KT 9-3-2014_Layout 1

Transcript

CR
IP
TI
ON
BS
SU
SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2014
More dolphins
found dead
in Kuwait
Russia ups
threats as
crisis escalates
7
40 PAGES
NO: 16099
150 FILS
2
www.kuwaittimes.net
JAMADA ALAWWAL 8, 1435 AH
Stylish United
demolish woeful
West Brom
Brutality yields
confessions of
graft - in China
20
14
Malaysia plane with
239 aboard ‘missing’
Max 30º
Min 17º
High Tide
03:16 & 14:57
Low Tide
09:18 & 21:55
Two passengers may have been carrying stolen passports
PARIS: Photo shows the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER that disappeared from air traffic control
screens yesterday, taking off from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France. (Inset) A relative of
passengers cries at their house in Kuala Lumpur. — AP
Hollywood film Government to reject
‘Noah’ banned in proposals on bedoons
the Arab world
CAIRO: Three Arab countries have banned the
Hollywood film “Noah” on religious grounds even before
its worldwide premiere and several others are expected
to follow suit, a representative of Paramount Pictures
said yesterday. Islam frowns upon representing holy figures in art and depictions of the Prophet Mohammad
(PBUH) in European and North American media have
repeatedly sparked deadly protests in Islamic countries
over the last decade, fanning cultural tensions with the
West.
“Censors for Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE (United Arab
Emirates) officially confirmed this week that the film will
not release in their countries,” a representative of
Paramount Pictures, which produced the $125 million
film starring Oscar-winners Russell Crowe and Anthony
Hopkins said. “The official statement they offered in
confirming this news is because ‘it contradicts the
teachings of Islam’,” the representative said, adding the
studio expected a similar ban in Egypt, Jordan and
Kuwait.
Continued on Page 13
PAGE
KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 227
passengers and 12 crew went missing off the
Vietnamese coast yesterday and was presumed to have
crashed. There were no reports of bad weather and no
sign why the Boeing 777-200ER would have vanished
from radar screens about an hour after it took off from
Kuala Lumpur for Beijing. There were no signs of sabotage nor claims of a terrorist attack. However, in Europe,
news reports and officials said at least two people on
board may have been carrying stolen passports.
The Italian foreign ministry said in Rome that an
Italian was listed on the flight’s manifest although no
national from the country was on board. The passenger
list provided by the airline includes Luigi Maraldi, 37, an
Italian citizen. Newspaper Corriere Della Sera reported
that Maraldi’s passport was stolen in Thailand last
August. The Italian Interior Ministry was unable to
immediately comment on the report. In Vienna, the
Austrian foreign ministry said an Austrian listed among
the passengers was safe and had reported his passport
stolen two years ago while he was travelling in Thailand.
Asked for a possible explanation for the plane’s disappearance, Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya
told a news conference: “We are not ruling out any possibilities.” By yesterday night, there were no confirmed
signs of the plane or any wreckage, over 20 hours after
it went missing. Operations will continue through the
night, officials said. Vietnam said its rescue planes had
spotted two large oil slicks and a column of smoke off
its coastline, but it was not clear if they were connected
to the missing plane.
“We sent two maritime boats and some military
boats there to clarify, each boat with about 20 people,”
Pham Quy Tieu, vice minister of transportation, told
Reuters by telephone yesterday evening.
Seven Kuwait inmates
charged with arson
PAGE
GCC internal crisis brews
By A Saleh and agencies
Kuwait Airways
denies report
KUWAIT: Kuwait Airways has denied
reports of gun shots targeting one of
its planes that was coming from Doha
Friday evening. “Reports regarding a
shooting incident at Airbus A320, flight
618 from Doha to Kuwait are inaccurate,” the airline said in a press statement to KUNA. The statement added
that the plane arrived at 6:48 pm local
time at the Kuwait International airport
and all 81 passengers were safe. The
statement noted that “the pilot told
the control tower about what
appeared to be a shooting incident at
a considerable distance from the plane
toward the sky, but not on the plane,”
adding that “the pilot followed the
necessary procedures and aviation regulations by informing aviation authorities.” — KUNA
KUWAIT: While indications suggest that
Gulf states will try to end the crisis before
the Arab Summit later this month in
Kuwait, preparations are ongoing to hold
an Arab-American summit during US
President’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia.
Obama’s high profile visit to Riyadh is
expected during the last week of March, as
part of his regional tour.
US President is scheduled to meet with
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King
Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, but
reports suggest that leaders of Kuwait,
Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates,
Oman, as well as Egypt and Jordan could
attend the meeting. “The talks will highlight the strategic relationship between
Washington and the Gulf states, and will
send a clear message to Iran that those
countries remain strategic allies for the
United States,” according to high level
sources.
Keeping issue internal
The visit comes at a critical time for the
six-member Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) following the decision of Saudi
Arabia, UAE and Bahrain to withdraw their
ambassadors from Qatar last Wednesday.
But there is growing realization among the
Gulf states that the issue must be resolved
internally, and that efforts on that regard
must be improved to end the crisis before
the Arab Summit that Kuwait hosts on the
25th and 26th of March. “In case a solution
is not reached before that date, Gulf states
are likely to hold an impromptu GCC summit at the sidelines of the Arab Summit,”
sources said.
Domestic violence cases
spark protests in Lebanon
KUWAIT: Britain’s based Breitling Wingwalkers display team performs over Kuwait City yesterday during a promotional event to mark
the opening of the first dedicated store of the Swiss luxury brand, Breitling watches in Kuwait. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat (See Page2)
BEIRUT: Nada Sabbagh received a
brief, chilling telephone call from her
son-in-law last month telling her:
“Come to your daughter. I am going to
kill her.” Sabbagh said by the time she
arrived to her daughter’s home in
Beirut, her husband had kicked,
punched and beaten her with a pressure cooker, leaving her mortally
wounded and bleeding on the floor.
“I walked in and started jumping in
shock then begged him to let me take
her out,” Sabbagh later recounted. She
said he responded by saying: “I will not
let her out. I want her to die in front of
you.” Manal Assi’s husband,
Mohammed Nuheili, was detained
shortly afterward and is still being
questioned by authorities. It remains
unclear if he has a lawyer and he could
not be reached for comment.
The killing of Sabbagh’s daughter is
one of three domestic violence slayings
in Lebanon in recent months, drawing
new attention to women’s rights in this
country of 4 million people. Although
BEIRUT: Nada Sabbagh weeps in front
of a picture of her daughter, Manal
Assi, who was killed last month. — AP
Lebanon appears very progressive on
women rights compared to other countries in the Middle East, domestic violence remains an unspoken problem
and the nation’s parliament has yet to
vote on a bill protecting women’s rights
nearly three years after it was approved
by the Cabinet. “If a woman does not
have authority in her house, how can
she take an authoritative post (in government)? It starts here,” said
LOCAL
Two more dolphins found dead in Kuwait
Officials silent on ‘real reason’
Kuwaiti fund to sponsor
14,910 bedoon students
KUWAIT: The dolphins that were found dead in Kuwait yesterday.
By Nawara Fattahova
KUWAIT: In addition to seven dolphins that died
during the past two years, two others were
found dead yesterday at two new locations —
the Green Island and Negat Al-Shamlan. The seven dolphins were found perished at the Anjifa
beach in Salwa, Kheiran beach, Fintas beach,
Mina Abdullah, and Kuwait Bay.
The official institutions did not issue any
statement about the reasons behind this phenomena. “This number of dead dolphins in
Kuwait is very big and is considered a disaster to
our marine environment. In fact, we are are not
sure about the real reason behind this disaster.
There are public institutions that should tell the
public about the reason. We can only speculate.
We suspect that a virus in food these dolphins
have consumed may be the reason for their
death. Other speculation is that they were captured in the nets of passing ships while fishing,
who later threw them into the sea,” Director of
the Kuwait Diving Team Waleed Al-Fadhel told
the Kuwait Times yesterday.
He excluded the oil pollution to the reason
behind this phenomena. “We have oil leaking in
Kuwait since many years, and even Qaroh Island
is full of oil slicks and still sea creatures live
there perfectly. Experts in the field should
examine these dead dolphins and tell us about
the reason to solve the problem. The number of
dead dolphins here is very big in Kuwait or the
GCC countries. We cooperate with other GCC
countries through a joint network, and our colleagues in Qatar informed us that they find two
or three dead dolphins every month and the
reason is always the fishing nets,” explained AlFadhel.
According to him Kuwait has the resources
and ability to find out the reason behind this
disaster. “It’s supposed that people know after
two or three days what caused this disaster. For
instance the dead whale that was found on the
beach of Failaka Island last week remained at
KUWAIT: Bulgarian Ambassador to Kuwait Alexander Olshevski hosted a reception on the occasion of the country’s National Day at the
Bulgarian embassy in Jabriya on Monday. Members of the diplomatic
corps, journalists and guests attended the event.
the beach for some time because of the negligence of the responsible institutions, and they
only took action after the media publicity. They
then brought specialists and doctors and they
dealt with the issue within two hours. So if they
made the examination they could find the reason behind this increasing death of dolphins,”
he pointed out.
Al Fadhel called upon the government to
form a committee from related institutions such
as the Environment Public Authority, Public
Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish
Resources, Zoo, Marine Sciences Center of the
Kuwait University, the Kuwait Institution for
Scientific Research and others, which will have
an operation center to study the situation.
“There were other marine disasters in the
past such as the 2300 Tons of dead oysters within 21 days at the Kuwait Bay and till today they
didn’t announce the reason behind this disaster.
We hope the this won’t happen again in the
issue of dead dolphins,” concluded Al-Fadhel.
KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti charity fund
announced yesterday sponsorship of
14,910 students of illegal residents in
Kuwait for the second semester of current school year 2013-2014.
On the occasion of end of the midsemester break, the fund will pay off full
costs and fees of educating students of
illegal residents in Kuwait, Dr Tariq AlShatti, Executive Director of the
Charitable Fund for Education saidthat
the total budget for educating them for
the school year 2013-2014 is KD 4.453
million.
Dr Al-Shatti pointed out that the
number of male students included in
the Fund’s sponsorship is 7,168, which is
48 percent of total number of students,
while the number of included female
students is 7,742, which is 52 per cent of
total students, adding that around 7,857
male and female students are registered
for elementary, 4,263 for middle school,
and 2,790 for high school.
He also added that all students
resumed their studies and were back to
their school seats following end of the
mid-semester break as the Fund is closely following workflow of the educational
process, affirming at the same time the
Fund’s keenness to provide all required
necessities to prepare a supportive environment for education.
In addition, Dr Al-Shatti mentioned
that the Fund takes care of all expenses
for educating needy students who are
registered at one of the civil Arab
schools that are licensed by Kuwait’s
Ministry of Education in accordance to
priority segment, which is based on
ministerial decision on fees determination in civil Arab schools. — KUNA
Lawyer calls for greater
support for women
DOHA: The eminent Kuwaiti human rights
activist, Abrar Al-Saleh, has affirmed necessity to offer women all “serious support to
enhance their status in the Gulf societies.”
In remarks to KUNA, the Kuwaiti lawyer
proposed forming a higher council for
women to support the young ones and
shed light on their role.
Legal systems in the GCC states constitute some of factors of the women power,
she said, also noting that the GCC states’
constitution address men and women as
citizens of equal rights.
International treaties for safeguarding
the women rights have turned into national laws and thus have become compelling,
she pointed out, however the prominent
attorney indicated “some obstacles” in
implementation of such legislations.
Lawyer Al-Saleh called “for women quotas” in the parliaments “as a start for bolstering the women political participation,”
also calling for allowing them occupy senior government posts.
Kuwaiti women, in particular, have
made strides at this level, occupying rank-
Abrar Al-Saleh
ing positions, in addition to serving in key
sectors and posts in the political and media
domains. The Kuwaiti activist has recently
taken part in a meeting on role of the
media for backing women role in sustainable development. Conferees tackled
women role in the media. —KUNA
KUWAIT: (From left) Spanish Ambassador Angel Losada, US
Ambassador Matthew Tueller, Saudi Ambassador Dr Abdulaziz AlFayez and the British Ambassador Frank Baker are seen at the reception. — Photos by Joseph Shagra
KUWAIT: A partial view of the participants.
KPC launches media campaign to
promote oil culture among youth
KUWAIT: Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC)
announced yesterday that it plans to launch a
media campaign which aims to instill oil culture
in the younger generation.
The campaign will support school curricula to
teach students more about the oil industry, said
Managing Director for Corporate Relations and
Information Technology at KPC Ali Al-Obaid in a
press statement, who added that the corporation is also launching a new educational publication for the young which will be promoted to
them via visits carried out by the Department of
Public Relations and Media team at the corporation.
Al-Obaid stressed that the corporation is fully
aware of the magnitude of the social responsibility placed on it as it is the main engine of the
Kuwaiti economy and its business has multiple
dimensions; let alone, it is an integral part of
society; so KPC deemed it appropriate to take
the entrepreneurial spirit by way of launching a
media campaign to promote oil culture in the
younger generation as they are the mainstay of
the future and the cornerstone on which it is
based. “In this campaign, we will launch an oil
educational publication that is considered as a
cultural pioneering and unique project in which
the Corporation made every possible effort so as
to combine in it accurate scientific material, fine
literary presentation, illustrations, and interesting narration,” Al-Obaid said.
“Throughout this publication, we made sure
that it helps sharpen a child’s cognitive curiosity,
simulate the child’s imagination in the target
age group ( ages 9-13) and broaden his or her
perceptions so as to understand the story of oil
as energy, from it being stored in the ground
and then extracted as the primary source of
energy to move all aspects of modern life,” he
said. Furthermore, he said that there will be educational field visits paid by the team of Public
Relations and Media to the schools of Ministry of
Education, which comes out of the KPC’s awareness of its responsibility for the promotion of oil
culture among the young generation and for
support of the educational curricula of the
Ministry of Education in the field of oil culture.
These field visits and other efforts by KPC fall
within its keenness to increase public awareness
about the importance of oil in modern life”, he
further said. — KUNA
Burgan Bank concludes
national celebrations
KUWAIT: In lieu of this year’s National and
Liberation days, Burgan Bank hosted a
range of local activities to celebrate this
anticipated week with its customers,
employees and the wider public.
The festive program began with the
month-long photography contest for its
‘BuBa’ Kids account holders that reflected
their patriotic efforts. It also included distributing gifts to visitors of the bank’s
branch at The Avenues mall, as well as
employee activities and surprises at the
bank. Burgan bank continues to share in its
joy of momentous occasions with its audiences and remains an integral part of the
Kuwaiti society through engaging in
nationwide activities.
Established in 1977, Burgan Bank is the
youngest commercial Bank and third
largest by assets in Kuwait, with a significant focus on the corporate and financial
institutions sectors, as well as having a
growing retail and private bank customer
base.
The Bank has continuously improved its
performance over the years through an
expanded revenue structure, diversified
funding sources, and a strong capital base.
The adoption of state-of-the-art services and technology has positioned it as a
trendsetter in the domestic market and
within the MENA region. Burgan Bank’s
brand has been created on a foundation of
real values - of trust, commitment, excellence and progression, to remind us of the
high standards to which we aspire.
KUWAIT: Breitling Wingwalkers fly above Kuwait City’s iconic Water Towers with pilots David Barrell and Martyn Carrington yesterday. The team loop and roll up to 160 mph enduring G-forces of 4-5g. Crowds gathered at the Kuwaiti
coastline to catch a glimpse of the British Wingwalking team yesterday marking the opening of the first dedicated boutique in the city for the prestigious watch brand.— Photos by Joseph Shagra
p3 COPY_Layout 1 3/8/14 8:41 PM Page 1
LOCAL
Govt to reject proposals on bedoons, allowances
Call to increase salaries ‘inappropriate’
By A. Saleh
KUWAIT: The government is likely to reject MPs’ proposals that stipulates naturalization of bedoons qualified to receive Kuwaiti citizenship, as well as draft laws
to increase the children and rent allowances. On that
regard, sources with knowledge of the government’s
thinking indicate that a committee assigned to study
the allowances gave recommendations to the Cabinet
that the draft laws must be rejected in order to prevent
similar proposals from being made.
“Proposals that call for increasing salaries are inappropriate amid ongoing efforts to address the budget
imbalance and review the public sector’s payroll,” said
the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
On the bedoons’ issue, the sources said that the government is convinced that a proposal to naturalize at
least 4,000 stateless residents this year must be rejected
because it is considered an intervention in state’s efforts
to end the decades-old problem.
“The government prepares to handle the bedoons’
issue solely and without binding laws,” the sources said.
They underlined the role of the Central Apparatus for
Illegal Residents “which is assigned to study the issue
and provide radical solutions within a year remaining in
the ultimatum set by its creation law in 2010.”
In a related note, head of the Central Apparatus
Saleh Al-Fadhalah will meet this morning with members
of the parliament’s bedoons committee, which will discuss granting more facilitations for stateless residents at
state departments.
Housing conference
The Kuwait Housing Conference opens today at the
parliament, featuring experts who will highlight the
efforts needed to end the country’s housing crisis.
During the conference, the experts will attempt to
come up with a vision for the future of housing welfare
in Kuwait, as they start by addressing the current situation of housing welfare, then move to discuss the state’s
capabilities and reasons behind the failure to meet the
growing demand on government housing.
Government officials, including housing minister
Yasser Abul as well as public works and electricity minister Abdul Aziz Al-Ibrahim are set to speak during the
conference that is also expected to feature appearances
from Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem and
Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah.
Talks delay
Kuwait and Iraq are likely to postpone meetings to
discuss joint oil investors until the end of the year or the
beginning of 2015, according to sources with familiar
with the news.
The reason why the talks cannot be held this month
as scheduled is preparations in Iraq for parliamentary
elections set for the end of April. “There is concern that
preparations to form the new government could take a
long time similar to the previous elections which saw
the government announced several months later,” the
sources said.
Oil, health ministries
co-organize walkathon
KUWAIT: Oil and Health Ministries have jointy organized a walkathon to promote health awareness in the
country.
Kuwait Petrochemical Company and Al-Sadri
Hospital were the organizers of a walkathon arranged
for the first time by the oil sector, as part of the sector’s
societal responsibilities.
Minister of Oil and Minister of State for National
Assembly Affairs Dr. Ali Al-Omair stressed in his speech
that organizing this event is in line with the oil sector’s
obligation towards the betterment of the society. He
added that the oil sector always strives to interact and
connect with the country’s various institutes through
the organization of social events that benefit the people; hence, comes this walkathon.
The walkathon aims at promoting fitness and nutrition as a first step on the right direction of eliminating
obesity, a major culprit in heart and arteries diseases.
He hoped that this initiative will be well-received by
the public to encourage them to adopt an active and
healthy lifestyle.
On his part, the Minister of Health Dr Ali Al-Obaid
that organizing the walkathon is part of the Ministry’s
prevention program that aims at reducing chronic noncommunicable disease such as cardiovascular disease,
Cancer, Diabetes, respiratory disease as well as
unhealthy habits like smoking, unhealthy eating habits
and inactivity.
Preventing these diseases is a joint societal responsibility and a top priority in the country’s developmental
plan, he explained.
Meanwhile, CEO of Kuwait Petrochemical Company
Assad Saad expressed pleasure to taking part in this
event and pointed out that other similar health and
environmental projects are yet to come. — KUNA
FM in Cairo
to attend Arab
meeting
CAIRO: Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad AlSabah has arrived here to attend the 141st session of
the Arab League Council at the ministerial level to be
held today and tomorrow.
The meeting is scheduled to discuss a set of major
issues, primarily the Palestinian cause and the current
situation in Syria.
The minister was received at the airport by Kuwaiti
Ambassador in Cairo Salem Al-Zamanan and Kuwait’s
permanent delegate at the Arab League Aziz AlDehani.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled’s accompanying delegation
includes the Director of First Deputy Prime Minister
and Foreign Minister’s bureau, Ambassador Sheikh Dr.
Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Director of the
Ministr y ’s Arab World Depar tment Ambassador
Abdulhamid Al-Failakawi, Kuwait’s permanent representative at the Arab League Aziz Al-Dehani and a
number of senior officials at the ministry. — KUNA
KUWAIT: The joint Gulf traffic week exhibition was opened on Thursday at 360
Mall under the patronage of Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs Maj Gen
Abdelfattah Al-Ali, in the presence of Assistant Director General of Traffic
Department for Planning Affairs and Traffic Research Brig Saleh Al-Najim,
Assistant Director General of Traffic Department for Traffic Organization and
Licenses Brig Ihsan Al-Owayesh, and other traffic department officials.
—By Hanan Al-Saadoun
GCC traffic week kicks off
KUWAIT: The 30th edition of Unified
GCC Traffic Week 2014 is to kick off today
in the country under the theme “Your
Safety is Our Goal” as part of an initiative
covering all the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) states.
The event will see the participation of
delegations from the GCC countries. It
aims at ensuring the safety of people,
reducing the number of traffic accidents
in all the six GCC countries and finding
solutions to different traffic problems.
The event will see various activities
related to traffic safety such as workshops, lectures, exchange of visits with
the rest of the GCC countries. — KUNA
LOCAL
kuwait digest
Local spotlight
Increase of children’s
allowance
Is it over for
the GCC?
GCC about
to collapse?
By Dr Hassan Abbas
H
as the time come for the Gulf Cooperation
Council to disintegrate? Now is the time to
answer that question, an answer that I honestly
believe has been obvious since the GCC was established
over three decades ago. The answer in my opinion is yes,
and for the following reasons:
First of all, the GCC was different from known international unions since its creation, in the sense that Saudi
Arabia is the main player here. The kingdom’s geographical presence, as well as its economic, religious and Arab
influence allowed it to ‘direct’ the GCC. That changed
however when Qatar introduced young second-generation rulers. Unlike international unions, the GCC mostly
moved in accordance to the Saudi direction instead of
moving as per a collective direction.
The second aspect is the fact that the six GCC states
always gave attention to security fields more than any
other topic. This is the most notable featured that can
be noticed by anyone who followed up with the GCC’s
By Muna Al-Fazai
[email protected]
Al-Anbaa
While conflicts between
Gulf states is nothing new, it
has never escalated in the
past to the point in which a
country withdrew its
ambassador from another.
work or attempts to describe its activity since its establishment. This exaggerated concern over security gives
the impression that Gulf states are more concerned
from themselves rather than from foreign risks. I don’t
think there is a need to give examples for security
breaches between the GCC member states.
While conflicts between Gulf states is nothing new, it
has never escalated in the past to the point in which a
country withdrew its ambassador from another. The
recent response is clearly strong and completely different compared to how past issues were solved.
Therefore I can say that there are two indications this
time that warn that the future of the GCC is going
through a completely different crossroads. The first indication is that the reaction was strong, and the second is
that the ambassadors’ withdrawal announcement came
only hours after Bahrain’s blasts. It is clear that the crisis
is serious, and that the GCC is moving towards
inevitable change. The region has become completely
different compared to how it was three decades ago,
and the need for ideological leaders capable of adapting with change has become an urgent demand of the
people.
After that, I can say without hesitation that the Gulf
region is about to witness competition in the political
scene between traditionalists and modernists. —Al-Rai
T
Assembly
kuwait digest
Unfortunate US praise
By Abdullatif Al-Duaij
I
t truly appears that our American friends took an unfortunate step when they praised the human rights situation in Kuwait. The human being is oppressed to the
bones here in Kuwait. But it appears that the concept of
human rights is different between the United States and
Kuwait. Either that, or the Americans have became very
‘satiated’ with human rights to be concerned with the
human rights situation in Kuwait.
Yes, we suffer oppression and deprivation of rights.
Oppression does not always mean persecution, imprisonment and torture. We enjoy safety and security, and much
gratitude to those who made - and will definitely continue
to make - this happen. However, we are deprived of rights
and making human choices in behavior. We are also
deprived of collective and individual rights of self determination and future planning.
Democracy and freedoms are regressing here openly,
and under suspicious consensus. Neither political forces are
showing objection nor authorities are slowing their efforts
in reducing rights and public authorities. And now, our
gentlemen friends in the United States enter as a contributor by praise, commendation and extolment that ‘endorse’
the current situation.
Let’s put political freedoms and public authorities aside,
since we have a very long road to achieve that. If anything,
most of us prefer taking prudent steps towards that goal.
Instead, let us talk about social and living rights. When it
comes to standards of living, we currently enjoy evanescent luxury. In fact, we face the highest risk of suffering in
the future around the world due to the inability to secure
the future of the generations to come, as well as lack of
efforts to provide opportunities of decent living.
Actually, our current generation seems to be at risk,
which is something that a US ambassador unfortunately
predicted. By the year 2020, according to your own prediction and not anyone else’s, the Kuwaiti citizen will not find a
place to call home. What’s the use of maintaining political
rights for a few years, after which the public disarray and
humiliation happens?
When it comes to social rights, not only are we deprived
from everything, but we are also forced to live by and
spend our money in accordance with outdated traditions,
and accept the cultures of societies that were not even
acceptable during the Middle Ages.
Leave aside the freedom of expression because that is
something we do not even dare to dream of. Let me
inform you instead in case you didn’t know, which is
doubtful, that Kuwaiti citizens are not allowed to express
joy, clap or sway, let alone dance, in their or their children’s weddings. —Al-Qabas
kuwait digest
Kuwait between
1958 and 2014
By Osama Al-Shaheen
D
uring the sixth decade of the 20th century, the Arab
region featured several military coups that found support from the public who were influenced at the time
by Arab nationalism theories. This led hereditary kingdoms to
seek establishing a ‘security union’ that protected Arab ruling
families from a serious threat influenced by these growing
sentiments. The Hashemite union between the kingdoms of
Iraq and Jordan in 1958 was one of those attempts. But the
kingdoms sought further expansion and financing, so they
offered Kuwait the chance to enter the newly formed Arab
federation.
Already a rich country at the time but yet to achieve independence, Kuwait’s hereditary system that it shared with Iraq
and Jordan qualified it for an invitation to the Hashemite
union despite the fact that the ruling family is not Hashemite.
The late Amir Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, after consulting with the British, made the right reaction towards the
offer, as well as the military coups spreading through the
region at the time. He took steady steps to achieve Kuwait’s
independence in 1961, the release of its constitution in 1962,
and the inauguration of its parliament in 1963.
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Sabah had already been the state’s
ruler since 1950, but that did not stop him from reaching the
conclusion that partnership with people in power is the best
direction to take in order to thwart foreign interventions and
local troubles. History is repeating itself with the Arab Spring
revolutions that swept through the entire region since 2011.
After it achieved change in the ruling system in Egypt, Tunisia,
Libya, Yemen, Morocco and Syria, hereditary regimes in the
Arabian Gulf region proposed a security union that is identical to the one signed in 1958 and failed to protect the
Hashemite family in Iraq.
The Gulf security pact which has been in debate since
2012 is ignoring the depression that the region is moving
towards as a results of the discovery of shale oil around the
world. It also ignores the Iranian-American agreement, and
the increasing normalization efforts with the Zionist entity.
Furthermore, it focuses on the security of regimes and governments, not people and nations.
It is a theory that violates the sovereignty and rights of
governments, citizens and expatriates in Gulf states alike for
several reasons, including:
l Article 5 allows Gulf states to recruit Kuwaiti civilians in
their intelligence services.
l Article 16 allows extradition of a Kuwaiti citizen from one
Gulf state to another.
l Article 4 allows invading the privacy of any resident of a
Gulf state, and releasing their personal information as per the
request of another state.
The best thing that the government can do today is to follow on the footsteps of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah,
the founder of the modern state of Kuwait. People’s participating in running the state’s general affairs must be
improved, coupled with true political and constitutional
reforms that ends the state of division in the country which
drains the energy of its people and distracts them from the
serious challenges ahead.
If the 1961 Kuwait example is not enough to prove the
necessity of this step - there is the example of 2011 Morocco
to learn from. —Al-Rai
he GCC seems to have come to an end. This opinion may not be agreed by all, but indicators show
that the base of this union is about to collapse and
whatever reason this council was created for doesn’t
exist anymore. Let’s think of the worst scenario this
council may face, which can be the actual end of its existence. Should we, the citizens of the GCC, get affected
or harmed? Should we shed tears or even care?
This council was established in the ‘80s with the six
founding countries - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The unified
economic agreement between these countries was
signed on Nov 11, 1981 in Abu Dhabi .
The objectives of the GCC was set forth with key
aspects that focus on formulating, strengthening and
encouraging regulations that provoke and upgrade the
GCC to move forward to the future. But predicting the
future in the tense Arab states and set mandatory agendas can be a mistake. This is why the GCC is facing a
tough time now unless a miracle happens.
For example, one of the objectives of the GCC is setting up joint ventures and encouraging cooperation of
the private sector. I wonder how much effort has been
made in this field with Kuwait? I know for sure that UAE
would welcome such cooperation with Kuwait. But they
are open to the world and not to the GCC only. Saudi
Arabia also has made a tremendous progress in trade
and economy in the last few years. So the bottom line is
that with or without the GCC, the UAE is heading to the
future nearly in all aspects, especially tourism , foreign
banking and financial services, while Saudi has stepped
forward in economic growth and science remarkably.
The question here is how much this council has given
to the citizens of the GCC? Yes, we can travel to any GCC
country with our civil IDs. I think this is a small step that
can hardly be seen as a major accomplishment. How
much cooperation was made in regard to human development in these countries, because as far as I can see,
we are losing the balance between whom we need for
expertise and useful labor and the so-called marginal
workers that fill our countries. What about human rights
and freedom of expression? Children’s rights? I know
that these topics are not popular and have never been
given priority. We live in an open world and the policy of
silencing the opposition in front of the Arab Spring’s
wind will only delay the explosion and not heal it.
In the GCC, poverty is not recognized and that is a
mistake. We have poor people and we need to set a
poverty line like the rest of the world. Stop pretending
that all GCC citizens are rich and live happily after. All
these matters are essential to the citizens of the GCC.
In the public eyes, some believe this union has not
done enough for its people - the citizens of the GCC and their political, economical and social interests and
welfare. The council needs to focus on economic development and confront political challenges to protect and
secure the people and the systems itself from any turbulences and possible impacts that may come from nextdoor countries as well as the needs of the GCC people
today, especially the youth and women. GCC is not a
social club of rich countries.
letter to Badrya
Issues that go
unnoticed
Madam,
Great article about Ward 10 - I never knew it had a
real name. I’m an American volunteer and I’ve visited
the ward with the Filipino ladies who help them out. I
brought baby clothing, shampoo and other items for
the ladies. There are around 15 or more women in one
big room, beds touching each other and barely any
room to walk.
There were two women who had just given birth in
a smaller room with two beds. A month later, the same
woman was there with her baby. There are also women
who’ve been raped or sexually assaulted staying there
as well. The women are not given clothing or any types
of items for themselves or their babies.
We brought undergarments, shampoos, soap and
lotion for the women and babies as well. I also brought
some of my old clothing as they have nothing to wear.
It’s very sad and depressing there, especially when the
women are there for long periods of time and the
babies grow in an unhealthy environment.
I volunteer with Operation Hope and recently, there
was a call out to people for help with this ward. The
response was so great and a sheikha decided to adopt
the ward and she is currently trying to get a license for
her charity but she’s having a hard time getting it as
there is a lot of red tape.
They have an Instagram account - helpkidzq8 - in
which there are pictures of the clothing they bought
for the babies. I don’t know for sure if they sent the
clothing or not as one has to get it approved from the
Kuwaiti counselors first. They also help other kids in
need. I would like to bring to your attention the children of prisoners who are raised there with their mothers.
My mother used to work with IPC and they visited
prisons. I gave my mom some baby clothing to take to
the kids as they don’t have anything as well. There
were around 5-6 kids there at the time. There are so
many issues that go unnoticed in Kuwait and some
good people are trying to help those in need.
I just want to say good job for bringing these issues
to light.
M Dennis
LOCAL
KUWAIT: The Kuwait Oil Company laid the foundation stone for a project to build 160 houses south of Ahmadi, in a celebration organized recently. KOC CEO Hashem Hashem said during the event that the project comes as part of a
major plan to rebuild and renovate the area, that includes building 1,800 housing units with integrated services.
Kuwaiti embassy signs MoU
for employing students in US
Vocational development and creativity
WASHINGTON:
The State of Kuwait
Ambassador to the United States, Sheik h
Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, has
affirmed that the embassy has exerted relentless and intensive efforts to create opportunities for excellent Kuwaiti students to work in
top-notch American companies for one year.
Ambassador Sheikh Salem said the diplomatic
mission had played an effective role in signing
a memorandum of understanding (MoU)
between Kuwait Foundation for Advancement
of Sciences (KFAS) and the National US-Arab
Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC) on Dec 12,
2013. Today, a similar MoU was signed by the
embassy with the chamber and KFAS, Sheikh
Salem, said in a statement on the occasion late
on Friday.
Objective of such MoUs is to assert each
side’s role in bolstering the training program
and offer everything needed for the Kuwaiti
students to take advantage of such opportunities, Sheikh Salem said.
He affirmed the close coordination with
KFAS, namely its Director- General Adnan
Shehab-Eddine and the Arab-American chamber to help the Kuwaiti students get enrolled
in the top American companies and establishments to gain field experience and professional skills, before looking for work in the Kuwaiti
market.
The embassy, represented by the Cultural
Office, headed by Dr Abdel Aziz Al-Omar, has
paved the way and offered all possible facilities
for launching the joint training program,
themed, “vocational development and creativity,” during this year. For its part, the chamber
will seek to meet all the program requirements
in coordination with the relevant authorities,
namely the American corporations and institutions.
Nomination of the students for employment will be on basis of specific criteria.
Choosing American companies for the task will
be also on basis of certain considerations,
namely their qualification for the mission.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Higher Education has
agreed to cover the students’ expenses to be
selected in the program, Ambassador Sheikh
Salem added. He also thanked all the involved
authorities and their efforts to ensure success
of this program, designed to enable the students work in Kuwait and contribute to the
country’s progress under “leadership of my
master His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah may Allah safeguard
him.”
President of the NUSACC David Hamod said
he is privileged to par ticipate in the
Professional Development Initiative (PDI). “We
are very proud to join two outstanding partners - the Embassy of the State of Kuwait and
the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of
Sciences (KFAS) - in what we believe is the first
such Public/Private Partnership (PPP) of its
kind in the Arab world.”
The internship opportunities offered by PDI
will help to bridge gaps between formal education in the classroom and the kind of “handson” experience that is needed for the workplace. Over time, this program will help to train
a new generation of Kuwaitis for the global
marketplace. This will be very attractive to U.S.
and Kuwaiti companies looking for talent, of
course, but the biggest beneficiaries of all will
be the Kuwaiti young professionals who have
an opportunity to experience this program, he
said.
“ The ‘sof t opening’ of PDI commences
today, enabling us to move into high gear in
the months ahead. It’s a modest start but, over
time, I believe that this program has the potential to play a vital role in Kuwait’s historic transformation from a hydrocarbons-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. “ Hamod
added.
President of the National Union of Kuwait
Students (NUKS) Ahmad Qabarzad thanked the
Sheikh Salem for all the effort that he has put
in to the initiation of this program.
He added, “I would also like to thank the
National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce , the
Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of
Sciences, and Ministry of Higher Education for
providing the necessary factors that helped
start this program. Through this program, students will not only benefit from getting an
education in the United States, but will be able
to gain work experience as well.
“Based on our fundamental belief, that our
generation shall take the lead in the prosperity
of Kuwait, we regard this program as an investment in us. We hope our fellow students would
be able to make the most out of this experience, and return to Kuwait to enhance the
labor force. This program provides an incentive
for us as student to strive for excellence, and
this will consequently add a more competitive
edge in the job market. Therefore we hope that
this program will expand, in the next years, to
allow more students to benefit from such an
experience.” —KUNA
LOCAL
Seven inmates charged
in Central Prison fire
Officer in custody for drug abuse
KUWAIT: Seven inmates were charged with
arson Friday after they started a fire inside the
Central Prison. Firefighters were called to the
scene after the fire was detected inside the
solitary confinement, and the blaze was put
out before it could spread. Preliminary investigations revealed that seven prisoners set
garbage on fire for reasons that remain under
investigation. No injuries were reported in the
incident.
Drugged officer
A special task force officer was arrested for
drug abuse, driving under the influence and
possession of an unlicensed firearms. Patrol
police had pulled the man over on Khansa
Street in Salmiya, before placing him under
arrest for DUI. He was identified as a 24-yearold Kuwaiti citizen who works in the special
task force in the Interior Ministry. Police then
searched his car and found a pistol, a shotgun,
46 bullets and four envelopes containing
shabu (meth) as well as two Captagon tablets.
Police also found a walkie-talkie and Taser in
the car. The man was taken to the Criminal
Investigations Department for further action.
Stray bullet
A man was hospitalized with a gunshot
wound af ter he was hit by a stray bullet
according to his statements. The 23-year-old
Kuwaiti man was taken to Farwaniya Hospital
in an ambulance that responded to an emergency call made in Firdous. The man told
police that a bullet hit his shoulder while he
was standing outside the area’s co-op society,
adding that he could not identify the bullet’s
source. A case was filed for investigations.
Two hurt in fire
A child and a domestic worker were injured
in a fire caused by an exploding air condition-
ing unit in Al-Qasr. Firefighters successfully
evacuated the house after arriving at the scene
before paramedics rushed the child and the
housemaid to the Babtain burn injuries hospital. Doctors said that the condition of the 6year-old Saudi boy and the Ethiopian woman
were stable. Preliminary investigations indicate
that an AC unit exploded inside a room in the
house, which caused the fire. A case was filed
Child run over
A child died after he was hit by a car in
Salmiya on Friday. The 4-year-old Syrian boy
was pronounced dead at the scene before
criminal investigations were called. Paramedics
and police arrived to the scene shortly after
receiving an emergency call reporting the accident. The body was taken to the forensic
department, while police escorted the driver, a
Sri Lankan man, to the area’s police station for
further procedures.
Kuwait urges N Korea
to respond to calls on
abandoning all WMD
VIENNA: Kuwait urged North Korea to respond
to international calls and cooperate with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to
ultimately eliminate all weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Lojain Bolayyan, the Diplomatic
Attache at Kuwait Embassy in Austria and the
Mission to the International Organizations in
Vienna, made the remarks in a speech during
IAEA Board of Governors’ discussion on North
Korea and NPT implementation status.
Bolayyan urged North Korea to swiftly and
fully cooperate with the IAEA and effectively
implement the signed safeguards agreement,
particularly with regard to the Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT) and the remaining outstanding
issues, including allowing IAEA inspectors to
examine the country’s nuclear activities.
Bolayyan added that Kuwait shares its concern with the international community about
North Korea’s program, especially since the last
announced missile-test on Feb 3 of last year,
expressing Kuwait’s dismay for having five years
since the departure of IAEA inspectors from
Korean territories. Bolayyan also expressed
hope for the resumption of the six-party negotiations to reach a comprehensive peaceful
agreement with North Korea.
Bolayyan also mentioned the importance of
having IAEA safeguard system which is being
implemented in member states, noting that
such system was the backbone of IAEA work,
which is also the basis for the prohibition of
nuclear weapons, and has the support of almost
all countries in the world.
Bolayyan said that Kuwait hopes North
Korea would comply with the demands of the
international community and UN Security
Council resolutions, particularly the issue of
abandoning all nuclear weapons, and return to
the NPT.
The Kuwaiti diplomat noted that Kuwait has
full confidence in the role played by the IAEA,
including its effective capabilities in facing challenges, expressing willingness to support their
efforts and to strengthen their capacity to
achieve the desired goals of its establishment
and to ensure security and peace for the whole
world. —KUNA
NBK celebrates
graduation of new
batch of students
KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK)
celebrated the graduation of the fourth
batch of newly hired young Kuwaitis
from the new Shabab Training Program.
The program is specially designed to
develop the skills of newly recruited
diploma holders as part of NBK’s strategy to attract and develop young
Kuwaitis.
NBK organized a special ceremony
for the graduation of the newly hired
young Kuwaitis. The ceremony was
attended by Mazin Al Nahedh, NBK
General Manager, Consumer Banking
Group and Emad Al Ablani, NBK Deputy
General Manager, Human Resources
Group, Mohammed Al Othman, NBK’s
Executive Manager, Consumer Banking
Group along with senior leaders from
the bank.
Shabab program is the first initiative
of its kind in the private sector in Kuwait
designed to develop the skills of diploma holders, and is part of NBK’s strategy
to attract young Kuwaitis by offering
them a range of career and professional
development opportunities.
NBK Shabab Training Program
extends over a period of two and a half
months and is specially tailored to provide trainees with theoretical and practical skills covering the different aspects
of the banking industry.
NBK’s training programs include NBK
Academy which aims to train and develop the professional skills of fresh graduates, the Summer Internship Program
for high school and college students, in
addition to professional training and
development programs especially
designed and provided by world
renowned institutions to enhance the
skills of the Bank’s young leadership
members.
KUWAIT: A group photo of the graduates with NBK officials.
Kuwait to host Gulf
Petroleum Forum
KUWAIT: Under the Patronage of His
Highness the Prime Minister, Sheikh Jaber
Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and as
an emphasis of the strategic importance
of the Arabian Gulf region, the Second
Gulf Petroleum Forum will be held in
Kuwait at the Kuwait Jumeirah Hotel,
with a view to keep abreast with the
regional changes and their impact on
world oil markets given the strategic
importance of the Arabic Gulf countries.
In a statement issued in connection
with the arrangements being made for
holding the forum, the chairman of the
organizing committee, Dr Jasem
Besharah said that, in light of the oil
potentials and economic capabilities of
the countries of the region as a key player
in global oil markets, given the new projects that will be announced during the
coming few years in the fields of oil,
petrochemicals and energy and against
the background of the call for achieving a
Gulf oil integration, the Gulf Petroleum
Forum is being held with a view to
explore future potentials and highlight
and provide opportunities to specialists
and investors through the main and complementary events of the Forum.
Dr Besharah emphasized the vital
importance of future plans for developing and expanding the oil sector in
Kuwait with regard to the oil and gas sectors and the projects that fall within this
area. He indicated that the Forum will
give particular attention to this important
sector and added that the GCC countries
are particularly important to any thing
related the oil, gas and petrochemical
industry as they contribute one quarter
of the world oil and 20% of natural gas
supply and own 40% of the world’s oil
and 15% of the world’s gas reserves.
Dr. Besharah emphasized that the
Forum reflects the genuine attention
being given to the Gulf oil sector development plan and providing the global
companies with the opportunity to keep
abreast with the latest developments in
oil sector in the Arabian Gulf region in
general and the works that will be covered by mega projects in Kuwait in particular.
He went on to say that the Forum,
which will be attended by a large number of interested parties, experts, decision makers and specialists, both local
and international, in the areas of oil,
gas and petrochemical industries and
key personnel from regional and international organizations, will present
and discuss the main developments
seen by this sector. The Forum will also
discuss the challenges in various areas
and at various levels. In addition, it will
discuss the future developments of this
sector.
The chairman of the organizing
committee of the Forum, Dr. Jasem
Besharah expressed his thanks and
appreciation to His Highness the Prime
Minister for his generous patronage
and constant support to all serious economic events that are undertaken in
the service of Kuwait. He also expressed
gratitude to the various sponsor companies for their support of the Forum.
It is worth mentioning that the
Forum includes a number of workshops
to be presented by experts and specialists from inside and outside Kuwait,
allowing the participants the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the
latest technical, scientific and economic
developments witnessed by this sector,
given the fact that the importance of
Dr Jasem Besharah
the Forum is derived from the vital role
played by Kuwait and the GCC countries
in the world oil sector, as this region
owns the largest world oil reserves and
seeks to acquire state-of-the-art technologies in the fields of exploration,
drilling, transport and export.
The participants will include Nizar AlAdsani, Deputy Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Kuwait Petroleum
Corporation, Abbas Naqi, Secretary
General of OAPEC, Suleiman Al-Herbish,
Director General of the OPEC Fund for
International Development, Dr. Adnan
Shihab-Eldin, Director General of the
Kuwait
Foundation
for
the
Advancement of Sciences, Asaad AlSaad , Chairman of Kuwait National
Petroleum Company, Mohammed
Hussain, President and CEO of EQUATE
Petrochemical Company, Abdulaziz bin
Hamad Al-Ageel, Secretary General of
Gulf Organization for Industrial
Consulting, Abdullah bin Juma Al- Shibli,
GCC Assistant Secretary General for
Industrial Affairs at Cooperation Council
for the Arab States of the Gulf , Dr Thani
Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, Director of Energy
and Climate Change at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in the UAE, Dr Naji
Mohammed Al-Mutairi, Director General
of Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research
, Dr. Mohammad Al-Zuhair, Executive
Chairman of Kuwait National Fund for
SMEs Development , Ali Rashid AlJarwan, Chief Executive Officer of Abu
Dhabi Marine Operating Company, Dr.
Bassam Fatouh, Director of the Oil and
Middle East Program at Oxford Energy
Studies Center , Bill Farren Price, CEO of
Petroleum Policy Intelligence, Riyadh AlSaleh, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Kharafi National , Prof Dr HHolger Rogner, Former Head of Planning
and Economic Studies Section at the
IAEA, Dr Salem Al-Hajraf, Manager of
Renewable Energy Program at Kuwait
Institute for Scientific Research , Malek
Al-Ajeel Advisor to Deputy CEO and
Chief Investment Officer at Gulf
Investment Corporation,
Dr. Ramadan Al-Sharrah, Secretary
General, Union of Kuwaiti Investment
Companies, Dr Abdul Rahman Al-Awadi,
Executive Secretary of Regional
Organization for the Protection of the
Marine Environment , Engineer Najib Saab,
Secretary General of the Arab Forum for
Environment and Development, Dr.
Ibrahim Al-Ghusain, Corporate Director at
Kharafi National, Dr. Mohamed Dawod El
Ahmed, Chairman of the Kuwait
Environment Protection Society , and
Claudio Palmieri, Business Development
Director at Kharafi National.
Dr Besharah added that the Forum,
as it attracts the major companies operating in this vital sector in order to present the latest developments of their various activities and introduce their current and future projects, will be an
important event for both the public and
private sectors as it strengthens and
develops opportunities and means of
cooperation among the GCC countries.
The Forum will have several main
themes closely related to the oil, gas
and petrochemical industry from the
technical, economic and commercial
aspects, and will highlight the role of
this industry in the comprehensive
development process currently being
witnessed by Kuwait in particular and
by the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in general.
All aboard!
Pakistan’s first
women-only bus
Obama warns party to focus on 2014, not 2016
Page 9
Page 11
UKRAINE: Pro-Russian demonstrators gather during a rally in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk yesterday. Thousands of pro-Russian activists rallied in the eastern heartland of Ukraine’s ousted leader on March 8 after Moscow
threatened to cut off gas to its ex-Soviet neighbour following its tilt toward the West. Rallies in industrial cities that rely on Russia for trade and whose cultural roots lie closer to Moscow than Kiev come as Kremlin-backed troops have
tightened their grip on the flashpoint peninsula of Crimea. — AFP
Pro-Russians rally in Ukraine
Putin holds firm • Moscow has threatened to cut off gas
DONETSK, Ukraine: Pro-Russian activists rallied in the eastern heartland of Ukraine’s ousted leader yesterday after
Moscow threatened to cut off gas to its ex-Soviet neighbour
following its tilt toward the West. Rallies in industrial cities
that rely on Russia for trade and whose cultural roots lie closer to Moscow than Kiev come as Kremlin-backed troops
tighten their grip on the flashpoint peninsula of Crimea. The
predominantly Russian-speaking southern and eastern
swathes of Ukraine have been in upheaval since three
months of deadly protests brought new pro-European leaders to power in Kiev whom they view with disdain and mistrust.
The Kremlin says the new rulers have fomented a lawless
atmosphere of intimidation against ethnic Russians that
President Vladimir Putin says prompted him to threaten to
use force in Ukraine - a shock decision that has sparked the
worst East-West standoff since the Cold War. Now activists
who have set up a round-the-clock picket on Donetsk’s central Lenin Square under a red Soviet flag with the golden
hammer and sickle are calling for a secession referendum
just like the one planned in Crimea on March 16.
“Only Russia can help us so that our rights are not
dragged through the mud!” said one protester named
Natalia who works at a local beauty salon in the eastern city.
“There needs to be a referendum,” she said. Similar protests
have hit nearby Russian-speaking cities such as Kharkiv and
Dnipropetrovsk. The imposing Donetsk city adminstration
building has flown both Russian and Ukrainian flags after
being repeatedly raided in the past week by irate protesters
from both sides. The city was the regional stronghold of
deposed president Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia
late last month.
‘Boomerang’ Sanctions
Russia says it has stepped up protection of its Black Sea
Fleet base in Crimea and is working together with local selfdefence militias but refuses to acknowledge it has deployed
extra troops to the peninsula. Ukrainian border guard general Mykola Kovil said Friday there were now 30,000 Russian
troops in Crimea - higher than the 25,000 allowed under an
existing agreement with Ukraine. Successive attempts by 47
unarmed military and civilian observers from the
Organisation from Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSE) to verify what is actually happening in Crimea came to
nothing after gunmen blocked their entrance from the
Ukrainian mainland.
Moscow blamed the OSCE on Friday for trying to enter
Crimea “without considering the opinions and recommendations of the Russian side” despite a push by US President
Barack Obama for monitors to be let through as part of an
“off-ramp” to de-escalate the crisis. Russia’s decision to flex
its military muscle for the first time since it waged a brief war
with Georgia in 2008 has prompted Washington to slap visa
bans and asset freezes on top Moscow officials involved.
The European Union has also threatened to toughen economic sanctions against Russia should it fail to immediately
open talks with Ukraine. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov told US Secretary of State John Kerry that any puni-
tive measures against Moscow would strike back like a
“boomerang” against Washington. The foreign ministry also
warned EU powers that sanctions were a double-edged
sword that could hurt Russia’s trading partners.
Russia Raises Gas Threat
Those warnings became more concrete on Friday when
the state-run energy giant Gazprom told Ukraine it may
have to cut off the gas shipments on which its economy
relies for the first time since 2009. The halt - ostensibly over
debts that the economically struggling nation has been running for years - would almost certainly affect Gazprom’s
Western European clients such as Germany and only further
damage the Kremlin’s reputation. Gazprom chief executive
Alexei Miller argued that “we cannot deliver gas for free.”
But Russia’s largest company is often accused of being
wielded as a weapon by the Kremlin against uncooperative
neighbouring nations that are thinking of breaking ties with
Moscow-and consequently Putin’s dream of building postSoviet military and economic alliances to rival the NATO and
EU blocs.
No Negotiations
Obama has twice telephoned Putin in the past week to
try and nudge him to open talks with Ukrainian leaders that
could avoid an all-out confrontation on Europe’s eastern
edge with unimaginable consequences for global security.
But Putin has refused to recognise the legitimacy of interim
President Oleksandr Turchynov and is clearly smarting from
the downfall of Yanukovych - an ally who sparked protests
that claimed some 100 lives after he ditched an historic EU
pact in November in favour of closer ties with Russia.
Yanukovych’s Feb 22 ouster by lawmakers came one day
after he grudgingly signed an internationally mediated
agreement calling for snap presidential elections and ceding
much of his authority to his parliamentary foes. Putin’s
spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday openly ridiculed
Western calls for the Kremlin to launch negotiations with
Turchynov with the help of foreign intermediaries.
“It is very curious that now, in Europe, we hear calls from
Europe for Russia - with the help of Western nations - to
negotiate with people from Kiev who call themselves the
legitimate authorities of Ukraine,” Peskov told Russian state
television. “One can only smile at that, because of course, the
creditworthiness of these so-called (foreign) guarantees
expired after we saw what happened with the document
that Yanukovych signed,” Putin’s spokesman said.
The comments and Gazprom’s threat against Ukraine
were followed by another urgent phone call by Obama - on
vacation in the US southern state of Florida - to German
Chancellor Angela Merkel aimed at bridging Washington’s
firm position on Russian sanctions with Western Europe’s
softer stance. The White House said Obama hailed the two
sides’ “unified position” on the standoff but provided few
details on sanctions. “The leaders reiterated their grave concern over Russia’s clear violation of international law
through its military intervention in Ukraine,” the White
House said. — AFP
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Palestinian women join West Bank anti-riot police
JERICHO, Palestinian Territories:
Instructors bark orders to a column of
Palestinian women recruited to an antiriot unit, part of an effort to tackle problems caused by conservative attitudes in
the West Bank force. Decked out with helmets, assault boots, batons and shields,
the students at the Jericho police school
weather a barrage from stone throwers,
before rushing to arrest the “troublemakers”. “There is no difference between the
training for men and women for combat
abilities and searching cars and houses,”
said one of the instructors, Lieutenant
Naama Shalalfat. “Law enforcement is not
reserved for men,” she told AFP.
The recruits, who are taking classroom lessons to supplement the training
exercises, belong to a new all-female
anti-riot unit, which will be made up of
220 members and will be deployed
across the West Bank when it is operational. Col Ramadan Awad, deputy police
chief for the West Bank, says the unit was
formed in response to problems caused
by old attitudes towards women in the
territory. “The idea behind training this
unit goes back to 2009, when a women’s
demonstration in the streets of Hebron
(in the West Bank) degenerated into acts
of vandalism, while the police couldn’t
intervene because we live in a conservative society,” Awad said.
Lt Osama Awda, 28, says he is “training
police officers of both sexes in martial
arts and self-defence before moving on
to law enforcement”. He says that with his
three colleagues, two men and a woman,
he trains 500 female recruits every year.
Violence Against Women Rising
Rashida Brahma, a 22-year-old recruit
at the Jericho school, says she wanted to
be one of the first to work in a profession
long seen as off-limits to women. “My
main reason for joining the police after
school was to serve the homeland and to
get a job that only men had been able to
do until then,” she says, just after practising how to disarm an attacker. Only three
percent of the Palestinian police force’s
8,000 members are women, but other
branches of the security forces are making tentative steps to boost women’s
numbers in their ranks. This week, a
group of 23 women finished their training to join the presidential guard, which
protects key figures and carries out spe-
cial operations.
But despite signs of limited progress,
the level of women’s participation in the
Palestinian labour force remains low, at
about 17.3 percent compared with 69.3
percent for men, according to figures
from the Central Statistics Office published ahead of International Women’s
Day yesterday. The ratio is a little more
balanced in the public sector, where 40.6
percent of employees were women and
59.4 percent men in 2012, according to
the same source.
But in 2013 there was a marked rise
in violence against women in the
Palestinian territories: 27 women were
killed, 15 in the West Bank and 12 in the
Gaza Strip, compared with 13 killings in
the two territories in 2012, the statistics
office said, quoting a women’s rights
group. The office of the UN humanitarian
coordinator for the Palestinian territories
said it was concerned by the “increasing
incidence of femicide”. It added that “the
realisation of women’s rights and gender
equality will not be fully achieved without progress to sustainable peace,” leaving Palestinian women “fragile and prone
to regression.” —AFP
Libya port rebels start exporting oil
TRIPOLI: Armed protesters controlling
ports in eastern Libya said yesterday
they had started exporting oil, bypassing the Tripoli government in a major
escalation of their blockade to demand
a greater share of the nation’s petroleum wealth. A North Korean-flagged
tanker docked earlier at the Es Sider
port, which is controlled by protesters
who want more regional autonomy,
officials at state-run National Oil Corp
(NOC) confirmed.
The oil standoff is one part of deepening turmoil in the North African OPEC
producer, where the government is
struggling to control militias who
helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in
2011 but kept their weapons and are
challenging state authority. Any independent shipment would be a blow to
Libya’s government. Tripoli had said it
would destroy tankers trying to buy oil
from Ibrahim Jathran, a former antiGaddafi rebel who seized the port and
two others with thousands of his men in
August.
“We started exporting oil. This is our
first shipment,” said a spokesman for the
protesters based in the eastern town of
Ajdabiyah. Jathran had commanded a
brigade of former rebels paid by the
state to protect petroleum facilities. He
defected with his troops, however, to
take over the ports. There was no immediate word from the Libyan government
and navy about the shipment, but
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan and the justice
minister scheduled news conferences in
the afternoon.
In January, the Libyan navy fired on a
Maltese-flagged tanker which it said
had tried to load oil from the protesters
in the Es Sider port. The tanker Morning
Glory, which was previously flagged in
Liberia and can load around 35,000
tonnes (about 250,000 barrels) of oil,
had been circling off the Libyan coast
for days. The vessel had tried to dock at
Es Sider on Tuesday, when port workers
still loyal to the central government had
told the crew to turn back.
Workers confirmed they could see
the ship docked at the port, but it was
not immediately clear whether it had
started loading crude. Tanks at Es Sider
and other seized ports are full, according to oil sources. “We have informed
the government and the defence ministry so they can take action,” a senior
NOC official said, adding that the
tanker’s crew “are trying to buy oil illegally.” It is extremely unusual for an oil
tanker flagged in secretive North Korea
to operate in the Mediterranean region,
shipping sources said. A spokesman for
NOC said the Morning Glory was owned
by a Saudi company. It had changed
ownership in the past few weeks and
previously been called Gulf Glory,
according to a shipping source.
Protests
Western powers worry Libya will
slide into instability or even break apart
as the government, paralyzed by political battles in parliament, struggles to
assert control of a vast country awash
with arms and militias. At a Libya conference this week in Rome, Western countries voiced concern that tensions in
Libya could slip out of control in the
absence of a functioning political system, and urged the government and
rival factions to start talking.
Libya’s government has tried to end a
wave of protests at oil ports and fields
across the vast desert state that have
slashed oil output, the country’s lifeline,
to 230,000 barrels per day (bpd), from 1.4
million bpd in July. Tripoli has held indirect talks with Jathran but his demand
for a greater share of oil revenues for the
east, like the region had under Gaddafi’s
predecessor King Idris, is sensitive for a
government that worries this might lead
to secession. —Reuters
JERICHO: A Palestinian policewoman takes part in a training session
that aims at preparing a special women’s unit to intervene during riots
in this West Bank city on Feb 20, 2014. —AFP
Israeli airport security
measures questioned
Travelers often left dumbfounded
JERUSALEM: Jack Angelides was about
to board a flight out of Israel’s international airport when he was given a curious choice that baffles him to this day.
Traveling with a laptop and a stack of
printed reading material, he was told to
part with one or the other, due to
unspecified security concerns. The
Israel-based British-Cypriot businessman says he negotiated a compromise
in which he kept the computer and several pages, checking in the rest of the
documents. “It was a very unpleasant,
very uncomfortable” experience, said
Angelides, the general manager of the
Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv.
While standing in long lines, walking
through scanners and removing belts
and shoes are a fact of post-Sept 11
travel worldwide, Israel’s Ben-Gurion
Airport seems to stand alone with its
security techniques, often leaving travelers dumbfounded. Though Israel
denies profiling travelers, business executives, journalists and especially Arabs
and visitors to Palestinian areas seem
especially prone to being targeted with
aggressive questioning, long luggage
examinations and even strip searches.
The tough security is not new, but it
is stirring debate. On one side stand
those concerned about Israel’s good
name, tourism potential and moral
standing. On the other are those for
whom security arguments can seem
close to sacrosanct in a country hit with
decades of attacks by Palestinian militants, a series of hijackings in the 1960s
and ‘70s, and whose travelers abroad
are targeted in terrorist attacks.
The issue recently burst onto the
national agenda after an Arab schoolteacher who teaches at a Jewish high
school was strip-searched at Israel’s airport in the southern resort town of Eilat
during a class trip with her students.
Israeli Arab citizens, including lawmakers and other community leaders, complain of frequent discrimination when
traveling.
Aryeh Shaham, the Airports
Authority’s legal adviser, told a parliamentary hearing that there is no ethnic
profiling at the airport. “The inspection
is not done according to population
groups,” Shaham said. Instead, it is done
according to criteria set by security officials “and I can’t disclose those.” He said
fewer than 5 percent of Arab travelers
are inspected in Ben-Gurion Airport,
and said the authority receives more
complaints from Jewish travelers than
Christian or Muslim Arabs.
In response to emailed questions,
the Airports Authority said its inspection process is “anchored” in Israeli and
international law. It said the high level of
security threats facing the airport
“demands a severe level of inspection,”
including questioning, scanning of luggage and inspections of handbags and
travelers. But it acknowledged that with
20 million traveling through the airport,
“there are extraordinary events that we
regret”. And it is not clear whether terrorists have ever been caught as a result
of the airport interrogations.
worked in a different industry than his. “It
makes one think twice about where to
visit,” Silberling said.
‘Disgrace’
Adi Kol, the lawmaker who chaired
Monday’s parliamentary hearing, said
she found the responses by security officials “frustrating”, particularly their denial
that there is a problem. Kol, whose Yesh
Atid party is a member of the governing
center-right coalition, said she is now trying to set up a training program in which
Arab community leaders will give awareness training to airport security workers.
Security authorities “can use the proper
technological equipment” to find explosives “and spare us all this disgrace,” said
opposition Labor Party lawmaker
Nachman Shai. “It is simply a disgrace.”
In an editorial, the Haaretz newspaper
wrote that the incident involving the
teacher “proves that the religion of security drives the authorities out of their
senses” and called for checks “devoid of
racism and humiliation.” In some cases,
pro-Palestinian activists have been asked
to open their email or Facebook
accounts for inspections, and a small
Journos Targeted
Journalists also appear to be a target.
Several weeks ago, a senior executive
from Sky News was detained for two
hours of questioning as he entered the
country. In another recent case, an
Associated Press manager who is a
British national almost missed a return
flight to Cairo after facing a prolonged
barrage of questions. Officials ran his
socks and individual bank notes through
an anti-explosives machine and
demanded he lower his pants and be
further scanned. He said he was asked
three times by different people about a
small hole in his carry-on bag.
“Why do you not have more luggage? Why did you choose to stay in
Israel for just three days? Why did you
not come overland?” he was asked. Also:
“What is the ethnic makeup of the people in your office in Egypt?” “If they are
using security as an excuse to abuse
journalists I condemn that,” said Nitzan
Chen, the head of the Government Press
TEL AVIV: In this Nov 2, 2010 file photo, passengers have their hand
luggage screened by security personnel inside the Ben Gurion airport terminal. —AP
number have been barred from entering
the country.
Diana Buttu, an Arab lawyer who
holds Canadian and Israeli citizenship,
said she has traveled out of Ben-Gurion
dozens of times and has gone through
intense security checks each time. This
includes questions about what holidays
she celebrates, the names of her parents
and grandparents, why she doesn’t
speak Hebrew, as well as the unloading
the contents of her bags, passing
through metal detectors and undressing.
“I get the same exact treatment since I
was 17 or 18 years old. It’s clearly not random,” she said.
American Michael Silberling said he
was removed from the immigration line,
“left to stew” for 20 minutes and then
quizzed aggressively about why he came
and why the person he was visiting
Office. He said that path can be
smoothed by new procedures enabling
journalists to coordinate their arrival
ahead of time. He also said some
accounts might be exaggerated.
Jeff Price, an aviation security expert,
said there is some logic to ethnic profiling in a place with a long history of conflict with the Arab world, and that odd
and random questions are part of a strategy: “Once you understand how people
respond to ‘normal’ questions that they
should know the answers to and have no
reason to lie about, you’ll be able to spot
the lie when asked other questions.”
Price, owner of the consulting firm
Leading Edge Strategies in Denver, said
Israel is generally considered the “gold
standard” for airport security - but added
that “security questioning should never
demean or degrade an individual” —AP
Turkey ex-army chief
released from prison
ISTANBUL: Turkey’s former army chief Ilker Basbug, who
was jailed for life last year for plotting to overthrow the
Islamic-rooted government, walked free from prison on
Friday after a court ordered his release. “We were put behind
bars by those who act on revenge and hatred,” Basbug said
in an emotional speech following his release from the highsecurity Silivri prison near Istanbul, where he was held for
more than two years. “Prison means pain, agony and suffering,” he said. “But I do not harbour any revenge or hatred
because love conquers hatred.”
The release came a day after Turkey’s Constitutional
Court ruled that Basbug’s legal rights had been violated, saying that a lower court had failed to publish its detailed verdict on the case and send it to the appeals court. The court
has imposed an overseas travel ban on the ex-commander,
according to local media. Basbug was initially detained in
2012 before being sentenced to life in prison in Aug 2013,
along with hundreds of other military officers who were given long jail terms for their roles in the so-called “Ergenekon”
conspiracy to overthrow the government.
But Basbug said he would continue his legal struggle
until his last comrade in jail is set free. “My release is just the
beginning,” he said. “I firmly believe that all of my comrades
will be released soon. If that does not happen, there is no
point in my being released. “Our hands are clean. We have
only one demand: justice.” The 71-year-old general, who led
the army between 2008 and 2010, again denied the charges.
“Turkish people have understood that we have no interest in
plotting a coup, that it is unacceptable to accuse a general of
being a member of a terrorist organisation,” he said. The military, which sees itself as the guarantor of Turkey’s secular
constitution, has carried out three coups - in 1960, 1971 and
1980, - snd pressured an Islamist government to step down
in 1997. —AFP
Birthplace of Venezuela demos becomes barricade city
SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela: Barricades
made of burning trash, metal fences,
tree stumps and washing machines
block several streets in the western city
where Venezuela’s protest movement
was born. It is no longer just students
who are building barriers in San
Cristobal. Doctors, lawyers, shopkeepers
and retirees fed up with the government
of President Nicolas Maduro have joined
the action. They are angry at the massive
lines at supermarkets lacking flour or toilet paper.
They are tired of being afraid at night
because motorcycle gangs roam the
streets. They are furious at the national
guard’s crackdown and arrests of protesters. One month after the first
demonstration, the defiant students and
residents of this opposition stronghold
warn that they will keep up pressure
until Maduro listens to their grievances
or steps down. “This is the epicenter of
the bomb that made everything
explode,” said Liscar Depablos, a 22-yearold medical student from Los Andes
University. “This will not stop.”
Students first protested here on Feb 4
after the attempted rape of a young
woman. The muscular police response
led to more protests that eventually
spread across the country. At least 20
people have died since then in
Venezuela. More than 1,000 protesters
were detained, but most have since
been released.
‘Like Ukraine’
The barricades across San Cristobal
were initially built to block riot police
and armored cars after the first protest
erupted on Feb 4. But many residents in
the city of 260,000 are now blocking
streets to deter gangs that roam the
streets after dark, robbing and shooting.
The protesters used sewer grates, boulders, mounds of dirt, billboards and
even an old armoured vehicle that was
ripped from a military monument and
marked with the word “peace.”
At each student-built barricade, a
half-dozen to 20 masked young men
guard their turf with sling-shots, rocks
and metal tubes that launch fireworks.
Depablos lives on a cul-de-sac whose
residents made a barrier with bamboo
and barbed wire after the national guard
fired tear gas into homes two weeks ago,
breaking windows and denting doors.
“My dog fainted. We hid in the bathroom
and turned on the water to counter the
tear gas,” Deplabos said.
Residents showed a “made in Brazil”
tear gas grenade and several empty
birdshot cartridges marked with the
words “anti-riot”. They say the national
guard fired after they banged pots outside their homes, a traditional
Venezuelan way of protesting. “We are
like in the Ukraine here, waiting for trouble,” said Jarriz Ordonez, a 33-year-old
chef, referring to last month’s Kiev uprising that caused the Ukrainian president
to flee his country. But analysts say
Venezuela is far from seeing a Ukrainestyle revolt. Maduro’s socialist government still enjoys vast support among
the poor, who were deeply loyal to his
late predecessor, Hugo Chavez. The government held one of its newly established “peace conferences” in San
Cristobal on Thursday, but the opposition shunned the meeting, saying
demanding protesters be released. “We
won’t recognize a conference of lies
while there is repression and armed
‘colectivos’,” San Cristobal’s opposition
Mayor Daniel Ceballos told AFP, referring
to leftist pro-government gangs.
Disrupting City Life
The mayor supports the protests
despite the disruption to daily life in his
city. Few shops are open across the city
of 260,000 people, located in the
Andean state of Tachira, whose economy
includes trade - legal and illegal - with
neighboring Colombia. Some shopkeepers are frustrated with the barricades,
saying they have exacerbated the city’s
food scarcity because delivery trucks are
shying away. “They are hurting the city,”
said Jesus Robles, a 35-year-old manager
of a small kitchen that sells arepas, a
Venezuelan maize flatbread. “We don’t
have products and everything is expensive.”
At supermarkets, hundreds of people
stand in line before dawn every day to
buy the few available items, but the
problem existed before the demonstra-
Officer says US general
sexually assaulted her
Accuser gives tearful account of sex crimes
FORT BRAGG, North Carolina: US
Army general twice forced a female
captain to engage in oral sex when
she tried to break off their illicit sexual
relationship during their deployment
in Iraq in 2011, the woman said during
an emotional account on Friday at his
military trial. The junior officer testified that Brigadier General Jeffrey
Sinclair grabbed her by the back of
the neck and sexually assaulted her
after she tried to explain she was fed
up with their adulterous affair and
needed to move on. “He pushed me
down,” she said through tears. “I felt
like I had no control at all over my
own body.”
Her allegations are the basis of a
forcible sodomy charge that could
send the 51-year-old general to prison
for life. Sinclair is also accused of grabbing her genitalia against her will and
of having sex with her in public
places, including a parking lot in
Germany and militar y offices in
Afghanistan. The general, who is married, denies sexually assaulting the
captain 17 years his junior and says
the relationship was consensual,
although inappropriate by military
standards.
The rare court-martial of a highranking US military official is unfolding in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, amid
a growing debate among US lawmakers over how best to curb sexual
assault in the military. A government
prosecutor told a jury panel of five
two-star generals that Sinclair abused
his rank and power to threaten the
captain to stay in an intimate relationship that spanned three years and two
war zones. “It involves a lot of consensual sex,” the lead prosecutor,
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Stelle, said
during opening statements on Friday.
But “this is a case where non-consensual sex was used as an instrument of
control.”
Defense attorney Ellen Brotman
read aloud excerpts from the female
captain’s journal that the lawyer said
help prove the liaison was based on
mutual affection, not coercion, and
remained consensual from beginning
to end. “You will see that this case is
nothing more than a workplace affair,”
Brotman told jurors, adding the captain’s fear was that Sinclair would never leave his wife. The identity of the
captain, a military intelligence officer,
is being withheld by Reuters due to
the nature of the charges.
Initial Encounter
The captain, 34, recalled on the
witness stand her first physical
encounter with Sinclair, saying he
invited her into his private quarters in
Iraq in 2009, asked her to take down
her hair and caressed her face. “I had
developed a very strong attraction for
him,” she said. “On the one hand, I’m
thinking how amazing it feels, but on
FORT BRAGG, North Carolina: Brig Gen Jeffrey Sinclair leaves the courthouse with his lawyers Richard Scheff and Ellen C Brotman, following a day
of motions on March 4, 2014. — AP
the other hand, this is my brigade
commander.” The captain, now stationed in Arizona, did not meet
Sinclair’s gaze during her testimony,
during which the general sometimes
shook his head and looked annoyed.
The relationship went through
volatile highs and lows, and the captain said her frustration and mistrust
grew. She said Sinclair once threatened, after they had sex, to kill her if
she told his wife or anyone else about
the affair. Another time, at a hotel in
Arizona, they had sex against her will
on a balcony and Sinclair later
grabbed her by the throat when she
became upset and tried to leave, she
testified. After court, Sinclair’s attorneys said that account contradicted
her previous descriptions of the hotel
meeting. In a journal entry, she wrote
that they had a huge fight over a
change in his travel plans but said, “It
was so wonder ful to be with him
again though.”
The captain testified that she
stayed involved with Sinclair because
she felt emotionally connected and
worried about how ending it would
affect her military career. She did not
immediately report him to superior
officers after the alleged sex crimes. “I
knew if I said anything that it would
be my word against his and nobody
would believe me,” she said. “I had no
way out.” When she told Sinclair of her
desperation, she said he texted her,
“Get a grip.”
On Thursday, Sinclair, a one-star
general, pleaded guilty to lesser
offenses that carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and possible
dismissal from the Army. He admitted
to having an extramarital affair with
the captain as well as asking other
junior female officers for nude photos
and viewing pornography while
deployed. The charges saw him
stripped of command in southern
Afghanistan in May 2012 and sent
back to Fort Bragg, where he remains
on active duty. His wife is not attending the trial.
Sinclair’s attorneys said the captain’s testimony provided new fodder
for their cross-examination of her on
Monday. “It was an interesting story
we heard,” said lead defense attorney
Richard Scheff. “Unfortunately, it’s fiction.” — Reuters
Obama warns party to
focus on 2014, not 2016
WASHINGTON: Democrats could get walloped in the
November elections. The party gets sleepy and distracted in
the midterms. And its supporters simply may not show up to
vote. Those aren’t hopeful predictions from Republicans.
They’re the dire warnings of President Barack Obama, who is
seeking to gin up enthusiasm for the midterm elections from
party activists already looking toward the 2016 race to replace
him. The remainder of his presidency hangs on Democratic
performance in the November contest. If voters hand the
Senate over to Republican control, Obama will lose even the
uphill chance he has to get legislation passed in his remaining
time in office.
“I hope that just because I’m not on the ballot that people
aren’t going to take it easy this time, because the ideas I care
about and am fighting for are on the ballot,” Obama said to
about 75 donors who paid $5,000 to $20,000 to hear him speak
over dinner at a swanky Boston art gallery Wednesday night.
Obama’s challenge is to set an agenda for a party that is not
always embracing him, especially after the problems with his
health care law. There are areas of the country where he can’t
campaign since he would only be a drag on more moderate
Democratic candidates.
“Our message to candidates is: How can we help?” White
House political director David Simas said in an interview. If
showing up for a rally isn’t the answer in moderate districts,
Simas said the president can give candidates a boost by raising
money and setting a national debate on economic opportunity. “The president is the only individual who can really set what
the national narrative is going to be,” Simas said.
White House advisers say the president’s economic agenda,
including an increase in the minimum wage, particularly
appeals to the Democratic base voters they most need to turn
out in the midterm elections, including single women, young
people and minorities. Obama will be holding events this week
specifically targeting women’s economic issues. He’s also committed to 30 party fundraisers through June, with more being
scheduled, and into the fall will campaign with candidates running where he still has appeal, White House advisers say.
‘Disconnect’
Brad Dayspring, a strategist working on the Republican
campaign to win Senate seats, said Democratic candidates in
battleground states still are going to have to answer for
Obama policies they supported, including healthcare, and
overall disapproval of Washington leadership. “Obviously
their plan is to hide Obama in deep blue states and use him
to raise money in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles,”
Dayspring said.—AP
SAN CRISTOBAL: A member of the National Guard dismantles a barricade set up
by anti-government activists in San Cristobal on March 6, 2014. — AFP
tions. Government supporters say
shelves are empty because people take
advantage of Venezuela’s weak currency
to sell goods at a hefty profit in nearby
Colombia. The protesters, who blame
the shortages on the government’s price
and foreign exchange controls, acknowledge they are affecting residents but
they say it is the best way to keep pressure on Maduro.
While the protesters here vow to never stand down, some worry that their
peers in Caracas will lose steam. “If we
don’t awaken all the other states, we
won’t reach our objectives,” said Johan, a
31-year-old waiter manning a barricade
on a major avenue who refused to give
his last name. Fernando Marquez, a 20year-old student leader at Catholic
University of Tachira, was optimistic as
he stood at another boulevard with scattered barricades. “ We will continue
resisting in the streets until we see
change in the country,” he said. “There is
a saying now: ‘We must follow Tachira’s
example.’”— AFP
Turner hospitalized with appendicitis
BUENOS AIRES: Philanthropist and former media tycoon
Ted Turner was rushed to hospital on Friday in Argentina’s
Patagonia region before flying to Buenos Aires for appendicitis surgery, local media said. After being seen by doctors at
the San Carlos clinic in the lakeside city of Bariloche, near an
area where Turner owns property, the 75-year-old founder of
cable TV network CNN was flown to the Argentine capital for
treatment.
Workers at the San Carlos clinic said Turner was there in
the early morning complaining of acute abdominal pain but
was able to leave on foot. He then took a jet to Buenos Aires
to be treated at the Argentine Institute for Diagnosis and
Treatment in the upscale neighborhood of Barrio Norte. “He’s
here,” an employee at the institute told Reuters without providing details. A spokesman for the hospital declined to
comment.
Turner spokesman Phillip Evans said in a statement that
his boss was admitted to a hospital for observation while
traveling in South America. “Given it is our policy not to comment on his personal health, no further details will be provided,” Evans said. Turner, who turned his father’s billboard
business into a billion-dollar empire that included ownership
of the Atlanta Braves baseball team, ditched his role as
media executive years ago to focus on charity and green initiatives, including the fight against climate change.
Dubbed “Captain Outrageous” for his antics in the world
of competitive yachting in the 1970s, when he once drunkenly swashbuckled through a news conference after winning
the America’s Cup, Turner created CNN in 1980 as the world’s
first 24-hour cable news channel. — Reuters
Ted Turner
Crimea eyes bridge for link with Russia
KERCH, Ukraine: A ferry is the only way
to cross the small strip of sea that separates Ukraine’s Kerch peninsula in the far
east of restive Crimea from Russia. But
maybe not for much longer. If the city’s
pro-Russia mayor gets his way, there will
soon be a bridge, forging a physical link
to an area that is already under de facto
Russian control. Oleg Osadchiy is in a
confident mood as he sits in an imposing office dominated by a satellite map
showing Kerch and the spit of Russian
territory that looks like an open hand
reaching out to grab it.
“The 7.5-kilometre bridge will be finished in four or five years,” said
Osadchiy, who is in his fourth term as
mayor of the 145,000-strong city, which
he claims is “74 percent Russian”. The
project received a boost this week when
Russian Prime Minister Dmitr y
Medvedev awarded a reported Ä480
million ($345 million) contract for its
construction to federal road agency
Rosavtodor. Days later Crimea’s parliament, regarded as renegades by the
new government in Kiev, voted to
secede from Ukraine and said it would
hold a referendum on the issue on
March 16. Moscow’s forces already control strategically important Crimea - a
mainly ethnic Russian peninsula about
the size of Belgium and home to Russia’s
Black Sea fleet.
An old dream
Ukraine and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding on the bridge
project more than three years ago, in
the hope they could finally realise a
project that was first begun seven
decades earlier. Wartime forces built a
4.5-km bridge that was opened in the
summer of 1944, but its poor Soviet
construction meant is was carried away
by ice in the fierce winter six months
later. Several other attempts were made
over the coming decades to link the sister republics of Ukraine and Russia
under the banner of the USSR, but none
bore fruit.
This time, says Osadchiy, “the gov-
ernments of Russia and (the
autonomous republic of ) Crimea are
very involved”. Although the Ukranian
flag sits to his right - in contrast to its
disappearance from many official buildings in Crimea - he makes no mention
of lawmakers in Kiev, some 1,000 km
away. Despite his determination, there
is much work still to be done before the
bridge becomes a reality, Osadchiy concedes.
It is still at the stage “of technical feasibility studies”, he says, which are
expected to be completed in
November. Osadchiy speaks excitedly
about the rail and road links his city will
enjoy with Russia, although he is vague
on what the economic impact might
be. Although he does not provide evidence, he says a million people would
use the crossing every year, two-and-ahalf times the number who traverse the
strait between Krymsk and Kavkaz on
the ferry.
Down at the docks, armed Russian
soldiers - who might normally find
themselves on the other side of the
water - carry out patrols. There are few
takers for the four-times-daily ferry
when an AFP journalist visited. No one
wants to travel in such a tense atmosphere, said one Ukranian who did not
want to be named. “ The people are
afraid,” he said. — AFP
It’s Obama v Putin on Crimea
WASHINGTON: Now it’s personal. By
upping the ante with his threat to isolate
Russia with sanctions over Crimea,
Barack Obama risks setting off a cycle of
confrontation with Vladimir Putin. And
despite his reluctance to play Cold Warstyle chess with the Russian president, a
degeneration into a new great power
rivalry cannot be ruled out. Since Russia’s
move into Ukraine, President Obama has
steadily upped pressure, while offering
Putin a diplomatic “off ramp” to defuse
the crisis.
Indefatigable Secretary of State John
Kerry has spent hours bartering ideas
with Russia’s tough foreign minister
Sergei Lavrov in Europe. But the belief in
Washington is that only Putin has the
power to dictate outcomes - introducing
a personal dimension into the crisis. That
recognition underpinned two bluntly
spoken calls between Obama and Putin
this week. The US plan would see international observers monitor the welfare
of ethnic Russians in Ukraine, Moscow’s
troops withdraw to Crimean bases and
Ukrainian elections in May. But the
Russian troop buildup in Crimea and a
pending referendum among peninsula’s
mainly Russian-speaking citizens on joining Russia seems to be outpacing US
diplomacy.
How Bad Will it Get?
The question now is whether the
worst East-West crisis since the Cold War
will chill the entire relationship between
the world’s top two nuclear powers? For
instance, can Washington insulate high
priority areas of cooperation - like Iran
nuclear talks and its transit route out of
Afghanistan - from the dispute. Or will
the dynamics of the crisis and the pressure on both Obama and Putin to appear
strong create their own destructive
dynamic?
Lee Feinstein, a former US ambassador to Poland and a campaign advisor to
both Obama and Hillary Clinton, said
options were already narrowing. “It
depends on the trajectory that Putin
takes,” said Feinstein, a senior fellow at
the German Marshall Fund. “Frankly, if
the intervention in Crimea continues,
that is going to make it much more difficult on a whole range of issues.”
Obama this week appeared on camera to personally highlight visa bans on
some Russian officials and a structure for
sanctions on some entities and individuals. If Crimea is taken from Ukraine and
taken by Russia, Obama would have little
choice, along with European partners, to
make good on his threats, risking Russian
retaliation. The president’s personal credibility, already derided by political foes
who slam him as a “feckless” statesman, is
now clearly on the line.
Not Obama’s Preferred Legacy
A new great power rivalry is not
Obama’s choice, He came to office determined to “reset” relations with Russia.
Although the policy yielded a new
nuclear arms reduction deal, helped him
win a Nobel prize and was instrumental
in clamping tight sanctions on Iran - it
ran out of steam before he won reelection. But by keeping diplomatic options
open through Kerry and by coaxing
Putin, Obama hopes to forestall a prolonged confrontation. Michael McFaul,
Obama’s just departed ambassador to
Moscow, believes Russia’s cooperation on
Iran nuclear talks, for example, can
endure “not because Putin is doing us
any favors but because he sees (it) in
Russia’s national interest.”
In that sense, the idea behind the
reset - that while Russia and the United
States are not friends they can cooperate
where it makes sense - could survive. But
with Putin often seeming to define his
bid to restore Russia’s pride and influence
by thwarting US foreign policy - in Syria
for instance - the spirit of the reset is long
dead. Soil was piled on its grave with
Russia’s offer of asylum to fugitive US
leaker Edward Snowden.
And Obama penned its obituary by
snubbing Putin last year by judging their
agenda too threadbare to justify a
planned Moscow summit. “Already, well
before this crisis there was not a ambitious program coming out of
Washington in terms of some great set of
initiatives,” said McFaul. The revival of
long dormant tensions has meanwhile
electrified old cold warriors in
Washington. “Maybe the president thinks
the Cold War is over, but Vladimir Putin
doesn’t,” said Republican Senator John
McCain on MSNBC.
But Obama has long dispensed with
illusions about Putin. He sees Putin’s
worldview as framed by his apprenticeship in the KGB and nationalistic nostalgia for the Soviet Union. He is also irritated by the perception that Putin “rescued” him after he blinked at striking
Syria over its chemical weapons use.
Obama argues the now troubled deal to
destroy the Assad regime’s chemical
arsenal was his idea nurtured by
painstaking diplomacy, not an opportunist pounce by Putin.—AFP
KIEV: In this Feb 20, 2014 file photo, activists evacuate a wounded protester during clashes with police in
Independence Square. — AP
Russia, Ukraine feud
over sniper carnage
Riddle has become latest flashpoint
KIEV: One of the biggest mysteries
hanging over the protest mayhem that
drove Ukraine’s president from power:
Who was behind the snipers who sowed
death and terror in Kiev? That riddle has
become the latest flashpoint of feuding
over Ukraine - with the nation’s fledgling government and the Kremlin giving
starkly different interpretations of
events that could either undermine or
bolster the legitimacy of the new rulers.
Ukrainian authorities are investigating the Feb18-20 bloodbath, and they
have shifted their focus from ousted
President Viktor Yanukovych’s government to Vladimir Putin’s Russia - pursuing the theory that the Kremlin was
intent on sowing mayhem as a pretext
for military incursion. Russia suggests
that the snipers were organized by
opposition leaders trying to whip up
local and international outrage against
the government.
The government’s new health minister - a doctor who helped oversee medical treatment for casualties during the
protests - told AP that the similarity of
bullet wounds suffered by opposition
victims and police indicates the shooters were trying to stoke tensions on
both sides and spark even greater violence, with the goal of toppling
Yanukovych. “I think it wasn’t just a part
of the old regime that (plotted the
provocation), but it was also the work of
Russian special forces who served and
maintained the ideology of the (old)
regime,” Health Minister Oleh Musiy
said.
Putin has pushed the idea that the
sniper shootings were ordered by opposition leaders, while Kremlin officials
have pointed to a recording of a leaked
phone call between Estonia’s foreign
minister and the European Union’s foreign policy chief as evidence to back up
that version. This much is known:
Snipers firing power ful rifles from
rooftops and windows shot scores of
people in the heart of Kiev. Some victims were opposition protesters, but
many were civilian bystanders clearly
not involved in the clashes. Among the
dead were medics, as well as police officers. A majority of the more than 100
people who died in the violence were
shot by snipers; hundreds were also
injured by the gunfire and other street
fighting.
On Tuesday, Interior Minister Arsen
Avakov signaled that investigators may
be turning their attention away from
Ukrainian responsibility. “I can say only
one thing: the key factor in this uprising,
that spilled blood in Kiev and that
turned the country upside down and
shocked it, was a third force,” Avakov
was quoted as saying by Interfax. “And
this force was not Ukrainian.”
The next day, Prosecutor General
Oleh Makhntisky said officials have
found sniper bullet casings on the
National Bank building a few hundred
yards up the hill from Maidan, the
square that became the center and the
symbol of the anti-government
protests. He said investigators have confirmed snipers also fired from the Hotel
Ukraine, directly on the square, and the
House of Chimeras, an official residence
next to the presidential administration
building.
Deputy Interior Minister Mykola
Velichkovych told AP that commanders
of sniper units overseen by the Berkut
police force and other Interior Ministry
subdivisions have denied to investigators that they had given orders to shoot
anyone. Musiy, who spent more than
two months organizing medical units
on Maidan, said that on Feb. 20 roughly
40 civilians and protesters were brought
with fatal bullet wounds to the
makeshift hospital set up near the
square. But he said medics also treated
three police officers whose wounds
were identical.
Forensic Evidence
Forensic evidence, in particular the
similarity of the bullet wounds, led him
and others to conclude that snipers
were targeting both sides of the standoff at Maidan - and that the shootings
were intended to generate a wave of
revulsion so strong that it would topple
Yanukovych and also justify a Russian
invasion. Russia has used the uncertainty surrounding the bloodshed to discredit Ukraine’s current government.
During a news conference Tuesday,
Putin addressed the issue in response to
a reporter’s question, suggesting that
the snipers in fact “may have been
provocateurs from opposition parties.”
That theory gained currency a day
later when a recording of a Feb 26 private phone call between Estonian
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and
European Union foreign policy chief
Catherine Ashton was leaked and
broadcast by the Russian governmentcontrolled TV network, Russia Today. In
the call, Paet said he had heard from
protesters during a visit to Kiev that
opponents of Yanukovych were behind
the sniper attacks.
Paet said another physician who
treated victims, Dr Olha Bogomolets,
told him that both police and protesters
were killed by the same bullets - and
“there is now stronger and stronger
understanding that behind snipers it
was not Yanukovych, but it was somebody from the new (government) coali-
tion.” On Wednesday Paet confirmed the
recording was authentic, and told
reporters in Tallinn that he was merely
repeating what Bogomolets had told
him. He said he had no way of verifying
the claims, though he called
Bogomolets “clearly a person with
authority.”
Bogomolets couldn’t be immediately
reached by the AP for comment. She did
not answer repeated calls to her cellphone or respond to text messages. In
an interview earlier this week with a correspondent from British newspaper The
Telegraph, Bogomolets said she didn’t
know if police and protesters were killed
by the same bullets, and called for a
thorough investigation. “No one who
just sees the wounds when treating the
victims can make a determination about
the type of weapons,” she was quoted as
saying. “I hope international experts and
Ukrainian investigators will make a
determination of what type of weapons,
who was involved in the killings and
how it was done. I have no data to prove
anything.”
On Thursday, Russia’s UN envoy said
he discussed the leaked phone call during a closed-door meeting of the UN
Security Council. If the call represents
the truth, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin
told reporters, “it is hard to imagine how
such a parliament ... can be regarded as
a legitimate parliament that can pass
legitimate decisions on the future of
Ukraine.”
Confusion
A former top security official with
Ukraine’s main security agency, the SBU,
waded into the confusion, in an interview published Thursday with the
respected newspaper Dzerkalo Tizhnya.
Hennady Moskal, who was deputy head
of the agency, told the newspaper that
snipers from the Interior Ministry and
SBU were responsible for the shootings,
not foreign agents. “In addition to this,
snipers received orders to shoot not
only protesters, but also police forces.
This was all done in order to escalate the
conflict, in order to justify the police
operation to clear Maidan,” he was quoted as saying.— AP
DONETSK: A pro-Russian demonstrator holds up a sign as she shouts slogans during a rally in this eastern Ukrainian city yesterday. —AFP
All aboard! Pakistan’s first women-only bus
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: At 7:15 am on a dusty street
corner in Rawalpindi, among the dozen rickety minibuses jostling for passengers, a brand-new, bright pink
vehicle stands out. Emblazoned with the words “Ladies
Transport”, this is Pakistan’s first commuter bus solely for
women, aimed at those sick of wandering hands and
unwanted attention on regular services. Some see it as a
welcome respite, but detractors warn it is reinforcing
gender segregation in a highly patriarchal and often
misogynistic country.
Sat on one of the minibus’s four banquette seats,
Azra Kamal, who works at an electronics shop, welcomes the new project, named “Tabeer” - “fulfilment of
a dream” in Urdu. Her face half-hidden behind a black
veil, she tells of obscene comments and other inappropriate gestures she suffered on mixed transport. “I have
a long journey to work and when I get there it’s often
only me left on board. Sometimes the driver will take
advantage to give me his phone number and ask for
mine,” she said during the 20-odd kilometre ride to her
destination in the capital Islamabad.
Others on board described being touched by drivers,
conductors and male passengers. To add to this harassment, the tiny minibuses that ply the roads of the
Pakistani capital and its twin city Rawalpindi often have
only a few seats, sometimes with only one out of a
dozen reserved for women. “I used to work in a hospital.
Often there would be no space on the bus and I would
get told off for being late,” said Sana. Today the 21-yearold proudly wears a pink tunic, the uniform of her job as
conductor on the women’s bus, as she collects the 30rupee (30-US cent) fare.
Mobile Segregation?
But the new service has not impressed everyone in a
country where the forces of conservatism are seen to be
growing in strength. In a blog post for one of Pakistan’s
leading English-language newspapers, journalist Erum
Shaikh called the project a “complete sham”. “The mere
News
in brief
Magnetic bomb targets
Afghanistan’s governor
JALALABAD: A magnetic bomb attached to
a district governor’s vehicle exploded in
eastern Afghanistan yesterday, killing the
governor and his bodyguard, provincial
authorities said. The attack in Nangarhar
province highlights the security threat surrounding presidential elections in a month’s
time, when voters will choose a successor to
Hamid K arzai. “ Today 9:00am, a mine
attached to the vehicle of Nazyan district
governor Noor Agha Kamran was detonated
in the city of Jalalabad,” Nangarhar police
spokesman, Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal told
AFP. “Unfortunately, district governor Noor
Agha Kamran was martyred along with his
one bodyguard, and several passersby were
wounded in the attack ,” he added.
Nangarhar governor spokesman Ahmad Zia
Abdulzai said five bystanders were slightly
wounded. They were discharged from the
hospital after treatment. In another attack in
neighbouring Laghman province, four
Afghan soldiers and two policemen were
killed while defusing a roadside bomb.
“Today 8:00am, Afghan security forces went
to the outskirts of Mehtarlam provincial capital to defuse a roadside bomb, and another
bomb detonated,” Sarhadi Zwak, Laghman
governor’s spokesman, told AFP.
Plane evacuated after
catching fire in Nepal
NEW DELHI: An IndiGo flight from Delhi to
Kathmandu evacuated passengers using a
slide chute yesterday after its rear wheel
caught fire while landing in the Nepalese
capital, the carrier, India’s largest airline, said.
“Af ter park ing, the ground engineer
observed smoke and fire from the right
brake assembly... All 175 passengers, one
infant and six crew members are safe,” said a
statement, adding an investigation was
underway. The low-cost airline, launched in
2006, is a privately held success story, famed
for placing the largest-ever plane order of
180 Airbus A320 aircraft worth more than
$15 billion in 2011. US aviation authorities
downgraded India’s air safety ranking in
January to category two, saying its aviation
safety supervision did not comply with international safety standards. The downgrade
brought India below Pakistan and on a par
with countries such as Bangladesh, Ghana
and Indonesia, according to the US Federal
Aviation Administration.
China to work with
Afghans to fight terror
BEIJING: China said yesterday that it will
work with Afghanistan to fight terrorism,
after it blamed a deadly train station attack
on extremists from its western Xinjiang
region, which shares a short border with the
war-torn nation. Beijing has become increasingly concerned about security in restive
Xinjiang, where it says Muslim extremists
receive help from militants in neighbouring
countries. China says separatists from the
region, home to a large Muslim Uighur
minority, launched a terrorist attack in the
southwestern city of Kunming last week,
killing at least 29 people and injuring about
140. China will work with the international
community for political reconciliation in
Afghanistan and support reconstruction,
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press
briefing during an annual session of China’s
largely rubber-stamp parliament. “We will
also work with Afghanistan and other neighbours to resolutely fight all terrorist forces,”
he said. China will host a foreign ministerial
conference on Afghanistan in August to
encourage “a move toward lasting peace”,
Wang said.
fact that the authorities thought it appropriate to introduce something like this should actually offend women
and yet we sit there smile, look pretty and let the big,
tough, muscular men build walls around us to ‘protect’
us,” she wrote. On board the bus, bank worker Misbah
agrees. “I really appreciate the service but we must tackle the root of the problem and make people take
harassment seriously,” she said.
But the man behind the project, Ali Naqi Hamdani,
says it is empowering women in a society where many
are not permitted to leave the house without male
accompaniment. “The women here are willing to go out
to work, they’re willing to go out for education purposes but they don’t have such a conducive situation where
they can feel secure in public transport,” he said. “So it
was very important that you provide them an environment where they step out of their homes, they feel
secure before they reach their universities or their
offices so they are encouraged to come out.”
The Tabeer project has been running for three weeks,
with 12 vehicles in the capital, and is hoping to expand
to other cities if there is enough demand. Sana is
already dreaming of moving on to drive the bus - for a
shortage of female drivers means that currently the
women-only bus has a man behind the wheel. — AFP
RAWALPINDI: Pakistani female university students gather around vans from the newly launched Tabeer transport
service at the Fatima Jinnah University on March 5, 2014. — AFP
China to ‘defend every
inch’ of territory: FM
Wang declares ‘no room for compromise’
BEIJING: A woman surrounded by media covers her mouth on her arrival at a
hotel for relatives or friends of passengers aboard a missing Malaysia
Airlines Boeing 777-200 yesterday. —AFP
Tears, fury as relatives
wait for news of plane
BEIJING: Tearful and angry, the friends
and relatives of passengers on board
missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370
lashed out at the company yesterday as
journalists besieged them in a Beijing
hotel. Many were taken there by the airline after going to the Chinese capital’s
airport to meet the flight, scheduled to
land at around 6:30 am. A press conference was expected at the same location,
and when others arrived later, they had
to run the gauntlet of scores of Chinese
and international reporters shoving
microphones and cameras in their faces.
“They should have told us something
before now,” said one visibly distressed
man in his 30s, from the Chinese city of
Tianjin. A man in his 20s struggled to
help a grieving older woman, possibly
his mother, into a quiet room as journalists shouted questions at her. “They are
useless,” he said of the airline. “I don’t
know why they haven’t released any
information. We waited for four hours
and all they told us was the very few
details they released at the media conference.”
At the press conference, a Malaysia
Airlines staffer read out a statement that
had already been given in Kuala Lumpur and which the passengers had read
online - in chaotic scenes as scores of
cameramen fought and barged each other out the way to get clear shot. Fighting
back tears, a 20-year-old woman who had
gone to the airport to meet a college
friend said the passenger’s family still had
not been told by the airline she was on
board. According to Malaysia Airlines, 153
of the 239 people on board the missing
flight - a codeshare with China Southern
Airlines -are Chinese citizens.
Scores of family members spoke to
airline officials in small groups in a room
on the hotel’s second floor. Security at
times struggled to hold back the huge
throng of reporters crowding outside the
door and making it difficult for relatives
to enter or exit. Hundreds of journalists
from across China are currently in Beijing
for the annual session of the National
People’s Congress, the Communist-controlled parliament, and many of those
present wore badges from the event.
One woman in her twenties entered
the room frantically crying, ignoring
questions from the horde. A man in his
60s wiped tears from his eyes with a
handkerchief as he entered the room. He
hit a cameraman in the face who tried to
film him as he walked by, as a security
guard shouted “Don’t you all have families?” In the evening a group of about 10
family members made their way into the
room to meet airline officials, sobbing
into their hands. At the airport, for hours
after the flight should have landed, the
digital arrivals board described it, in red,
as “delayed”. Then it changed, to “cancelled”. —AFP
BEIJING: China’s foreign minister
yesterday said his country would
vigorously defend its sovereignty,
declaring there was “no room for
compromise” with Japan over territory or history. “We will never
bully smaller countries yet we will
never accept unreasonable
demands from smaller countries,”
Wang Yi told reporters. “On issues
of territor y and sovereignty,
China’s position is firm and clear:
We will not take anything that
isn’t ours, but we will defend
ever y inch of territor y that
belongs to us.”
China is embroiled in disputes
with several of its neighbours
including the Philippines and
Japan, with tensions centred on
rival claims in the South China
Sea and East China Sea. Beijing
asserts that almost all the South
China Sea is its territory but the
Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia,
Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims. The dispute with
Tokyo is particularly tense given
historical animosities between
the two countries over Japan’s
invasion of China in the 1930s
and 40s. Beijing and Tokyo both
claim a small uninhabited archipelago in the East China Sea,
administered by Japan as the
Senkaku Islands, but which China
calls the Diaoyu Islands.
Chinese officials and state
media have this year demanded
that Japan reflect on its historical
aggression and atrocities, in
much the same manner as postwar Germany has with its Nazi
past. “On the two issues of principle, history and territory, there is
no room for compromise,” Wang
told reporters on the sidelines of
the National People’s Congress,
China’s communist-controlled
legislature. “If some people in
Japan insist on overturning the
verdict on its past aggression I
don’t believe the international
community and all peace loving
people in the world will ever tol-
BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a press conference for the second session of China’s 12th National People’s Congress (NPC) on China’s foreign policies yesterday. —AP
erate or condone that.”
Tensions
Tensions between the two have
risen markedly since 2012 when
Tokyo purchased islands in the chain
it did not already own from their private Japanese owners. Beijing has
taken an increasingly hard line on
the issue ever since. Ships and aircraft from both countries regularly
patrol waters around the contested
territory and have on occasion come
perilously close to armed clashes.
Some, including Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe, have mentioned the dispute within the context of World War I, when European
powers Germany and Britain went to
war. Wang, a career diplomat who
has served at China’s embassy in
Tokyo and speaks Japanese, discounted such a comparison at the
press conference. “I wish to emphasise that 2014 is not 1914, still less
1894,” he said.
The latter year marks the start of
the First Sino-Japanese War, which
ended in victory by Japan in 1895,
marking that country’s rise as a
regional power after more than two
centuries of isolation. “Instead of
using Germany before the First
World War as an object lesson, why
not use Germany after the Second
World War as a role model?” Wang
added.
The United States, China and
Japan are the world’s three biggest
economies, while Tokyo has a security pact with Washington, which is
treaty-bound to come to its defence
if it is attacked. Wang became foreign
minister in March last year as China
completed a once-a-decade leadership transition that saw Communist
Party General Secretary Xi Jinping
become state president. He reiterated Beijing’s calls for dialogue to
resolve the issue of the nuclear program of North Korea, which receives
most of its trade and aid from China.
“All along, we have a red line, that is
we will never allow war or instability
on the Korean peninsula,” he said,
adding that “mutual mistrust”, particularly between Pyongyang and
Washington, was preventing a resolution.
Wang also stressed the need for
discussions in Ukraine, where forces
of China’s ally Russia are in effective
control of Crimea. “The priority now
is to exercise calm and restraint and
to prevent further escalation of the
situation,” he said. “The parties
should carry out dialogue and consultation to put the issue on the
track of a political settlement.”
Despite tensions with the US over
issues including mutual suspicions
related to defence and cyber security, Wang gave an overall upbeat
assessment of ties. “The Asia-Pacific
should be the testing ground of our
commitment to build a new model
of relations rather than a competitive arena,” he said. —AFP
NEWS
Domestic violence cases spark protests...
Continued from Page 1
Maya Al-Ammar, an official with a Lebanese women’s
rights group Kafa, Arabic for “Enough.” “If you don’t
remove (domestic) violence and the woman can’t
become the ruler of herself, she will not be able to be
able to take a decision-making post.” Civil rights activists
say that a woman is killed every month by their husbands on average in Lebanon, while thousands are subjected to physical or verbal abuse every year.
In the past, it used to be taboo to openly speak
about such family issues. Some used to claim that
their daughters died after they fell in order to avoid
what could be seen as “shameful.” Today, however, the
death of a woman at the hands of her husband gets
extensive coverage by local media and has sparked
widespread awareness campaigns online. “We are not
doing anything shameful. We are not harming anyone,” said a Lebanese domestic violence survivor who
only gave her first name as Bahiya out of fear of
reprisals. “We probably reached this point because of
the word shame.”
Bahiya described how her husband of nearly 20
years regularly beat her with his hands and a stick.
She once went to the hospital after he grazed her
with a gunshot. With the help of Kafa, she was able to
get a divorce recently and won custody of her four
daughters. The woman recounted how once after
fleeing to a police station, an officer there told her
that she faced merely “a family affair.” Many Lebanese
women also see the laws in this Arab country as discriminating against them.
Lebanese women married to foreigners cannot
pass their citizenship to their children and husbands.
The country’s personal status law, which deals with
cases involving divorce or inheritance, is implemented according to the person’s religion and their faith
MANILA: People gather to form a woman symbol to celebrate International Women’s Day at Manila’s Rizal
Park yesterday. The organizers hoped to bring in 10,000 participants and set a Guinness World Record for
the largest human woman symbol. The event’s official recorded participants has yet to be announced by
Guinness World Records. — AFP
Malaysia plane with 239 aboard ‘missing’
“The oil spills are about 15km long. Those boats will
be there in about three to four hours.” A crash, if confirmed, would likely mark the US-built airliner’s deadliest incident since entering service 19 years ago. And it
would also mark the second fatal accident involving a
Boeing 777 in less than a year. An Asiana Airlines
Boeing 777-200ER crash-landed in San Francisco in July
2013, killing three passengers and injuring more than
180. Boeing said it was monitoring the situation but
had no further comment.
Massive search
A large number of planes and ships from several
countries were scouring the area where the plane last
made contact, about halfway between Malaysia and
the southern tip of Vietnam. “The search and rescue
operations will continue as long as necessar y,”
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters in
Kuala Lumpur. He said 15 air force aircraft, six navy
ships and three coast guard vessels had been pressed
into service by Malaysia.
Vietnam dispatched two navy boats from Phu Quoc
island and sent two jets and one helicopter from Ho
Chi Minh City to search for the missing airliner. It was
readying a further seven planes and nine boats to join
the search effort. Other than Vietnamese and Malaysian
search operations, China and the Philippines have also
sent ships to the region to help. The United States, the
Philippines, and Singapore also dispatched military
planes.
China has also put other ships and aircraft on standby, said Transport Minister Yang Chuantang. Chinese
Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters in Beijing that
China was “extremely worried” about the fate of the
plane and those on board. Search and rescue vessels
from the Malaysian maritime enforcement agency
reached the area where the plane last made contact at
about 4:30 pm local time but saw no sign of wreckage,
a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said. The
11-year-old Boeing, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent
engines, took off at 12:40 am from Kuala Lumpur
International Airport and was apparently flying in good
weather conditions when it went missing without a distress call.
Relatives angry
The disappearance of the plane is a chilling echo of
an Air France flight that crashed into the South Atlantic
on June 1, 2009, killing all 228 people on board. It vanished for hours and wreckage was found only two days
later. Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 last had contact
with air traffic controllers 120 nautical miles off the east
coast of the Malaysian town of Kota Bharu, Malaysia
Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a
statement. Earlier yesterday, the airline had said people
from 14 nationalities were among the 227 passengers,
including at least 152 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, seven
Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French
and three Americans.
Flight tracking website flightaware.com showed the
plane flew northeast over Malaysia after takeoff and
climbed to an altitude of 35,000 feet. The flight vanished from the website’s tracking records a minute later
while it was still climbing. Chinese relatives of passengers angrily accused the airline of keeping them in the
dark, while state media criticized the carrier’s poor
response. “There’s no one from the company here, we
can’t find a single person. They’ve just shut us in this
room and told us to wait,” said one middle-aged man at
a hotel near Beijing airport where the relatives were
taken. “We want someone to show their face. They
haven’t even given us the passenger list,” he said.
Another relative, tr ying to evade a throng of
reporters, muttered: “They’re treating us worse than
dogs.” In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Airlines told passengers’ next of kin to come to the international airport
with their passports to prepare to fly to the crash site,
which has still not been identified. About 20-30 families were being kept in a holding room at the airport,
where they were being guarded by security officials
and kept away from reporters. Malaysia Airlines has
one of the best safety records among full-service carriers in the Asia-Pacific region. It identified the pilot of
MH370 as Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, a 53-year-old
Malaysian who joined the carrier in 1981 and has
18,365 hours of flight experience. — Reuters
dictates their fate. Some young women under 18 get
kidnapped by their future husbands and get married
with the help of religious clerics against the will of
their parents. The same goes for politics. There is no
quota for women in parliament or government ministries. Women now hold just four seats in the country’s 128-delegate. Lebanon’s newly formed government has only one female Cabinet minister. Activists
are urging Lebanon’s parliament to approve a new law
regarding domestic violence at its first meeting after a
legislative subcommittee approved it last year.
Ghassan Moukheiber, the general rapporteur of the
parliamentary Human Rights committee, said the reason the law has not been approved is because parliament has not met since a previous Cabinet resigned
in March last year. Lebanon was run by a caretaker
Cabinet until last month. Moukheiber said he expects
the draft to be unanimously approved once parliament meets. “I look forward for the voting of this bill
because it is going to be a very important and meaningful step toward stopping all sorts of violence
against women,” Moukheiber said. Some Sunni and
Shiite Muslim clerics have criticized the proposed law,
however, saying it dismantles families.
Yesterday, about 5,000 people marched in Beirut to
demand protection for women and urged the parliament to vote on the domestic violence law. “We came
down to the street because we want a law to protect
us. We tell the state we want a law quickly,” hundreds
of women chanted. But for Sabbagh, the damage of
domestic violence has already been inflicted on her
family. She said she could only be happy that her
daughter’s two children were at school at the time of
the killing and did not see their mother’s bloody,
beaten corpse. “My heart is boiling like fire,” Sabbagh
said. “My daughter was not an insect. She was the
light of my heart. — AP
Hollywood film ‘Noah’ banned in the Arab...
The film will premiere in the United States on
March 28. Noah, who in the Bible’s Book of Genesis
built the ark that saved his family and many pairs of
animals from a great flood, is revered by Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. An entire chapter in the
Quran is devoted to him. Cairo’s Al-Azhar, the highest authority of Sunni Islam and a main centre of
Islamic teaching for over a millennium, issued a fatwa, or religious injunction, against the film on
Thursday. “Al-Azhar ... renews its objection to any
act depicting the messengers and prophets of God
and the companions of the Prophet (PBUH),” it
announced in a statement.
They “provoke the feelings of believers ... and are
forbidden in Islam and a clear violation of Islamic
law,” the fatwa added. Mel Gibson’s 2004 film “The
Passion of the Christ” on Jesus’s crucifixion was
widely screened in the Arab World, despite a flurry
of objections by Muslim clerics. A 2012 Arab miniseries “Omar” on the exploits of a seventh century
M u s l i m r u l e r a n d co m p a n i o n o f t h e Pro p h e t
Mohammad (PBUH) also managed to defy clerics’
objections and air on a Gulf-based satellite televi-
sion channel.
Th e p u b l i c a t i o n o f c a r to o n s o f t h e Pro p h e t
(PBUH) in a Danish newspaper in 2006 touched off
riots in the Middle East, Africa and Asia in which at
least 50 people died. A 2012 amateur Youtube video
deriding the prophet produced in California stoked
protests throughout the region, and may have contributed to a deadly militant raid in Libya which
killed the US ambassador and three other American
staff. “Noah,” whose official video trailer depicts a
burly Crowe wielding an axe and computer-animated geysers swamping an army of sinners hoping to
board his ark, has also stoked religious controversy
at home.
Jerr y A Johnson, president of a conser vative
National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) group, said
last month he wanted to “make sure everyone who
sees this impactful film knows this is an imaginative
i n te r p re t a t i o n o f S c r i p t u re, a n d n o t l i te r a l.”
Paramount responded by agreeing to issue a disclaimer on advertising for the film. “While artistic
license has been taken, we believe that this film is
true to the essence, values and integrity of a story
that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people
worldwide,” the advisory reads. — Reuters
GCC internal crisis brews
The recent news seem to support earlier reports which
talk about an Arab movement ‘in which Kuwait is strongly
involved’ to support Gulf reconciliation efforts ahead of
the upcoming summit. “The features of this activity are
expected to become clear during the closed session for
Arab foreign ministers,” said ‘diplomatic sources’ quoted by
Al-Rai yesterday. “There is hope for a solution,” the sources
added. Similar sentiments were echoed by a member of
Qatar’s ruling family, who told Al-Qabas Daily that the crisis will be resolved very soon, and that Kuwait will be ‘the
main player’ in the mediation talks.
Brotherhood classification
Qatar’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood is
described as a factor why some GCC countries withdrew
their envoys from Doha. Two days after, Saudi Arabia officially branded the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist
group. Though they are yet to make a similar decision,
but sources said that UAE and Doha are likely to brand
the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group in the near
future.
Such decision would tighten the grip on the Muslim
Brotherhood in the Gulf region, as it would mean that the
group’s activity would be criminalized in most of the Gulf
states. Though not officially represented in Kuwait, the
Muslim Brotherhood is heavily linked to the Social
Reform Society as well as the Islamic Constitution
Movement.
Meanwhile, MP Kamel Al-Awadhi announced yesterday that the foreign relations committee’s meeting this
week will discuss the Gulf crisis with the Deputy Prime
Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid AlSabah. “An assessment will be made after the meeting to
determine whether to release a recommendation to discuss the issue during a special parliamentary session,” AlAwadhi added.
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Issues
South Sudan conflict
could infect region
By Hannah McNeish
A
s ongoing fighting in South Sudan shatters any pretence
of a ceasefire between government troops and rebels,
analysts fear the conflict could engulf the region, as former foes fight old wars in a new country. There are tensions
between South Sudan’s northern neighbor and old enemy
Sudan and its new ally Uganda, while chief mediator Ethiopia is
likely alarmed by allegations that its arch-enemy Eritrea is funneling weapons from ally Khartoum to South Sudan’s rebels.
One Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the worst case-scenario currently being discussed
is that “you’ve got Uganda fighting Sudan inside South Sudan,
with Eritrea fighting Ethiopia inside South Sudan and a complete law and order vacuum.” “As far as the regionalization of
the conflict goes, the question is not if, but when”, said Casie
Copeland, South Sudan analyst for the Brussels-based
International Crisis Group think tank. What started as a power
struggle between South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar in late December quickly split the
army and exacerbated ethnic feelings in a nation born less than
three years ago, after five decades of war with Khartoum.
A feud between Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and
his Sudanese counterpart Omar Al-Bashir is rooted in Uganda’s
rescue of a then southern guerrilla army battling Khartoum
forces in the last stages of the civil war that ended with a 2005
peace deal and South Sudan’s independence six years later.
Uganda has long accused Khartoum of funding rebel groups
such as the Lord’s Resistance Army on its territory. With
Ugandan troops now openly backing Kiir and pushing north,
and as rebels retake territory near oil fields whose produce
flows north for export, Sudan could soon go on the offensive.
“We do worry about the regionalization of this. The Ugandans
and Sudanese hate each other,” the diplomat said.
Proxy armies
Rebels from Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, who have been
battling Khartoum for a decade, are also reported to be fighting
alongside South Sudan in oil-rich Unity state, and ethnic militia
from other parts of the south are also pitching in, further straining north-south relations. There are real fears that Sudan could
revert to old tactics of funding proxies or arming the opposition as calls for Uganda to withdraw go unheeded and oil
assets are threatened. A row in early 2012 over how much
South Sudan should pay to export its oil through northern
pipelines to port led to an 18-month halt in production that
brought both economies to their knees. Kiir and Bashir eventually signed deals on oil and security that included a promise to
stop funding one another’s enemies to ensure their co-dependent stability. The current conflict has called this and also the
future of South Sudan’s oil revenues into question, with many
seeing newly oil-rich Uganda’s military support as a bargaining
chip for oil.
South Sudan’s defense minister recently admitted that
Ugandan troops were on the payroll, contradicting his colleagues’ claims there were no foreign forces in country. But
speculation is rife over what else South Sudan’s governmentstill reeling from the shutdown-has offered to secure its position. “I heard one of the oil blocks, or so much (oil) per day”,
said the diplomat. South Sudan’s decision to build an alternative pipeline to Kenya or Djibouti further unnerved Khartoum
and raised Uganda’s hopes it might link up to an East African
pipeline and build its own refinery. With French oil giant Total
owning concessions in Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan, “the
pieces are there for big play”, says Copeland.
Risk of bankruptcy
But for now, cash-strapped South Sudan is embroiled in a
war that has displaced almost a million people, with many wondering how long the baby nation can last. “International financial experts are suggesting that the government might be bankrupt in 2-3 months,” said one analyst on condition of anonymity.
South Sudan’s biggest oil-backer China has played a role in supporting the government financially with development projects
and loans, and is now increasingly wading into internal politics.
But its weight is unlikely to cut through strained regional relations as paranoia over history repeating itself with regards to oil,
guns and borders grows.
“A nightmare scenario is unfolding in this region”, said John
Prendergast in a recent report for the anti-genocide Enough
project. He has called for a proper investigation into whether
Eritrea is providing arms through Sudan and for an extension of
sanctions already incurred by Asmara for supplying weapons to
Somali groups. Until there is no “visible presence” of Ugandan
forces in South Sudan, he doubts that peace talks in Ethiopia’s
capital Addis Ababa that the host and Sudan have backed will
ever start in earnest. But even without confused regional backers, half-hearted international pressure or China’s economic carrot, left alone, South Sudan’s war could rumble on for years,
funded solely by the spoils of corruption and determination of
former guerrilla leaders. —AFP
All articles appearing on these
pages are the personal opinion of
the writers. Kuwait Times takes no
responsibility for views expressed
therein. Kuwait Times invites readers to voice their opinions. Please
send submissions via email to: [email protected] or via snail
mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait.
The editor reserves the right to edit
any submission as necessary.
In China, brutality yields confessions of graft
By Gillian Wong
T
he local Chinese official remembers
all too clearly the panic he felt in
Room 109. He had refused again and
again to confess to bribery he says he didn’t
commit, and his four Communist Party
interrogators were forcing his legs farther
apart than they could go. Zhou Wangyan
begged them to stop. But the men taunted
him and kept pushing. Then, with a loud
“ka-cha,” his left thigh bone snapped. The
sickening crunch reverberated in his mind,
nearly drowning out his howls of pain and
the frantic pounding of his heart. “My leg is
broken,” Zhou told the interrogators.
According to Zhou, they ignored his pleas.
A rare act of defiance
Zhou, land bureau director for the city
of Liling, was confined in the party’s secret
detention system at a compound in central
Hunan, touted as a model center for anticorruption efforts. Nobody on the outside
could help him, because nobody knew
where he was. In a rare act of public defiance, Zhou and three other party members
in Hunan described to The Associated Press
the months of abuse they endured less
than two years ago, in separate cases, while
in detention. Zhou said he was deprived of
sleep and food, nearly drowned, whipped
with wires and forced to eat excrement. The
others reported being turned into human
punching bags, strung up by the wrists
from high windows, or dragged along the
floor, face down, by their feet.
All said they talked to the AP despite
the risk of retaliation because they were victims of political vendettas and wanted to
expose what had happened. Party representatives contacted by the AP denied the
abuses had taken place. The demands of
Zhou and the others reflect a surging tide
of expectations in today’s China, where an
increasingly prosperous, better-educated
and more Internet-savvy public is pressuring the party to live by its promises of a fairer society. The same expectations have
fuelled anger against rampant graft, and
the party has responded with China’s
biggest anti-corruption campaign in years.
Since President Xi Jinping took power in
late 2012, the campaign has felled dozens
of mid-to-high-level officials and punished
thousands of cadres.
However, the party’s methods for
extracting confessions put its 85 million
members and their close associates at risk
of abuse through its internal investigation
system, which is separate from state justice.
While police are legally required to notify
the relatives of detained suspects, the party
is under no such obligation. And since its
powers are unchecked by police, prosecutors and courts, the party can abuse its own
members in its own secret jails with
impunity, even though torture is banned
by its regulations.
Opaqueness of the system
It’s impossible to tell how rare or common such abuse is. The opaqueness of the
system, known as “shuanggui,” (SHWANG’gway) also makes it impossible to tell
whether corruption investigations are legitimate, or simply efforts by party members
to target rivals or settle scores. Zhou’s
account is supported by medical records,
statements from prosecutors, reports from
party discipline organs and the land
bureau, and a statement from police saying
they could not investigate the abuse. The
AP also corroborated information through
interviews with family and friends, four of
whom say they were detained and coerced
to falsely accuse Zhou of taking bribes, and
in two cases abused also.
Some details of his story could not be
independently verified. Video surveillance
footage from his interrogations has not
been released, and a Liling party official
named Yi Dingfeng said provincial-level
authorities were investigating the case.
Local anti-graft officials on a Hunan online
forum in February last year denied Zhou
was tortured, saying he injured himself by
slipping in the bathroom. Eighteen months
after his leg broke, Zhou still limps on
crutches. “My time in shuanggui was tragic
and brutal. It was a living hell,” he says.
“Those 184 days and five hours were not a
life lived by a human. It was worse than
being a pig or a dog.”
Believe me, I’m innocent
The three men from the party’s disciplinary arm came for Zhou in his office on a
hot summer morning in July 2012. Zhou,
then 47, made two brief calls - one to tell
the city’s mayor that his deputy would be in
charge, and the other to his wife. “Believe
me,” he told her, “I’m innocent. The organization is just taking me away to ask me
some questions, I’ll be back soon.” Zhou
trusted the party, as a career official who
had slowly climbed out of poverty and up
its ranks. In 2007, he was appointed to head
the land resources bureau in Liling, a city of
about 1 million famous for its porcelain and
fireworks. Zhou blames his detention on a
local party boss who bore him a grudge,
later removed by the party in an investigation without reasons given.
Of course, abuse in detention goes far
beyond the party in China, where police
use similar methods with anyone from
bers last year, officials say, and at least three
people died. In an unusual public prosecution, six party cadres were also sentenced
to prison for inflicting harm that led to the
death of Yu Qiyi, a state engineer in eastern
Wenzhou. Aside from Zhou, three others
told the AP they too had suffered in detention in a 2011-2012 investigation that
rounded up 18 people, including non-party
family members. Wang Qiuping, party secretary of an industrial park in Ningyuan,
said he was slapped often and forced to
stand and kneel for hours during a detention of 313 days.
His deputy Xiao Yifei told the AP he was
hooded for more than a month and beaten
up by an interrogator who went by the
nickname “Tang the Butcher.” Xiao provided
the AP with a receipt from a local party discipline office showing his sister paid 35,000
yuan, or $5,700, in “violation fees” to secure
his release after 208 days. And Fan Qiqing, a
contractor, said he was kicked and lashed
with a metal whip and wooden plank during his 431-day detention and forced to
take hallucinogenic drugs. A Ningyuan party official who refused to give his name said
the investigation involving all three men
was carried out in a “civilized manner” and
no one was tortured.
In Liling, Zhou believed he could
defend himself during questioning. It was
not long before he realized he was wrong.
In the first week, Zhou slept barely an hour
each night in a hotel because his interrogators stood in a circle and endlessly pushed
HUNAN PROVINCE: Zhou Wangyan, head of the Liling city
land resources bureau, demonstrates how he was tortured by
Communist Party anti-graft investigators who struck at the
soles of his feet with wires, during an interview in his home in
Liling in central China’s Hunan province. —AP
mafia suspects to dissidents. Despite hopes
that Xi’s administration would be less
authoritarian than those before, critics
believe he is clamping down even more
strongly, with increased detentions of people who push for political change, protest
censorship and demand wealth disclosure
from officials. However, little is known or
reported, at home or abroad, about mistreatment within the party’s own obscure
detention system, which runs up against
Chinese laws that say only prosecutors and
police have the right to arrest or detain
people. The party defines “shuanggui” as an
order to its officials to appear at a designated time and place to account for their
actions. Experts who study corruption statistics estimate at least several thousand
people are secretly detained every year for
weeks or months under this system. Party
anti-corruption experts acknowledge that
the practice is legally problematic but say
it’s indispensable in fighting corruption.
About 90 percent of major corruption cases
involving party members in recent years
were cracked through the use of “shuanggui,” a party official said last month.
Anti-graft authorities investigated
173,000 cases of corruption among mem-
him back and forth, demanding he confess
to accepting 100,000 yuan, or $16,000, in
bribes. One investigator protested the tactic as inhumane and slammed his hand on
a table in anger, but he was overruled,
Zhou says. Zhou soon sank to the floor like
a pile of mud. The interrogators then rolled
him around. He was so dizzy that he saw
stars.
They moved him to another hotel and
did the same for several days. Then one
night, they drove Zhou to Qiaotoubao, or
“Bridgehead Fort,” on the outskirts of the
nearby city of Zhuzhou. Qiaotoubao looks
like any austere government building in
China, pale green and nondescript, but for
the steel bars across its windows. Since
2010, the Zhuzhou government has conducted regular tours there to warn party
cadres against corruption. On an official
tour in 2011, Zhou himself had noted the
audio and video surveillance in each room
and concluded that it seemed like “a safe
environment” for detainees.
Qiaotoubao is closed to the public, but
the government says it is equipped with
electronic surveillance, infrared alarms,
intercoms and fingerprint door controls. An
exhibition center shows documentaries of
corrupt officials expressing repentance, and
an electronic display urges members to “let
official power operate in the sunshine and
within the rules.”
Yet it was in Qiaotoubao that Zhou says
he faced the worst abuse. He was shuttled
between rooms with padded walls to prevent detainees from harming or killing
themselves. His questioners forced him to
stand or kneel for hours, punched him and
dragged him on the floor by his hair, he
says. They made him smoke 10 cigarettes at
once with his face near lit coals, stinging his
eyes and nose. Again, an interrogator
objected. And again, he was ignored.
Zhou’s treatment reflects the bind in which
the Communist Party in China finds itself. In
a one-party system, it is often party officials
who control the courts and police. So the
party says it needs its own investigation
system, outside the courts and police, to
keep its members in check. Yet the very
secrecy of this system and the minimal
supervision allows abuse.
The party has made efforts to reduce
torture by police, close labor camps and
curb the use of other informal jails. Its own
detention system, however, remains the
blackest of black holes. One reason is a general lack of sympathy for officialdom in
China, according to Flora Sapio, a legal
expert at the Chinese University of Hong
Kong who has researched the detention
system extensively. “Among the ordinary
people in mainland China, you notice a lack
of care towards the fate of Communist
Party officials, and the public even seems to
be in favor of ‘shuanggui,’” Sapio says.
“These are victims who are screaming, in a
sense, yet no one listens to their voice.”
Deep inside Qiaotoubao, nobody heard
Zhou. A month after he was taken, he still
refused to confess. He knew a confession
could mean jail time, the end of his career
and disgrace upon his family. “My daughter
cannot have a criminal for a father,” he told
himself. The interrogators stepped up the
torture, he says. They pressed his face into
water in a sink until he thought he was
drowning. They whipped his feet until they
were bloody, and made him swallow hair
from his beard. They slapped his face with
shoes and broke four teeth. He was allowed
one bowl of rice a day. He fainted several
times. On at least three nights, they pinned
him down and force-fed him feces and
urine with a spoon. They dubbed the meals
“American Western Feast” and “Eight
Treasures Porridge.” Most painful of all, they
showed him a video of his 22-year-old
daughter being detained for 48 hours and
interrogated. His wife, Huang Yimin, visited
every official she knew to try and find her
husband. She gave one official a package
for her husband with a thin wool sweater,
milk powder and two traditional mooncakes. None of the items made it to Zhou.
Torture or interrogation
In September, interrogators forced him
onto the floor with his back against the
wall. Then two of them leaned their weight
into his chest while two others forced his
legs beyond 180 degrees. That’s when his
leg broke. At first, they ignored his pleas to
be taken to a hospital, forcing him to stand
on his good leg. He knelt down to beg
them. Two weeks later, he had lost all feeling in his leg and started slipping into
unconsciousness. Only then, he says, did
they let him go to a hospital under the false
name of Wang Yan, with the story that he
had fallen in the bathroom. Zhou stayed in
the Zhuzhou City No 1 People’s Hospital for
just 12 days. Medical records show that
upon admission on Sept. 29, his thighs,
calves and feet were swollen, his skin red
and hot and his left thigh badly bruised.
Further tests revealed fluid in his thighs,
kidney stones, an enlarged liver and
swollen lymph nodes on his groin. Scans
confirmed that his left thigh had broken
into several pieces, and a photo of an X-ray
shows that doctors inserted three pins to
hold the bone in place. A week after surgery, Zhou’s investigators had him discharged, he says. They took him back to
Room 109. There he lay immobilized on a
thin mattress pad on the floor, his left leg in
a splint. His minders gave him a little more
food, but continued to show him the video
of his daughter’s interrogation. Some days,
they tried softer tactics, he says. “Old Zhou,
you’re already disabled. All you need to do
is to admit you accepted 100,000 yuan, we
will then try our best to get you medical
parole,” they told him. He refused.
It was three months later, in the winter,
when Zhou finally caved. He was worn
down by the threats and injuries, and worried about his elderly father’s health. He
signed a confession saying he had accepted 40,000 yuan, or $6,600, in bribes and
wrote a resignation letter. He was released
in January last year and told that prosecutors would investigate his case further. An
amateur video shot on the day of his
release by his family shows a visibly thinner
Zhou hobbling out of the building on
crutches. He was helped on a stretcher and
into an ambulance. A week later, Zhou submitted complaints to party and provincial
authorities accusing Jiang Yongqing, the
city’s then-party secretary, of abusing his
power. He also accused his interrogators of
torture. Two months later, the Hunan antigraft commission announced it was investigating Jiang for “grave violations of discipline.” Jiang could not be reached for comment, and a party official said he had been
handed over to provincial prosecutors.
Zhou also found out that some of his associates had been secretly detained and
questioned about his case, including a real
estate developer and a village chief who
also claimed they were beaten and forced
to stand or kneel for hours. The AP spoke to
them and saw their written statements on
condition of anonymity, because they were
afraid of official retaliation.
Prosecutors eventually decided not to
indict Zhou, according to a notice from the
Liling City Procuratorate. Zhou still holds his
position as director of the land bureau. In
August, he contacted a Hunan lawyer, Cai
Ying. He continued sending complaints to
prosecutors, police and higher levels of the
party’s discipline commission. In October,
Cai began posting essays online that Zhou
had written about his ordeal. The posts
were quickly deleted by censors. But they
drew the notice of three other party members, Wang, Xiao and Fan, who also contacted the lawyer.
Strict censorship rules
In November, the party decided that
more cases of suspected official corruption
should be handed over immediately to the
judicial system rather than party investigators, according to Chinese academics who
were consulted by the party about the
changes. However, experts think the internal decision will have limited impact on the
use of secret detention. A year after Zhou’s
release, no action has been taken against
his interrogators. And despite Zhou’s
demands, the local anti-graft commission
has not released the surveillance video
from his time at Qiaotoubao.
Strict censorship rules prevent the
Chinese state media from reporting on the
case. So Zhou says he is taking the tremendous personal risk of talking to the foreign
media. Since the AP contacted Communist
Party officials for comment, Zhou has
received two calls warning him not to talk.
Wang’s wife and his younger brother also
got similar calls threatening “consequences”
if he talked, and Wang was told he would
no longer receive a salary or health insurance. —AP
S P ORTS
Driscoll ties course record
PUERTO RICO: PGA Tour journeyman James Driscoll tied his own course record to earn
a one-stroke lead after the second round of the $3.5 million Puerto Rico Open on Friday.
Driscoll had an eagle and seven birdies in a nine-under-par 63 on the Trump
International course next to the Atlantic Ocean in Rio Grande, east of San Juan.
“I had the putter going pretty hot today and I hit a bunch of shots pretty close too,”
the 36-year-old from Boston told reporters after signing for a 12-under 132 halfway
total. PGA Tour rookie Chesson Hadley (65) moved into second place
on 11-under, while fellow American Eric Axley (66) was alone on 10under.
New Zealander Danny Lee (68) was among a group of four
players at nine-under, while first round leader Brian Stuard
(71) slipped five strokes behind.
A morning downpour that briefly stopped play left
the course soft and at the mercy of the field, which averaged 70.23 strokes, more than a stroke better than on Thursday,
despite brisk winds.
Driscoll, who also shot 63 in 2011 to hold a share of
the course record, is enjoying a solid season, sitting
67th on the FedEx Cup standings. “I wasn’t hitting it
great off the tee but the irons were really solid, so
that gave me a chance coming into these pins,” he
said. “The wind was blowing pretty hard out there
this afternoon. —Reuters
Russians EPO test confirmed
Happy ending in sight
at All England event
BIRMINGHAM: China’s holder Chen Long and his girlfriend Wang Shixian
are on track for a happy ending to their love affair with the All England
Open Badminton Championships after reaching the singles semi-finals on
Friday.
Chen kept his title defence alive by overcoming an early scare to beat
Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, who showed his pedigree to win the
first game 21-18. However, Chen composed himself at the break and then
showed his qualities to take the next two games 21-11 21-14.
“I was worried especially during the first game because my opponent
is a great player so I did feel quite a lot of pressure at one point,” said Chen.
“But I think both of us performed really well so I think in the end I was
really lucky to progress. This is a very unique place and many players want
to win.
“And it’s a fine line between winning and losing so I just want to try my
best.” Chen next faces compatriot Zhengming Wang who beat South
Korean Dong Keun Lee 21-13 16-21 21-17 in his quarter-final. Women’s No.
4 seed Wang eased past India’s Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal 2117 21-10 to set up an all-Chinese clash against London Games silver medallist Wang Yihan who beat South Korean Bae Yeon Ju 21-8 21-13.—Reuters
MOSCOW: Top Russian biathletes Irina Starykh and Ekaterina Iourieva have tested positive for the banned substance EPO, the International Biathlon Union and Russian officials confirmed yesterday.
Starykh and Iourieva gave their samples on December 23 at the World Cup event in
Pokljuka, Slovenia and both ‘A’ and ‘B’ samples tested positive for the blood booster
Erythropoietin (EPO), the IBU said.
Earlier this year, Starykh was provisionally suspended and excluded from the country’s Olympic squad at her request after the IBU had announced
that three biathletes representing Russia and Lithuania had
failed dope tests.
That news cast a shadow over Russia’s preparations for
the February Winter Olympics in Sochi even though Starykh,
a potential medal contender, had withdrawn herself from
the team.
Iourieva, 30, who has already served a two-year ban for
doping, announced her intention to reture on February 27.
But Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko announced that
the ministry was set to issue an appeal over the Starykh
case in a civil court, saying the objective character of the
assessment of her samples was in question.
“We have some witnesses in the favor of Starykh,”
Mutko said. “Our lawyers are preparing to struggle for the rights of our biathletes.”—AFP
Panthers maul Sabres
CHRISTCHURCH: Schalk Burger (right) of the Stormers tackles Johnny McNicholl of the
Crusaders during the Super 15 Rugby Union match between the Crusaders vs RSA
Stormers. — AFP
Crusaders edge Stormers
CHRISTCHURCH: All Blacks flyhalf Tom
Taylor kicked his third penalty with six
minutes remaining to give the Crusaders
a deeply contentious 14-13 win over the
Stormers in Super Rugby yesterday.
The seven-time champion Crusaders
retained an unbeaten record in home
matches against overseas team stretching back to 2004 when Taylor’s penalty
snatched victory against a heroic
Stormers side.
The Cape Town based Stormers held
the Crusaders to 3-3 after a first half in
which the home team had 80 percent of
possession and 70 percent of territory.
They then surged to a 13-3 lead with a
brilliant second half try from center
Damian de Allende.
But the Crusaders hit back with a try
through debutant Kieron Fonotia and
Taylor’s late penalty gave them their first
win in three matches this season.
The win was extremely fortuitous. The
Stormers had a clear try disallowed during the first half and Taylor’s penalty,
which gave the Crusaders their first lead
in the 73rd minute, was also subject to
dispute. Lock Michael Rhodes was penalized for intercepting the ball in an offside
position but he seemed to have come
from on-side and his infringement was
not greater than those committed by the
Crusaders regularly throughout the
match.
Though the Christchurch-based
Crusaders had an overwhelming surplus
of possession and territory throughout
the first half they were unable to break
down a resolute and well-organized
Stormers defense. They led with a penal-
ty to Taylor after three minutes, balanced
by a goal to Stormers’ flyhalf Demetri
Catrakilis in the 34th minute.
Catrakilis’ penalty was a small consolation for an attack by the Stormers in
which captain Jean de Villiers clearly
scored by forcing the ball against the
goalpost. The television match official
denied the try, without explanation, and
the Stormers were forced to settle for a
penalty that tied the scores.
They took the lead with Catrakilis’s
second penalty in the 45th minute and
surged to a 10-point lead when Allende
scored in the 50th minute.
Flanker Schalk Burger, who was the
outstanding player of the match,
retrieved a kick from Crusaders’ fullback
Colin Slade while sweeping behind his
backline. He broke the defense, then
passed to de Villiers who sprinted into
open space. De Villiers paused in flight
and put in a perfectly-weighted kick for
de Allende who collected the bounce to
score.
Taylor cut the lead to seven points
with a 61st minute penalty before the
Crusaders constructed a try for Fonotia
which marked the first lapse by the
Stormers’ defense. After missing a conversion which would have tied the
scores, Taylor kicked the decisive penalty
in the 74th minute.
The Crusaders were unworthy of their
win. Their attack was stilted and unimaginative and their set pieces, handling and
kicking were all flawed. But they were
able to infringe without penalty while
the Stormers suffered heavily from a
slanted penalty count. — AP
Force pounce on Rebels
PERTH: The Western Force produced the
best 30 minutes of their Super Rugby history to stun the Melbourne Rebels in
their clash in Perth yesterday.
The Force scored the first 32 points of
the match to blow the Rebels away and
went on to open their account for 2014
with an upset 32-7 win.
The home team went within seconds
of holding their opponents scoreless for
the first time ever, only for the Rebels to
score their lone try as the final hooter
sounded. Force captain Matt Hodgson
said the Force were determined to show
they were better than their two losses
this season suggested.
“The way we came out showed people how we do play football,” he said.
“The way we controlled the game, our
defence was back to where it was last
year and that is what won us the game.”
Not surprisingly, Rebels skipper Scott
Higginbotham said the game was lost
early.
“They caught us napping in the first
half,” he said. “We did well in the second
half, but it was not good enough.” The
Rebels were coming off an emphatic 3514 win over the Cheetahs last weekend,
while the Force were easily beaten 27-14
by the ACT Brumbies.
The Force didn’t score until the dying
minutes against the Brumbies, but ran in
the last two tries of the match, and lived
up to their promise with a stunning start
against the Rebels, who made five
changes to their starting 15.
The underdogs regained possession
from the initial kickoff and their first
attacking move saw Alby Mathewson
dart through a big hole in the Rebels’
defence to score the game’s opening try
in the second minute.
They then got the first of several fortuitous first-half bounces in the 10th
minute, allowing Luke Morahan to regather a chip kick after a line-out and
cross out wide as the lead went out to
14-0 on the back of Sias Ebersohn’s second conversion.
Ebersohn added penalties in the 17th
and 22nd minutes, with his team totally
dominating possession. In the 24th
minute, another favourable bounce from
a chip kick enabled Hodgson to soccer
the ball past the defence, and then gather and cross for his team’s third try in his
100th Super Rugby match. Up 27-0 after
the Ebersohn conversion, the Force again
capitalised on an unpredictable bounce
in the 27th minute, with Nick Cummins
able to regain possession after another
kick and set up Angus Cottrell for the
bonus point try.
Nothing was going right for the
Rebels, who appeared to have scored
their opening try just seconds before
half-time, but were denied by the video
referee and trudged off 32-0 down at the
break. — AFP
SUNRISE: Roberto Luongo made 25 saves
in his return to Florida, while Dmitry
Kulikov and Jesse Winchester each scored
power-play goals to lead the Panthers over
the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 on Friday night.
Luongo, acquired in a trade with
Vancouver on Tuesday, was in net for the
first time for Florida since April 18, 2006.
Luongo previously played for Florida from
2000-2006.
It was the fourth shutout of the season
for Luongo. His last was on Dec. 13, 2013, a
4-0 win for Vancouver over Edmonton in
which he made 19 saves. It was the first
regular-season shutout for the Panthers
since a 2-0 win over Carolina on March 11,
2012 in which Jose Theodore had 34 saves.
Michal Neuvirth stopped 42 shots in his
first start for Buffalo since being acquired
from Washington last Wednesday. The
Panthers won for just the second time in
seven games. The Sabres lost their second
in six games.
RANGERS 4, HURRICANES 2
Derek Stepan scored on a 5-on-3 power
play with 2:45 left in the game. Rick Nash
and Ryan McDonagh scored earlier for the
Rangers, who beat Carolina for the 10th
straight time, and Carl Hagelin added an
empty-netter with 41 seconds to go.
Carolina took a pair of delay-of-game
penalties in the final five minutes to give
New York the two-man advantage. Stepan
was set up for a short shot by Martin St.
Louis, who played his second game with
the Rangers since being acquired from
Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
Jeff Skinner scored on a penalty shot in
the third period to give Carolina a 2-1 lead.
Jordan Staal scored his 12th goal of the
season for Carolina’s 1-0 lead in the opening period, but McDonagh tied it with New
York short-handed.
RED WINGS 7, DEVILS 4
Johan Franzen had two goals and two
assists, Gustav Nyquist a goal and three
assists and David Legwand a goal and two
assists.
Brendan Smith, Kyle Quincey and Drew
Miller also scored for Detroit. Jonas
Gustavsson made 21 saves. Adam
Henrique had two goals and Patrik Elias
and Jaromir Jagr also scored for New
Jersey. Cory Schneider, who gave up seven
goals for the first time in his career,
stopped 25 shots.
FLAMES 4, ISLANDERS 3
Joe Colborne scored twice during a furious third period comeback for the Flames,
who got three goals in less than five minutes.
Colborne got the comeback started at
11:29 when Mark Giordano’s point shot
missed the net, but the puck caromed out
sharply to Colborne. He fired it in the open
side on rookie goaltender Anders Nilsson.
Rookie Sean Monahan tied it at 14:22.
Taking a slick pass from behind the net
from T.J. Galiardi, Monahan went forehand
to backhand to tuck his team-leading 19th
goal past Nilsson.
Colborne completed the comeback,
deflecting in Giordano’s slap shot at 15:41.
It was the seventh goal of the season for
the 2008 first-round pick acquired from
Toronto at the start of the season.
PENGUINS 3, DUCKS 2
Evgeni Malkin scored the tying goal
during a power play in the third period
and Brandon Sutter got the deciding goal
in a six-round shootout.
Defenseman Deryk Engelland scored in
the first period for the Penguins. MarcAndre Fleury made 29 saves for his leagueleading 33rd victory, after the Penguins
rallied twice from one-goal deficits in a
showdown between the leaders of the
Eastern and Western Conferences.
Corey Perry scored twice for the Ducks
and Ryan Getzlaf had two assists, but the
Ducks’ captain missed a chance to extend
the shootout with a shot over the net making him 0 for 6 this season in the
tiebreaker. Jonas Hiller had 15 saves, one
of them on a breakaway by Sidney Crosby
in the first minute of overtime. — AP
SUNRISE: Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo (1) blocks a Buffalo Sabres shot on goal during the
third period of an NHL hockey game. — AP
NHL results/standings
NY Rangers 4, Carolina 2; Detroit 7, New Jersey 4; Florida 2, Buffalo 0; Calgary 4, NY Islanders 3; Pittsburgh
3, Anaheim 2 (SO).
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Pacific Division
40 17 5
195 138 85
W
L
OTL GF
GA PTS Boston
Montreal
35
23
7
166 162 77
Anaheim
43 14 7
207 157 93
Toronto
33
23
8
189 195 74
San Jose
40 17 7
195 157 87
Tampa
Bay
34
24
5
180
163 73
Los Angeles 36 22 6
155 135 78
Detroit
29
21
13
171
176
71
Phoenix
29 23 11 175 182 69
Ottawa
27
25
11
177
206
65
Vancouver
28 27 10 151 173 66
Florida
24 32 7
154 201 55
Calgary
25 31 7
149 189 57
Buffalo
19 36 8
127 186 46
Edmonton
22 34 8
160 208 52
Metropolitan Division
Central Division
Pittsburgh
42 17 4
201 157 88
St. Louis
42 14 6
206 142 90
Philadelphia 33 24 6
180 184 72
37 13 14 221 171 88
Chicago
NY Rangers 34 26 4
168 162 72
Colorado
41 17 5
195 168 87
Columbus
32 26 5
185 178 69
Minnesota 34 21 7
153 150 75
Washington 29 25 10 188 195 68
Dallas
30 23 10 181 176 70
New Jersey 27 24 13 156 163 67
Winnipeg
30 27 7
177 184 67
Carolina
27 27 9
156 179 63
Nashville
26 27 10 152 190 62
NY Islanders 24 33 9
181 224 57
Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column
Paris-Nice reels from
Porte’s withdrawal
PARIS: The Paris-Nice week-long stage race
begins today in turmoil following the last-gasp
withdrawal of reigning champion Richie Porte.
The Tasmanian was shifted at the last
moment to the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race in
Italy next week after his Sky teammate, Tour de
France champion Chris Froome was forced out of
that with a back injury. That moved sparked
anger from Paris-Nice organisers Amaury Sports
Organisation (ASO), who were relying on a
thrilling battle between Porte, Giro D’Italia champion Vincenzo Nibali and world champion Rui
Costa. “We find it cavalier to have the reigning
(Paris-Nice) champion pull out just before the
start,” said ASO official and Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme.
“We were told that to win points for the world
rankings, the Tirreno was more favorable (to
Porte) due to its technical characteristics and the
presence of an (individual) time-trial.”
The course of the ‘Race to the Sun’ had
already caused some waves in the peloton due
to its profile, deemed not to the advantage of
riders such as Porte, who usually gain ground in
time-trials or on summit finishes.
Paris-Nice had been one of Porte’s major
objectives in the early part of this season before
he makes the transition from chief support to
major Tour leader.
Having been Froome’s chief lieutenant during
last year’s Tour de France and a domestique for
Bradley Wiggins in his Grand Boucle victory the
year before, Porte will make his debut as a major
stage race team leader at May’s Giro d’Italia.
But with Froome now sitting out the TirrenoAdriatico, that race offers a more suitable course
for Porte’s abilities with two summit finishes and
both an individual and a team time-trial.
It means one of the main draws will be missing when the Paris-Nice gets underway on
Sunday with a 162.5km ride around the Paris
suburbs.
ONE-DAY SPECIALISTS
Despite Italian Nibali and American former
Tour white jersey winner Tejay van Garderen
being in the field, the course appears more suited to the one-day specialists.
Chief amongst those is Portuguese Costa,
who has switched from Movistar to Lampre this
season. The 27-year-old has good stage-race
pedigree having won the Tour of Switzerland
the last two years. And he is confident he can
put in a good performance, despite usually riding the Tirreno-Adriatico at this time of year.
“I don’t have a bucket-load of experience in
the Paris-Nice. In the past I normally opted to
ride the Tirreno-Adriatico but, in 2013, we
decided to change programme given we felt
the French course better suited my abilities,” he
said.
Costa crashed out in the second stage,
bringing a premature close to his challenge. But
he agrees that this year’s course will suit him. “It
is a curious profile, particularly without any
individual time-trial stages or tough uphill finishes.
“So it means that you have to pay attention
on all the stages and every kilometre of every
stage. “I think this kind of profile will be ideal for
me, in the sense of improving my form and fitness ahead of the (Spring) Classics.
“It looks more like a series of one-day races
rather than a regular one-week stage race. It
will certainly be a new and exciting experience.”
Other punchers who may be looking to
impress are AG2R’s Frenchman Romain Bardet
and Australian Tour Down Under winner Simon
Gerrans.
Home hopes of at least stage successes will
come in the shape of the ever-present Sylvain
Chavanel (IAM) and Thomas Voekler (Europcar)
while Belgian one-day specialist Tom Boonen
(Omega Pharma-Quick Step) could also shake
things up. — AFP
S P ORTS
Celtics dominate Nets
DORAL: Tiger Woods plays a bunker shot on the first hole during the third round of the
World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral. — AFP
Reed leaves pack behind
DORAL: American Patrick Reed grabbed a
one -shot lead at the end of the raindelayed opening round of the WGCCadillac Championship on Friday while
Tiger Woods saved his day with a blazing
finish. Reed, who had a four-way share of
the overnight lead when play was halted
due to darkness, returned early on Friday to
complete his final seven holes en route to a
four-under 68.
Compatriots Harris English, Jason
Dufner, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar,
Hunter Mahan and Italian Francesco
Molinari were all a further shot back.
But most of the drama was taking place
behind the front-runners as and Australian
world number two Adam Scott endured
roller-coaster finishes to their opening
rounds.
Woods, a seven-times winner of the
WGC-Cadillac, picked up where he left on
Thursday. After bogeying the 10th in the
evening dusk Woods returned to the Blue
Monster layout in the morning sun and
promptly bogeyed the 11th to go to three
over.
The defending champion’s woes contin-
ued with a bogey at 13 and a doublebogey at 14 to send him plummeting down
the leaderboard.
But Woods hit back with three straight
birdies from the 15th to claw his way back
into contention before finding the water on
the 18th to finish with yet another bogey
and four-over 76.
Playing partner Scott, who will have a
chance to replace Woods as world number
one with a win this week, began his day
one shot back of the leaders but quickly
found himself heading in the wrong direction with a double-bogey on 11.
Things continued to go from bad to
worse for the Masters champion with a horrendous stretch of holes that included a
bogey at 13, a double-bogey at 14 and
another bogey at 15.
But like Woods, Scott halted the slide
with birdies at 16 and 17 before one final
bogey at the last left him on three-over 75,
seven back of the leader.
With the sun shining and wind blowing,
golfers were quickly back out on the course
in an attempt to get the $9 million event
back on schedule. — Reuters
Four share midway lead as
Blue Monster shows teeth
DORAL: American Hunter Mahan eagled
his penultimate hole to grab a share of the
halfway lead at the WGC-Cadillac
Championship on Friday as the Blue
Monster showed its true colors, with more
than 100 golf balls ending up in the water.
On a gruelling day that some players
described as a survival test, Mahan eagled
the par five eighth in fading light for a second round of two-over 74 that left him tied
for the lead with his compatriots Dustin
Johnson (74), Patrick Reed (75) and Matt
Kuchar (74) at one-under par.
Northern Irishmen Rory McIlroy (74) and
Graeme McDowell (71), Italian Francesco
Molinari (75) and Welshman Jamie
Donaldson, who posted the low round of
the day with a two-under 70, were all lurking one shot further back.
“I felt stressed all day because I knew
every shot had a big penalty written all
over it, staring at bogey or worse I thought
at a well struck shot,” Mahan told reporters.
“It was a really tough day.
“There wasn’t an easy shot out there
and you know, you’re going to have to find
a way to make some putts. “One of those
rounds where it could go south pretty fast
so you’ve got to grind it out and find a way
to get a number up there and get to the
weekend.”
Long regarded as one of the PGA Tour’s
great layouts, the Blue Monster course
underwent a massive $251 million renovation that made it even more frightening
and almost unplayable when the winds
whipped across the sprawling layout on
Friday. With most players arriving early to
complete their rain-delayed opening
rounds, exhausted golfers slumped off the
course after a day of battling brutal winds
and fatigue.
Only three players managed to break
par during a wild second round that saw
113 balls find a watery grave while the
average score was four-over 76.
“It was just brutally difficult,” said
McDowell. “I don’t think I’ve played in conditions this difficult in the US. “It’s an Open
Championship day. It’s a real Friday afternoon at St. Andrews in 2010 before they
called it. “It was hard out there, really, really
hard, and part of me feels ecstatic to be off
the golf course right now.”
TOP RANKING SHOWDOWN
One of the intriguing sub-plots at the $9
million event was expected to be a showdown between world number one Tiger
Woods and a Australian world number two
Adam Scott for top spot in the rankings.
Scott could have a chance to replace
Woods as number one if he wins on Sunday
but the two men have spent much of the
opening two rounds slugging it out closer
to the bottom of the leaderboard. Woods,
who had a blazing finish to his rain-delayed
first round making three successive birdies
before he gave a shot back with a bogey at
18, was quickly on the charge in the afternoon.
The 14-time major winner carded
birdies on his opening two holes but was
soon sliding back down the leaderboard
with four bogeys.
The highlight for the round came on the
fourth when Woods rolled in a massive 92foot birdie putt which was followed by
another birdie at the fifth but the fight back
would end with four straight pars and a
one-over 73 to sit on five-over.
“That was a tough golf course today,”
said Woods, who found the water three
times during the second round. “I don’t
think that we expected the golf course to
be that hard that fast, but it kept getting
quicker and quicker.”
Scott, who arrived on Friday sitting one
shot off the lead at two-under, finished his
opening round at three-over and continued to lose ground in the afternoon with a
73 to reach the midway mark at four-over.
Phil Mickelson, another former-champion, looked headed for trouble when he
began his second round with a par and
three consecutive double-bogeys before he
scrapped his way to a 75 to join Woods on
149, six shots behind the leaders. — Reuters
BOSTON: Rajon Rondo scored 20 points and
the Boston Celtics dominated the boards to
beat Brooklyn 91-84 and stop the Nets’ fourgame winning streak Friday night.
Boston scored the first five points and never
trailed, although Brooklyn used an 11-point run
to cut the lead to 70-68 with 2:02 left in the
third quarter. But the Celtics came back to take
a 78-70 lead entering the final quarter and led
by at least seven the rest of the way.
The Celtics outrebounded the Nets 62-37, an
important advantage because they turned the
ball over 28 times, twice as many as Brooklyn.
Rondo also had nine assists and seven
rebounds.
The Nets were led by Joe Johnson with 21
points and Deron Williams with 20 as they fell
back to .500 two days after going over the mark
for the first time this season.
Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay
player, did not play for the Nets for the first
time in seven games since signing a 10-day
contract Feb. 23.
MAVERICKS 103, TRAIL BLAZERS 98
Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points, Devin Harris
hit the go-ahead shot in the final minute and
Dallas rallied in the fourth quarter to beat
Portland after blowing a 30-point lead.
LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 30 points
for the Trail Blazers, including 18 in the third
quarter when they went in front for the first
time at 69-67 after trailing 44-14 early in the
second. The Mavericks snapped their seasonhigh, three-game skid but nearly tied the franchise record for their biggest blown lead.
Aldridge also grabbed 17 rebounds and Wesley
Matthews had 26 points for Portland.
ROCKETS 112, PACERS 86
James Harden had 28 points and Houston
used a huge third quarter to turn a close game
into a blowout against Indiana.
Harden scored 16 in Houston’s 38-point
third quarter, which turned a three-point lead
into a 29-point advantage. He also got into a
dustup with Evan Turner that resulted in both
players receiving technical fouls. Harden and
Dwight Howard went to the bench for the
fourth period and watched their teammates
wrap up Houston’s fourth consecutive win.
David West had 15 points and 10 rebounds
for the Eastern Conference-leading Pacers, losers of three straight for the first time this season. Howard finished with 15 points and seven
rebounds. Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin
added 11 points apiece for the Rockets.
BOBCATS 101, CAVALIERS 92
Al Jefferson scored 28 points, Kemba Walker
had 20 points and 14 assists, and Charlotte
defeated Cleveland for its sixth straight win at
home.
Jefferson shot 12 of 18 from the field and
reached 20 points for the 22nd time in his last
24 games. Chris Douglas-Roberts added 14
points, including four 3-pointers, and a seasonhigh nine rebounds for Charlotte (29-33), which
surpassed its win total from the previous two
seasons combined.
The Bobcats, seventh in the Eastern
Conference, improved to 3-0 this season
against the Cavaliers and now own the
tiebreaker against both Detroit and Cleveland,
the ninth- and 10th-place teams in the East.
Dion Waiters and Luol Deng each scored 19
points for Cleveland, which is 31/2 games
behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the
East. Charlotte’s six-game home winning streak
is its longest since a seven-game run in March
2010.
GRIZZLIES 85, BULLS 77
Marc Gasol had 18 points and 10 rebounds,
and Memphis used its stout defense to defeat
Chicago. Mike Miller made four 3-pointers and
finished with 14 points as the Grizzlies closed
out a three-game road trip with their third victory in four games. Zach Randolph added 10
points and 11 rebounds after missing Memphis’
previous game with the flu.
The Grizzlies shut out the Bulls after Taj
Gibson’s layup trimmed Memphis’ lead to 81-77
with 3:15 to go. Gibson had 18 points for
Chicago, which had won 10 of 12. Playing with
a sprained right thumb, Joakim Noah finished
with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists,
but also had six of the Bulls’ 13 turnovers.
WARRIORS 111, HAWKS 97
David Lee had 18 points and six rebounds,
reserve Jermaine O’Neal added 17 points and
eight rebounds, and Golden State returned
BOSTON: Celtics guard Rajon Rondo (left) and Brooklyn Nets forward Paul Pierce compete for
a rebound during the second half of an NBA basketball game. — AP
home to beat Atlanta for its third straight win.
Andre Iguodala and Stephen Curry each
scored 13 to help the Warriors build a 20-point
lead in the fourth quarter. Golden State, fresh
off a 4-2 road trip, is 8-2 since the All-Star break.
Paul Millsap had 16 points and seven
rebounds after missing the last five games
because of a bruised right knee for the Hawks,
who have lost five straight.
The only major setback for the Warriors
came when shooting guard Klay Thompson
limped to the locker room 6 minutes into the
first quarter with a strained lower back. He did
not return for precautionary reasons, the team
said.
TIMBERWOLVES 114, PISTONS 101
Kevin Love had 28 points, 14 rebounds and
five assists, and Minnesota outlasted Detroit.
Kevin Martin scored 24 points and Ricky Rubio
added 11 points, nine assists and eight
rebounds for the Timberwolves, who are trying
to mount a push for the Western Conference
playoffs.
Greg Monroe had 20 points and 15
rebounds, and Will Bynum scored all 17 of his
points in the fourth quarter for the Pistons. But
Detroit shot 40 percent and lost for the ninth
time in 11 games. Nikola Pekovic had 17 points
and nine rebounds for Minnesota.
RAPTORS 99, KINGS 87
Terrence Ross scored 18 points to lead the
Raptors over Sacramento, spoiling Rudy Gay’s
return to Toronto. Gay had 15 points for the
Kings, who acquired him in a seven-player deal
on Dec. 9. The game marked his first trip back
since he was shipped with Aaron Gray and
Quincy Acy to the Kings for Greivis Vasquez,
Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Chuck
Hayes.
Patterson and DeMar DeRozan each scored
15 points, while Jonas Valanciunas added 14
points and Amir Johnson had nine rebounds to
go with nine points for the Raptors, who have
won eight of 10. DeMarcus Cousins topped
Sacramento with 24 points.
KNICKS 108, JAZZ 81
Carmelo Anthony scored 18 of his 29 points
in the first quarter, sending New York to a rare
easy night against Utah. Anthony added a season-high eight assists while playing just three
quarters of a game that wasn’t competitive for
long after the opening tip. J.R. Smith had 17
points and Tyson Chandler finished with 16
points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who led
by as many as 32.
With a long way to go to get back into playoff position, the Knicks won their second
straight following a seven-game losing streak.
Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks each
scored 18 for the Jazz, who dropped their fifth
straight and fell to 0-5 on their six-game, nineday trip that ends Saturday in Philadelphia.
PELICANS 112, BUCKS 104
Anthony Davis had 29 points and 14
rebounds, and New Orleans defeated struggling Milwaukee. Tyreke Evans scored 25 points
for the Pelicans, who have won two straight
after losing their previous eight games.
Anthony Morrow added 16 points, including a
3-pointer as he was fouled to give the Pelicans
their largest lead at 100-90 with 4:50 left. Brian
Roberts scored 14 and Eric Gordon 12 for New
Orleans. Khris Middleton scored 25 for
Milwaukee, which lost its second straight. Jeff
Adrien added 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Milwaukee played without starting forward
Ersan Ilyasova, suspended for throwing a
punch in a game Wednesday. The Bucks then
lost guard O.J. Mayo to an ejection for a flagrant-2 foul late in the first quarter.
NUGGETS 134, LAKERS 126
Kenneth Faried scored a career-high 32
points and Ty Lawson had 30 in Denver’s victory over skidding Los Angeles.
Lawson also had 17 assists and Faried
grabbed 13 rebounds. Wilson Chandler had 19
points, and Timofey Mozgov and Evan Fournier
added 13 apiece for the Nuggets, who swept
the three-game season series. Pau Gasol scored
27 points to lead the Lakers in their third
straight defeat and sixth in eight games. This
one ensured their first losing season since
going 34-48 in 2004-05. Jordan Farmar and
Robert Sacre had 24 points apiece for the
Lakers, who were coming off a 142-94 loss to
the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. The 48point defeat was the biggest in franchise history. —AP
NBA results/standings
Memphis 85, Chicago 77; Charlotte 101,
Cleveland 92; Toronto 99, Sacramento 87;
Boston 91, Brooklyn 84; NY Knicks 108, Utah
81; Minnesota 114, Detroit 101; New Orleans
112, Milwaukee 104; Dallas 103, Portland 98;
Denver 134, LA Lakers 126; Houston 112,
Indiana 86; Golden State 111, Atlanta 97.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
W
L PCT
Toronto
34
26 .567
30
30 .500
Brooklyn
NY Knicks
23
40 .365
Boston
21
41 .339
Philadelphia
15
46 .246
Central Division
Indiana
46
16 .742
34
28 .548
Chicago
Detroit
24
38 .387
Cleveland
24
39 .381
Milwaukee
12
49 .197
Southeast Division
Miami
43
16 .729
32
29 .525
Washington
Charlotte
29
33 .468
Atlanta
26
34 .433
Orlando
19
44 .302
Western Conference
Northwest Division
Oklahoma City
46
16 .742
42
20 .677
Portland
Minnesota
31
30 .508
Denver
27
34 .443
Utah
21
41 .339
Pacific Division
LA Clippers
43
20 .683
39
24 .619
Golden State
Phoenix
36
25 .590
Sacramento
22
40 .355
LA Lakers
21
42 .333
Southwest Division
San Antonio
45
16 .738
43
19 .694
Houston
Dallas
37
26 .587
Memphis
35
26 .574
New Orleans
25
37 .403
GB
4
12.5
14
19.5
12
22
22.5
33.5
12
15.5
17.5
26
4
14.5
18.5
25
4
6
20.5
22
2.5
9
10
20.5
Duke beat Georgia Tech
GREENSBORO: After stumbling a bit down the
stretch, No. 10 Duke came to the right city - and
faced the right opponent - to get rolling again.
The Blue Devils claimed their 37th straight victory
over Georgia Tech on Friday night, an 82-52 win in
the Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinals.
Duke has made Greensboro its home-away-fromCameron over the past few years, reaching the ACC
championship game five times in coach Joanne P.
McCallie’s previous six tries and winning it three
times - including last year.
They will face No. 13 North Carolina (24-8), the
tournament’s sixth seed, on Saturday in the semifinals. The Tar Heels swept the regular-season series,
including a four-point win last Sunday in the finale.
The Blue Devils came here this year on a slide,
having lost two of three while adjusting to seasonending injuries to their two starting guards and
effectively playing without a true point guard. “We’ve
done just a great job as a whole, everybody just
embracing the challenge of what we’ve gone
through this year,” said Haley Peters, who scored 19
points.
“Over the last few games, we’ve had some setbacks ... but we’ve always stayed with each other and
stayed with what we’re trying to build on,” she added.
Elizabeth Williams scored 15 points and blocked
five shots, and Tricia Liston added 15 along with her
school-record-tying 80th 3-pointer of the season for
the second-seeded Blue Devils (26-5).
They shot 53 percent, held the seventh-seeded
Yellow Jackets to a season-worst 24 percent shooting
and used a 29-8 run to push their lead into the 20s.
“We did that (on offense) because we were
patient and we moved the ball and we got the ball in
the right spots,” McCallie said. “That’s important to us.
We’ve got to play this game together.”
Tyaunna Marshall had 17 points on 5-of-18 shooting for Georgia Tech (20-11). The Yellow Jackets
remained winless against Duke in tournament
games, lost in the league quarterfinals for the 23rd
time in 29 years and have not beaten the Blue Devils
since 1995. Kaela Davis had 16 points on 6-of-22
shooting - and was 3 of 11 from 3-point range - for
Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils forced Tech into another terrible shooting performance: In the previous
meeting, a 17-point Duke win in January, the Yellow
Jackets shot 26 percent - which had been their worst
of the season until this one.
On three different occasions Friday night, Tech
missed at least seven consecutive shots. “We weren’t
able to make shots,” coach MaChelle Joseph said.
“When we can’t make shots, we can’t set our
defense.” Richa Jackson had 14 points while Liston
matched the single-season record she set last year
for the Blue Devils.
Williams blocked multiple shots for the eighth
straight game despite the Yellow Jackets’ best efforts
to avoid her, Oderah Chidom and the Blue Devils’
imposing front line. Duke blocked 13 shots,
outscored the Yellow Jackets 38-22 in the paint and
outrebounded them 49-36. “Blocked shots are just
intimidating, honestly, and I think everyone contributed to that,” Williams said.
The Yellow Jackets took their chances on the
perimeter - where Duke is down two of its best
guards in Chelsea Gray and Alexis Jones. Both of
them were on the bench in sweats, lost for the year
with knee injuries. And once Tech went cold, this one
was effectively over. Georgia Tech missed 17 of its
last 20 shots of the half and went six minutes
between field goals.
“I think that we got kind of on our heels,” Joseph
said. “We hit a wall and we never really recovered. ...
We didn’t have much left in the second half.” During
that time, the Blue Devils started to grow their lead.
Duke outscored the Yellow Jackets 14-4 during the
final 7:22 of the half, and went up 35-26 at the break
on Ka’lia Johnson’s 3 just before the buzzer. Williams’
layup 30 seconds into the second half gave the Blue
Devils their first double-figure lead. —AP
GREENSBORO: Duke’s Haley Peters (33) is fouled by Georgia Tech’s Dawnn Maye (1)
during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Atlantic Coast
Conference tournament. — AP
S P ORT S
F1’s latest rules leave cars quieter, slower
MADRID: Formula One’s latest changes mean the
sexy purr of engines and the violent throttle of speed
won’t quite be what they used to be.
The usual title talk has surrounded preseason
testing as usual, but the normally boisterous roar of
F1’s engines has been slightly subdued. Get used to
it.
“I’ve grown up with the ‘old’ sound, and I loved it.
Some of the old cars that had the exhaust coming
under the floor, the sound was just awesome - just
from the TV,” Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton said.
“The V10 and V8 of the last few years, with their special roar, had goose-bumps potential. When you
started the engine you had to cover your ears. That’s
history. F1 is moving on.” Moving on, yes. But not at a
blistering pace.
In a bid to bolster innovation and perhaps shake
up Red Bull’s grip at the top of the standings, F1 has
cast out the 2.4-liter V8 engines to make way for 1.6liter V6 turbo engines, which means a drop of traditional horsepower. The loss is expected to be made
up by the Energy Recovery Systems, which generates
energy under braking by using wasted heat from the
engine’s turbocharger. It is expected to give drivers
double the amount of kick for five times as long.
“It is a step back - F1 is slower than last year,” fourtime defending champion Sebastian Vettel of Red
Bull said during preseason testing. “But how much
slower, we will see once we get the car in a condition
where we can start to look for speed.”
Red Bull has yet to reach that point as it ended
testing with Renault unable to provide its teams with
an engine configured to excel under the new rules.
And whether the new racing will be what fans want
will be seen over the course of a 19-race season,
starting with the Australian Grand Prix on March 16.
“We are not in race conditions here, but if we
were in race conditions I think I should bring a GP2
car,” Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi said of his
Caterham car, which was also never expected to be
one of the fastest cars on track. “The lap time is still
quicker in GP2. We need to work, but in this moment
if we were to race, I think it’s not Formula One.”
Still, Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso said the new
cars are easier to maneuver, with less force and
speed on the corners even though there are more
parameters to control, “more buttons on the steering
wheel.”
“I’ve driven karts that are half a minute slower
than F1 and I still sweated and enjoyed driving. As
long as you are driving at the limit, the lap time you
do, it doesn’t change the emotional point of view.
This car is still fun to drive.”
Drivers were encouraged that the pace would
pick up as the season progressed, even as many
struggled in testing as teams grapple with the new
mechanics. Hamilton, the 2008 champion who is a
favorite to depose Vettel from the top, was choosing
to embrace change.
“Maybe we will soon all be happy about this new
‘low noise.’ It sure will make communications
between cockpit and pit wall easier,” the British driver
said. “There are always good and bad things attached
to the same medal.” — AP
Azarenka loses comeback
match at Indian Wells
INDIAN WELLS: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus reacts
after losing a point to Lauren Davis during the BNP
Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. — AFP
INDIAN WELLS: Victoria Azarenka tumbled
out of the BNP Paribas Open on Friday, beaten
6-0, 7-6 (2) by American Lauren Davis in her
first match in more than a month.
Azarenka, from Belarus, had been sidelined
since the Australian Open because of a left
foot injury that required her to wear a boot for
several weeks.
The two-time Australian Open champion,
hampered by nerve damage between her
toes, limped visibly at times, had trouble serving, fell to her knees several times, broke a
racket after double-faulting to fall behind 4-3
in the second set, and fought back tears.
“Basically, all I had was my fighting spirit,”
third-seeded Azarenka said. “When I’m on the
court I try to give as much as I can, even on
one leg. I try to do my best in tough situations.
That’s part of our job.”
She isn’t sure if she’ll try to play in the Sony
Open in Florida in 10 days. “I want to be painfree because it’s not to the most fun to be out
there like that,” Azarenka said.
Most of the other second-round matches
were routine. Second-seeded Agnieszka
Radwanska of Poland beat qualifier Heather
Watson of Britain 6-4, 6-3; No. 6 Simona Halep,
No. 7 Jelana Jankovic, No. 9 Sara Errani and No.
10 Caroline Wozniacki were straight-set winners. Two-time tournament champion Daniela
Hantuchova of Slovakia, seeded 29th, fell to
American Varvara Lepchenko, 6-3, 6-2.
Meanwhile, with the unseeded men finishing their first round, Roger Federer and
Stanislas Wawrinka, the 2008 Olympic doubles
gold medalists for Switzerland, teamed up
Alvarez wants to put
Mayweather in past
LAS VEGAS: Canelo Alvarez gets a pass,
if only because everyone who fights
Floyd Mayweather Jr. gets a pass. Lose a
second fight to someone not named
Mayweather, though, and the redhaired Mexican’s star could begin to
fade.
“I learned a lot from fighting Floyd,
but I’m ready to get back in the ring to
maintain the path that I was on before,”
Alvarez said. “This is what I love to do.”
The path Alvarez was on took a
detour in September when Mayweather
dominated him over 12 rounds, handing Alvarez his first loss. He gets a totally
different type of opponent late yesterday, taking on slugger Alfredo Angulo in
a junior middleweight fight that likely
won’t be wanting for action.
The story line against Mayweather
was whether a young and strong champion could solve a puzzle no other boxer had been able to. The story line
against Angulo will be whether Alvarez
can come back from the loss and establish himself again as one of the stars of
the sport. “What happened in
September is in the past,” Alvarez insisted. “I’m fully concentrated on this fight.”
Alvarez didn’t pick a walkover for his
comeback fight, the first of what he
hopes to be three bouts this year.
Angulo is a rugged and hard-hitting
contender who may come into the ring
as a big underdog but will have more
than just a puncher’s chance.
Angulo was stopped in his last fight
by Erislandy Lara after his left eye
swelled shut in the 10th round. But he
had knocked Lara down twice earlier
and was holding his own before suddenly turning his back to Lara in a sign
he couldn’t go on.
“I’m ready to chase him or fight him
like a true Mexican warrior,” Angulo said.
“I plan to test him like he’s never been
tested before. I don’t think anyone has
ever hit Canelo as hard as I’m going to
hit him.”
The fight is part of a pay-per-view
card on Showtime that was supposed
to include a fight between IBF light mid-
Canelo Alvarez
dleweight champion Carlos Molina and
challenger Jermall Charlo. That fight was
canceled Friday, though, while Molina
remained in a Las Vegas jail on a 2007
felony warrant for failing to register as a
sex offender. Promoters elevated a lightweight fight between Ricardo Alvarez,
brother of Canelo Alvarez, and Sergio
Thompson to the televised spot instead.
Alvarez weighed in at 155 pounds
Friday, the contract limit, to 154 1/2 for
Angulo.
Angulo (22-3, 18 knockouts) has had
his own issues with jail, spending eight
months at a detention facility in
California after turning himself in for
being in the US on an expired visa. The
native of Mexico says he has since
cleared up his immigration issues, and
devoted himself to his boxing career at
the age of 31.
“There were a couple times when I
was in the immigration detention center that I wanted to quit,” Angulo said.
“But my team of lawyers always motivated me, wouldn’t let me stay down for
too long and kept telling me that justice
would prevail and that I shouldn’t give
up. I always dreamed of being a headliner on a major card, and here it is. I am so
ready for Saturday.”
Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 knockouts) was
overmatched in his fight against
Mayweather, losing almost every round
and never being able to figure out how
to get inside Mayweather’s defense. He
vowed to use his first defeat as a learning experience, though, and wants to
regain the stature that has made him a
reliable pay-per-view attraction in
recent fights.
To do that he must win - and win
impressively - against a fighter who
might have more guts than talent.
“Angulo presents a difficult challenge
because he’s a fighter who can punch
and take a great punch,” Alvarez said. “I
know I have to prepare and establish
my game plan early. But you know how
it can be with game plans. Sometimes,
once a fight starts, you have to do what
you have to do to win.”—AP
again for a 6-2, 6-7 (4), (10-6) victory over
Rohan Bopanna of India and Aisam-ul-Haq
Qureshi of Pakistan in a match played in the
new 8,000-seat Stadium 2.
“I don’t know if it was sold out, but it felt
like very, very full,” said Federer, a four-time singles champion at Indian Wells. “You’re not
probably going to achieve that on center court
(where capacity is 16,100) for a doubles. But
that was a perfect setup, a feeling, and we can
thank the tournament and (owner) Larry
Ellison for building such a court so quickly.
“It’s nice to see the game grow and seeing
people coming out and enjoying it. It’s great. I
really had a great time out there with Stan
today.” Wawrinka is the Australian Open champion.
“It took me time to realize really what I did
in Australian Open,” said Wawrinka, who is the
No. 3 seed and could meet No. 7 Federer in the
quarterfinals and top-seeded Rafael Nadal in
the semifinals. “Still when I’m saying that I won
a Grand Slam it’s still strange for me, but that’s
why it was good to be home during three
weeks. It was good to be with the family, to
take more time for myself.
Wawrinka’s second-round opponent will be
Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, and Federer will open
his title bid against French qualifier Paul-Henry
Mathieu. Wawrinka and Federer both will play
late yesterday.
On Saturday night, Nadal will take on
Radek Stepanek. Novak Djokovic, Andy
Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, Richard Gasquet
and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are the other top-10
players competing in doubles. — AP
With Al-Tijari Visa
Card... FIFA World Cup
is at your fingertips
KUWAIT: Within the marketing campaign activities of its new campaign designated for CBK visa pre-paid card holders, Commercial
Bank of Kuwait announced that it will set a booth in 360 Mall during
the weekend. The Bank’s Marketing and Sales Department will be
present at the booth to familiarize the customers with any campaign
details, and respond their inquiries.
It is worthy noting that the Bank launched its VISA FIFA campaign
in the beginning of February 2014 under the slogan “With Al-Tijari Visa
Card ...... Fifa World Cup is at your fingertips”, which was dedicated to
all CBK pre-paid card holders to win 1 out of 3 all inclusive packages
to attend the quarter final World Cup football games in Brazil for 2
people. In addition, CBK has launched a special edition VISA pre-paid
card with a unique design that suits this event.
For every KD 10 spent on the pre-paid card customers get 1
chance to enter the draw, and for every KD 10 spent outside Kuwait,
they get 2 chances. The winners will be announced at the draw to be
held on May 18, 2014.
The Bank invites its customers to visit its booth in 360 Mall for this
weekend from March 6th until March 8th 2014 to be acquainted with
the privileges and activities of the new campaign and the chances of
winning they can get through this campaign which will increase
when using their CBK prepaid cards more. On this occasion, the Bank
wishes its customers the best of luck to become among the lucky winners to win the trip to Brazil.
LAS VEGAS: Joey Logano poses for photos after winning the pole position for today’s
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race. — AP
Logano wins NASCAR
pole in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS: Joey Logano believes two facts
are abundantly clear after he emerged from
the organized chaos of NASCAR’s first threeround knockout qualifying session Friday
with the pole position at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway.
This new qualifying system is a whole lot
more interesting than the prior system. And
nobody is quite sure what they’re doing yet.
“It gets crazy out there,” said Logano, who
earned his eighth career pole. “I think it’s
way cooler than old-style qualifying, don’t
get me wrong. It’s awesome. ... We’re all
learning right now. It’s all new to us, but
we’re having fun with it. I enjoy it. I think it’s
cool.”
The Penske Ford team has figured it out
better than most. Logano won the pole for
Sunday’s Las Vegas race with a qualifying lap
at a track-record 193.28 mph, and he’ll start
on the front row next to teammate Brad
Keselowski, who came in second at 193.099.
The Penske drivers swept the top two
spots for the second straight race, reversing
their two-round qualifying finish in Phoenix
a week ago. Clint Bowyer finished third, with
Austin Dillon in fourth and Jimmie Johnson
in fifth.
NASCAR added the knockout system to
goose interest in a dull weekly ritual, and it’s
working. The teams are challenged by multiple chances to hit top speed. The drivers are
both worried about the danger and excited
by the challenge. And fans seem quite
intrigued, judging by the larger-than-normal crowd in the Speedway stands.
“That’s the whole point of this,” Logano
said of the fan turnout. “A lot more preparation goes into it, a lot more communication
between myself, my spotter, my crew chief.
Not really about our race car, but how are
we going to go out there, and what’s our
game plan? Every time we’ve had a game
plan going into it, it’s changed so far. At least
we’re pulling audibles and they’re working.”
Drivers are understandably concerned by
the huge speed disparities on the track during the qualifying sessions. While some drivers were going about 30 mph to cool their
engines, others were ripping right past them
about 150 mph faster, resulting in a handful
of near-misses. Brian Vickers even called
Friday’s session “the most dangerous thing
I’ve ever done in a race car.”
Bowyer echoed the mix of excitement
and concern. “Our normal deal is to be
scared once a weekend,” Bowyer said of the
previous one-lap qualifying scheme. “Three
times is a lot to ask out of us. You know, it is
really exciting.”
Logano is expecting NASCAR to eventually allow teams to use portable cool-down
units instead of taking those dangerously
slow cool-down laps. As for the strategic
decisions necessary to turn the best laps in
the allotted time, everybody is still working
on it.
“So much more goes into qualifying,”
Logano said. “To me, it’s even more special to
get a pole.” As if the knockout style wasn’t
exciting enough, the majority of the drivers
surpassed the previous track speed record
during qualifying. Bowyer and Keselowski
expect track speed records to fall all season
under the cars’ new setups.
“It’s just simple physics,” Keselowski said.
“The cars make 300-400 pounds more downforce. The engine manufacturers continue to
find more horsepower, so they’re going to
go faster. I don’t think it has anything to do
with this (qualifying) format. In fact, I think if
it wasn’t for this format, they would be even
faster.”
Defending champion Matt Kenseth finished way back in 29th place, failing to
make it out of the first knockout round.
Overall standings leader Dale Earnhardt Jr.
will start 14th, between Hendrick
Motorsports teammates Kasey Kahne and
Jeff Gordon. — AP
Ligety wins giant slalom
KRANJSKA GORA: America’s giant slalom Olympic
champion Ted Ligety recorded his 22nd World Cup victory yesterday as he took the latest race in the event in
Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
The 29-year-old-also a two-time world champion in
giant slalom-was winning for the sixth time in the
Slovenian resort as he timed 2min 30.80sec.
He became the first skier to win six times at the same
resort in the same discipline in the World Cup. “I have
always liked this course, it has a lot of personality and is
very demanding,” said Ligety.
Austrian veteran Benjamin Raich narrowly missed
out on his 37th World Cup success as he took second,
0.18sec behind-his first podium placing in two yearswhile young Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen claimed his
first podium finish in the discipline as he finished third,
0.25 slower.
Ligety’s victory saw him close the gap in the race for
the World Cup giant slalom crystal globe to 50 points on
Austrian Marcel Hirscher.
However, the American said Hircher’s consistency
dictated that he would fall short of taking the globe
when they contest the final race of the season in
Lenzerheide, Switzerland, next Saturday.
“I have to win and he has to make a mistake,” said
Ligety. “If it was anyone other than Marcel I would have
said it is possible. “But being as he is, he never gives out
presents, he is constantly on the podium.” Hirscher’s
fourth place finish saw him also reduce the gap
between himself and Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal for
the overall World Cup title-the Austrian is the two-time
defending champion-to 41 points. “Those are important
points for me, it won’t be easy but these points keep me
in the race,” said Hirscher. —AFP
KRANJSKA GORA: Ted Ligety of the United States competes during the first run of an alpine ski
men’s World Cup giant slalom. — AP
S P ORT S
KUWAIT: President of the Asian Shooting Federation Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah (center) during the meeting of the Asian Shooting Confederation in Kuwait yesterday.
Kuwait-Asian Fund set up to support shooting
By Abdellatif Sharaa
KUWAIT: President of the Asian Shooting Federation
Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah,
announced that arrangements are being made to establish
the Kuwait-Asian Fund to support the Shooting sport in
Asia during the meeting of the Asian Confederation in
Kuwait yesterday.
Sheikh Salman said the meeting was successful as all
heads of delegations were in agreement towards the issues
that were discussed.
Items on the agenda included participation in the Asian
shooting during the Games in Incheon, Korea in addition
to the youth Olympics in China.
Sheikh Salman thanked all members of the Asian
Shooting Confederation for their efforts to improve the
game and spread the cooperation spirit among all members. The meeting was chaired by Sheikh Salman at the
Regency Hotel as all board members attended.
Meanwhile, two gold medals are up for grabs today, the
first day of HH the Amir Grand Prix in the shotgun event.
The men’s double trap and women’s skeet will see fierce
competition. The seventh Asian Air Gun Cchampionship
will see three winners in the 10m pistol for men and youth,
men and women, meanwhile preliminaries of the men’s
10m air rifle, youth and women.
Vice-president of the International Shooting Sport
Federation (ISSF), President of the Italian Shooting
Federation Luciano Rossi said HH the Amir Grand Prix is
now an important event on the international agenda. He
said the Grand Prix is developing at the international level
and technical standards were expected to continue in the
third GP that was launched yesterday.
Rossi was impressed with the organization and the facilities at Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting
Complex which is the most modern around the world. He
thanked Kuwait and KSSC for inviting him to attend the GP
activities. Rossi appreciated the hospitality afforded by the
President of the Asian Shooting Confederation, ISSF Vicepresident Sheikh Salman.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s national team is participating in the
7th Asian Air Gun Shooting Championship. Supervisor and
head of Qatar’s team, Ibrahim Al-Muhannadi said the
championship is very important because it qualifies for the
China 2014 youth Olympics.
He said participants had very good results during
the previous events, and commended the efforts of
the technical preparations of the Qatari team.
Youth coach Zain Al-Senani said the Qatari team
was well prepared for this major event, and it has
skillful shooters who are able to achieve great results
and reach China Olympics.
Kuwait’s Nasser Al-Miqlid said Kuwait is hosting HH
the Amir Grand Prix for the third time and he is looking forward to win the gold medal, for which he has
strived hard. He said competition for top places will be
very fierce, especially as world and Olympic champions are participating. Al-Miqlid said he participated in
training camps in Qatar and Kazakhstan for this championship.
Sri Lanka thump Pakistan
Lift Asia Cup
GERMANY: Bayern Munich’s French midfielder Franck
Ribery (left) and Wolfsburg’s Serbian midfielder Slobodan
Medojevic vie for the ball during the German First Division
Bundesliga football match. — AFP
Bayern hit six to
beat Wolfsburg
BERLIN: Bayern Munich went 23 points clear at the top
of the Bundesliga yesterday with a 6-1 thrashing of
Wolfsburg to record a 16th consecutive win and 49th
match without defeat. With just 10 games left in the
campaign, the European champions are virtually
assured of defending their title after a sixth successive
win over the 2009 champions.
Victory was also the perfect tonic ahead of Tuesday’s
Champions League last-16 tie against Arsenal where
they will defend a 2-0 first leg lead. Naldo gave
Wolfsburg a shock 17th-minute lead before Bayern,
heading for a 24th national title, turned on the style.
Pep Guardiola’s side scored five times in 20 secondhalf minutes on Saturday and they have now hit 30
goals in eight games since the Bundesliga resumed
after the winter break.
They have also scored 72 times since the start of the
season with just 11 conceded. “We haven’t been this
dominant in recent matches,” said Guardiola.
“Wolfsburg were very well organised and very aggressive. They caused us a lot of problems in the first half
and at the start of the second.
“But we scored the goals we needed.” Wolfsburg’s
lead lasted just 10 minutes before Xherdan Shaqiri levelled. Thomas Mueller and former Wolfsburg striker
Mario Mandzukic both scored twice in the second half.
Mandzukic now has 16 league goals for the season
while Franck Ribery added to the scoreline to mark his
return to action after a month out through injury.
Borussia Dortmund can cut the gap to Bayern back to
20 points with victory at Freiburg today.
Bayer Leverkusen are third after a 1-1 draw at
Hanover in a game where their goalkeeper Bernd Leno
saved a Szabolcs Huszti penalty.
Schalke are in fourth place, also with 44 points, after
seeing off Hoffenheim 4-0 with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar hitting a hat-trick. It was a welcome result for Schalke who
had been routed 6-1 by Real Madrid and 5-1 at Bayern
in their last two outings. Huntelaar could have had four
goals but missed a 31st-minute penalty. — AFP
DHAKA: Opener Lahiru Thirimanne hit a
magnificent century to help Sri Lanka
thump Pakistan by five wickets to regain
the Asia Cup title in Dhaka yesterday.
The left-hander notched 101 for his
third one-day hundred to anchor Sri
Lanka’s successful chase of a 261-run target in 46.2 overs for his country’s fifth
Asia Cup title at Dhaka’s Shere Bangla stadium.
Thirimanne, who also scored a hundred in the tournament’s opening match
against the same opponents, hit 13
boundaries during his 108-ball knock and
steadied the chase during a solid 156-run
third-wicket partnership with veteran
team-mate Mahela Jayawardene, who
made 75.
Pakistan’s main spin weapon Saeed
Ajmal had broken through after Sri
Lanka’s confident start of 56, dismissing
Kusal Perera (42) and dangerman Kumar
Sangakkara (nought) off successive deliveries. Jayawardene, who had a poor run
of scores with 13, nine, 14 and nought in
the tournament, benefitted when wicketkeeper Umar Akmal dropped a regulation
catch off Shahid Afridi. Jayawardene,
then 36, hit nine boundaries and a six
before he holed out off paceman
Mohammad Talha.
Sri Lanka also lost Ashan Prinyanjan
(13) to Junaid Khan and Thirimanne to
Ajmal but skipper Angelo Mathews (16
not out) hit the winning runs.
Thirimanne, who reached his hundred
with a single off Khan, was finally bowled
by Ajmal who finished with 3-26. Sri
Lanka had also won the Asia Cup in 1986,
1997, 2004 and 2008.
“We wanted to break the barrier
between us and finals,” said Mathews of
Sri Lanka’s failure to win the World Cup
finals of 2007 and 2011 and the Twenty20
finals of 2009 and 2012.
“The credit goes to the whole team. It
was a very good run chase and big victory not only for me but for the whole
team,” said Mathews whose team won all
the five matches in the event.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq
blamed defeat on his side’s loss of early
wickets. “I think losing the first three wickets quickly put us under pressure and
although we managed to reach 260, it
was some 20-30 short,” said Misbah.
Pakistan, who decided to bat after winning the toss, were helped to 260-5 by a
brilliant unbeaten 114 by Fawad Alam
and a solid 65 by Misbah.
PAKISTAN ON BACK FOOT
Alam’s knock helped Pakistan recover
from early devastation caused by paceman Lasith Malinga, who took the first
three wickets to force Pakistan on to the
back foot, before he finished with 5-56.
Alam added an invaluable 122 for the
fourth wicket with Misbah and then
another 115 for the fifth wicket with
Umar Akmal who made a 42-ball 59.
Alam, who returned to the team with a
brilliant 74 against Bangladesh on
Tuesday after a four-year absence, hit
eight boundaries and three sixes off 134
balls.
Alam became the first left-handed
Pakistan batsman, other than openers,
to hit a one-day century. He hit paceman
Thisara Perera over long-on for a six to
reach his century off 126 balls. Akmal hit
seven boundaries to give impetus to the
innings as Pakistan scored 101 in the last
ten overs.
Earlier, Malinga rocked the innings
with the wickets of Sharjeel Khan (eight),
Ahmed Shehzad (five) and Mohammad
Hafeez (three) in his incisive four-over
spell, pushing Pakistan to 18-3 by the
fifth over. Misbah and Alam played
steadily during their 122-run partnership
and were lucky to survive some close
chances.
Misbah was ruled not out on 19 by
Australian umpire Bruce Oxenford when
action replays suggested he edged
Mathews to wicket-keeper Sangakkara.
Misbah hit three boundaries and two
sixes during his solid 98-ball knock
before Malinga returned for his second
spell and had the Pakistan captain
caught in the deep. Five-times champions India, hosts Bangladesh and
Afghanistan were the other teams in the
competition. — AFP
SCOREBOARD
DHAKA: Complete scoreboard of the Asia Cup final between Pakistan and Sri Lanka played at
Shere Bangla stadium yesterday.
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Sharjeel Khan c Thisara b Malinga
8
K. Perera st Akmal b Ajmal
42
Ahmed Shehzad c Sangakkara b Malinga 5
101
L. Thirimanne b Ajmal
Hafeez c Sangakkara b Malinga
3
K. Sangakkara lbw b Ajmal
0
Misbah-ul Haq c Perera b Malinga
65
M. Jayawardene c Sharjeel b Talha
75
Fawad Alam not out
114
A. Priyanjan c Akmal b Khan
13
Umar Akmal c Priyanjan b Malinga
59
A. Mathews not out
16
Shahid Afridi not out
0
C. de Silva not out
6
Extras: (lb1, w5)
6
Extras: (b1, lb1, nb1, w5)
8
Total: (for five wkts; 50 overs)
260
Total: (for five wkts; 46.2 overs)
261
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Sharjeel), 2-17 (Shehzad), Fall of wickets: 1-56 (Perera), 2-56
3-18 (Hafeez), 4-140 (Misbah), 5-255 (Akmal)
(Sangakkara), 3-212 (Jayawardene), 4-233
Bowling: Malinga 10-0-56-5, Lakmal 10-2-41- (Priyanjan), 5-247 (Thirimanne)
0 (2w), Senanayake 9-0-54-0, Thisara 10-1-66- Bowling: Hafeez 9-0-42-0 (1w), Gul 6-0-44-0
0 (2w), Mathews 7-1-23-0 (1w), de Silva 4-0- (1w), Khan 9-0-56-1, Ajmal 10-2-26-3 (3w),
19-0
Talha 6.2-0-56-1(1nb), Afridi 6-0-35-0
DHAKA: Sri Lankan cricketers and support staff celebrate with the trophy after winning the Asia Cup final match against Pakistan yesterday. — AP
Ibrahimovic shines as PSG continue to cruise
PARIS: Zlatan Ibrahimovic was at his enigmatic best as
champions Paris Saint-Germain continued their inexorable march towards retaining the Ligue 1 title with a 30 win at Bastia yesterday.
The big Swedish forward scored the opening goal and
then set up Ezequiel Lavezzi for the second with an outrageous back-flick.
He also teed up the diminutive Argentine for the killer
third two minutes from time with a headed flick-on. The
result sent PSG 11 points clear of their only remaining
potential title rivals Monaco, who can cut the gap back to
eight points with a home win over lowly Sochaux later
yesterday. This was the fifth straight win for Laurent
Blanc’s PSG team since a 1-1 draw at Monaco in the
league in early February and the team have racked up 16
goals in that period.
Deprived of record-signing Edinson Cavani, held over
in Uruguay for personal reasons, they even could afford
the luxury of keeping centre-back Thiago Silva on the
bench throughout the game ahead of Wednesday’s
Champions League last 16 second leg tie with Bayer
Leverkusen.
Although that tie looks to be nothing more than a formality having already won the away leg 4-0. Ibrahimovic
opened the scoring on six minutes after a bright opening
from the visitors in Corsica.
Brazilian Lucas Moura made the most of the start
Cavani’s absence afforded him to cross from the right for
Ibrahimovic to leap high above his marker and use the
strength to direct a bullet header into the top corner
despite stretching for the ball.
On 19 minutes he turned provider with the kind of
genius only Ibrahimovic, in this league, is capable of,
picking out Lavezzi with a back-heeled, volleyed pass
despite looking the other way.
The Argentine outpaced the defence and nonchalant-
ly prodded the ball past goalkeeper Jean-Louis Leca. And
Lavezzi was the beneficiary once again from
Ibrahimovic’s instinctive vision, although centre-back
Sebastien Squillaci was partly to blame for failing to cut
out the Swede’s flick-on, while Leca’s ill-advised rush from
his line also helped make the Argentine’s job easier.
On Friday night Marseille’s hopes of snatching the
third and final Champions League qualifying berth were
dented by their third defeat this season to Cote d’Azur
rivals Nice. Valentin Eysseric scored the only goal of the
game with a free-kick midway through the second half at
the Stade Velodrome. — AFP
S P ORT S
EPL results/standings
English Premier League
Cardiff 3 (Caulker 45, 67, Riether 71-og); Fulham 1
(Holtby 59); Chelsea 4 (Eto’o 56, Hazard 60-pen, Ba 88,
90) Tottenham 0; Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 1
(Rodriguez 37); Norwich 1 (Johnson 56); Stoke 1
(Walters 73-pen); West Brom 0 Manchester United 3
(Jones 34, Rooney 65, Welbeck 82).
English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played,
won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):
Chelsea
Liverpool
Arsenal
Man City
Tottenham
Man Utd
Everton
Newcastle
Southampton
West Ham
Aston Villa
Stoke
Hull
Swansea
Norwich
Crystal Palace
West Brom
Cardiff
Sunderland
Fulham
29
28
28
26
29
28
27
28
29
28
28
29
28
28
29
28
28
29
26
29
20
18
18
18
16
14
13
13
11
8
8
7
8
7
7
8
4
6
6
6
6
5
5
3
5
6
9
4
9
7
7
10
6
8
8
3
13
7
6
3
3
5
5
5
8
8
5
11
9
13
13
12
14
13
14
17
11
16
14
20
56
73
52
69
37
46
38
37
39
31
31
29
30
37
22
19
31
22
26
29
22
35
28
27
37
31
27
39
35
35
38
43
35
41
44
38
42
50
42
65
Matches on TV
(Local Timings)
England FA Cup
Sheffield v Charlton
beIN SPORTS 1 HD
15:00
Hull v Sunderland
beIN SPORTS 14 HD
beIN SPORTS 8 HD
17:00
Man City v Wigan
beIN SPORTS 1 HD
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19:05
Italian Calcio League
Juventus v Fiorentina
14:30
beIN SPORTS 3 HD
beIN SPORTS 14 HD
Inter v Torino
beIN SPORTS 3 HD
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17:00
Sampdoria v Livorno
beIN SPORTS 6 HD
17:00
Lazio v Atalanta
beIN SPORTS 2 HD
17:00
Parma v Verona
beIN SPORTS 4 HD
17:00
Napoli v AS Roma
beIN SPORTS 11 HD
beIN SPORTS 13 HD
22:45
Spanish League
Espanyol v Elche
beIN SPORTS 2 HD
14:00
Almeria v Sevilla
beIN SPORTS 4 HD
19:00
Real Madrid v Levante
beIN SPORTS 12 HD
beIN SPORTS 2 HD
21:00
Valencia v Bilbao
beIN SPORTS 4 HD
French League
Lille v Montpellier
beIN SPORTS 13 HD
beIN SPORTS 5 HD
MADRID: Barcelona slumped to their third
defeat in seven league games as they lost
away to relegation-threatened Valladolid 1-0
yesterday.
Italian Fausto Rossi scored the only goal
of the game as he slammed home from close
range after 17 minutes. Valladolid goalkeeper Diego Marino was forced into four saves
by Lionel Messi, but it was Neymar who had
the best chance to level when he ballooned
over just before the hour mark.
However, the Catalans couldn’t find a way
through and could fall four points behind La
Liga leaders Real Madrid should Los Blancos
beat Levante at home today.
Victory for Valladolid also has significant
consequences at the other end of the table
as La Pucela move out of the relegation zone
with just their fifth league win of the campaign.
“What we lacked today is normally what
distinguishes the team; our circulation of the
ball and our movement off the ball to find
space. As a consequence of that we lacked
penetration,” Barca boss Gerardo Martino
admitted.
“We lacked ideas, movement and penetration, but I didn’t in any way see a lack of
attitude.” Defeat means the Spanish champions will likely have to beat Real Madrid at
the Santiago Bernabeu in two weeks time to
have any chance of retaining the title.
And with his side’s Champions League
last 16, second leg with Manchester City just
four days away, Martino admitted his side
are a long way off their best form.
“It is clear that right now we are not in
SPAIN: Barcelona’s Neymar (left) runs with the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match
at the Jose Zorrilla stadium against Valladolid. — AP
our best form and we need to be to be able
to beat Real Madrid. There are still 15 days to
go until that match for us to find ourselves.
Right now we have the Champions League
to worry about.
“Today we didn’t play well, just like we
didn’t play well in the game straight after
the Manchester City game, in San Sebastian
(a defeat to Real Sociedad). We will try to
make sure it is the reverse on Wednesday.”
Despite the majority of his squad having
been away on international duty in midweek, Martino named almost his strongest
starting line-up with only Jordi Alba and
Cardiff 3
Fulham 1
CARDIFF: Cardiff defender Steven Caulker
improved his side’s prospects of avoiding relegation from the Premier League as his brace
clinched a crucial 3-1 win over fellow strugglers
Fulham yesterday.
Caulker ended a Cardiff goal drought that had
stretched to over 400 minutes in the league when
he netted just before half-time in south Wales.
On-loan Tottenham midfielder Lewis Holtby
equalised for Fulham, but Caulker struck again
before a Sascha Riether own goal ensured the
end of Cardiff’s five-match winless run.
Cardiff remain in the relegation zone on goal
difference, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will feel
more optimistic about their survival chances after
just their second league win since the former
Manchester United striker took charge in January.
In contrast, Fulham’s dismal display left them
rooted to the bottom of the table after their 20th
defeat in 29 league matches. With his team in desperate need of a morale-boosting win, Solskjaer
handed a start to Kenwyne Jones and recalled
Craig Noone and Jordan Mutch.
Felix Magath gave a first start to Fulham’s
record signing Kostas Mitroglou after the Greek
forward was finally deemed fit enough to feature
and there was also a surprise Fulham debut for
young forward Cauley Woodrow.
Cardiff started brightly and striker Fraizer
Campbell weaved through a pack of Fulham
defenders to draw a full-stretch save from
Maarten Stekelenburg from the edge of the area.
The Bluebirds threatened again when Noone
evaded challenges from Steve Sidwell and Brede
Hangeland before shooting narrowly wide from
20 yards.
After dominating for much of the half, Cardiff
finally broke the deadlock in the 45th minute
when Noone’s low cross reached captain Caulker,
who had the simple task of slotting home from
no more than two yards out.
It was Caulker’s third goal of the season and
the previous two had both come in victories,
including a rare away-day win at Fulham.
Fulham needed a stronger showing in the second half and Holtby led the charge with a volley
that brought David Marshall into action.
Magath’s team equalised in the 59th minute
when a corner from substitute Giorgos
Karagounis was flicked on by Johnny Heitinga
and Holtby tapped in for the first goal of his loan
spell with the Cottagers.
But the visitors weren’t on level terms for long
as Caulker rose to meet a corner and directed a
downwards header past Stekelenburg’s weak
attempted save in the 67th minute. The decisive
third goal arrived four minutes later when
Noone’s cross caused havoc in the Fulham
defence and Riether deflected into his own net.
— AFP
CARROW ROAD: Norwich City’s Gary Hooper (front) and Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross
battle for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match. — AP
Walters hero to zero
as Stoke hold Norwich
Norwich 1
Di Natale puts brakes on Milan
23:00
19:30
16:00
Lorient v Saint Etienne
beIN SPORTS 8 HD
beIN SPORTS 13 HD
19:00
Bordeaux v Lyon
beIN SPORTS 5 HD
23:00
Andres Iniesta missing out.
However, after Messi had forced Marino
into an early save at the end of a swift counter-attack, it was Valladolid who had the
upper hand in the opening half hour.
Rossi opened the scoring with his first
goal for Valladolid as he took advantage of a
ricochet off two Barca defenders inside the
area to fire past Victor Valdes.
Barca reacted as the first-half drew to a
close and Marino had to be alive to deny
Messi twice from range before Cesc
Fabregas also tested the keeper with a drive
from the edge of the box.
Marino made another good save just
three minutes after the restar t as the
Argentine squeezed a shot towards goal
with his weaker right foot from a narrow
angle.
Neymar then had a great chance to
equalise when he blasted over from close
range after being brilliantly played in by
Fabregas.
That pass was to be the former Arsenal
captain’s last significant involvement as he
was replaced by Alexis Sanchez with just
under half an hour remaining.
Gerard Pique and Neymar were also withdrawn as Martino made a desperate last
attempt to influence the game by introducing Sergi Roberto and Cristian Tello.
Messi had another free-kick comfortably held by Martino eight minutes from
time. And the result could have been
e ve n wo r s e fo r B a rc a h a d O s c a r n o t
wastefully spooned over Valdet Rama’s
cut-back moments later. — AFP
Caulker double boosts
Cardiff’s survival bid
Stoke 1
German Bundesliga
Freiburg v Dortmund
17:30
Dubai Sports
Mainz v Hertha
Dubai Sports
66
59
59
57
53
48
48
43
42
31
31
31
30
29
29
27
25
25
24
21
Barcelona suffer shock
defeat at Valladolid
MILAN: Veteran striker Antonio Di Natale struck
a second-half winner for Udinese to put the
brakes on AC Milan’s Europa League qualification push yesterday.
Milan’s third defeat in seven games under
Clarence Seedorf dropped the Rossoneri one
place to 11th in the table with a six-point deficit
to fifth-placed Inter, who host Torino today.
Seedorf welcomed Mario Balotelli back into
his squad after a two-game absence due to a
shoulder injury. But with a decisive second leg
against Champions League last 16 opponents
Atletico Madrid in midweek, Seedorf opted to
rest a number of regulars.
Brazilian forward Kaka was on the bench
throughout with Keisuke Honda, Valter Birsa
and Robinho playing in support of striker
Giampaolo Pazzini. Udinese forged the opening
chance when Roberto Pereyra’s run down the
left ended with ‘keeper Christian Abbiati making a desperate one-handed save.
However Milan failed to capitalise on several
early chances with Pazzini, wearing a protective
face mask, missing the target with two headers
and then Cristian Zapata spurning a good
chance for the opener when his diving header
at the back post sailed well over.
Pazzini had a chance to make amends but
teenaged Udinese ‘keeper Simone Scuffet
pulled off a fine one-handed save and then parried Robinho’s snapshot.
Milan continued in the same vein after the
interval, with Robinho forcing Scuffet to parry
his header from Urby Emanuelson’s cross on 49
minutes. Di Natale missed a great chance for the
hosts on the hour after Philippe Mexes gave up
possession.
Balotelli replaced an ineffective Robinho just
after the hour, but minutes later the Rossoneri
were trailing after Di Natale finished off a smart
passing move with Roberto Pereyra and Bruno
Fernandes to beat the diving Abbiati with an
easy tap-in. Milan fought back in the closing
stages and Michael Essien, who replaced Birsa
just before the hour, saw a header from a corner
scare Udinese as Balotelli lurked nearby.
Balotelli saw a tame free kick come to nothing, and Essien’s long-distance drive was high
and wide. In the closing minutes Pazzini was
unlucky not to get on the end of Balotelli’s
through ball which, ultimately, was out of the
striker’s reach. — AFP
NORWICH: Jonathan Walters scored but was
then sent off as Stoke City held Norwich City
to a 1-1 draw at Carrow Road in the Premier
League yesterday.
Norwich were hoping to bounce back
from their 4-1 defeat by Aston Villa last weekend and took a 56th-minute lead when
Bradley Johnson headed in from a Robert
Snodgrass free-kick.
Walters equalised from the penalty spot
in the 73rd minute, but the visitors finished
the game with 10 men as he was shown a
straight red card less than five minutes later
for a high challenge on Alexander Tettey.
Stoke, 1-0 victors over Arsenal in their
previous outing, increased the gap between
themselves and the relegation zone to six
points, with Norwich two points worse off in
15th place.
Both sides made one change from their
previous outings, with Ricky van Wolfswinkel
returning for Norwich after a knee injury and
Peter Odemwingie replacing the suspended
Charlie Adam for the Potters. Stoke started
the brighter of the two teams, with halfchances falling to Marko Arnautovic and
Walters within the first 15 minutes.
Despite the away side having more possession, however, it was the Canaries who
created the best chance of the first half, with
Snodgrass forcing an acrobatic save from
goalkeeper Asmir Begovic in the 29th
minute after being found by Wes Hoolahan.
The hosts continued to pile on the pressure and record signing Van Wolfswinkel saw
a glancing header from a Snodgrass corner
flash narrowly wide in the 33rd minute.
The second half started frantically for
Begovic after a seemingly innocuous shot
from Hoolahan squirmed through his hands,
forcing the Bosnian to scramble the ball off
the line and out for a corner.
It was to prove a temporary reprieve,
though, as Norwich made their bright start
to the second period count when Johnson
turned in Snodgrass’s free-kick to claim his
third goal of the season.
However, the away side levelled the
scores after Sebastien Bassong was
adjudged to have fouled on-loan
Manchester City striker John Guidetti and
Walters coolly beat John Ruddy from the
spot. It was the Republic of Ireland international’s fourth league goal of the season, but
he went from hero to villain just five minutes
later after he was dismissed for a studs-up
lunge on Tettey.
Despite Norwich’s numerical advantage,
the home side were unable to make their
way through Stoke’s resolute defence, with
Begovic proving himself equal to a shot from
Nathan Redmond. — AFP
Stylish Arsenal sweep into FA Cup semi-finals
LONDON: Arsenal cruised into the FA Cup semifinals as a late brace from substitute Olivier Giroud
sealed a 4-1 win over Everton at the Emirates
Stadium yesterday. Arsene Wenger’s side remain on
course to finally end their nine-year trophy
drought thanks to an enterprising quarter-final display in the spring sunshine in north London.
Mesut Ozil ended his three-month wait for a
goal to give the hosts a perfect start before Romelu
Lukaku’s equaliser. Once Mikel Arteta had converted a penalty midway through the second half there
was only ever going to be one winner and France
forward Giroud’s late double ensured Arsenal can
look forward to a last-four date at Wembley in April.
With Arsenal’s Champions League hopes
hanging by a slender thread-they travel to Bayern
Munich on Tuesday trailing 2-0 from the first legand their Premier League title charge fading, the
FA Cup could represent their best chance for silver ware this season. Ever ton boss Rober to
Martinez is no stranger to glory in the competition having masterminded unfancied Wigan’s
Cup final win over Manchester City last season.
But his bid to earn a repeat with Everton
looked in trouble from the moment Germany
midfielder Ozil slid home the seventh minute
opener for Arsenal. Santi Cazorla made the most
of a slip by James McCarthy and his perfectlyweighted pass ensured the out-of-form Ozil
scored his first goal since December. Ironically
Ozil’s last goal came against Everton and you
could see his confidence lifted as well as that of
his teammates.
COUNTER-ATTACK
Arsenal striker Yaya Sanogo saw his shot beaten out by Everton goalkeeper Joel Robles and
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also went close inside
the opening quarter. Arsenal were looking to
expose stand-in Robles at every opportunity, but
they were caught by a quick counter-attack that
ended in Everton’s 32nd minute equaliser. Ross
Barkley broke through from midfield and even
though Kevin Mirallas scuffed his shot from the
cross it fell kindly for on-loan Chelsea striker
Lukaku to turn the ball home. Lukasz Fabianski
had barely been troubled but the Arsenal goalkeeper was fortunate to see Mirallas, and then
Lukaku, fail to get any power on their shots at the
end of two Everton counters. For all Arsenal’s
dominance at the star t of the second half,
Everton should have taken the lead in the 53rd
minute through Barkley.
A Thomas Vermaelen mistake was seized upon
by Lukaku and his pass gave Barkley a clear sight
of goal, only for the England midfielder to curl his
shot past Fabianski’s right-hand post. In an
increasingly tight game it appeared a mistake
might prove the difference, and so it proved as
Gareth Barr y ’s clumsy trip on Oxlade Chamberlain left referee Mark Clattenburg with
no choice but to point to the spot. Arteta’s first
penalty was converted and, after Clattenburg
ordered a retake for encroachment, the Spaniard
stepped up to once again beat Robles in the 68th
minute.—AFP
LONDON: Arsenal’s French striker Olivier Giroud (left) celebrates their fourth goal
with teammate German midfielder Mesut Ozil during the English FA Cup quarter
final football match. — AFP
Barcelona suffer
shock defeat
at Valladolid
19
Stylish Arsenal
sweep into FA
Cup semi-finals
19
Sri Lanka thump Pakistan to lift Asia Cup
Page 18
LONDON: Manchester United’s English striker Wayne Rooney (second right) heads the ball past West Bromwich Albion’s English goalkeeper Ben Foster (right) during their English Premier League football match. — AFP
United demolish woeful West Brom
West Brom 0
Man United 3
WEST BROMWICH: Goals from Phil Jones,
Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck eased the
pressure on manager David Moyes as
Manchester United won 3-0 at West Bromwich
Albion yesterday.
In what was United’s first game since their 20 defeat by Olympiakos in the Champions
League, Moyes saw headers in each half from
Jones and Rooney put the visitors in control
before substitute Welbeck added gloss with a
clinical late strike.
United striker Robin van Persie was fortunate to avoid a second yellow card after a reckless challenge in the second half, but overall it
was a rare satisfying afternoon for Moyes,
whose side climbed to sixth place in the
Premier League table.
Pepe Mel’s West Brom, meanwhile, remain
perilously placed above the bottom three, and
with just one win in their last 18 matches, look
increasingly in grave danger.
Moyes made five changes to the side beaten
by Olympiakos 11 days previously, with Juan
Mata, Marouane Fellaini and Adnan Januzaj
among the players recalled at The Hawthorns.
West Brom were indebted to goalkeeper
Ben Foster in the 29th minute when he reacted
superbly to tip Rafael da Silva’s header against
the crossbar after the right-back met Januzaj’s
cross at the back post. By the 34th minute
United were ahead, though, as a Van Persie
free-kick was headed home emphatically by
Jones after a Chris Brunt foul on Rafael on the
right-hand edge of the area.
But United’s defensive frailties were apparent again seven minutes before the interval
when Claudio Yacob headed Jonas Olsson’s
flick-on inches over the United crossbar.
Yacob was forced off three minutes later
after a Fellaini challenge left him with a nasty
gash on his thigh, with James Morrison introduced in his place.
The Scotland international almost made an
immediate impact when he found Anichebe,
who spun sharply, only to drill his low shot
inches past the post.
There was still time for a moment of contro-
versy before the half-time whistle. Mata’s probing long ball prompted Foster to dart to the
edge of the area as Van Persie closed in, but the
goalkeeper swung and missed with his
attempted clearance and the ball struck him on
the arm.
United vehemently protested for Foster to
be penalised, but referee Jonathan Moss elected to wave play on in what appeared a lucky
escape for the England international.
Van Persie was cautioned five minutes after
the restart for an ugly tackle from behind on
Morgan Amalfitano that left the Frenchman in a
heap.
The Baggies always looked capable of a goal
and they threatened two minutes later when a
neat one-two between Zoltan Gera and
Anichebe sent the former Fulham player
through, but with the angle tight, his effort was
Palace in
deep trouble
Chelsea rout Spurs
Chelsea 4
Tottenham 0
LONDON: Samuel Eto’o set Chelsea on their
way to a ruthless 4-0 victory over 10-man
Tottenham that moved Jose Mourinho’s side
seven points clear at the top of the Premier
League yesterday.
Eto’o, who had been drafted into the
starting line-up at the last minute after
Fernando Torres was injured in the warm-up,
capitalised on Jan Vertonghen’s poor back
pass to break the deadlock in the second half
before drawing a foul from Younes Kaboul
that allowed Eden Hazard to score from the
penalty spot and earned the Spurs defender
a red card.
It was a sweet moment for the
Cameroon star, who celebrated his goal by
putting his left hand on his back and stooping to mimmick old age before holding the
corner flag like a walking stick in a mocking
reference to Mourinho’s recent claim that
Eto’o may actually be older than 32.
Demba Ba then wrapped up the victory
with two goals in the final two minutes of
normal time, capitalising on two more
defensive errors at Stamford Bridge.
With none of their top four rivals involved
in league action this weekend, Chelsea took
advantage to consolidate their position.
They now sit seven points clear of
Liverpool and Arsenal, who have one game
in hand on the leaders, and nine points
ahead of Manchester City, who have played
three games less than Chelsea. For
Tottenham, this defeat came as a harsh blow
to their chances of closing the gap on the
top four.
While Mourinho has been reluctant to
declare his side to be title contenders, he
may find it harder to keep Chelsea from
dreaming of another English league crown
after winning this game.
Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood knew
his side could not afford to lose if they were
to retain ambitions of breaking into the top
four.
And he responded by springing a major
surprise when the starting line-ups were
announced. Sherwood opted for four
changes to the line-up that started in last
week’s victory over Cardiff and shifted a
number of key personnel into unfamiliar
roles.
Aaron Lennon was moved in from the
right flank to operate in a central role behind
lone striker Emmanuel Adebayor while regular right-back Kyle Walker was pushed forward into midfield.
Initially though, the changes seemed only
to unsettle Tottenham with the visitors’ backline appearing vulnerable to Chelsea’s direct
attacking moves.
And Sherwood’s side would have found
themselves behind after just four minutes
had Hazard not been uncharacteristically
wasteful after being sent beyond Younes
Kaboul by Eto’o’s pass.
The Belgium winger rounded keeper
Hugo Lloris but shot into the side netting
after being pushed wide by the recovering
Kaboul.
Nabil Bentaleb was guilty of failing to
make the most of a good opportunity following Adebayor’s flick on-the Algeria international shot wide instead of squaring to
waiting team-mates-while Chelsea keeper
Petr Cech reacted well to save from Sandro.
Just as they had against Fulham last
week, Chelsea appeared stuttering and disjointed during the first half and it was no surprise when Mourinho made a change at the
comfortably saved by David de Gea.
Van Persie’s let-off arrived moments later,
when what appeared a bookable offence-a late
lunge on Steven Reid that sent the right-back
tumbling-went unpunished by Moss.
The Dutchman was replaced soon after and
cut a disconsolate figure as he trudged off,
reacting to a pat on the back from Moyes with a
rueful shake of his head.
The hosts were forced into another change
when Brunt had to go off, but the Baggies’
delay in getting Saido Berahino on the field was
punished in the 65th minute when a pinpoint
Rafael delivery was headed home by the
unmarked Rooney at the back post.
Rooney turned provider with eight minutes
left when he threaded a pass through to
Welbeck, who coolly dispatched a shot beyond
the advancing Foster. — AFP
C Palace 0
Southampton 1
STAMFORD BRIDGE: Chelsea’s Belgium midfielder Eden Hazard (left) vies for the ball
with Tottenham Hotspurís French defender Younes Kaboul during the English
Premier League football match. — AFP
break, with Oscar appearing in place of Frank
Lampard.
Seven days previously at Craven Cottage,
Andre Schurrle had turned things around
with a second half hat-trick. The Germany
international once again had the chance to
turn the game in his side’s direction shortly
after the restart but he scuffed a clear shot
wide.
Eto’o finally got his chance when
Vertonghen slipped and sent a back-pass
into the forward’s path, which the former
Barcelona forward finished well.
Three minutes later Kaboul pushed Eto’o
and Hazard converted from the spot after
the defender had been sent off. Then Ba
stepped off the bench to score twice after
first Zeki Fryers and then Walker made sloppy mistakes to give the forward a pair of routine finishes. — AFP
LONDON: Crystal Palace remained mired in the relegation
battle after Southampton beat them 1-0 at Selhurst Park
yesterday.
Jay Rodriguez’ first-half goal was enough to give
Southampton only their fifth win in their last 18 Premier
League matches and extended their unbeaten record with
Palace in Premier League meetings to 10. The result also
left the Eagles just two points above the relegation places
following a run of one point from the last nine on offer.
Crystal Palace tried to stifle Southampton’s more creative play from the outset, although Rodriguez had an early effort which flashed over the bar.
The visitors suffered a blow midway through the firsthalf when Jack Cork had to go off having fallen badly on
his ankle and was replaced by Kenyan international Victor
Wanyama.
However, they put the adjustment in their line-up
behind them quickly and Rodriguez was on hand to open
the scoring. He beat Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni in a
race to the ball and poked it home from 30 metres out, the
Argentinian goalkeeper having come outside his area
lamely tried to tackle him, after former Saints midfielder
Jason Puncheon had put the home defence in trouble with
an understrength header.
Southampton should have been 2-0 up by the break as
Adam Lallana teed up Rickie Lambert but the England
striker, with the goal begging, nonchalantly fired his shot
against the post.
The hosts worked hard in the second-half to push for the
equaliser and also pin back Southampton’s marauding
attack, succeeding more with the latter than creating anything of note to trouble Artur Boruc in the Saints goal. —AFP
Business
US plays down role for
natural gas in Ukraine
Page 22
Speak up, French advisor
tells women in business
Page 23
Lufthansa reaches
for the stars
Low liquidity points to rising speculation
Page 25
Page 26
QINGDAO: Containers waiting to be transported in Qingdao port in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong province. China recorded an unexpected trade deficit of $22.98 billion in February, official figures showed yesterday. — AFP
China’s February exports down 18%
Data dents hopes of a trade-driven economic revival
BEIJING: China’s exports plunged by an unexpectedly large
18 percent in February, possibly denting hopes trade will help
drive the slowing economy while communist leaders push
ambitious promised reforms. Exports declined to $114.1 billion while imports rose a stronger-than-expected 10.1 percent
to $137.1 billion, customs data showed yesterday.
Weakness in key European and US export markets could
raise the risk of politically dangerous job losses in trade-reliant
industries that employ millions of workers at a time when
communist leaders want to focus on restructuring China’s
economy.
China’s official 2014 economic growth target of 7.5 percent, announced this week by Premier Li Keqiang, assumes
trade also will grow by 7.5 percent. But customs data show
combined imports and exports so far this year have shrunk by
4.8 percent. The ruling Communist Party is trying to reduce
reliance on trade and investment to drive growth by promoting domestic consumption and giving market forces a “decisive role” in the economy. A surge in job losses could force
them to shore up growth with a stimulus based on state-led
investment, setting back their reform effort.
China’s trade data can be distorted by the Lunar New Year
holiday, which falls at different times in January and February
each year. But even grouping together the first two months of
this year still showed exports fell 1.6 percent from a year earlier, while imports rose 10.1 percent.
This year’s data also were expected to be unusually weak
because during the comparison period in 2013 exporters
were believed to be inflating sales figures as an excuse to
evade currency controls and bring extra money into China for
investment. Despite that, the decline in February trade far
exceeded forecasters’ expectations of a contraction in low single digits. They also expected imports to grow by a similar
small margin.
Ambitious target
The official economic growth target looks unusually ambitious after last year’s expansion rate fell to a two-decade low
of 7.7 percent. Manufacturing weakened in February and an
HSBC Corp survey showed employers cut jobs at the fastest
rate in five years.
The finance minister said this week that growth as low as
7.2 percent would be acceptable and Beijing’s priority is creating jobs. Plans call for creation of 11 million jobs but the minister said as many as 13 million might be possible. China’s
global trade balance swung to a deficit of $23 billion. The
country often runs a trade deficit for one or months early in
the year as factories restock following the Lunar New Year
shutdown.
The surplus with the 27-nation European Union, China’s
biggest trading partner, narrowed by 22 percent to $4.1 billion. China’s trade surplus with the United States narrowed by
36 percent to $7 billion. A plunge in global demand in mid2013 prompted Beijing to launch a mini-stimulus based on
higher spending on railway construction and other public
works. Growth accelerated but quickly faded once the government spending ended. Since then, Chinese leaders have
said there is little that additional stimulus can do to spur
growth and improvements will have to come from longerterm reforms. — AP
Ukrainians feel the pinch
as Crimea crisis simmers
SMEs bank on international aid
SURABAYA: A group of Indonesian women laborers carry sacks of agricultural produce in
Surabaya’s public market in eastern Java island as the world marks the International
Women’s Day yesterday. According to 2012 government statistics women makes up 49.65
percent of Indonesia nearly 240 million population. — AFP
KIEV: As world powers and international institutions cobble together aid packages for a
debt-laden Ukraine on the brink of default,
regular Ukrainians feeling the pinch fear they
will see none of the cash.
At an outdoor market north of Kiev’s city
centre on Friday, stallholders sold everything
from colorful stuffed toys to freshly baked pastries and bouquets of flowers for International
Women’s Day.
But buyers were few and far between.
“People have started to buy much less, they’re
being more economical,” said Sonya, 59,
wrapped in a thick coat despite the spring
weather and selling jars of honey and beeswax
candles outside the Petrivka metro station.
Nikolay, a 23-year-old from Crimea, said: “I
think everyone is trying to save their money
because they’re getting ready in case the situation changes for the worse” on the tense
Black Sea peninsula. He, too, has seen a drop in
customers at his tiny shop, where he sells sunglasses and US-style baseball caps. Irina and
Sergiy Lutay, a retired couple shopping for
household appliances at a nearby chain store,
said they had taken their savings out of the
bank in January, before pro-Moscow president
Viktor Yanukovych was ousted. “We fear the situation will escalate so we want our money to
be safe,” said Irina.
The escalation in Ukraine-which began with
violent clashes that killed 100 people in three
months and has now moved over to Crimeahas added one more headache to a country
already struggling with massive debt and a
huge fiscal deficit. The European Commission
and United States this week pledged billions of
euros in aid to shore up the stricken economy
after dramatic warnings the country could
default within days. A mission of the
International Monetary Fund also arrived on
Tuesday to assess the situation in view of further aid to Ukraine’s new government, which
has said it will need 25 billion euros ($35 billion) over two years.
But regular Ukrainians were distrustful of
any deals, even as the national currency-the
hryvnia-has tumbled and many have complained of higher prices.
‘Politicians will steal aid’
“The aid will not help Ukrainians,” said
Lutay. “The prospects are unclear because
sooner or later Ukraine will have to give the
money back to the EU,” said his wife Iryna.
“Before this escalation of the situation, Ukraine
had lots of debt. Now there will be more.”
Sunglasses salesman Nikolay agreed: “This
money proposed by the EU and other institutions will not reach ordinary people. “There are
a lot of fears that politicians will steal this money,” he added, reflecting the widespread
notion in Ukraine that most politicians are corrupt-even with a new government in place.
For small and medium-sized companies
however, the only hope lay in international aid
that would help revive the economy and force
the government to carr y out necessar y
reforms, said Oleksandra Selina, the executive
director of a motor oil importing company.
“Ukraine needs help,” she said. “Only if we
have help from outside, the IMF, European
countries and the United States, will we have
some changes.... Without this help we will not
survive.” Russian energy giant Gazprom on
Friday warned Ukraine it could cut off gas supplies if Kiev did not pay a bill for debt that
now stands at $1.89 billion.
But after meeting with interim prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and his economic
team, the IMF’s European Depar tment
Director Reza Moghadam sounded an upbeat
note. Moghadam said he was “positively
impressed with the authorities’ determination, sense of responsibility and commitment
to an agenda of economic reform and transparency”. — AFP
BUSINESS
US plays down role for
natural gas in Ukraine
Bayt.com weekly report
How to be a
WOW professional
By Lama Ataya
S
triving for excellence is an important part of professionalism in any job. It involves putting quality
into everything you do, and this attitude tends to
separate WOW professionals, or those who make rapid
strides in their career, from others. But does it truly matter to be a WOW professional? Of course it does. The
difference between that A and that A+, is that ‘+’ mark
of very outstanding performance, dedication, and ability. It may not be the end of the world by any means,
but it sure does make a difference in defining a professional’s commitment to excellence.
So what does it take to be a WOW professional?
Here are five tips from the experienced managers at
Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site:
1.
WOW professionals never stop learning
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn,
the more I realize, the less I know.” This quote by Michel
Legrand encapsulates the process of learning as the
unending cycle it is. The Bayt.com ‘Career Advancement
in the MENA’ poll, July 2011, reveals that the ‘willingness
to learn’ is believed to be by 30.5 percent of polled professionals the singular most important factor necessary
to succeed in one’s career.
2.
WOW professionals are humble
‘Work hard, stay humble’ is how the age-old adage
goes. A true professional lets his/her work speak for
itself. A WOW professional accepts that they are human
and fallible and are always willing to learn from weaknesses and work hard to overcome them. To step up to
be a WOW professional curb that defensive impulse
you get when faced with constructive criticism.
Understand and accept that this will help you identify
weakness and areas of improvement.
3.
WOW professionals are persistent
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no
loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill defines persistence well in this quote. These professionals take failure
in their stride; to them roadblocks are an opportunity
for learning and creativity not a stumbling block.
Success does not come easily - it takes hard work, a firm
resolve, fearless determination, and patience. When
aiming to be a WOW professional do not let your initial
failures deter you, instead let your failures motivate you
to try a different approach until you finally succeed.
4.
WOW professionals respect others
“Respect is a two-way street, if you want to get it
you’ve got to give it.” This R G Risch quote perfectly
summarizes the give-and-take nature of respect. True
professionals demonstrate respect at work by being
fair, equal to all and getting along well with others.
Showing respect at work does more than just creating
an ambiance of civility, it shapes your organization’s
corporate culture.
5.
WOW professionals are in it for the outcome not for the show
To WOW professionals, true success is beyond
awards, accolades, and rewards. These professionals are
in it to make a genuine difference and to leave things
substantially better than they found them. Here’s a
quote that pretty much sums up what many WOW professionals feel: “Real success is finding your lifework in
the work that you love.”- David McCullough
ON BOARD AIR FORCE ONE: The White House on Friday
appeared to play down the possibility of changing US policy
on exporting natural gas to address the situation in Ukraine.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Air
Force One that policy changes would not have an immediate effect and noted that natural gas stocks in Europe were
above normal levels because of a mild winter.
“There is no indication currently that there’s much risk of
a natural gas shortage in the region,” he said. Europe and
Ukraine are key export markets for natural gas from Russia,
which has historically shut down pipelines as a pressure tactic. As Russia took control of the Crimean peninsula this
week, its state-owned energy company Gazprom said it will
stop discounting natural gas for Ukraine.
But widespread shipments of US liquefied natural gas
(LNG) are still several years away. The Department of Energy
is working its way down a list of more than 20 applications
for LNG export licenses. It has approved six licenses since
2011 and the first project is not expected to begin exporting
No terminals
Ukraine has no terminals to receive LNG shipments, so
even if US cargoes were ready soon it is uncertain when the
fuel could be delivered. Washington instead is working to
reduce Ukraine’s dependence on any single source of natural gas.
Ukraine and Eastern Europe could get more gas from
Northern Africa, including Libya and Algeria, and from East
Africa or the Mediterranean in the next couple of years.
Washington is also hoping Croatia will build an LNG receiving terminal, which could help Hungary, Slovenia and perhaps Ukraine.
Once US LNG exports start they likely will first head to
Japan, India and other Asian countries that have little access
to gas sent via pipeline and are willing to pay more for the
fuel than Europe does.
As more US projects are approved and investors spend
billions of dollars to build them, US LNG could play a bigger role after 2017 in reducing global prices for the commodity, analysts said. Earnest noted that Russia prides
itself on being a reliable supplier of natural gas to other
countries. That reputation would be jeopardized if it
turned off the taps during the Ukraine crisis. “Russia currently yields about $50 billion a year in revenue from
exporting natural gas, so ending that kind of relationship
with Europe would have significant financial consequences
for Russia as well,” he said. — Reuters
Gulf Bank
announces winners
of Al-Danah
daily draws
KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al-Danah daily draws on
March 2, 2014, announcing the names of its winners
for the week of February 23 to February 24. The Al
Danah daily draws include draws each working day
for two prizes of KD1000 per winner.
The winners were
(Sunday 23/02): Walid Khaled Hejazi, Ali Mansour
Al-Jassem
(Monday 24/02): Anwer Hamad Abdulrahman AlThunayan, Qosai Odeh Mohammed Haseen
Gulf Bank’s Al Danah 2014 draw lineup includes
daily draws (2 winners per working day each receive
KD1000), as well as two additional prizes per quarter.
Al-Danah’s 1st Quarterly draw for 2014 will be held
on 27 March (KD200,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000),
2nd Quarter - 26 June (KD250,000, KD125,000, and
KD25,000), 3rd Quarter - 25 September (KD500,000,
KD125,000, and KD25,000) and the final draw held on
8 January, 2015 announcing winners of KD50,000,
KD250,000 and the Al-Danah millionaire.
Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah allows customers to win
cash prizes and simultaneously encourages them to
save money. Chances increase the more money is
deposited and the longer it is kept in the account.
Al-Danah also offers a number of unique services
including the Al-Danah Deposit Only ATM card which
helps account holders deposit their money at their
convenience; as well as the Al-Danah calculator to
help customers calculate their chances of becoming
an Al-Danah winner.
To be part of the Al-Danah draws, customers can
visit one of Gulf Bank’s 57 branches, transfer on line,
or call the Customer Contact Center on 1805805 for
assistance and guidance. Customers can also log on
to www.e-gulfbank.com/aldanahwinners, to find out
more about Al-Danah and who the winners are.
Moody’s boosts outlook
for Netherlands, Belgium
WASHINGTON: Moody’s raised its credit outlook for the
Netherlands and Belgium on Friday, elevating both to stable from
negative as the euro-zone economy improves. The Netherlands
kept its top-level Aaa rating, while Belgium was three levels down
at Aa3. Moody’s said the Netherlands outlook improved because
it was less likely to be called on to help fund rescues of weaker
euro-zone countries, including troubled Italy and Spain.
It also said there were signs that the country’s own domestic
problems, such as weak growth and high household debt, have
peaked “and are likely to evolve in a positive direction.”
In addition, Moody’s said, the country’s fiscal situation has stabilized. “Although the politics of negotiating fiscal consolidation
until late next year. The other five still need approvals from
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which can be a
lengthy process. “So proposals to try to respond to the situation in Ukraine that are related to our policy on exporting
natural gas would not have an immediate effect,” Earnest
said.
Several lawmakers, including Rep Cory Gardner, a
Republican from natural gas-rich Colorado, introduced bills
this week to try to speed up the DOE approvals, but they
face an uphill battle in the Senate.
have recently been somewhat more challenging in the
Netherlands, this has not prevented the country from implementing significant fiscal consolidation.”
For Belgium, Moody’s said the risk that the government
would have to shoulder more liabilities in the weak banking sector had declined. Bank asset quality “should improve going forward as the Belgian economy is expected to recover, especially in
light of the banks’ strong re-focus on the domestic market.”
Moody’s also forecast that the government’s fiscal consolidation will continue and that the ratio of government debt to GDP
would peak this year or next at 100 percent and then slowly
fall.—AFP
DALLAS: Job seekers line up to sign in before meeting prospective employers at a career fair at a hotel in Dallas.
The Labor Department releases employment data for February, on Friday. — AP
MasterCard, Visa plan
group to boost security
WASHINGTON: Visa and MasterCard want banks and
retailers to work together on securing customer data and
stop blaming each other after a massive data breach during the holiday season.
The two payment networks announced Friday that they
are bringing together large and small banks, credit unions,
retailers, makers of card processing equipment and industry trade groups in a group that aims to strengthen the US
payment system for credit and debit cards.
The data breaches affecting Target Corp, the No 2 US
discounter, and luxury retailer Neiman Marcus have shaken
consumers’ confidence. An estimated 40 million credit and
debit card accounts were affected by the breach at Target.
Stolen were customers’ names, credit and debit card numbers, card expiration dates, debit-card personal identification numbers and the embedded codes on the cards’ magnetic strips. The theft could be the biggest data breach on
record for a US retailer.
About 1.1 million Neiman Marcus customer accounts
were also affected in a breach last year. In the wake of the
episodes the banking and retailing industries, each armed
with lobbying clout, began pointing fingers at each other.
Their trade groups peppered lawmakers with letters arguing why the other industry must do more - and spend
more - to protect consumers.
The initial focus of the new group will be on banks’
adoption of embedded digital chips for storing account
information on debit and credit cards. Compared with the
current magnetic strips, it’s a system that typically makes
data theft harder and is common in other countries. While
it’s not clear whether the chips would have prevented the
Target breach, experts say they make it tougher for thieves
to make counterfeit cards using stolen credit and debit
card numbers.
Many retailers want the chips, but they also want each
debit or credit card transaction to require a personal identification number instead of a signature. Experts say it’s
harder for criminals to steal personal identification numbers than to forge signatures. Some retailers are resisting
the switch to PINs - planned to take effect by the fall of
2015 - because they’ll be forced to buy newer, more expensive card readers. Both chips and PINs are needed to
ensure the security of customer data, said National Retail
Federation President and General Counsel Mallory Duncan
in a statement.
The new group will also look at other security ideas,
such as using one-time numbers to add a layer of security to online sales, and better encryption. MasterCard
spokesman Seth Eisen declined Friday to provide the
names of banks, retailers and other prospective participants, saying the group’s formation was at an early
stage. — AP
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Bangladesh Taka
Philippine Peso
Thai Baht
Irani Riyal transfer
Irani Riyal cash
2.737
4.632
2.733
2.162
2.900
223.540
36.409
3.629
6.365
8.768
0.271
0.273
GCC COUNTRIES
Saudi Riyal
Qatari Riyal
Omani Riyal
Bahraini Dinar
UAE Dirham
75.377
77.666
734.280
750.760
76.979
COUNTRY
Australian Dollar
Canadian Dollar
Swiss Franc
Euro
US Dollar
Sterling Pound
Japanese Yen
Bangladesh Taka
Indian Rupee
Sri Lankan Rupee
Nepali Rupee
Pakistani Rupee
UAE Dirhams
Bahraini Dinar
Egyptian Pound
Jordanian Dinar
Omani Riyal
Qatari Riyal
Saudi Riyal
SELL DRAFT
256.03
259.12
325.60
392.28
281.55
475.58
2.84
3.624
4.550
2.155
2.850
2.691
76.72
749.37
40.44
400.72
732.21
77.75
75.21
SELL CASH
253.03
260.12
323.60
393.28
284.55
478.58
2.86
3.894
4.850
2.590
3.385
2.790
77.19
751.44
41.04
406.37
739.51
78.30
75.61
2.970
3.835
86.905
46.225
9.635
127.385
Bahrain Exchange Company
CURRENCY
Belgian Franc
British Pound
Czech Korune
Danish Krone
Euro
Norwegian Krone
Romanian Leu
Slovakia
Swedish Krona
Swiss Franc
Turkish Lira
BUY
Europe
0.007332
0.465710
0.006015
0.048154
0.384105
0.043072
0.081413
0.008066
0.039989
0.314741
0.124565
SELL
0.008332
0.474710
0.018015
0.053154
0.391605
0.046272
0.81413
0.018066
0.044989
0.324941
0.131565
Australasia
0.243476
0.230277
0.254976
0.239777
America
0.250052
0.278050
0.278550
0.258552
0.282400
0.282400
Asia
0.003314
0.045059
0.034293
0.004302
0.000019
0.002692
0.003346
0.000254
0.082334
0.003064
0.002416
0.003914
0.048559
0.037043
0.004703
0.000025
0.002872
0.003346
0.000269
0.088334
0.003234
0.002696
ARAB COUNTRIES
Egyptian Pound - Cash
Egyptian Pound - Transfer
Yemen Riyal/for 1000
Tunisian Dinar
Jordanian Dinar
Lebanese Lira/for 1000
Syrian Lira
Morocco Dirham
39.250
40.153
1.319
180.660
399.170
1.896
2.015
35.766
EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES
US Dollar Transfer
Euro
Sterling Pound
Canadian dollar
Turkish lira
Swiss Franc
Australian Dollar
US Dollar Buying
282.550
395.570
475.960
256.860
128.170
324.030
258.530
281.350
GOLD
20 Gram
10 Gram
5 Gram
240.000
121.000
62.500
Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd
Rate for Transfer
US Dollar
Canadian Dollar
Sterling Pound
Euro
Swiss Frank
Bahrain Dinar
UAE Dirhams
Qatari Riyals
Saudi Riyals
Jordanian Dinar
Egyptian Pound
Sri Lankan Rupees
Indian Rupees
Pakistani Rupees
Bangladesh Taka
Philippines Pesso
Cyprus pound
Japanese Yen
Selling Rate
282.350
256.765
471.690
388.340
318.220
745.540
76.850
78.400
76.160
397.915
40.507
2.153
4.559
2.688
3.627
6.313
693.510
3.770
Australian Dollar
New Zealand Dollar
Canadian Dollar
US Dollars
US Dollars Mint
Bangladesh Taka
Chinese Yuan
Hong Kong Dollar
Indian Rupee
Indonesian Rupiah
Japanese Yen
Kenyan Shilling
Korean Won
Malaysian Ringgit
Nepalese Rupee
Pakistan Rupee
0.006372
0.000069
0.219578
0.020532
0.001865
0.009183
0.008339
0.006652
0.000075
0.225578
0.029032
0.002445
0.009363
0.008889
0.741953
0.036772
0.000078
0.000182
0.393730
1.0000000
0.000138
0.024316
0.001192
0.726824
0.076790
0.074603
0.002162
0.174840
0.124565
0.075837
0.001281
0.749953
0.039872
0.000079
0.000242
0.401230
1.0000000
0.000238
0.048316
0.001827
0.732504
0.078003
0.075303
0.002382
0.182840
0.131565
0.076986
0.001361
Arab
Bahraini Dinar
Egyptian Pound
Iranian Riyal
Iraqi Dinar
Jordanian Dinar
Kuwaiti Dinar
Lebanese Pound
Moroccan Dirhams
Nigerian Naira
Omani Riyal
Qatar Riyal
Saudi Riyal
Syrian Pound
Tunisian Dinar
Turkish Lira
UAE Dirhams
Yemeni Riyal
Al Mulla Exchange
Currency
US Dollar
Euro
Pound Sterling
Canadian Dollar
Indian Rupee
Egyptian Pound
Sri Lankan Rupee
Bangladesh Taka
Philippines Peso
Pakistan Rupee
Bahraini Dinar
UAE Dirham
Saudi Riyal
*Rates are subject to change
Transfer Rate (Per 1000)
281.900
394.100
474.200
258.250
4.625
40.150
2.159
3.625
6.342
2.740
750.900
76.750
75.200
BUSINESS
Speak up, French advisor
tells women in business
How strong women propel corporate strategies
OKUMA: Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), workers try to remove radioactive
fuel rods from the Unit 4 building at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear
power plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. —AP
Japan sees future business
in Fukushima cleanup
TOKYO: There is something surprising in
the radioactive wreck that is the Fukushima
Dai-ichi nuclear power plant: opportunity.
To clean it up, Japan will have to develop
technology and expertise that any nation
with a nuclear reactor will one day need.
Eyeing dozens of aging reactors at home
and hundreds of others worldwide that
eventually need to be retired, Japanese
industry sees a profitable market for decommissioning expertise.
It may sound surprising, given all the
ongoing problems with the coastal
Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, including massive
leaks of contaminated water and other
mishaps that followed its devastation by the
March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
But many experts and industry officials
say the experience and technology such as
robotics being developed can be used in
any decommissioning in the future. That
could represent new opportunities for
Japan Inc., which has lost some of its global
clout to competitors from countries such as
South Korea, China and the US.
“There is decommissioning business
here beyond Fukushima and it’s a worldwide business,” said Lake Barrett, a former
US nuclear regulator who headed the Three
Mile Island cleanup. “I think it’s an exciting
new area,” he said. “Japan can be a world
leader again.”
Japan’s government hopes an offshoot
will a boom in the country’s nuclear technology exports. Japan on Tuesday marks the
third anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters known as 3.11 that
killed 15,884 people and left 2,636 unaccounted for in vast areas of its northern
coast. The country has struggled to rebuild
tsunami-hit communities and to clean up
radiation from the nuclear crisis, and has
earmarked 25 trillion yen ($250 billion) for
reconstruction through March 2016. About
50,000 people from Fukushima are still
unable to return home due to concerns over
radiation.
Despite the Fukushima meltdowns that
experts say are far more challenging to deal
with than the 1979 Three Mile Island meltdown, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is eager to
sell Japan’s nuclear plants and technology
overseas. He boasts that Japan can offer the
world’s highest safety standards that reflect
lessons learned from Fukushima. More than
400 nuclear reactors are already in operation in more than 30 countries, with dozens
more under construction. More new reactors are expected, including hundreds
planned in China alone by 2050.
Tokyo Electric Power Co, the utility that runs
Fukushima Dai-ichi, is setting up a separate
company in April to clean up the plant.
Tentatively called the Decommissioning
Company, it is overseen by the government’s
economic ministry and could evolve into a
decommissioning organization for other
plants at home and abroad. Academics, construction giants, electronics makers and risk
management firms are rushing to get on the
bus.
Japan also created the governmentfunded International Research Institute for
Nuclear Decommissioning, or IRID, last year.
It brings together nuclear plant operators,
construction companies and organizations
of nuclear experts to promote research and
development of nuclear decommissioning
technologies, as well as cooperation
between international and domestic organizations. IRID has received 780 proposals for
funding from around the world for ideas
and technologies related to the treatment
and management of contaminated water,
as well as 220 others about retrieving the
three melted cores.
Japanese companies including Toshiba
Corp, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and
Hitachi have been developing robots that
can monitor radiation, decontaminate,
remove contaminated debris or repair damage, and some of them have been mobilized at the plant. Standard decommissioning has been largely carried out by human
workers. IRID Managing Director Kazuhiro
Suzuki said the robotics technologies being
developed to probe and remove
Fukushima’s melted fuel could benefit ordinary decommissioning, not just severely
damaged reactors.
“Decommissioning of aging reactors is
an imminent task that all nuclear plant operators face,” he said.
Use of robotics and other advanced
technologies not only helps to reduce
worker radiation exposure but also could
make a cleanup faster and cheaper, said
Barrett, the Three Mile Island expert who
now advises TEPCO and IRID. Experts in
Japan are eying a British model, the
National Decommissioning Agency,
founded in 2005 to be in charge of decommissioning and cleanup of nuclear plants
and radioactive waste management.
TEPCO is decommissioning four reactor
units crippled by the 2011 earthquake and
tsunami, and will later scrap the remaining
two that survived. Three suffered meltdowns and one was damaged by hydrogen
explosions. The decommissioning of the
four would take about 40 years.
The total cleanup cost for the severely
damaged Fukushima reactors could be as
high as 10 times a standard decommissioning that normally costs about 70 billion yen
($700 million) per reactor, Suzuki said.
Having completed decommissioning of 10
regular reactors and the Three Mile Island
cleanup, the US government and nuclear
industry see a profitable market too.
In February, representatives of 26
American companies came to Tokyo for
presentation and business talks with 50
Japanese companies during a two-day
decommissioning and remediation forum,
co-sponsored by the governments of Japan
and the US.
“We can work together and do so much
more,” said Austin Auger, an executive at
CB&I, which worked with Toshiba to assemble one of the earliest treatment units for
contaminated water at Fukushima. —AP
Boeing reports cracks
in Dreamliner wings
NEW YORK: Boeing said Friday that hairline cracks have been found in the wings
of some of its 787 Dreamliners that are still
in production, due to a manufacturing
problem. A Boeing spokesman told AFP
the cracks were found in the composite
wings made by Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries of Japan, but insisted it was
“confident that the condition does not
exist in the in-service fleet.”
Boeing had been notified by MHI that “a
change in their manufacturing process may
have led to hairline cracks in a limited number of shear ties on a wing rib in the 787.”
The tiny cracks may be present in a limited number of airplanes still in production, the Chicago-based aerospace giant
said. MHI was not immediately available to
comment. Boeing said it was completing
inspections of the roughly 40 airplanes
that are potentially affected.
Deliveries may be delayed because of
inspection and repairs, but the company
expected no impact to its overall 787
Dreamliner delivery expectations this year.
The company plans 110 deliveries. “This
will have no material impact on revenue,”
the Boeing spokesman said. It was the lat-
est in a series of problems that have beset
the high-tech 787 put into service two
years ago, including a months-long global
grounding over battery problems last year.
Lightweight composite materials are
used in 50 percent of the all-new jetliner,
which uses 20 percent less fuel with fewer
emissions than today’s similarly sized airplanes, according to Boeing.
Boeing is using foreign suppliers for
many parts of the Dreamliner, which is
assembled at plants in Seattle, Washington
state, and North Charleston, South
Carolina. The company has ramped up
production of the twin-aisle plane, which
entered service in September 2011 with
Japan’s All Nippon Airways.
In January, Boeing rolled out its first 787
built at the rate of 10 airplanes per month,
the highest rate ever for a twin-aisle plane.
It was the third production rate hike in just
over a year. Boeing has booked more than
1,000 orders for the 787 from 60 customers worldwide. Shares in Dow member
Boeing slipped 0.3 percent to $128.54 on
the New York Stock Exchange. Boeing was
down 0.5 percent at $127.91 in after-market trade. —AFP
LONDON: The first time Anne Meaux met
Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal he laughed at
her. It was 2005, and she had just walked
unannounced into the steel magnate’s office
to tell him he needed to change his strategy if
his hostile bid for steelmaker Arcelor were to
be palatable to the French government. Mittal
stopped laughing, and listened. Then he
clinched the deal. The incident was an early
example of an ability to tell unpalatable truths
to powerful people that has since propelled
Meaux to the position of France’s top PR advisor.
Mittal still seeks her advice, but is now part
of a client list that reads like a who’s who of
French business and includes luxury goods
tycoon Francois-Henri Pinault and construction-to-telecoms boss Martin Bouygues. Just
last month Meaux advised the Peugeot family
on a complicated state-backed 3 billion euros
capital raising with Chinese partner Dongfeng
- again demonstrating an expertise in brokering complicated international deals that has
taken her PR business Image 7 from strength
to strength.
Meaux - small, blonde and wearing a black
leather jacket during her interview with
Reuters - attributes her frankness to a stint,
when still a teenager, in the press office of
French president Valerie Giscard d’Estaing. She
spent a further 15 years advising politicians
before setting up Image 7 when she was 34
years old. “Once you’ve dared say things to
someone as impressive as President Giscard at
19, you can tell anyone anything”, she said.
STRONG WOMEN
Meaux is now 59, and alongside her thriving PR business she runs Force Femmes, an
association which helps women aged over 45
to find work after years out of the labour force.
The organization is born of her own experience of seeing her mother struggle when her
father - a doctor and the family’s sole earner left home when Meaux was a teenager.
“What happened to my mother had a
strong impact on me. If Force Femmes had
existed at the time.. she could have had a
decent life,” Meaux said.
“We are here to help women be realistic
about their potential.” Older women are still
unfairly stigmatised in the world of business,
Meaux believes, but her advice to them is
the same as it is to all women in her field: be
bold, and be inventive. “People tend to stigmatise (older women). I don’t believe in
that... You need to break down the walls and
AVON LAKE: Taken through a mirror, workers at the Ford Ohio Assembly Plant listen as
speakers announce the future production at the assembly plant of the F-650 and F-750
medium-duty truck on Friday in Avon Lake, Ohio. —AP
come up with tailor-made solutions.”
PEOPLE SKILLS
Loyalty, and a sensitivity to people’s feelings
has also helped Meaux get ahead in the business arena. Francois Pinault was one of the first
clients of Image 7 and as a result Meaux later
turned down an offer from his rival Bernard
Arnault to work as his communication adviser.
That decision paid off when Pinault’s son
Francois-Henri, took over. He still employs
Meaux as PR advisor for an empire, now
known as Kering, which spans labels as diverse
as fashion house Gucci and trendy sneakers
Converse.
Working with Mittal, Meaux was able to see
why his year-long takeover battle for Arcelor
had run into difficulties, where bankers
focused on shareholder value could not. “No
one had realized that for the French, Arcelor
was still a French company,” said Meaux.
“French people wanted to be treated with
respect. They could not believe their eyes
when they saw this Indian billionaire standing
there in their town.”
She organized dinners to introduce Mittal
to France’s top businessmen and politicians
and took him to meet officials and workers at
each of Arcelor’s plants in France. Relations
improved, and the deal was done. Away from
the office, Meaux enjoys ancient Greek and
Latin - her mother taught both - and has a son
and two daughters, the eldest of which has
just joined Image 7.
Meaux laughed: “I said, ‘You really want to
work with your mother?’ But she thought it
would be good fun - and it’s all going very
well.” —Reuters
US oil rises
$1/bbl on jobs
growth, Russia
NEW YORK: US oil rose more than $1 a barrel on
Friday as Western relations with Russia worsened
over the crisis in the Ukraine and US job growth
accelerated by more than expected in an upbeat
sign for oil demand. US non-farm payrolls rose by
175,000 in February, more than the 149,000 that
was anticipated and more than in January and
December, data from the US Labor Department
showed.
Russia said any US sanctions imposed against
Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine would
boomerang back on the United States, raising the
financial stakes as the military standoff intensified.
In the second tense, high-level exchange
between the former Cold War foes in 24 hours,
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned US Secretary
of State John Kerry in a telephone conversation
against “hasty and reckless steps” that could harm
Russian-American relations, the foreign ministry
said.
US crude rose to an intra-day high of $102.91 a
barrel before settling at $102.58 with a $1.02 gain
on the day. Global benchmark Brent rose 90 cents
to settle at $109.00 a barrel.
In spite of Friday’s price gains, US oil ended lower
for the first time in eight weeks. Brent ended lower
for the second straight week. Gains were capped by
news that China recorded its first domestic bond
default, increasing worries that the world’s secondlargest economy is slowing faster than expected.
“The stronger jobs numbers showed stronger
demand,” said Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group in
Chicago. “But the reason we’re not up dramatically
on the Ukraine news is there are real concerns
about China.” The strength in crude oil lifted the
products markets. New York ultra-low sulfur diesel,
or heating fuel, settled nearly 3 cents higher at
$3.0121 per gallon, and US gasoline RBOB also ended nearly 3 cents higher at $2.9738 per gallon.
Oil prices had jumped on Monday after military
intervention by Russia, one of the world’s top oil
exporters, on the Crimean peninsula. But both
Brent and US oil gave back gains over the week.
Concerns increased again after Crimea’s
Moscow-backed parliament voted to allow the
southern Ukrainian region to become part of Russia
on Thursday and scheduled a referendum on the
split for March 16. Analysts said many traders held
long positions in anticipation that Ukraine crisis
would intensify. Money managers held the largest
net long position in US crude oil futures and
options in the week to March 4 since June 2006, US
Commodity Futures Trading Commission data
showed on Friday.
“It is definitely a good idea to have some length
ahead of a weekend’s worth of rhetoric about
Ukraine,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital
LLC in New York. “Any deterioration in the prospect
for a reasonable outcome gets rapidly priced into
the market.” —Reuters
Shoppers check out the sale at an ALDO store in the Mall at Robinson, in
Robinson Township, Pennsylvania. The Federal Reserve released consumer
credit data for January on Friday. —AP
Bank told to pay $3.2m for
‘shocking’ foreclosure
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico: A New
Mexico judge has issued a $3.2 million
judgment against Wells Fargo & Co for foreclosing on a man’s home after his death,
even though he had a purchased an insurance policy through the bank that would
have paid the remaining balance on his
mortgage.
District Judge Beatrice Brickhouse said
the bank’s conduct was shocking and so
reprehensible that in addition to actual
damages, attorney’s fees and court costs,
she awarded James Dollens’ estate $2.7 million in punitive damages.
Brickhouse issued the ruling Feb 14. It
was reported Friday by the Albuquerque
Journal. Jim Hines, a spokesman for San
Francisco-based Wells Fargo, said the bank
will appeal and it disagrees with several
parts of the ruling, including the award of
punitive damages.
Katy Duhigg-Kennedy, a lawyer for
Dollens’ estate, said Friday that the ruling
“protected people over profits. We are confident that the appellate courts will do the
same.”
Dollens had purchased an accidental
death mortgage insurance policy for his Rio
Rancho home that was marketed by Wells
Fargo and issued by Minnesota Life. When
he died Aug. 18, 2010, in a workplace acci-
dent, he owed $125,000 on his mortgage.
His death was reported immediately to
Minnesota Life and to Wells Fargo to make
a claim under the policy. But instead of
seeking funds from the insurance policy,
Wells Fargo sent notices about the loan
being in default and referred the loan for
foreclosure in December 2010. The foreclosure proceeded despite requests from representatives of the estate to hold off pending the insurance payout.
When the bank received a $133,559
check from the insurance company in May
2011, it collected delinquent payments,
late fees, and fees for lawyers and for 18
property inspections, leaving only $4,400
for Dollens’ estate “because of ... misapplication of the insurance proceeds,” the
judge said.
Wells Fargo said the family should have
continued making payments regardless of
the insurance policy. However, Brickhouse
said Wells Fargo disregarded the terms of
the insurance policy before moving to foreclose.
That, the judge said, was a breach of the
covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
She said the bank’s “unwillingness and failure” to hold off on the foreclosure even
when requested to do so by the insurance
company was “shocking.” —AP
BUSINESS
Kuwait stocks remain bearish
BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT
KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended
last week with red zone. The Price Index closed
at 7,507.43 points, down by 2.41 percent from
the week before closing, the Weighted Index
decreased by 1.77 percent after closing at
456.74 points, whereas the KSX-15 Index closed
at 1,082.53 points down by 1.68 percent.
Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover
increased by 38.13 percent, compared to the
preceding week, reaching KD 25.64 million,
whereas trading volume average was 236.25
million shares, recording increase of 61.60 percent.
Kuwait Stock Exchange indicators declined
steeply last week affected by the selling pressures that the market witnessed during most of
the sessions, especially through the Monday
session, which witnessed the biggest decline in
almost six months period, as the selling operations were performed on many stocks that were
traded during the week, both large-cap and
small-cap, and the Price Index declined to its
lowest closing level since last September.
On the contrary, the green zone was not
absent from the trading scene last week, with a
limited effect however, as the stock market was
able to realize gain after the traders’ performed
random purchasing operations, taking the
chance of the price decline, which lightened
the market losses.
Moreover, the delay of many listed companies to announce its 2013 financial results had
an effect on the stock market activity during
the last week, due to the traders’ fear of having
some companies banned from trading, if the
legal disclosure period have passed, as it will
end by the end of the current month, and this
in turn increased the watch and cautious state,
and thus influenced the market trading activity.
For the annual performance, the price index
ended last week recording 0.56 percent annual
loss compared to its closing in 2013, while the
weighted index increased by 0.86 percent, and
the KSX-15 recorded 1.32 percent growth.
Sectors’ indices
All of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the
red zone except for one sector. The Consumer
Services sector headed the losers list as its
index declined by 4.16 percent to end the
week’s activity at 1,092.27 points. The Banks
sector was second on the losers’ list, which
index declined by 3.19 percent, closing at
1,040.19 points, followed by the Real Estate sector, as its index closed at 1,366.44 points at a
loss of 3.05 percent. The Basic Materials sector
was the least declining as its index closed at
1,154.32 points with a 0.15 percent decrease.
On the other hand, the Technology sector was
last week only gainer, which index grew by
0.004 percent, closing at 1,040.64 points.
Sectors’ activity
The Financial Services sector dominated
total trade volume during last week with 453.09
million shares changing hands, representing
38.36 percent of the total market trading volume. The Real Estate sector was second in
terms of trading volume as the sector’s traded
shares were 33.93 percent of last week’s total
trading volume, with a total of 400.80 million
Stocks may extend rally
after strong jobs data
WALL STREET WEEKLY OUTLOOK
NEW YORK: Friday’s stronger-than-expected payrolls report did more than ease concerns about US
economic fundamentals - it also seemed to justify
Wall Street’s record levels, suggesting the market’s
uptrend could continue. February’s jobs report followed two straight months of payroll reports that
were sharply below expectations, and the rebound
reinforced the theory that the weakness in
December and January had been temporary, related to weather as opposed to worsening fundamentals. That bet has helped equities shrug off bearish
data and geopolitical uncertainties in Ukraine, taking the S&P 500 to a series of record highs.
However, it also raised concerns that the market
may be vulnerable to pullbacks on any indication
that conditions have gotten worse.
“We’re hoping the payroll report means we’re on
a stronger footing going ahead and that we can get
more robust growth going forward,” said Michael
Mullaney, chief investment officer of Fiduciary Trust
Co in Boston. “Now we’re trading on fundamentals,
which we think are fine. We’re comfortable still
being long on the market.”
In a sign of positive trading momentum, the S&P
500 is 1.3 percent above its 14-day moving average,
a level that could serve as support in a market
decline. In the latest week, the Dow rose 0.8 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 1 percent and the
Nasdaq gained 0.7 percent. While the Dow and the
S&P 500 rose for their second straight week of
gains, the Nasdaq advanced for a fifth straight
week, up 5.7 percent over that period.
On Friday, the S&P 500 ended at a record high of
1,878.04. The milestone marked its fifth record closing high in the past seven sessions. Wall Street has
marched steadily higher this year, save for a pullback in late January that came on concerns about
emerging markets. Those worries will remain prominent after Russian President Vladimir Putin rebuffed
a warning from US President Barack Obama over
Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine’s Crimea
region. Obama has ordered sanctions against
Russia in the most serious confrontation since the
Cold War.
“Weekends are notorious for geopolitical developments, so we might be vulnerable to some kind
of shock,” said Terry DuFrene, investment specialist
at JPMorgan Private Bank in New Orleans, which
has $977 billion in assets under management.
NEW YORK: A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the
closing number for the S&P 500 Index on Friday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 managed a
small gain, enough to set its latest record high. The index closed 1 point higher, a gain of
0.1 percent, at 1,878. — AP
Macro issues may have a large influence on trading next week, with little else that could serve as
catalysts. Only two S&P 500 components, Urban
Outfitters and Dollar General , are scheduled to
report quarterly results. Economic indicators on tap
include February retail sales, seen rising 0.2 percent,
and a preliminary read on March consumer sentiment from the Thomson Reuters/University of
Michigan Surveys of Consumers, which is expected
to hold flat from February. While any development
in Ukraine could overshadow the data, the conflict
is not expected to drastically change the market’s
fundamentals.
“We’re not as susceptible to a disruption from
that part of the globe as we would be to a flare-up
in the Middle East,” DuFrene said. “That gives us
some breathing room, and though there will be
fears of contagion, the market should be able to
continue taking things in stride.”
FAVORING LARGE-CAP STOCKS
Equities in total may be hard-pressed to post
dramatic gains from record levels, but analysts see
opportunity in specific areas of the market.
Fiduciary Trust’s Mullaney, who oversees about
$11.3 billion in assets, said he was overweight
large-cap stocks and underweight small-caps,
which outperformed the S&P 500 for the past two
years, as well as so far in 2014.
“While multinationals with a lot of emerging
market exposure could be hit by developments in
Ukraine, we don’t think the pain will be that outsized, compared to other parts of the market, and in
the meantime, small-caps are not favored by their
valuation.” The forward price-to-earnings ratio of
the small-cap S&P 600 is 20.1, while the Russell
2000’s, which includes more small names, is 24.5. To
compare, the S&P 100, which has a higher concentration of large-cap names, has a P/E ratio of 14.3,
while the benchmark S&P 500’s is 15.8.
Morgan Stanley analysts wrote that it had been
“dismissive” of the idea that emerging market contagion would impact US equities, “as what really
matters is that the dream of growth is still alive,”
with corporate earnings not slowing. “In this environment,” the firm added in a note to clients, “stock
pickers would benefit from exposure to technology
as its historical alpha ranks first over all other sectors.” Sunday will mark the five-year anniversary of
the closing low that the S&P 500 reached during the
financial crisis. The benchmark index has soared
almost 180 percent from that level. — Reuters
shares.
On the other hand, the Banks sector’s stocks
were the highest traded in terms of value; with
a turnover of KD 41.74 million or 32.56 percent
of last week’s total market trading value. The
Financial Services sector took the second place
as the sector’s last week turnover was KD 34.36
million represented 26.80 percent of the total
market trading value. — Prepared by the
Studies & Research Department Bayan
Investment Co.
Global stocks drop on
rising Ukraine tensions
NEW YORK: A surprisingly strong US
jobs report on Friday sent bond and
gold prices sharply lower and initially
lifted equity markets, but mounting tensions over Ukraine led stocks in Europe
and elsewhere to retreat, while US
shares ended little changed.
Diplomatic efforts to cool the crisis in
Ukraine calmed markets earlier in the
week, but as tensions rose over Russia’s
intervention in Crimea, investors tried to
shield themselves before the weekend
from any potential confrontation.
European blue chips exposed to Russia
and Ukraine came under renewed pressure as Germany’s DAX index, considered the most vulnerable to any fallout,
fell 2.0 percent, the biggest drop among
major regional indices.
The Euro STOXX Volatility Index, a
sign of investor apprehension, jumped
14.9 percent. But its US counterpart, the
CBOE Volatility Index, rose less than 1
percent. President Vladimir Putin
rebuffed a warning from US President
Barack Obama over Moscow’s military
intervention in Crimea, saying on Friday
that Russia could not ignore calls for
help from Russian speakers in Ukraine.
Putin said in a statement after an
hour-long telephone call that Moscow
and Washington remain far apart, giving
investors a reason to take money off the
table before the weekend. “People are a
little bit nervous to go into the weekend
with fully loaded long positions, given
the ongoing Ukraine crisis,” said Zeg
Choudhry, head of trading at Northland
Capital Partners in Ilford, Britain.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top
European shares extended losses into
the close, finishing down 1.3 percent at
1,326.70. MSCI’s all-country world equity
index retreated to trade 0.3 percent lower after trading just off peaks last seen at
the end of 2007.
Wall Street was mostly flat, with the
better-than-expected US nonfarm payrolls report pushing the benchmark S&P
500 index to a fresh intra-day record
high before paring gains. The index
closed slightly higher, setting a new
record close. The Dow Jones industrial
average closed up 30.83 points, or 0.19
percent, at 16,452.72. The S&P 500
gained 1.01 points, or 0.05 percent, to
1,878.04 while the Nasdaq Composite
dropped 15.903 points, or 0.37 percent,
to 4,336.223.
For the week, the Dow rose 0.8 percent, the S&P 1.0 percent and the
Nasdaq 0.7 percent. US Treasuries yields
rose to their highest in six weeks after
the February jobs report eased fears of
an abrupt slowdown in economic
growth and kept the Federal Reserve on
track in reducing its monetary stimulus.
US employers added 175,000 jobs to
payrolls after creating 129,000 positions
in January, the US Labor Department
said. However, even as job growth
accelerated sharply, the unemployment
rate rose to 6.7 percent from a five-year
low of 6.6 percent. Benchmark 10-year
Treasury notes dropped 18/32 in price,
the yield rising to 2.82 percent, the highest since Jan. 23. It was last down
almost 15/32 in price to yield 2.7915
percent.
German Bund futures rose 6 ticks to settle at 142.24, clawing back some ground
after suffering their biggest one-day fall
since late December on Thursday after the
European Central Bank refrained from new
stimulus measures. The dollar rose from a
four-month low. The dollar index , a composite of six currency pairs, traded 0.07
percent higher at 79.717. It earlier hit a bottom of 79.433 last seen on Oct 29.
The dollar was up 0.24 percent against
the yen at 103.31 yen, while the euro rose
0.1 percent to $1.3872.
US COMEX gold futures for April delivery fell $13.60 to settle at $1,338.20 an
ounce, Crude oil rose on the US jobs
report and Ukraine, offsetting a seasonal
slowdown in demand, and analysts
expected more traders to take net long
positions. “It is definitely a good idea to
have some length ahead of a weekend’s
worth of rhetoric about Ukraine,” said John
Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in
New York. “Any deterioration in the
prospect for a reasonable outcome gets
rapidly priced into the market.” Global
benchmark Brent crude oil settled up 90
cents at $109.00 a barrel. US crude rose
$1.02 to settle at $102.58. — Reuters
BUSINESS
Low liquidity points to rising speculation
AL-SHALL WEEKLY KSE MARKET REPORT
KUWAIT: Market liquidity during Februar y 2014
achieved a daily trading average value by KD 31.475
million, a drop by -16.7 percent from the average daily
trading value in January 2014, but higher by 40.2 percent than the average daily trading value during
December 2013. The market added liquidity by KD
535.1 million during February 2014 putting the market
liquidity in two months at KD 1.253 billion. The price
index lost in February about -0.8 percent compared
with January 2014 closing while the weighted index
gained 1.1 percent during the same period. This may be
an indicator to the beginning of the market’s liquidity
bias towards big corporations though there is still deviation towards unhealthy speculation.
As usual, we monitored the share of the top 30 companies in terms of their trading value, which captured
KD 872.743 million from that value, or about 69.7 percent of the total value of market trading, while the market value of these 30 companies scored about KD
15.292 billion, which represented about 48.5 percent of
the total market value. But scrutinizing the components
of this sample, despite the low concentration rate,
shows that 22 of them captured high trading value
despite their low market value, which indicates sustained deviation in liquidity directions and indicates
dominance of speculative activity in the market. Nearly
22 companies captured 41.7 percent of the total value
of market trading, i.e. around KD 522.505 million while
their market value is no more than 3.7 percent of the
total market value of listed companies.
The per share turnover index may provide us with a
different perspective to look at the severity or obsession
with that speculation as it measures the percentage of
the company trading to its market value. The turnover
average of the total market stocks scored 4 percent
(about 24 percent on an annual basis) compared with
5.7 percent (34.2 percent on annual basis) for the 30
company sample. Within these, the turnover average of
the 22 speculation companies scores about 44.5 percent (about 267.2 percent on annual basis). The highest
turnover average of one of the companies within these
22 speculation companies scored around 158.6 percent
in two months, about 149.2 percent for the second
highest, and 129.8 percent for the third highest. It is
worth noting that the turnover average index assumes
that all shares of a company are available for trading,
while in reality only some shares are available for trading because of what is withheld due to mortgages and
strategic equities, which means that the actual turnover
average, or speculation severity, is likely much higher
than our estimates. We shall continue to monitor if the
index of declining speculation severity in February is
genuine shift or just a temporary one.
The comparative performance
February ended with positive performance for most
of the 14 markets of the sample with 10 of them in the
positive area (they were 7 in the end of January). This
means three markets moved from the negative zone.
The 7 Gulf markets remained in the positive zone. While
the other six Gulf stock markets doubled their gains in
February, Kuwait weight and price indexes lost, i.e.
reduced January gains and retained their positions at
the bottom of the Gulf markets list.
Four mature and emerging markets remained in the
negative zone, with three achieving gains in February
by reducing losses in January recording slight losses.
The Japanese market alone increased its losses within a
deserved correction movement though it gained 56.7
percent in 2013.
The strongest per formance in February was
achieved by Dubai market and added 11.9 percent to
its index putting up its gains in two months to 25.2 percent in addition to 107.7 percent in 2013. It remained
leading the positive performance in the first two
months of the year as in 2013. Abu Dhabi came second
by adding 6.1 percent making its gains since the end of
last year to 15.6 percent. It was also second in gains in
2013 when it added 63.1 percent. The Bahraini market
came also second by adding 6.1 percent to its index in
February. It gained 9.9 percent in two months of the
year. However, it came fourth in the two months gains
coming next to the Qatari market which rose by 13.4
percent in the two months.
In the negative zone, the American and Indian markets gained 4 percent and 3 percent respectively in
February. However, they were not adequate enough to
make up for all January losses and remained at the
edge of the negative zone. While the high losses of the
Japanese market in two months remained high (-8.9
percent) because they are within a deserved correction
movement, the Chinese market remained losing
though it reduced slightly its January losses. The
Chinese market losses came as a continuation to 2013
losses by -6.7 percent in what is believed to be a deliberate measure to avoid assets bubble risks.
For the first time, some rationality returns to the
Kuwaiti market trading despite its weakness. During
February, the weight and price indexes of the market
exchanged positions. The weight index gains became
higher than the price index gains which implies a likely
sound change in traders’ preferences towards heavy
companies. February month however, with official holidays, is not fit to issue judgments.
We were not completely successful in our forecasts
to February in our former report, particularly with the
sustained strong performance in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
markets although we believed then that a correction
process therein became due. We believe that the support factors for Dubai market are still high. We however
remain holding to our estimate that a due correction
process will occur after 14 months of sustained positive
performance. While our expectation that the gap
between the Gulf markets and other markets will
decrease remains valid, achieved partially in February,
we remain unable to forecast the right timing for this
due correction in some GCC markets. It may be March
or later but it is inevitable.
Lessons of Ukrainian crisis
Our region does not seem to be much concerned
with the Ukrainian case; however, if affairs develop to
military confrontation, which is extremely unlikely, then
certainly the Russian oil and gas supplies will be affected. This might lead to a temporary disturbance in the oil
market. Even without this confrontation, the psychological impact remains effective. Oil prices went up; indexes of all global stock markets and the region plunged
early last week then they fluctuated between up and
down according to the reading of the crisis development. In the short term, Russia seems in the stronger
position in this conflict compared with the West. The
quick authorization that Putin obtained from his parliament for using the military force in Ukraine is nothing
more than addition to the strong cards originally available to President Putin.
Russia is superior to the West in most terms of the
probable conflict. Ukraine is in the backyard of Russia,
which gives geographical advantage. Ukraine is also
divided and slightly more than half of its population are
from Russian origins and speak the Russian language in
the east adjacent to Russia, which provides Russia with
the intervention excuse, or even provides an ethnic
excuse with the Ukrainians asking the Russians to interfere to save them. Russia has a naval base and a fleet in
the Black Sea thus giving it military superiority. As such,
it does not need to mobilize forces across borders but
move or the threaten to move its forces inside the borders. It also has the economy card. Ukraine owes it
about $15 billion and cannot pay them. It seems
Ukraine requested about $4 billion in quick and urgent
aid from the West and while Putin’s decision to grant
such aid is quick, the decision remains hesitant and
long for the Western Troika including the IMF. Besides,
they do not seem ready to give more than about 50 percent of the required urgent aid. Most of Ukraine’s trade
is with Russia which has a lot of Ukrainian labor and
their money transfers come from Russia. Russia supplies
Ukraine with its energy and specifically gas. If such aid is
suspended or prevented in its extremely cold winter,
Ukraine will freeze. Finally, Russia is utilizing a ready
experience in managing this kind of conflict. In addition
to its isolating the West from the Syrian crisis, it succeeded in 2008 in separating two provinces from
Georgia despite the Western outcry. The European
Commission on March 5th made promises to provide
about $15 billion to Ukraine in grants and loans. These
promises are contingent on political developments in
Ukraine.
The foregoing tells that Russia will out maneuver the
West in the short term but on the medium to the long
terms it will not be a success without tough and painful
costs. The West will clone the tools of the cold war, with
modernization according to the Iranian case. Putin has
many potential enemies inside and within Russia are
some provinces that yearn for separation. Further,
Russia is not remote from pressures on its foreign
sources of income from oil and gas. Its economy is still
primitive and those who are close to power are wealthy
and fear for their personal interests from likely sanctions. In other words, the worst case scenario is accepting the division of Ukraine. The West will try to provide a
model similar to that of West Germany or South Korea
in West Ukraine. Which means it may lose a battle in the
short term. It however bets on the medium-to-long
term to harm Putin’s ambitions to build the Soviet
Empire again by destabilizing internal stability; or perhaps betting on the conviction of the Ukrainian East to
adopt the successful Western Ukraine example, i.e.
thwarting the division scheme. As the split or separation option will not be without cost that may lead to
Russia’s loss of the war, the crisis may end by an amended agreement to the February 21st agreement between
the Opposition and the ex-President, an agreement
that preserves a fragile unity to Ukraine to overcome its
choking economic problems by a joint Western-Russian
assistance.
In this report, we are not concerned directly with
what is happening in Ukraine. Neither are we among
the best who analyze its conditions. But what is happening there is indirectly and strongly related to what is
happening here in our region or even in Kuwait. The
unfortunate fate awaiting Ukraine happens for two reasons. The first is that Ukraine like Belarus, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, for instance, exited its spring only to
return to its corrupt past contrary to what happened in
Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, etc. This
development in our region resembles only the Tunisian
case apart from all Arab Spring countries. The second is
Ukraine’s absolute failure in its economic policy, which
led to the explosion of its Independence Square after its
ex-president killed a glimpse of hope in its people in
connecting it to the cooperation program with the
European Union under the Russian pressure. Some rich
countries of the region, Kuwait among them, adopt miserable economic policies and bet on time which may
not come to their rescue.
Weekly performance of KSE
The performance of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) for
the last week was mixed, as the traded value index, the
traded volume index and the transactions index
showed an increase, while the general index showed a
decrease. AlShall Index (value index) closed at 457.9
points at the closing of last Thursday, showing a
decrease of about 8.5 points or about 1.8 percent comparing to last week and an increase of 3.2 points or
about 0.7 percent compared with the end of 2013.
BUSINESS
Lufthansa reaches for the stars
More service and comfort
Haneen Al-Rumaihi, head of marketing management,
Retail Banking Group
Burgan Bank
announces winner
of National Day
photography contest
KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced Awatef Khayra Saurajan as
the winner of its National Day Photography Competition for
BuBa Kids account holders. The winner took home a cash prize
of KD 200 for capturing the best photo during Kuwait’s national celebrations.
The selection criteria for the winning photo was based on
the creative elements it captured and how they reflected the
National Day spirit and love of Kuwait in addition to the creative capacity of BuBa kids account age group. The bank’s
judging panel reviewed all entries of the competition carefully
to give the best entry the chance of winning. Burgan Bank
continues to present its diverse customers with innovative
opportunities to win through specially designed competitions
and promotions for BuBa kids account holders.
For young potential customers looking to participate in
future offers, they can now open a ‘BuBa’ Kids account with
minimum opening balance of KD10, with no required minimum balance or interest earning or charges fee.
To find out more about Burgan Bank’s “BuBa” Kids Account,
customers are urged to visit any of Burgan Bank’s conveniently located branches, or call the bank’s call center on 1804080,
or log on to Burgan Bank’s website at www.burgan.com.
KUWAIT: Lufthansa’s new First Class is enjoying strong recognition worldwide. Not only
has there been excellent feedback from top
customers in the few months since it was
introduced, it has also received major awards.
Lufthansa’s First Class and its range of services
were awarded five stars in the Skytrax star
ranking, while the American Academy of
Hospitality Sciences (AAHS) presented its
International 5 Star Diamond Award to
Europe’s leading airline. These awards promise
passengers an outstanding travel experience,
since five stars are synonymous with top quality, first-class comfort and personal service.
And this will soon be the case not just in First
Class, but throughout the Lufthansa range.
“We have set ourselves a number of objectives for 2014 - it will be Lufthansa’s biggest
service initiative in recent years. As well as
installing the latest cabins in all classes of our
aircraft, which is already proceeding apace,
we will also be demonstrating to an even
greater degree our qualities as a dedicated
host with a keen understanding of service
and hospitality,” said Jens Bischof, the member of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board in
charge of Sales, Product and Marketing, at the
ITB in Berlin.
Business Class with a more
individualized restaurant service
Key improvements in 2014 will focus on
Business Class in particular. A more personal
touch in the service provided and greater
flexibility in terms of processes as a whole
should make passengers feel even more pampered than before. The current in-flight service on long-haul routes will be enhanced,
with the introduction of a signature service.
The aim is to provide a service that reminds
passengers of being in a top restaurant. The
new aspects will be tested this summer and, if
successful, will be implemented on the entire
long-haul network from 2015. The process of
refitting the long-haul fleet with the new
Business Class will also be complete by summer 2015. A total of 7,000 full-flat seats are
being installed on the 106 long-haul aircraft.
From as early as August 2014, the amenity
kits provided in Business Class will also be
upgraded. A new kit has been developed
with Samsonite and will include high-quality
personal care products from the Greek premium brand Korres. The new personal care
products are made exclusively from active
plant ingredients of the highest quality -
Korres’ roots lie in the oldest homoeopathic
pharmacy in Athens. The items already introduced in the aircraft toilets will also be
upgraded.
New premium economy class
For its new Premium Economy Class,
Lufthansa has designed a high-quality seat
that offers much greater comfort and up to
50 per cent more room in this class. The quality of food on offer will also be higher than in
Economy Class. The use of porcelain tableware in particular will make a noticeable difference. Passengers in Premium Economy will
also be able to take a second item of luggage
with them at no extra charge. Tickets will be
available for sale in May, and the first flight is
planned for October. The first aircraft to feature the new travel class will be the Boeing
747-8. The installation of Premium Economy
should be complete by the end of 2015, at
which point there will be a total of 3,600 seats
in the cabins of the long-haul fleet.
Fast lane for status and
premium customers
From this summer, HON Circle members,
Senators and First and Business Class passengers will always have access to the fast lane at
all intercontinental destinations and at select-
ed destinations in Europe. This means that
premium passengers will always be able to
pass through security control more quickly.
By the end of this quarter, Lufthansa will
be providing visitors to its Business Lounges
with higher quality and greater diversity as
regards the food and beverages on offer. The
new range of food and drinks will include
more fresh choices and healthy options, and
there will always be a vegetarian alternative
available. The breakfast menu will also be
expanded, while ready-to-eat options, such
as filled sandwiches, will be available at peak
times to ensure that the buffet is less crowded. Food will also be labelled more clearly in
the future to assist guests who have food
allergies and intolerances.
‘Meet and assist’ service
Improvements will be made to the passenger transfer services at the Frankfurt and
Munich hubs. In order to make the travel
experience more relaxed, staff will meet and
assist passengers when arriving by bus and
entering the arrival areas, while special arrival
services will also be provided for premium
passengers. Visual enhancements will also be
made to the arrival areas to make it easier for
passengers to find their way when transferring to another flight.
In-flight entertainment
From 1 April 2014, passengers in every
travel class will have a much greater choice
of entertainment. There will be twice as
many films to choose from. As well as offering even more of the latest blockbusters
and popular classics, there will be a wider
range of modern classics - the cinema hits
of recent years. This is all thanks to the
installation of a new in-flight entertainment system, which is setting standards in
terms of performance and reliability. More
than 100 films in eight languages, more
regional films for passengers from Arabicspeaking countries, and from India, China
and Japan - these are just some of the
highlights of the new in-flight entertainment system.
In terms of television content, Lufthansa
now has a range of more than 200 programs, offering the most exciting cinema
documentaries and even more international television box set series. The expanded
music collection consists of more than 300
CDs and focuses on the most popular categories of rock/pop, greatest hits and classical, as requested by passengers.
Medium-haul routes
Luf thansa will soon be offering its
guests on medium-haul flights a wide
range of films, TV series, music, games and
information. Products from the Lufthansa
WorldShop can also be ordered via the free
portal right from the seat for home delivery. Typical destinations in the Lufthansa
route network for the new offering include
the CIS states, the Middle East and North
Africa. To use the services, passengers simply connect to the in-flight infotainment
server via Wi-Fi using their own laptop,
tablet or smartphone. From summer, the
airline will be fitting 20 Airbus A321s with
the BoardConnect in-flight entertainment
solution developed by Lufthansa Systems.
“As well as the service enhancements
and the improvements in how our product
is actually experienced, our staff members
will clearly play a key role in the quality of
our passengers’ travel experience. To further improve the quality of our service and
hospitality, we are building on the skill,
creativity and good ideas of all our staff
members. This will ensure that our passengers have an even more enjoyable travel
experience,” concludes Bischof.
DHL will continue to grow
local talent: Suliman
Interview with Nour Suliman, CEO of DHL Express, MENA
Arabian Motors snatches
‘Best Technician’ title
KUWAIT: Arabian Motors Group (AMG), the Ford
and Lincoln importer-dealer in Kuwait, emerged
a winner as it competed in Ford Middle East’s
Service Excellence World Cup, securing the title
for Best Technician in a tough challenge that
brought together some of the best talents from
Ford dealerships around the region. This is the
second consecutive year where AMG wins the
Best Technician title for the region.
“The Service Excellence competition is a
great opportunity not only to get our dealer
after-sales teams to compete for the title, but
also to ensure they all have the best skills in the
industry across the Middle East,” said Chris Noel,
Ford Middle East’s director of Customer Service.
“We congratulate the AMG team for this outstanding achievement. They have done a great
job and stood out among the region’s top technicians thanks to their commitment to providing
some of the highest levels of after-sales services
in the region. We commend them for demonstrating their expertise and skills acquired
through the Ford Motor Company certification
program. The Ford Service Excellence Cup is an
incentive to help sharpen the skills of service
advisors, technicians as well as parts counter
clerks and help them better serve their customers and achieve higher levels of satisfaction.
And taking part in this regional challenge is
quite challenging, where all participants must
be certified through the Ford Motor Company
Certification program and go through a series of
internal challenges where only the best would
be chosen to represent their dealership in the
regional finals. Regional finalists initially would
demonstrate their skills at the dealership level,
and advance to the regional contest to compete
among the best of the Ford dealerships in the
Middle East.
“We are very proud of this achievement and
winning the Best Technician title,” said Martin
Aherne, AMG’s general manager for After Sales.
“AMG takes after sales and customer satisfaction
very seriously, and our teams undergo continued training and development as we work to
deliver some of the best after sales experiences
in Kuwait. This shows our efforts are well on
track.”
A: Nurturing leaders and awakening our
people’s talents and potential is one of our key
drivers to building a performance management
culture. For that we have our CIS program:
CIS is not a traditional training platform. It
was designed first and foremost as an engagement tool. To underscore its importance, it has
been delivered not only by professional trainers, but by our own management, to every one
of our 100 000 employees. The content of the
program was focused on revisiting the history
and entrepreneurial roots of the company,
introducing employees to the fundamentals of
international shipping and, perhaps most
importantly, showcasing the role that every
individual plays within our global network. Our
business, like most others, is still operated and
managed by human beings, and the benefits
of multi-million dollar investments in transportation infrastructure and technology will be
rendered meaningless if a courier who’s delivering a shipment decides to take a bad day at
home out on a customer. In the case of a courier who is enthused and passionate about the
work they do, however, it goes without saying
that the benefits will be amplified.
Question: Today, you have spent more than
30 years at DHL International, how would you
impersonate and define the core vision of
DHL and the people related values at its
heart?
Answer: For 30 years I have proudly served
this company and I hope to serve it for as long as
I can. I say this because I see the changes, I feel
the innovation, the potential is limitless and we
know it, and we are going after it.
I can sum up the company in 2 words; Team
work. When you have the right systems in place,
and a clear vision ahead of you, all you need is
the right people to push the boundaries. These
people however need a clear vision and guidance to understand where we are heading and
how we all work together to get there and that is
the role played by our training program CIS. CIS
or Certified International Specialists is a training
program that is top of its class; it is a vision for
the future. When you are a company as big as
DHL you need to get all your staff aligned
together towards the vision and goal of this family and that program is designed to serve that
purpose.
Q: What are the key motivational drivers of
DHL as an Employer of Choice?
A: As part of the ‘focus strategy’ in which the
importance of motivated people is valued,
Rewards and Recognition schemes make a significant contribution.
Recognition does not lean on one initiative,
and it is widely recognized that successful recognition of employees relies on a wide and multidimensional approach. For this reason, it is important to create the awareness that the Employee
of the Year Event will from this point on, be positioned as the Rewards & Recognition flagship
program in the region and globally.
The intention is to seize the opportunity to
utilize the EOY program as a way to further fuel
the values of CIS (Certified International
Specialist). This practice will continue, and the
intention is to align all regions across the globe
and ensure a solid cohesion with CIS Themes
and flavor. After all, our people and our perform-
ance work best when the CIS behaviors are displayed. These behaviors should surely then be
encouraged and rewarded.
The EOY is set to recognize our top performers and customer-focus people who live and
show the fore-mentioned CIS attitudes with
pride and commitment.
Q: Based on the 3 awards you received as
the best employer in Middle East what would
you say are the strongest human capital
assets of DHL out of the 4 main study criteria’s.
A: Engaged employees, a compelling
employer brand, effective leadership, a high performance culture.
Q: At DHL, do you believe in growing your
own leaders from within? What type of management/leadership style do you groom and
follow?
Q:
From a CEO perspec tive, what
would be your next challenge/objective to
push DHL to its limits and flourish its culture on a global level?
A: Our culture is based on transparency, and
that is our global mission. We will keep investing in our people and growing local talent in
every country. We want to learn from their
expertise and local insights. They are our main
asset and we have a proven and award winning track record of keeping our people happy.
We are a company built by its people and
we are very proud of this fact. No one knows
every country better than DHL. We know the
roads; we know the people and we share
their rich cultures. As the MENA region keeps
making its mark on the world, and we as the
most international company in the world are
helping businesses grown and reach global
targets.
Nikon launches next generation digital SLR camera D4S
KUWAIT: Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce the
release of the D4S, its latest flagship FX-format digital SLR
camera. Based on the D4, the D4S responds more completely
to the demands of professional photographers with revisions
to a number of features and functions, including AF performance, image quality, workflow and operation, and movie
recording, adopted after running a variety of simulations of
the functions required by professional photographers who
sometimes find themselves working under quite severe conditions.
Algorithms used by the AF system have been refined for
greater accuracy and versatility demanded by professional
photographers. Autofocus is initiated faster and is better able
to acquire and track the intended subject, whether it enters
the frame suddenly or takes up the entire frame for a more
powerful composition. In addition to the four time-tested
modes available with the D4 (Single-point AF, Dynamic-area
AF, 3D-tracking, and Auto-area AF), the D4S offers a fifth AFarea mode known as Group-area AF (uses 5 focus points: one
specified by the user, as well as one each above, below, to the
left, and to the right of the selected focus point). This mode
enables not only smoother autofocusing, but also a faster
workflow with continuous shooting at approximately 11 fps*1
with AF and AE tracking.
The new EXPEED 4 image-processing engine, a new Nikon
FX-format CMOS image sensor, and an effective pixel count of
16.2-million pixels enable capture of images that exhibit stunning sharpness, enhanced depth, and natural skin tones. A
range of standard sensitivities from ISO 100 to ISO 25600
achieves images exhibiting sharper edges and smoother,
more beautiful colors. The D4S also supports extended sensitivities as low as the equivalent of ISO 50 and as high as the
equivalent of ISO 409600. What’s more, the accuracy of auto
white balance has been increased for clear color reproduction,
even with shooting under difficult artificial lighting.
A number of other improvements have been adopted
without compromise in consideration of the advanced
demands of professional photographers. Among these are
improved viewfinder visibility with a more stable viewfinder
image during continuous shooting and a shorter viewfinder
blackout time, as well as smoother operation with less stress
from a redesigned grip and refined layout of operational buttons and controls. Communication speed has also been
increased with 1000BASE-T support for wired LAN communication, making extremely fast image transfer possible. A RAW
S Small (12-bit uncompressed RAW) setting has also been
added for faster post-capture editing on a computer.
The D4S supports movie recording at a frame size of 1920 ◊
1080 with a frame rate of 50p or 60p. EXPEED 4 enables rich
tone reproduction, with very little noise, throughout the entire
range of standard sensitivities (ISO 200-25600). Movies recorded at a 1920 ◊ 1080 crop setting exhibit especially sharp and
clear picture quality. Changes in exposure are also better controlled for smoother transition between frames with recording
of scenes in which brightness changes greatly, even with timelapse movies. The Nikon D4S will available in March at all
major retailers in the UAE.
technology
Candy Crush sweetens gaming for women
LONDON: With three young children and a fulltime job, Emma Martini has little time for computer
games. But every night she sits quietly at the end of
her son’s bed to reassure him while he falls asleep and plays Candy Crush. “It stops me sitting there in
the dark for 15 minutes staring at the wall!” the 32year-old told AFP, laughing. Martini is one of the
legion of fans of the addictive online game, many
of whom can be seen playing it at every spare
minute on their tablets and smartphones.
Unlike conventional console games that can
take hours, Candy Crush Saga is one of the most
popular of the new “casual games” that can be
played in short bursts and on the move. It has
seeped into every day life - and attracted new audiences, with women making up two-thirds of Candy
Crush players, according to its British developer
King. “I’m not into computers and what little time
I’ve got I’m inclined to spend reading a book,” said
Martini, a teaching assistant from Spilsby in eastern
England.
But she was persuaded to download Candy
Crush by her mother, 52, who was “driving me
crackers” sending requests to join the game on
Facebook and help her pass the next level. Now
Martini plays every evening as her four-year-old
dozes off, saying: “I’m filling a void of time.” “Casual
gaming has really taken off in the female population,” said Mark Griffiths, director of the
International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham
Trent University. “Most of it is fitting in between the
baby having a sleep, or on the commute on the
way home, but it’s not something that takes over
from the important things in your life. “It’s there as
a quick fix for boredom.”
‘100 PERCENT CONCENTRATION’
Candy Crush is a simple game. There are hundreds of levels but they all involve moving brightly
coloured sweets around a grid to get three of a
kind in a row. Yet it is utterly absorbing, causing
travellers to miss their stop, workers to over-run
their lunch hours and kids to stay up late into the
night trying to get to the next level. A gaming
expert, Griffiths is a fan of traditional consoles but
he plays Candy Crush on long journeys to distract
himself from the pain of a long-term spinal problem. “It’s a game that requires 100 percent concentration - you basically forget about everything
around you,” he told AFP.
Sophie Clayton, a 23-year-old from London who
works for a jewellery company, says she is most
definitely “not a gamer” but plays Candy Crush as “a
boredom killer”, mainly on her commute into work.
“I suppose the game is simple, unlike other electronic games. Although my sister thinks I’m an idiot
for playing, especially when I’m stuck on a level,”
Clayton told AFP.
Candy Crush is free but players can pay for
extras to help them move forward, a feature which
nets King $850,000 in daily sales, according to the
IDATE consultancy firm. While a few people may
find themselves racking up huge bills, experts say
so-called “freemium” games depend on lots of people paying just a little. Candy Crush records 700
million sessions a day, making it King’s most successful product and driving the company’s pursuit
of a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
For people like Tom, a 22-year-old engineer from
London, the payment feature adds another challenge to the game - to play it as much as they can
without forking out a penny. Players are given five
chances to pass a level, after which they must wait
for 24 hours or pay a small amount - about $1 - to
buy back into the game immediately. But if you set
the clock on your smartphone a day ahead, the
game thinks the time has passed, Tom explains. “I
did this so many times that on a Monday morning
my phone clock thought it was Saturday. My alarm
didn’t go off and I was late for work,” he admitted
sheepishly. — AFP
Undated file screenshot of “Candy Crush
Saga”. — AP
Global ho-hum over
creator of bitcoin
Enthusiasts downplay frenzy
LONDON: In this Dec. 20, 2012 file photo, Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks,
speaks to the media and members of the public from a balcony at the Ecuadorian
Embassy. Assange (over live video) was to make an appearance at the South By
Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin. — AP
Snowden, Assange top
bill at tech gathering
AUSTIN: Surveillance. Online privacy. Robots.
Food processing. Wearable computers. To get a
sense of what’s on the minds of the tech industry’s thinkers, leaders and tinkerers, it’s a good
idea to head to Austin, Texas, rather than Silicon
Valley this time of the year. More than 30,000
people descend on this eccentric city for the
South By Southwest Interactive Festival each
March. This year, NSA leaker Edward Snowden
and WikiLeaks founder and secret spiller Julian
Assange are topping the bill, alongside Google
Chairman Eric Schmidt, Twitter co-founder Biz
Stone and Anne Wojcicki, CEO of genetics testing company 23andMe.
Snowden and Assange won’t be making the
trip to Texas, however. They’ll appear on live
video, since both are living as fugitives, in
Moscow and the Ecuadorian embassy in
London, respectively. Their inclusion illustrates
how the festival is trying to balance holding on
to its independent roots even as it’s flooded by
a barrage of corporate sponsors and threatens
to grow too big for its hometown. “We have
always said that South By Southwest is a very
big tent and we have all different types of people,” said Hugh Forrest, director of the interactive festival. “This is a feature and not a flaw.”
Still, it’s clear that online privacy and government surveillance is on top of the technology
set’s mind this year. Snowden, the former NSA
contractor who appears Monday, faces felony
charges in the US after revealing the agency’s
mass surveillance program by leaking thousands of classified documents to media outlets.
He is living under temporary asylum in Russia,
which has no extradition treaty with the US.
Snowden is unlikely to talk about the case
against him during the session and will focus
instead on “how technology enables surveillance and how technology can protect us
from surveillance,” said Christopher Soghoian,
principal technologist at the American Civil
Liberties Union. Soghoian will be speaking to
Snowden along with Snowden’s legal adviser,
the ACLU’s Ben Wizner. Snowden is being represented by the ACLU in the US government’s
case against him.
Speaking at South By Southwest - rather
than in front of Congress or at a conference of
lawyers - gives Snowden a chance to talk to the
technology community, “his peers,” Soghoian
said. “The reason the NSAs collected as much
information as it did is because of technology,”
he said. “Technology got us into this mess and
technology will get us out of it.”
PROVOCATION
Assange, meanwhile, was to speak yesterday with Benjamin Palmer, the co-founder of
The Barbarian Group, a marketing agency
whose clients range from Pepsi to Samsung to
New York City. As to why a marketing executive
is interviewing a figure as controversial as
Assange? A hint: Visitors to the group’s website
are greeted with the message “We create ideas
that provoke a reaction.”
Part of the larger South By Southwest festival that also includes music, film and recently
education segments, SXSWi, as it’s dubbed,
became a separate event in 1994, when it was
still called “SXSW Multimedia.” Past speakers
have ranged from the computer scientist and
virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier in 1997 to
investor Mark Cuban in 1999 and Friendster
founder Jonathan Abrams in 2004. This is
where Twitter soared from obscurity to the
world stage in 2007, where Facebook chief
Mark Zuckerberg appeared on stage in 2008
when his site was still the No. 2 online social
network behind MySpace and where the location-sharing app Foursquare emerged a year
later. — AP
US aviation agency to
appeal drone ruling
WASHINGTON: The US aviation agency said
Friday it will appeal the dismissal of a $10,000
fine it imposed on a Swiss entrepreneur who
flew a drone over a college campus to make a
commercial. Enthusiasts of the unmanned aircraft are closely following Raphael Pirker’s
case, which they say could shape the development of small drones for civilian use - for
instance in newsgathering or for wildlife protection. The Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) had fined Pirker, known in drone circles
as Trappy, in 2011 after he flew a small drone
over the University of Virginia, shooting video
to be used in an advertisement for its medical
school.
It alleged that Pirker - who now runs a
drone business in Hong Kong - had operated
a drone without a pilot’s license and in a “careless or reckless manner” in violation of a ban
on using drones for money-making purposes.
But in a ruling Thursday, a National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) judge
granted Pirker’s request for the civil penalty to
be dismissed, saying the FAA lacks the legal
authority to regulate small drones. In a statement confirming it would appeal to the full
NTSB, the FAA said: “The agency is concerned
that this decision could impact the safe operation of the national airspace system and the
safety of people and property on the ground.”
‘HELD BACK’
Pirker’s lawyer Brendan Schulman told AFP
the case was having far-reaching consequences for the controversial but fast-growing
drone industry. “Various companies have been
held back for seven years as a result of the FAA’s
purported ban on the commercial use of drone
technology,” Schulman said. Timothy Reuter,
founder of the Drone User Group Network,
which brings together small-drone enthusiasts,
said other nations have allowed drone entrepreneurship “for a number of years” already.
“We see commercial use as key to allowing this
technology to reach its maximum potential to
benefit our society,” he told AFP.
In the run-up to Christmas last year, online
retailer Amazon said it was looking into the
use of drones to deliver packages. Later, a
brewer in Minnesota posted a YouTube video
of a drone delivering a case of lager to a fishing hut on an icebound lake. Campaigners for
civil liberties have voiced concerns, however,
that drones fitted with cameras or other surveillance gear could be used to infringe on
individuals’ right to privacy.
Pending the formulation of a clear set of
regulations for drones, the FAA has advised
that drones, like model aircraft, be flown no
higher than 400 feet above the ground and
away from populated areas. The drone that
Pirker used at the University of Virginia was a
remote-controlled RiteWingRC Zephyr II “electric flying wing” with a 56-inch (1.42-m)
wingspan that weighed less than five pounds
(2.3 kg). — AFP
LOS ANGELES: Who is bitcoin’s real creator? The
bitcoin community is reacting to that burning
question with a collective ho-hum. Developers
and bitcoin enthusiasts from Finland to Texas are
downplaying the media frenzy that occurred
Thursday after Newsweek identified the digital
currency’s creator as a Japanese American living
in Southern California, only to have the man
vehemently deny it to AP. The furor, they say,
means little to bitcoin’s future as a viable form of
money.
The computer code that underpins bitcoin
has changed dramatically since its inception in
2009, spawning a generation of entrepreneurs
seeking to ride its growing popularity to newfound wealth, outside of government controls.
And while most bitcoin users and investors
maintain a healthy interest in learning the true
identity of the person known for years only as
“Satoshi Nakamoto,” they say the financial platform’s maintenance and growth depends on the
many creators who are working on it now.
“From an engineering perspective, Satoshi
gave up control on Jan 5, 2009 when he birthed
the first bitcoin transaction,” said Jeff Garzik, a
member of the seven member Bitcoin Core
Development Team that controls what happens
to the currency’s central code today. “He created
an organism and he gave it life and he released
it into the wild for it to do as it does.”
Garzik says he doesn’t believe Dorian Prentice
Satoshi Nakamoto - the man who denied the
Newsweek story - is the same Satoshi Nakamoto
who posted the original written bitcoin proposal
in 2008 and followed it up with computer code
that made it possible the following year. Gregory
Maxwell, another bitcoin core developer based
in Mountain View, California, said he has
“immense respect” for the bitcoin creator, but
doesn’t care who it is, or what the person’s motivation was. The genius of bitcoin is it doesn’t
require trusting anyone at all, he said. “If the creator of bitcoin mattered to our ability to use it,
then bitcoin has failed in its technological goals,”
he said.
At the Texas Bitcoin Conference in Austin,
Texas, with around 1,000 attendees, almost no
panelists were talking about the founding father
of the currency on Thursday, despite the disputed story breaking that morning. “Everybody was
talking about what’s next, not what was or who’s
behind it,” said Bruce Fenton, a founding mem-
purported creator needed to escape the media
whirlwind outside his home, a private plane could
be readied within hours to whisk him and his
family to a secret location. “For me, Satoshi
Nakamoto represents the crossroads of Thomas
Jefferson and George Washington,” Mondrus said.
“My first concern was for his safety.”
Following Dorian Nakamoto’s denial, and hours
after he left the AP’s downtown Los Angeles headquarters, an attention-grabbing post was sent
from a Satoshi Nakamoto account that had been
dormant for three years, stating “I am not Dorian
Nakamoto.” The posting only fueled further speculation, because it was not verifiable, despite the
website founder confirming that the account was
linked to [email protected], the email address
printed on the original bitcoin proposal from
2008.
LOS ANGELES: Dorian S Nakamoto listens
during an interview with AP on March 6,
2014.— AP
ber of the Bitcoin Financial Association, an advocacy group that promotes its spread.
PROOF
Ultimately, diehard bitcoin developers won’t
be convinced of the creator’s identity until the
proof is embedded in code. That can be done by
transferring bitcoins from an account linked to
the Satoshi Nakamoto who uploaded the original
code. Another way would be to send an encrypted message using the so-called “PGP” key that is
publicly listed on The Bitcoin Foundation website
and is linked to a private key that only the real
Satoshi Nakamoto knows. “If he wanted to identify himself, he would do so in a manner that would
end speculation,” Garzik said.
Still, some people in the bitcoin community
jumped into action at the prospect that the father
(or mother) of the currency might finally come
out of hiding. David Mondrus, another founding
member of the Bitcoin Financial Association, contacted the AP to pass on the message that if the
SIGNATURE
Bitcoin developer Shawn Wilkinson, 22, of
Atlanta said that unless the addresses for Satoshi
Nakamoto’s bitcoins move or he’s able to produce some kind of cryptographic signature
proving his identity, there’s no way to be sure.
But in the grand scheme of things, Wilkinson
said, it doesn’t really matter. “It’s not so much
about the person, it’s about the technology,” he
said. Some bitcoin supporters were upset by the
quest to identify the currency’s creator. They said
the sleuthing represented a blatant invasion into
the privacy of the person, or group, who clearly
wants to remain anonymous. “ They always
intended bitcoin to be something that transcended them,” said Will Yager, 18, a bitcoin
developer who attends the University of Texas in
Austin. “I think a lot of people are miffed about it
because we are sort of violating this person’s
wishes.”
Others gave into curiosity. Bitcoin developer
Janne Pulkkinen, who lives in Finland, said she’d
be very interested to learn the identity of the
man behind bitcoin, especially since he tried so
hard to conceal it. “He used an anonymous email
provider, used (privacy software) Tor to hide his
tracks, digitally signed most of his messages to
prevent anyone from impersonating him and
basically used every trick in the book to keep his
identity a secret,” she said. “If he were to make a
reappearance, it would be easily the most
notable thing to happen to bitcoin since its
inception.” — AP
‘League of Legends’ players
becoming stars of eSport
LOS ANGELES: In front of a rapt audience in a
Los Angeles film lot, Krepo hooks an enemy with
his scythe and harvests virtual souls with a signature move called a “death sentence”. The grim
scene played out time and again as Krepo and his
Evil Geniuses team battled to victory in a “League
of Legends” computer game match broadcast to
viewers around the world. After the triumph,
Krepo - a 23-year-old Belgian whose real name is
Mitch Voorspoels and plays the game as the
dreaded character Thresh - was swarmed by fans
hungry for autographs and photos.
Welcome to the booming world of “eSports”,
where seemingly sun-starved players compete
with their wits and a few mouse clicks.
“Professional gaming has been trying for years
and years to catch on and now it is suddenly
spreading like wildfire,” said long-time game analyst Scott Steinberg, now general manager of
Phoenix Online Publishing. “League of Legends
draws a die-hard crowd, constantly hungry to
learn more.” League play with characters such as
mages, assassins, and marksmen is so visually
compelling and action-packed that it is a natural
for online viewing, according to Steinberg.
CELEBRITY STATUS
League of Legends is the king of the hot trend
in videogame play as a spectator sport, complete
with sold-out stadiums and fans camping all
night for tickets to matches. “Playing League has
earned us a bit of celebrity status,” Voorspoels
said after stepping away from a sea of adorers. “I
don’t think that is something any pro player
dreamed of at the start.” Voorspoels began playing League while at university in Belgium
because it is free, and online bouts - in which
teams of five players each battle to capture oppo-
MANHATTAN BEACH, California: Team Curse players prepare for the start of a match as two
broadcast technicians (background) prepare the live video feed during the League of Legends
North American Championship Series Spring round robin competition at the MBS Media
Campus on Feb 22, 2014. — AFP
nents’ bases - last about as long as a decent study
break.
“Basically, it is a 30- to 40-minute slaughter of
people trying to kill each other to get to the other base,” Voorspoels said. “On the best level, it
becomes a chess match - you want to outsmart
your opponents.” The diversion from studying
engineering became a priority. Voorspoels quit
school to play League for a living.
His team’s sponsors include Monster Energy
drinks and high-performance computer gear
maker Razer. Coca-Cola recently became a backer
of the League championship series run by Riot
Games, the company behind the eSport sensation. “Some games are like movies, and some are
like amusement parks,” Riot Games co-founder
and chief Brandon Beck said in a statement.
“League of Legends is like a sport.” — AFP
H E A LT H & S C I E N C E
Residents frustrated at lack of nuke dump details
CARLSBAD: It’s been three weeks since
the radiation sensors were triggered and
the exhaust dampers at the federal government’s only underground nuclear
waste dump slammed shut, putting the
repository’s massive salt caverns off-limits and the nation’s cleanup efforts on
hold. The U.S. Department of Energy says
low levels of radiation made it past the
ventilation system’s air filters and
exposed 13 workers. Agency officials
describe the amount as minuscule, saying the workers aren’t likely to face any
serious effects and there’s no public
health threat.
But residents and officials voiced frustration at a town hall Thursday night, saying the DOE and managers at the Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant are leaving them in
the dark about what’s happening at the
repository.
“Nobody knows what the plans look
like. Nobody knows what the agenda
looks like. We just hear a lot of surmises
about what might happen and what
might not happen,” John Heaton, a former state representative and head of
Mayor Dale Janway’s nuclear task force,
told a panel of officials at the town hall.
“We think that we should be the No. 1
partner and know everything that is
going on, from A to Z,” he said, explain-
ing that the community feels as if it’s
being sidestepped, with action being
orchestrated in Washington, D.C., instead
of locally.
Energy Department officials said
there is no intent to hide anything and
some information is simply unknown.
Questions about what caused the
leak at the repository, the extent of the
contamination and the future of the federal government’s cleanup efforts have
been swirling for days.
Work is ongoing to get air-monitoring
equipment underground that will pave
the way for specially trained crews to
enter. A probe could be sent underground as soon as Friday, but Jose
Franco, manager of the DOE’s Carlsbad
Field Office, said the timing of cleanup,
and the resources and costs involved,
won’t be known until crews can actually
enter.
People anxious
Carlsbad resident Karen Armendariz
said her first concern after hearing about
the leak was the extent of contamination
and whether her children and grandchildren would be affected. Despite the
assurances from the DOE, she’s still anxious. “I hear what they’re saying and I
want to believe it, but it’s just so much
uncertainty,” she said. “We do feel poorly
informed.”
New Mexico Environment Secretary
Ryan Flynn also pleaded with federal officials during the meeting to make the
recovery effort transparent.
Officials promised to host public
meetings each week. Another community meeting was planned Friday by US
Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M.
Some of the uncertainty was quelled
this week when officials announced that
the level of radioactive particles being
captured by monitoring equipment in
the Carlsbad area had decreased significantly and was close to normal.
Janway told the audience of several
dozen people that the systems at the
plant worked, with filters capturing most
of the radiation that escaped from the
underground dump. Still, he said the
investigation needs to be swift and efficient. “The longer it takes to get to the
bottom of this incident, the more damaging it is to Carlsbad and this project,”
Janway said.
David Klaus, the DOE’s deputy undersecretary for management and performance, drew a round of applause from the
crowd when he said there was no doubt
WIPP would eventually continue with its
mission of cleaning up Cold War-era
CARLSBAD: Empty nuclear waste shipping containers sit in front of the Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad over the weekend. Operations at the nation’s
only underground nuclear waste repository were halted in February following a
truck fire and a release of radiation nine days later. —AP
waste. He said he was surprised employees questioned whether they would continue to have a job.
“WIPP is essential,” he told the crowd.
The repository stopped taking shipments after a truck hauling salt through
the facility’s tunnels caught fire Feb. 5.
Several workers were treated for smoke
inhalation.
Nine days later, sensors alerted officials to a release of radiation. Monitors as
far as half a mile away later detected elevated levels of plutonium and americium
in the air. — AP
Potent new painkiller
stokes alarm in US
Decision made ‘after careful consideration’
CHICAGO: Jessica Palys, an enrollment counselor with Campaign for Better Health
Care in Chicago, works with a new free online tool developed by a nonprofit group
that uses actuarial data to estimate total annual costs for each health plan tailored to
a consumer’s profile. — AP
Tool to compare health plans
tested with consumers
CHICAGO: A website that offers Illinois consumers more information about insurance
costs could help address widespread confusion about choosing a plan on the government sites that are a cornerstone of President
Barack Obama’s health care law.
It can be frustrating now to try to compare
health plans on the government online marketplaces. For instance, the federal website
that serves Illinois and 35 other states has no
central directory to easily show which plans
include which doctors in their networks.
What’s more, it’s nearly impossible to compare the out-of-pocket costs of different policies. Picking the wrong plan could mean paying extra - in some cases, up to thousands of
dollars a year more. A nonprofit group is
offering a free online tool that provides more
information, with the goal of turning the new
insurance exchanges into truly functional
competitive markets.
HealthPlanRatings.org uses actuarial data
to estimate total annual costs for each plan
tailored to a consumer’s profile. It offers a
doctor directory so people can see immediately which plans include their favorite doctors in their network. And it includes a fivestar scoring system based on an independent
group’s quality ratings of health plans.
Wrong answers
So far, it’s being tested only in Illinois, but
the software may someday be used to
improve the official exchanges run by states
and the federal government.
As envisioned, the exchanges were supposed to help keep health care costs in check
as insurers competed for the business of
informed customers. But the government
sites aren’t giving consumers the data they
need to make the best choices, said Robert
Krughoff, president of Consumers’
Checkbook, the nonprofit group that developed the tool and would like to persuade
governments to use its features.
“It’s much too complicated for people and
they end up with the wrong answers,”
Krughoff said. Consumers’ Checkbook has a
track record: More than 50 federal agencies
subscribe to the group’s online guide for
employees choosing health plans available to
them. John and Alfiya Lambert recently used
the new tool to choose a health plan in
Illinois. “We were impressed how easy it was
to compare the various plans,” said John
Lambert. He’s covered by Medicare, but his
56-year-old wife was uninsured. The
Chicagoans were looking for a plan for her
that would include their favorite doctor.
From 65 health plans available to them on
the marketplace, they narrowed their choices
to 42 that included their doctor. Then, based
on one composite number for their estimated
yearly costs, they selected a highly rated
bronze plan.
The single-cost number “gives consumers
a fighting chance to make a good decision,”
said Joel Ario, who oversaw initial planning
for the insurance marketplaces in the Obama
administration and is now a consultant with
Manatt Health Solutions. He predicts other
innovations will be developed by private
industry. “We’ll have tools that go way
beyond this,” Ario said. “I’d bet on Amazon
and Google to create the tools rather than a
state exchange.”
List of complaints
The list of complaints about the government websites, even from supporters of the
law, is not limited to the technical glitches
that plagued the sites initially, Krughoff said.
The federal site, HealthCare.gov, lists
health plans in order of monthly premium
price, starting with the least costly. But, for
some people, the policy with the cheapest
monthly premium isn’t the least expensive
option in the long run because of other costs
such as copays and deductibles.
Depending on a person’s health and
income, picking the lowest premium could
wind up costing up to $4,000 a year more
than the best option.
The nonprofit’s site includes a simple estimate of what a consumer’s costs would be in
a particularly bad year with high medical
needs. And it allows consumers who know
they’re due for a specific medical procedure like a hip replacement - to factor that into the
equation. Jessica Palys, an enrollment counselor for the Campaign for Better Health Care
in Chicago, showed the Lamberts the new
tool. “When I first saw it I thought it was kind
of stupendous, actually,” Palys said. “I wish I
had this at my fingertips before. It would have
been so helpful.” — AP
California establishes
center for coffee study
DAVIS, California: University of California
students who drink coffee to get through the
day will soon be able to study the science
behind the beverage: Next week the
University of California, Davis will host a
research conference run by its recently founded Coffee Center.
The center is currently without a dedicated home, but the university hopes to formalize the research in coming years and eventually offer a major in coffee science, The
Sacramento Bee reported Friday.
Bruce German, director of the university’s
Foods for Health Institute, says the conference is first step toward establishing a dedicated coffee research study center - similar to
the school’s Robert Mondavi Institute for
Wine and Food Science.
“We think there is sufficient interest given
the fact that so many people have consumed
coffee so regularly across the world, for so
long,” German said. “Coffee is not an insignificant contributor to the agricultural footprint.”
The March 11 conference will cover topics
such as the genetics of coffee, sustainability
in coffee growing and the sensory perception
of coffee drinkers.
Coffee production and consumption have
been growing in recent years, and the US
Department of Agriculture forecasts global
production will reach 150.5 million bags this
year. —AP
WASHINGTON: A potent new painkiller hit the
US market this week, despite warnings from top
experts that the drug may deliver a deadly setback in America’s battle with opioid addiction.
Zohydro ER can contain 10 times the amount of
hydrocodone as the most popular prescription
painkiller, Vicodin, and is easily crushable so it
could be snorted, bearing none of the recent
safeguards added to pills like OxyContin (oxycodone).
In a nation where some 15,000 people die
annually from prescription painkiller use, the
drug’s approval has raised alarm among doctors,
lawmakers and relatives of those lost to overdose. Two senators have launched an investigation into practices by the US Food and Drug
Administration, amid allegations that pharmaceutical companies eager for a chunk of the $9
billion painkiller market may have paid to influence regulators’ decisions.
“It’s almost unheard of,” said Andrew Kolodny,
president of the group Physicians for
Responsible Opioid Prescribing.
“For FDA to approve a drug that is going to
make a serious problem worse, it is pretty shocking.” Zohydro was approved in October 2013,
even though a panel of FDA-convened experts
voted against 11-2. The FDA is not obligated to
follow the advice of its advisory committees, but
it typically does. An FDA spokesman said the
decision was made “after careful consideration,”
and “the product’s benefits outweigh its risks
when used as intended.”
Zohydro contains pure hydrocodone in a
range of doses, including time-release options
that are much stronger than competitor products. It does not contain acetaminophen, which
can cause liver damage and death in high doses
and is included in most other prescription opioids. The drugmaker, California-based Zogenix,
said in a statement that the “acetaminophenfree formulation of extended release
hydrocodone is an important therapeutic option
for certain chronic pain patients.”
A mother’s story
Musician and financial adviser Steve
Rummler was one of the 100 million people in
the United States who suffer from chronic pain.
He was prescribed narcotic painkillers in 2005
for a lingering back injury. “The doctor kept
increasing the amounts that he would give to
Steve,” his mother, Judy Rummler, told AFP.
By 2009, Steve’s family learned he was seeking painkillers from multiple sources. He tried to
learn other ways of coping. He tried rehab for
addiction. “He seemed great for a very short
period of time, then he relapsed because of his
pain,” said Rummler. When his last refills ran out,
he scored some heroin, and overdosed on July 1,
2011, at the age of 43. “He was a totally different
person the last few years of his life,” said his
mother, who now chairs a coalition of activists
called Fed Up. The group has held rallies and
met with lawmakers in an effort to curb the prescription painkiller epidemic, which public
health experts say is also fueling a rise in heroin
and street drug use. One hundred people in the
United States die each day from drug overdose,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Regulators have introduced some
tighter rules, and drugs like Zohydro fall under
Schedule II, which means the pills can only be
dispensed with a written prescription.
But plenty of people, including kids as young
as 10, find ways to get opioids, said Janina Kean,
president and CEO of High Watch Recovery
Center in Connecticut.
“They are being overly prescribed. They end
up in people’s medicine cabinets,” she said in an
interview. “We have a huge crisis in our country.”
Pay to play?
The Washington Post and Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel reported in October that hundreds of
emails released in a public records request
showed pharmaceutical companies paid tens of
thousands of dollars to attend FDA advisory
panel meetings. The FDA denied any impropriety, but US lawmakers have launched a probe
into whether the payments influenced regulators’ decisions to approve drugs like Zohydro.
“If these allegations are true, there is a clear,
illegal conflict of interest between the FDA and
these pharmaceutical companies that puts consumer safety at risk,” said Louisiana Senator
David Vitter in a letter to the FDA last week.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has
urged the Department of Health and Human
Ser vices to override the FDA and remove
Zohydro from the market until protections to
prevent abuse are added.
But that seems unlikely. The drug is already
available in select US pharmacies, a spokeswoman for Zogenix said. — AFP
Outsized reaction on
Chevron pizza ‘scandal’
BOBTOWN: Critics are raging after an energy
giant offered pizza coupons to a community
near a natural gas well that exploded last month,
killing a worker.
News stories, TV shows and blogs - many sarcastic or outright scornful - spread the word far
and wide. “Shame on you,” one person wrote
about the offer by Chevron Corp. “How insulting!” said another. Comedy Central’s satirical
“The Colbert Report” skewered it.
But the 750 or so residents of the hamlet of
Bobtown? Not one has signed an online petition demanding an apology for the pizza offer. In
fact, during a recent visit, The Associated Press
found the talk of the town is more the furious
response by outsiders. “We feel it was something
outside groups generated,” said Pete Novak, a
co-director of the Polish American Club, a local
gathering spot. None of the patrons has voiced
outrage, he said, and residents laughed about
how people who have never set foot in Bobtown
claim to speak for its citizens.
Several people noted that Chevron’s pizza
offer was made to apologize for traffic after the
fire, not to downplay the loss of life.
“I thought it was pretty decent of them,” said
Ray Elli, 54, who noted that the fire was about a
mile outside town, on a ridge, and that people in
town didn’t feel threatened.
Bill Sowden, co-owner of Bobtown Pizza, the
area’s only restaurant, says 12 people have
redeemed the coupons distributed by Chevron.
The whole issue, he said, was blown out of proportion. “We’re just a food place,” he said.
High moral ground
The outsized reaction from people not directly affected by the accident illustrates the larger
passions surrounding the fracking debate. Many
critics seek stricter regulations or bans to protect
air and water from pollution, while supporters
speak of the economic benefits for an energyhungry nation. Each side claims the high moral
ground. About 12,000 people have signed an
online petition demanding Chevron apologize,
according to petition organizer Karen Feridun.
“There are a few from nearby communities,
but none right from Bobtown,” Feridun wrote in
emails this week to the AP. She lives about 250
BOBTOWN: Brian Scritchfield adds mushrooms to a small pizza ordered at Bobtown Pizza in
Bobtown. The little pizza shop in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania was placed in the
spotlight when energy giant Chevron offered coupons for free pizza from their shop to people
who live near the area where a natural gas well that exploded. —AP
miles away, at the other end of Pennsylvania.
The petition isn’t even on public display in
Bobtown, about 2 miles from the West Virginia
border. One petition signer from New York City
mentioned “Chevron’s cavalier arrogance.” Other
signers came from Alaska, Florida and many other states, as well as Australia, Bulgaria, Costa
Rica, Germany and Italy.
Chevron hasn’t responded to the petition,
Feridun said. Company spokesman Kent
Robertson said in an email that Chevron works
to be a good partner in communities, that it has
been “overwhelmed by the support” from residents and that it appreciates their understanding. For more than a century, the region around
Bobtown has been coal country, and there’s still
an active mine nearby. But in the past five years,
natural gas locked in shale deep underground
became newly accessible because of the advent
of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Statistics suggest major fires are relatively
rare. Houston-based Wild Well Control, which
specializes in control of oil and gas well accidents, says it responded to five surface well
blowouts last year accompanied by fires and 25
other surface blowouts with no fires.
On Feb. 11, a Chevron well outside of
Bobtown exploded, killing Ian McKee, 27, who
lived about a half-hour away in Morgantown,
W.Va., and worked for a contractor. The fire
burned for a week, and emergency responders,
state regulators and crews with special equipment clogged or blocked narrow roads in the
area. State regulators and police and the federal
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
are investigating the Pennsylvania fire. Chevron
could face fines if it broke any rules.
Chevron representatives visited about 100
people five days after the fire, seeking concerns
or questions and leaving a gift certificate for a
large pizza and 2-liter drink at Bobtown Pizza,
which had just opened.—AP
H E A LT H & S C I E N C E
W H AT ’ S O N
Kuwait Writers Association holds book signing ceremony
O
n March 3, 2014, the Kuwait Writers Association held a signing ceremony of the Slovak translation of the book Candles in the Basement by Kuwaiti novelist Thuraya Baqsami. The book was translated into Slovak language by Dr Alzbeta
Lancaricova and it was the author’s first book to be translated into Slovak language. The event was also attended by Dr Ivan Lancaric, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Kuwait.
Middle School students perform a traditional Kuwaiti dance.
Middle School students represent Jordan.
Al-Bayan Bilingual School celebrates
Kuwait’s National and Liberation Days
M
iddle School students at Al-Bayan Bilingual
School (BBS), celebrated on February 20, Kuwait’s
National and Liberation Day with a show comprising of various plays, traditional songs, folkloric dances and
speeches about Kuwait. The show was held at the BBS
Hawally campus, and was attended by parents, students
and members of the school community.
Celebrations commenced at the Dalal Waleed AlHumaidhi Theater with a play that depicted four major
periods in the history of Kuwait: Kuwait’s Past, The
Discovery of Oil, The Independence from Great Britain and
Kuwait Today. The play was written and produced by two
7th grade teachers: Buthayna Al-Suleiman and Randel
D’Souza, and was directed by Middle School Music
Teacher, Sandra Stipic.
Middle school students also celebrated with an
International Day theme by dressing up in cultural attire
from different countries, and showcasing some of their
renowned songs and dances. The festivities also included
a flag parade representing each country. Among these
countries were Japan, Korea, Italy, Greece, Spain, Jordan,
India, and Egypt. The celebrations concluded with a grand
finale performance featuring a traditional Kuwaiti dance
and musical piece. The International Day celebration
aimed to highlight Kuwait’s prominent role among other
local, regional, and international countries.
In her opening speech, Debbie McIntosh, Middle
School Principal at BBS, said: “Today is a very special day
for our Middle School students and school community as
we celebrate the independence and freedom of our
beloved Kuwait. We call this National/International Day,
because we recognize Kuwait’s National Day along with its
important place in the world. It is a day where countries
whether big or small, rich or poor are honored by our dedicated students, as it is very important in today’s society
that we learn about other countries and their customs.”
Deputy Director at BBS, Maha Kaddoura, said: “We are
proud to celebrate Kuwait’s National and Liberation Day,
as we get to witness the creativity and tremendous effort
set forth by both our students and teachers every year
while they showcase some of what Kuwait is most proud
of.”
“I hope everyone enjoyed what our students have prepared for us today, and I wish that this country continues
to prosper and grow for generations to come.”
A total of six Middle School classes represented Kuwait
while 12 others represented countries from around the
world. The National and International Day activities were
led by the Middle School students, while teachers helped
the brainstorm, design and implementation aspect of
their country’s projects and performances. Each student
group also transformed their classrooms into monuments
and famous landscapes of the countries that they represented. The day concluded with a luncheon which presented a variety of international dishes provided by the
students.
A famous dance from Hawaii by a group of Middle School girls.
A group of Middle School students perform Zorba, a traditional and renowned Greek dance.
Middle School students represent Japan.
Middle School students wave Kuwaiti flags as part of their celebrations.
W H AT ’ S O N
Chevrolet Alghanim sponsors
‘Best Looking Camaro Competition’
All-new 2014 Camaro wows the crowd
Y
usuf Ahmad Alghanim & Sons
Automotive, the exclusive distributor of Chevrolet vehicles in Kuwait,
has always been committed to giving the
Kuwaiti youth the appropriate platform
and support needed and desired especially when it comes to one of their truest passion: Sports cars. As Such, Yusuf Ahmad
Alghanim & Sons Automotive sponsored
the Camaro Club “2014 Best Looking
Camaro competition” in the Sirrb Circuit,
attracting a large crowd and a variety of
Camaro cars. Kuwaiti youth were eager to
attend the event so as to observe the most
beautiful Camaro and witness the competition which was held between two categories: fourth generation and fifth generation where a winner was chosen for each.
The event included over 35 camaros
where old met the new Camaro, an element that showcased the long and rich
history of the iconic nameplate. All the cars
that were included in the event were evaluated by a panel of judges - Camaro
enthusiasts and experts from the Kuwait
Camaro Club - who chose the best-looking
Camaro based on looks, appearance and
performance. Alghanim Automotive
awarded the five winners of each category
with trophies and vouchers for vehicle
service and spare parts.
Apart from having a long and rich histo-
ry, the Camaro has been the ultimate drive
that won over the hearts of thrill-seeking
youth ever since it was introduced in the
world. From deep-set eyes to sculpted rear
shoulders, the shape of Camaro is pure
emotion. This is the Camaro New 2014 in
cool, classic form with a refined look that
enhances this iconic shape. A redesigned
front fascia with a wider, lower opening
offers improved cooling and reduced aerodynamic lift. The new 2014 revamped
Camaro models feature a revised exterior
design that integrates high-performance
aerodynamics .The Exterior Appearance
Package takes Camaro temptation to an
even hotter level. High intensity discharge
headlamps with LED halo rings and the
new chrome-accented grille add a mysterious allure while restyled LED tail lamps are
a brilliant tribute to the 1969 Camaro.
With exact instrumentation and carefully tailored bolstered seats made with
sports cloth or leather, the Camaro is
designed to make every drive as rewarding
and instinctive as possible. 3.6L, 323HP,LT,
6.2L, 426 HP SS and the 6.2L,580 HP ZL1
models include a 6-way power driver and
front passenger seats. The 2014 Camaro is
available with Chevrolet MyLink, 7-inch
diagonal color touch-screen display that is
compatible for smartphone connections.
With standard Bluetooth wireless technol-
ogy, the 2014 Camaro allows the driver to
access information while keeping his/her
eyes stay on the road. The Camaro’s performance and precision continues to reign
supreme with Magnetic Ride Control,
world-class braking and a 4-wheel independent suspension.
Raw horsepower
With supercar levels of performance
and technology, the 580-horsepower
Camaro ZL1 is the fastest Camaro to ever
be built. Once you get over the rush of
the all-aluminum 6.2L supercharged V8
engine and its 580 horsepower and 556
lb.-ft. of torque, you will realize that this
Camaro goes beyond raw power. The
Camaro’s performance and precision
continues with Magnetic Ride Control,
world-class braking and 4-wheel independent suspension. The Camaro ZL1 is
the kind of vehicle that engineers dream
of designing and speed lovers crave to
drive behind its wheel. The new Camaro
ZL1 steals the spotlight with its revolutionizing design that exudes a powerful
and sleek exterior, an element that
decreases friction so as to augment the
level of intense pressure that firmly and
solidly fixes the car’s wheels to the
ground, amplifying the driver’s experience at top speeds.
Although the Camaro ZL1 is one of
the fastest rides on earth, it is equipped
with a fuel-efficient engine that brings
the comfort of convenience to every
driver. Unlike many of its competitors,
ZL1 comes fully equipped with factoryintegrated auxiliary fluid coolers including a liquid-to-liquid engine cooler typically found on high-end sports cars.
Both the manual and automatic transmissions are equipped with high-capacity oil coolers, consisting of a liquid-toliquid and air-to-oil heat exchanger
plumbed in series. The Camaro ZL1’s
stunning features makes it more of a
piece of art that thrills the youth and
allows them to explore the infinite realm
of enticing freedom.
If you are a Camaro fan, drop by the
nearest Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons
Automotive’s showroom today to take
advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime
experience that brings you the car of
your dreams, the superb 2014 Camaro.
Yusuf A. Alghanim & Sons Automotive
adds the finishing touch to the ownership experience with high-quality aftersales services. With the world’s largest
and most advanced automotive service
center, customers will never worry about
their car’s service and maintenance
needs.
GUST participates in Fire and Safety Exhibition and Expo
T
he Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) participated in the 3rd
International Fire and Safety Exhibition and Expo under the patronage of
Kuwait Prime Minister Al-Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah,
organized by the Kuwait Fire Service Directorate. The event was held at Jumeirah
Beach Hotel in Kuwait.
The opening was held on March 4, with the attendance of Prof Donald
Bates, GUST President, Dr Salah Al-Sharhan, VP for Planning & Development,
Dr Osama Al-Hares, Director of the Center of Business Development &
Corporate Relations (BDCR), Maher Barzaq, Quality Assurance Advisor and
Nehal El-Shafai, Dalia Al-Hajj, Esraa Moussa, PACE Team as well as the Fire &
Emergency Services Training Institute (FESTI) team: Dwayne Macintosh,
Deputy Fire Chief, Stephen Hall, Acting Deputy Fire Chief and Director of
Marketing (Middle East), Mohammed Hettini.
The purpose of the FESTI team visit was to finalize their partnership with
Professional Advancement & Continuing Education Center (PACE) who visited
GUST and met with Dr Abdulrahman Al-Muhailan, Chairman of BOT at GUST and
Prof Ghassan Aouad, Vice President of Academic Affairs. The visit and expo was a
great success and GUST looks forward to its continuing partnership with FESTI.
TV PROGRAMS
00:30 The Weakest Link
01:15 Live At The Apollo
02:00 Alan Carr: Chatty Man
02:45 Pramface
03:15 Stewart Lee’s Comedy
Vehicle
03:45 The Vicar Of Dibley
05:00 Mr Bloom’s Nursery
05:20 Balamory
05:40 Nina And The Neurons
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12:20 Tough Guy Or Chicken?
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Supersized
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09:30 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds
10:20 Rhodes Across Italy
11:05 Rhodes Across Italy
11:50 The Hairy Bikers Ride Again
12:20 The Restaurant UK
13:15 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen
Secrets
13:45 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen
Secrets
14:15 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen
Notebook: London
14:40 The Hairy Bikers: Mums
Know Best
15:30 Extreme Makeover: Home
Edition
Edition
Edition
Edition
Edition
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20:00 The Hairy Bikers: Mums
Know Best
20:50 Come Dine With Me:
Supersized
22:25 The Planners
23:15 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds
00:05 Curiosity: Can We Survive An
Alien...
00:55 Uncovering Aliens
01:45 Weird Or What?
02:35 How It’s Made
04:40 How Do They Do It?
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07:50 World’s Top 5
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10:20 Alaska Gold Diggers
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16:35 Auction Kings
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17:50 Border Security
19:55 Mythbusters
20:45 Dynamo:
Magician
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21:35 The Big Brain Theory
22:25 Gold Rush
23:15 Alaska Gold Diggers
00:40 Oddities
01:05 Oddities
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02:00 Building The Biggest
05:25 Engineering Thrills
06:15 The Gadget Show
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08:50 Joe Rogan Questions
Everything
10:05 Tech Toys 360
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19:35 Alien Encounters
Everything
22:35 Tech Toys 360
Everything
00:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody
00:45 Jonas Los Angeles
01:30 Suite Life On Deck
02:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place
06:00 Austin & Ally
06:25 Dog With A Blog
07:10 A.N.T. Farm
07:35 That’s So Raven
07:55 Shake It Up
08:20 Good Luck Charlie
09:05 Mako Mermaids
09:30 Jessie
09:55 Austin & Ally
10:15 A.N.T. Farm
10:40 Kronk’s New Groove
11:50 Mako Mermaids
12:15 That’s So Raven
13:00 Phineas And Ferb
15:25 Phineas & Ferb: Across The
Second Dimension
18:30 Prank Stars
19:20 Mako Mermaids
19:40 Jessie
20:05 Austin & Ally
21:15 Gravity Falls
21:40 Shake It Up
22:00 Austin & Ally
22:25 A.N.T. Farm
00:00 Chelsea Lately
00:30 The Spin Crowd
00:55 The Dance Scene
01:25 THS
03:15 E! Investigates
04:10 The E! True Hollywood Story
05:05 Extreme Close-Up
05:30 Extreme Close-Up
06:00 THS
07:50 Style Star
08:20 E! News
09:15 Scouted
10:15 Eric And Jessie: Game On
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11:10 Married To Jonas
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12:05 E! News
13:05 The Wanted Life
13:35 The Wanted Life
14:05 Keeping Up With The
Kardashians
15:00 Keeping Up With The
Kardashians
16:00 Giuliana & Bill
17:00 Fashion Police
18:00 E! News
19:00 Giuliana & Bill
20:00 THS
21:00 E!ES
22:00 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills
22:30 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills
23:30 THS
BREAKING POINT ON OSN MOVIES HD ACTION
19:00 Super Rugby
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00:00 Champions League T20
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THE RUNWAY ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY HD
01:15 Ant And Decs Saturday Night
Takeaway
02:25 White Van Man
02:55 Emmerdale
05:00 The Hungry Sailors
05:55 Paul Ogrady: For The Love Of
Dogs
06:50 Ant And Decs Saturday Night
Takeaway
08:00 The Jonathan Ross Show
08:55 Dancing On Ice
10:40 How To Find Love Online
11:35 Please Marry My Boy
12:25 The Chase
14:10 Four Weddings UK
17:45 Paul Ogrady: For The Love Of
Dogs
18:10 Please Marry My Boy
21:45 Four Weddings UK
00:30 The Daily Show With Jon
Stewart
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Jimmy Fallon
05:30 Seinfeld
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10:30 Friends
11:00 The Tonight Show Starring
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12:30 Seinfeld
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17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers
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22:00 Saturday Night Live
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Warehouse 13
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Parenthood
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Switched At Birth
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Which state
is the movie
making capital
of the world?
W
hen it comes to major movies, California is no
longer the world’s production capital - that
would be Louisiana, according to a new study
released Thursday. Eighteen of the 108 films released
last year that were produced by the major studios and
the five biggest independents were shot in the Bayou
State, according to the 2013 Feature Film Production
Study from Film LA, the region’s non-profit permitting
agency. Paramount’s “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” Focus
Features’ “Dallas Buyers Club” and Warner Bros’ “Grudge
Match” were among the movies shot in Louisiana.
California and Canada were next with 15, followed
by the UK with 12 and the state of Georgia with nine.
Surprisingly, New York was the primary filming location
for just four films in the study, but was used as a secondary location for seven. California served as a secondary site for 10 films. The surveyed films represent
$7.6 billion in direct spending and tens of thousands of
jobs in an array of professions, the report found.
The United States is still the No. 1 nation for film
production, with 70 features shot here. But California is
now sharing its former wealth with a number of other
states that offer more lucrative tax credits and film
incentives. Twenty different states and foreign countries were used as primary production locations.
And things would look even more bleak for
California were it not for animated movies like
“Monsters University,” “The Croods” and “Frozen.” In
terms of just live-action, California now ranks fourth
behind Louisiana, the UK and Canada in feature projects, spending and jobs. The numbers confirm what
most people in California’s film and TV industry feared.
The state’s share of projects has been steadily eroding
since 1997, when Canadian provinces began offering
significant tax credits for TV producers and filmmakers.
Now, more than 40 US states and a dozen foreign countries offer incentives and it’s taken a serious toll on the
state.
California produced 68 percent of the top 25 movies
at the worldwide box office in 1997. In 2013, it was
down to eight percent. Of the 26 live-action films with
production budgets over $100 million, just two - “The
Hangover Part III” and “Star Trek: Into Darkness” - were
filmed primarily in California. The state hosted only
nine other live-action movies in the study, and they
had a combined budget value of $194 million in spending. Five of these films (accounting for $161 million in
spending) were only able to film in California because
of the state’s tax credit program.
(It won’t get any better this year. Only two films with
budgets over $100 million that are set for release in
2014 - “Captain America: Winter Soldier” and
“Interstellar” - were shot in the state.) There’s a solution
to the state’s runaway production problem, according
to Film LA president Paul Audley.
“Considering California’s vast filmmaking talent, the
state should be exporting films for global audiences,
not jobs to global competitors,” he said. “State policymakers have the opportunity to make a difference this
year by expanding California’s film and television tax
credit. We hope they give the strongest possible signal
to the film industry that they want to keep film jobs in
California.”
The state Legislature is considering a bill introduced
last month that would expand the state’s incentive program that was launched in 2009 to make big budget
movies and network TV shows eligible for the tax
breaks for the first time. Los Angeles Mayor Eric
Garcetti, a proponent of the legislation, said the survey
made clear how important the industry was to the
region and state. “The film and entertainment industries are absolutely essential to California’s middle class,
and this underscores the importance of our work to
level the playing field against the other states and
countries who are luring our jobs away,” said Garcetti.
“These jobs not only support California families, they
generate revenues that pay for schools, infrastructure,
and other state services.”
The Film LA study focused on films that were produced by the six major studios in Southern California Disney, Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount. Sony and
20th Century Fox - and five of the best-known independent studios: DreamWorks, Lionsgate, the
Weinstein Company, Film District and Relativity. The
108 films sampled included 10 animated films and 98
live-action features, most of which were filmed in 2012
and 2013, though 23 were shot in 2011 or earlier. The
production budgets ranged from $1.25 million to $225
million, and the average was $71 million. — Reuters
Classifieds
Kuwait
KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY
(06/03/2014 TO 12/03/2014)
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A\Sĸ]]`O\ROVOZT
Rc^ZSfW\C]`bcPO
PSR`]][a
[OabS`[OWR`]][
eWbVPObV`]][;\
T`]\b]TaS`dWQSa
English, Maths, Social Studies,
Accountancy with Business studies
and
Physical Education (female).
99167716
Phone: 23728702 / 23728724 Fax: 23720866 WWW.IISKWT.COM
MATRIMONIAL
Marthomite parents invite
marriage proposal for their
daughter 26 years, fair (MD
Radiology) studying in a
reputed Medical college in
India. Looking for a suitable
proposal from God fearing
family of professionally
qualified doctors/medical
student (preferably MD).
Interested may contact at:
Email: [email protected]
(C 4654)
4-3-2014
Christian Orthodox parents from Central
Travancore, residing at
Tiruvalla invite proposals
for their daughter 25 years,
5’7” (M.Tech Structural
Engineering from NIT
Calicut) from well to do and
settled boys having
M.Tech/B.Tech/CA/MBA.
We are in the process of recruiting following
teachers for new academic year:
Interested candidates can mail their CV immediately.
[email protected]
Preferably from
Orthodox/Jacobite family.
Interested may contact
email at
[email protected].
2-3-2014
Passport No. F5608432
reverted to Islam, do hereby change my name to
Yousef Vijaykumar
Painginkar. (C 4657)
6-3-2014
CHANGE OF NAME
FOR SALE
Saravanan Subramaniyan
S/O Subramaniyan, holder
of Indian Passport No.
G9950267 born on 2nd
March 1976 (native district
Thiruvarur), residing at no.
112/219, Mariamman Kovil
street, Maruthanga - vali,
Muthupet 614704.
Thiruvarur District, has
embraced Islam shall
henceforth be known as
Sameer Mohamed.
(C 4658)
9-3-2014
I, Vijaykumar B. Painginkar
R/O Goa, India, holder of
Cooker Indesit gas 4 ring
with oven, Linen box, ironing board, cloths hang rail
with shelf, dining table and
4 chairs, sofa 3 seats, office
desk, office chair, bookcase.
Personal trainer CPS with
heart monitor, dock station
for iPod, printer HP photosmart, safe. Tel: 94400865.
(C 4656)
6-3-2014
LOST
Original document Policy
633001470/633001464/633
002341/633000763/633000
828 of Muhammad Afzal
Mughal by the State Life
Insurance Corporation of
Pakistan, Gulf Zone is
reported to have been lost.
Anyone finding the same or
claiming any interest in it
should communicate with
State Life Office Kuwait Tel:
22452208. (C 4655)
4-3-2014
THE PUBLIC
AUTHORITY FOR
CIVIL INFORMATION
Automated enquiry
aboutthe Civil ID card is
1889988
112
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Bahrain
Dubai
Bahrain
Tehran
Amman
Abu Dhabi
Doha
Dubai
Cairo
Amman
Sharjah
Riyadh
Bahrain
Dubai
Jeddah
Beirut
Alexandria
Colombo
Beirut
Abu Dhabi
Bahrain
Mumbai
Dubai
Dubai
Delhi
Islamabad
Kochi
Dammam/Amsterdam
Doha
Chennai
Luxor
Dubai
Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta
Bangkok/Manila
14:30
14:45
14:55
15:05
15:15
15:30
15:45
19:10
19:15
19:25
19:40
20:15
20:15
20:30
20:45
20:55
21:00
21:00
21:10
21:45
21:50
21:55
15:45
16:20
16:55
17:35
17:40
17:50
17:50
17:55
18:05
18:15
18:20
18:40
18:45
18:50
18:55
22:10
22:20
22:20
22:30
22:35
22:40
22:50
22:50
22:55
23:00
23:05
23:10
23:15
23:30
23:40
23:55
23:55
34
stars
CROSSWORD 481
STAR TRACK
Aries (March 21-April 19)
One of the best things about not having to work today is that you can enjoy
the celebrations of spring around your city. You attach more importance to
friendships and taking part in group activities. Having been so busy with a heavy workload, you may now move fun and frivolity to a better position on your list of activities. If
you are tempted to buy pretty things today, remember that all that glitters is not necessarily gold. Readjust your priorities without delay. You and your loved one may decide to
have a party for your friends this evening. This is a favorable time to repair any broken
relationships. There is good news among your friends this evening. Romantic feelings are
deepened, encouraging you to bestow tokens of your affection upon your loved one.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
You are unusually talkative today. You have a zeal to sample the new and
unique that is all around you. Visiting with friends that have come while playing a competitive game in your yard is the glue that keeps your friends outgoing and in touch.
Companionship with close family and friends is important now and you will want to take
every opportunity to keep this network of loved ones close to you. An instinctive urge to
get serious about taking care of you at many levels is emphasized as well. This could mean
a new exercise program. A loved one is supportive. Refinement and relationships are the
keys to emotional satisfaction. Your base of security, which is your home and loved ones,
is the place you want to be this evening.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
ACROSS
1. Primitive predaceous North American fish
covered with hard scales and having long
jaws with needle-like teeth.
4. Small genus of deciduous trees of tropical
America and Asia.
12. A person active in party politics.
15. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit
juice.
16. An organism (especially a bacterium) that
does not require air or free oxygen to live.
17. Title for a civil or military leader (especially
in Turkey).
18. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac
insects.
19. Deserving a curse.
20. Any of various fissiped mammals with
nonretractile claws and typically long muzzles.
22. Any of several cultivated sour cherry trees
bearing pale red fruit with colorless juice.
24. A soft yellow malleable ductile (trivalent
and univalent) metallic element.
26. An underground enclosure with access
from the surface of the ground or from the
sea v 1.
27. Of or relating to or functioning as a
phrase.
29. Become taut or tauter.
31. The presence of an unwanted signal via an
accidental coupling.
33. Deserving blame or censure as being
wrong or evil or injurious.
35. Bulky grayish-brown eagle with a short
wedge-shaped white tail.
37. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.
38. A colorless odorless gaseous element that
give a red glow in a vacuum tube.
39. Herbs and subshrubs.
42. A domain in which something is dominant.
45. An informal term for a father.
47. A barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and
supports.
48. A narcotic drug that contains opium or an
opium derivative.
49. A long pointed rod used as a weapon.
52. A radioactive element of the actinide
series.
53. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that was
formed by an explosion.
55. A complex inorganic compound that contains ammonia molecules.
58. Brown or blackish Alpine mosses having a
dehiscent capsule with 4 longitudinal slits.
62. Beads threaded on a string.
63. A person who acts as host at formal occasions (makes an introductory speech and
introduces other speakers).
64. Large European dormouse.
66. The capital and largest city of Equatorial
Guinea on the island of Bioko in the Gulf of
Guinea.
73. A loose sleeveless outer garment made
from aba cloth.
74. Small depression under the shoulder joint
where the arm joins the shoulder.
77. The deep vascular inner layer of the skin.
78. Flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental
purposes.
79. Red breed of domestic rabbits.
81. A resource.
82. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized
by behavioral and learning disorders.
83. A great raja.
84. An undergarment worn by women to support their breasts.
DOWN
1. Offering fun and gaiety.
2. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian mythology.
3. A summary that repeats the substance of a
longer discussion.
4. A horse used to set the pace in racing.
5. Any plant of the genus Inula.
6. A town in southeastern New Mexico on the
Pecos River near the Mexican border.
7. Seal again.
8. A unit of surface area equal to 100 square
meters.
9. A sodium salt of carbonic acid.
10. A unit of information equal to one million
(1,048,576) bytes.
11. A former agency (from 1946 to 1974) that
was responsible for research into atomic energy and its peacetime uses in the United
States.
12. A long slender cigar.
13. Front consisting of the conical head of a
missile or rocket that protects the payload
from heat during its passage through the
atmosphere.
14. Filled with a great quantity.
21. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug
(trade names Acular and Toradol) that is
administered only intramuscularly.
23. The 17th letter of the Greek alphabet.
25. A reptile genus of Iguanidae.
28. Soviet physicist who worked on low temperature physics (1908-1968).
30. A defensive missile designed to shoot
down incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles.
32. A surgical instrument used to remove sections of bone from the skull.
34. (statistics) Approximating the statistical
norm or average or expected value.
36. Submerged aquatic plant having narrow
leaves and small flowers.
40. A choice or delicious dish.
41. Elk or moose.
43. Xerophytic evergreen shrubs.
44. A unit of weight equivalent to 1000 kilograms.
46. Primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly
aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true
stems and roots and leaves.
50. A white metallic element that burns with a
brilliant light.
51. Web spinners.
54. (meaning literally `born') Used to indicate
the maiden or family name of a married
woman.
56. Common black European thrush.
57. A state in midwestern United States.
59. Preserve a dead body.
60. Absence of the pupil in an eye.
61. Any of various orchids of the genus Bletia
having pseudo-bulbs and erect leafless
racemes of large purple or pink flowers.
65. A midwestern state in north central United
States in the Great Lakes region.
67. In bed.
68. Set down according to a plan.
69. The basic unit of money in Ethiopia.
70. Lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise.
71. An independent ruler or chieftain (especially in Africa or Arabia).
72. A quantity of no importance.
75. The ratio of the distance traveled (in miles)
to the time spent traveling (in hours).
76. Chiefly perennial grasses of cool temperate regions.
80. A person who announces and plays popular recorded music.
If your friends could read auras, yours would be shining gold and green
today. Curiosity and good feelings promote new ideas and healing results in
your body. Your inner resources and emotions are emphasized. Good relationships are the
keys to emotional satisfaction. Travel could be available, if you wish. Enlightenment in
many areas of your life gives you a greater understanding of many life matters. Look well
groomed-you may be more pleased with the results than you thought. An insight about
your support system, your mother or other females, may be as interesting as it is important just now. This can be a far-reaching, creative and even romantic phase of your life. A
love relationship can flourish this evening.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
There are opportunities to be expressive and sociable today. There are
things you have always wanted to try and never had the time-you are curious. The exchange of ideas becomes a focal point of your day. This could involve a trip to a
new computer store or a day at a new exhibit at your local museum or an invention idea
that someone is willing to help you create. Learning, knowing a little about a lot of things,
staying in touch and on top of the latest developments are the things that satisfy a need
for mental stimulation. Neighbors and brothers or sisters may play a role in this; young
people figure more prominently in your life these days.
Leo (July 23-August 22)
Helping your friends, even in the subtlest manner, should prove successful
today. Remember your friends and family at this time and try to include them in your good
fortune. Use your time as wisely as possible so as not to overtax yourself. Look at a particular project before you begin and decide how you can best accomplish what you want to
accomplish. This is a great time to reflect and understand your own situation, just how you
feel about yourself. Emotions in particular, or the feelings of those around you, may be
very clear. Your inner resources and emotions are accented. Fasten your seat belt; your
luck is about to improve in many areas of your life. Sweet music and a light meal create the
perfect atmosphere for romance.
Virgo (August 23-September 22)
A wedding or some other reason that brings family and friends together
has you eager to lend a helpful hand. You could be preparing to sing at the wedding.
Refinement and relationships are the keys to emotional satisfaction now. Harmony and
beauty are deeply satisfying-and the lack of them can be emotionally unsettling. You are
learning to put the supersensitive you in the past. You are also learning to look past the
emotional or manipulative comments of another with compassion. Smiles and frowns do
not exist at the same time and you have the power to choose. Good for you-you are the
ruler of your own emotions and you will be good at teaching others. Close personal ties to
people are a strong pull today. Celebrations are wonderful!
Challenging Mazes
Libra (September 23-October 22)
Keep your diary updated with simply a log of your activities with outstanding experiences noted. In no time at all you will see a book emerging from
your daily doodles. A conversation with old friends may bring up old memories and give
you plenty to write about in your diary or rather, daily doodles. A fun gathering is
inevitable and perhaps a game of chance will bring many opportunities to laugh and join
in the art of deepening your friendships. Coming to grips with the past or getting in touch
with the mystical and the spiritual things gives a sense of satisfaction and completeness.
Romance and such creative pursuits as hobbies are outlets for much of your energy later
today. This evening is a good time to express yourself to a loved one.
Scorpio (October 23-November 21)
You may find yourself feeling more private and in a stay-at-home mood
today. Now is a time to spend with loved ones. Everything you see or do this
day deepens your compassion and brings out your unique and unusual qualities. You
could come up with new solutions to something as simple as an easy can opener or shoe
polish. Family, home, relatives and real estate have your attention. You may enjoy looking
at new houses later today. The layout of other homes and the smell of fresh wood are creatively stimulating as well as physically relaxing. Good feelings and a sense of support and
harmony make this a happy time. Real insight into your own inner workings and future
possibilities is fun and enjoyable to ponder.
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)
A garage sale may be the order of this day. Your spring-cleaning brings
monetary rewards. Don’t be too surprised when unexpected friends drop
over this afternoon. They may want to buy your stuff. This may be the boost you need as
the short time that they visit with you brings good news. Communicating is at a high just
now as there are phone calls, catching up with the newest happenings of neighbors, etc.
Others find you full of energy. You may be sought after for your advice and counsel
regarding very personal and emotional issues. Your psychic abilities are high and not one
person would dare to try and fool you today. Keep up with your physical exercise! You will
want to build your stamina and get in shape for the good things that are ahead.
Capricorn (December 22-January 19)
This whole day is exciting in that you complete your chores early and you are
helpful to those around you; you have time for a hobby moment. This may
mean you know just where to shop for a particular part or you finish building a special
project. If you wish, you will be able to show off your hobby to others. If you are with a religious group later today you may decide to enjoy each other’s company with a meal
together after your meeting. There are good conversations and the group melds together
into future possibilities. Later today is a good time to just relax and enjoy yourself, perhaps
in reading or enjoying a movie, music or strolling through the neighborhood. You may
find an animal relaxing this evening. There is a bit of cheerful laughter.
Aquarius (January 20- February 18)
Early morning quandaries set the tone for a somewhat strange day. You
may busy yourself with these thoughts for a short while-then you go about
looking for ways to create and accomplish your goals. Now may be the best time to consider a move. Perhaps the apartment you live in is beginning to feel a little small. This is a
good day to go hunting for something new. Later today you will find yourself trying to
catch up on chores: writing letters and getting caught up on paying the bills, which is a
good idea. This will also give you time to focus and plan. This is not a wildly romantic time
but one where small endeavors will meet with success. This is a good time to express your
affections. Don’t wait until it is too late to become better organized.
Pisces (February 19-March 20)
Early morning time is yours and it may be the only time today that you will
experience a quiet time, so enjoy. This is a great time for memories and
phone calls and gatherings with friends, especially to follow through on plans previously
made. A guest in your home today may play a joke on you to get you to think he or she has
forgotten about your special day. Never fear, before the day is over there will be celebrations and music and lovely people with all sorts of good wishes. Somehow today you will
also be put in a position of helping others. This is highly recommended and highly rewarding but may not be anything other than sharing with others your optimistic, buoyant and
lighthearted attitude; smile, it is contagious. Happy birthday!
Yesterday’s Solution
Daily SuDoku
i n f o r m at i o n
For labor-related inquiries
and complaints:
Call MSAL hotline 128
GOVERNORATE
Sabah Hospital
24812000
Amiri Hospital
22450005
Maternity Hospital
24843100
Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital
25312700
Chest Hospital
24849400
Farwaniya Hospital
24892010
Adan Hospital
23940620
Ibn Sina Hospital
24840300
Al-Razi Hospital
24846000
Physiotherapy Hospital
24874330/9
PHARMACY
ADDRESS
PHONE
Ahmadi
Sama Safwan
Abu Halaifa
Danat Al-Sultan
Fahaeel Makka St
Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd
Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd
23915883
23715414
23726558
Jahra
Modern Jahra
Madina Munawara
Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1
Jahra-Block 92
24575518
24566622
Capital
Ahlam
Khaldiya Coop
Fahad Al-Salem St
Khaldiya Coop
22436184
24833967
Farwaniya
New Shifa
Ferdous Coop
Modern Safwan
Farwaniya Block 40
Ferdous Coop
Old Kheitan Block 11
24734000
24881201
24726638
Tariq
Hana
Ikhlas
Hawally & Rawdha
Ghadeer
Kindy
Ibn Al-Nafis
Mishrif Coop
Salwa Coop
Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St
Salmiya-Amman St
Hawally-Beirut St
Hawally & Rawdha Coop
Jabriya-Block 1A
Jabriya-Block 3B
Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St
Mishrif Coop
Salwa Coop
25726265
25647075
22625999
22564549
25340559
25326554
25721264
25380581
25628241
Hawally
Al-Madeena
22418714
Al-Shuhada
22545171
Al-Shuwaikh
24810598
Al-Nuzha
22545171
Sabhan
24742838
Al-Helaly
22434853
Al-Faiha
22545051
Al-Farwaniya
24711433
Al-Sulaibikhat
24316983
Al-Fahaheel
23927002
Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh
24316983
Ahmadi
23980088
Al-Mangaf
23711183
Al-Shuaiba
23262845
Kaizen center
25716707
Rawda
22517733
Adaliya
22517144
Al-Jahra
25610011
Khaldiya
24848075
Al-Salmiya
25616368
Kaifan
24849807
Shamiya
24848913
Shuwaikh
24814507
Abdullah Salem
22549134
Nuzha
22526804
Industrial Shuwaikh
24814764
Qadsiya
22515088
Dasmah
22532265
Bneid Al-Gar
22531908
Shaab
22518752
Qibla
22459381
Ayoun Al-Qibla
22451082
Mirqab
22456536
Sharq
22465401
Salmiya
25746401
Jabriya
25316254
Maidan Hawally
25623444
Bayan
25388462
Mishref
25381200
W Hawally
22630786
Sabah
24810221
Jahra
24770319
New Jahra
24575755
West Jahra
24772608
South Jahra
24775066
North Jahra
24775992
North Jleeb
24311795
Ardhiya
24884079
Firdous
24892674
Omariya
24719048
N Khaitan
24710044
Fintas
23900322
INTERNATIONAL
CALLS
PRIVATE CLINICS
Ophthalmologists
Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor
25622444
Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea
25752222
Dr. Masoma Habeeb
25321171
Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy
25739999
Dr. Mohsen Abel
25757700
Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl
25732223
Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly
25732223
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)
Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner
24555050 Ext 510
Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali
25644660
Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478
Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah
25311996
Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory
25731988
Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary
22620166
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz
25651426
General Practitioners
Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi
24555050 Ext 123
Dr. Yousef Al-Omar
24719312
Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem
23926920
Dr. Kathem Maarafi
25730465
Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528
Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi
24577781
Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501
Urologists
Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy
22641534
Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul
22639955
Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660
Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120
Dr. Leons Joseph
66703427
Psychologists
/Psychotherapists
Paediatricians
Plastic Surgeons
Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf
22547272
Dr. Khaled Hamadi
Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari
22617700
Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed
Dr. Abdel Quttainah
25625030/60
Family Doctor
Dr Divya Damodar
23729596/23729581
Psychiatrists
Dr. Esam Al-Ansari
22635047
Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan
22613623/0
Gynaecologists & Obstetricians
DrAdrian arbe
23729596/23729581
Dr. Verginia s.Marin
2572-6666 ext 8321
Endocrinologist
25665898
25340300
Dr. Zahra Qabazard
25710444
Dr. Sohail Qamar
22621099
Dr. Snaa Maaroof
25713514
Dr. Pradip Gujare
23713100
Dr. Zacharias Mathew
24334282
(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon
Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar,
FRCS (Canada)
25655535
Dentists
Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan
22655539
Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami
25343406
Dr. Shamah Al-Matar
22641071/2
Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly
25739272
Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed
22562226
22618787
Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer
22561444
Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan
22619557
Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash
22525888
Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan
25653755
Dr. Bader Al-Ansari
25620111
General Surgeons
Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer
22610044
Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher
25327148
Internists, Chest & Heart
Dr. Adnan Ebil
Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan
22666300
25728004
Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra
25355515
Dr. Mobarak Aldoub
24726446
Dr Nasser Behbehani
25654300/3
Soor Center
Tel: 2290-1677
Fax: 2290 1688
Neurologists
22639939
Dr. Mousa Khadada
[email protected]
www.soorcenter.com
3729596/3729581
Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri
25633324
Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan
25345875
Gastrologists
Dr. Sami Aman
22636464
Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly
25322030
Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali
22633135
Kaizen center
25716707
25339330
Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888
Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924
Physiotherapists & VD
Dr. Deyaa Shehab
25722291
Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees
22666288
Rheumatologists:
Dr. Adel Al-Awadi
Dr Anil Thomas
Dr. Salem soso
Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman
25330060
Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah
25722290
Internist, Chest & Heart
DR.Mohammes Akkad
24555050 Ext 210
Dr. Mohammad Zubaid
MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC
Assistant Professor Of Medicine
Head, Division of Cardiology
Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital
Consultant Cardiologist
Dr. Farida Al-Habib
MD, PH.D, FACC
Inaya German Medical Center
Te: 2575077
Fax: 25723123
2611555-2622555
William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677
Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677
Afghanistan
0093
Albania
00355
Algeria
00213
Andorra
00376
Angola
00244
Anguilla
001264
Antiga
001268
Argentina
0054
Armenia
00374
Australia
0061
Austria
0043
Bahamas
001242
Bahrain
00973
Bangladesh
00880
Barbados
001246
Belarus
00375
Belgium
0032
Belize
00501
Benin
00229
Bermuda
001441
Bhutan
00975
Bolivia
00591
Bosnia
00387
Botswana
00267
Brazil
0055
Brunei
00673
Bulgaria
00359
Burkina
00226
Burundi
00257
Cambodia
00855
Cameroon
00237
Canada
001
Cape Verde
00238
Cayman Islands
001345
Central African
00236
Chad
00235
Chile
0056
China
0086
Colombia
0057
Comoros
00269
Congo
00242
Cook Islands
00682
Costa Rica
00506
Croatia
00385
Cuba
0053
Cyprus
00357
Cyprus (Northern) 0090392
Czech Republic
00420
Denmark
0045
Diego Garcia
00246
Djibouti
00253
Dominica
001767
Dominican Republic 001809
Ecuador
00593
Egypt
0020
El Salvador
00503
England (UK)
0044
Equatorial Guinea 00240
Eritrea
00291
Estonia
00372
Ethiopia
00251
Falkland Islands
00500
Faroe Islands
00298
Fiji
00679
Finland
00358
France
0033
French Guiana
00594
French Polynesia
00689
Gabon
00241
Gambia
00220
Georgia
00995
Germany
0049
Ghana
00233
Gibraltar
00350
Greece
0030
Greenland
00299
Grenada
001473
Guadeloupe
00590
Guam
001671
Guatemala
00502
Guinea
00224
Guyana
00592
Haiti
00509
Holland (Netherlands) 0031
Honduras
00504
Hong Kong
00852
Hungary
0036
Ibiza (Spain)
0034
Iceland
00354
India
0091
Indian Ocean
00873
Indonesia
0062
Iran
0098
Iraq
00964
Ireland
00353
Italy
0039
Ivory Coast
00225
Jamaica
001876
Japan
0081
Jordan
00962
Kazakhstan
007
Kenya
00254
Kiribati
00686
Kuwait
00965
Kyrgyzstan
00996
Laos
00856
Latvia
00371
Lebanon
00961
Liberia
00231
Libya
00218
Lithuania
00370
Luxembourg
00352
Macau
00853
Macedonia
00389
Madagascar
00261
Majorca
0034
Malawi
00265
Malaysia
0060
Maldives
00960
Mali
00223
Malta
00356
Marshall Islands
00692
Martinique
00596
Mauritania
00222
Mauritius
00230
Mayotte
00269
Mexico
0052
Micronesia
00691
Moldova
00373
Monaco
00377
Mongolia
00976
Montserrat
001664
Morocco
00212
Mozambique
00258
Myanmar (Burma) 0095
Namibia
00264
Nepal
00977
Netherlands (Holland)
0031
Netherlands Antilles 00599
New Caledonia
00687
New Zealand
0064
Nicaragua
00505
Nigar
00227
Nigeria
00234
Niue
00683
Norfolk Island
00672
Northern Ireland (UK)
0044
North Korea
00850
Norway
0047
Oman
00968
Pakistan
0092
Palau
00680
Panama
00507
Papua New Guinea 00675
Paraguay
00595
Peru
0051
Philippines
0063
Poland
0048
Portugal
00351
Puerto Rico
001787
Qatar
00974
Romania
0040
Russian Federation 007
Rwanda
00250
Saint Helena
00290
Saint Kitts
001869
Saint Lucia
001758
Saint Pierre
00508
Saint Vincent
001784
Samoa US
00684
Samoa West
00685
San Marino
00378
Sao Tone
00239
Saudi Arabia
00966
Scotland (UK)
0044
Senegal
00221
Seychelles
00284
Sierra Leone
00232
Singapore
0065
Slovakia
00421
Slovenia
00386
Solomon Islands
00677
lifestyle
G O S S I P
Jessica Simpson has reached
her target weight
T
he reality star and mother to daughter
Maxwell, 21 months, and son Ace,
eight months, has shed 50lbs of her
baby weight and celebrated by posting
shots of herself in a white dress on
Instagram. Under one picture she wrote:
“First time rocking a white dress this
year... but not the last!! Thanks @weightwatchers! (sic)” Alongside another picture of her wearing a T-shirt, she added:
“...AND a white T-shirt!!#goalreached
thx (sic)” Jessica - who is engaged to
be married to Eric Johnson - also
posted a picture of Maxwell, showing how she has inherited her
famous blonde hair color. She captioned it: “The most beautiful girl
in the world.” She also posted a
picture of her holding Ace, saying
he was the “most handsome boy
in the world”. Jessica - who is a
spokesperson for Weight
Watchers - has previously said
she has set a date for her wedding
to former NFL star Eric, 34, and is
planning to stay in shape for her big
day. She said: “I think it’s about time!
Knowing that I have the wedding coming up is an incentive to stay on
Weight Watchers, count my points and
stay in the gym. I mean, when you see
my dress, you’ll know.”
Justin Bieber back
with Selena Gomez
T
he ‘Never Say Never’ singer has been spotted looking
close with his ex in the city of McAllen in Texas a day
after he stormed out of a legal deposition when he was
quizzed about her. The pair - who were first linked in 2010 but
split in January 2013, only to get back together again briefly
at the beginning of this year - were seen having breakfast at
local restaurant Don Pepe’s but refused to take photos during
their meal. Selena had beef chops with salsa, while the Justin
opted for traditional Mexican dish Huevos Rancheros, according to E! news. The pair then headed to flower shop LA
Imports, where spies say they were hugging and talking
about flowers. They then made their way to Perfumeria La
Versailles to look around. Selena is in her home state ahead of
a show at Hidalgo State Farm which will be her first since she
completed a stint in rehab in January. Earlier this week Justin
raised eyebrows when he posted a picture of his former love
in an elegant Emilio Pucci dress for the Vanity Fair party after
The Oscars with the caption: “The most elegant princess in the
world.” Justin, 20, has recently found himself in a number of
legal troubles due to his behavior in the US and his native
Canada, and his uncle, Brad Bieber, thinks his actions were
down to him missing Selena. He said: “How would you feel if
your first love didn’t work out? How would you feel if that relationship went sour and then it became public and you had no
chance to heal or sort out your own emotions and feelings?
He is just a brokenhearted, lost little boy.”
Lindsay Lohan has Oprah
Winfrey on speed dial
T
he recovering actress has been mentored by the
talk show star since she completed a 90-day court
ordered stint in rehab last year, and says she feels
blessed to have such a strong bond with her. She told
Extra TV: “I love that I can call Oprah on the phone, and
be like, ‘Oprah, can we talk right now?’ and she calls me
within two minutes. I have to trick her into leaving voicemails, so I can just have Oprah’s voicemails ... she’s the
coolest person ever.” Lindsay, 27, has also filmed a docu-
series for Oprah’s OWN network which she is keen to
stress isn’t a reality show, and she says she had no control over what made the final cut. She added: “I did it
because it’s not a reality show, it’s pretty raw. Obviously
it’s TV, so things will be edited in certain ways to get ratings, which I can’t control, but I do know that my intentions going into it were really pure and really honest. I
appreciate all that’s happened and all that [Oprah has]
done for me.”
U2 won’t release a new
album until next year
A
Lea Michele thinks people should relax
L
ea Michele doesn’t think people should “strive for fame”. The
27-year-old star - who recently released her first solo album
‘Louder’ - thinks too many young people aspire to be a star
rather than looking to do something they are really passionate
about. She told Bliss magazine: “A lot of people strive for fame and
don’t focus on finding something they’re passionate about.
“There becomes this idea of a system where someone is better
than you because they’re famous, so you want to strive to be
where they are, when the most important thing is to be the best
Mary-Kate Olsen’s
engagement ring
costs $81,250
T
he actress-turned-designer is set to marry her partner
of two years, Olivier Sarkozy - who is the half-brother of
former French President Nicolas Sarkozy - after she was
spotted flaunting a massive sparkler last week, and it has
now emerged the vintage Cartier ring was bought at a
Sotheby’s auction on February 6. According StyleCaster, the
band boasts a four-carat European-cut diamond surrounded
by 16 calibré-cut sapphires and 1.5 carats of diamonds. It
dates back to 1953 and was apparently previously owned by
“a Tennessee collector”. Mary-Kate flaunted her new accessory for the second time at the Louis Vuitton show at Paris
Fashion Week. The marriage will be Mary-Kate’s first and
Oliver’s second, after his union to Charlotte Bernard, with
whom he has two teenage children, Julien and Margot. The
fashionista and the banker live in New York where they have
a $6.25 million townhouse, but their union has caused some
controversy due to their 17-year age gap. Mary-Kate previously commented: “Everyone has an opinion. I find it’s better
to focus on what’s in front of you and to keep putting one
foot in front of the other.”
you, and be your own personal motivator.” The ‘Glee’ actress has
always been interested in singing and acting and says being
famous is just an unfortunate part of the job rather than something she’s always aspired to. When asked if the intrusions into her
personal life are worth it for being able to do the job that you
love, she said: “That is a very weird part of this business. It’s very
strange that men sit outside my house in cars and wait to take a
photo of me at the grocery store. “Some days it’s harder to deal
with than others, but I try not to let it get the best of me.”
lthough the band have performed live appearing at The Oscars, The Golden
Globes and on ‘The Tonight Show
Starring Jimmy Fallon’ - and debuted two new
tracks, ‘Ordinary Love’ and ‘Invisible’, they are
still trying to perfect songs for their new
album. A source told Billboard magazine: “It
seems to be taking longer for them to finish
an album as they get older, but the great
thing about U2 is that the whole of a record is
always better than the sum of its parts. “That
magic that the band always seems to capture... they have yet to capture it.” The album is
being helmed by executive producer Danger
Mouse and U2 - Bono, The Edge, Adam
Clayton, and Larry Mullen - have scheduled
further sessions with producers Ryan Tedder
and Paul Epworth to complete the as-yet-untitled record. Bono, 53, has previously said he is conscious of the band’s age
and having something to say on their 13th studio album. He explained: “We’re on the verge of irrelevance. You have to
make stuff relevant to you and where you’re at, make an honest account of what you’re going through. If that’s relevant to
other people, great. But we don’t know.” The singer also spoke about the inspiration behind the album, saying it goes back
to when the group first got together in 1976. He added: “We went back to why we wanted to be in a band in the first
place. We were listening to the Ramones and Kraftwerk - you can hear both on ‘Invisible’. It opened up a whole valve for
me writing, it was like a damburst of sorts.”
Jourdan Dunn is in
complete awe of Beyoncé
T
he model of the moment has been a fan of the R&B superstar ever since
she was nine years old and embarrassed herself when she first met her
idol at the Met Ball in New York City last May by asking if she could “hold”
her. She told Miss VOGUE magazine: “I used to pretend I was the fifth member
of Destiny’s Child. She saw us, smiled and began walking over. We both turned
to see if Jay Z or someone was nearby. She said, ‘Hi,’ and told us that she
thought we were beautiful. I think I said, ‘Can I just hold you?’“Jourdan achieved
her life’s dream this year by starring in the video for her track ‘YoncÈ’ alongside
Chanel Iman and Joan Smalls but she was nervous about the singer judging
her performance. She gushed: “I was the first one up, and Beyoncé came in and
sat behind the screen to watch. It was like, ‘Oh my god, no pressure!’“ The beauty - who also hosts a cookery series, ‘Well Dunn’ for BeyoncÈ’s husband Jay Z’s
YouTube channel - was amazed to receive a personal invitation to the showbiz
power couple’s New Year’s Eve party this year. Jourdan enthused: “There were
only about 45 people there. I walked down the stairs and saw Beyoncé on the
dance-floor. She came right over and gave me a big hug. I love her!”
lifestyle
G O S S I P
Lena Headey used
to fight a lot
T
he actress was well-equipped for her
role as Spartan Queen Gorgo in ‘300:
Rise of an Empire’
because she has plenty of
experience of
scrapping when
she was younger, though
she is unsure why she came
to blows so often. She said: “I
did a lot of training, which I
love. I’m a tomboy. I used to
get into a lot of fights. Don’t
know why, self-expression I guess.
I got into boxing.” The 40-year-old
actress has a three-year-old son,
Wylie, from her marriage to musician
Peter Loughran and she enjoyed
bringing the little boy to the set of the
movie because he was impressed by
her sword-fighting skills. She added
in an interview with People magazine:
“He was on set during a fight scene. He
stood up and said, ‘Ninjas, be gentle!”
Lena - who also plays Queen Cersei in
‘Games of Thrones’ - also finds it
funny how she’s picked for regal
roles because she isn’t like that
in real life. She said: “I’m covered [in tattoos]. That’s
what’s hilarious. You
couldn’t get less royal than me.”
Ke$ha feeling healthy
after leaving rehab
T
he ‘Timber’ hitmaker has finished her
treatment for an eating disorder at
the Timberline Knolls clinic near
Chicago and claims she’s “happy” to be
working on new music. She took to
Twitter last night to update her fans on
her progress, writing: “Happy to be back!
Feeling healthy & working on tons of new
music, I can’t thank my fans enough for all
the love & support u have given me. (sic)”
She later added: “Life is beautiful. I’m so
blessed to have u all. (sic)”. The 27-year-old
singer recently postponed her upcoming
‘Warrior’ world tour, which would see her
perform in Hammond, Indiana, on March
15 and Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 13,
following doctor’s orders to overcome her
issues before focusing on her career again.
She said last month: “I was so looking forward to performing at these dates but I
need to follow my doctor’s advice and get
my health back on track... I couldn’t have
done this without you all. I look forward to
coming back stronger than ever on the
next tour.” Ke$ha checked into rehab on
January 3 after admitting she was suffering with anorexia and bulimia.
Brangelina don’t want their kids to be actors
T
he couple raise six kids together Maddox, 12, Pax, 10, Zahara, nine, Shiloh,
seven, and twins Vivienne and Knox, five and despite letting Vivienne have a cameo in
her new film ‘Maleficent’, Angelina is not
encouraging them to become screen stars. She
told Entertainment Weekly magazine: “We
think it’s fun for our kids to have cameos and
join us on set, but not to be actors. That’s not
the goal for Brad and me at all. I think we
would both prefer that they didn’t become
actors. “But she was four at the time and other
three and four year old [actors] really wouldn’t
come near me. Big kids thought I was cool but little kids didn’t really like me. So, in order
to have a child that wants to play with
[Maleficent]... it had to be a child that really
liked me and wasn’t afraid of my horns and my
eyes and claws, so it had to be Viv.” Angelina
added Pax was incredibly scared when he first
saw her in full make-up as the titular wicked
witch, he ran away. She added: “When Pax saw
me for the first time he ran away and got upset.
I thought he was kidding, so I was pretending
to chase him until I actually found him crying. I
had to take off pieces [of the make-up] in front
of him to show him it was all fake and not freak
him out so much.”
Emily VanCamp is
‘excited’ to have kids
Jared Leto was
‘surrounded by
hippies’ growing up
T
he 27-year-old star can’t wait to start a family of her own with her boyfriend, her ‘Revenge’ co-star Josh Bowman, and
admits her desire to have a baby has gotten stronger with age. When asked what has surprised her about herself,
she said: “How excited I am to have children! It never seemed tangible, but my sister just had a baby - beautiful little
Ivy - and my sister Alison is having a baby boy. Suddenly, it’s like that part of my life is real.”She added: “I find myself
dreaming about it all the time. In your late 20s, you start to realize you can’t call yourself a baby anymore.” Although she is
in a very happy relationship, Emily has remained tight-lipped on her relationship with 26-year-old Josh - whom she has
been dating since 2011 - because she likes to keep her private life separate from her work. She explained in the April edition of ELLE Canada magazine: “Josh and I keep it all very separate. I barely talk about him in interviews, to be honest.“
However, the blonde beauty - who plays Emily Thorne in the US TV show - admits her family find it odd watching her onscreen with Josh, who plays aggressive Daniel Grayson, because they are entangled in a bitter and abusive relationship
on-screen. She said: “It’s hard for my family to watch - it’s also hard for them to see me in that light. But we’re actors. None
of that lives in any of us. Thank God!”
T
he Oscar-winning actor - who paid an emotional tribute to his mother in his Best Supporting Actor acceptance speech on Sunday has revealed much of his childhood involved foraging in forests and sleeping in tents,
which is a world away from his recent success in movie
‘Dallas Buyers Club’. He said: “As a kid I was surrounded by
hippies in a tepee in a commune in the forest. We certainly
weren’t thinking of awards shows!” Jared, 42, was heavily
influenced by the arts growing up but never imagined he’d
have a career in movies or in rock music with his band Thirty
Seconds to Mars. He explained: “I was more interested in
art... I’m an art school dropout. But really, I just wanted to be
a creative person who could make things.” While he has
earned numerous accolades for his role as HIV positive transgender woman Rayon in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’, the star was
reluctant to return to movies as he was so passionate about
music. Jared told The Guardian newspaper: “I was busy and
fulfilled with Thirty Seconds to Mars. I wasn’t looking to
make a film. I hadn’t made one in years and I was beginning
to think maybe I’d never make another one. But they were
persistent and I thought the character was astounding.”
Scarlett Johansson’s
pregnancy was a
‘welcome surprise’
Ireland Baldwin splits
from her boyfriend
T
he 18-year-old model - the daughter of actor Alec
Baldwin and Kim Basinger - has called time on her
relationship with Slater Trout in order to focus on her
career and her schooling. She told People magazine: “I love
him more than anything but I need to focus on myself
right now.” The couple were introduced to each other in
2012 and by May 2013, Ireland was gushes about how
close she had become to the surfer. She said at the time: “I
would say he is my best friend. We have our moments but
that’s rare. We can act stupid in public, private or wherever
and we are always laughing.” The pair even sparked
engagement rumors last year after Ireland was spotted
wearing a silver band on her ring finger. Ireland isn’t only
making changes in her love life at the moment as she
ditched her platinum locks on Wednesday and dyed her
hair lilac. She told E! News: “I just really wanted to go
lavender and it’s going to fade out. I wanted change! I love
my platinum hair and that’s who I am, but this is fun. Why
not? It’s temporary and fun.”
T
he ‘Avengers Assemble’ star announced she is having
with her first child with fiancé Romain Dauriac earlier
this week but a friend says they have known about it for
some time. The source told UsMagazine.com: “She’s about
four months along. The baby was a welcome surprise.” The
insider says Scarlett has been looking forward to telling people of her happiness, adding: “She’s just excited to share the
news.” The actress had previously talked about her desire to
start a family at the end of last year, saying in December: “I
would like to have my own family, that would be nice. “They
say it’s never the right time and I am sure that’s true, but I
think you have to plan it like anything else. “At some point it
is something I look forward to.” Scarlett, 29, and Romaine, 31,
got engaged in August last year after he proposed with a vintage Art Deco ring. The ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’
star has previously said she and Romain don’t want to “rush
through” tying the knot, as “being engaged is an exciting
time to enjoy and to really savor.” The marriage will be
Scarlett’s second after she was previously wed to actor Ryan
Reynolds between 2008 and 2011. —Bangshowbiz
lifestyle
Shakira opens charity
school in Colombia shanty
L
omas de Peye residents used to fear that a
strong gust of wind from the Caribbean
would be enough to knock down their
school. Then Shakira came to their aid. The pop
superstar recently traveled to this shanty town
in Cartagena, on Colombia’s northern coastline,
to inaugurate a new 8,000 square meter brick
school paid for through her charity foundation.
The $10 million school, built with funds from
local and international donors Shakira’s own
money, includes a football field and enough
classrooms for 1,700 students. “Besides being a
school, it is a center for community development, where we dream that at least 5,000 people can come for informal programs, sports, art,
or just a gathering space,” said Patricia Sierra,
director of Shakira’s charity the Shoeless
Foundation.
Colombian Singer Shakira and her son Milan attend a
press conference. — AFP
‘Education is not a luxury’
Shakira, born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll in
1977 in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla, now
lives abroad with Spanish football star Gerard
Pique and rarely visits Colombia. The new school
is the sixth built by Shakira’s foundation in
Colombia, a country wracked by drug violence
and a lengthy civil war. Children lined the neighborhood’s unpaved roads and stood in front of
their humble wooden homes as they welcomed
the singer, who arrived with her year-old son
Milan in her arms. “It gives me great joy to know
that in this space you will have the necessary
tools to become good citizens,” Shakira told the
future students. Then, in a nod to the government officials at the event, she said: “Education
is not a luxury, it’s a right that society should
protect and the state has a definite obligation to
protect.”
Wearing the school uniform, 14 year-old
Jorge Eliecer Garrido welcoming the singer and
thanked her for the new school. “Now that she’s
made it big, she has the heart of a child because
she feels what we feel,” he said. Lady Zuniga, an
elderly woman deeply tanned from years working in the blasting Caribbean sun, told AFP
locals worried about the children’s safety in the
old school, where her grandchildren studied.”A
strong wind would hit it, and we were afraid that
it would knock over the building,” Zuniga said.
A childhood dream
Shakira has long been interested in helping
young people. “At the age of six she told her
mother, ‘I know that I came into the world for a
mission,’” Shakira’s father William Mebarak told
AFP. “Two, three, four years went by and then
she said: ‘I know what my mission is: the children,’” Mebarak said.
In 1997 Shakira began the Shoeless
Foundation charity, and she has since taken a
hands-on role in the group. “She is proposing
projects every day,” said Sierra. For some residents, the new school not only represents hope
for social improvement, but also an urban renewal project that will help cut down on crime. “This
neighborhood used to have a bad reputation.
Very few people would dare to visit,” said Eduis
Coneo Vergara, who lives in front of the new
school. “The access routes have been improved.
There is now an increase in people who come
here because they see that it’s easier to come up
and is a lot safer,” Vergara said. — AFP
A girl kisses Colombian
Singer Shakira during the
inauguration of a school
funded by her foundation
“Barefeet” in the neighborhood of Loma del Peye in
Cartagena. — AFP
Sheila MacRae of
‘Honeymooners’ fame dies at 92
S
heila MacRae starred on the Broadway stage and in
films, yet it was her small-screen role as the tolerant and
brassy wife of a Brooklyn bus driver for which she is most
remembered. MacRae, best known for playing Alice Kramden
to Jackie Gleason’s Ralph in the 1960s re-creation of “The
Honeymooners,” died Thursday. She was 92. The actress died
at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, N.J., MacRae’s
granddaughter, Allison Mullavey, told The Associated Press on
Friday.
In the 1950s version of “The Honeymooners,” Audrey
Meadows starred with Gleason as the lovebirds and sparring
partners Ralph and Alice. Sheila MacRae replaced Meadows as
Alice in a later version from 1966-70 on “The Jackie Gleason
Show.” MacRae was the last survivor from the ‘60s edition of
the Gleason show. Jane Kean, who played Trixie Norton, died
last fall. “My mother referred to herself as the last Mrs.
Kramden,” said her daughter, actress Heather MacRae.
“She had a great life, my mom, she really did. She was quite
a broad,” Heather MacRae said. “Fascinating, almost like an
Autie Mame character.” MacRae, who suffered from dementia
but was otherwise in good health, had been hospitalized for a
minor surgical procedure. Her death came suddenly Thursday
night, apparently the result of old age, said Heather MacRae. A
singer, dancer and actress, MacRae was married to
“Oklahoma!” and “Carousel” star Gordon MacRae for 26 years,
and they appeared together in 1964 on “The Ed Sullivan
Show” when the Beatles were featured.
She had put her career on hold while she devoted herself
to MacRae and their four children, Heather MacRae said. After
helping her husband with his nightclub act, she decided to
join him and her career took off, her daughter said. The couple
appeared together in musicals including “Guys and Dolls,” with
Sheila MacRae taking her performance as Miss Adelaide to
Broadway in 1965.
The couple divorced in 1967. Actress Shirley Jones, in a
statement released by MacRae’s family, called Sheila MacRae
“a great lady” with extraordinary talent who “helped me to be
a better mother.” After her divorce from Gordon MacRae, she
was married to Ronald Wayne, who produced Gleason’s show,
her daughter said. They later divorced.
Sheila MacRae played the role of Madelyn Richmond on
the soap opera “General Hospital” and was host of “The Sheila
MacRae Show.” “She lived a good life and a long life,” Mullavey
said. “We’ll miss her.” A native of London, England, Sheila
MacRae emigrated to America with her parents during World
War II. Survivors include children Heather and William “Gar”
MacRae, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Daughter Meredith died in 2000 and son Robert in 2010,
Heather MacRae said. Funeral services for her mother were
pending, she said. — AP
This photo shows
actress Sheila MacRae
arriving at the 16th
Hall of Fame induction
ceremony in Los
Angeles. — AP
Crufts Dog Show
A man sits with his komondor dogs.
A boxer looks on as its owner eats her lunch during the first day of the Crufts dog
show in Birmingham central England. — AFP photos
Maltese dogs named America (left) and Raphael are ready for competition.
People and dogs arrive at the Crufts dog show.
A poodle named Ryder Cup awaits judging.
lifestyle
Different brick factory workers are pictured in Rawalpidi, Pakistan. — AP photos
Another brick in the wall: Women
brick-makers in debt in Pakistan
A
mna Bhatti has spent half a century shaping mud into bricks in a
huge kiln south of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. She started by
paying off her parents’ debt and now she’s on to her late husband’s.
She’ll probably spend the rest of her life here. Bhatti was 10 when she
started working at the kiln to pay off her parents’ debt. Now, at 60, she is
paying off the 250,000 rupees (approximately $2,500) in debt her husband
left behind when he died 12 years ago. She has managed to cut 1,000 dollars off that original loan, but has taken more loans from her employer - so
it is doubtful she will ever emerge from debt in her lifetime.
“We are poor, and we will always stay poor. When you enter this road
the only way out of it is death,” Bhatti said, speaking next to the clay she
was shaping into bricks. Tens of thousands of other poor Pakistanis work
hard in brick kilns, agriculture fields and other hard labor across Pakistan
in what is called “bonded labor” to pay off family loans often passed down
through generations. They often have no proper living facilities or basic
amenities like running water or bathrooms. They generally make about
350 rupees a day (approximately $3.50) for their hard work.
There are no reliable statistics about the number of Pakistanis living
and working as bonded laborers. But they can be found across the country
working in agriculture, the carpet-making industry, brick kilns and other
industries, according to the National Coalition Against Bonded Labor, a
joint platform of different rights organizations. International Women’s Day
was observed yesterday. This gallery of 14 images of Pakistani women
working in brick factories demonstrates the difficult conditions under
which many Pakistani women labor. — AP
Beat the crowd: MENA
hotspots for tourists
F
THE One’s Spring collection
- A fashion frenzy!
D
eco Divas rejoice! THE One’s Spring
collection is now on show and it’s a
full-on Fashion Frenzy. After dominating the catwalks, thanks to fashion luminaries
like Marc Jacobs, Carolina Herrera and Celine,
this season’s obsession with all things monochrome is now hitting our homes. In this sleek
and stylish decor style from THE One, black
and white gets a modern makeover with the
addition of powder pink, chrome and black
metal - thoroughly contemporary and tailormade for today’s tuned-in fashionista.
To put together this trendy ‘mad about
mono’ living room look, dress up a feature
wall in striking black and white magazine
cover wallpaper - a fashion-forward backdrop
for a clean-lined sofa in crisp white cotton-
linen, a graphic black metal bookcase and a
fun zebra-print leather footstool. Now we all
know that a mirror is a diva’s best friend, so
don’t be shy. Prop an oversized pair against
the wall to reflect your fabulousness and add
a stunning mirrored coffee table just for good
measure! Next, take a leaf out of Balmain’s
Spring 2014 book and shine with shimmering
silver in the form of a funky chrome ball pendant lamp. Complete the look with a velvet
armchair in pretty powder pink, matching
scatter cushions and a stack of your favourite
fashion magazines. ‘Et voila’, your living room
is bang up-to-date and runway ready!
ancy a holiday in Yemen? What about Libya? Iraq, perhaps? It’s a tough sell, but tour operators from locations
considered among the world’s most dangerous have
been trying to drum up interest at the world’s biggest travel
fair, the ITB Berlin in the German capital. Their brochures offer
tantalizing views of exotic souks, ancient ruins and breathtaking natural scenery, but curious visitors usually end up asking
about the latest footage of violence and unrest they’ve seen
on the television news.
“OK, you cannot visit all places in Yemen,” conceded Ibrahim
Mohamed Al-Attab, deputy marketing manager of the Yemen
Tourism Promotion Board. Tourists were generally not at risk in
cities, but westerners should avoid crowds, he advised. AlAttab, like his counterparts from Iraq and Libya, tried to stress
the cultural and natural attractions of his country, ravaged by
conflicts in the past half century and well off the beaten track
for most travelers.
“But you can visit the city of Sanaa, Socotra island and the
famous ‘skyscraper city’ Shibam, so the most important sites in
Yemen are secure,” he said, referring to the 16th century mudbrick towers of Shibam. Among Yemen’s visitors are nature
buffs and scientists who go to Socotra island, home to unique
plants and birds, and archaeologists interested in sites like
Sanaa’s Old City, tourist board marketing officer Ahmed Y AlWashali said.
Most come from China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea:
“Those governments don’t give such a high alert.” He said
about a million tourists visited Yemen in 2013, including Arabs
from nearby states. At Yemen’s stand, tour operators seated
under photos of rugged mountains, exotic trees and a deserted beach handed out brochures showcasing their country’s
cultural heritage.
Travel advice from countries like Britain and the United
States warning citizens to avoid Yemen because of the risk of
terrorism has hurt business, said Al-Attab. Yemen should persuade such governments to change their advice, he added. The
impoverished Arabian Peninsula state is battling southern separatists, Al-Qaeda-linked militants and rebels from the Shiite
Muslim Houthi movement. “We have to change the negative
image to a really positive image of Arab generosity and hospitality,” Al-Attab said.
Libyan “daydream”
Libya hopes photos of camels and Roman ruins will persuade visitors to forget about the lawlessness still gripping
much of the country three years after Muammar Gaddafi was
toppled. One brochure promoted Libya as a “daydream” of
desert lakes surrounded by lush greenery and crystal-clear seawater lapping isolated, palm-fringed beaches. But officials
acknowledged visitors were still put off by conflict between
the militias who helped to overthrow Gaddafi and his allies.
“The number of tourists coming plummeted after the revolution as the security situation wasn’t clear and the government didn’t give out permits for tourists to visit because it wasn’t sure if they’d come back,” said Abdussamea Almahbob,
undersecretary for tourism, through an interpreter. “Now it’s
trying to make everything better,” he said.
Britain and the United States advise against travel to Libya.
A Briton and a New Zealander were killed in an execution-style
shooting on a beach near Sabratha in January. Most visitors to
Libya are archaeologists drawn by the Roman ruins or adventurers who take tours of sand dunes.
Abdurrazag Guerwash, head of Winzrik Group which offers
tours to Tripoli and the oasis town of Ghadames, said the eastern city of Benghazi and southern Libya remained “very dangerous” but some pockets of the country were safe for holidays. “Leptis Magna, Sabratha and Ghadames are very safe,
very nice and very controlled areas and there’s a lot of things to
see,” he said, adding most clients were Spaniards or Italians. In
2013 he took 400 people on tours compared with up to 6,000
per month before the war. “We hope it gets better next year,”
he said.
Iraqi shrines
Iraqi travel firms and hotels were also seeking business with
posters of Islamic shrines and marsh landscapes. While insisting the north of the country was safe for tourists, they found it
hard to change people’s image of a country where nearly 8,000
civilians were killed in political violence in 2013. The United
States warns against all but essential travel. Britain makes an
exception for the Kurdistan region in the north.
“It’s difficult to persuade people to go as there is still a war
going on - a civil war,” said Lora El-Jamal from the Iraqi travel
firm Raihana Universal. “People are a bit scared even though
they’d like to go when they see the brochures.” Iraq is home to
some of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam, such as the Imam Ali
mosque in Najaf and the Imam Hussein shrine in Kerbala and
other sites around the country. Many mosques, both Shiite and
Sunni, have been bombed in recent years. Much of the
demand to visit Iraq comes from Muslims going on pilgrimages. — Reuters
Shakira opens
charity school in
Colombia shanty
38
Two horse-drawn carriages are ridden on Central Park West in New York. —AFP
M
any US cities have quintessential
sights and sounds: San Francisco’s
clanging cable cars, New Orleans and
its raucous Mardi Gras, and Washington’s political mudslinging. New York has an abundance
of them too, and the new mayor has ignited a
firestorm by announcing plans to nix one that
is a century old-the horse-drawn carriages in
Central Park-calling them inhumane. In their
place, if he gets his way, get ready to kick back
in electric cars. “We are going to get rid of the
horse carriages. Period,” Democratic Mayor Bill
de Blasio said in December, one month after
being elected.
“We are going to quickly and aggressively
move to make horse carriages no longer a part
of the landscape in New York City. They are not
humane. They are not appropriate to the year
2014. It’s over.” This month he hammered away
further, calling his idea non-negotiable. He did
however promise to discuss things with the
people who make a living from this very Big
Apple tourist attraction, which involves 220
horses, 170 drivers and 68 carriages. NYClass is
one of the groups pressing to get rid of the
carriages. “New York is one of the most congested cities in the entire world. These horses
are working in midtown traffic with their noses
against the tail pipes,” said the group’s Chelsie
Schadt.
“Horses don’t belong in traffic,” she added.
The group donated $1.3 million to the campaigns of de Blasio and other mayoral candidates opposed to this attraction-which has
been immortalized in romantic fashion in
many movies. “It is absolutely about defending animals,” said Schadt, adding that the carriages had been involved in around 20 accidents in recent years.
‘Not like people’
“Horses are not like people. They need daily
turning out, time every day to behave like a
horse, pasture-grazing and socializing with
other horses,” she added. “They go from the
confines of their stalls to the streets of New
York City, back to their stalls.” So nerves are on
edge at the stables housing the horses. Conor
McHugh, the husky manager of the Clinton
Park Stables on 52nd Street, gladly opens up
the facility, built in 1860, for a tour. On the
ground floor are the carriages themselves,
adorned with plastic flowers and American
flags. In the basement, pedi-cabs are lined up.
And upstairs are the horses, 79 of them, each
in its own stall measuring three meters (10
feet) by 2.4 meters.
McHugh shows off the water troughs, the
hay, and the sprinkler system in case there is a
fire. He explains that all the horses that take
people for rides in Central Park must spend at
least five weeks a year on a farm and cannot
work more than nine hours a day, from the
time they leave the stable until they get back.
Nor can they toil in temperatures above 32
degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) or
below -7 degrees Celsius.
“People who are against our business keep
insisting that our horses never see time on the
farm, or never get to run in the fields and never get to be, according to them, a horse,”
McHugh said. But “by law, they have to do all
of those things,” he added. Schadt counters
that even if there are rules to protect the horses, “there is simply no way you can regulate
that industry to make it truly humane.”
So NYClass wants to replace the carriages
with electric-powered copies of early 20th
century cars to offer that same “nostalgic feel”.
The horses would be retired to ‘sanctuaries’
and looked after by the people who drove the
carriages, calling this a very fair alternative.
Happy horses
The first prototype of the cars, at a cost of
$450,000, could be ready in the spring. The
project needs the approval of the city council
but is not yet on the agenda. The carriages
would be phased out and the electric cars
phased in over a period of three years.
Carriage driver Christina Hansen, a member
and spokeswoman for the Horse and Carriage
Association of New York City, is livid.
“You have this weird combination of real
estate and animal rights, where special interest groups got to spend a lot of time and mon-
he “holy grail of guitars” is among the hundreds of
rare and vintage acoustic guitars going on the auction block in New York next month. California collector Hank Risan is offering some of his musical instruments
for auction by Guernsey’s on April 2 and April 3. The 265
pieces from his collection are considered among the finest
of vintage guitars to come to auction in terms of rarity,
original construction and condition, the auction house
says. A wide range of makers are represented, including
Gibson, Gretsch, Washburn, Stromberg and D’Angelico.
The earliest instrument in Risan’s collection dates to
1840; the newest is a 2000 re-creation of a 1930 Martin
masterpiece, an OM-45 Deluxe. Both the re-creation and
T
the original will be in the auction. “The OM-45 Deluxe is the
holy grail of guitars,” Guernsey’s President Arlan Ettinger
said. Only 14 were ever made.
Among other highlights are a 1900 Manuel Ramirez
Flamenco and a 1939 D’Angelico New Yorker. John
D’Angelico was a guitar maker with a studio in Greenwich
Village during the first half of the 20th century; his guitars
have been described by some “as the Stradivarius of guitars,” Ettinger said. Pre-sale estimates of the instruments
were still being worked out Friday.
Several previously celebrity-owned guitars also will be
auctioned off: a 1941 Gibson SJ-200 played by Stephen
Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; a 1967 Gibson SJN
A 1936 Epiphone Emperor guitar is seen.
A 1893 Martin guitar in a “coffin” case is unveiled during a press preview in New York. —AP photos
ey on getting Bill de Blasio elected mayor
because he promised to ban the carriage horses,” Hansen said. “On one hand, the animal
rights people, they just think that anybody
holding any animal for any reason is wrong,”
she said, glancing at a carriage parked near
the Plaza Hotel on the southeast end of
Central Park.
“They just think it is wrong for them to
work.” “The real estate people, our stables on
the west side of Manhattan, are very valuable
real estate, and we’re not going to sell so long
as we have our horses.” Like McHugh, she is up
for a fight. “We’re in it because of the horses,”
Hansen said. “We are taking care of our horses.
They are healthy and happy.” If the project
passes, she says, the carriage association will
sue the city on grounds it is unconstitutional
for the government to tell people what they
can or cannot do for a living. “This is New York.
This is Central Park. It’s like getting rid of the
Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.”
— AP
Country Western used by Mick Jagger on his 1987 album
“Primitive Cool”; and a 1959 Gibson J-200 that Eric Clapton
once owned. The sale also includes a handful of mandolins,
including a late 1920s Style 2221 Regal Superior crafted
from Brazilian Rosewood with inlaid pearl vine inserts.
“These are not simply handsome-looking, finely crafted
objects. They are, first and foremost, musical instruments
and were created to be played,” Risan, of Santa Cruz, is
founder of the virtual Museum of Musical Instruments and
CEO of Media Rights Technologies Inc. According to his
website, his first guitar was a vintage Martin purchased
when he was 16. —AP
A 1920’s Regal Superior Mandolin guitar is seen.

KT 9-3-2014_Layout 1

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