watch video, listen to music, play games, surf the Web or read electronic books. — AFP

Sharp shows 3-D displays for mobile phone devices TOKYO: Sharp’s latest 3-D displays deliver bright, clear imagery without the cumbersome glasses usually required for such technology. Now the bad news: They only work on a 3-inch (7.5-centimeter) screen held one foot (30 centimeters) from the viewer’s face. Sharp Corp demonstrated liquid crystal screens yesterday for mobile devices that showed 3-D animation, touch-panel screens that switched from one 3-D photo to another and a display connected to a 3-D video camera. Movies and TVs in 3-D are no longer surprising. Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. of Japan, as well as South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics, already sell or are planning 3-D TVs. The drawback until now has been the need for special glasses, which show different images to the right eye and the left eye. Sharp’s 3-D technology doesn’t require them because the displays are designed to

shoot different images to each eye. The technology may be applied to TVs in the future, said Executive Managing Officer Yoshisuke Hasegawa. But he acknowledged it now works better when the distance between the viewer and the screen is fixed. The smaller displays, shown yesterday, are intended for mobile devices such as cell phones, game machines and digital cameras. The 3-D animation on the handheld screen looked like a miniature version of the 3-D animation we are used to seeing on larger TV screens, though images were less convincing than those seen in a darkened cinema. Photos on the touch screen were less clear and even a bit blurry from certain angles, though Sharp said its latest technology does away with such “ghosting” effects. Still, the system promises gaming and technology fans the potential for pop-up e-mail messages and taking 3-D photos of friends.—AP

TOKYO: A model looks into a 3-D display equipped with two lenses which is unveiled to the media by Sharp Corp in Tokyo yesterday. Sharp’s latest 3-D displays deliver bright, clear imagery without the cumbersome glasses usually required for such technology. — AP

Hackers hit China foreign journalists club website BEIJING: China’s foreign journalists association said yesterday it had taken its website offline after it was targeted in repeated denial-of-service attacks. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) said it did not know who was behind the attacks but that they originated from Internet addresses in both China and the United States. However, it noted the “physical location of the servers does not tell us much since hackers can use any machine they have been able to exploit.” The statement said the club, regarded by the Chinese government as an illegal organization, “has been the target of persistent denial-of-service attacks.” “We have taken the site down temporarily while we work to sort out the problem,” it said. A denial-of-service attack floods a network with so many requests that normal traffic is slowed down or completely interrupted. The move comes after Google re-routed traffic from its Chineselanguage search engine to an uncensored site in Hong Kong over state web censorship and cyberattacks on Gmail accounts it said originated in China. There also have been mounting allegations overseas, including by the US government, that China is ramping up its global cyber-espionage activities and has become a key source of world cyberattacks-a claim denied by Beijing. The FCCC said on Wednesday that the Yahoo! email accounts of foreign journalists based in China and Taiwan had been targeted in hacking attacks. “In one instance, a Beijing-based journalist’s account had an unknown forwarding address added, sending all the journalist’s messages to an unknown recipient,” it said in a notice to members, adding that it had confirmed eight cases. — AFP

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HEALTH & SCIENCE

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Did comet smashup unleash Earth’s mini Ice Age? PARIS: It has been called the Big Freeze, the Last Blast of the Ice Age or-to use the scientific name-the Younger Dryas, and for climate experts it is one of the big mysteries of their field. Around 12,900 years ago, Earth was on a steadily warming trend. For nearly 100,000 years, the planet had been gripped in glaciation. Ice sheets placed a swathe of the northern hemisphere under a dead hand, extending their thrall as far as south as New England and Wales. But just as the glaciers were beginning to retreat, and an easier life at last beckoned for Earth’s small population of humans, everything went into reverse. Temperatures fell dramatically by up to eight degrees Celsius, heralding a cruel winter that would last 1,300 years. But what caused it? Crunching powerful equations and weighing fresh evidence, an astrobiologist

in Britain is pointing the finger at an unusual culprit. Earth collided with debris from a vast comet, measuring 50-100 kilometers across, that had wandered into the inner Solar System some 30,000 years ago before breaking up, says Bill Napier, a professor at Cardiff University’s Astrobiology Centre. The impact unleashed a firestorm that blanketed the atmosphere with ash and dust, reducing heat and light from the Sun, Napier suggests in Monthly Notices, a journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. What is worrying, adds Napier, is that our planet still crosses the path of the remaining orbiting cometary rubble, a well-observed, although still enigmatic, phenomenon called the Taurid Complex. Many of these fragments are tiny and their burnup in the atmosphere causes pretty shooting stars. Other

pieces, though, may not be so enchanting. They are not big enough to inflict global extinctions like the event 62 million years ago that wiped out the dinosaurs, but they could still devastate entire regions. “It (the Taurid Complex) includes at least 19 of the brightest near-Earth objects,” says Napier. “Sub-kilometer bodies [objects measuring 1,000 yards across or less] in meteor streams may present the greatest regional impact hazard on timescales of human concern.” Previous research buttresses Napier’s theory that only an impact could explain the plunge in temperature, as opposed to a natural quirk in Earth’s orbit or drop in the Sun’s heat output. At 15 sites in North America, archaeologists have uncovered a thin layer of soot deposited at the time of the Younger Dryas.

It includes microscopic hexagonal “nano-diamonds,” imbedded within melted plant resin, which elsewhere have only ever been found in meteorite craters. Then there is evidence of a die-out. If the fossil record is a guide, at least 33 mammals abruptly disappeared, including types of mammoth, horse and camel as well as birds and smaller mammals. Under some scenarios, an asteroid or comet measuring some four kilometers across smashed into the twokm thick Laurentide ice sheet covering present-day Canada and part of the northern US. Other astronomers, though, have railed at this theory. At the time, they note, the Solar System had been largely cleansed of the monster rocks of its infancy, and the chance of a collision with an object of this magnitude was a thousand to one against. And

the heat unleashed by the rising fireball would be constrained by the curvature of the horizon, and this would not explain why wildfires erupted across the continent. But Napier says the riddle can be explained. According to his model, Earth ran into a swarm of fragments, not a single vast chunk. For one hellish hour, North America was bombarded by thousands of impacts, each releasing the energy of a megatonclass nuclear bomb, and this explains why the fires were so extensive. “A large comet has been disintegrating in the near-Earth environment for the past 20,000-30,000 years, and running into thousands of fragments from this comet is a much more likely event than a single large collision,” says Napier. — AFP

Japan’s teddy bear robot comforts elderly, snores Cellphone ring tone ‘cures hayfever’ TOKYO: J apa nese researchers have developed a cuddly teddy bear robot designed to comfort the elderly a nd delight children by reading fa cial expressions and a ctions and responding to them. The fluffy invention by Fujitsu is still being w orked on, but the electronics gia nt rolled out the a s-yet-unnamed

prototype for an early glimpse at an exhibition nea r Tokyo this w eek. A camera in the nose of the bear can detect human faces and actions, such a s wa ving of hands, while sensors inside its head a nd limbs can detect huma n touches and caresses.

The bear can respond with more than 300 actions of its own, from giggling and laughing to waving its paws and taking a nap-and even snoring. “We want to offer an object that can become part of the family, nursing home or school and that can benefit humans,” a Fujitsu researcher saidduring the sneak preview. “We really want it to look natural.” Fujitsu “plans to test the robot in nursing homes so that it can entertain and soothe elderly people,” said the researcher. The teddy is not the first cuddly robot in Japan, where the high-tech baby seal Paro is already used in hospitals and nursing homes. Paro coos and flaps its flippers to ease loneliness among the elderly and try to prevent depression and even dementia. Japan has the world’s longest average life expectancy - 79 years for men and 86 years for women, and more than a fifth of the population is aged 65 or older. By 2050, that figure is expected to rise to 40 percent. Fujitsu said it may also use its robo-bear in schools to aid children to communicate, gain self-confidence-or to help them wake up in the morning.

STOCKHOLM: Photo shows a family boat coming back to the harbor of Stockholm. With 40 percent of the inner city composed of green spaces, the Baltic Sea archipelago city seems a natural place to begin the European Commission’s Green Capital initiative. — AFP

Green City award: It’s what you can’t see that counts STOCKHOLM: A fisherman braces to reel in a large, wriggling salmon, its scales glistening in the sun as he lays his catch down, not on a sandy river bank but on the bustling cobblestone walkway outside parliament, at the very heart of the Swedish capital. The sight is not uncommon in Stockholm, which this year was singled out for the European Union’s first ever Green Capital award. “The environment here is good, it’s beautiful, it’s clean,” summed up Anna Elig, a 37 yearold Stockholm dweller pushing her eight-weekold daughter’s carriage through the city centre on a cool, sunny afternoon. “All the moms and dads who are on parental leave go out for walks around the city ... This wouldn’t work in Paris,” she chuckled, strolling along the broad walkway near the sparkling water. With 40 percent of the inner city composed of green spaces, the Baltic Sea archipelago city seems a natural place to begin the European Commission’s Green Capital initiative. “I wasn’t surprised,” said Katarina Eckerberg, a professor of political science and head of an environmental institute. “Stockholm has a highly developed environmental policy, and any foreigner who comes here is probably surprised that we can benefit from nature as much as we do in the very center of town,” she said. Reveling in nature is a way of life in Sweden, so deeply engrained in the national character that widespread environmental activism already began here as long as 50 years ago. “Maybe it’s because (Sweden) is so sparsely populated and many of us have summer cottages, that Swedes have such a high regard for the environment,” Gustaf Landahl, who heads Stockholm’s environment and planning department said. Even in Stockholm, virtually all residents live within walking distance of lakes, hiking trails and other natural settings, and stepping into a pair of cross-country skis outside their front door is commonplace. It’s a capital that “all along had the privilege of being a town built on water,” said Eckerberg, and Stockholmers are ready to defend this privilege. In the 1960s, when pollution forced Stockholmers to stop fishing or swimming in downtown areas, a bottom-up movement emerged to clean up city waters, Eckerberg said. Today, the salmon caught there is edible

and swimming poses no health risk. ‘More could always be done’-But what impressed the European Commission, the EU executive body, was not what they could see, but what they couldn’t. “I spoke to the evaluation committee and I think what impressed them the most is how we’ve been able to reduce our CO2 emissions,” Landahl said. Indeed, the city brought environment-damaging carbon dioxide emissions down to 3.4 tons per capita in 2009 and hopes to slash that to 3.0 tons by 2015. In Sweden as a whole, CO2 emissions are only six tons per capita, as compared to the European average of 10 tons per capita. Stockholm’s efforts have focused on the two biggest environmental culprits: road transport and heating, which together account for 43 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. In a city where freezing winter temperatures can last up to five months, this was a challenge. One solution was investing in district heating, which hooks up 75 percent of buildings in the capital to central heating plants that run primarily on renewables and also produce electricity. And in the transport sector, “we’ve been able to reduce emissions even though the municipality has grown,” Landahl said proudly, noting that in the rest of Europe transport emissions tend to rise as cities expand. Stockholm officials tirelessly campaign against residents using their own cars, and even during the long, cold winters 19 percent of Stockholmers bike or walk to work, according to figures from 2007. In summer, that number jumps to 33 percent. Many others in the spread-out capital region also ride public transport, to the point that figures published by the city show that the number of users continues to rise each month. Despite the award, there are those who feel the EU’s first Green Capital could do more. “Even in Stockholm, there is a lot of discussion and disputes about whether some current developments are in line with environmental considerations or not,” Eckerberg noted. A major problem, she said, was the booming real estate development along the waterfront that at points has blocked public access and risks endangering the delicate Baltic Sea ecosystem. “There’s much more to be done,” she said. “More could always be done.” — AFP

Cel l pho ne ri ng to ne The Japanese firm behind a dogbark translation machine and cellphone ring tones meant to attract members of the opposite sex has a new spring-time offering-a mobile phone application to cure hayfever. The Japan Ringing Tone Laboratory has released its latest invention just in time for the cherry blossom season, when white and pink petals shower the country and pollen allergies and sinus problems cause misery for millions. The Tokyo-based high-tech gadget maker promises its newest cellphone ringtone can bring relief when users hold the handsets under their noses. According to the developer, Dr Matsumi Suzuki, who says on his website that he studies acoustics and analyses voiceprints, the ring tone unleashes waves that will shake out pollen stuck in the user’s nose. Index Corporation, which markets the ring tone, warned that the effectiveness may vary among users. “There is no guarantee that this has real health benefits,” warned a company spokeswoman. She added that the number of downloads has been three times that of their other ringtones, without disclosing sales figures. The company has also come up with ringtones it says help users attract members of the opposite sex, lose

KAWASAKI: A Fujitsu employee demonstrates a teddy bear shaped “social” robot, at a nursing home laboratory in Kawasaki, suburban Tokyo. — AFP weight, quit smoking, digest food and relieve shoulder aches. It also developed the ‘Bowlingual’ gadget that can “translate” dog barks into human lan-

guage, sold by toymaker Takara Tomy since 2002. The gadget has a handset and a microphone attached to a dog collar that is billed as analyzing six emo-

tions including joy, sadness and frustration, and utters phrases such as “Play with me!” A version also exists for cats. — Agencies

Waste shipments turn up heads and torsos ALBUQUERQUE: The human head and torso were inside the red biohazard tub in what was supposed to be a routine shipment of medical waste from New Mexico to a Kansas company. That gruesome discovery last week turned out to be just the start. Over the next few days, six more heads and torsos, apparently dismembered with a chain saw or another cutting device, turned up in containers also sent by the Albuquerque company Bio Care Southwest. Bio Care owner Paul Montano was arrested Thursday following an investigation into the company that was supposed to have donated the organs in the bodies to science and had the remains cremated. One man whose father’s remains showed up in the shipment in Kansas said the family received ashes of what they thought was their 83year-old dad after he died of a stroke. Now they are in shock at the thought that the ashes they scattered in a heartfelt remembrance last year may not have been their father or at least not all of his remains. “To not give you everything and to have the head shipped some place else, it’s really disturbing,” said Chuck Hines, of Bosque Farms, New Mexico. The owner of Bio Care

Southwest denied dismembering any bodies. Montano told police his father picks up and delivers bodies to Bio Care. The investigation is ongoing; his alleged motive was not immediately known. Bio Care receives donated bodies and harvests organs and other parts that it sells for medical research. The researchers return the organs to Bio Care once their experiments are complete, then Bio Care sends the remains for cremation and gives the ashes to the families, investigators said. Bio Care’s website says its mission is to advance medicine through donated non-transplantable human tissue, allowing scientists to study a donor’s organs to better understand disease. “At Bio Care, you will always be treated with dignity, respect and honesty,” its home page says. The company has a contract with Stericycle, based in Kansas City, Kansas, to dispose of any leftover medical waste. Stericycle told investigators it receives medical waste, soft tissue and organs and occasional limbs - but never heads and torsos. Homicide detectives in Kansas City began investigating the grim body part discoveries, and they were eventually traced back to New Mexico. Court documents identified three of

the bodies as Jacquelyn Snyder, Charles Hines and Harold Dillard. Snyder, 42, died Nov 1 in Albuquerque of a methadone overdose, and Hines died last September of a stroke, according to officials and family members. Dillard was from Albuquerque, but the cause of his death was not immediately known. The younger Hines turned to Bio Care to harvest his father’s organs for science after learning it would take up to a year to get the body back if he donated it to a university. The process was much quicker with Bio Care. Bio Care sent back a sealed box with what Hines was told were all his father’s cremated remains. He memorialized his father at a simple gathering of friends last October at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, an event the elder Hines helped organize decades ago. Hines scattered a few ashes at the site and took ashes to Tucson, Arizona, where his father grew up. He said he felt “scammed” and was going to contact an attorney. Robert Noblin, owner of Riverside Funeral Home in Belen, New Mexico, where Hines learned about Bio Care, said his company had worked with Bio Care. “Unfortunately, I think many funeral homes

and families alike have been misled,” Noblin said. He said he is “deeply concerned” about the families and loved ones “whose remains have been desecrated or improperly dealt with by Bio Care Southwest.” “We are troubled, industrywide, when anyone does not follow procedures designed to protect the sanctity of a body or remains of any individual.” Riverside would receive sealed, labeled containers from Bio Care Southwest that were supposed to cremated remains, which the funeral home would then give to its clients. Montano also is an on-call employee for the state Office of the Medical Investigator. He’s on a rotating list of medical examiners to be called out in Valencia Count when bodies fall under the state’s jurisdiction, said spokeswoman Amy Boule. Montano was booked into the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center late Wednesday on three counts of fraud. A judge on Thursday lowered his bond from $100,000 bond to $50,000, citing Montano’s ties to the community. Montano’s attorney, Rudy Chavez, did not return a call Thursday seeking comment. —AP

SPECTRUM

12

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Jennifer Lopez’s kids beg her not to go to work he ‘Back-Up Plan’ actress admits she is finding it difficult juggling her career with her home life now that Max and Emme - her twoyear-old twins with husband Marc Anthony - are getting older. She said: “They’re at the point now where they’ve come to the door and started yelling, ‘No, no, Mommy, don’t go!’ And I was like, ‘Whoa, this is bad’. “That’s really tough. So I’m just going to have to figure it out as I go along. I keep trying to explain to them, ‘I’ll be home and the sun will still be out!’” The 40-year-old singer-and-actress who plays a woman who uses artificial insemination to get pregnant in ‘The Back-Up Plan’ also revealed she is unsure how she would cope without Marc’s help and support. She added to UsMagazine.com: “It’s

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Dita Von Teese will never get a tattoo done

he stunning actress will front the campaign for the cosmetic giant’s Total Effects range, to celebrate the brand’s 10th anniversary in the UK. The 37-year-old actress who has two daughters with husband Ol Parker - said of her new role: “When filming, my working day is hectic, so trying to strike a balance between work, a family and time for myself can be challenging. Olay is a brand I trust and I love the fact that the range offers me an all-in-one, antiageing moisturizer which takes care of all my skincare needs.” The Total Effects products focus on minimizing lines, providing nourishing moisture, enhancing tone, exfoliating, refining pores, defeating anti-oxidants and firming skin and Olay believe Thandie is the perfect person to represent it. A spokesperson said: “Thandie’s pragmatic approach to a beauty routine ensures her skincare is as multi-tasking as she is.” Last year, Thandie vowed never to have a boob job because she is a mother. She said: “I cannot believe how much I love my children. I fed them both and carried them in me. When I see women who have plastic surgery done to their boobs I think, ‘How can you when they have fed your children?’

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lthough the burlesque dancer - who was once married to goth rocker Marilyn Manson - is a fan of skin etchings she has no desire to have a permanent design herself. She tweeted: “I like tattoos, but I know when and how to appreciate something without needing it for myself, and that goes for more than just tattoos!” 37-year-old star is famous for her vintage-inspired wardrobe and glamorous look and insists she

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isn’t a fan of comfort clothes. She told The Las Vegas Weekly: “I do relax; I just don’t relax by wearing jeans and sweatpants. I have lots of robes and pyjamas, and usually if you dropped in on me, I don’t wear a full face of makeup... But it’s not like I come home and go, ‘Wow, I really wish I had some sweatpants to put on right now.’ I don’t relate that to comfort. I’d rather put on a cashmere robe.” Dita recently revealed she uses clothes to help her feel more confident. She said: “I used clothes as a way to counteract my extreme shyness when I was younger. I wore a lot of extravagant vintage hats, which can make people somewhat intimidated. I think people will only approach if they have something very, very interesting to say to the girl in the outrageous hat. “I always felt like a very ordinary looking girl, and I found that dressing in a unique way made me feel less ordinary and more glamorous.”

Sarah Jessica Parker is a huge fan of Lady Gaga he actress thinks the eccentric pop star - who is famed for her outrageous fashion choices - is like her ‘Sex and the City’ character Carrie Bradshaw because she is “unconventional”. Sarah said: “She breaks all the rules; she’s unconventional. It’s extremely flattering that people think she’s like Carrie.” The 45-year-old actress insists she was a fan of the ‘Telephone’ singer months before she hit the mainstream. She added to MTV: “I want to say one thing about Lady Gaga, which is, a year and a half ago, I was in an editing room working on a project and had already downloaded as much music of hers as I could onto my iPod. And she was not in the mainstream yet, but I loved her.” Sarah isn’t the only member of her household to be a Lady Gaga fan, her son James Wilkie is also a huge admirer. The actress - who has three children with her husband Matthew Broderick - revealed: “My son sang ‘Bad Romance’ for a singing contest. That’s right, James Wilkie sang ‘Bad Romance’.”

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Kate Winslet wants to move out K

ate Winslet wants to move out of her marital home because it is “tainted” with bad memories. The Oscar-winning actress - who split from her film director husband Sam Mendes earlier this year - is desperate to leave their $6 million New York mansion because she can’t stop thinking about the arguments they had since they moved there in 2005. A source told the New York Post newspaper: “Kate really wants to leave the apartment. She sees it as a house of horrors because of the fights she and Sam had there. She feels it is tainted.” The 34-year-old star is desperate to return to the UK as soon as possible, so she can spend time with her close friends. However, Kate is contracted to work on ‘Mildred Pierce’ - a five-hour-long mini-series which is based on a novel by James M. Cain before she can make the move. The actress - who has a six-year-old son Joe with Sam, and her daughter Mia, nine, from her marriage to Jim Threapleton - has been receiving a lot of support from her friends since she announced her separation from Sam. The British beauty holidayed with her actress pal Emma Thompson last month, and has also been comforted by her ‘Titanic’ co-star Leonardo DiCaprio. A source recently said: “Since Kate’s marriage problems started, around the time they were filming ‘Revolutionary Road’, they’ve got closer again. Kate feels like she can tell Leonardo anything.”

Donatella Versace blows $5,000 on glares in 10 minutes he Italian fashion designer recently went on a shopping spree at Artsee in New York and didn’t hold back when it came to expensive eyewear. A source told the New York Post: “She walked around saying, ‘Amore, this one, and this one, and this one,’ picking up pairs of sunglasses. She must have bought eight pairs of one-off glasses costing from $500. Then, with a quick ‘Ciao’ she was gone.” While she is happy to purchase extravagant sunglasses, Donatella recently revealed she thinks flamboyant designs are “old-fashioned”. The 54year-old blonde - whose Versace brand is known for its extravagant, glitzy clothes - has worked hard to create a new aesthetic for Versace, and thinks simple, clean designs

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with a hint of sexiness are the way forward. She explained: “My eye has changed. Ostentation looks oldfashioned now. On a red carpet, you can be historic, but the woman of today doesn’t even want to check in her baggage.” Donatella took over the Versace brand in 1997 following brother Gianni’s death in 1997 and says she has made the clothes more “up-to-date” while remaining true to the Versace roots. She said: “The Versace DNA is the same for me as it was for Gianni... It’s sexy, glamorous and feminine, but you can translate this in many ways - I took it away from too much ornament and obvious sexiness and created a woman who is a little bit more feminine, more sensual than sexy and up-to-date.”

Shakira wants kids after her next tour

Thandie Newton is the new face of Olay

just too hard. Honestly. I have so much respect for single moms or anyone who finds themselves a single mother - but to choose to be a single parent is courageous. It’s such a hard job to raise a child and to be everything to that child without a partner... I don’t know if I could do it on my own, I really don’t.” The couple had tried for a long time to conceive before learning they were expecting twins, and Jennifer says she and her husband had very different reactions when they were told they were having two babies. She said: “I was in denial that I was even pregnant at first, so when I found out I was having twins, I just kind of laughed like, ‘Of course this would happen!’. And then I started giggling. “Marc started crying. It was a joyous time. We were happy... He’s emotional! He just couldn’t believe it was happening.”

he ‘She Wolf’ hitmaker - who is in a long-term relationship with her fiancee Antonio De La Rua - is hoping to settle down and have children soon, but knows she needs to fulfil her work commitments first. She said: “Do I have any plans for children? Little wolves? Yeah, of course. I’d really like to have kids, but first I need to go on tour and release this new album - and then we can sit down and talk about it.” Despite her family plans, the 33-year-old star insists that getting married is no longer high on her list of priorities, even though she and Antonio got engaged over four years ago. She told the Big Issue magazine: “Maybe 15 years ago, I’d dream about wearing a white gown, a wedding cake and a room full of guests and me feeding them canapes. Now I dream about growing old with the person I love. I have different priorities.” Shakira, who met Antonio nine years ago in a restaurant in Argentina, has previously admitted she knew straight away he was ‘The One’. She said recently: “The minute I walked in, I saw him sitting, and I thought, ‘That man is for me, he’s the man of my life.’ I kept staring at him until I got to meet him that night. And then I just followed my intuition and everything worked out. Frankly, meeting him that night was like winning the lottery.” — Bangshowbiz

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SPECTRUM

Saturday, April 3, 2010

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French halal market booms despite political unease alal foie gras, and non-alcoholic champagne: Muslimfriendly food is moving away from its immigrant roots and merging with mainstream French tradition. While the fine wine and gourmet food exports that underpin the French food industry have been hit hard by the global crisis, the halal niche market has been growing fast. The boom went largely unnoticed until a hamburger chain tried a halal menu in some of its restaurants, sparking charges of “communautarisme”-a term roughly meaning “ghettoization”, which grates against the French insistence on integration. The growth of halal products is largely thanks to young descendants of Arab and African migrants, who want to enjoy the same culinary diversity as their non-Muslim French neighbors while remaining true to their cultural roots. “It’s mostly driven by the second and third generations,” said Antoine Bonnel, director of the Paris Halal trade show held this week. “It’s

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not a case of the Muslim community withdrawing into itself, but rather one of integration, since they want to be able to buy halal sauerkraut or spring rolls,” he said. Bonnel was referring to the increasing number of Muslims joining the French middle classes and expanding their culinary horizons, a trend that has even spawned a new term-”beurgeois”, a slightly ironic mix of “bourgeois”, or middle class, and “beur”, slang for North African. French sales of halal food are forecast to hit 5.5 billion euros (7.42 billion dollars) in 2010 and move “from the ethnic market to the mass market”, said Bonnel. The word halal-meaning “lawful” in Arabic-applies to food that has been prepared according to the prescriptions of the Quran. Islamic law requires meat to be slaughtered under religious supervision and forbids the consumption of pork and alcohol. The halal market, targeting France’s estimated fivemillion-strong Muslim population, has obvious attractions for retailers

This picture shows boxes of Kebab burgers shown during the Halal expo, part of the “Foods&goods” fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris. — AFP and restaurateurs, and market researchers say it is growing rapidly. Supermarket chain Casino has created a halal brand, Wassila, and

Bulldozers overhaul Luxor, city of pashas and pharaohs

halal in French life has raised some hackles in this staunchly secular country. Several politicians from both right and left have complained

fast food chain Quick is trying out a halal menu in eight of its 350 burger joints. But the increased presence of

that providing halal options will divide French society rather than help welcome Muslims into the culinary mainstream. Quick’s introduction of halal options in some areas with Muslim populations was attacked by a mayor from the opposition Socialist party, who threatened legal action, and by members of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s own ruling rightwing UMP party. “I am not in favor of anything that smacks of communitarianism,” said UMP party leader Xavier Bertrand. No-one at the Halal Expo agreed with their concerns. “There are already kosher products and sections for world foods in the supermarkets why not halal?” asked Anisa Bouarbi of Paris Hallal, a firm which lists restaurants online for a young smartphone-equipped audience. “Discrimination means not allowing people to follow their tastes.” Around her in the exhibition hall, the products on show seemed to support the view that the bur-

geoning market is encouraging Muslims to eat and drink the same products as other French people, just in halal form. Halal is also providing fresh business for French businesses. Christine Darcon, director of Corico said that her company was simply supplying “a clientele which is asking for specific products”. “Halal is on the way to outselling organic products in the supermarkets,” boasted Hakan Cetin, sales manager of Oz Pa, which produces gelatin free halal sweets and biscuits. He and his colleagues feel that the politicians’ concerns will evaporate, as firms rush into the growing market segment, and the only problem they foresee is the lack of a unified halal certification scheme. Manufacturers currently use a wide variety of organizations to establish their credentials, or even certify their products as halal themselves. This has led to consumer demand for a single halal stamp of approval. — AFP

Million-dollar art auction

Project aims to attract tourism, preserve temples n the dusty streets behind the pasha’s grand villa, bulldozers and forklifts are tearing into the city where Agatha Christie found inspiration and Howard Carter unearthed Tutankhamun. Egypt has already cleared out Luxor’s old bazaar, demolished thousands of homes and dozens of Belle Epoque buildings in a push to transform the site of the ancient capital Thebes into a huge open-air museum. Officials say the project will preserve temples and draw more tourists, but the work has outraged archaeologists and architects who say it has gutted Luxor’s more recent heritage. “They basically want to tear the whole thing down,” said one foreigner who lives in Luxor part of the year, agreeing to speak only if his name was not used. “They want it to be all asphalt and strip malls and shopping centers. That’s their idea of modern and progressive.” He pointed to the destruction of the 19th-century house of French archaeologist Georges Legrain, demolished to make way for a plaza outside Karnak temple, and plans to knock down the 150-year-old Pasha Andraos villa on the Nile boardwalk. While known mostly for temples and tombs, Luxor’s Victorian-era buildings and dusty alleyways have drawn Egyptologists, statesmen and writers for decades. Samir Farag, a former Egyptian general who now heads the billion-dollar plan to reinvent Luxor, dismisses the criticism. Improvements to the city had reduced traffic and brought top-notch education and healthcare. “Just a few people, maybe I removed their houses or something like that, they want to criticize,” Farag said this week in his wainscotted office of British military style. “We just cleaned the houses, cleaned the streets. You’ll never find a clean city like Luxor now in Egypt.” Farag said his work even won praise from Francesco Bandarin, head of the World Heritage Centre at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. “His hometown is Venice. They have a very big area of slums,” Farag said. “He told me, when he came here and saw what I did for the houses, the slum areas, he said, ‘we should have one like you in Venice, too’.”

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Master plan By 2030, the city and surrounding area will enjoy golf courses, five-star hotels, an IMAX theatre and miles of new roads, while scores of lights will illuminate the mountains and valleys where Tutankhamun was buried, the project’s master plan shows. Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities is

restoring the 2.7 km long avenue of sphinxes that linked Karnak and Luxor temples. The buildings removed were not historically important, officials say, and uprooted homeowners received between 75,000 and 500,000 Egyptian pounds ($13,600-$90,810) or a free flat. But archaeologists said heavy-handed work could be damaging antiquities and is ploughing through dozens of classic buildings with lax oversight from the international organizations whose money is funneled into the project. While many fume over the work in private, none agreed to attach their names to criticism, fearing they would be harassed, arrested, deported or see funding for their projects cut. “Many buildings from many different periods have been erased, or will be, and I think that’s entirely negative,” said one architect with wide experience in Egypt heritage projects. “At the end of the day, you’re left with a kind of Disneyland piece of pseudo-pharaonic stuff, and the rest of it is swept away.” Violent protests The plan also calls for thousands of homes to be moved. Residents of elMaris, south of Luxor, have sued the state to reconsider a proposed marina they say would uproot at least 10,000 people and destroy valuable farmland. Villagers there said they hoped the lawsuit and negotiations would persuade the government to move the port to an empty strip on the other bank, but they will fight if they do not. Protests near Karnak temple in 2008 turned violent when citizens who said they were being forced to leave or unfairly compensated broke windows and threw rocks at police. “They do what they want, we do what we want,” Zain Sadi, 35, said outside his house in Maris. “We will beat and be beaten, we will kill and be killed. After we die they can take our homes.” In 2006 and 2007 Egypt demolished Gurna, near the Valley of the Kings, to access and preserve tombs buried beneath nearly 3,200 houses, and built a new village about 5 km away. Three years later, residents of New Gurna say they cannot find work and have had problems getting water and electricity. Those who are not happy with the changes are welcome to say so, Farag said, adding that he holds weekly meetings to hear complaints. But the end result may be the same. When a group of four citizens came into his office this week and asked him to reconsider the widening of a downtown road, Farag said the work was for their benefit. “We’re talking about destruction for the public good,” he said. “There are victims for every development.” — Reuters

An art expert explains Mark Rothko’s “Untitled” painting with a pre-auction estimate of 18 - 25 million US dollars.

A security guard walks past a painting by Yue Minjun entitled “On the Lake” with a pre-auction estimated value of 905,000-1,290,000 US dollars during a Sotheby’s press preview ahead of their spring sale in Hong Kong yesterday. The auction house will soon be holding its 2010 Spring Sale with 2,400 lots estimated to fetch around 167 million US dollars. —AFP photos An art expert explains ‘Self Portrait’ by Andy Warhol from 1986 which has an estimated value of 10 to 15 million US dollars. (Right) A man stands next to a photograph of a Millennium Blue Diamond, with a value of an estimated 4.6 to 5.9 million US dollars.

Jesse James wants to save marriage, says attorney esse James is a “a broken man” and is hoping that rehab and some privacy will help him recover and save his marriage to Sandra Bullock, his friend and attorney said. Joe Yanny told The Associated Press that allegations of marital infidelity against James and the ensuing media “feeding frenzy” have ruined the biker businessman’s life. “This whole thing has destroyed Jesse’s entire universe,” Yanny said. “Right now, he’s a broken man.” He said James is still in love with Bullock and hopes the marriage can be saved. James checked into a rehabilitation center after weeks of reports that he cheated on Bullock throughout their marriage. Yanny declined to say what James is being treated for, but said people shouldn’t assume it is for sex addiction. He also wouldn’t rebut specific allegations lodged against the West Coast Choppers owner or say whether there are plans for the couple to get a divorce. “The allegations back and forth about what happened - those are private matters to be resolved between a husband and a wife,” Yanny said. “It’s not appropriate for a public airing.” He said the vast majority of stories about James are untrue. “Jesse is in love with Sandra,” Yanny said. “The single most important thing to Mr James and the children is that the marriage somehow survive.” James and his camp have said little since a woman told In Touch magazine that she carried on an affair with James while Bullock was shooting the

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blockbuster hit “The Blind Side.” The film earned Bullock widespread acclaim that culminated with a best actress Oscar. Within days of her win, the cheating allegations broke and Bullock withdrew from the public eye. James released a statement saying he had used “poor judgment” and deserved “everything bad that is coming my way.” Bullock has not spoken publicly about the

Jesse James

matter, and her publicist did not respond to e-mailed questions for this story. Public support for the actress has remained high as more women have stepped forward claiming they had affairs with James in recent years. Bullock and James met in 2003 and were married in 2005. It seemed like an odd pairing - the Hollywood actress often called “America’s Sweetheart” marrying the tattooed biker who designed custom motorcycles and starred in reality shows such as “Monster Garage” and “Jesse James is a Dead Man.” Yanny blasted media coverage of the case, saying the privacy of Bullock, James and his children had been repeatedly violated. “It’s nothing but voyeurism at this point,” he said. “Enough is enough.” He said the coverage of the story was overblown and that it lost its newsworthiness long ago. He said he is concerned about the media continuing to pursue James’ children and family while the 40year-old is undergoing treatment. “There are many more significant things in the world that people ought to be talking about and delving in to,” Yanny said. He acknowledged James has made many mistakes in his life, but that he has also quietly supported numerous charities and his various businesses have created many jobs and opportunities for others. Yanny said he expects James to persevere. “He certainly will come out of this a better man,” he said. “I hope he comes out of it with the things in life that he cherishes.” — AP

McCartney’s ex Mills denies surgery ‘lie’ aul McCartney’s ex-wife Heather Mills has been accused of “telling a very unpleasant lie” after claiming she fell out with her former nanny after refusing to pay for a breast enlargement op. At an employment tribunal brought by her former child carer Thursday, Mills said her once-close friendship with Sara Trumble soured after she refused to pay 4,000 pounds (4,500 euros, 6,000 dollars) for the operation in 2008. Trumble, 26, is seeking compensation from Mills on the grounds of sex discrimination and unfair dismissal. She also claims she suffered changes to her employment terms following her maternity leave. “I didn’t criticize her wanting to have a breast enlargement,” 42-year-old Mills told the third day of the tribunal in Kent, southeast England. “I just felt it would have been wrong of me to help with something that could have been a reaction to her boyfriend or her hormones.” But Trumble’s solicitor, Nick Fairweather, accused her of inventing the story to explain why the nanny turned against her. “I suggest that your previous comments were to intimidate and bully and belittle her to stop her from going on with this claim,” he said. “I suggest that you’re telling a very, very unpleasant lie.” Mills shot back: “I’m not telling a lie. She asked me for 4,000 pounds, how on earth would I have known that amount when I put my statement together?” Trumble began working for Mills in 2004. She was paid 260 pounds (290 euros, 390 dollars) a week to look after Beatrice, now six, the daughter of Mills and McCartney. She has previously told the tribunal that ex-model Mills became rude and bad-tempered after she split from the former Beatle in 2006. But Mills said Thursday staff working at her house in Robertsbridge, southeast England, found her an understanding boss and it was “a very supportive environment.” As she left the hearing, Mills told reporters: “I feel as though I have been betrayed by someone who I felt was part of the family.” A verdict in the tribunal is expected by the end of May. Mills and McCartney fought a high-profile divorce battle which ended in March 2008 with a 24.3-million-pound deal. Mills-who had sought 125 million pounds from the multi-millionaire singersongwriter-married McCartney in a lavish ceremony in Ireland in June 2002. —AFP

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SPECTRUM

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Saturday, April 3, 2010

Indian stylists go back to roots as retro-chic rules aw silk, cotton, jute-India’s traditional fabrics are finding flavor among top designers raring to break new ground in the highly competitive Indian fashion market. The tendency to ape Western cuts and style in recent years has seen the country’s own rich craftsmanship take a backseat. But a reversal in the trend was evident at this year’s Wills India Fashion Week, where classic couturier Tarun Tahiliani marked the return to traditional craft with handmade Indian fabrics and embroidery in his signature draping style. “I consciously used Indian fabric. I feel we’ve been a little too Western,” Tahiliani said after his show at the event, one of the two most prestigious events on the Indian fashion calendar. Tahiliani’s theme at the show was “Return to The Craft” highlighting qualities that he said had been lost in the “hyper-explosion of brands, stores, distribution and price wars”. In keeping with his theme, the designer showcased gilets (sleeveless jackets) over tiny Tshirts, sarongs and his trademark sari drapes held together by embroidered belts. Tahiliani, whose previous shows had a more international flavor, is not alone in his new-found mission. A host of upcoming and promising designers are looking to

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Madonna and daughter Lola have fashion aspirations

hen Madonna needed inspiration for her latest fashion collection, she did not have to look far. The pop icon teamed with her 13-year-old daughter Lourdes to create Material Girl, an affordable juniors’ clothing line that debuts at Macy’s department store chain late this year. This is not Madonna’s first foray into designing. In 2007, she worked with H&M to create a limited edition collection, M by Madonna. This time around, her venture into fashion will be long-lasting: She has launched a new company called MG ICON which, in addition to producing the juniors’ line, also will put out other collections including eyewear. The Material Girl collection includes jeans, shoes, fingerless gloves, necklaces and other accessories. Many of the pieces are inspired by Madonna and her daughter’s dance roots. Madonna recently spoke about Material Girl, her relationship with Lourdes (nicknamed Lola) and her fashion risks and regrets.

said. Tahiliani, whose elaborate golden bridal outfit for Bollywood celebrity Shilpa Shetty was a hit among wealthy socialites, said most designers resisted working with handloom materials because they do not “construct too well.” “It is beautiful to wear as a sari or as a dupatta (stole), but if you want to make dif-

In this file picture, a model presents a creation by Indian designer Tarun Tahiliani during the Wills India Fashion Week in New Delhi. — AFP ferent clothes with it, you can’t. You can’t have perfect fits with handloom as it doesn’t mould like the fabrics you get abroad. “In fact, our fabrics were never made for tailoring. And I like my clothes to be structured. For me structure and fit are very important. So I have used quilting in my clothes this season. “We need to reinvent Indian crafts and churn it up for something new. A lot of Indian designers are now moving towards using Indian fabrics and designs with a western touch.” — AFP

From Russia,with love

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AP: Why did you want to do a juniors’ line? Madonna: Lola has been bothering me for ages about designing clothes. Stella McCartney is a good friend of mine, and she got her mind thinking when Lola was a little girl, about 8 years old. She started giving Lola fabrics and inviting her into her showroom and asking her opinion on things, giving her sketchbooks and stuff like that. Stella always pushed her. I have a lot of friends who are clothing designers, whether it is Gaultier or Dolce and Gabbana. (Lola) has been around all of the shoots I have done and all of the campaigns I have done. She is always hanging out backstage. The last two tours I have done, she has been working in the wardrobe department. On this last tour she dressed all of the dancers.

affirm their cultural heritage and break free from the Western mould to carve out “Indian” identities. Samant Chauhan, from the impoverished eastern state of Bihar, is trying to revive the handloom industry by focusing on raw silk and making it appealing to the global market. Another example is designer Nitin Bal Chauhan, who gave up a scholarship offer to study fashion abroad and went back to his village in northern Himachal Pradesh, where the skills of local craftsmen were dying. “I have been promoting raw silk and using it a lot in texturing, interlacing and knits to create layered outfits,” said Samant Chauhan. “The silk I use has been hand-woven and made from an ecofriendly process without the use of any dyes. “I have been working on raw silk ever since I was in college because I could see that the craftsmen, in spite of being so talented, were not getting their due. So I decided to do something about it through my work.” Samant Chauhan said designers need not look westwards for inspiration as India has a rich history of craftsmanship. “Our designs are so intricate and rich that international designers can never match us. We must take our traditional craftsmanship forward and present it in a way that it is liked in the international market,” he

Models display creations of Russian designer Slava Zaitsev during Russian fashion week in Moscow on April 1, 2010. — AFP Russian designer Slava Zaitsev holds flowers after his show.

AP: What has Lola taught you about fashion? Madonna: I am boring, basically. She reminds me of me when I was younger. She just goes for it and tries different things. It doesn’t look like she thought too much about it. That is how I used to be, but after years and years of everybody commenting on the way I look and dress and being photographed, one starts to become self-conscious and starts to plan things more. You end up judging yourself more, what looks good and what doesn’t. AP: What has it been like to work with your daughter? Madonna: It is good because she does have good taste in fashion. I respect her taste, and I rarely disagree with her. AP: Was part of you hesitant about Lola designing this line as she would be thrust into the spotlight? Madonna: That is why I am here talking about the line and she is not. Eventually, I will let her. I feel like she needs to get into high school and focus on her studies, her lessons. She got into the high school of the performing arts. She has a lot of work to do. I don’t want her to be distracted. She will eventually be able to talk about it. I am going to be happy when she does, because she can speak much more clearly and in a more informed way than I can about a line she is ultimately designing. I just stand in the background and go, “That’s cool. That’s not cool.” AP: The clothing is affordable. Why was it important to you to keep the price low? Madonna: When I was 13 years old, I couldn’t afford designer clothes. I couldn’t afford expensive clothing. When I designed a line of clothes for H&M, that was one of the things I liked so much about it, that it was really affordable. I think that is one of the nice things about it, that you can make nice clothes at affordable prices. AP: You are known as being a fashion risk taker. Do you ever look back and wonder, “What was I thinking?” Madonna: Yeah. I would rather not point them out. I think I had a lot of bad hair moments. In the early ‘80s, just sometimes I wore purple lipstick or green lipstick. Clothing-wise, I am happy about the way I dressed. AP: With your music career and with the girls’ school you are building in Malawi, was part of you hesitant about taking on another project with this clothing line? Madonna: If Lola wasn’t so completely involved in the line, designing, consulting, whatever you want to call it, I wouldn’t do it. Really she does most of the work, honestly. AP: Who are Lola’s fashion influences? Madonna: Lola spent most of her childhood growing up in England. According to her, she thinks people have more style in London, especially the boys. French boys in particular have very good style, according to Lola. I think she has been very influenced by European fashion. She is very influenced by the music she listens to, different bands she is into. She has favorite models. She takes all kinds of dance classes. She is inspired by different items people wear as dancers, whether it is a hip-hop class or a jazz class or ballet class. ... Of course, she is inspired by my closet. My Christian Dior shoes will go missing and then some fabulous bag I won’t be able to find or my skinny jeans, the only pair that fit me are gone. AP: Has working on this clothing line together bonded you in a different way? Madonna: I see her more as a creative person, as an artist and less as my daughter as we are working, and then every once and a while I remembered she is my daughter. —AP

Japan stylist Yohji Yamamoto plans flagship store in China J

apanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto plans to open a flagship store in China in coming years as his brand, despite filing for bankruptcy last year, eyes Asia’s growing class of luxury shoppers. The iconic designer, famous for his black minimalist creations, said af ter a Tokyo show Thursday night that he plans to open new shops for his eponymous label in China, although he did not set a specific date. The fashion house, founded in the 1970s, is undergoing restructuring with help from investment fund Integral Corporation after crumbling under a mountain of debt worth 67 million dollars amid the global economic crisis. “I am receiving ample funds to pursue my operations. The bankruptcy filing has in no way hampered my creativity,”

Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto gets applause at the finale of his men’s collection in Tokyo on April 1, 2010. — AFP the 66-year-old told reporters. The avant-garde designer made his homecoming on Thursday, holding a men’s show in Japan for the first time in nearly two decades,

which attracted a crowd of 3,000 spectators and celebrities. The fashion house already has several stores of its Y’s brand in China as well as its Y-3 sportswear line co-

branded and distributed by Adidas. Yamamoto electrified the fashion world in the 1980s with austere white and black designs that contrasted with the decade’s extravagance and colorful exuberance. With luxury sales slumping in traditional markets in Japan, the United States and Europe, fashion houses are shifting their focus to emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil and Russia. Although Japan has long been a big market for luxury brands, China has become the Asian hotspot for establishing their regional flagship stores. Louis Vuitton opened its Asian flagship store in Shenzhen last year, and Italy’s Bottega Veneta opened its own two weeks ago in Taiwan. Salvatore Ferragamo is to open its largest Asian store in Shanghai this month. — AFP

WHAT’S ON IN KUWAIT

Saturday, April 3, 2010

15 Embassy information EMBaSSy OF ITaLy The Embassy of Italy informs the public that it will be closed for festivities today, tomorrow, and April 5 and April 25 and that the Consular/Visa section will remain closed, for technical reasons on April 6, 2010.

Heritage Preservation Festival

he Egyptian Nubi Union organized the Heritage Preservation Festival for Aswan Governorate at Kuwait Teachers’ TAssociation under the patronage of EAR Ambassador Taher Farhat. The event was attended by Sheikh Rabiah Khalid AlAhmad, Sudan Ambassador Dr Ibrahim Al-Mirgani and Community Secretary General Ali Al-Alami along with other embassy officials.

EMBaSSy OF UkRaInE The Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Kuwait informs that it has started updating the information about Ukrainian citizens, who live and work in Kuwait. In this connection, we are asking you to refer to the Embassy and update your file in consular register in order not to be excluded from it. For additional information please call: 25318507 ext.106 or visit the embassy of Ukraine in the State of Kuwait (address: Hawalli, Jabriya, bl.10, str.6, house 5). The consular section of the Embassy open every day from 09:30 till 14:30 except Friday and Saturday. EMBaSSy OF InDIa

BSK summer swimming course

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he British School of Swimming is now taking registrations for the summer course, with entry after the Easter break. Our ever popular Red School, swimming on Sundays and Wednesdays and Blue School, swimming on Mondays and Thursdays have limited vacancies, so please check (phone number below) before you register. These 2 schools have the full range of childrens’ classes available, from 3-year-old beginners up to advanced swimmers. To cope with the ever increasing number of families wishing to enjoy the benefits of our programme, we have opened the Yellow School which has classes available from 11:00am on Saturdays and

from 5:00pm on Tuesdays. There will be 3 levels of beginner classes and 2 levels of intermediate classes available in this school. The British School of Swimming also offers dedicated classes for ladies and men from beginner to advanced level. We also look after the youngest members of the family with our Water Babies classes. If you would like more information about our swim school, you are welcome to visit us at The British School of Kuwait in Salwa, Block 1, Street 1, any weekday afternoon from 3:30 until 6:30pm Alternatively you can visit www.bsswim.com or call David on 9965 6305.

Radisson Blu Hotel welcomes new GM

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cocktail reception was held on Wednesday March 31 to bid farewell to General Manager Jan Petter Eilertsen and his wife Kicki and to welcome the new General Manager of the Radisson Blu Hotel Kuwait, Philippe Pellaud and his wife Ida. The board members of the First Hotels Company and the management of the Radisson Blu Hotel, Kuwait, invited more than 800 dignitaries and top key accounts to the reception. Diplomats, government officials, prominent business men,

members of the press, tourism organizations, airlines, and travel agents, all gathered together at the Al-Hashemi Grand Ballroom, beautifully decorated for the occasion, to bid farewell to Jan Petter Eilertsen and to be introduced to Philippe Pellaud, a Swiss national, who has extensive international hospitality experience and has been involved in numerous openings and conversions. In addition, it was also the day to celebrate the 10 years anniversary of the Al-Hashemi II that was

officially inaugurated on the March 29, 2000 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Shortly after the inauguration, the AlHashemi II sailed to glory with its official entry into the Guinness Book of Records as the largest wooden dhow ever built in the world. Today, the Al-Hashemi II which can accommodate up to 1,000 people has become a prime venue for special functions such as weddings, conferences, state dinners and other major events.

PALPAK conducts picnic P

alakkad Pravasi Association of Kuwait (PALPAK) conducted the ‘Palakkadan Kudumab Sangamam’ on March 26, 2010 at Al-Shaheed Garden in Sharq (Al-Mulla Park). The picnic was inaugurated by President P N Kumar and managed by Gulam Musthafa, Rajedran, Baby Shajila Gulam, Radhika

Rajedran, Meena Guruvayoorappan and office bearers. More than 450 members and their families were present and participated in various cultural activities. PALPAK had arranged programs like Tug of war, Uriyadi, Anthakshari, balloon bursting, hopper game, ball-picking, elephant tail fix, surprise game, 100 and 50 meter

race for men and women, walk race etc. The programs started from morning 9:30 and went on till 5 pm. Main aim of this event was to have a get-together of all PALPAK members to meet each other, to have a lovely time and build a strong relationship between the members. A delicious sadhya was arranged for all the mem-

Cinemagic news

Aware center announces

Arabic Course

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he AWARE Center is glad to announce that the Summer 1 Arabic course will begin on May 2 until June 16, 2010 (introductory Arabic begins on May 2 till June 3, 2010). The AWARE Center offers Arabic classes on a regular basis from Introductory Arabic to level 4. AWARE Arabic classes are designed with the expat in mind. Our Arabic language courses offer a relaxed approach to communicating in basic Arabic for those who wish to learn Arabic for travel, for better understanding the culture of the Arabs, for conducting business or for simply feeling more involved while residing in Kuwait. Whether you are a teacher, a traveler, or work in the private business sector, AWARE Arabic courses introduce Arabic language basics that will offer you a start into the skills that will better prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic. AWARE Arabic courses combine language learning with cultural insights. All courses are taught in group settings which provide additional opportunities to interact with other Western expatriates studying the language. For more information, call 25335260/80 ext 105 or 104 or e-mail: Htaware.hassan@gmail.com.

bers. All the winners of various games were distributed with prizes. PALPAK presented appreciation certificates to the students of members who are leaving Kuwait for higher studies. General Secretary K V Hamza thanked all the members for making time to attend the event.

April 2010 Around the world in 10 films Welcome aborad Cinemagic’s Around The World Trip. Be ready to discover a wide selection of award winning masterpieces. Get lost in Tokyo’s streets, Go on a road trip to Brazil, Uncover the hidden feelings of Russia, Dream of a weird world in Germany, Get rebellious in Iran, Dive in a world of madness in South Korea, Discover who your true friend is in Norway, Dance on the crazy rhythms of Serbia, Defy the rules of India’s society and finally See a different side of Morocco. Don’t forget that we started charging 1kd, for the venue fees including refreshments, popcorn and much more. Consider it a token of care for us to keep on the venue rolling. For its part, Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences

together and by Increasing the public’s interest in the art of filmmaking and appreciate it. Contact via: screenings@cinemagics.com; or join our Facebook’s group “Cinemagic Kuwait. Please note that: • Screenings will be canceled when confronted with very bad weather. • Screenings will take place at our location in Old Salmiya, above LG Electronics. Today at 07:00 PM Central Do Brazil, Brazil 1998 Director: Walter Salles Genre: Drama | 113 min | English Subtitle Rated: PG 13 Dora, a dour old woman, works at a Rio de Janeiro central station, writing letters for customers and mailing them. She hates customers and calls them ‘trash’. Josue is a 9-year-old boy who never met his father. His mother is sending letters to his father through Dora. When she dies in a car accident, Dora takes

Josue and takes a trip with him to find his father. Thursday, April 8th at 07:00 PM Vozvrashchenie, Russia 2009 Director: Andrei Zvyagintsev Genre: Drama | 105 min | English Subtitle Rated: 15+ Director Andrei Zvyagintsev makes a phenomenally assured directorial debut with THE RETURN. The spare tale focuses on two young brothers, Andrey and Vanya, whose lives are thrown into a tailspin when their father returns after a 12-year absence. Bullish and intense, the patriarch takes the boys on a mysterious journey through a bleak yet beautiful Russian landscape. While Andrey looks up to his father, Vanya has trouble forgiving him for disappearing so many years ago. This strain adds even more drama to the already tense atmosphere, culminating in a shocking event that will change their lives forever.

The Embassy of India has further revamped and improved its Legal Advice Clinic at the Indian Workers Welfare Center, and made the free service available to Indian nationals on all five working days, i.e. from Sunday to Thursday every week. Kuwaiti lawyers would be available at the Legal Advice Clinic daily from Monday to Thursday, while Indian lawyers would be available on Sundays. Following are the free welfare services provided at the Indian Workers Welfare Center located at the Embassy of India: [i] 24x7 Helpline for Domestic Workers: Accessible by toll free telephone no. 25674163 from anywhere in Kuwait, it provides information and advice exclusively to Indian domestic sector workers (Visa No. 20) as regards their grievances, immigration and other matters. [ii] Help Desk: It offers guidance to Indian nationals on routine immigration, employment, legal, and other issues (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iii) Labour Complaints Desk: It registers labor complaints and provides grievance redressal service to Indian workers (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iv) Shelters: For female and male domestic workers in distress; (v) Legal Advice Clinic: Provides free legal advice to Indian nationals (Embassy premises; Kuwaiti lawyers 3 PM to 5 PM, Monday to Thursday; Indian lawyers 2 PM to 4 PM on Sunday); and (vi) Attestation of Work Contracts: Private sector worker (Visa No. 18) contracts are accepted at the Embassy; 9 AM to 1 PM; Sunday to Thursday; Domestic sector worker (Visa No. 20) contracts are accepted at Kuwait Union of Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO), Hawally, Al-Othman Street, Kurd Roundabout, Al-Abraj Complex, Office No 9, Mezzanine Floor; 9 AM to 9 PM, Saturday to Thursday; 5 PM to 9 PM on Friday. EMBaSSy OF PHILIPPInES The Embassy of the Philippines wishes to inform the Filipino community in the State of Kuwait, that the recent supreme court decision to extend the registration of voter’s applies only in local registration in the Philippines under Republic Act no. 8189 and does not apply to overseas voters which is governed by Republic Act no. 9189, hence it has no impact on the plans and preparations on the conduct of overseas absentee voting. The overseas absentee voting for presidential elections will start on 10 April 2010 and will continue uninterrupted until 10 May 2010 daily at the Philippine Embassy. Registered overseas absentee voters are advised to schedule their days off in advance to avoid complications in their schedules. Qualified voters are encouraged to get out and vote.

Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

SPECTRUM

16 CROSSWORD 947

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Calvin Aries (March 21-April 19) Cool your urge to be powerful and in control. There is a force propelling you forward; helping you with identifying, analyzing or searching for details or lost information today. If you want to be in control, this would be a good time to guide or instruct others in matters of importance. You may enjoy getting away from routine during your noon meal and, weather permitting, just enjoy the day. People watching, listening to recorded music or feeding the birds may help you relax. A sense of humor will help the afternoon move along nicely. An unlucky situation could occur now if you involve yourself too closely with an excessively friendly co-worker. Group activities this evening, whether social or sports related, will be a high level of fun. Taurus (April 20-May 20) You do not mind

performing those menial tasks that others despise. Your attitude today is cool, controlled and inventive. It is difficult to relax and enjoy others but once you are away from work you can be quite outgoing and able to share your laughter. Bargain-hunting with friends after work could be a challenge but certainly a change of pace from the working world—as well as fun. You show a great deal of interest in all family matters, particularly with regard to the general living environment in the home. Further, you may strengthen ties with an older member of the family; perhaps a parent. This is a time in which you may see the family circle increase in numbers through a marriage or a new birth. This is a good time to gain emotional support.

Pooch Cafe

ACROSS 1. A member of a rural Finnish people living in eastern Russia. 5. A metric unit of length equal to one hundredth of a meter. 7. A former communist country in eastern Europe and northern Asia. 11. Largest known toad species. 12. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens. 13. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America. 14. A language unit by which a person or thing is known. 15. A metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 10 liters. 16. A decree that prohibits something. 17. A member of a Turkic people of Uzbekistan and neighboring areas. 19. A unit of length of thread or yarn. 22. An inflammatory disease involving the sebaceous glands of the skin. 23. A software system that facilitates the creation and maintenance and use of an electronic database. 24. Norwegian mathematician (1802-1829). 27. (trademark) An antacid. 31. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth. 36. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment. 37. A historical region on northwestern India and northern Pakistan. 38. Kitchen appliance used for baking or roasting. 39. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods. 40. English monk and scholar (672-735). 43. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event. 44. The network in the reticular formation that serves an alerting or arousal function. 45. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind. 46. Lacking in rigor or strictness. DOWN 1. Small wildcat of the mountains of Siberia Tibet and Mongolia. 2. (used of eyes) Open and fixed as if in fear or wonder. 3. Syncopated music in duple time for dancing the rumba. 4. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy. 5. Someone who is morally reprehensible. 6. A master's degree in business. 7. Being or moving higher in position or greater in some value. 8. A island in the Netherlands Antilles that is the top of an extinct volcano. 9. A fraudulent business scheme. 10. Type genus of the Ranidae. 18. Sluggish tailless Australian arboreal marsupial with gray furry ears and coat. 20. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism. 21. The residue that remains when something is burned. 25. The rate at which heat is produced by an individual in a resting state. 26. (Akkadian) God of wisdom. 28. Having a horizontal surface in which no part is higher or lower than another. 29. A drama set to music. 30. An antianxiety agent (trade name Xanax) of the benzodiazepine class. 32. Made by polymerizing butadiene. 33. Type genus of the Anatidae. 34. A small cake leavened with yeast. 35. In bed. 36. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group. 41. An official prosecutor for a judicial district. 42. A public promotion of some product or service.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Your desire to succeed is strong today. This is a great time to be with others and to work as a team. You may be sought after as just the person for a particular job. You can coordinate activities so that everyone has a turn at control and very few will suspect you are maintaining the peace. Your management abilities are in high focus. You have an instinctive imperative to be powerful that may lead to a greater interest in investing or the great mysteries of life and death. Be prepared to apply the breaks when it comes to money. You may express your inventive side during this time. For now, you will be wise to reassess and regroup when it comes to expenses. You and your loved one enjoy doing things for each other this evening. Perhaps a massage.

Non Sequitur

Cancer (June 21-July 22) This is a good day for problem solving. You have been learning some new problem solving techniques and you will find a way around almost any obstacle by using your newly learned techniques. You are in control and able to guide yourself with ease. When something is not working it makes sense to try to fix it— unless you realize that it is completed and you should move on. Either way, action takes wisdom and stamina. Your ambition is intensified now and you can express yourself well through your improved vocabulary. You are able to enjoy and value your own life situation today. A social setting this evening will surprisingly improve your professional standing. Someone may compliment you on your tastes or belongings tonight. Leo (July 23-August 22) You concentrate on particular professional goals today and you resolve to work hard and make these goals a reality. A professional contact suggests some networking ideas so that you meet people to help you in this quest. You show respect for authority figures and when someone is needed for a particularly difficult job, it is you that will receive the work. You will have more than your share of social opportunities this coming weekend. It seems that everyone you know or meet offers an invitation to some event. You will pick carefully—later it will be time to network. Domestic and parental instincts reign this evening and throughout the weekend. You desire the comforts and activities of home and the emotional involvement of your family.

Zits

Virgo (August 23-September 22) You may have ideas for improving work efficiency and health practices. You tend to communicate more with co-workers and you may engage in study for employment that is more lucrative. You can trade, sell, close a deal or negotiate an agreement. If you have been considering signing a contract or entering into a partnership, it’s a good time now to decide. Entertainment and play activities with children increase during this time. You will find this a perfect time to teach them to think in logical ways to make problem solving an easier task. Appreciation of art and music increases. It is a good time to be more active socially. Go to a party or reception with your mate. Give a gift or send cards. Libra (September 23-October 22) Do not worry too much about what others think about your work or abilities just now. You will be able to achieve quite a lot today. An emphasis on close relationships and a preoccupation with ideas of fairness and harmony are part of the mental cycle you have just begun. The need to enjoy your work and have others respect your working space may take on a great deal of importance to you now. Any shortcomings of this kind stick out like a sore thumb. There is a sense of inadequacy or frustration today. It is important to realize that failures at work may not be your fault. This afternoon is a good time to become involved with some physical activity. You do not mind helping a friend or young adult with some research this evening.

Mother Goose and Grimm

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) You will work better with, than without, a partner today. Group participation may be cut short this morning in order to hurry along some project. You will be rewarded for your efforts and your helpful attitude will not go unnoticed. On the financial level you could lose money as fast as you accumulate it; so be frugal in your expenses. Be cautious as well in any enterprise that would cause you to increase your debts. This is a time when it is best to listen to all those around you before making a decision. Do not become preoccupied with one idea and accept it as gospel. Consider all sides of an issue. Teaching, learning, communicating and social contact has a way of outlining new directions in your life now. Work at keeping domestic harmony.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) You are extremely communicative today. This is a most beneficial time to exchange ideas and seek out new ventures. Ambition is intensified. When you feel as though you are trapped in a cage, the negative side of your personality creates someone who is more negative than playful. Find the cause of this trapped feeling and work on creating a better atmosphere or balance. Sometimes it may just mean that you need to speak up. The time is ripe for sudden and unexpected changes in the family or personal routine. If there are changes taking place, concentrate on making the changes peaceful. You could come up with new solutions, but do not push your ideas just now. Your desire to be with friends has moved to the back burner for now.

Yesterday’s Solution

yester

Yesterday’s Solution

to

INTERNATIONAL CALLS Kuwait Qatar Abu Dhabi Dubai Raas Al Khayma Al-Shareqa Muscat Jordan Bahrain Riyadh Makkah - Jeddah Cairo Alexandria Beirut Damascus Allepo

00965 00974 009712 009714 009717 009716 00968 009626 00973 009661 009662 00202 00203 009611 0096311 0096321

Tunisia Rabat Washington New York Paris London Madrid Zurich Geneva Monaco Rome Bangkok Hong Kong Pakistan Taiwan Bonn

0021610 002127 001212 001718 00331 004471 00341 00411 004122 0033 00396 00662 00852 0092 00886 0049228

Word Sleuth Solution

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) You visualize the end result of some project today and find just the right things to do in order to create this ending. Others could learn from your technique. A last-minute deadline could foil plans to get away early, but with concentration you can accomplish your goals and still have drive and push left. You could be working with young people early this evening, possibly in a volunteer situation. Some planetary positions may encourage you to become more sensitive to the needs of others. You will be successful in finding a positive activity or outlet for a young person that is very active. By tonight, your attitude and the matters of the day will have calmed considerably. There are good indications that luck will shine on you soon with regard to finances.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) There is a tendency to be too strict with yourself today, to insist that whatever does not contribute to security and other long-term goals are trivial. Your ambition is intensified. Don’t be afraid to speak up for what you want. You are usually the peacemaker and can over extend yourself in helping others; but today is for you. It is time to speak up for yourself—you will be most persuasive. This could mean a raise, receiving a new piece of equipment, or purchasing a new chair, etc. You may want to break up your usual routine and try something different after work today. Be careful not to spend excessively— you will be pleased with the results. A loved one wants some time with you later. You are playful and fun to be with this evening. Pisces (February 19-March 20) There may be a lot of tension and unusual thoughts during this workday. You could find yourself changing your mind often. You have many diverse mental and motor skills and can be a great teacher to others, whether it is in the work place, home, or in a volunteer service. Consider becoming involved in a volunteer service as a teacher. Friendships and involvement within group activities will play a more important part in your afternoon. This could mean painting, carpentry, gardening or even competitive sports. Friends are our only true riches and the satisfaction that comes from accomplishing things in cooperation with others is something no one can take away from you—enjoy. A love relationship may help you to relax this evening.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

17 ACCOMMODATION Two central A/C rooms available in Benaid Al-Gar, very near to Al Salam hospital, for decent working ladies. Please contact: 97879611. (C 2083) One spacious room in a decent fully furnished flat in Ashbiliya opp Farwaniya is available for a Muslim preferably Pakistani/Indian single, rent KD 100, serious person can contact. 99714430. (C 2081) 3-4-2010 Accommodation available for a decent non-smoking Keralite in Abbassiya near Lovely/Garden stores. Contact: 24334851, 99185377. (C 2079) Sharing rooms available in CAC building near Salmiya garden and Maidan Hawally with bath, single or couple, rent KD 100, 50, 40. Call 97151921. (C 2075) Spacious one room with balcony available for rent in a double bedroom flat at Salmiya, behind Al Jazeera complex, Gulf road, close to Pizza Hut & Rays One restaurant, rent KD 70. Contact: 97471492. (C 2076) Two central A/C rooms available in Benaid-AlGar,

very near to Al-Salam hospital for decent working ladies from April. Contact: 97879611. 1-4-2010 Sharing accommodation available for Keralite couples in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom new flat at Abbassiya, near United Indian School. Mob: 97345539. (C 2070) Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya for decent bachelor or working lady with Keralite family. Contact: 97534972. (C 2072) Furnished room with attached bath next to the main street Farwaniya is available with a small Pakistan family from 1st April for 2 months (possibility to continue) visiting family or working ladies can call. 66509289. (C 2068) Sharing accommodation for single family or working lady, Abbassiya nearest India house. Contact: 66670285. (C 2073) 31-3-2010 Sharing accommodation available for Indian working ladies or couples in a double bedroom flat in near Khaitan police station roundabout with all facilities. Call: 99480468. (C 2066) 30-3-2010

SITUATION VACANT

Full time Filipino live-in maid required for a European family with 2 children. Must speak good English, previous experience with young children and references required. Please contact: 65887206. (C 2067) 30-3-2010

FOR SALE Mitsubishi Jeep Nativa model 2008, silver color, 6cylinder engine, alloy rims, excellent condition, cash price 3150 KD, negotiable, installment possible. Contact: 99105286. (C 2082) 3-4-2010 Toyota Camry Grande model 2006, 6 cylinders, done 86,000 kms only, golden beige color, excellent

condition, cash price KD 3,400. Contact: 66211779. (C 2078)

dition, model 2008. Price KD 3,600. Contact: 66659560. (C 2071)

Toyota Camry 2006 model, GL, 4 cy, white color, km 82,000, good condition, cash 3,200 KD. Contact: 97800987. (C 2080) 1-4-2010

Toyota Camry XLi, model 2002, 4 cylinders, done 93,000 km only, white color, excellent condition, cash price KD 1,900. Contact: 97213518. (C 2069) 31-3-2010

Sri Lankan housekeeper/ maid with very good references is currently available for work with European/ Western family either part time or live in. Please call 97413349. (C 2074) 31-3-2010

Pajero model 98, grey color, price KD 1250. Contact: 67613250. (C 2064)

Indian female (MBA in HR), 10 years experience in HR/Administration, special-

Honda Accord, 4 cylinder metallic white color, alloy wheels, automatic, used 52,000 km, in excellent con-

SITUATION WANTED

izing in recruitments, PMS, MIS reports & overall Admin functions. Proficient in MS Office. Good communication skills. Please contact: 66634322. (C 2049) 29-3-2010 Indian male pharmacy graduate passed license exam MOH, seeking immediate placement in companies or pharmacies or hospitals. Please call 66076805, 66038171.

MATRIMONIAL Proposals invited from parents of well educated qualified boys for a Keralite CSI girl, 24 years, 165 cm, B.Tech (electronic & communication) working as project engineer in a reputed company. Please respond with boy’s complete personal/career details to email kamkwt@hotmail.com

No: 14687

Flight Schedule Arrival Flights on Saturday 03/04/2010 Airlines Flt Route Royal Jordanian 802 Amman 188 Bahrain Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways 306 Cairo 211 Bahrain Gulf Air Turkish A/L 772 Istanbul Ethiopian 620 Addis Ababa 370 Bahrain DHL Pakistan 239 Sialkot 853 Dubai Emirates Etihad 305 Abu Dhabi Qatari 138 Doha 503 Luxor Jazeera Jazeera 637 Aleppo Jazeera 527 Alexandria Jazeera 529 Assiut Kuwait 412 Manila/Bangkok British 157 London Kuwait 416 Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur Falcon 201 Bahrain Kuwait 204 Lahore Kuwait 302 Mumbai Fly Dubai 053 Dubai Kuwait 676 Dubai Kuwait 284 Dhaka Kuwait 344 Chennai Kuwait 362 Colombo Emirates 855 Dubai Kuwait 332 Trivandrum Arabia 121 Sharjah Qatari 132 Doha Etihad 301 Abu Dhabi Jazeera 425 Bahrain Gulf Air 213 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 182 Bahrain Middle East 404 Beirut Jazeera 165 Dubai Wataniya Airways 102 Dubai Jazeera 447 Doha Jazeera 113 Abu Dhabi Alnaser 711 Baghdad/Najaf Jazeeera 171 Dubai Egypt Air 610 Cairo Jazeera 457 Damascus Kuwait 672 Dubai Kuwait 774 Riyadh Wataniya Airways 432 Damascus United A/L 982 Washington Dc Dulles Royal Jordanian 800 Amman Egypt Air 621 Assiut Wataniya Airways 422 Amman Jazeera 257 Beirut Saudi Arabian A/L 500 Jeddah Kuwait 552 Damascus Nas Air 745 Jeddah Qatari 134 Doha Kuwait 786 Jeddah Jazeera 173 Dubai Kuwait 118 New York

Time 00:05 00:30 00:50 01:05 01:15 01:45 02:15 02:15 02:25 02:55 03:25 05:15 05:45 06:05 06:10 06:15 06:30 06:35 07:00 07:10 07:50 07:55 08:00 08:10 08:20 08:20 08:25 08:40 08:40 09:00 09:25 10:25 10:45 10:45 10:50 11:05 11:05 11:10 11:20 12:15 12:50 12:55 13:10 13:15 13:20 13:35 13:35 13:35 13:40 14:10 14:10 14:30 14:35 14:55 15:05 15:55 15:55 16:15

Nas Air Alnaser Mihin Lanka Jazeera Global Etihad Emirates Gulf Air Wataniya Airways Cargolux Saudi Arabian A/L Jazeera Jazeera Jazeera Arabia Srilankan Syrian Arab A/L Wataniya Airways Kuwait Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Iran Air Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait Singapore A/L Bahrain Air Kuwait Kuwait Rovos Fly Dubai Oman Air Indian Middle East Jet A/W Egypt Air KLM Wataniya Airways Jazeera DHL Gulf Air Emirates Qatari Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera Jazeera Lufthansa Egypt Air Bangladesh Jazeera India Express Egypt Air Kuwait Wataniya Airways Jazeera

703 713 403 427 061 303 857 215 402 792 510 493 239 433 125 227 341 304 104 106 502 542 202 548 618 607 177 459 674 458 344 562 614 093 061 641 993 402 572 618 0445 404 183 372 217 859 136 178 429 117 449 636 612 043 185 393 606 1782 108 263

Medinah Najaf Colombo/Dubai Bahrain Baghdad/Najaf Abu Dhabi Dubai Bahrain Beirut Luxembourg Riyadh Jeddah Amman Mashad Sharjah Colombo/Dubai Damascus Cairo London Dubai Beirut Cairo Jeddah Luxor/Sharm El Sheikh Doha Mashad Dubai Damascus Dubai Singapore/Abu Dhabi Bahrain Amman Bahrain Kandahar/Dubai Dubai Muscat Chennai/Mumbai Beirut Mumbai Alexandria Amsterdam Beirut Dubai Bahrain Bahrain Dubai Doha Geneva/Frankfurt Bahrain Abu Dhabi Doha Frankfurt Cairo Dhaka Dubai Kozhikode/Cochin Luxor Jeddah Dubai Beirut

16:20 16:30 16:40 16:45 16:50 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:15 17:15 17:20 17:25 17:35 17:35 17:40 18:00 18:30 18:35 18:35 18:45 18:50 18:50 18:55 18:55 18:55 19:05 19:05 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:25 19:40 19:55 20:00 20:05 20:15 20:15 20:20 20:30 20:35 20:40 20:50 21:00 21:00 21:05 21:15 21:35 21:40 22:15 22:25 22:25 22:35 22:55 23:00 23:05 23:10 23:15 23:25 23:55 23:55

Departure Flights on Saturday 03/04/2010 Flt Route Airlines 528 Assiut Jazeera 442 Lahore Shaheen Air Egypt Air 607 Luxor KLM 0447 Amsterdam Lufthansa 637 Frankfurt Indian 576 Goa/Chennai Turkish A/L 773 Istanbul Ethiopian 620 Bahrain/Addis Ababa DHL 371 Bahrain Pakistan 240 Sialkot 854 Dubai Emirates 306 Abu Dhabi Etihad Qatari 139 Doha Wataniya Airways 101 Dubai Jazeera 164 Dubai Royal Jordanian 803 Amman Jazeera 112 Abu Dhabi Jazeera 422 Bahrain Jazeera 446 Doha Gulf Air 212 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 181 Bahrain Rovos 094 Dubai/Kandahar Jazeera 456 Damascus Wataniya Airways 431 Damascus British 156 London Jazeera 256 Beirut Fly Dubai 054 Dubai Jazeera 170 Dubai Kuwait 671 Dubai Kuwait 551 Damascus Wataniya Airways 421 Amman Arabia 122 Sharjah Kuwait 101 London/New York Emirates 856 Dubai Qatari 133 Doha Kuwait 773 Riyadh Ethiad 302 Abu Dhabi Kuwait 785 Jeddah Kuwait 547 Luxor/Sharm El Sheikh Alnaser 712 Najaf/Baghdad Gulf Air 214 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 401 Beirut Kuwait 165 Rome/Paris Wataniya Airways 303 Cairo Middle East 405 Beirut Jazeera 172 Dubai Global 062 Baghdad Kuwait 541 Cairo Jazeera 432 Mashad Jazeera 492 Jeddah Jazeera 238 Amman Kuwait 501 Beirut Wataniya Airways 201 Jeddah Egypt Air 611 Cairo Jazeera 426 Bahrain Jazeera 458 Damascus Royal Jordanian 801 Amman Wataniya Airways 105 Dubai Kuwait 561 Amman

FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161

Time 00:05 00:10 00:15 00:30 00:50 00:50 02:15 02:30 03:15 03:30 03:45 04:00 05:00 06:50 07:00 07:00 07:15 07:35 07:40 07:45 07:50 08:00 08:05 08:10 08:25 08:35 08:40 09:00 09:00 09:10 09:10 09:20 09:30 09:40 10:00 10:00 10:10 10:25 10:55 10:55 11:35 11:35 11:45 11:50 11:50 11:55 12:00 12:00 12:05 12:15 12:30 13:00 13:45 13:55 13:55 14:00 14:30 14:30 14:35

Egypt Air Jazeera Kuwait Wataniya Airways Kuwait Nas Air Saudi Arabian A/L Qatari Jazeera Kuwait Nas Air Alnaser Etihad Mihin Lanka Kuwait Gulf Air Wataniya Airways Emirates Kuwait Jazeera Arabia Saudi Arabian A/L Jazeera Kuwait Cargolux Jazeera Jazeera Jazeera Srilankan Wataniya Airways Syrian Arab A/L Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways Kuwait Iran Air Bahrain Air Jazeera Singapore A/L Fly Dubai Kuwait Oman Air Middle East Jet A/W Egypt Air Wataniya Airways KLM Jazeera Gulf Air DHL Kuwait Emirates Falcon Kuwait Qatari Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera Jazeera United A/L Kuwait Egypt Air

622 176 673 403 617 746 505 135 182 613 704 714 304 404 1781 216 305 858 543 262 126 511 116 285 792 448 184 428 228 407 342 107 321 283 604 345 512 457 062 331 648 403 571 619 187 0445 240 218 373 675 860 102 381 137 301 205 480 526 502 981 411 613

Assiut Dubai Dubai Beirut Doha Jeddah Jeddah Doha Dubai Bahrain Riyadh Baghdad Abu Dhabi Dubai/Colombo Jeddah Bahrain Cairo Dubai Cairo Beirut Sharjah Riyadh Abu Dhabi Chittagong Hong Kong Doha Dubai Bahrain Dubai/Colombo Beirut Damascus Dubai Sharm El Sheikh Dhaka Isfahan Bahrain Sharm El Sheikh Abu Dhabi/Singapore Dubai Trivandrum Muscat Beirut Mumbai Alexandria Bahrain Bahrain/Amsterdam Amman Bahrain Bahrain Dubai Dubai Bahrain Delhi Doha Mumbai Islamabad Sabiha Alexandria Luxor Washington Dc Dulles Bangkok/Manila Cairo

14:40 14:55 15:10 15:10 15:35 15:45 16:00 16:20 16:50 16:55 17:10 17:30 17:35 17:40 17:55 18:05 18:05 18:05 18:10 18:15 18:20 18:35 18:40 18:45 18:45 18:55 19:00 19:10 19:10 19:25 19:30 19:40 19:45 20:00 20:05 20:10 20:15 20:45 20:50 21:00 21:15 21:20 21:30 21:35 21:35 21:40 21:50 21:55 22:00 22:10 22:25 22:30 22:30 22:35 22:45 22:55 23:05 23:20 23:30 23:40 23:40 23:55

TV PROGRAMS

18

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Orbit / Showtime Listings

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Starter Wife The Unusuals Life Murdoch Mysteries The Unusuals The Closer Inside the Actors Studio Starter Wife The Pacific Survivor Life One Tree Hill Inside the Actors Studio The Closer Life The Unusuals The Pacific Survivor ER CSI Glee Drop Dead Diva The Closer Nip/Tuck

00:45 Animal Cops Phoenix 01:40 Untamed & Uncut 02:35 Animal Witness 03:00 Animal Witness 03:30 Animal Cops Phoenix 04:25 Miami Animal Police 05:20 Going Ape 05:45 Planet Wild 06:10 E-Vets: The Interns 06:35 Aussie Animal Rescue 07:00 Lemur Street 07:25 Pet Rescue 07:50 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 08:15 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 08:45 Animal Cops Houston 09:40 E-Vets: The Interns 10:05 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 10:55 Animal Planet’s Most Outrageous 11:50 Britain’s Worst Pet 12:15 Animal Crackers 12:45 Cell Dogs 13:40 Life of Mammals 18:15 Predator’s Prey 18:40 Predator’s Prey 19:10 Galapagos 20:10 Cell Dogs 21:05 Untamed & Uncut 22:00 Untamed & Uncut 22:55 Animal Cops Miami 23:50 Galapagos

00:25 01:15 01:45 02:15 03:05 03:55 04:40 05:35 06:20 06:45 07:05 07:25 07:50 08:10 08:30 08:55 09:15 09:35 10:00 10:30 11:00 13:00 16:00 18:15 19:15 20:15 21:00 21:20 22:10 22:45 23:15 23:45

The Ship Red Dwarf Red Dwarf Robin Hood Holby Blue The Weakest Link The Ship Bargain Hunt Teletubbies Me Too Tweenies Teletubbies Me Too Tweenies Teletubbies Me Too Tweenies Teletubbies Garden Rivals Garden Rivals Eastenders Bargain Hunt The Weakest Link Holby City Holby City Doctor Who Doctor Who Confidential Robin Hood Green Green Grass Suburban Shootout The Smoking Room Jack Dee: Live At The Apollo

00:05 Nigella Express 01:20 The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook 03:05 Ching’s Kitchen 04:45 Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes 06:25 Nigella Express 07:20 Ching’s Kitchen 08:10 Saturday Kitchen 08:40 Antiques Roadshow 09:30 Come Dine With Me 19:55 Big Chef Takes On Little Chef 20:45 Cash In The Attic USA 22:30 Come Dine With Me

01:00 03:00 PG15 05:00 07:00 PG15 09:00 11:00 13:15 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Grown Up 17:10 E!es 18:00 E! News 18:25 The Daily 10 18:50 E!es 19:40 15 Remarkable Celebrity Body Bouncebacks 21:20 E!es 22:10 E! News 22:35 The Daily 10 23:00 Dr 90210 23:50 Bank Of Hollywood

The Cold Light Of Day-PG15 No Country For Old MenNight Falls On Manhattan-18 Travellers And MagiciansLosing Isaiah-PG15 Chariots Of Fire-PG Ocean Waves-PG15 Pearl Diver-PG Class Action-PG15 Days Of Glory-PG15 City Of Ghosts-18 Self Medicated-18

Man From Earth on Show Movies

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Rampage! Miami Ink Street Customs 2008 Fifth Gear Fifth Gear Ultimate Biker Challenge Ultimate Biker Challenge Mythbusters How Stuff’s Made Dirty Jobs Smash Lab Brainiac Mythbusters How Stuff’s Made Twist the Throttle Street Customs Berlin Fifth Gear Fifth Gear American Chopper Heartland Thunder Industrial Junkie Industrial Junkie Mega Engineering Extreme Explosions How Stuff’s Made Destroyed in Seconds Destroyed in Seconds Rampage! Ultimate Survival Extreme Fishing River Monsters Rampage!

00:30 The Colony 01:20 Sci-Fi Science 01:45 Sci-Fi Science 02:10 Weird Connections 02:35 Weird Connections 03:00 Beyond Tomorrow 03:50 How Techies Changed the World 04:45 How Stuff’s Made 05:10 Green Wheels 05:40 One Step Beyond 06:10 The Colony 07:00 Junkyard Wars 08:00 Robotica 09:00 The Future of... 09:55 Engineered 15:25 How Stuff’s Made 15:55 Weird Connections 16:20 Weird Connections 16:50 NYC: Inside Out 17:45 Download: The True Story of the Internet 18:40 Patent Bending 19:05 Patent Bending 19:30 Nextworld 20:20 Sci-Fi Science 20:45 Sci-Fi Science 21:10 The Future of... 22:00 Mythbusters 22:50 Mythbusters 23:40 Nextworld

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Hannah Montana Handy Manny Lazytown Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Imagination Movers Special Agent Oso Hannah Montana Fairly Odd Parents Suite Life On Deck Handy Manny Lazytown Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Imagination Movers Special Agent Oso Fairly Odd Parents Jonas Hannah Montana Hatching Pete Cars Toons Pixar Shorts Pixar Shorts

12:25 Jonas 12:50 Replacements 13:15 Fairly Odd Parents 13:40 Wizards Of Waverly Place 14:00 Suite Life On Deck 14:25 Hannah Montana 14:50 Cars Toons 14:55 Pixar Shorts 15:00 Tinkerbell And The Lost Treasure 16:15 Cars Toons 16:20 Pixar Shorts 16:30 Jonas 17:00 Suite Life On Deck 17:25 Wizards Of Waverly Place 17:50 Hannah Montana 18:10 Sonny With A Chance 18:35 Cars Toons 18:40 Pixar Shorts 19:00 Chicken Little 20:20 Cars Toons 20:25 Pixar Shorts 20:35 Hannah Montana 21:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 21:45 The Replacements 22:00 Fairly Odd Parents 22:25 Jonas 22:50 Hannah Montana

06:00 Jimmy Two-Shoes 06:25 American Dragon 06:50 Pokemon DP: Battle Dimension 07:20 CARS TOONS 07:30 Phineas & Ferb 07:40 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 08:05 Suite Life On Deck 08:30 I’M IN THE BAND 09:00 K9 ADVENTURES 09:30 Zeke & Luther 10:00 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 10:30 I’M IN THE BAND 11:00 Suite Life On Deck 11:30 SHREDUCATION 12:00 NEXT X U.S SHORTS 12:05 Zeke & Luther 12:40 Phil Of The Future 13:05 CARS TOONS 13:10 CARS TOONS 13:15 CARS TOONS 13:20 Phineas & Ferb 13:30 Aaron Stone 14:00 Kid vs Kat 14:30 Phineas & Ferb 15:00 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 15:30 Suite Life On Deck 16:00 I’M IN THE BAND 16:30 Zeke & Luther 17:00 LIFE IS RUFF 18:30 SHREDUCATION 19:00 NEXT X U.S SHORTS 19:10 Phineas & Ferb 19:15 CARS TOONS 19:40 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody 20:05 Zeke & Luther 20:30 American Dragon 21:00 Suite Life On Deck 21:25 Iron Man: Armoured Adventures 21:50 Power Rangers Jungle Fury 22:15 Aaron Stone

00:15 Streets Of Hollywood 00:40 E!es 01:30 Extreme Hollywood 02:20 Sexiest 03:15 Ths 05:05 Dr 90210 06:00 20 Hottest Women Of The Web 07:45 25 Most Stylish 08:35 E! News 09:00 The Daily 10 09:25 20 Acts Of Love Gone Wrong 11:05 E!es 12:00 15 Most Infamous Child Star Mugshots 13:40 E!es 14:30 Glamour’s 20 Wedding Do’s And Don’ts 15:25 50 Cutest Child Stars: All

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FBI Files A Haunting Undercover Fugitive Strike Force Forensic Detectives Black Museum Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghosthunters Ghosthunters Forensic Detectives FBI Files Undercover Forensic Detectives Forensic Detectives FBI Files Guilty Or Innocent? Fugitive Strike Force Royal Inquest Forensic Detectives FBI Files Undercover Forensic Detectives Forensic Detectives FBI Files Guilty Or Innocent? Fugitive Strike Force Ghost Lab A Haunting A Haunting Psychic Witness

00:00 Food Network Challenge 01:00 Great British Menu 01:00 Iron Chef America 02:00 Grill It! with Bobby Flay 03:00 Barefoot Contessa 03:00 Giada At Home 04:00 Barefoot Contessa 05:00 Food Network Challenge 05:00 Giada At Home 06:00 Great British Menu 06:00 Iron Chef America 07:00 Great British Menu 07:00 Iron Chef America 08:00 Chopped 08:00 Great British Menu 09:00 Kitchen Criminals 10:00 Best Thing I Ever Ate 10:00 Great British Menu 11:00 Easter Sweets with Jacques Torres 11:00 Food Network Challenge 11:50 Everyday Italian 12:00 Iron Chef America

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House Of Games The Hunting Party Deadly Stranger Illegal In Blue The Trip Brenda Starr Home Is Where The Hart Is Marie: A True Story Mr. Wonderful Hawaii Topkapi Hair

00:30 Don’t Tell My Mother... 01:30 By Any Means 02:30 Bondi Rescue 03:00 Destination Extreme 03:30 Surfer’s Journal 04:00 Treks In A Wild World 04:30 Madventures 05:00 Chasing Time 05:30 Lonely Planet 06:30 Don’t Tell My Mother... 07:30 By Any Means 08:30 Bondi Rescue 09:00 Destination Extreme 09:30 Surfer’s Journal 10:00 Food Lovers Guide To The Planet 10:30 Food School 11:00 Word Of Mouth 11:30 Word Travels:The Truth Behind 12:00 Word Travels:The Truth Behind 12:30 Camels, Courts & Concubines 15:30 Treks In A Wild World 16:00 Food Lovers Guide To The Planet 16:30 Food School 17:00 Word Of Mouth 17:30 Word Travels:The Truth Behind 18:00 Word Travels:The Truth Behind 18:30 Camels, Courts & Concubines 21:30 Treks In A Wild World 22:00 Food Lovers Guide To The Planet 22:30 Food School

00:00 How I met your mother 00:30 Two and a half men 01:00 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

01:30 The Colbert Report 02:00 Late night with Jimmy Fallon 03:00 Cougar Town 03:30 East Bound & Down 04:00 Sauturday Night Live 05:00 How I met your mother 05:30 Late night with Jimmy Fallon 06:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 07:00 Dharma & Greg 07:30 Three sisters 08:00 Frasier 08:30 Tyler Perry’s House of Payne 09:00 The Nanny 09:30 Family Biz 10:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:30 Dharma & Greg 11:00 Frasier 11:30 The Bernie Mac show 12:00 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson 13:00 Two and a half men 13:30 Tyler Perry’s House of Payne 14:00 The Nanny 14:30 Three sisters 15:00 How I met your mother 15:30 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 George Lopez 17:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 17:30 Frasier 18:00 The Bernie Mac Show 18:30 Dharma & Greg 19:00 How I met your mother 19:30 Gary Unmarried 20:00 Late night with Jimmy Fallon 21:00 The Daily Show with Jon

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:00 03:00 04:00 Leno 05:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 Leno 18:00 19:00

What’s Good For You 10 Years younger Look A Like The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Monique Show The Tonight Show with Jay GMA (repeat) GMA Health What’s the Buzz What’s Good For You Look A Like 10 Years younger Jimmy Kimmel Live! The View The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Martha Stewart Show Parenting Job Club GMA Weekend Live GMA Health What’s the Buzz The Tonight Show with Jay Downsize Me The View

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In Tranzit-18 Beautiful-18 For One More Day-PG15 Mongol-PG15 Bottle Shock-PG15 Man From Earth-PG15 Get Smart-PG15 The Promotion-PG15 Bottle Shock-PG15 Valkyrie-PG15 Smart People-PG15 Body Of Lies-18

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Kings Of South Beach-18 Vacancy 2: The First Cut-18 Vantage Point-PG15 Circus-PG15 Spiderwick Chronicles-PG Palermo Shooting-PG15 Ba’al-PG15 Spiderwick Chronicles-PG Arn: The Knight Templar-

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The Perfect Witness-18 House Under Siege-PG15 The Blob-18

Blue State-PG15 The Lonely Guy-PG15 Pretty In Pink-PG15 Short Track-PG Down To Earth-PG15 Car Babes-PG15 RRRrrrr!!!-PG15 Scrooged-PG Blue State-PG15 Deuce Bigalow: Male GigoloKids In The Hall: Brain CandyMumford-R

00:00 Barbie Fairytopia-FAM 02:00 Justice League: The New Frontier-FAM 04:00 Aussie And Ted’s Great Adventure-PG 06:00 Yogi Bear and The Magical Flight of The Spruce Goose-PG 08:00 Barbie And The Three Musketeers-PG 10:00 Aussie And Ted’s Great Adventure-PG 12:00 Barbie Magic Of The RainbowFAM 14:00 Justice League: The New Frontier-FAM 16:00 Tiny Toon Adventures: How I

Spent My Vacation-FAM 18:00 Doctor Dolittle 4: Tail To The Chief-PG 20:00 Tommy And The Cool MulePG 22:00 Barbie Magic Of The RainbowFAM

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Parkinson Sex and the City Beauty and the Geek Every Body Loves Raymond Coach Life on Mars Better off Ted Billable Hours Flash Forwards Every Body Loves Raymond Coach Beauty and the Geek Life on Mars Flash Forwards Better off Ted Billable Hours Every Body Loves Raymond Coach Parkinson Parkinson Life on Mars Tess of the D’Urbervilles Emmerdale Coronation Street Psych Psych In Treatment 24 Sex and the City

00:30 Futbol Mundial 01:00 Premier League - Preview Show 02:00 Premier League World 02:30 Premier League 04:30 Premier League Preview Show 05:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 06:00 Premier League Classics 07:00 AFL Toyota Premiership 10:00 Premier League Preview Show 11:00 Barclays Premier League 13:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 13:30 Premier League World 14:00 Live Toshiba Super Saturday 14:45 Live Premier League 16:45 Live Toshiba Super Saturday 17:30 Futbol Mundial 18:00 Goals Goals Goals

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Premier League Preview Show European PGA Tour Golf Mobil 1 The Grid ICC Cricket World Premier League Preview Show Premier League Live NRL Premiership Futbol Mundial Live Toshiba Super Saturday Live Premier League Live Toshiba Super Saturday Live Premier League Live Toshiba Super Saturday Live Premier League Live Toshiba Super Saturday Premier League

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NRL Premiership Premier League Preview Futbol Mundial V8 Supercars World Sport Live Super 14 V8 Supercars AFL Premiership Futbol Mundial Live Premier League Live PGA European Tour Super 14

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UFC Fight Night 21 UFC 104 UFC Unleashed UFC Wired WWE Bottomline WWE NXT WWE Smackdown WWE Vintage Collection WWE Bottomline WWE NXT WWE Smackdown WWE Vintage Collection UFC 112 Countdown Live Super 14 UFC 105 UFC Unleashed

03:00 December Boys-PG15 05:00 Largo Winch-PG15 07:00 Bring It On 5: Fight To The Finish-PG15 09:00 Bring It On 5: Fight To The Finish-PG15 11:00 December Boys-PG15 13:00 Where God Left His Shoes-PG 15:00 The 11th Hour-U 17:00 Bring It On 5: Fight To The Finish-PG15 19:00 Happy Go Lucky-PG15 21:00 Gran Torino-PG15 23:00 Meet The Spartans-PG15

Flags Of Our Fathers-U W-PG15 Kung Fu Panda-PG Frame Of Mind-PG15 The El Escorial Conspiracy-

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Babylon A.D.-PG15 Hoot-PG Last Mimzy-PG Australia-PG Hancock-PG15 Forgetting Sarah Marshall-18

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2001: A Space Odyssey Raintree County Blackboard Jungle Meet Me In St. Louis Gone With The Wind The Yellow Rolls-Royce The V.I.P.S Kelly’s Heroes Singin’ In The Rain Coma Tap

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Dinosaur Secrets Mega Movers Cities Of The Underworld Ax Men 2 Tunnellers The Universe Mega Disasters Dinosaur Secrets Mega Movers Cities Of The Underworld Ax Men 2 Tunnellers The Universe Mega Disasters Dinosaur Secrets Mega Movers Cities Of The Underworld Ax Men 2 Tunnellers The Universe Mega Disasters Dinosaur Secrets Mega Movers Cities Of The Underworld Seven Signs of the Apocalypse Ancient Discoveries 3 Battles B.C.

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Dr 90210 Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane The Dish How Do I Look? Split Ends Dr 90210 Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane Area How Do I Look? Style Star Style Her Famous Clean House What I Hate About Me Ruby How Do I Look? Clean House My Celebrity Home My Celebrity Home Home Wars Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane Dallas Divas & Daughters E!ES

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New Playlist Urban Hit Playlist RNB Playlist Club 10 Playlist Urban Hit Playlist Focus Guest Star Playlist French Only Playlist Urban Hit 30 Africa Playlist Trace Video Mix Legend Club 10 Playlist

00:00 Globe Trekker 01:00 Angry Planet 01:30 The Thirsty Traveler 02:00 Globe Trekker 03:00 Intrepid Journeys 04:00 Angry Planet 04:30 Raging Bulls 05:00 Globe Trekker 06:00 The Soller Railway 07:00 The Thirsty Traveler 07:30 Angry Planet 08:00 Globe Trekker 09:00 Essential 09:30 Essential 10:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 11:00 Distant Shores 11:30 Distant Shores 12:00 Distant Shores 12:30 Distant Shores 13:00 Globe Trekker 14:00 Planet Food 15:00 Chef Abroad 15:30 Chef Abroad 16:00 Floyd On Africa 16:30 Essential 17:00 Globe Trekker 18:00 Planet Food 19:00 Inside Luxury Travel-Varun Sharma 20:00 Floyd Uncorked 20:30 Chef Abroad 21:00 Chef Abroad 21:30 Chef Abroad 22:00 Planet Food 23:00 Essential 23:30 Essential

01:00 Vh1 Music 05:00 Chill Out 07:00 Smooth Wake Up 09:00 Vh1 Music 11:00 Vh1 Weekly Album Chart 12:00 Top 10 Depeche Mode 13:00 Music For The Masses 14:00 Soul Rhythm Weekend 17:00 (P) Final Countdown Best New Comer 2010 21:00 Vh1 100 Greatest Songs ¬†Of The 90’s Pt3 22:00 Vh1 100 Greatest Songs ¬†Of The 90’s Pt4 23:00 Saturday Night Fever

Meet The Spartans on Super Movies

Star Listings (UAE Timings) STAR Movies 21:25 Say Anything 23:05 Wyvern 00:35 The Delphi Effect 02:05 Sea Beast 03:35 I Think I Love My Wife 05:00 Say Anything 06:40 Wyvern 08:10 The Dark Is Rising 09:50 Enchanted 11:40 Deja Vu 13:45 Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation 15:20 Renaissance Man 17:30 Phone Booth 18:50 Blonde & Blonder STAR World 20:00 American Idol 22:00 [V] Tunes 23:00 [V] Tunes 00:00 Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? 01:00 [V] Tunes 02:00 [V] Tunes 03:00 [V] Tunes 04:00 American Idol 05:00 Stone Undercover 06:00 Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? 07:00 Scrubs

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The Bold And The Beautiful The Bold And The Beautiful The Bold And The Beautiful The Bold And The Beautiful The Bold And The Beautiful October Road American Idol [V] Tunes Stone Undercover Scrubs According To Jim According To Jim According To Jim Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? American Idol Asian Film Awards Asian Film Awards Samantha Who?

Granada TV 21:00 I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! (Series 7) 22:00 City Lights 23:00 I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! (Series 7) 00:00 At Home With The Braithwaites (Series 2) 01:00 SuperAgents

01:30 Poor Little Rich Girls (Series 2) 02:00 Big Bad World (Series 1) 03:00 Blue Murder (Series 2) (Double Bill) 05:00 I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! (Series 7) 06:00 Emmerdale (WEEKEND OMNIBUS) 07:30 Undercover Customs (Series 2) 08:00 City Lights 09:00 Young, Posh and Loaded 09:30 The Sunshine Girls 10:00 60 Minute Makeover (Series 3) 11:00 Come Dine With Me (Primetime Series 2) 12:00 Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (Series 3) 13:00 Stars In Their Eyes (Series 12) 14:00 Prime Drama: Cheers & Tears (Series 2) - The Treasure Hunt 16:00 Come Dine With Me (Primetime Series 2) 17:00 Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (Series 3) 18:00 Stars In Their Eyes (Series 12) 19:00 Prime Drama: Cheers & Tears (Series 2) - The Treasure Hunt Channel [V] 22:00 The Playlist

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Double Shot Loop [V] Plug Keys To The VIP Backtracks [V] Tunes [V] Plug Double Shot Videoscope [V] Countdown [V] Tunes Loop Backtracks [V] Special [V] Countdown

Fox News 00:00 Happening Now 01:00 The Live Desk 03:00 Studio B with Shepard Smith Live 04:00 Your World with Neil Cavuto 05:00 Glenn Beck with Glenn Beck 06:00 Special Report with Bret Baier 07:00 The FOX Report with Shepard Smith 08:00 The O’Reilly Factor 09:00 Hannity 10:00 On the Record with Greta Van Susteren 11:00 The O’Reilly Factor

12:00 Hannity 13:00 On the Record with Greta Van Susteren 14:00 Glenn Beck with Glenn Beck 15:00 Fox Report 16:00 Special Report with Bret Baier 17:00 Hannity (repeat) 18:00 The O’Reilly Factor (repeat) 19:00 FOX and Friends Saturday hosts David Briggs, Alisyn Camerota & Clayton Morris 20:00 FOX and Friends Saturday hosts David Briggs, Alisyn Camerota & Clayton Morris 21:00 FOX and Friends Saturday hosts David Briggs, Alisyn Camerota & Clayton Morris 22:00 Bulls and Bears 22:30 Cavuto On Business 23:00 FORBES on FOX 23:30 Cashin’ In National Geographic Channel 20:00 Naked Science -Explosive Force 21:00 Riddles Of The Bible -Search For Noah S1 22:00 Murder Dolls 23:00 Theme Week - Is It Real? : Sleepwalking Murders S2 23:30 Theme Week - Is It Real? : Bermuda Triangle S3-02 00:00 Locked Up Abroad -Conned In Quito

01:00 Perfect Weapon -Skull Smashers 02:00 Naked Science -Bullets S2-9 03:00 Nat Geo Junior -Wild Detectives : Humpback Whales 03:30 Nat Geo Junior -Wild Chronicles : 5 04:00 Animals in Danger -Among The Great Apes With Michelle Yeoh 05:00 When Crocs Ate Dinosaurs 06:00 The Living Edens -Thailand: Jewel Of The Orient 07:00 Mega Factories -Super Subway 08:00 World’s Toughest Fixes -San Francisco Bay Bridge 09:00 ABOUT ASIA -Don’t Tell My Mother : That I Am In North Korea S1-4 10:00 ABOUT ASIA -Inside: The Emperor’s Treasure 11:00 Cruise Ship Diaries -Dirty Dancing 5 12:00 Mega Factories -Tanks 13:00 Nat Geo Weekends -Shark Men : First Bite 14:00 Mega Factories -Super Subway 15:00 Monster Fish -Great White Sturgeon 16:00 Naked Science -Bullets S2-9 17:00 Nat Geo Weekends -Shark Men : First Bite 18:00 Mega Factories -Super Subway 19:00 Monster Fish -Great White Sturgeon

NEWS

Saturday, April 3, 2010

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Christians flock to Holy City Continued from Page 1 As bells tolled across the city, blackrobed priests and nuns mingled with pilgrims and tourists. Many carried crosses while some, including a group from California smeared in fake blood, reenacted the crucifixion. Many of the pilgrims were unable to enter the church due to the huge numbers of faithful gathered inside and outside as well as the heavy security. This year, numbers were greater than usual with Catholics and other Christians in the West celebrating Easter on the same day as Orthodox Christians, a rare overlap. As a result the procession, which included a large Russian contingent, was noisy and at times unruly. Carrying wooden crosses of all sizes, the pilgrims were ushered by police as they trampled

patiently, often becoming bottlenecked at points in the narrow alley ways. Nur Bishay, a Coptic Christian from Cairo, lamented that “the silence of prayer and sacred chants were drowned out by the police, the shouting and the chaos.” The procession was further interrupted when a group of Palestinians staged a protest after becoming frustrated at being unable to enter the church. “With our blood, with our soul, we sacrifice ourselves for you Palestine!” they shouted for several minutes. Extra police were deployed to prevent any incidents in the Old City, which Israel annexed along with the rest of mainly Arab east Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 Six-Day War. Jerusalem has been tense in recent weeks following repeated clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians over fears that Israel is trying to rein-

force its hold on the city. Each year, thousands of Christians flock to tread the route that is based on a devotional walk first laid out by the Roman Catholic Church’s Franciscan order in the 14th century. The Christian Gospels teach that on the third day after he was crucified, Jesus rose from the dead. The event is commemorated by Easter, the most important day of the church year to most Christians. As the faithful arrive at the Holy Sepulchre church, representatives from the two Muslim families which have kept the keys to it since the 13th century open its doors to them. “We came here to feel what Jesus felt as he passed through,” said Martin, a 25year-old pilgrim from India carrying a large cross. “It is beautiful and very good to be here.” —AFP

The baby face of Moscow’s attack Continued from Page 1

MARJAH, Afghanistan: Afghan villagers look on at US Marines of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines while their neighbors are questioned on Taleban presence in the area during a foot patrol in Marjah, Helmand province, yesterday. — AFP

US Marines offer war or peace to Afghan elders SISTANI, Afghanistan: The tribal elders gathered in the desert outside Marjah, the frontline of the US-led battle in southern Afghanistan to provide services and security after years of Taliban control. Around 20 sat in a circle, waiting for Lieutenant Colonel Brian Christmas, US Marine commander in northern Marjah who has-so far — kept American troops out of the small village of Sistani to the northwest. Nearly two months after US Marines led what was billed the biggest offensive against the Taleban in more than eight years of war, troops still come under daily fire from insurgents and bombs are still exploding. Four recent bomb attacks wounded at least nine US or Afghan service personnel and clashes between Marines and insurgents are frequent. When the Americans reached Sistani, they encountered no Taleban and no fighting, so they agreed to an elders’ request not to patrol the village. But intelligence reports suggest that fighters increasingly use Sistani as a rear base, building IEDs and infiltrating Marjah to attack Marines then slipping back to hide out of reach. “There are Taleban among you. There are Taleban sitting here. I know it. I encouraged it. And it is good,” Christmas tells the group. In the second row, where Christmas thinks the Taliban are sitting, men look away or finger their prayer beads.

“Not all Taliban are bad. Some have been influenced by foreigners, from Iran or Pakistan. But now Taliban should lay down their weapons,” he says. Although providing reconstruction and services to communities is integral to the new US strategy to quell the Afghan conflict and allow American forces to start leaving in mid-2011, efforts remain tentative. “As long as there is peace in Sistani, ANA (Afghan National Army) and Marines will stay outside and life can get better,” Christmas says. He recalls how a US Marine was wounded when a bomb hidden in a goat carcass exploded while being transported by a donkey. “It’s up to you to decide what you want,” he says-put simply it’s a choice between American guns or American resources. The aid on offer is simple in this desperately poor and deeply conservative rural backwater rising out of the desert: wells, schools and mosques. Elders say there are no government schools, only 46 mosques in the district of Sistani, some of which operate madrassas offering basic education. Many boys don’t go to school because outlying mudbrick homes are too far from the nearest madrassa. Trial elders say they are worried about vehicles being searched at checkpoints on the outskirts of Sistani. “Sometimes it takes two hours to get through,” complains one Afghan with a

long black beard. Searches will continue, Christmas says, but he also promised that Afghans will soon have identity cards, which will ease the Marines’ work. “The average search time is 18 minutes. We are getting better,” he says. The tribal elders clamour for schools, school supplies and dozens of wells. “We’ll start by providing wells to the bazaar, because it’s for community use. Then we’ll move to individuals,” Christmas says. The tribesmen say they have six teachers and “one or two” doctors. Sistani is even poorer than Marjah because the desert cannot support the poppy that earns many southern Afghan farmers a basic subsistence. “We want six small schools,” pipes up one Afghan. “Ok. Tell me where and we’ll build them,” said Christmas. “How many school teachers do you have? We can build schools and pay school teachers.” The Americans promise to return again with a map to work out where Afghans want to put wells, schools and mosques. They say residents of Sistani can work on the most urgent construction projects-hired and paid by the Marines. An explosion blasts through the desert in the distance. No one reacts. The shura finishes with a prayer. Everyone, Marines included, bow their heads and hold out their palms, Muslimstyle towards the sky. The Afghans then bid farewell and disperse. “Now we have to wait,” concludes Christmas. —AFP

Muslims try to pray in Spanish cathedral MADRID: A group of Muslims tried to pray inside a Roman Catholic cathedral that was originally a mosque and then scuffled with security guards and police who tried to stop them, a Spanish official said yesterday. Two of the tourists were arrested after the incident Wednesday night in the southern city of Cordoba and a police officer and a cathedral security guard were slightly injured, National Police spokeswoman Rosa Ortiz told The Associated Press. The Great Mosque of Cordoba was built after the Moorish invasion of Spain in the 8th century. Cordoba is known as the City of Three Cultures because Muslims, Jews and Christians lived there in harmony during medieval times. The mosque was transformed into a cathedral in 1236 when King Ferdinand III captured the city from the Moors. Since then, except for rare exceptions, Muslim prayer rites have been forbidden inside. The building still retains exquisite red and white arches and gleaming marble columns from the original mosque. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984, and is one of Spain’s most popular tourist sites. Ortiz said a group of 120 Muslim tourists from Austria entered the mosque Wednesday evening and a handful of them — six or seven, she said — started to

pray. Security guards told them to stop, but the small group insisted and argued with the guards, so National Police were summoned. Two of the people praying insisted even then, and got into a shoving match with officers, after which they were arrested for disobeying and threatening law enforcement officers, Ortiz said. She declined to name them saying only they were men aged 23 and 19. The detainees were to appear before a judge in Cordoba yesterday. Ortiz

said had never heard of an incident like this before. The bishop’s office in Cordoba said the larger group had acted in a coordinated and aggressive fashion, but Ortiz downplayed that idea. Mansur Escudero, a Spanish Muslim leader, said he has been pressing the Catholic church for years to let Muslims pray in the mosque, but to no end. Over the past few decades exceptions were made, at the request of King Juan Carlos, and members of the Saudi royal family were allowed to pray

in the mosque, Escudero, who is president of the Islamic Commission of Spain, told the newspaper El Mundo. Spain has a Muslim community of about 1 million, out of a total population of 45 million. The building’s official title is the “Mezquita Catedral de Cordoba” — the mosque cathedral. Escudero said the name should be changed to exmosque cathedral. “Or just cathedral. If it is not a mosque, they should not call it a mosque,” he was quoted as saying. —AP

UK says Oman intends to buy Eurofighters LONDON: Oman intends to buy an unspecified number of Eurofighter warplanes, Britain said yesterday. A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the potential deal followed three years of talks between London and Oman. No details of the size, cost or timing of any sale were released. Media reports in late 2008 said Oman was in talks with BAE Systems to buy 24 Eurofighter Typhoons worth at least 1.4 billion pounds ($2.13 billion). Neither the government or BAE would say if the deal involves planes originally intended for Britain’s Royal Air Force. Under pressure to cut defense budgets, Britain last year resisted buying a third batch of Typhoons, before relenting following appeals from Germany, defense sources said. Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain reached a

compromise deal under which they agreed to split the third delivery into two parts, known as tranches 3A and 3B. However, UK defense procurement minister Quentin Davies told Reuters in 2009 Britain was under no commitment to buy further jets after he signed a deal for 40 planes as part of tranche 3A. A BAE Systems spokesman declined to comment on the announcement, but issued a short statement: “Oman is a country with which we have a long and valued relationship and stand ready and willing to support any requirement it has.” If confirmed, the deal would give a boost to the Eurofighter project after years of uncertainty over whether EU countries would agree to buy the full number of jets they signed up for. —Reuters

Lebanese man’s life in balance Continued from Page 1 Medina in May 2008 and sentenced to death last November for witchcraft. The Saudi justice system, which is based on Islamic law, does not clearly define the charge of witchcraft. Sibat is one of scores of people reported arrested every year in the kingdom for practicing sorcery, witchcraft, black magic and for-

tunetelling. The deeply religious authorities in Saudi consider these practices polytheism. Sibat’s wife, Samira, appealed to Saudi authorities to release her husband. “He didn’t do anything wrong ... he did not harm anyone,” she said tearfully. “If they want to do a humanitarian thing they will return him to his country.” The lawyer added she is slightly optimistic the postponement of the execu-

tion meant Sibat would be released. On Thursday, a dozen people rallied near the Saudi embassy in Beirut to protest the impeding execution. New York-based Human Rights Watch said last year Sibat’s death sentence should be overturned and called on the Saudi government to halt its “increasing use of charges of ‘witchcraft,’ crimes that are vaguely defined and arbitrarily used.” — AP

posing in an Islamic headscarf with her late husband Umalat Magomedov, who bore the nom-de-guerre of “AlBara”. But it is no normal picture of a young husband and wife. For Abdurakhmanova is proudly pointing a small pistol to the sky and her husband is gripping a larger weapon. In another image, Abdurakhmanova wears the Islamic niqab headscarf that shows only her eyes through a slit and proudly clutches a grenade in her hand. Magomedov was a Dagestani rebel killed in an operation on December 31 last year and was suspected of being close to top Islamist rebel Doku Umarov, who claimed he ordered the Moscow attacks that in total killed 40 people. The Kommersant daily said that Abdurakhmanova was from the village of Kostek in western Dagestan, known for

producing wrestling champions. It said she met Magomedov when she was 16 after making contact through the Internet and subsequently they became inseparable. It was unclear whether the couple were formally married. Magomedov does not wear a ring in the photographs. Kommersant said that Abdurakhmanova may also have another surname, Abdulayeva. Her name Dzhennet, found among Muslim women in Russia, is derived from the Arabic word Jannat, meaning paradise. The reports said she had been identified as the bomber after officials compared the photograph with the severed head found at the metro station. Investigators have not officially identified the second bomber, but one version is that she was a Chechen woman called Markha Ustarkhanova who was also married to a Caucasus militant, Kommersant reported. Ustarkhanova, 20, is the widow

of a rebel from the Chechen town of Gudermes, Said-Emin Khizriyev, Kommersant reported. However, a Chechen security force source told the RIA Novosti news agency Thursday that investigators concluded that a photograph of Ustarkhanova did not match either bomber. The two women who staged the bombings are believed to have taken an intercity bus to Moscow from the Dagestan town of Kizlyar, where a double suicide bombing killed 12 on Wednesday. Kizlyar is just over the regional border from Chechnya and has good train and bus connections to the Russian capital. It said the women were trained in a camp for suicide bombers in Chechnya. After arriving in the capital with bags and a male suspect who is now the target of a massive police search, the women descended into the metro to cause carnage. — AFP

US announces new airline security measures Continued from Page 1 Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Nigeria-US partners in the fight against Al-Qaeda-were angered at being on the list. Under the new measures, if there was information about an individual of interest coming from a particular Asian country who recently traveled to certain countries in the Middle East and was of a certain nationality and age range, that data would be compared with travelers

to the United States at foreign airports. Anyone who fits the data could be subjected to additional screening procedures and pulled aside for questioning by airline or airport security officials. US officials have been consulting with countries and foreign carriers with direct flights to the United States about airline security, the administration official said. “It is designed to be much more tailored so that we don’t stop everybody coming from

a certain country, because that information is out, and if I’m a terrorist, the last thing I want to do then is send somebody with this passport, going that way,” the official said. The US government also released yesterday a review of rail security conducted over the past year in a report called “Surface Transportation Security Priority Assessment” that provides recommendations and guidelines on improving security on rail transportation. — Reuters

US asks China to help ratchet up Iran push Continued from Page 1 for months fended off calls to back sanctions. “I think Iran now has no hope of making China keep with its stance of a few months ago in which it strongly opposed placing further sanctions,” said Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing. “China has already changed this stance.” Together with China’s announcement on Thursday that Hu will attend a nuclear security summit in Washington this month, the talk between the leaders reflected easing tensions between Washington and Beijing after a spasm of disputes. The New York Times reported that the Obama administration will defer a decision on whether to name China as a currency manipulator-which could anger Beijing-until after Hu’s Washington visit. The White House said no decision had been made. Western powers say Tehran is violating international nuclear safeguards and have told it to curtail uranium enrichment work, which could eventually be used to make fissile material for nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear activities are peaceful and legitimate. In remarks reported on Chinese state television, Hu told Obama that he opposes the spread of nuclear weapons, but no comments directly broaching Iran or

sanctions were mentioned. “China has always taken seriously the issue of nuclear security, and opposed nuclear proliferation and terrorism,” said Hu. The Chinese president’s reported comments, and remarks from his foreign minister, showed that while Beijing may be ready to consider new sanctions against Iran, it is not prepared to publicly commit to supporting them, leaving much room for haggling in the UN Security Council. China is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, each wielding the power to veto any resolution and thus block proposed UN sanctions. US officials, however, were optimistic that Hu’s visit would prove valuable. “We are obviously quite pleased that ... he is attending something that the president believes is so vitally important to our national security and to international security,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, told reporters yesterday, after meeting the Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing, that the two sides agreed sanctions had “lost their effectiveness.” “We consider sanctions as opportunities,” Jalili was separately quoted by Iran’s official IRNA news agency as saying. “We will continue our (nuclear) path more decisively.” But Jalili stopped short of saying

Beijing would oppose them, and said it was up to China to explain its stance. Yang called for “flexibility” during talks with Jalili, who flew to Beijing on Thursday. In the brief published remarks from his meeting, Yang supported resolving the stand-off through negotiations, but did not repeat China’s long-standing line that sanctions are not the “fundamental” cure to the dispute. Beijing and Washington have jousted in recent months over issues from internet censorship to US charges that China keeps its yuan currency undervalued, raising the possibility those tensions could spill over into dealings over Iran. “China clearly hopes to use its very reluctant concession on the Iran nuclear issue as an active step to ease extremely tense US-China relations over recent months,” said Shi, the Beijing-based professor. At the United Nations, diplomats said the United States, Britain, France and Germany expect to meet with both Russia and China next week to begin drafting sanctions proposals. A diplomat with knowledge of the talks said on Thursday that China probably would support US proposals to blacklist banks, impose travel bans and freeze assets, but would not blacklist Iranian shipping firms, ban arms imports, or target oil and gas sectors. — Reuters

Shiite party gives boost to Allawi Continued from Page 1 with Allawi’s Iraqiya list, a cross-sectarian grouping that drew on heavy Sunni support to eke out a two-seat lead over Al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition. That gave a pivotal role to the INA, particularly Al-Sadr, whose supporters won at least 39 seats to become the largest bloc within the grouping. “We will not participate in the next government without Allawi’s (Iraqiya Party slate),” alHakim said in remarks broadcast late Thursday. He also rejected allegations that Allawi’s list had ties to Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-dominated Baath party, an issue that has stoked sectarian tensions during political maneuvering before and after the elections. “I can assure you that the Iraqiya list is not a Baathist one,” he told hundreds of loyalists during a meeting in Baghdad.

Allawi’s party warmly welcomed alHakim’s support, which Iraqiya spokesman Abdul Rahman Al-Bayder said “will help build an authentic government.” He added that Iraqiya is “ready for a coalition that serves the political process and democracy.” Al-Sadr, who is based in Iran, has withheld his backing from both big winners in the March 7 election, saying he wants his supporters to make the choice for him. The Shiite cleric’s endorsement would be a valuable prize for candidates scrambling to get enough parliamentary support to form a government. His followers set up polling tents across Baghdad and other predominantly Shiite cities, drawing hundreds of people, some of them fingering prayer beads and holding umbrellas to shield them from the sun. Organizers expected to release results Sunday following two days of voting. Election workers acknowledged that

only voters’ conscience stopped them from casting more than one ballot. At one largely deserted polling place in Baghdad, young children were seen filling out ballots. Besides Allawi and al-Maliki, the other candidates on the ballot are: former prime minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari, Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, or Mohammed Jaffar Al-Sadr who ran on AlMaliki’s list but has al-Sadr family ties. Voters also could write in another choice. Nathan Freier, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said he believed al-Sadr’s party could be enticed to join al-Hakim in backing Allawi’s party. “This presents an interesting and quite positive development for Iraq,” he said, noting that it could set the stage for a broad-based government that includes Iraq’s major Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish factions. —AP

Ageing gene linked to immunity: Study Continued from Page 1 May’s team compared longevity, stress resistance and immunity in four related species of worm. They also looked for differences in the activity of DAF-16 in each of the four species, and found that they were all quite distinct. Importantly, the differences in DAF-16 corresponded to differences in longevity, stress resistance and immunity between the four species, with higher levels of DAF-16 activity correlating to longer life, increased resistance and better immunity against some

infections. May said DAF-16 was active in most cells in the body and was very similar to a group of human genes called FOXO genes, which scientists believe play a role in the ageing process. “The fact that subtle differences in DAF-16 between species seem to have such an impact on ageing and health is very interesting and may explain how differences in lifespan and related traits have arisen during evolution,” May said. The study was published in the Public Library of Sciences (PLoS) One journal.

In a commentary on the study, Professor Douglas Kell of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), which funded the work, said the findings would help scientists understand some of the mechanisms that determine how humans age. “It is very important to develop a good understanding of healthy ageing if we are to appreciate what happens to an older person’s physiology when they become unwell or experience difficulties with everyday tasks such as recalling memories or moving around,” he wrote. — Reuters

SPORTS

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Saturday, April 3, 2010

KUWAIT: Duaij Al-Otaibi hands the gold medal to Nasser Al-Miqlid

Kuwait wins gold in shooting events By Abdullatif Sharaa KUWAIT: Kuwait Trap Shooter Nasser Al-Miqlid snatched the gold medal during the Asian Clay Target Shooting Championship being held in Thailand. Al-Miqlid had a score of 139/150, ahead of India’s Manaf Singh with 138-150 and Korea’s Song Nam with 135-150. The Kuwaiti women’s trap team, comprising Rasha Al-Fares, Sarah and Shahad AlHawal also won first place, followed by

Qatar and India, while the men’s team, comprising Al-Miqlid, Khalid Al-Mudhaf and Tami Al-Rashidi, took second place in the men’s event. These results put Kuwait in first place during the first day of the championship. The head of the Kuwaiti delegation Engineer Duaij Khalaf Al-Otaibi, who is also President of the Arab Shooting Federation, and Deputy Chairman of the Kuwait Shooting Federation, said that Kuwait’s shooters

performed very well, in a sport where results are decided by the participants’ last shot. The Kuwaiti shooters’ morale is very high, he said, congratulating His Highness the Amir, HH the Crown Prince and HH the Premier for those outstanding results. Meanwhile, the Kuwait national skeet-shooting team retained its first and second-place ranking in the Asian Shooting Confederation for the 2009/2010 shooting season. The

leadership of Sheikh Salman Sabah AlSabah, is extremely happy that Kuwait’s champions continue to hold the top ranking in skeet-shooting across Asia. Al-Osaimi voiced pride in the general high-placed ranking of Kuwaiti shooters among their more-than-2,000 Asian counterparts who come from 42 confederations. He said that these results promise a bright future for Kuwait shooters, especially since there are a group of outstanding junior shooters, who are

being prepared in a way that will continue Kuwait’s impressive shooting achievements. He revealed that the shooting club is working not only to maintain the country’s ranking in Asia, but also looking to obtain the top positions in shooting sports globally. Al-Osaimi praised the support of the Public Authority for Youth and Sports, headed by its Chairman and Director General, Major General (Ret) Faisal AlJazzaf, for Kuwait’s shooters.

Finland’s Palermaa grabs bowling title

Tiger’s tale swipes spotlight from the Masters title fight AUGUSTA: At this year’s Masters, the biggest question is not who will claim the winner’s green jacket, but whether or not Tiger Woods can recapture the form that has made him a 14-time major champion. Remorseful and humbled after confessions of adultery and months at the heart of a sex scandal firestorm, Woods arrives at Augusta National Golf Club having not competed in an event since winning the Australian Masters in mid-November. “It’s obviously going to be the biggest thing in sport that week,” said South African star Ernie Els, who won the two biggest Masters tuneup events last month at Doral and Bay Hill. “Not that Augusta has to shy away from anything but especially with Tiger coming back I think it’s going to be unbelievably big.” Unable to control himself from cheating on his wife Elin with other women, the father of two-known for his control and discipline on the golf course-makes his dramatic comeback at a club where women are not allowed as members. “I’m excited to get back to playing. I miss competing,” Woods said last month. “I’m starting to get my feel back. I know how to play the course. I just have to go out and play it.” World number one Woods, chasing the all-time record of 18 major titles won by Jack Nicklaus, has 71 career PGA victories, two behind Nicklaus and 11 shy of Sam Snead’s record. Woods has four Masters titles, the most recent in 2005. “Tiger Woods is the biggest story,” British Open champion Stewart Cink said. “I think it’s going to be one of the biggest events in golf history because the biggest player in golf history is going to come back from this absence. “Everybody is going to be scrutinizing his game and what he says and where he goes-everything. It will also end up being a great tournament because he will probably end up in the mix. “It will just be really compelling. I believe he can be a factor.” Woods admits some concern over how spectators at Augusta National will react to him. “I’m a little nervous about that,” Woods told ESPN. “It would be nice to have a couple claps here or there. I hope they will clap for birdies too.” Woods saw his iconic rolemodel image shattered by the gossip revelations of multiple mistresses, becoming a punch-line for comedians. He saw the defection of several of the major sponsors that made him the world’s first billion-dollar sportsman. After announcing an indefinite break from golf last December to heal his personal issues, Woods underwent six weeks of therapy and made a public apology in February that captured the attention of the world. Woods returned to golf practice and announced three weeks ago that he would make his return at the Masters, with rivals saying he could win at Augusta National despite the long layoff. “He wouldn’t be playing in the Masters if he didn’t think he could win,” said Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie. “And he’s going there and he’s preparing as hard as he has ever done, because he’s determined to do well. “I’m sure he’ll be contending and he knows how to win. It’ll be interesting to see how other players around him react when his name is on that leaderboard again. He has that aura about him. It will be very exciting times.” Only Ben Hogan in 1951 and 1953 has won the Masters as his debut event of a season and Arnold Palmer, a four-time Masters winner, warned the layoff will be tough for even Woods to overcome despite his familiarity with the course. —AFP

announced list sees shooter Abdullah AlTurkqi Al-Rashidi taking first place and Zaid Dakhil Al-Mutairi in second. In trap-shooting, meanwhile, Khalid Jassim Al-Mudhaf was ranked second. The first and second-place positions in the skeet-shooting ranks have alternated between Al-Rashidi and Al-Mutairi for some time now. The Secretary General of the Kuwait Shooting Sport Club said that the Kuwaiti shooting community under the

CALIFORNIA: Suzann Pettersen, of Norway, watches her tee shot on the 11th hole during the first round of the LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship golf tournament in Rancho Mirage. — AP

Flawless Pettersen takes control at Kraft Nabisco Former champion Ochoa one stroke adrift RANCHO MIRAGE: Norway’s Suzann Pettersen moved into a one-stroke lead at the Kraft Nabisco Championship on Thursday, a month after withdrawing from an event in Australia because of a hip injury. The world number four recorded five birdies on the way to a five-under-par 67 in the opening women’s major of the year. The blonde Pettersen surged to the top of the leaderboard with a superb driving display on one of the LPGA Tour’s longest courses, the 6,702-yard layout at Mission Hills Country Club. World number one Lorena Ochoa of Mexico, winner here in 2008, narrowly missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a share of the lead and had to settle for a six-birdie 68. Twice champion Karrie Webb of Australia carded a 69 to finish in a group of seven players including South Koreans Min Na-on and Kim Song-hee, Britain’s Becky Brewerton and Yani Tseng of Taiwan. “It was a very good, solid round of golf and I could not ask for a better start,” Pettersen, 28, told reporters after covering her last nine holes in two-under 34. “I had a few good bounces out there but I am feeling very good with my driver, which helps around this place. Plus I am making a few putts so it was very stress-free golf today.” A top-five finisher here for the last three years, the Norwegian was delighted to be back in competition fol-

lowing her withdrawal from last month’s ANZ Ladies Masters. HIP PAIN “I’m pain-free now so that’s the most important thing,” said Pettersen, who pulled out on the eve of the Ladies European Tour-sanctioned event due to pain in her left hip. “It was a little flare on the bone. They thought it was bursitis because the symptoms were very, very similar. I got it checked out and they didn’t really find much. “I got a cortisone shot and that helped a little bit. It healed just in time to come here,” added the Norwegian, who won her first major title at the 2007 LPGA Championship. “Now I’m starting to feel really good about how my game is looking and feeling.” Although the final nine holes of Pettersen’s round unfolded under blue skies in dazzling desert sunshine, she had teed off in surprisingly bleak conditions. “It got really cold as we warmed up and I thought I was going to ski, the way I was dressed,” she joked. “But once the sun came out it was beautiful and the wind stayed down. “This course is in such very, very good shape so it’s a pleasure to be out there.” Fan favorite Michelle Wie, who has posted three top-10s at this event, opened with a 71. The American played well from tee to green but had a poor day with the flat stick, finishing with a total of 33 putts. —Reuters

KUWAIT: The 7th Kuwait International Open Bowling Championship ended with one of the closest-ever stepladder finals in which top seed, Osku Palermaa of Finland won the Men’s title in a ninth and tenth frame tiebreaker. Top seed Palermaa went into the title match against challenger and No 3 seed, Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia failing to get any double strikes right up until the fifth frame, while his opponent downed a double in the third and fourth frames for a slim lead. Zulmazran got another double in the sixth and seventh frames and looked in total control, but Palermaa soon got into his usual strides to respond with a double in the sixth and seventh frames as well. Whilst the Malaysian failed to capitalize in his next two frames with just spares, the Finn knocked down another double strikes in frames eight and nine, leaving the match going down to the final frame. Zulmazran downed a double and nine pins to end the match with 225; another strike in the tenth frame by Palermaa would have sealed the victory, but he struck 7 pins to spare then struck in the bonus frame to tie the match, forcing a ninth and tenth frame tie breaker. Zulmazran had a spare in the ninth frame and Palermaa struck home for 60 pins which gave the Finn the title without going into the deciding match. Zulmazran ended with 48 pins to settle for second spot. “It has been a great week and I’ve finally been able to capture this title after finishing second twice,” said the 32-yearold three-time European Tour champion, Palermaa. “I felt good today and because I had a good gap from the first block, I was just enjoying my game.” Palermaa, who shot the tournament’s third perfect game to lead in the first block of eight games on Tuesday, was equally impressive yesterday, winning another six matches in the second block of the last 16 round-robin match play finals earlier. The Finn won with scores of 235, 245, 288, 225, 233 and 207, while losing the other two matches with respectable scores of 211 and 227 to romp home in pole position with a comfortable margin of 256 pins. Palermaa amassed a 16-game total of 4,040 ahead of Norway’s Tore Torgersen, who shot the second perfect game in the 15th match. Torgersen lost to Zulmazran, 2 12-218 in the third stepladder match. Zulmazran, who finished third in the second block, edged compatriot and the only female in the finals, Shalin Zulkifli, out in the second match. Shalin had earlier ousted No. 4 seed, Yousef Falah of Bahrain, 205-190 to set up her match with her teammate. Chester King of the Philippines, who was fourth before the position round match, lost to Zulmazran, 148-23 8 to

Vanessa Fung pictured with Sheikh Talal miss the stepladder finals in sixth position. Palermaa won the top prize of $25,000 and a trophy with Zulmazran settling for $12,000. The Norwegian took home $8,000 for dropping to third while Shalin won $6,000 and Yousef $5,000. Shalin, who was the top seed for the women’s stepladder finals, had a chance to pick up another $2,750 but had to settle for $1,900 instead after losing the title match to challenger and No 3 seed, Vanessa Fung of Hong Kong by 224-234 in another closely fought finals. Vanessa, who won $2,750 as the women’s champion, had earlier ousted No. 2 seed and newlycrowned ABF Tour TOC women’s champion, Sharon Limansantoso of Indonesia by 2 18-194 in the second match. Vanessa also edged Bahrain’s Nadia Aqeel out by 226-224 in the first stepladder match before going all the way to the title. Limansantoso and Nadia took home $1,500 and $1,000 respectively for finishing third and fourth. Meanwhile, Hussein AlSuwaidi of the UAE earlier turned on his wizardry to win the

opening leg of the Kuwait 2010 ABF event, with an easy victory over the Philippines challenger Chester King in the title match, 236-19 1 to claim the Kuwait title for the second consecutive time. Hussain edged out the Kuwait Open first runner-up, Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia, 205-195 in the first semi-finals to advance to the finals while King ousted local hopeful, Khaled Al-Dubyyan of Kuwait, 245-2 12 in the other semi to face Hussain. Al-Suwaidi immediately settled into a blistering pace with four consecutive strikes from frame 2 onwards which put King on his back foot and trailing by 23 pins despite rolling a double in frames four and five. Just when there could have been a slim chance for King to mount a fight hack, a poor split in the eighth frame more or less settled the tie in the Emirati’s favor, with Hussein cruising to an easy victory over the Filipino, 236-191 to claim the opening leg. The victory was Hussein’s second, with the two-time Asia Ranked No I won the same opening leg last year after finishing third in the previous Kuwait

Open. “I used a wrong bowling ball in the ABF Tour TOC and in the Kuwait Open which I regretted very much,” said Al-Suwaidi after the victory. “I changed to a different ball during the warm up and realized that I should have used it before. But it’s a good start for this year. I finished seventh in the Dubai Open and fifth in the Malaysian Open but I missed the last 16 cut. This win made up for my disappointment slightly.” Hussein had earlier edged Kuwait Open first runner-up, Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia. 205-195 in the first semi-finals to advance to the finals while King ousted local hopeful, Khaled A1Dubyyan of Kuwait, 245-212 in the other semi. The champion also rolled the highest game of the tour in the opening round when he thrashed tour debutant, Tomokatsu Yamashita of Japan, 258-196 and posted another big game when he beat Kuwait’s Mohammed Kamel, 248-190 in Round 2. The runner-up beat Thailand’s Yannaphon Larpapharat, 197-190 in his first round and humbled UAE’s Naif Oqab, 217-162 in the second.

Palermaa pictured with Sheikh Talal

SPORTS

Saturday, April 3, 2010

21

Clijsters wins 3-set battle Belgian to face Venus Williams in final

MANCHESTER: British boxer, David Haye (left) and challenger, US boxer, John Ruiz go head to head during the weigh-in at the Town Hall in Manchester yesterday. — AFP

Haye eyes Klitschko brothers after Ruiz

MANCHESTER: David Haye is already looking beyond today’s first defense of his WBA heavyweight title against John Ruiz to a unification bout with either of the Klitschko brothers. Discussions have begun about staging a unification fight in the Gulf against either Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko, who between them hold the WBC, IBF and minor WBO titles. “It’s something we have talked about with Adam Booth,” Haye said, referring to his trainer and manager. “There has not been a big title fight in the Middle East. A heavyweight title fight is the biggest you can get. It would be huge for putting (a country like) Abu Dhabi on the map. “Look what the “Rumble in the Jungle” did for Zaire. No one ever heard of Zaire until then. After Muhammad Ali fought George Foreman for the title, no one forgets it.” A “Showdown in the Sand” would be the latest major sporting event to go to the Gulf region, following the FIFA Club World Cup and the season-ending WTA Tour Championships. “What I want to achieve in boxing is worldwide,” the 29-yearold Haye said. “I want to show I’m not just a British commodity... To do that you have to fight the best and fight all over the world. “I believe I’m the best now. Some people out there don’t believe I am and would like to see me against one of the Klitschko brothers to show that. When that opportunity arises, I’ll take it with both hands and prove everyone wrong.” First, though, Haye must conquer Ruiz at the MEN Arena today. Haye is defending the title he captured from the 2.18-meter (7-foot-2) Nikolai Valuev on a majority points decision in Nuremberg in November. “I’m fighting someone my own size, so that

should be easier,” said Haye, a former world cruiserweight champion who was nine pounds lighter than Ruiz at Friday’s weigh-in at 222 pounds. “It will be completely different this time around ... Ruiz will be tough but the plan is still to render him unconscious.” Haye is counting down to the fight by spending today afternoon at Old Trafford watching Manchester United’s Premier League clash with Chelsea. Ruiz, who held and lost the WBA title twice, won’t be joining Haye at the football. Instead, the American said he will be steeling himself for an early barrage of speedy punches. “I’ll definitely have to be a brawler and chase the guy down,” the 38-year-old Ruiz said. “You have to make sure you throw a ton a punches that’s what a brawler does: roughs things up. Sometimes you need a bit of that.” Taking the title from Haye would enable Ruiz to join Ali and Evander Holyfield as three-time world heavyweight champions, capping a 54-fight career that has produced 44 wins, eight defeats, one draw and one no contest. “Two years more and I’ll be over the hill,” Ruiz said. “I don’t want to go beyond 40.” That’s how old Carl Thompson was in 2004 when he beat Haye in a cruiserweight title fight - the brash Londoner’s only loss in 24 fights. Haye has contemplated the effects of another setback today. “Every champion knows the high of winning can quickly turn to the opposite feeling if things go wrong in the first defense,” Haye said. “Then I had the excuse of being a novice. This time I have no excuse. After the Carl Thompson defeat, I went away for a couple of weeks. “This one would be so much worse. I’d probably want to duck out for a year.” —AP

Howard stands tall as Magic trounce Mavs DALLAS: Dwight Howard made his presence felt with 17 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks to guide the Orlando Magic to a 97-82 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. Mickael Pietrus made all six of his three-point attempts and finished with 24 points off the bench, while Vince Carter returned from a toe injury to score 19 and help the Magic (53-22) to their third win in a row. “I think we’re starting to peak, which is good with the playoffs coming,” Howard told reporters. “I just want to win a championship and in order for us to win we have to stay consistent.” The Mavericks were playing for the second consecutive night and appeared sluggish, falling behind by seven points at halftime and 16 after three quarters. Dirk Nowitzki had a team-high 24 points for Dallas (50-26) but was the only starter to score in double figures. Jason Terry and Jose Barea grabbed 16 points apiece from the bench. The defeat saw Dallas fall into a tie with the Utah Jazz for the second in the Western Conference. Orlando are moving closer to clinching the second seed in the East and have won 14 of their last 16. The Magic made 14 of 24 three-pointers and got major contributions from two players coming back from injury. Pietrus had missed time with an ankle problem while Carter had to leave Sunday’s

game against Denver shortly after it started. Dallas, who went to overtime against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, shot just 38 percent from the field and saw a three-game winning streak come to an end. “We don’t make excuses. The schedule is the schedule,” said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle. “Last year we caught them on a back-to-back at their place, so these things happen.”

Nuggets 109 Trail Blazers 92 At Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Nuggets rebound from a tough week to beat Portland. Nene added 22 points and Chauncey Billups 21 for the Nuggets, who won for only the second time in a seven-game stretch that saw them drop from second to fifth in the Western Conference playoff race. Andre Miller scored 24 points to lead Portland, which had won its four previous games, including a win over New York on Wednesday that clinched a spot in the playoffs for the Trail Blazers. Martell Webster added 17 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 for Portland, which lost for the 13th time in its last 14 games in Denver. Portland’s only win in that span came on Dec 16, 2007. — Agencies

NBA results/standings WASHINGTON: Results and standings after Thursday’s National Basketball Association games: Orlando 97, Dallas 82; Denver 109, Portland 92. East ern Conference Western Conference Atla nt ic Division Northwest Division W L PCT GB Utah 50 26 .658 Boston 47 27 .635 Denver 49 27 .645 1 Toronto 37 37 .500 10 Oklahoma City 46 28 .622 3 NY Knicks 26 48 .351 21 Portland 46 30 .605 4 Philadelphia 26 49 .347 21.5 Minnesota 15 60 .200 34.5 New Jersey 10 65 .133 37.5

Cleveland Milwaukee Chicago Indiana Detroit

Centr al Division 59 16 41 33 35 39 28 47 23 51

.787 .554 .473 .373 .311

Southeast Division Orlando 53 22 .707 Atlanta 48 26 .649 Miami 41 34 .547 Charlotte 39 35 .527 Washington 22 52 .297

Pacific Division 54 21 49 26 27 48 24 52 21 53

17.5 23.5 31 35.5

LA Lakers Phoenix LA Clippers Sacramento Golden State

.720 .653 .360 .316 .284

4.5 12 13.5 30.5

Southwest Division Dallas 50 26 .658 San Antonio 45 29 .608 Memphis 38 36 .514 Houston 37 37 .500 New Orleans 35 41 .461

5 27 30.5 32.5

4 11 12 15

MIAMI: Kim Clijsters won a dramatic semi-final battle of the Belgians against Justin Henin to reach the final of the Sony Ericsson Open on Thursday. The 6-2 6-7 7-6 victory means Clijsters will play for a 37th career title today against Venus Williams, who earlier cruised to a 6-3 6-4 win over France’s Marion Bartoli. Clijsters dominated the opening set of her encounter with Henin but then, having been 3-0 up in the second, lost out in a tiebreak to allow the game into a decisive third set. Neither of the two former world number ones, who have both made comebacks to the game, dominated on serve and Clijsters produced a double fault when serving for the match. After losing the first two points of the tiebreak, Clijsters roared back to take a 6-3 lead but once again Henin refused to roll over. She won the next three points to close to 6-6 before Clijsters produced two great shots-a volley close to the net and then a forehand across the court-to win the match. Henin praised Clijsters for coming up with the big shots at the right moment. “It wasn’t a great match but she played better on the important points,” said Henin. “She was more aggressive and took the opportunities and I think that really made the difference.” Clijsters also won on a tiebreak the last time the pair met in the final of the Brisbane Open in January. MUTED CELEBRATI ON “It was a very, very similar game and it is pretty crazy to have two matches like that with each other so early in the year,” said Clijsters. “It’s a good win but now I am focusing today, there won’t be any celebrating whatsoever, the tournament is not over,” she added. The tall blonde faces on a confident Williams, whose victory over Bartoli was watched from the stands by her injured sister Serena. “I think a lot is going to come down to the serve,” said Clijsters, “I have to go out and play aggressively again.” Seven-times grand slam winner Williams was not at her sharpest but still proved too good for out-of-sorts 13th seed Bartoli. The American broke serve straight away in a first set containing plenty of errors from both players. After her opponent broke back, Williams responded with a second break thanks to three double-faults. Bartoli then looked poised for a second-set comeback after breaking to go 3-1 up but Williams broke back immediately with a spectacular crosscourt forehand volley and then broke again to clinch victory. Venus has won the event three times but her last appearance in the final came nine years ago, when she beat Jennifer Capriati. “I’m really happy to be back in this final and obviously I want to take it a step further,” she said. —Reuters

FLORIDA: Kim Clijsters, of Belgium, reacts after defeating Justine Henin, of Belgium, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 76 (6) at the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament in Key Biscayne. — AP

Berdych faces Soderling in Miami semis MIAMI: Czech Tomas Berdych fought back from a set down to beat Spain’s Fernando Verdasco 4-6 7-6 6-4 on Thursday and set up a Sony Ericsson Open semi-final against Robin Soderling. Berdych, the number 16 who eliminated top seed Roger Federer in the previous round, struggled in the opening set but came out on top in the tiebreak in the second and produced an aggressive display in the deciding third set. After another impressive win, Berdych will be confident of getting through to final. Andy Roddick and Rafa Nadal will meet in Friday’s first semi-final. “The start was quite slow for me because I was still feeling

a little bit tired after the long, long match against Roger that finished late in the night,” Berdych said. “But then finally I found my rhythm, started to play really well and I think the beginning of the third set Fernando was struggling a bit and maybe he was maybe a little bit tired- that was my advantage. I’m very happy that I used it and got through.” The Czech broke with a superb backhand crosscourt pass in the seventh game of the final set and from that point there was little doubt about the outcome, with 10th seed Verdasco blasting the ball but lacking control.

“I was feeling that I can play the long rallies so I was just trying to keep the ball in play as long as I could and just to give him the chance to make an error-most of the time that worked,” he said. Berdych next faces Soderling, who scored a 6-1 6-4 win over Russian Mikhail Youzhny. The fifth-seeded Swede suffered a break on his first serve but recovered in splendid fashion to win the next six games. Neither player could establish control on serve in the second set, with the first three games all going against serve, but Soderling did enough to run out a comfortable winner in the end. — Reuters

Hamilton dominates Malaysian practice Red Bull’s Webber out with mechanical problem

SEPANG: Lewis Hamilton put last weekend’s problems behind him by going quickest in both practice sessions for the Malaysian Grand Prix yesterday as Red Bull’s reliability issues continued to haunt them. The 2008 champion had his street car impounded by Melbourne police days before an ill-advised pitstop ruined his Australian Grand Prix last Sunday but the Briton was back on form in Sepang, clocking a fastest time of one minute 34.175 in his McLaren. Sebastian Vettel showed the pace that has taken his Red Bull to two poles in as many races by lapping just 0.266 seconds behind Hamilton after a subdued morning practice but his team mate Mark Webber’s session was cut short by an engine problem. Ferrari opted to use both sessions to test out various tyre and fuel combinations and finished well off the pace but Mercedes enjoyed a solid showing with Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher matching the pace set by McLaren and Red Bull. Hamilton dominated both sessions and topped the timesheets throughout most of the day but remained cautious ahead of today’s qualifying. “I

think our qualifying pace hasn’t been great the last two races so hopefully tomorrow will be a little bit better for us but we have to look out for the weather,” Hamilton told reporters minutes before a thunderstorm drenched the circuit. “It appears we are quite competitive but we don’t know what other people are doing with fuel loads ... so we really have to wait and see.” GOOD BALANCE Team mate Button won a rain-shortened race for Brawn GP a year ago and although he could not match Hamilton yesterday, his third and fourth fastest times over both sessions suggests he could follow up last week’s victory with a strong performance. “For me, it’s been about playing with the setup, I have been getting there slowly but it’s been a long afternoon for me trying to find a good balance but it’s starting to take shape,” Button said. “The car is pretty good in high speed.” Webber cut a forlorn figure when he spoke to the media after a second session where he had laboured well down the order before he slid off into the gravel. “It was the engine,” the Australian said. “You never want your Friday disturbed and today’s problem cost us quite a bit of track time.

SEPANG: McLaren Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain in action during the second practice session for the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix in Sepang yesterday. —AP “But the car felt pretty good in the quick stuff and also at low speeds.” Despite his upbeat analysis of the car’s pace, problems remain with its reliability after mechanical failures cost team mate Vettel victory in both

Bahrain and Melbourne. Schumacher’s return to Formula One after a three-year hiatus has had more lows than highs in the opening two races but the German is beginning to relish the fight that earned him seven world titles as he learns

more about his car. “Certainly things are better and better each time I am out and getting back into it,” he said. “In Melbourne I definitely felt more into the car than in Bahrain... the problem is consistency.” — Reuters

sports

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saturday, April 3, 2010

Italian Serie A set for thrilling title finish ROME: Inter Milan have the lead, AS Roma have the momentum, but third-placed AC Milan cannot be discounted as the Serie A title race heads for a thrilling conclusion. Inter have seemingly the easiest game of the weekend at home to lowly Bologna while Roma and Milan face tricky trips to Bari and Cagliari respectively. But Inter are the only ones to have played in midweek meaning fatigue could be a factor while their preparation has been hit by a number of crucial suspensions. Captain Javier

Zanetti, Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o and Brazilian defenders Maicon and Lucio are all out, but at least teenage striker Mario Balotelli has made his peace with the club and is available again. Zanetti will miss his first league game after 127 consecutive Serie A appearances. But he believes that if his team can repeat their performance in Wednesday’s Champions League 1-0 success over CSKA Moscow, then they can get back to winning ways following a run of just two victories in

their last nine Serie A matches, including last weekend’s 2-1 reverse at Roma. “Against Bologna I won’t be there but with this resolve (shown against CSKA) we’ll soon start winning again,” he said. “We dominated in Rome but unfortunately we didn’t get the three points.” Inter have managed only 11 points out of a possible 27 in the last month and a half while Roma are on a 21-match unbeaten run in the league and have shaved 13 points off the lead Inter held over them in November. The gap is

now at one point and Roma are the form team in Serie A, even without talisman Francesco Totti, although he is now fit to return. That leaves coach Claudio Ranieri with a difficult choice to make for the trip to Bari - stick with a winning team and leave Totti on the bench, or bring the fans’ idol back into the starting 11. They have arguably the toughest game this weekend of the top three against a Bari side that have proved awkward opponents all season, particularly at home, and are in contention for

European qualification. They have won nine of their 15 home games and conceded only 12 goals, having held Inter to a draw and beaten Juventus. Milan also face a very difficult test with a trip to Sardinia and unlike Roma, they are in dire form and have a number of absentees. Milan have not won in their last three games, which is why they sit three points behind neighbors Inter, and they are still missing the likes of David Beckham, Alessandro Nesta and Pato. Milan utility man Ignazio Abate believes

his team can still finish top of the pile, although he is expecting a real challenge from mid-table Cagliari. “Cagliari have already achieved their minimum objective, they’re a team without pressure and they’re also young and run a lot,” he said. “On top of that they’re well organized tactically, it won’t be easy. “There’s three teams separated by three points, that’s not much and we believe. We have to reach May without any regrets. We’ve done well this season and against all odds.” —AFP

Barca, Real wary of costly slip-up ahead of ‘El Clasico’

MADRID: Real Madrid football club’s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo pictured during training in Madrid yesterday. — AFP

Big Four hungry for more power Executives of top French Ligue 1 clubs meet PARIS: When the executives of four top Ligue 1 clubs dined at a select Paris restaurant last week, the main item on the menu was probably not scallop carpaccio with oyster sorbet and caviar but more likely French League president Frederic Thiriez. Around the table were Jean-Michel Aulas, Jean-Claude Dassier and Robin Leproux, chairmen of Olympique Lyon, Olympique Marseille and Paris St Germain respectively, as well as Nicolas de Tavernost, head of TV group M6, the owners of Girondins Bordeaux. Although they might have ordered the carpaccio, a starter costing 85 euros at the three-star Michelin restaurant of the Hotel Bristol, where the dinner took place, the discussion centered around how they could have more say in Ligue 1 affairs. The meeting was not secret, the four seeing each other periodically, and all four denied plotting against Thiriez, although a source close to one of the four did say a proper meeting between the four and Thiriez was scheduled for later this month. “I am the president of the League, which represents 44 clubs (from Ligue 1, Ligue 2 and a few from National, the equivalent of the third division) and it is normal that there are differences and sometimes arguments between the big clubs and the small ones”, Thiriez a smart, 58-year-old trained lawyer with a neatlycombed moustache, told Reuters. “I am there to find a solution everybody agrees with, it’s a simple as that,” he added. The four have had many arguments with

the head of the Professional Football League (LFP), most recently about scheduling issues, but also about television rights and disciplinary matters. The latest argument was about a league game between Lyon and Grenoble last month, the date of which was changed at Bordeaux’s request, the French champions saying it was not fair for Lyon to have an extra rest day before hosting Girondins in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. CROWDED CA LEND AR Bordeaux and Lyon did squabble a bit over this, but both were particularly careful to blame the LFP for the way they handled the problem. More generally, the four are upset about a crowded calendar, due partly to the addition from the 1994-95 season of the French League Cup, organized by the LFP and not as popular as the French Cup, run by the French Football Federation (FFF), which is also responsible for the national team and amateur game. The LFP has repeatedly ignored calls from the top clubs to make their life easier by cutting the number of top-flight sides from 20 to 18. The top issue, however, is not the calendar but television rights, which the LFP negotiates with television channels and are the main source of income for the clubs. The Big Four, whose games attract the higher audiences, want a bigger share and even dream of marketing the rights on their own, while the LFP says the money should be redistributed fairly and benefit to all clubs, big and small.

“It’s a permanent debate, how the rights should be shared out, and that’s one of our duties,” Thiriez said. “It is normal for the big clubs to want more, and it is normal for smaller ones to protect their share. Solidarity is a hard thing to ensure, you need to make sure everybody plays ball, but that’s my role. I see myself as a referee.” With Ligue 1 not being the most high-profile league in the world, the LFP struggles to get from television channels the estimated 668 million euros a year it needs to allow the Ligue 1 clubs to fasten their budgets. OWN C HANNEL The LFP, which currently produces television footage of Ligue 1 matches and sells it to commercial channels Canal Plus and Orange Sport, is working on a project to launch its own channel from 2012. The Big Four will no doubt like to talk to Thiriez about that, but will also raise another point, which is the need, in their view, to have the main clubs represented in the LFP’s board of directors to have more influence on decision making. “There is no plot here but just the will to meet and talk,” Dassier told reporters. “It is not normal for the big clubs not to be represented in the League’s board of directors. There are some things that need to be changed in the way football is being ruled.” Another point the four are likely to mention is the LFP’s feared disciplinary committee and its tendency to force clubs to play behind closed doors after crowd trouble.—Reuters

German League Preview

Bayern lay Euro exploits aside for Schalke’s test BERLIN: Bayern Munich must lay aside their dreams of reaching a first Champions League semi-final since 2001 for today’s title crunch at leaders Schalke. Schalke, unbeaten at home since a September loss to Wolfsburg, go into the game with a twopoint lead over the Bavarian giants, who will knock Manchester United out of Europe if they can avoid defeat in their Old Trafford return. That is largely down to Bayern’s lack of consistency in recent league outings which saw back-to-back losses at Frankfurt and at home to Stuttgart as well as draws against Nuremburg and Cologne. Nonetheless, Bayern come to the Veltins Arena having beaten Schalke in the German Cup semi-final and Dutch skipper Mark Van Bommel said the visitors will go on the attack after proving their mettle in coming from behind to beat United in their quarterfinal first leg. “We will be going for the win

- that’s the only way we can play,” insisted former Barcelona man Van Bommel, who will hope the width that fit-again Arjen Robben can provide will prove decisive. If Schalke, who have not won the Bundesliga since 1958 despite several near misses, do pull off the title this time around it will be a huge feather in the cap of coach Felix Magath. Last year the man whose goal won Hamburg the European Cup in 1983 led unfancied Wolfsburg to a stunning championship success before quitting the club for Schalke. Previously, Magath led Bayern to two championships in 2005 and 2006 before being sacked midway through the next season. Having wreaked spectacular revenge with Wolfsburg he can now once again prove his credentials at the expense of his former employers by pulling off another title coup. Magath’s Wolfsburg sent Bayern packing 5-

1 last season and he believes the Champions League may yet prove a distraction for the visitors as his men plot a ninth straight home win. “I am assuming that they will have the (Manchester United) return in the back of their minds and a possible semi-final appearance. For Bayern the return in Manchester is the most important game of the season,” he said. Third-placed Bayer Leverkusen lie three points behind Bayern and fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen, respectively four and five points further back, are still hoping to have a say in where the crown ultimately ends up. Leverkusen have a tricky encounter at a Frankfurt side who are only three points behind sixthplaced Hamburg while Dortmund host a Bremen side who share their hope of bagging at least a qualifier Champions League spot. — AFP

MADRID: Barcelona and Real Madrid, who are locked at the top of La Liga, will be desperate for morale-boosting wins this weekend ahead of the mouthwatering ‘El Clasico’. With nine games left champions Barca and leaders Real have 74 points with third-placed Valencia an incredible 21 points behind. Barcelona are second on goal difference and could be fatigued after their 2-2 Champions League quarter-final draw at Arsenal on Wednesday. But they can’t afford to slip up at home to Athletic Bilbao today with the testing trip to Madrid on the horizon. Real are at Racing Santander tomorrow as they go in search of a 12th consecutive league win. Barcelona should have beaten Arsenal convincingly at the Emirates in midweek with coach Pep Guardiola saying it was better than any of their European displays last season when they won the trophy. “If we play like we did in London we will drop very few points and if we want to win titles we always have to go out like we did against Arsenal,” said Barcelona captain Carles Puyol. “It is a key point in the season and we are up against a tough rival in (Athletic) Bilbao who are having a great season. The league is very competitive and we can’t slip-up.” Bilbao are in sixth, just two points off the Champions League spots. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is certainly the man to stop for Bilbao with the Swede scoring five goals in his last four games in all competitions. Barcelona will be without the injured Andres Iniesta as well as Dani Alves who is suspended but available for next weekend’s duel with Real. Real Madrid have been able to rest up this week due to their Champions League elimination and hope to continue their 11match winning streak with victory at lowly Racing. Racing are not out of the woods yet in the relegation battle lying six points above the drop zone. “We have to focus on ourselves. We know that Racing are still not safe and need the points so it is going to be a difficult game,” said defender Raul Albiol. “Going forward we have an impressive number of goals (81 goals in 29 games) and that has helped us record this high tally of points. “Recently we have not been able to keep clean sheets and we hope that we can get back to not conceding goals in the key games.” Real welcome back French midfielder Lass Diarra from injury but Spanish internationals Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos are suspended. The match sees Racing starlet Sergio Canales, 19, face his future employers having struck a deal to join Real in the summer for a reported 4.5 million euros. Elsewhere Sevilla are bidding to end a run of six league games without a win as they host Tenerife. Sevilla are two points behind fourth-placed Real Mallorca with new coach Antonio Alvarez seeking his first win in charge after his debut ended in a forgetful 3-0 drubbing at Villarreal. Tenerife, third from bottom, are the only team yet to win on the road this season collecting just three points on their travels. Valencia are eight points ahead of fifth-placed Sevilla and can consolidate third spot with a home victory over Osasuna tomorrow. Two Europa League hopefuls Deportivo La Coruna and Atletico Madrid face off at the Vicente Calderon tomorrow. Depor have lost their last three matches to fall three points off the top six while Atletico are eight points from the final European spot after their 3-2 derby defeat to Real last weekend. — AFP

BORDEAUX: French L1 football club Bordeaux’s Girondins midfielder Alou Diarra (right), and Yoann Gourcuff, practice during a training session at Le Haillan training center. — AFP

French League Preview

Lyon back to the grind after thrills of Europe PARIS: Championship titles are not normally won on throwaway comments, but a recent concession by Lyon coach Claude Puel could boost Bordeaux’s hopes of a second successive French league crown. A day after Lyon won the first leg of the sides’ Champions League quarter-final 3-1, Puel admitted Lyon have yet to master the art of performing to expectations in the wake of playing in the Champions League. Ahead of their visit to an on-form Rennes side today, and with leaders Bordeaux having two games in hand and a three-point lead, Puel could not stress how crucial this match could be to their title aspirations. “We’re know only too well this is an important match for us, and that we’ve still to master playing well (in the league) after a Champions League game,” he said. “But we have to step up to the plate because we’re on the home straight and we’re playing a team that has had all week to prepare. “We have to go out and play our best football, against a team that is strong and always manages to fight its way back into games. “If we want to bring some points back from Rennes, we’ll have to be solid. We’ve got eight matches left, and we’ve still got a chance (to win the league).” Defeat for Lyon, and a Bordeaux win at home to Nancy could prove to be a turning point in a French championship race which, with only seven points separating first to seventh, is still too close to call. After 28 games Bordeaux, who sit top thanks to

superior goal difference on Montpellier and Auxerre, lead Lyon by two points and have two games in hand. After their 3-1 defeat to Lyon, Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc knows his team have it all to do next week if he is to make history and reach the Champions League semi-finals. Before then the former France defender said they would not be mulling too much over the difficulties of toughing it out in the league after their midweek Champions League defeat to Lyon. “It’s part of our job, and it will be until the end of the season,” said Blanc, whose side suffered defeat, to Lyon and Marseille, in the league in the past two weeks. “Given our defeat in midweek, it’s even more imperative that we come out get the win this weekend. “That way, we won’t have the chance to feel too sorry for ourselves.” Bordeaux’s last two league outings ended in 3-1 defeats to both Marseille and Lyon, and he added: “We’ve suffered two heavy defeats (in the league) recently and so we need to get a taste for winning again and instill in the players that losing is not an option.” Montpellier meanwhile will be hoping for slip-ups on the part of either Bordeaux or Lyon, giving the south coast club a chance to go top if they get the necessary result at home to Monaco. Auxerre, also on 56 points like Bordeaux and Montpellier, host Paris Saint Germain tomorrow. Marseille, in sixth and only three points behind Bordeaux, will host Lens tomorrow. — AFP

Mazembe, Ahly out to avenge shock defeats LAGOS: Holders TP Mazembe and six-time winners Al Ahly will be looking to overturn losses to minnows APR and Gunners respectively this weekend in return leg matches of the CAF Champions League. Mazembe were upset 1-0 by army team APR of Rwanda in Kigali, while Ahly fell by the same scoreline to Zimbabwean debutants Gunners a fortnight ago. APR are one of the experienced campaigners in Africa’s premier club competition and also provide the core of the Rwandan national team. However their ambitious bid to reach the money-spinning group stages of the Champions League for the first time this year has been boosted by the arrival of several new players. Dutch coach Eric Paske is hopeful his team plays with the right attitude at Lubumbashi, and sends the defending champions packing from the competition in the second round. “We were in a similar position against Recreativo (drew 2-2 at home before they won 1-0 in Angola) and came through, so I don’t see why we should not prevail against Mazembe,” said Paske. “We need to be at our very best because Mazembe have vast experience in the competition and with stars like Tresor Mputu, Guy Lusadisu, Alain Kaluyituka Dioko and Given Singuluma, we need to be alert and try to play with the right attitude.” In Egypt, Ahly will be favorites to beat Gunners, a side promoted to the Zimbabwean top

flight only two years ago, and advance to the third round of the championship after they lost the first leg in Harare. Last year, the ‘Red Devils’ were eliminated by another debutant, Kano Pillars of Nigeria, in the third round of the competition. “The fact that we beat them is a motivational factor in itself and the players are fired up. They know if they play well they get noticed in Africa,” said Gunners coach Wellington Mpandare. Former African champions ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast also have to overturn Zambian champions Zanaco’s 1-0 lead from the first leg in front of their fans on Sunday at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan. In the southeastern town of Owerri, last year’s beaten finalists, Heartland FC, will host Cameroonian champions Tiko United after both teams played out a 2-2 in Douala two weeks ago. Tiko United have already made a major change to their team since the draw at home with the appointment of the country’s youth team coach, Alain Wabo, in place of Gerard Mbimi, who has been elevated to the position of technical director. Wabo aka ‘Capello’ led Cameroon to the final of the African Youth Championship in Rwanda last year and was even linked to the top coaching job of the Indomitable Lions following the exit of German coach Otto Pfister. — AFP

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Saturday, April 3, 2010

6 out of 6 can deliver title, Almunia tells Gunners

LONDON: Arsenal’s Spanish goalkeeper Manuel Almunia (left) vies with Barcelona’s Argentine striker Lionel Messi (right) during their UEFA Champions League quarter-final 1st leg football match against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. — AFP

Scottish Premier League Preview

Weir: Shock defeat was a wake-up call for Rangers GLASGOW: Rangers captain David Weir has warned his teammates there is plenty of work still to be done in the Scottish Premier League title race despite their 10-point lead at the top of the table. The league leaders suffered only their second defeat of the season when they were hammered 4-1 by St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Wednesday. It was their heaviest loss outside an Old Firm game for five years and came just a week after they were knocked out the Scottish Cup by Dundee United. Despite the defeat Walter Smith’s side still have a 10 point lead over Celtic, with a game in hand over their Old Firm rivals. But Weir, who became Rangers’ oldest player with his appearance in the St Johnstone match and celebrates his 40th birthday on May 10, says the manner of their loss must serve as a stark reminder that nothing has been won yet. “What happened is a wake-up call for us and now we’ve got to use it as that,” the veteran defender said. “To go to Perth and lose like that is not good enough. We’ve got a lot of work still to do in the title race. This is a reminder that, if we’re not at our best, we can lose and this has to be a big lesson for us.” Rangers will be without defenders Madjid Bougherra and Kirk Broadfoot who continue their recovery from injury. Hamilton took another step towards league survival with their midweek win over Kilmarnock but have failed to beat Rangers in four attempts this season. Tomorrow, Celtic travel to Easter Road to take on Hibernian. Neil Lennon’s first match in charge as interim manager ended in a 3-1 win over

LONDON: Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia believes his side cannot afford to drop another point if they are to win the Premier League title. The Gunners host Wolves today having come back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals in midweek. Arsene Wenger’s side will kick off at the Emirate Stadium in third place but also knowing how far Manchester United and Chelsea are ahead as their title rivals will already have played each other at Old Trafford. A draw there would certainly suit the Gunners but only if Arsenal, who must still play Tottenham and Manchester City as well, continued to impose maximum pressure, Almunia argued. “We have six games left now and we must record six victories,” said the Spaniard. “We will have to wait to see if Manchester United drop points as well but we still have a chance of winning it. “We just have to win our six games and see what happens.” Whatever happens when Mick McCarthy’s 14th-place side come to the Emirates will be hard pushed to match the drama of Wednesday night, when goals from substitute Theo Walcott and captain Cesc Fabregas cancelled out a double from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The stirring comeback was achieved at a cost as Fabregas, William Gallas and Andrey Arshavin all suffered injury. Arshavin and Gallas are expected to be sidelined with calf injuries for up to three weeks. But inspirational captain Fabregas is out for the rest of the domestic campaign with a broken leg. The inevitable reshuffling of resources could open the door for England winger Walcott to play a key part in keeping the season alive. Barcelona

West Ham complain over Fulham ‘weak’ selection

Kilmarnock at Parkhead but face a tougher test against John Hughes’ Hibs side. Lennon has brought in his former Hoops teammate Johan Mjallby to assist him in the running of the club and the Swede says the pair need to install a winning mentality in the dressing room. “The players are here to perform and do a job,” Mjallby said. “We need to get the team back to winning ways and develop a winning mentality, which Neil and I both had on the pitch and in the dressing room at Celtic. “Hopefully we can at least get our message across to the players and get a wee bit more organized at the back as the players are good enough to perform and get results - I am sure of that. “Hopefully we can finish off well and see what happens.” Also tomorrow Kilmarnock take on Aberdeen at Rugby Park. The Dons finally ended an 11 game streak without a win when they defeated St Mirren last week while Kilmarnock are hovering above the relegation zone. Elsewhere today Motherwell host Falkirk. Craig Brown side’s hopes of a third place finish were dealt a blow with last weekend’s defeat to Dundee United. However they remain in the hunt for a European spot and are just two points behind fourth-placed Hibernian. Falkirk are four points adrift at the bottom and need to pick up points to avoid relegation. St Mirren are at home to Hearts. The Buddies erratic form continued at the weekend when they were defeated by Aberdeen three days after thrashing Celtic. On Monday form teams St Johnstone and Dundee United clash at McDiarmid Park. — AFP

LONDON: West Ham have made an official complaint to the Premier League over Fulham manager Roy Hodgson’s decision to field a weakened team against Hull. Hodgson rested five key players for the 2-0 defeat at the KC Stadium last Saturday, a result which allowed third bottom Hull to pull level with relegation-threatened West Ham on 27 points. Bobby Zamora, Danny Murphy, Damien Duff, Aaron Hughes and Dickson Etuhu missed the Hull match to rest ahead of Thursday’s 2-1 Europa League quarter-final win over German champions Wolfsburg. West Ham’s hierarchy claim Hodgson broke the rules and the Premier League confirmed yesterday that the Hammers have made an official protest. A Premier League spokesman said: “We can confirm that we have received an official complaint from West Ham over this matter. “We will now ask Fulham for their observations and then the Premier League board will then consider what actions, if any, are appropriate.” Premier League rules state that all teams must field their strongest side available for all games. Should they find Fulham guilty, the Premier League could decide to impose a penalty similar to the 25,000 pounds (28,000 euros) suspended fine handed to Wolves after Mick McCarthy rested nine of his players for his side’s defeat at Manchester United in September. Hodgson had responded angrily to questions about the situation after his side’s win over Wolfsburg. “I don’t think West Ham should be picking our team,” Hodgson said. “My conscience is perfectly clear on the subject and we don’t have a case to answer. “I can’t imagine anyone ever questioning Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United for using the players they have in their squad. “I have a good squad and there are lots of players I can use.” — AFP

Mancini happy for Man City Champions League nailbiter BURNLEY: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini insists he does not mind if the race for the final Champions League spot comes down to the last weekend of the season. City are in a four-way race with Aston Villa, Liverpool and Tottenham for the much coveted Champions League qualifying position. Spurs have been the recent incumbents of the position but City’s win against Wigan last Monday allowed them to maintain the pressure in fifth position while Liverpool and Aston Villa are also nerve-wrackingly close. “If it is still alive in the last week then fantastic. I think it’s important for us to be playing in the Champions League next year because it will help us improve very quickly,” said Mancinio. “We must play to get fourth position but if we don’t, Manchester City will continue.” However, for the time being and regardless of his desires for European competition, Mancini insists his City ambitions are no grander than visiting Turf Moor today and defeating Burnley. The Clarets are looking more and more like a team destined for relegation after a simply woeful second half of the season. After replacing Owen Coyle with Brian Laws in January, they have played 13, won one, drawn one and lost the remaining 11. Yet Mancini is not too interested in statistics and has warned his side that although Burnley may well be ensconced in the bottom three, this weekend’s fixture will be no walkover. “It’s important that we now think of just the next game against Burnley and we must play at 100 percent if we want to win this game,” he said. “It will be a tough game and if we win we win only if we play well, we will then think of the other

games we have got. I think Burnley will play this game at 200 percent because they want to win to help them stay in the Premier League and they want to win so they can also say they have beaten City. That’s a lot of motivation. “I have respect for Burnley they play strong and try to play football. We will have to prepare well for it and it will be a difficult game.” Life could not look much bleaker for City’s opponents or for manager Laws who has presided over seven defeats in the last eight games, but still he remains positive despite the circumstances.

Last week’s home defeat to arch-rivals Blackburn Rovers has seen the club sink to even gloomier depths but Laws is nothing if not an optimist and he is employing his full talents ahead of the City encounter. “We’re obviously disappointed from last week (against Blackburn), but we’ve got to try and out what happened behind us,” he said. “We were crushed because it was a local derby and because of the manner of the defeat. But we need to put some pride back in our performances and need to be positive, pick ourselves up and go again by getting focused on the next challenge. — AFP

Bent specter haunts Spurs Euro dream SUNDERLAND: Darren Bent has been told he has nothing to prove to Tottenham Hotspur as the Sunderland striker aims to put a dent in his former club’s Champions League ambitions. Spurs travel to the Stadium of Light today bidding to cement fourth place with a sixth consecutive league win for the first time in 20 years. Sunderland’s 21-goal top scorer Bent will look to continue his rich run of form to show manager Harry Redknapp was wrong to show him the door, after claiming he was never given a chance to prove himself in a frustrating two years with the North London side. The 26-year-old hasn’t looked back since his club record ten-million pound move north last year and his 20 Premier League goals make him the second highest-scoring Englishman behind Wayne Rooney. Bent’s impressive haul has been a major factor in Sunderland all but having secured a third straight season in the top flight with six games to go. His only disappointment is that his exploits over the last eight months have failed to catch the eye of England coach Fabio Capello, who has overlooked the former Charlton forward since handing him a fifth cap in the 1-0 friendly defeat by Brazil last November. Bent, who accounts for almost half Sunderland’s 41-goal Premier League tally this season, goes head-to-head with his former team-mate Jermain Defoe, who returns to the Spurs squad following a three-game absence with a hamstring problem sustained in training.—AFP

could not cope with his pace down the right and it would be no surprise if he started today. Defender Thomas Vermaelen praised the 21-year-old for his contribution against the Champions League holders. “At the end of the game we were physically a lot stronger than them,” he said. “They were a little bit tired and with Theo’s pace you can create a little bit of danger and that’s what he did.” Wolves fans will be hoping the Arsenal players will have one eye on the second leg decider in Barcelona on Tuesday night but McCarthy wasn’t counting on it. “I don’t know if us playing them in between two Champions League games makes any difference,” he said. “But they have got a squad to cope with it. They have got the size of the pitch going for them as well.” McCarthy did promise that his side would be more competitive than they were in November, when Arsenal won 4-1 at Molineux. “We played well against them for 30-odd minutes at our place and we are a better outfit than we were then,” he said. “We’re not perfect but we’re certainly better than we were.” Midfielder Dave Edwards revealed Wolves’ tactics would hinge on soaking up pressure and attacking quickly on the break. “They are a team that you can hit on the counter attack,” he said. “Hopefully if we can defend well and, with the likes of Kevin Doyle up front and Matt Jarvis playing very well at the moment, hit them on the counter attack.” Wolves will arrive at the Emirates in the middle of one of their best spells of form this season, having taken eight points from their last four matches to haul themselves five points clear of the relegation zone. — AFP

Today’s matches on TV (local timings) English Premier League Ma n United v Chelsea......................14:45 ShowSports 1 ShowSports 2 Arsenal v Wolves............................. 17:00 ShowSports 2 Sunderla nd v Tottenham................. 17:00 ShowSports 3 Burnley v Ma n City .......................... 19:30 ShowSports 1 ShowSports 2 Fox Soccer Channel Italian League Genoa v Livorno ..............................16:00 Aljazeera Sport +7

LONDON: Fulham’s Hungarian midfielder Zoltan Gera (top) vies with Wolfsburg’s German defender Sascha Riether during their UEFA Europa League, quarter-final, 1st leg football match against Wolfsburg at Craven Cottage, London. — AFP

SS Lazio v Napoli ............................ 16:00 Aljazeera Sport +6

Green and gold floods streets of Manchester

Interna ziona le v Bologna FC ..........16:00 Aljazeera Sport +1

MANCHESTER: Manchester United home match days are an apt reminder of the conflicts that burned in the city at the heart of the industrial revolution and the birth of socialism. Street pedlars now ply not only the traditional red shirts and scarves of one of the world’s best-known clubs but also the green and gold colors of the Newton Heath works team. Newton Heath, United’s predecessors, were founded by railway workers in 1878, a decade before the world’s first football league was instituted in Manchester’s Royal Hotel. Their colors are now increasingly prominent on match days at Old Trafford in a direct protest against the Florida-based Glazer family who bought

the club in 2005. After United’s sweeping 4-0 Champions League win over AC Milan last month, they also dominated the newspapers and TV news bulletins when returning hero David Beckham stooped to pick up a green and gold scarf and wrapped it around his neck. Beckham, who had come on as a substitute for the Italian side, had lingered on the pitch to acknowledge the applause from supporters of the club he left seven years ago. The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) is behind the green-and-gold protest and chief executive Duncan Drasdo said that Beckham’s gesture had been a superb piece of public relations. “Fantastic,” he said. “It was really

just an emotional response for him, reaching out to supporters and showing them he was with them. “The green-and-gold thing has been tremendous for the atmosphere in the ground. It’s made people feel reinvigorated about what it is to support a football team. “I think people were feeling pretty disillusioned, supporters were feeling exploited about the loyalty they once felt towards their club.” Drasdo said MUST, which has just under 150,000 members, up from 36,000 two months ago, had been partially responsible for an announcement last month that the club had frozen ticket prices after a series of bitterly resented hikes. — Reuters

Pa rma v Fiorentina ........................ 16:00 Aljazeera Sport +9

As Bari v AS Roma ......................... 16:00 Aljazeera Sport +5 Cagliari v AC Mila n ........................ 16:00 Aljazeera Sport +4 Catania v Pa lermo .......................... 20:00 Aljazeera Sport +7 Udinese v J uventus ...................... 22:00 Aljazeera Sport +1 Spanish League Barcelona v Athletic de Bilbao ...... 21:00 Aljazeera Sport +2 Sevilla v CD Tenerife .................... 23:00 Aljazeera Sport +2

www.kuwaittimes.net

Benfica worsen Liverpool’s woes Wolfsburg go down 2-1 at plucky Fulham

BERNE: Benfica’s Paraguay forward Oscar Cardozo converted two second-half penalties to help them come from behind and beat 10-man Liverpool 2-1 as the Europa League dished up more drama in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The other three first-leg ties also produced plenty of twists and turns on another exciting night in a competition often derided as the poor relation of European club football. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s winner gave Hamburg SV a 2-1 success at home to Standard Liege, the Germans also coming from behind, while David Villa scored a late equalizer to help Valencia draw 2-2 at home to Atletico Madrid in an allSpanish clash. Fulham-who thumped Juventus 41 at home in the last round to reach their first European quarter-final continued their fine run with a 2-1 victory over German champions VfL Wolfsburg whose late goal took the gloss off the home side’s performance. “We have got to be happy that the European adventure is very much alive here at Craven Cottage and we have taken another very famous scalp along the way,” said Fulham manager Roy Hodgson.

Utd, Arsenal injuries hand Chelsea title battle boost LONDON: Chelsea may come to regard their exit from the Champions League as a blessing in disguise. Unlike the Londoners, Arsenal and Manchester United remain in the hunt for European football’s biggest prize. But their participation in this week’s quarter-final first legs came at a price with the two clubs’ respective talismen, Cesc Fabregas and Wayne Rooney, both facing extended injury lay-offs. After limping out of United’s 2-1 defeat by Bayern Munich on Tuesday, Rooney was immediately ruled out of today’s potentially pivotal Premier League meeting with Chelsea at Old Trafford. Fabregas will miss the rest of the domestic season after breaking his leg in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Barcelona while centreback William Gallas and playmaker Andrey Arshavin will be out for three weeks with calf strains. In contrast, everything suddenly looks rosier for a Chelsea squad whose season appeared to be unraveling last month as Inter Milan ended their interest in the Champions League and valuable league points were dropped in matches against Manchester City and Blackburn. Last weekend’s 71 thrashing of Aston Villa has put the spring back in the step of Frank Lampard and co and they will travel north confident of completing a double over the champions following their 1-0 defeat of United at Stamford Bridge in November. “We’re looking forward to it,” said England midfielder Lampard. “We’ve beaten United already this season as well as Liverpool and Arsenal and we played different formations in all of those matches. That shows the quality of the players we have. “We had a bit of a dip last month but we have forgotten about that now and we are concentrating on the target.” Nicolas Anelka led the Chelsea forward line against Villa but it is safe to assume Didier Drogba will be back in the starting line-up at Old Trafford while the absence of Rooney presents Dimitar Berbatov with another opportunity to persuade skeptical United fans that he represents

GREAT START The match was billed as one of the west London club’s biggest but Liverpool felt very differently about their trip to the Estadio da Luz to face Benfica in a clash of two former champions. Rafael European Benitez’s team, in real danger of missing out on qualifying for next year’s Champions League, are looking on the Europa League as a mere consolation in a miserable season. Liverpool were given a great start when Daniel Agger’s skilful flick silenced the home crowd after nine minutes. But their evening began to unravel after half an hour when their Netherlands forward Ryan Babel was sent off for a shove in the face of Benfica defender Luisao. The hosts, starting with seven South Americans, equalized in the 59th minute when Cardozo buried a harshly-awarded penalty after Emiliano Insua tangled with Pablo Aimar. Cardozo produced a repeat 20 minutes later, again finding the bottom right corner of Pepe Reina’s goal after Jamie Carragher had blocked an Angel di Maria cross with his arm. Several firecrackers were thrown onto the pitch and the referee threatened to stop play after one left a large hole in the turf near the touchline. FORLAN STRIKES Hamburg, whose stadium will host the final, fell behind when Democratic Republic of Congo striker Dieudonne Mbokani was left free at a corner and scored with a powerful header in the 31st. ExManchester United and Real Madrid striker Van Nistelrooy hit the post and then shot wide from 12 meters before Croatia forward Mladen Petric levelled with a 42nd minute penalty. Three minutes later, Van Nistelrooy got in front of his marker to guide Dennis Aogo’s cross home from six meters. “We thought they would stay back in defense but they played good football,” said the Dutch striker. “I think we played well and got a good result which leaves everything open.” Valencia and Atletico Madrid produced a thriller for the 55,000 crowd at the Mestalla. Uruguay forward Diego Forlan broke the deadlock in the 59th minute for Atletico, tapping in after Sergio Aguero had done the hard work. Manuel Fernandes quickly replied for Valencia with a long-range effort in the 67th but Atletico captain Antonio Lopez headed the visitors back in front five minutes later. Villa, set to lead Spain’s attack at the World Cup and scorer of a brilliant hat-trick in the previous round at Werder Bremen, swept home Vicente’s cross in the 82nd to equalize. Striker Bobby Zamora belted Fulham in front after 59 minutes at Craven Cottage and Ireland winger Damien Duff struck again soon afterwards following further good work by Zamora. Alexander Madlung headed Wolfsburg’s reply in the 89th minute. “It gives them a bit more of a chance because it’s an away goal, having said that we still won the game and I thought we were fully deserving of the victory,” said Hodgson. “It was a bit of a dampener coming so late in the game.” — Reuters

30.75 million pounds of money well spent. A United win would send Sir Alex Ferguson’s side four points clear at the top with five matches to play while a draw would probably be the best result for Arsenal. The Gunners go into their meeting with Wolves three points adrift of the leaders but with the advantage of a much more comfortable run-in than either of their rivals. At the other end of the table, Hull will escape from the relegation zone-for 24 hours at least-if they can take anything from their trip to Stoke. Hull’s survival hopes have been bolstered by a controversial win over Fulham, who rested key players last weekend ahead of their Europa League quarter-final meeting with Wolfsburg, and a positive result at the Britannia Stadium will pile the pressure on to free-falling West Ham. The Hammers have lost their last six league matches, a run which prompted manager Gianfranco Zola to contemplate quitting in the run-up to tomorrow’s daunting trip to Everton. A defeat at home to Blackburn could ensure that Portsmouth’s relegation from the top flight is confirmed by tomorrow evening, depending on results elsewhere and Burnley will look very strong favorites to join them unless they can derail Manchester City’s push for a Champions League place at Turf Moor today evening. City’s win over Wigan on Monday lifted Roberto Mancini’s expensivelyassembled squad back to within two points of fourth-placed Tottenham, who will come up against their former striker Darren Bent at Sunderland today. Bent, who left Spurs in a 10million-pound summer move, has scored 21 goals this season, 20 of them in the league, and has a point to make after being deemed surplus to requirements by Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp. Among those hoping that he does will be Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, who needs both Spurs and City to start dropping points soon if his under-performing squad, who visit Birmingham tomorrow, are to return to Europe’s top table next season. — AFP

Rooney absence tests Man Utd’s reserves and resolve

LISBON: Benfica’s Paraguayan forward Oscar Cardozo (top) vies with Liverpool’s Danish defender Daniel Agger during their UEFA Europa League qualifying football match at Luz Stadium in Lisbon. — AFP

Corinthians take group lead as Ronaldo shines Copa Libertadores Roundup SAO PAULO: Former Real Madrid striker Ronaldo opened the scoring as Brazilian club Corinthians beat Paraguay’s Cerro Porteno 2-1 on Thursday to take the outright lead in Copa Libertadores Group 1. Ecuadorean club Deportivo Quito and Once Caldas of Colombia both claimed 1-0 wins in the day’s other group matches. Ronaldo tapped into an empty net in the 37th minute and Chicao put Corinthians 2-0 up with a strike in the 64th. Julio Dos Santos scored a consolation goal for Cerro Porteno in the 80th. The win gave Corinthians 10 points, three ahead of Uruguay’s Racing after four matches. Ivan Hurtado converted a last-minute penalty to secure all three points for Deportivo Quito away against 10man Emelec in an all-Ecuadorean Group 5 encounter. Emelec defender Gabriel Achilier was sent off in the 80th minute after receiving a second yellow card. The three points moved Deportivo level with Cerro of Uruguay on seven points after four games. Internacional of Brazil leads with eight, while Emelec has lost all four matches so far. In Group 2, John Valencia scored the winner for Once Caldas in the 14th minute at home against Nacional of Paraguay. The victory pushed the Colombian club to 11 points, ahead of Sao Paulo by a point after five games played. The eight group winners and six best placed runners-up will qualify for the knockout round of 16. The Copa Libertadores is the premier club competition in Latin American. The winner earns a place in the Club World Cup against the champions of other continental confederations. — AP

SAO PAULO: Brazil’s Corinthians’ Ronaldo scores a goal as Paraguay’s Cerro Porteno’s Diego Herner (left) looks on at a Copa Libertadores soccer match in Sao Paulo. — AP

MANCHESTER: The true cost of Manchester United’s decision to allow Cristiano Ronaldo to leave for Real Madrid will become apparent at Old Trafford tomorrow. Ronaldo’s absence has been felt less sharply than might have been anticipated after his 42-goal final season at the Theatre of Dreams, mainly because Wayne Rooney has stepped into his goalscoring boots with such aplomb. But with Rooney now sidelined by an ankle ligament injury, it remains to be seen if Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad have the depth of match-winning resources required to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive English title. Victory over a Chelsea squad that has rediscovered form over the last two weeks would represent a huge step in that direction. It would leave United four points clear at the top of the table with five games left to play and it is hard to imagine a Ferguson squad conceding that kind of advantage over the final furlong. Rooney’s absence offers Dimitar Berbatov the opportunity to convince the still-sceptical United faithful that the 30 million pounds it cost to secure the Bulgarian’s services in 2008 represented a shrewd investment by Ferguson. Berbatov’s languid style has led some fans to question his appetite for hard graft but his superb touch and imagination are appreciated by his teammates, as well as by Ferguson. “We showed this season we play as a team,” the centreback, Nemanja Vidic, said. “It is not just about one man. Definitely Wayne Rooney has had a great season. He is unbelievable, one of the best in the world. “But sometimes big players are missing and others need to be ready.” “Dimitar had a great game

against Bolton today. He is a great footballer. He scored twice himself and can set up goals for other players as well. We have a good squad. We just need to believe in ourselves and believe in each other.” While United have been deprived of their principal source of goals, Chelsea are in a rich vein of scoring form having hit the net 12 times in their last two outings. Their manager, Carlo Ancelotti, recognised that Rooney’s absence will affect United, although he believes it might easily galvanise the rest of the squad into raising their game. “Maybe sometimes a team can give more than 100 per cent when an important player is out,” the Italian warned. “We have to pay attention to this. “We need to show our play and do it for 90 minutes and stay concentrated. Man Utd are a very dangerous team and have a lot of players who can create difficulties for us.” Ancelotti believes the title race will go to the final day, regardless of the result tomorrow. “The destiny after the game will be with the winners, but nothing will be decided,” he said. Didier Drogba’s return to full fitness has given Ancelotti a dilemma over whether to change a side that thrashed Aston Villa 71 last weekend, with Nicolas Anelka leading the line in impressive fashion. But all the signs are that the Ivory Coast striker will be on the starting sheet. “He is a very important player, he has scored 30 goals,” Ancelotti added. “The other strikers did a great job against Villa without him, but he is very important to us.” A John Terry strike gave Chelsea a 1-0 win when the two sides met at Stamford Bridge in November, but Ancelotti does not read too much into that result. “We are playing for the title so psychologically it is different.” — AFP